I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 771 - Side Story 44: The Girl of Flames (2)

For Rudger, Tracy was also a memorable and impressive student in her own way.

Of course she would be, as Tracy had taken second place in the theoretical section during the entrance exam at that time. She had to yield first place to Julia Plumhart, but Theon was a place where only talented students who were said to be exceptional gathered.

In such a place, she took second place, and afterward consistently ranked high in Rudger's classes, learning magic from Rudger.

With her intense will to revive her half-fallen family, she showed effort bordering on madness and achieved results befitting that effort.

Right. Though her light was relatively overshadowed by other excellent individuals. Tracy Priad was an outstanding student even among those at Theon who could be counted on one hand.

In fact, she was comparable even to other exceptionally talented individuals who used special-type magic. One could tell how much she had agonized to walk the path of 'orthodoxy.'

'Even after graduation, she wouldn't need to worry about her future and would naturally live well.'

Considering Tracy's abilities, there was a high possibility she had revived her half-collapsed family. And since she usually stuck close to Aidan, openly showing that she liked him, he thought she would still be staying close to him.

Rudger's prediction hit the mark exactly. Tracy was still with Aidan.

However, he didn't expect she would go so far as to visit the capital of the beastman tribe. The bigger problem was the current situation.

Tracy had witnessed three beastwoman beauties having a standoff to monopolize Aidan.

Naturally, Tracy's expression was distorted like a demon. It was chilling enough to make even Rudger, who had experienced countless battles, feel creeped out.

But since experience doesn't just disappear, Rudger didn't separately convey a warning to Aidan.

Instead, as if he had nothing to do with Aidan at all, he stepped back about three steps while hiding his presence.

He naturally took a position as a spectator watching this scene.

Tracy strode toward Aidan. Her hair blazed up, intertwined with anger. Perhaps because her hair color was already flame-like, it felt like it was truly burning.

She used to tie it in pigtails before, but perhaps because she had aged and graduated. She had grown her hair long enough to reach her waist. Her style had also become much calmer. Though her build hadn't particularly grown, her atmosphere had matured into that of an adult, making her impression completely different.

Of course, as much as she had become more mature, her appearance when angry had also become more intense.

She was still the girl of flames that he remembered.

"Uh, uhh." 

"Ahem."

A path formed in the marketplace where one might get swept up in the crowd and lose their way if they let their guard down even a little.

The beastmen, crushed by Tracy's presence, naturally cleared a path for her to pass.

Tracy's presence right now was enough to make even the belligerent beastmen naturally lower their tails.

'It's not just her presence, but the beastmen sensed it too. That the fight Tracy is about to start is not the kind of fight they prefer.'

It was a so-called romantic quarrel. A fight that made even Rudger, who had experienced holy wars, shudder, a suffocating fight just to watch!

'Aidan. How will you handle this?'

Rudger suddenly became curious. No matter how much Aidan he was, this kind of situation would be hard to escape from.

Aidan still had shamelessness remaining as his trump card, which could be both an advantage and disadvantage.

'Rather than a trump card, it feels more like responding with the same attitude every time.'

But Tracy had known Aidan for close to four years. There was no way she wouldn't know about Aidan's shamelessness. She now had a sharp, well-honed spear that could pierce through Aidan's thick-facedness. Now she just had to thrust it.

'Of course, it's a metaphorical meaning, but looking at her presence now, she really seems ready to pull out a spear and stab him.'

In any case, the current situation was unavoidable. Therefore, Rudger decided to watch with great interest how the situation would unfold.

Tracy approached right up to Aidan. The three women including Luina, who had been checking each other over Aidan, began to have their entire fur stand on end.

At the same time, their pupils, upon seeing Tracy, soon split vertically into long slits.

It was similar to the reaction beastmen showed when facing an enemy before entering battle. No, a romantic quarrel was also a fight, so it might not be particularly wrong.

At the same time, Aidan also seemed to realize something. He slowly turned around.

