chapter 8
008 – Morita(1)
Tigris arrived at the Demiola gym at 10 o’clock, the interview time.
There were people who passed the first document screening just like Tigris.
Tigris handed the glasses-wearing man an ID card and a notice of the results of the first document screening.
The man glanced at him for a moment, then handed Tigris his ID card and said.
“The notion of time is very thorough. You’re here at ten o’clock.”
Of course, that was sarcastic.
‘Isn’t it normal to arrive 10 minutes before an interview?’
Bedrian thought that this was not the case with a young noble.
“I am neither an instructor nor a student yet.”
“···What?”
“Don’t talk nonsense to me as if something happened. You don’t seem to know well that you’re the one to speak up when you meet outside.”
Bedrian swallowed his saliva.
Tigris’ eyes were gloomy, but that made it even more frightening.
It was unusual to press him using his identity as naturally as breathing.
“…After becoming an instructor, did you know that you receive upper and lower robe according to the position, not according to the rank?”
“Then I think it would be better to ask after I became an instructor?”
Bedrian hated this guy who didn’t say a word.
I had a bad attitude right away, so I wanted to yell at him to leave.
However, it was not up to him to decide whether or not to pass.
It was all under the responsibility of the principal and the head of the department.
He is just a swordsmanship instructor.
Bedrian clenched his teeth and pointed to where the candidates were standing.
“Go over there and wait.”
Tigris passed Bedrian and stood where the candidates stood.
A man with light brown hair next to him whistled and laughed.
He smelled a mixture of perfume and alcohol.
“Are you Tigris? After all, he’s the successor of Byeong-baek, so he’s a bit arrogant. After all, he’s the successor of the martyr, so even if he resigns from his position as an instructor, there’s no harm in it?”
Tigris knew who the man next to him was.
Morita D. Griff.
He is the third son of the Griff family and a scumbag who is addicted to alcohol.
Still, he had some knowledge in swordsmanship, so he was supposed to be a swordsmanship instructor who taught Tigris.
“Shut up your mouth. It smells like alcohol.”
“What? You smell like alcohol? No way···.”
Morita covered her mouth, exhaled and inhaled again through her nose.
“… your nose is nice.”
After that, Tigris ignored Morita’s conversations.
Tigris was actually very patient.
If I had the chance, I wanted to cut off the guy’s head.
This was because Morita di Griff would later become a ‘jealousy slayer’ who betrayed humanity.
* * *
Morita was born as the third son of the Viscount Griff family, and he had exceptional talent.
It had excellent reaction speed and a resilient body that supported the reaction speed.
At the age of 28, he successfully entered a 3-star knight, but did not become a 4-star knight for over 7 years.
Making four rings was not something that could be achieved simply with a natural body.
It was because he had to have a talent for effort and Auror operation.
Morita has made the ring very easily so far.
Because he believed that he had a great talent that others did not have.
However, the results obtained without effort were easily destroyed like a sandcastle.
Even after several years, when the fourth ring could not be made, Morita tried to make an effort in earnest.
But with no calluses on both his heart and hands, he gave up easily.
what to do tomorrow
What to do from the day after tomorrow
It’s a new year next month, so I’ll start with a new heart.
In the end, he did not properly train his sword for 7 years.
His easy life fell apart after the death of Viscount Griff.
When the eldest son, Barion, succeeded the Griff family, Morita received an ultimatum.
– Die or leave.
Barion, the eldest son of the Viscount family at the young age of 34, did not want the power of the family to be scattered.
The reason he gave Morita a chance to survive was because he was lazy and useless.
The capable second son, ‘Jacob’, was accused of treason and was directly executed by Barion and killed.
Morita, who had no money and no support base, eventually asked the Imperial University to become a swordsmanship instructor on condition of a ‘life contract’.
Two shadows cast over the podium.
Both were characters Tigris knew well.
The old man with the soft white beard was the principal of Bastian, and the man with copper-colored skin and red eyes was the head of the swordsmanship department, Nation.
The principal of Bastian was the 7th Circle Anti-Magician, and Nation was a 5-star knight, both of whom were recognized by Tigris.
Principal Bastian opened his mouth.
“Nice to meet you. This is Bastian von Rodelim, the principal of the Imperial University. It seems that Goddess Lux is helping, the weather is very sunny. I don’t know if there were any inconveniences in your coming. By the way, as I came here, the maple leaves that bloomed on the Beatrice promenade began to color beautifully…”
Bastian was very talkative from the beginning.
Starting with the maple leaves, the taste of the lunch box that I forgot in the garden was excellent, and even where in this imperial university is the coolest…
It was as boring as listening to the headmaster’s instructional words.
The faces of the interviewees began to die minute by minute.
Only Tigris listened to Bastian with a firm expression on his face.
Because Tigris had noticed that the trial had already begun.
Basically, Bastian is not the type to talk for that long.
Of course, I enjoy the conversation itself, but I do enjoy conversations with bones, not the style I like to talk about.
“haha. Was it too long? Now, let’s start the interview in earnest.”
