I Became an Unknown Professor at the Academy

…In the director’s office, where the door had been closed.

In the oppressive silence, no one dared to make a sound, not even a breath.

Lee Sun-young, who had been leading the atmosphere, as well as Kim Sung-won and Choi Min-sik, who had no connection to this incident, were frozen in place, unable to move a finger.

Someone swallowed, and Claire, who had been quietly looking at the empty desk, lifted her head.

Her dazzling blue eyes, more brilliant than her golden hair, moved slowly.

As the icy blue gaze passed over them, the students’ eyes lowered.

Their minds and bodies, barely holding on, would shatter like fragile ice if they met that gaze, their instincts screamed.

It wasn’t a display of aura, killing intent, or even unleashed magic.

It was simply Claire Bean Assen, the Awakened, revealing her true presence.

And finally, the one who had frozen the room with her presence spoke.

“Head of Administration.”
“Y-yes……”

Choi Min-sik, stiff as a board, unconsciously lowered his head in response to Claire’s anger-filled dignity.

“As an associate professor of the Basic Gate Theory lecture, I would like to apply to become the guardian of Baek Hana, a student in that class, until she graduates from the Academy.”

Guardian.

A position that carried no rights, only responsibilities.

At the word “guardian” from Claire’s lips, not only Lee Na-young but also the students in the room had their expressions change.

Among the Awakened, it was not uncommon to find those who had lost their parents at a young age or during their teenage years.

The same was true for the students at the Academy. The greater the pain from their past, the stronger the ability they awakened.

The Academy had a system in place where a professor could become the guardian of a student to prevent them from going astray or getting into trouble, if they wished.

Of course, this applied not only to the Academy but also to matters outside of it, as it had been agreed upon with the government.

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Choi Min-sik left the room, seeking Claire’s permission. And in less than a minute, he returned and replied.

“Since the concerned party, Baek Hana, does not agree, the guardianship can be revoked if she applies for its cancellation.”

Claire nodded and said, “As Baek Hana’s guardian, I demand the following.”

Her blue eyes moved.

From Lee Sun-young, who was awkwardly standing there, to the girl who was at the center of this incident.

“Na Min-seo.”
“Y-yes……?”

Na Min-seo, who had been keeping her eyes lowered, flinched and replied, her gaze still fixed on the desk.

“Are you not at fault in this incident?”
“I-I, I’m not, I’m not at fault……”

Na Min-seo stuttered, gritting her teeth, her fear evident.

Claire’s eyes turned even colder.

“I’ll ask again. Are you truly not at fault in this matter?”
“……No, I’m not.”

There was a brief silence, but Na Min-seo maintained her earlier answer.

“Can you swear to it?”
“……Yes.”

Claire nodded and turned to Choi Min-sik.

“I demand that all judgments be suspended until the incident is reconstructed and reinvestigated.”
“W-wait a moment―”

Huff!

Lee Sun-young, who had opened her mouth in a hurry, felt something brush past her cheek.

Plop, plop.

Red droplets fell from her cheek to the desk below as a sword made of shimmering divine power was embedded behind her back.

“Answer me.”
“Y-yes, yes, I, I accept.”

Choi Min-sik’s lips and tongue were dry as he barely managed to respond.

He didn’t realize what Claire had done or when the sword had wounded Lee Sun-young. He couldn’t perceive any of it.

Claire extended her hand, and the sword embedded in the wall turned into particles and merged into her hand.

“Now, speak.”

Lee Sun-young pressed her pale face, her cheek bleeding. She couldn’t heal the wound with divine power because it was inflicted by Claire’s sword. She would have to wait for it to heal naturally.

“Are you, as an Executor, trying to manipulate the situation to your advantage by using your social status?”
“Manipulation.”
“Yes. There are already numerous witnesses among the students, and the perpetrator hasn’t offered any particular excuse. Why would you want to reconstruct the incident and reinvestigate it?”

Claire, her lips turning blue, gritted her teeth and spoke softly to Lee Sun-young, who was looking at her.

“You misunderstand. I do acknowledge the violence itself.”
“Then―”
“What I want to find out is the reason for the violence.”
“Our child……”

Claire spread her hand, a signal for her to stop talking.

“The incident will be reconstructed, and the investigation will proceed as planned. And.”

Hwaaaahhhh!

A fierce killing intent erupted from Claire, instantly enveloping the students in the room.

