The more time I spend around the instructors and assistant instructors at this academy, the more I realize they’re tense all day long.
Because they never know when or where the students might attack.
Which honestly felt unfair.
Why should only the instructors and assistant instructors be nervous? It’s only fair if the students are on edge too.
So I decided to make use of the fact that I’m in charge of the basic arithmetic class to keep the students properly nervous.
The questions I ask them are simple enough that even a ten-year-old could answer them.
But if they let their guard down, they’ll obviously stammer when I suddenly call on them, and the price for that is a kick to the shin from me.
You think I’m going too far?
According to Escort Guard Jin Yu, it was a conspiracy planned by every single first-year student.
Didn’t they bring it on themselves?
Class began.
“Here, a merchant is selling one bolt of silk for silver tael…”
Snoooore… snoooore…
“…?”
I stopped mid-sentence and turned my head.
One student was openly sleeping.
The other students snickered when they saw it.
Still haven’t learned, huh.
Smiling to myself, I walked over to him.
“It’s class time. Get up.”
“Ah, what the hell! What is it?”
“Five minus one?”
“Shut the— gah!”
His words cut off when my foot smashed into his shin.
Watching him groan and clutch his leg, I quietly smiled.
“Two plus two?”
“What kind of bullsh… ugh!”
“Three plus one?”
“Four! It’s four!”
“Correct. From now on, I’m not letting it slide if you doze off in class.”
“…”
“Answer?”
“Yes…”
Only after taking two solid kicks to the shin did that student finally surrender.
I hadn’t even kicked that hard, but hitting the same spot twice must have hurt pretty badly.
Besides, I’d mixed in a bit of the essence from the technique I just learned from Warrior Jin Yeong, so the impact wasn’t exactly light.
“Try using this if you ever need to kick someone in the shin. It’s an application of an Imperial Palace martial art…”
Apparently, it’s the method the Embroidered Guard warriors mainly use when subduing criminals.
Some people might think using that kind of technique on students’ shins is too much.
But isn’t it all about how you use something?
If it’s for guiding the students, then it’s just a method for guiding the students.
Class ended.
The first-year students collapsed face-down on their desks. They had focused so hard that they were completely drained.
And…
Their shins burned like they were on fire.
But when they actually rolled up their pants, there weren’t any real wounds, which only made it more infuriating.
“What the hell is with that assistant instructor…”
“Damn it!”
While the students grumbled in annoyance, one of them was feeling something completely different.
It was a student named Yeon-sik, whose father was a warrior of the Embroidered Guard.
He kept rubbing his shin, still feeling the pain throbbing there.
At the same time, an old memory came back to him.
‘T-this is definitely… like when Father punished me…’
His father was soft-hearted by nature, but there were a few incidents where he messed up so badly that his father really lost his temper.
There was a time his father had kicked him in the shin, and this felt just like that.
No, actually, it hurt way more now.
As far as he knew, this was a technique used by the Embroidered Guard.
‘But that assistant instructor doesn’t look like someone from the Embroidered Guard…’
Evening came.
Yeon-sik headed to the dining hall with the group he usually hung out with.
Even if the food tasted terrible, their money and outings were restricted, so they had no choice but to come to the dining hall and eat.
“Ha, it tastes like garbage again today.”
“Yeah, seriously.”
“Eating this beggar’s slop every day, I feel like my standards are dropping with it. Before I came to this academy, I actually had a bit of a reputation as a gourmet, you know…”
“I want Cheonhwa Pavilion’s stir-fried meat so bad.”
They kept on complaining as they walked back toward the dorms.
On the way, they passed the assistant instructors’ dorm, and just as they were walking by—
“Palgap, toss them a little higher.”
“Got it, sir.”
At that voice, they turned their heads.
A bear-like man was throwing what looked like more than ten wooden boards up into the air.
Then a handsome, familiar face stomped the ground and shot straight up into the sky.
It was the new assistant instructor, Eun Seo-ho.
He spun in the air and lashed out with his legs at the boards.
Smack! Crack!
With a series of crisp sounds, every last board shattered in midair.
Eun Seo-ho landed lightly.
