Free Web NovelChapter 16: 16. Now the Vice Headmaster Is Bowing at Me Asking to Be My Assistant
The parents in the room were looking at each other with doubt. William could tell that Catherine was looking at him with an expression he couldn’t quite figure out, something between professional approval and personal interest.
William pushed his point by saying, "So... here me out."
"The real question is whether you want your kids to be in a comfortable, traditional class where they can learn at a steady pace, or in a new setting where they’ll be pushed to do better than they think they can."
"So that the progress can happen faster." William said it while doing gestures with both hands. "Well, I can’t promise the first option because, to be honest, it’s boring and doesn’t work very well..."
"But I can promise that the second one will make your kids develop into the powerful warriors you think they can be."
The woman who sold jewelry was the first to break the silence between them. "Well... when you put it that way... maybe we were too quick to worry and even judge."
"Know about the Princess Kaela herself liked your methods is... already a big deal."
Others began to nod in agreement, and their anger faded as they convinced themselves that this was a great chance for their kids. William watched as they came up with reasons to support something they had been against just five minutes before.
This was really interesting... from a psychological point of view.
After that, the meeting ended pretty quickly. Parents got promises from William that he would send them regular progress reports and that their kids would go back to traditional tracks if they didn’t see any results.
William agreed to reasonable oversight, but he was careful not to make any promises that would give them too much power over how he taught.
Catherine let out a breath she had been holding and took off her glasses to rub her eyes as the last parent left the meeting room. "That went a lot better than I thought it would..."
"How did you know exactly what to say to get them to agree?" Catherine said while looking at William.
William stood up and stretched. "How do I explain this...? But, whatever, I guess..."
"It’s up to you if you want to trust this or not, but I’ve dealt with military officers and nobles for years who thought they knew more than me."
"You learn pretty quickly that people aren’t really concerned about results or education." William raised his finger. "What they really cared about are their status and their biggest thing which was their ego."
"Tell them a story about how their kids are special and how smart they are for backing you... and boom! They’ll believe like fucking anything! Even some bullshit!" William laughed and then realized he shouldn’t say that to the vice-headmaster. "Sorry for my bad language."
Catherine put her glasses back on and looked at him with a look that was definitely different from the one she had when they first came in. Her professional mask had faded, and there was real interest mixed with something else in her eyes.
"You’re not what I thought you were, Instructor Wade," she said softly. "All of the reports said you were incompetent and unmotivated... but what I just saw today was... someone who had a lot of experience in leadership and even politics."
William shrugged and said, "Uh, thank you... I’ll take that as a compliment, maybe...? But, yeah, people can change, you know."
"It’s best to also see it for yourself other than hearing from somebody else because it could be false."
"And... oh, never mind." William almost wanted to reveal something, but he would rather not tell the whole reincarnation thing. "Maybe, yeah... I was just using a convenient excuse to avoid responsibility to hide my potential."
"No matter what, I’m trying now, and that’s what matters to me." William smiled.
"I see..." Catherine also got up and picked up her briefcase and tablet, but she seemed hesitant to leave, as if there was something else she wanted to say but couldn’t figure out how to mention it.
’That look... I can feel something developed...’
’I can predict what’ll happen next so I’ll just ask her straight away now.’
"Is everything okay, Vice Headmaster?" William asked.
She automatically corrected herself and said, "Ehem! Catherine..." then looked a little embarrassed that she had made the offer so quickly.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Y-you should call me Catherine... it’s because... we’re going to work together to run this program..." Catherine starts twitching. "After a while... the formality gets o-old..."
’HEH! I READ HER LIKE A BOOK!’
’Not bad... it seems like I really still have my a-game with an older woman.’ William smirked. ’I like it.’ freewebnovel.cσ๓
"Okay... Catherine," William said, and he could tell she relaxed a little when he said her name. "Did you want to talk about something else?"
She thought about it for a little longer before making a choice. "Word will get out about how well you’re doing with the high-profile students, and your class will get harder."
"To help you manage your workload and do administrative tasks, you’ll need an assistant instructor... so..." Catherine takes a deep breath. "I’d like to..."
She then bow at him. "...volunteer for that job!"
’Another twist again... oh wow... am I a woman magnet in the second life now?’ William thought. ’Can’t complain at all...’
"What?!" William blinked in shock, just for the drama. "B-but you’re the vice headmaster!"
"Isn’t it a little bit of a step down for you to be an assistant instructor?" William said it and trying as hard as he can to not sound sarcastic.
"I’m the vice headmaster, and most of my time is spent dealing with paperwork and complaints from parents instead of actually teaching," Catherine said, and there was real anger in her voice now. "I became an instructor because I wanted to help students to learn and grow..."
"But instead... I was promoted to an administrative job that keeps me chained to a desk dealing with politics and red tape..."
"It feels like torture these days..." Catherine sighed.
"That’s why..." She looked him straight in the eye, and William could see how worn out and lonely she was. "I want to teach again! And with that, I’ll do anything for that to happen!"
"From what I just saw, it looks like you could use someone who knows how to deal with academy politics and keep the administrative side of things running smoothly without having to deal with too much pressure from the outside."
"It would be good for both of us!" Catherine held his hands. "I promise you that!"
William looked at her closely and saw things he hadn’t seen before. Her hands had calluses from sword training, her posture suggested she had fought before, and the way she moved showed that she had spent a lot of time working out before becoming stuck behind a desk.
There was no warning when the system turned on.
[Possible Student Found: Catherine Blackwood, Rank A]
’Huh?! Student?! H-how?!’
[Specialization: Swordsmanship, Administrative Combat Theory, Strategic Planning]
[Main Problem: her skills are deteriorating due to administrative work, she is losing confidence in combat, and she is forgetting her identity as a warrior]
[High-Value Training Opportunity Found]
[And she’s still your student if you saw it in a different point of view]
’Yeah, right...’
That cleared up many things because Catherine wasn’t just tired of doing paperwork. She had lost touch with the warrior she used to be and was looking for a way to get back to that person.
William said, "Are you sure that you’re really going to do this...?"
"You really want to be my assistant instructor instead of staying in your comfortable administrative job."
"Comfort is overrated when you’re miserable," Catherine said, her voice getting a little stronger. "I didn’t spend years of my life learning how to fight just to spend the rest of my career writing reports and keeping track of budgets."
"I can assist you with the political aspects while I rediscover what it means to be a warrior, rather than merely managing those who are warriors."
