I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 743 - Side Story 16: What Makes a Relationship (1)

Rudger, when he was a teacher, rarely praised his students. His standards were strict, but that wasn't the only reason.

If anything, Rudger knew he could praise them, but chose not to. He believed that praise ruins people.

A donkey that only eats carrots eventually becomes lazy.

'Of course, that doesn't mean I only used the whip.'

There was a reason why carrots and sticks were always mentioned together. Rudger was clear about rewards and punishments. It was just that his standards were high, not that he never praised anyone.

However, there was a stake driven deep in one corner of his heart. It was also Rudger's principle.

'Never give excessive praise.'

Because such praise dulls a person's mind. It's important to praise only when necessary and at a minimum.

You can do it. You're doing really well. Others do it this way too, so this is enough. Rudger didn't particularly like such indiscriminate, worthless, hollow words.

They have no meaning or value, yet they arbitrarily deceive people's hearts, like feeding someone sweet candy indiscriminately.

No one in the world likes bitter things. Everyone is vulnerable to sweet things.

'If you only eat sweet things in reality, you get diabetes. Your body sends warning signals. Then you have no choice but to stop eating sweet things.'

But the mental sweetness from praise was a different story. It never shows on the surface. You can't tell if this person is a severe diabetic or not.

Therefore, there is no line, and therefore people are easily ruined.

'What ruins people isn't indiscriminate criticism or coldness toward them. Rather, it's excessive and undeserved praise.'

People who receive excessive praise become blindly confident and overconfident in their abilities, and eventually become trapped in their own world and ruined.

It was proof that positive emotions don't always work out well.

Then what about love? If there's something most representative of positive emotions, something that could be called a final destination, it would be the emotion of love.

Is love truly great?

'I can't deny the word "great." Love, after all, has a stronger motivation than any other emotion.'

But conversely, love can be a more terrible curse than anything else. According to a certain theory Rudger held, indiscriminate love, like indiscriminate praise, was very dangerous.

Some might say that's a narrow-minded thought. But from the perspective of a human who hears the gods whisper of love, it couldn't look good.

Because love comes in various forms it can exist in both good and bad ways.

Then what about Bellaruna Petana? No, Bellaruna Benimore?

At least from Rudger's assessment, he could be certain that this was the worst kind of love.

Benimore. As you can tell from that name, it's Chris Benimore's family. And the fact that Bellaruna's surname had changed meant that she had become a member of that family.

Since there was no possibility of meeting a different Benimore, it meant that Bellaruna had married Chris.

Good grief. Rudger wanted to clutch his throbbing forehead.

But this was reality. An undeniable, complete reality.

Yes. He had vaguely suspected it would turn out this way. The atmosphere between Chris and Bellaruna had been unusual for a while now.

Hadn't he witnessed their love talk dripping honey from their eyes? But this was more serious than back then.

"First of all, congratulations on becoming the mistress of a noble family." 

"Hohoho. Oh my, thank you." 

"Is the Benimore family doing well?" 

"It wasn't good in the past, but now it's fine."

Violetta added an explanation from the side.

"It's beyond just fine. The Benimore family's special potions have become so famous in the Empire that rumors have spread to other countries too. The family's prestige hasn't just revived, it's soared."

The Benimore family had been a family focused on pharmaceuticals, and at one time their power had declined. But now it was surprisingly different, to the point where it was amazing to think they had such a past.

Chris Benimore himself was a person with excellent ability and will, but the family wouldn't have prospered this much with him alone.

'It must be because Bellaruna helped from beside him.'

Special medicinal herbs that humans don't even know the names or existence of, let alone how to handle. Bellaruna was versed in all of them.

'No, she knows things that even fellow elves don't know. That's because she has a history of secretly entering the World Tree network and checking the information there.'

The World Tree network, which ordinary elves are forbidden from even touching. Bellaruna had a record of secretly sneaking in there and reading all sorts of plant genetic data stored inside.

She was exiled from her tribe because of it, but she didn't care at all. Rather, looking at her now, she was living so well—too well—that it felt slightly strange.

"More than that, you've changed quite a lot."

Rudger forced his lips open, which didn't want to part, and continued the conversation. If he didn't, he felt like he'd have a hard time maintaining his sanity because of this bizarre phenomenon.

"I became the mistress of a noble family, after all. I had to work diligently to show the position and etiquette befitting that." 

"Honestly, I'm surprised."

Rudger's words were his genuine feelings without any filter. For that Bellaruna to have changed like this.

Despite being an elf with naturally outstanding appearance, Bellaruna could never be called attractive.

She didn't sleep properly, was gloomy, and reeked of chemicals. She didn't even wash properly, even her laughter sounded strange, and how eccentric was her personality?

Thinking like this might make it seem like Rudger really disliked Bellaruna, but even just the above elements were all unexaggerated truths.

It was because she sacrificed all of that that she displayed absurd abilities in pharmaceuticals. Rudger thought that she had to give up other things in exchange for gaining outstanding abilities.

'That Bellaruna developed social skills.'

Considering how the Benimore family's reputation had risen, it seemed her innate abilities hadn't rusted either.

When you see a colleague doing well, you should definitely congratulate them, but why won't those words come out of his mouth?

"You're surprised, so that's somewhat reassuring." 

"Reassuring?" 

"I wanted to see your reaction above all else, Mr. Rudger."

