Chapter 124 : Chapter 124

Chapter 124: Evan (1)

“Self-study again?”

“Sigh──, what do you expect from that professor?”

“Is this the first or second time?”

Leaving the disgruntled murmurs of my classmates behind me, I calmed my surging emotions.

‘Really? That person is the man in armor?’

But it was still hard to believe, so I blinked my eyes and watched him.

A roughly grown beard that seemed unkempt and wet hair that had clearly just been washed.

Thick eyebrows, a handsomely straight nose, and strong facial lines created a neurotic impression, exuding an unapproachable atmosphere along with his emotionless gaze.

His name was Evan.

He was the Martial Arts Department's dedicated professor for the 3rd-year course, <Situations and Tactical Judgment>.

He irresponsibly had the cadets self-study and then dragged an empty chair onto the podium.

Then he put his legs up on the lectern, opened a book, and began to read.

‘Strawberry 1,000%’

That was the title of the book he was reading.

A love-comedy school story, but it was so obscene that it was banned from being brought into the Academy for disturbing its morals, a representative erotic novel of 'Heroes of Frey'.

The setting of the novel was also here at Frey Heroes Academy, so the regulations were particularly strict, but the scene of a professor openly reading such a banned book in front of the students was beyond absurd, to the point of making me chuckle.

Anyway, the important thing wasn't what he was reading.

‘Is it really him?’

It was only for a brief moment, but I read a sense of familiarity in his eyes as he looked at me.

Also, the time he kept his eyes on me was longer than with the other students.

‘Though, it was only a few seconds.’

Anyway, you can hide your appearance, but it's hard to hide your gaze.

His blue eyes, like the vast ocean and his calm gaze were a perfect match for the man in armor.

‘Come to think of it, there are some parts of Evan's setting that overlap with the man in armor.’

Most of the Academy's professors were Academy alumni and here, 'most' meant 95% of the total distribution.

So, in fact, it was practically all of them.

Except for special cases from the Capital Defense Force, knight schools, or the Cathedral like Professor Ilai, everyone graduated from the Academy, belonged to the Central Knights Headquarters or the Magic Tower and built up their honor and achievements.

Afterward, it was common to be invited to the Academy to serve as a professor.

Naturally, in the grand scheme of things, they were all in the category of seniors and juniors.

And they had forged friendships at the Knights Headquarters and Magic Tower right after graduation.

There was bound to be a certain degree of intimacy, respect, and camaraderie.

However, Evan was not.

He was not an Academy alumnus, nor did he belong to the Knights Headquarters or the Magic Tower, nor was he from the Grand Cathedral or a powerful noble family.

Nor had he made a name for himself with honorable achievements.

You could say he was a unique 1% case, unprecedented in the Academy's history.

A wanderer.

He was a former war mercenary.

So he was an outsider among the professors.

In a way, it was natural, as all the professors were people who were a big deal in the Frey Empire.

Even now, they were on active duty, and being a professor was simply an honorary position.

That's right.

Honor.

They had a certain pride in being Academy professors and they were dedicated to nurturing the next generation for the future of the empire.

In their eyes, there was no way that Evan, a former war mercenary of no account, would be viewed favorably.

War mercenaries were, after all, a group of people at the end of their rope, who had gone to the extreme among those crazy for money.

For them, who lived on the precarious edge of a sword, honor was a worthless pretense, and the most important value was money.

So Evan was a professor, but he was not recognized as one.

Not only by his fellow professors but also by the cadets.

“This is annoying, self-study every day.”

“What's there to be annoyed about? It's better this way. What is there to learn from that person?”

“True, that's also true. Then what should we do?”

“Let's just leave. It's not like he cares whether we leave or not, right?”

More than half of the cadets left the classroom like that, but Professor Evan didn't care at all.

He just continued to turn the pages of Strawberry 1,000% with a dead-serious expression.

‘What. Then the man in armor didn't intentionally not use his aura, but couldn't use it?’

Evan couldn't use aura.