“Young Master, why are you suddenly so focused on your kicking techniques anyway?”
“Oh, I just have a feeling I’ll be using them a lot these days.”
“…”
Watching that, Yeon-sik’s group flinched, feeling that same phantom pain in their shins all over again.
Meanwhile, Yeon-sik’s body started trembling again.
He’d been unsure before, but after seeing that, he was absolutely certain.
The martial art Eun Seo-ho had just used was definitely the same one his father used.
Imperial Palace martial art.
Which meant…
‘That assistant instructor must belong to the Embroidered Guard too, just like Father!’
His father might be soft only when it came to him, but he knew better than anyone how terrifying his father really was.
And Embroidered Guard warriors were the same.
.
.
.
Like that, night fell.
After character training time ended and personal maintenance time began…
The students were huddled together, planning their escape for tonight.
“Hey, how about this tonight?”
“Oh, that’s good!”
The moment someone suggested sneaking out at night to drink, the students’ faces lit right up.
Just hearing the word “alcohol” made their mouths water.
“What do you think, Yeon-sik?”
“I don’t think that’s a great idea.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I just have a bad feeling about it. Today doesn’t feel like the right day. You guys should lay low tonight too.”
“What, because of that assistant instructor who looks like some pretty little girl?”
“He probably doesn’t even know what’s in every corner of this academy yet. You’re worrying over nothing.”
“This bastard’s a coward, now that I get a good look at him.”
“Sigh…”
Yeon-sik started getting genuinely annoyed as they mocked him for being a coward.
‘I actually called these bastards my friends…’
He let out a sigh and spoke.
“Think whatever you want, coward or not. Anyway, I warned you. If you regret it later, that’s not my problem.”
After roll call before lights-out, the lamps went dark, and just as planned, the first-year students quietly slipped out of the dorm.
The dormitory lights went out.
Now it was time for the assistant instructors’ real work to begin.
I looked up at the bright moon hanging in the sky.
Ah, tonight’s a great night for reforming unruly students.
“Assistant Instructor Eun.”
“Yes.”
“Then, I’ll leave it to you.”
“Ah, yes.”
I sent Assistant Instructor Wi back and turned my gaze toward the dorms.
I immediately started laughing.
Because I could feel the movement of students sneaking out.
“Wow, there really was a dog hole there.”
At my words, Escort Guard Seo Wu also quietly laughed.
“Right? That’s what I was thinking.”
There was no way the Academy Master didn’t know about that dog hole, so why had he left it there?
I decided to ask the Academy Master about it later.
“For now, shall we go catch them?”
With that, I set out in earnest, taking Escort Guard Seo Wu and Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am with me.
“There they are.”
In less than half an hour, we had already caught up with the runaway students.
But if we went straight from here, they’d see us coming… we needed to approach from the rooftops.
We moved along walls and roofs, then spotted them drinking next to one of the classrooms.
“What exactly do you think you’re doing?”
“Eek!”
“W-what the—?”
“Mother!”
Why were they that shocked?
Ah, right, fair enough.
They were secretly drinking while a few of them kept watch, and instead of appearing from the direction they were guarding, we showed up from a completely different angle.
That was that, but discipline was discipline.
“Drinking is against academy rules.”
“Ah, hell! So what?”
“Come on, Assistant Instructor, at least read the room a little before you start lecturing us.”
“Don’t come crying after we beat you to a pulp. Just get lost.”
Ah…
So that was why Assistant Instructor Wi had swung his wooden sword without a word. It was so he wouldn’t have to listen to this kind of crap.
I picked up the issued wooden sword and let out a sigh.
“To be honest, I don’t really like violence.”
“Kui?”
At my words, Geumryeong’s voice came from inside my sleeve.
Ahem. Quiet, you.
“Correction. I don’t use violence on people. I deal with people using words. But… that led me to a realization.”
I smiled brightly.
“Sometimes, there are things that look like people but absolutely shouldn’t be treated as people. So don’t resent me for being too harsh. Once you start acting like proper human beings, I’ll deal with you with words.”
At the same time, my body shot forward toward them.
