I Got a Fake Job at the Academy

Chapter 788 - Side Story 61: Private Lesson (1)

"How peaceful."

Carlo leaned against a wooden post, quietly enjoying the breeze that blew by. After entering the special class, he didn't have to participate in regular classes.

Of course, it wasn't because he had nothing to learn. If anything, among the basic theories that other students listened to, there were quite a few that would have been suitable for Carlo to learn as well.

The reason he didn't attend classes was simply because he wasn't interested. He believed that magic was ultimately something to be refined and developed through practice, not theory.

Carlo's experience proved this. The fact that he could awaken and use magic wasn't because he had some outstanding teacher, or because fate led him to pick up an excellent magic book.

He simply clenched his fists and fought to survive in a harsh environment, and naturally realized it in the process.

As a result, Carlo had to feel shocked in many ways after enrolling in Theon.

For him, magic was a means of survival and a weapon that brought victory in struggles.

However, all those who learned magic here had heads full of flowers. They laughed and chatted among themselves deciding what classes to take, and didn't even try their best to attend those.

Yet somehow he had so much tension in his shoulders, especially when he saw the attitude of those noble-born bastards who had learned magic a few years earlier, it was hard to suppress the urge to press them down.

Of course, because he actually pressed down on their noses with his fist, his infamy had spread.

To Carlo, Theon's students only seemed to have come to play house.

In such an environment, Carlo found it difficult to adapt to academy life.

For him who had lived fighting in the gutters below, this splendid and well-organized estate made him feel a rejection so strong it seemed hives would break out on his skin just from looking at it.

'Right. I don't need teaching or anything. I just need to go my own way.'

At this point, taking basic baby steps like others didn't suit his personality. This was precisely why Carlo acted in his own way.

Of course, behind that behavior was also the basic thought embedded in him that he was superior to ordinary students.

Carlo could be certain of one thing: he was a genius. 

Wasn't the fact that he independently used special-attribute magic that others couldn't handle proof of that?

So he had believed without doubt that even when entering Theon, he would become the best.

Teachers? He acknowledged they were excellent. But they were good at teaching things—could they actually use practical magic like him?

Carlo thought that if he put his mind to it, he could fight and beat even the teachers, until he met the real monsters.

He recalled the duel with Rudger. That bottomless strength where even after pouring out all his power, he couldn't touch a single hair.

It gave a fresh shock to Carlo, who had been like a frog in a well with his shoulders tensed.

Technique, experience, proficiency. In all of these, Carlo didn't measure up to Rudger at all. And it wasn't as if he overwhelmed him in pure power either.

The 6th-rank magic that Rudger casually displayed was enough to make goosebumps rise all over Carlo's body as he watched from the spectator seats.

It showed him who thought he stood at the top of a high peak that there was a sky beyond the clouds.

'Besides, the other guys weren't easy either.'

He had no choice but to acknowledge the skills of the children who, like him, belonged to the special class.

Those two people who refused classes were especially so.

To Carlo who had secretly harbored the thought that he was the best, the existence of Eric and Mina dealt no small wound to his pride.

What was with having multiple overlapping magic eyes? And what about a constitution that manifests magic just by thinking?

He who had been proud of learning special-attribute magic and refining it through practice suddenly felt shabby.

'Well, whatever. It's not like I'm going to fight those guys and rank ourselves.'

They were people he wasn't particularly interested in anyway. What mattered now was only the special class lessons to come.

'But this is unexpected. After going that far on the first day, I thought he'd think discipline was established and immediately start theory classes.'

The message Rudger sent to the special class students afterward was to rest on their own for now until he called them.

He wondered if it was a final vacation before class preparation, but it didn't quite seem like that either.

'What exactly is he trying to do?'

Because his thoughts were getting too deep, Carlo deliberately shook his head to clear his mind. Right. What's the point of thinking about such things? If he said to rest, just rest. Deal with later matters later.

Chirp chirp.

A bird flew toward Carlo from afar, chirping. When Carlo extended his finger, the small cute bird landed on his hand.

That wasn't all. A squirrel that had been circling around approached him, so Carlo took out some nuts from his pocket and held them out.

He didn't forget to give feed to the bird either. As soon as the bird that grabbed the feed flew away, other birds flew over.

Small animals living in Theon's forest gathered around Carlo as if there was a feast.

The sight of wary animals flocking to Carlo with his rough and violent appearance was even somewhat incongruous.

Regardless, Carlo handed out the feed he had prepared one by one as if accustomed to it. A faint smile formed on Carlo's lips as he fed them.

"Eat slowly. No one's going to take it from you."

Feeding animals in a quiet place was Carlo's hobby that he never showed to others.

This hobby has continued from quite a long time ago. Should he say it was since he learned special-attribute magic? Strangely, animals came to follow Carlo particularly well.

Carlo didn't particularly dislike animals. Having always seen back-alley thugs causing trouble, he actually preferred animals that, though they couldn't speak, possessed purity.

"Yes, yes. I'll come tomorrow too, so don't worry."

Just as he was muttering in a soft voice he never usually showed.

"You have a gentler hobby than your appearance suggests Carlo."

Almost simultaneously with Rudger's voice, the gathered animals scattered in all directions in surprise.

When Carlo turned around in shock, Rudger was standing there quietly, having been there who knows since when.