Na Min-seo, as well as the children of the top 10 guilds, including Kang Seok-ho and Na Joo-hee, foamed at the mouth and slammed their heads on the desk.

Sssssssssss―

As Claire retracted her killing intent, she looked at Lee Sun-young with icy blue eyes.

“If I truly wanted to manipulate the situation, I would have cut your necks instead of reconstructing the incident.”

In fact, she had wanted to do just that and was barely suppressing the urge to do so.

“Remember this.”

Claire turned away.

“It’s not that I can’t, but that I choose not to.”

And.

‘Be grateful that this is His resting place……’

She left the room as quietly as she had entered, and as she walked out of the administration building, no one dared to make a sound or even lift their heads.

As she passed by those who were avoiding her gaze, suppressing her killing intent, she heard a voice.

“……Sister.”
“Hana?”

The unpleasant emotions that had been boiling inside her suddenly vanished.

“What about the other children?”
“I sent them back first……”
“I see. You didn’t have to wait for me, but you should go back now. I’ll be leaving as well……”

Hug.

Claire, who had been about to lift her chin, was taken aback by Baek Hana’s sudden action. Baek Hana had never hugged her like this since awakening her powers.

“Ah, Hana……?”
“……Thank you.”
“No, no, that’s, well, this is outside, so……”
“You.”
“Yes, yes?”

Baek Hana, her face buried in Claire’s chest, slowly lifted her head and whispered with a very, very small voice, her ears and tail visible.

“……It’s okay if it’s you.”
“……?”
“I’ll go now.”

Before Claire could respond, still looking dazed, Baek Hana quickly let go and ran towards the dormitory with her ears and tail on full display.

Claire, who had been standing there with a blank expression, regained her usual emotionless face.

Claire headed home, guided by the rising moonlight.

“Hmm.”

She lifted her chin, trying to raise the corners of her mouth.

**

Thump, thump, thump―!!

I woke up to a sensation on my cheek.

-Pee-ang!!

“……”

A tiny impudent creature sat on my nose, tapping my glasses with its tiny hands smaller than a clover. It didn’t leave any marks, but it was extremely annoying.

“Get off.”

-Pee-ah~!!

As I got up, the creature flapped its transparent wings and floated up. Then it came back to me and pulled my hair, as if asking me to follow it.

“……Annoying creature.”

I got out of bed, feeling sluggish.

When I opened the slightly ajar door of my bedroom, I realized what the creature wanted. The usually slightly open door to the study was tightly closed.

‘I’ll have to install a side door or something.’

As soon as I opened the door, the little creature flew into the gap and disappeared into the kitchen.

“Tsk.”

I leaned back in the moonlit chair, reminiscent of Baek Hana.

I had used the power of greed, and my soul, which had taken on the burden of insufficient compensation, was now fatigued. As a result, the balance I had barely recovered was disrupted by about 20%.

There shouldn’t be any problems with my actions, but considering what I have to do from now on, I’ll probably need to get a good night’s sleep for at least six months.

“Hoo.”

I closed my eyes, basking in the moonlight.

‘My debt just keeps increasing.’

While I slept, my soul, with its unique characteristics, had used the ring I had given to Baek Hana to watch over her and witness the events that had transpired.

The duel with Na Joo-hee.

Na Joo-hee’s rampage.

A character with a strong sense of pride and a sense of superiority.

In the original story, Baek Hana had been a trainee priestess at the temple, so there was no connection between them. However, Na Joo-hee had shown her rampage several times after being defeated by a classmate she looked down on in her third year.

So, Na Joo-hee’s rampage today was expected, and there was no problem with it. In fact, the training room had been destroyed, but Kim Sung-won and Choi Min-sik had taken care of it.

The problem was with that arrogant brat who didn’t know her place.

A bunch of brats who thought they could rule over this small piece of land just because they had the backing of those who reigned as kings.

“……Hoo.”

I opened my eyes, which I had closed.

Using the power of greed had the side effect of intensifying my emotions if I wasn’t careful. It wasn’t a good sign, but regardless, I didn’t intend to leave this matter solely to Claire.

‘It’s a bit early, but…’

I opened the drawer.

Inside was my smartphone, which should have been in my jacket pocket. I must have taken off my coat when I woke up, so she probably put it away for me.

[ Name: Kim Sung-won ]

I pressed the name of the guy I strangely didn’t feel any affection for.

-Yes, Professor.

The guy answered before the signal could ring twice.