In that brief moment, Tracy managed her expression and was smiling. Even though she must have been heated to the tips of her hair, to change to a smiling face so instantly. At that level, it should be called transformation rather than change.

However, Tracy was only smiling with her face while not hiding her anger at all. Around her, anger seemed to take the form of flames, creating a wavering heat haze.

Tracy's anger wasn't the kind to bring frost in midsummer, but rather the level to cause a fire even in a cold wave.

"Oh? Tracy!"

But still being one of the most oblivious, Aidan smiled as if happy to see her. He must have judged it wasn't a serious atmosphere at all since Tracy was smiling.

'There's a limit to being simple-minded.'

But because of that, the situation flowed even more interestingly.

"Hello, Aidan? You came first?" 

"Ah, yes. Leo's wedding is coming up soon, right? I just couldn't sit still." 

"Even so, that was too much. I told you so many times to go together, didn't I? I also said to wait just a bit while I finish up some family matters."

It seemed Tracy had originally planned to visit this place together with Aidan. Moreover, listening to what she was saying, one could fully understand why she was angry at Aidan.

She had asked to go together, but Aidan had gone ahead, so it was natural to be angry beyond disappointed.

"Uh, did I?"

At Aidan's reaction, Tracy's lips and eyebrows twitched for a moment.

It was momentary, but she barely overcame the crisis of her mask cracking.

'Hmm. Tracy. You've matured a lot since I last saw you, to be able to manage your expression even in such a situation. You've become a skilled noblewoman.'

It was when Rudger was having such impressions. Tracy answered in a calm voice as if to prove she wasn't angry at all.

"Yes. I did. I even said it three times."

Whoa!

At those words, some beastmen who were watching this situation with interest let out exclamations. They too, like Rudger, had been watching this series of events.

Even though they were beastmen, they seemed unwilling to miss this good spectacle. Rudger felt a strange sense of kinship with them.

"Ahaha. Sorry. I guess I was too excited and didn't listen properly." 

"It's okay. What, this isn't the first or second time you've done this. I'm used to it by now." 

"Thanks for understanding."

Rudger almost slapped his forehead without realizing it. Wasn't that blatantly sarcastic talk no matter who looked at it? To accept it as praise?

Wasn't it at a level where he wasn't nullifying the opponent's attack but accepting it as some blessing or healing? It couldn't be anything but an utterly deranged mindset.

But indeed, perhaps Tracy was also worn out from dealing with Aidan. She didn't get angry or anything just from this kind of behavior from Aidan. That appearance felt rather unsettling. The more it was suppressed and contained, the more spectacularly it would explode later was a foregone conclusion.

"More importantly, I thought you would go meet Leo first. But why are you in this marketplace, being guided by a beautiful lady?"

Finally, the main point. Rudger and all the spectators held their breath. They all became of one heart and one mind.

"Ah. Luina said she would guide me around the city. Remember?" 

"Hmm. I feel like I remember but not quite."

Tracy said that, but from Rudger's perspective, she clearly remembered Luina. She deliberately pretended not to remember, ignoring Luina. Perhaps sensing that fact, Luina lit up with determination and perked up her tail.

"But Aidan, this isn't your first time coming here. Yet is there a reason you need to be guided?"

Tracy sharply dug into the weak point. Guidance is something received by people who don't know the way. Would Aidan, one of the benefactors of the beastman tribe, really not know such things?

"I can't go meet Leo right away. First I need to let him know I've arrived, and while waiting, I had nothing to do so I was looking around." 

"So, there's no need to be guided." 

"I'm fine with it, but there's someone here for the first time, so it can't be helped." 

"Someone here for the first time?" 

"Fufu. Tracy, you'll be shocked if you know who came. Professor Rudger is here!"

At Aidan's words, Tracy's gaze whipped around. As Rudger's name suddenly came up, Tracy seemed quite surprised as well.

Rudger let out a groan inwardly. That guy Aidan, to divert Tracy's attention at this very moment?