The reason was unknown.

Rumor had it that he hadn't learned the Qi Gong technique itself, which was incomprehensible in many ways.

Because with just money, anyone could learn the Imperial Qi Gong, which was the foundation of the Royal Swordsmanship.

The Royal Qi Gong was a breathing method devised by the great hero, Aidan Frey himself.

As such, the Royal Qi Gong had excellent utility, and most people who did physical work learned this Royall Qi Gong.

‘Then why didn't he learn it?’

Being a former war mercenary, it wasn't like he didn't have money.

And, in that case, how on earth did he become a professor?

‘Rumor has it that he has the backing of Section Chief Baron or Department Head Pirion.’

Now that I look at him, this person is full of mysteries.

Was it because of that?

I felt a strong interest in the person named Evan.

I had a feeling.

This person has something.

I had a hunch from the moment I saw him wearing that worn-out armor.

Of course, it was an artifact, but in any case, it was not ordinary.

And the immense combat power he showed despite having no aura.

Especially the intense fight, reeking of thick sweat and male scent, seemed to show a glimpse of the life he had lived, which strongly attracted my interest.

In the original work, I wasn't even interested.

And rightly so, since he was a 3rd-year dedicated professor, he had no reason to encounter the protagonist character, Ivan.

Also, Evan was a character who quit his professorship after the first semester and disappeared, and there was no mention of what happened to him after that.

Deeng──!

Just then, the bell rang, signaling the end of the lecture.

The remaining classmates packed their things in a hurry as if they had been waiting and left the classroom, but I remained in my seat until the very end and waited.

Before long, only Evan and I were left in the classroom.

He was still reading his book with his legs up on the lectern.

I stared at him for a moment and then went down to the podium.

“Hello, Professor.”

“Not great.”

Evan answered without even looking at me.

His eyes were still fixed on the erotic novel.

Not great?

‘What kind of answer is that?’

It was a response completely devoid of style, so I ignored it and continued.

Straight to the point.

“You’re the man in armor, aren't you?”

He immediately shot back.

“What's that?”

“Paragon city.”

“Don't know. Anything like that.”

Evan denied it and turned the page of his book.

I looked at him for a moment and then turned my gaze away.

The bright sunlight that had entered the classroom was breaking against the blackboard.

It was a full-blown summer.

“Isn't it very hot today?”

“……”

“A leather jacket in the summer. It looks hot just looking at it.”

Evan was wearing a sleeveless shirt inside and a leather jacket on the outside.

“Mind your own business. It's none of your concern what clothes others wear.”

“That's true. But I'm a bit sensitive about these things. Aren't you hot? Phew. Look at the sweat. Your hair is all wet.”

He glanced at me and then shot up from his chair.

And he was about to leave the classroom, but of course, I wasn't going to just let him go.

“You know. I haven't told the Section Chief about what happened during the outing yet. You know Section Chief Baron, right? I'm personally quite close with him, and in fact, he's quite interested in me.”

He had stopped walking at some point and turned to look at me.

“……What are you trying to say?”

“Hmm? I'm not trying to say anything in particular. Just that Section Chief Baron is very interested in me. Of course, he'll ask about what happened during this outing, and I'll tell Section Chief Baron the story of being attacked by the man in armor. I wonder what his reaction will be then……”

It was then.

Evan suddenly took off the jacket he was wearing.

Then, the intimidating physique that had been hidden under the jacket was revealed.

The sweat-soaked sleeveless shirt clung to his body, and the packed muscles each radiated a different presence in all directions.

Pure one hundred percent combat muscles, forged only through real battles, with all unnecessary muscles trimmed away.

In addition, the numerous scars engraved on his shoulders and entire forearms like brands.

Just as a sense of solemnity arose from the body that clearly showed the life and weight a man had walked, he grabbed the bandage wrapped around his forearm and tore it off roughly.

“Alright. As you say, I am the man in armor.”

The stab wound under the bandage was the one I had given him at the Pleasure Den.

“So. What do you want from me?”