“Tell Jayden to contact me now.”

-…Is it okay for me to give him your contact information?

“What a strange question.”

-I’m sorry. I, I’ll let him know right away.

I hung up on Kim Sung-won, and about three minutes later, my phone rang.

[ 010-xxxx-xxxx ]

An unregistered number appeared on the screen. Well, it wasn’t surprising since there were only three registered numbers anyway.

-…Is this Baek Woo-Jin, theProfessor?

“Yes.”

-……This is Jayden Martel. I heard you were looking for me.

“Where’s the confidence you showed the first time we met?”

-Th, that’s……!!

Jayden stuttered, his voice shrill with embarrassment. He was quick to catch on, probably because he had been in actual combat situations for a long time.

“Jayden.”

-Yes……

“Tell your master in the Clock Tower that I have something interesting to show him. Tell him to bring a competent restoration and psychometry-type Awakened individual by tomorrow evening.”

-M, master… Huff!! How, how do you know about, about my master?!

Officially, his master was listed as deceased.

I ignored Jayden’s surprise and continued.

“The one who created the barrier will show you something fun. So, if you want a seat at the table, don’t bother me with unnecessary questions and just deliver the message properly.”

-Ah……

Jayden hesitated for a moment, then―

Slap! Slap!

A crisp sound, like someone being slapped, could be heard. And then Jayden’s voice followed.

-Yes, yes, I understand. But, if you don’t mind me asking, do you mean psychometry-type when you say competent restoration? I’m still not very good with the Korean language, so I’m sorry.

“Yes.”

-Yes, is there anything else you’d like to say?

There was nothing more to say, so I put my finger on the end call button and said to Jayden,

“Look forward to the summer festival.”

-Yes? No, that’s―

The screen went dark as the call ended, and I could no longer hear Jayden’s voice.

I had been admiring the moonlight coming through the window when I turned my chair around.

Claire, who had been standing in the shadows cast by the moonlight, now appeared in the doorway, which I had left slightly ajar.

She stood there, stiff as a board, looking at me. Then―

“Ah……”

She widened her eyes in surprise.

“You’re, you’re awake?”
“Thanks to someone.”
“……?”

Claire, with her blue eyes shimmering in the moonlight, blinked in confusion, not understanding what I meant.

“I closed the door to the study when I left, and that little creature came and woke me up because it was hungry.”
“Ah……!!”

Claire’s eyes widened in shock.

It was the first time I had seen her so surprised.

“I, I’m sorry.”

Her neatly combed golden hair fell over her shoulders as she bowed.

I stood up from the chair and said to Claire, who was still bowing at the waist,

“Didn’t I tell you not to apologize or bow your head?”
“I, I’m sorry… no, that……”

Claire stood there, neither straightening up nor bowing down, in an awkward, mechanical pose, stuttering. She looked quite cute like that.

“You, Baek Hana, and that creature in the kitchen are all terribly disobedient.”
“Ah, I, I……”

“Come closer.”
“Yes, yes……”

Claire, who had been confused, now looked embarrassed as she stepped closer to me.

“Closer.”
“……Yes.”

She had been standing across the desk from me, but now she stood by my side.

In the moonlight, her cold beauty seemed even more stunning.

I got up from the chair. Claire, who had been looking down at me, quickly raised her head to meet my gaze.

I reached out and touched her face.

“……?!”

Her eyes widened even further, and her shoulders flinched as if she were a small, frightened animal every time my fingers brushed against her skin.

Claire’s cheeks, which had turned bright red, twitched. I pulled up the corners of her mouth and said,

“This is your punishment.”
“……?”

Claire looked at me with an expression that suggested she couldn’t understand what was happening. It was as if she were a foolish little animal.

“Until midnight passes tonight.”

I let go of the corners of her mouth and continued,

“This is your punishment. You have to keep this smile.”
“I, I…… Ugh, ugh……”

Claire’s lips twitched as if she were having a spasm.

Her natural smile contorted into an odd shape, almost like a grimace now. Well, it was a new side of her that I could admire.

After enjoying this new aspect of her, I sat back down.

“You have a report to make, don’t you?”

Claire’s face was flushed with a beautiful crimson hue, and white steam rose from it.

As I considered this for a moment, I opened my mouth and said,

“Bring me a cup of coffee.”
“Yes, yes……”

Claire, who had been standing there in a daze, turned and left the study in a hurry.

It took Claire two hours to return.