The eyes of the interviewees, who had heard with one ear and spilled with the other when they said they were going to start the interview, returned.
Bastian said, stroking his beard.
“I think the most important thing for me to teach students is to listen.”
At the word “listening”, the interviewees, except for Tigris, were terrified.
“No matter how trivial a word may be, the students’ concerns are contained within them. I’ll be taking care of the trees, which I personally care about the most. If you’ve listened carefully to my story, you’ll find me right away. I will proceed with the interview in the order in which they came to me. Then head of the department of Nation. I will ask the interviewers.”
After saying those words, Bastian disappeared by teleporting.
When the interviewers looked at each other in embarrassment, the only one that did not change was Tigris.
It was because Tigris had listened to everything Bastian had to say.
Nation said looking at the interviewers.
“No one would have noticed, but the evaluation has already started 30 minutes ago. If you have listened to the words of Principal Bastian, you can definitely visit this place, so you can go there and have an interview. If you do not arrive by 1:30, you will be eliminated immediately. We will leave each person five minutes apart.”
Morita raised her hand and said.
“Chief of Nation. Isn’t this a bit harsh? How do you remember all those long stories?”
“Then can you tell me what you remember? Morita-san?”
“uh···. That is···.”
Morita couldn’t remember at all.
It was because during the 30-minute comic talk, Morita was thinking of the tender breasts of the prostitute she had met last night.
Nation looked at Morita patheticly and said.
“Mr. Morita may be the last. Then, let’s start with Noah, who arrived first.”
“Ah yes···.”
Noah did not go away.
It was because I had no idea where I was going.
‘Since I said trees, it would be right to go to a place with a lot of trees.’
When Noah looked around, he headed northwest to Tail Park, where he saw the most trees.
Next was Smith with adventurer experience.
Smith once went back to the school entrance.
‘I’ll have to look at the map at the entrance and see where the trees are in the Imperial College. You can search around that.’
Next up was the only four-ringed Trinity among the interviewees.
“I will give up the interview. Imperial University doesn’t seem to want to accept me. I am a 4 star knight. It’s better to stop a swarm of goblins in the countryside than to work in a place that doesn’t respect me.”
Trinity exclaimed and left the Imperial University.
Finally, Morita sighed.
‘Damn, I can’t remember anything.’
Morita glanced to the side.
Come to think of it, Tigris seemed to keep listening to the principal.
I thought that if I followed this guy secretly, I would be able to get to where the principal was.
“Let’s go, Morita-san.”
Morita decided to pursue Tigris after wandering around this gymnasium for a while.
Five minutes after Morita left, it was Tigris’ turn.
“Come on, Mr. Tigris.”
Tigris moved on.
Morita crept after Tigris like a stray cat.
‘uh?’
Tigris was heading towards the entrance to the back gate of the university.
If you go out like that, you will be leaving the Imperial University.
Morita stopped chasing and looked at Tigris.
Tigris eventually left the Imperial University.
Morita sighed.
‘Damn, that guy just gave up like that bitch did. I’m going to become a swordsmanship instructor while being insulted like this for what’s wrong with that guy.’
That guy is the heir of the change.
Like that bastard Barion, who was born with everything he had, there was no reason to hang himself in this position as a swordsmanship instructor.
Morita’s ugly jealousy raised her head.
‘If I was born as the eldest child, I wouldn’t have to suffer like this.’
Morita spit and turned back.
Tigris returned to the back door after 5 minutes.
Tigris had a brown envelope in his hand.
The guards tilted their heads when they saw Tigris.
“Are you trying to come back to school?”
“Yes.”
“Can I check what’s inside that brown envelope?”
Tigris handed the brown envelope to the guard.
The guard looked at the contents and nodded to pass it through.
It contained tree nutrients.
* * *
Tigris headed to the reagent research club room.
The reagent research club often used various toxic substances, so it was in a very corner.
Like Morita, Tigris used auror detection technology to confirm that no one was following him.
There were no people except for the students who were doing research in the reagent research club room.
Tigris moved to the back of the reagent research club room.
There was a huge ginkgo tree that was dying and dying.
The ginkgo tree was getting so sick that it couldn’t even produce yellow ginkgo leaves.
There was also Bastian.
Bastian was climbing a ladder by hand and pruning dead branches.
He was not wearing a white robe, but a gardener’s robe and hat.
“After all, you came first.”
When you stand on the podium, you can see everything.
People who do things differently, people who pretend to be listening but actually think otherwise, and people who listen.
Tigris was a listener.
“But it’s a little later than I thought.”
“I was a little late to buy nutritional supplements.”
“Nutrients?”
Bastian looked at the brown envelope with Tigris in it and smiled.
“I was just running out of tree nutrients, so thank you.”
Bastian came down the ladder.
And when he saw the nutritional supplement Tigris had bought, he smiled even brighter.
“I needed a nutritional supplement with a lot of nitrogen. How did you know?”
“I just contacted the flower shop. Trees are dying thinly, and the tips of the branches are cut off and die. Is there any way to save them?”