Thwack—!
.
.
.
My unplanned life as an assistant instructor was going surprisingly smoothly.
Since most of my duties were concentrated in the afternoon, my mornings were relatively free.
I had just finished breakfast and was on my way back to my dorm to enjoy some tea when it happened.
“The acting Academy Master asked that you come by his office for a bit after breakfast.”
“Ah, really? Thank you for letting me know.”
I immediately headed to the Academy Master’s office. No attendants were standing outside, so I had to announce myself.
“Uh…”
“If you’re here, come in.”
As if he already knew I was there, the old man’s voice came from inside.
Scratching my head, I walked in.
“You called for me?”
“Sit.”
As I sat on the chair in front of the low table, the old man quietly looked at me.
He looked perfectly natural sitting in as the Academy Master’s proxy, which somehow felt fresh to me.
“Want some tea?”
“Yes.”
He personally poured the tea for me.
When I brought the cup to my lips, I realized it was the same tea I’d had before.
Then—
“I heard the students have been calling you ‘Black and White Impermanence’ lately.”
“Cough, cough!”
The sudden comment hit me out of nowhere, and I choked.
“Careful when you drink, tsk tsk.”
“It’s just… you suddenly said something like that, sir…”
“Why? I was complimenting you.”
“That’s a compliment?”
“It means the students here fear you that much, doesn’t it?”
Black and White Impermanence are the two envoys who escort the dead to the underworld.
“Your praises are spreading fast among the instructors and assistants too.”
“Ah, I see…”
“Anyway, the reason I called you is because I have a favor to ask.”
The old man handed me a letter. I took it and unfolded it.
“A wedding?”
“Yes, that’s right. One of the students’ sisters is getting married. The policy of this academy is that they must be allowed to return home for family rites like weddings and funerals.”
“I see.”
“So, I want you to escort that student there and back.”
I stared at the letter for a moment, then spoke.
“Is this because some students don’t come back after using weddings as an excuse to go home?”
“People’s thoughts aren’t all that different, you know.”
“I understand. But why me, specifically? I have classes to teach too…”
“What empty-headed Forest bandit would dare make a move when there are three Peak realm warriors around? Ah, and I’ll cover your classes in the meantime.”
So basically, he was planning to use me to squeeze four people’s worth of labor for free.
But, sir, this isn’t free.
Seok Chu-gil’s heart was pounding.
‘Finally! I finally get to go out!’
Day after day of miserable time in this academy had worn him down, so the letter about his sister’s wedding was like a ray of light.
“Hey, when you get outside, you better bring that back for us.”
“Yeah, yeah, just wait.”
Once he got out, he’d be able to buy alcohol and smoke.
And…
‘I’m going to tell Father and Mother everything about this damned academy!’
His family was influential enough to throw some weight around in Hubei Province.
And since his parents doted on him, the youngest, they would definitely tell him to withdraw from this crappy academy right away.
When the time came, he packed his things and came out.
But then he froze when he saw the person waiting.
The assistant instructor known by the nickname Black and White Impermanence was standing there in front of him.
“Student Seok Chu-gil?”
“Y-yes, that’s me.”
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Under the envious gazes of the other students, he left the academy.
“Ha! This air outside the academy is amazing!”
The air itself felt different.
His home was three days away by carriage from the academy, and they would spend three days traveling by coach.
There were all sorts of restrictions along the way, but the one he resented most was being forbidden from drinking at the inns.
He quietly nurtured a grudge toward Eun Seo-ho.
‘Hmph! Just you wait! I’m going to tell Father all about your atrocities!’
Just imagining Eun Seo-ho kneeling and begging in front of his father made his chest feel lighter.
I watched student Seok Chu-gil grinning to himself and let out a sigh.
It was painfully obvious what was going on in his head.
“We’ve arrived.”
Soon, the carriage stopped, and we stepped down.
In front of us stood an elegant tile-roofed house.
And on the signboard hanging above the gate—
Huh?
I’d been thinking that Seok Chu-gil’s face and name felt strangely familiar.
Now, here I was, standing in front of a tie to my previous life.
–TL Notes–
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