***

In the empty classroom, we sat facing each other.

“Section Chief Baron seems to know, doesn't he? That you're the man in armor.”

Evan was silent.

Silence is consent.

So, the rumor that Section Chief Baron was involved in him becoming a professor was true.

That was a good thing for me.

“What’s that book?”

“……You don’t need to know. More importantly, answer my question. What do you want?”

“You answered my question with a question. You're quite the hypocrite.”

A vein popped on his forehead.

“……The book is just a hobby.”

“Is reading erotic novels your hobby?”

“……”

“Aaaah. I respect that. You’re a man. Of course, you can.”

Seeing the veins bulge on his fist and forearm, I quickly waved my hands and spoke again.

“Why are you bounty hunting? Is it for money?”

“I asked what you wanted. An apology?”

“Eh? No. What an apology. You already gave us all the bounty money and you're asking a question again without answering.”

“It’s a difficult question to answer.”

Difficult means that it can be answered depending on the circumstances.

At least, that's what I know.

“Ah. I just remembered my promise with Section Chief Baron. I'll be going now……”

“……That’s right. For money.”

Damn it, Evan turns his head and lets out a small curse.

“The professor's salary can't be that low, can it?”

“The more money, the better.”

That's true.

The power of money is the same in reality and in this world.

Not everything, but most things can be easily solved with money.

‘But what about the Qi Gong? If you're going to bounty hunt as a side job, it would be much better to learn something like the Imperial Qi Gong.’

If your specs go up, the grade and range of wanted criminals you can aim for naturally increase.

You'd make more money.

‘He's hiding something else.’

The reason he doesn't learn the Qi Gong.

No, the reason he can't learn it.

“Are your questions answered? Then I can go, right?”

“No. Just a moment.”

Evan, who was about to get up, sat back down on the chair and frowned.

“Huu. Is there anything else you're curious about? Or, is there something you want besides an apology? I'll say this in advance, I have no good weapons, and no money.”

“Not something like that. Please give me some combat training.”

“Combat training?”

A question mark appeared in his eyes.

“Yes. Why? You can't? You're a professor, so it's not a strange request.”

“I am a professor who teaches ‘Situations and Tactical Judgment’, not a supervising professor.”

“What if I pay you?”

“Money?”

“Yes. It seems you have a reason to earn a lot of money, so I'm saying I'll pay a separate tuition fee. How about it?”

Evan stared at me.

His expression was still a terribly blank one.

In a way, it looked like he was giving me a straight face.

However, I saw his eyes momentarily sparkle at the word ‘money’.

So I was certain.

He needed money.

A lot of it.

So much so that his professor's salary wasn't enough, and he had to take on the dangerous side job of bounty hunting every weekend.

“You can think of it as a special lecture.”

“What’s the reason?”

“Hmm. Because I want to get stronger?”

“Then you could have asked other professors. In fact, they, who have received systematic training, are better than me.”

“But those gentlemen have a lot of money. And they care a lot about what others think, talking about honor and dignity. Do you think people like that would listen to my request?”

In a way, it was a blatantly dismissive tone.

To put my words in reverse, it meant, you have no money, and you don't care about honor or dignity, so of course, you'll listen to my request.

But Evan didn't mind at all this time either.

On the contrary.

“And.”

“And what?”

“It doesn't seem like that's the end of it. I'd like to hear an honest answer.”

I smiled.

He seemed stoic, but he was a person with quite sharp insight.

Of course, that's not the end of it.

The real reason is curiosity, and the goal is Evan himself.

[Gaius's Insight] is silent.

However, the gamer's instinct and the thief's intuition within me are screaming intensely.

I have to hold on to this person.

So I wanted to know more about Evan, and to do that, I needed to force a connection like this.

“How did you know? Well, that's right. There is another reason. Actually, what I want to learn right now isn't swordsmanship.”

“Then?”

“How to fight well.”

──It was the first time.

That something like a smile formed on his lips.

“Then you've come to the right place.”

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