In Bellaruna's playfully smiling face, he could see glimpses of her old face.

She was an elf, after all, even if she didn't dress up properly. Her blood didn't go anywhere, and when properly groomed, she certainly boasted blooming beauty.

"Anyway, I'm glad to meet you again like this." 

"......Yes." 

"More than that, what are you planning to do now, Mr. Rudger?"

He still wasn't used to hearing "Mr. Rudger" from that mouth, but Rudger didn't bother pointing it out.

"What to do. I haven't decided anything in particular. Violetta made a good proposal, but that's just one of the possibilities."

Violetta shrugged as if she expected that.

"Still, since it's freedom I've finally obtained, I'm thinking of enjoying the moment for now. It's not bad to decide gradually either." 

"Well, you can do as you please, brother. There's no one here who would say anything." 

"Right. More than that, is there any news about when Arpa will come?" 

"Ah. You mean Arpa? He said he might be a bit late. But it seems like he'll be here soon." 

"He's late?" 

"I heard he's helping his younger sister."

Younger sister. As soon as those words ended, a knock sounded from beyond the door.

When Rudger gestured, the closed door opened by itself.

What came in was Arpa, whose appearance hadn't changed at all from three years ago. Since he was an automaton, not human, it was natural that he didn't age or grow. Beside him was his younger sister Betty.

Arpa saw Rudger and his eyes widened. Then he immediately rushed into Rudger's arms.

"Teacher!"

Rudger lightly embraced Arpa.

"You really came back!" 

"Have you been well?" 

"Yes! I've been well! But what about you, Teacher? You're okay, right?"

Arpa quickly scanned Rudger's body with transparent eyes. It seemed he was checking if there was anything wrong with his body.

"Despite how I look, I'm confident in my health."

When Rudger said this with a slight smile, Arpa pursed his lips as if finding it curious.

"Teacher, you've learned to joke since I last saw you." 

"Well, something like that." 

"Still, you seem to look better than before. Maybe it's because you're like the kind teacher from before."

Arpa smiled brightly. Yes. This child had now regained his memories.

Rudger's gaze turned to Betty, who was left alone by the doorway.

"Right. What should I call you, assistant?" 

"......Just, well, call me comfortably like before." 

"Are you okay?"

That question contained many meanings and Betty answered in a slightly awkward voice.

"It's just a bit hard to get used to. But three years have passed, so I'm okay now."

Life as Casey's assistant Betty, and life as Arpa's former younger sister. Those two were clearly different. When she first realized the memories engraved in her soul, she must have been very confused. The same would be true for Arpa.

But seeing the two together, he thought there was no need to worry.

Three years. If they had been together during that time, they surely would have more than enough time to heal their wounds.

"How have you been?" 

"I've been helping my sister with her work." 

"Work?" 

"Ah, it's not anything dangerous or anything like that."

Then Betty joined the conversation from the side.

"Editing work." 

"Editing."

This was even more puzzling for Rudger. Not that it was bad, and not that it didn't suit her, but it seemed unnecessary.

"Well, it can't be helped. Casey is doing that kind of work." 

"Ah."

Rudger felt the separate puzzle pieces fitting together. Betty, Casey's assistant, had continued living as Betty even after regaining her old memories.

Well, of course. It was Casey Selmore who awakened her, and how long had she been active as her assistant by her side?

While they bickered every time, they had grown attached to each other. In places Rudger didn't know about, she must have solved cases with Casey and faced various stories.

"Casey was struggling a lot, and after that she published a book and it was a huge hit. So I helped from the side."

Betty looked young but had a sharp personality, and above all, she was a special automaton.

She never forgot what she saw once, and it was safe to say she was better than experts at analyzing detailed data and materials.

The same was true for Arpa beside her, who had the same performance. Betty had helped with editorial work to assist Casey, and Arpa had worked alongside his sister.

"You must have been very busy." 

"Not necessarily. There are many people working, and we just did various organizing tasks. It's not particularly hard or tiring."

That too was possible because they were automatons. However, Betty's expression hadn't been very good since earlier.

"Did something happen?" 

"The author ran away."

Arpa cautiously brought up the story while watching Betty's reaction. Betty didn't point out why he was mentioning it. It seemed she inwardly wanted to talk about it too.

"By author, you mean Casey Selmore." 

"That's right! That person, I really thought she had matured a bit, but then out of nowhere she just left behind a single letter and disappeared!"

Betty stomped her feet in anger as if her pent-up fury had reached its limit. Arpa just smiled awkwardly while watching Betty like that.

"Huh."

Rudger recalled Casey who had come to find him. She had said she ran away too, but he hadn't expected the editor to be Betty.

"That's why I came here myself. More than that, you know, don't you, Mr. Rudger? That Casey came to the capital." 

"Well, yes. I did meet and talk with her."

Rudger nodded, judging this wasn't something to hide.

"I thought so. What exactly did Casey say?" 

"She just seemed to have a lot on her mind. She came because of old ties, but it seems she's been very troubled lately." 

"What they commonly call a slump. Really, Casey. She could have at least explained before running away like this. It's not like anyone's going to eat her."

Resentment seeped into Betty's voice. It seemed Betty hadn't heard from Casey about what state she'd been in lately.

But Casey, being Casey, probably didn't say anything because she didn't want to worry Betty.

"You don't need to feel too hurt. Casey probably didn't say anything because she was thinking of you."