Free Web NovelChapter 23: 23. The Rumor Mill Can Eat My Ass Because I Already Have Enough Problems
William thought about this for a while. It was probably a terrible idea to add another student to his already full list of students.
Olivia, on the other hand, had shown that she was smart, willing to take risks for what she thought was right, and willing to take the lead. Those were good qualities to have, even if she had done a terrible job of carrying them out.
"Alright fine..." William said, probably making another choice he would later regret. "But we do this the right way... my way to be exact."
"Yes, sir!"
"First off... you’ll go to my regular classes, take part in group training sessions, and really follow the rules instead of going off on your own to do your own research." William crossed his arms. "Did I make myself a deal?"
"Deal," Olivia said right away, and she lend her hand to shook hands with him..
William’s the one who shook it first and noticed that her grip was strong and that she had calluses on her hands, which meant that she had at least done some physical training, even if her fighting skills weren’t excellent.
"I see... okay... you got some potential that you could improve."
"The first session is tomorrow night at 6:00 PM in private training ground three."
"Bring all of your gear and get ready to find out how little you know."
Olivia nodded. "Loud and clear, Instructor Wade~!"
"Good."
They said goodbye not long after that. Olivia went to the instructor housing wing, and William trudged back to his basement room.
He fell onto his bed fully clothed, too worn out to change, and fell asleep before his head hit the pillow. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
And that’s one of his secret technique...
...
The next morning came far too soon, and the system cheerfully told him that he had new training and administrative duties to take care of. William groaned and thought about faking his own death again, but eventually he got out of bed and went through his morning routine.
[Wake up, Sleepy-head! You don’t want to stuck with this old system, right?]
"Hahhh... now that I think I don’t really need this system at all, but let’s see what’s the upgrade really is..."
After he finished preparing for today, Catherine found him in the instructor dining hall, where he was halfway through breakfast and looked a little worried. "Instructor Wade."
William didn’t look at her because he was too focused eating breakfast so he just grunted. "Mrgh?"
"I heard that something happened last night between you and some academy workers..."
"The headmaster’s office sent out a memo that didn’t say much about the new security measures..."
"Gulp..." William swallow the food and then replied. "Yeah, it’s a long story..."
"How long is it?"
"Long enough to includes conspiracy theories, eavesdropping, and me beating up three people in a hallway," William said between bites of toast. "I’ll go into more detail later, but the short version is that we have solid proof that hostile operatives are really getting into the academy."
"It isn’t a rumor no more... and yes... it sucks ass."
"That’s very disturbing," Catherine said as she sat down across from him. "Are you okay? The memo said that you protected another instructor."
"Yeah, I’m fine, and so is she." William said, "By the way, I should probably mention that I got another student last night."
"Huh...? Again...?"
"Well, this morning... since it all happened around midnight."
Catherine’s eyebrow went up in a way that was becoming a common sign of annoyance that she had given up on. "Another one? William... if you keep this up, you’re going to run out of hours in the day."
"Heck..." William said in a low voice, "Tell me about it, but she’s also an instructor like you, so I’m curious if she could also help with assistant work."
"For example... she could help by sharing the responsibilities of managing tasks and teaching how to survive an attack in the hallway."
"Now that you said that..." Catherine said, "That’s not a bad idea at all."
"It would be helpful to have another instructor who knows how things work at the academy, especially if we’re dealing with threats from within." Catherine nodded then asked. "What does she do best?"
"Hmmmm... magical theory and what seems like an amateur spying," William said. "The name’s Olivia Gracewell... a new instructor she said and she’s been here for about three weeks."
Catherine’s face changed to one of recognition. "Oh, I know her... Olivia Gracewell... she moved to this academy from another one with great reviews."
"She was a brilliant theorist, but I heard she had trouble putting her ideas into practice." Catherine held her chin. "She’d be very useful if you could help her turn her theoretical knowledge into real combat skills."
William confirmed, "Yup... That’s the plan alright," as he finished his breakfast. "She should show up at some point today to talk about her duties as an assistant instructor."
"I just wanted to let you know so you’re not surprised when another woman shows up out of the blue and says she’s working with me..."
"Mm-hmm..." Catherine said in a dry voice, "Thanks for the warning."
"Jelly?" William grinned.
"Hm? Jelly...?" Catherine raised her eyebrow.
"Nevermind." William then thought to himself. ’I forgot they won’t know a single joke about my previous life."
"To be honest, William... you seem to be getting a lot better at getting female students and assistants." Catherine grinned. "I bet this will be a big deal for the rumor mill at the academy."
’Yeah, she fucking knows...’
William said cheerfully, "Oh yeah? Well then... the academy rumor mill can eat my ass and go to hell."
He continued while swallowing his last toast. "I don’t need to worry about rumors because I’ve got enough problems."
As if his words had called her, Olivia appeared at the entrance to the dining hall, saw them, and walked over with a determined look on her face. She had done a lot of cleaning since last night.
Her hair was styled in a messy bun that looked both professional and casually attractive. She wore a crisp, perfectly fitted instructor uniform and walked with more confidence than she had during the crisis.
"Good morning, Instructor Wade and Vice Headmaster Blackwood," Olivia said in a formal way. "It’s good to see you two today together... and I hope I’m not bothering you, but still... I wanted to talk about the training plans we talked about last night, Instructor Wade."
"Perfect timing," William said, waving for her to sit down. "Catherine and I were just talking about how we could use another assistant instructor to help us with the work."
"Would you like to share duties with Catherine and also get combat training?"
Olivia’s eyes lit up with real excitement. "Of course!"
"I have a lot of theoretical knowledge about magical combat systems, which would go well with hands-on training."
"I also know how to run an academy from my last job... Furthermore, having another instructor involved might help with the political side of dealing with such famous students."
Catherine looked at Olivia closely for a moment before nodding. "I don’t mind at all."
"It would be wonderful to have another set of hands, especially after what happened recently."
"Welcome aboard, Assistant Instructor Gracewell."
"Thanks, Vice Headmaster," Olivia said, and then she turned to William. "When should I go to the first class to meet all of your students?"
William replied, "This afternoon’s session starts at 1400 hours." He was already dreading how people would react. "Just so you know, the students are going to have things to say about another assistant instructor showing up so soon."
"I can handle what students think," Olivia said with confidence. "I’m still working on the conspiracy operatives."
William said, "We’ll fix that."
"Eventually."