“I knew you as a blunt Confucius, but you have quite a sense of humor.”
Bastian pulled out the nutritional supplements from the bag.
Then, he took out the empty nutrient container embedded in the tree trunk and replaced it with a new one.
Bastian said, touching the dying ginkgo tree.
“This ginkgo tree has lived for over 1,000 years. They lived longer than the long-lived dwarves. This tree must have stood here and silently watched the countless talented people who went through the Imperial University.”
Bastian looked into Tigris’ eyes and said.
“What is this tree thinking when it sees you?”
“You would think of it as a finished genius to teach geniuses.”
Bastian paused for a moment, then smirked.
“I’ve heard rumors that you have a lot of confidence in your swordsmanship, but it seems to be true. I think you still have a lot to learn?”
“No one can teach me swordsmanship.”
Bastian’s eyes narrowed.
“Can you prove it? The difference between arrogance and confidence is whether you can prove it or not.”
Tigris picked up a dead ginkgo branch.
“If you don’t tell anyone what you’ve seen and ask nothing, I’ll prove it.”
Curiosity tickled Bastian’s mouth.
If there’s one thing a wizard can’t stand, it’s curiosity.
There was even a saying, <If it were not for curiosity about the afterlife, all wizards would have become archmages.>
As the principal, there was no reason to watch Tigris’ travels, but Bastian was a wizard before being the principal.
Bastian said, stroking his white beard.
“Kuhm! I wonder what the dead ginkgo branch can show you.”
“Then please make an oath.”
“You mean Mana’s oath?”
“You don’t even need to swear by Mana. I know that Principal Bastian’s mouth is heavier than anyone else’s. If you just don’t tell anyone what you saw today and ask nothing about my swordsmanship ever since, I’ll prove why I’m a complete genius.”
Bastian looked into Tigris’ hard eyes.
I thought I had seen people for a long time, but Tigris couldn’t read at all.
Is it Oman? Or is it confidence?
Or is it the eyes of a person who has reached the level of transcendence that can completely separate reason and emotion?
Bastian could not stop the curiosity that came like a tide.
“I swear. I will not tell anyone what I saw today.”
As soon as Tigris heard Bastian’s oath, he lowered the rotten shards of wood.
Bastian could feel a piece of the state felt in the slow motion.
Concentrated auras flowing through rotten wood chips and incomprehensible deep emotions were unfolding before Bastian’s eyes.
The Auror, which escaped Tigris’ fingertips, flowed on a rotten piece of wood.
The Auror rides on the tip of a piece of wood and draws a beautiful silver curve.
The anticipation of the silvery solid line was so sharp that even Bastian shivered, and it was enough to unintentionally open the shield.
Its beautiful solid line pierced the rock like a raptor’s claw.
no, it soaked in.
Bass-
The rotten shards of wood were shattered into dust, and the rock was neatly split in two.
The cross section of the rock was sharper than the blade of the sword set by the craftsman, and when touched, it was as sharp as a veil.
Tigris let out a breath he had been holding back.
The muscles of the whole body trembled, and the magic circuit rapidly expanded, causing pain.
‘Is it still?’
With three rings and his present body, he was too weak to use the swordsmanship that contained his image.
Tigris took a deep breath and calmed his body.
Bastian left Tigris silent as he meditated.
Just as Tigris needs time, Bastian needs time to understand.
It was also surprising that Tigris spilled an aura on a piece of rotten wood.
Although obviously there are three rings.
‘No, it’s not just that.’
Bastian had never felt so resentful that he was not a high-level swordsman.
If Bergang, the current Black Meister, had been present here, he would have fully understood the state of that swordsmanship that Tigris showed.
When Tigris completely calmed down and opened his eyes, Bastian had no choice but to ask the question he had been holding back.
“Are you a dragon?”
“Dragons have long disappeared from this land.”
“Or are you hiding the number of rings? How was it possible to shoot such a precise sword with three rings?”
“Bastyan has sworn that he will not ask anything.”
Bastian shut his mouth.
“Right. I’m so confused… I’m sorry.”
“I understand.”
“But I must ask one thing. Why are you trying to become a swordsmanship instructor? It would be better for you to join the Golden Knights if you are at your level.”
Tigris remembered Rakan’s desperate cry.
– A little faster…! If only I had apologized sooner! If only I knew your mistake sooner!!!
– If you have given your talents to others… I wouldn’t have come this far…
Tigris opened his mouth.
“I thought that being an instructor rather than joining the Golden Knights would be beneficial to both me and the students I would be teaching.”
“is it···.”
Bastian didn’t fully understand.
However, one thing was certain: there was nothing Tigris could learn from the Imperial University.
‘Originally, I was going to ask you to come in as a student, but…’
Even Bastyan, the sage and archmage, did not know who would dare to teach a man who had reached a point he could not understand.
“Good. I’m hiring you as an instructor.”
“thank you.”
Then I heard a familiar man’s voice behind me.
“What did you say now?”
Tigris knew without looking back.
There was only one person here who showed such an unstable Auror movement.
It was Morita D. Griff.