30 Years After Reincarnating, It Turns Out This World Was A Rofan?! novel Chapter 37

In the end, Ihan and Odwal were summoned to the dean's office and reprimanded.

In Ihan’s case, it was because he had twisted Odwal's wrist. But since Odwal had grabbed Ihan's collar first, and the incident was a somewhat accidental reaction while he tried to push Odwal away, he received some leniency.

Odwal, on the other hand, faced the dean’s full wrath. Not only had he intruded into another department's territory, but he had also caused a disturbance, a behavior that was inexcusable. Consequently, Odwal was docked six months of pay.

‘Not that a fine will mean much to someone with his level of financial backing,’ Ihan thought.

He had heard long ago that Odwal received substantial financial support on a weekly basis, sums that would dwarf the average monthly salary of a regular teacher. The dean probably knew this too. Yet, for the dean to impose such a light penalty...

‘Did this old man take some bribe, too?’

It was a suspicion Ihan couldn’t shake.

However, he quickly learned that he was mistaken.

“The dean isn’t the type to be swayed by the nobles.”

“The dean’s family is quite wealthy. They’re among the top five in the kingdom. No amount of pressure from even five of the largest merchant guilds would faze them.”

“If anything, the dean would probably have those offering bribes sent to the guillotine by tomorrow, haha.”

...So, the dean was even more extreme than Ihan had imagined?

Ihan blinked, absorbing this new information from his colleagues.

“Then why did he give such a lenient punishment?”

“He did it to protect you, Sir Turtle.”

“Protect me?”

“Yes. I’m sure you’re not afraid of Odwal himself, but dealing with the nobles who support him would be a real headache, wouldn’t it?”

“...?”

Me?

The idea almost made Ihan choke, but he decided to hear them out.

“I think the dean was trying to prevent you from suffering any backlash from the nobles.”

“Even for someone as strong as you, dealing with nobles can be a real problem, can’t it?”

“Nobles are a troublesome bunch.”

His colleagues looked somewhat bitter, probably from their own experiences with nobility. As commoners or fallen nobility who had proven themselves capable, they’d likely faced their share of trouble.

“Well, the dean made a wise decision. Let it go, Sir Turtle. Challenging someone like Odwal without strong backing is a fool’s errand, isn’t it?”

“Hmm.”

They patted him on the shoulder, and Ihan slowly nodded. They smiled, remarking that although he’d seemed a bit rough around the edges during the entrance ceremony, he wasn’t just some reckless brute, but rather a thoughtful knight.

......But.

‘Backing, huh?’

That night, Ihan did something rare. He took out a piece of stationery, wrote a single sentence on the blank sheet, sealed it, and handed it to a very simple-minded maid.

And a few days later.

“It’s you! It has to be you...! There’s no one else it could be...!!”

Odwal returned to disrupt the swordsmanship class, and Ihan simply shrugged in response to the enraged magician.

“Say what?”

His expression was as nonchalant as could be, as if he had no idea what was going on.

He was only...

‘Consulting an old friend about a [small concern], so why is he freaking out?’

Ihan looked at Odwal as if he were crazy. Finally, Odwal clutched his chest and collapsed.

Within half a day, rumors were flying around the academy. Apparently, the nobles who had been backing Odwal had suddenly withdrawn their support.

Poison against poison.

Just as poison is subdued by poison, so too must a powerful figure be subdued by a powerful figure.

...Though it might have been a bit much.

Recently, the academy had been far from boring. To be precise, it was buzzing with gossip about the latest events.

—Apparently, Professor Odwal picked a fight with a knight from the swordsmanship department.

—The knight twisted Odwal’s wrist.

—Some say they’re fighting over Lady Galahad’s adopted daughter.

—Rumor has it that the knight is actually favored by a grand noble.

Rumors spread regardless of the era, and for the energetic young cadets, the conflict between a magician and a knight was incredibly entertaining. They were eager to see who would come out on top.

Meanwhile, a certain gray-haired cadet was deep in thought, but not for the same reasons as the others who were placing bets on the fight between the magician and the knight.

It was about the “story” changing drastically.

‘Odwal is supposed to be one of the main villains who supports the antagonist noblewoman against the protagonist. Why is he appearing so soon?’

In the original storyline, there were still six months before the [main plot] was supposed to kick off. But things were already going off-script, and the gray-haired cadet’s head was spinning, realizing that what he knew might become irrelevant.

‘If this keeps up, everything I know might lose its meaning.’

The gray-haired cadet was quick-witted and incredibly perceptive. He considered all the events so far, assessing each roadblock, and came to a conclusion.

‘...The swordsmanship instructor.’

Ihan Turtle.

The central figure of the recent rumors and the only character he hadn’t anticipated.

As he mulled over this familiar-sounding instructor, he wondered if it was worth meeting him. If he could talk to Ihan, maybe he could resolve some of his questions.

...The problem was.

“Hey.”

“!!?”

“Oh my, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing. I just... got startled.”

The boy had extreme difficulty communicating with others.

Thwack!

Swish.