For Rudger, who had been watching from a spectator's position to see how the situation would be resolved, it was truly like being struck by lightning.

From the moment he was mentioned, he too had no choice but to go up on that stage.

"Tracy Priad. It's been a while."

Rudger stepped forward and greeted her.

"My goodness, it really is Professor Rudger?"

Tracy's eyes widened at seeing Rudger. It was quite an intense reaction, as if she never expected to meet him in such a place.

It couldn't be helped. Tracy hadn't experienced the holy war. Not having encountered the truth known only to a few, she only knew the superficial lies.

What was that? It was that Rudger Chelici and Heathcliff van Bretus were separate individuals.

Naturally, the hidden truth was that the two were the same person, but what was known to the public was the opposite.

Rudger Chelici had been kidnapped by the Demon Lord Heathcliff. And the Demon Lord, with demonic abilities, disguised himself as Rudger and secretly hid in Theon.

That was the situation known to the world at that time.

Rudger Chelici was later safely rescued, but in a state of considerable injury, he had to focus on recovery for a long time. Thus, Rudger Chelici stepped down from his teaching position at Theon.

It was a plausible story. There were some who felt suspicious and dug into whether it was really true.

But Headmaster Elisa personally announced it, and even the Imperial family came forward with testimony.

Since not only the headmaster of Theon but even the current Emperor came forward to protect him, it ultimately became the truth.

Thus, many people, while regretting Rudger's absence, had no choice but to accept his stepping down.

For that Rudger to appear so boldly in this place, Tracy couldn't help but be surprised.

"How are you here, Professor...? Are you okay physically?" 

"Yes. My body has fully recovered. While I was at it, I was curious about my former students' news, so I came to visit and happened to meet this guy."

Tracy looked at Aidan and asked with her eyes. At her reproachful gaze asking if it was really true, Aidan nodded as if it were obvious.

Tracy glared at Aidan with a blank face for a moment, then soon drooped her shoulders and let out a sigh.

"Fine. Now that I know, next time don't go anywhere alone without me. Got it?" 

"Yes. I got it."

The tense atmosphere was resolved in an instant. The people who had been watching with anticipation that something big would happen clicked their tongues in disappointment and withdrew. Aidan had unintentionally overcome a truly dangerous crisis.

"You all."

Tracy said while looking at the beastwoman including Luina.

"Aidan is mine, so why don't you back off?" 

"...Beastmen don't easily let go of prey they've set their sights on once." 

"Really? Then should we settle this here?"

When Tracy said that with a smiling face, Luina stepped back one step. She sensed it wasn't just words.

'Brutal.'

If even Rudger felt that way, how much more so for those directly facing it? In the end, Luina had to withdraw while looking at Aidan with regretful eyes. Needless to say, the two beastwoman who were a notch below Luina.

"Haa. We met after so long, and I'm sorry for showing you such a sight."

Tracy honestly apologized to Rudger. Still, in front of someone who was once her teacher, far from showing a good side, she had shown disgrace.

"I don't really mind. I was already aware that this guy's obliviousness is still the same. More importantly, it's been a while, Tracy Priad. Your magical achievements have improved beyond recognition." 

"Thank you for the praise. I worked that hard, after all. More importantly, Professor Rudger, if your injuries have fully recovered, are you coming back?" 

"It's not confirmed yet. After all, I might have lost my touch from resting too long." 

"You would be welcomed back anytime, Professor."

Tracy said something meaningful, perhaps sensing something emanating from Rudger. Rudger realized that Tracy had achieved excellence to the extent of recognizing at least part of his level.

'Well, the appearance of the next Lexer-grade mage is confirmed.'

Tracy left a remark to talk again later and walked ahead. Naturally, she didn't forget to tell Aidan to follow.

While watching Tracy walking ahead, Aidan said quietly, audible only to Rudger.

"Phew. I was so scared I thought I'd die. Sorry, Professor. Thanks to you I survived." 

"...!"

Rudger stared at Aidan with eyes wide with surprise.