"Wh-when did you get here?" 

"Was it from when you were feeding the bird?"

Wasn't that basically from the very beginning? But what was more surprising was that the animals hadn't noticed Rudger's presence at all.

Weren't small birds and squirrels the most sensitive creatures to people above all else?

Yet they hadn't noticed until he spoke.

"Do you like animals?"

At Rudger's question, Carlo's face reddened at the thought that his weakness had been discovered.

"I like them too. Someone I know has a constitution particularly close to animals, so I've watched that up close." 

"...Please don't tell other people." 

"I don't have the nasty hobby of spreading others' secrets outside." 

"More importantly, how did you find this place...? No, never mind. Don't tell me it's for class?"

Carlo was about to ask Rudger how he found him, then realized it was pointless.

Wasn't this the same Rudger who found and personally brought back even those who refused classes and hid thoroughly? Finding out where he was would be as easy as flipping his palm.

What mattered was why Rudger had come looking for him.

"It is for class." 

"Then why not call me to the lecture hall instead of coming directly..." 

"Lecture hall? Didn't you dislike conducting classes in such a stuffy way?" 

"..."

Carlo was left speechless at being hit right on the mark, but at the same time he thought: Is it okay for you, a teacher, to say that?

"As I said before, you're different from ordinary students. Outstanding talent, constitution, heterogeneous abilities. That's why the method to refine those abilities must also be different from other students." 

"Different means..." 

"From now on, I'll conduct your classes one-on-one individually with each of you. Think of it as a kind of privilege possible because there are few of you."

One-on-one classes. For Carlo, it felt quite unexpected that Rudger chose such a method.

Having someone of Rudger's skill to teach personally was certainly cause for great joy, but there was also the question of whether it was necessary to go that far.

"More importantly, what do we do in one-on-one classes?" 

"Basic theory isn't necessary. There's nothing more foolish than teaching a bird that can fly how to run. I intend to directly teach you how fast and high you can fly."

Directly teach. Carlo was surprised by those words but also felt a subtle anticipation.

"However, before entering such classes, I need to understand each person's disposition and abilities in more detail." 

"My abilities are all what I showed during the duel that day."

It was a bit embarrassing to reveal all his cards, but he thought it was fine with Rudger because he was an overwhelming powerhouse. 

Carlo, who grew up in a survival-of-the-fittest environment, knew how to draw a clear line at least in this regard.

"I've confirmed all your magic. I also know you're not hiding anything more. What I'm talking about is your constitution." 

"Constitution?"

At Carlo's puzzled look, Rudger stroked his chin with his hand.

"Hmm. It seems you yourself aren't very aware of it." 

"Wait. What do you mean by that?" 

"Don't you know the reason why small creatures like these approach you so familiarly?" 

"What? That's..."

Carlo had never seriously thought about such things, so he stuttered.

"Moreover, the movements you showed during the duel with me. No matter how much you grew up in a harsh environment from childhood, there are too many parts that don't make sense logically." 

"...What exactly is so strange about me?" 

If it were the usual Carlo, he would have flared up and shouted here, but not now. If Rudger had come all this way to tell him personally, it seemed like there really was something rather than just conjecture.

"...What's the problem?" 

"I didn't say it was a problem. I just said your constitution is a bit different." 

"Isn't that the same thing?" 

"Carlo. Let me tell you this here. Being different and being wrong are distinctly separate things." 

"..."

Carlo found himself closing his mouth without realizing it.

People had despised him and sent him looks of hatred because he was different. Because Carlo's eyes were fierce, because his appearance was scary, because the atmosphere he gave off was barbaric.

For such absurd reasons, without even properly interacting with him.

The teachers were the same. The moment they saw him, without even asking who he was, those eyes that immediately looked at him like a problem child. Those gazes that, while pretending to be concerned, looked at him as some uncomfortable thing that needed help.

He hated that so much so Carlo acted like a problem child just as they expected.

It wasn't difficult. It was enough to just act like the thugs who swaggered a bit in the back alleys.

Of course, it wasn't pure acting. If anything, there was some sincerity in the sense of comfort from wearing clothes that fit him well.

But Rudger was different. How should he describe those eyes?

They didn't recognize him at all as a problem child who needed correction. Those taciturn blue eyes simply saw Carlo as a student and a person.

That might be why he, who remained unaffected no matter how much lip service he heard from others, felt moved by just that one statement.

"...So what about my constitution?" 

"This kind of question might be taken sensitively, would that be okay?"

At Rudger's attitude of suddenly stepping back, Carlo blinked, wondering what this was about.

"No, why do you need to ask if it's okay now? I don't mind, so what's different about my constitution?"

"Was there perhaps a demi-human among your family or ancestors?" 

"What?"

"For instance, a beastman."

Carlo was about to ask what he meant, but Rudger's words came faster.

"The behavior you showed in combat resembled the basic combat style of beastmen. Elastic movements and excellent reflexes, and even the combat method of instinctively running along the optimal path. I was uncertain, but seeing you communicate with small animals here, I'm now convinced." 

"No, what do you..." 

"Did you not realize it yourself?"

Rudger nodded his head, then delivered the shocking truth that Carlo didn't know.

"Considering the manifestation of that ability, and the nature of the special attribute you learned...you're a hybrid of human and beastman."