I Possessed a Broken Academy Instructor

Chapter 10

In a study where soft light flickered.

“Hmm, hmm-hmm.”

Decorative bottles of liquor adorned one side, adding to the ambiance.

Perhaps, for one well-versed in such matters, the nostalgia for the past would be palpable enough to instantly discern the owner’s taste.

At the center, a middle-aged man sat upon an antique sofa, deftly snipping the end of a cigar before pouring whiskey into a glass.

〔P-Please, save me!〕

And in that moment, a desperate scream echoed from beyond a large Gothic speaker mounted on one wall.

〔Th-This is Lemal. Lemal Planet Defense Force! The universe, no—C-Creatures have invaded! Requesting support! Support, please!〕

〔aaahhh!〕

The wails that pierced through the speaker filled the room.

Even if it were merely staged, it was enough to send chills down one’s spine; yet the middle-aged man remained unfazed, casually humming as he lit his cigar.

“Ahh.”

Thick smoke escaped his lips, curling beneath his neatly trimmed white beard, mingling with the yellow light as it seemed to shatter and disperse.

His calm demeanor was almost unsettling, as he twirled the glass in his hand, savoring the cries and screams of the battlefield, indifferent to the eyes of others.

Yes, it was as if it were the sweetest symphony of classical music.

Creeeak-.

But that was only for a moment.

The door, which had been firmly shut, swung open, and the secretary approached the middle-aged man, adjusting her slightly askew glasses as she spoke.

“A variable has arisen.”

“Ha, in this mundane life, a variable is a delight. So, what is it?”

Despite her serious tone, the middle-aged man asked without a hint of concern.

Perhaps it was because of that.

The secretary, her expression now more composed, conveyed the message to him.

“Jin Crow. He has been lecturing the cadets of the Central Special Officer Academy about the recent events on Aurum Planet. Shouldn’t we find out what he’s thinking?”

“Jin Crow?”

The middle-aged man bit down on the end of the cigar he had in his mouth.

One might have sensed a flicker of discomfort in him.

Yet, having served him for quite some time, she quickly recognized it as a habit that surfaced during his moments of contemplation and fell silent.

〔It’s over, it’s all over—Bang!〕

Of course, even at that moment, the speakers blared with the desperate screams of soldiers, but neither the middle-aged man nor the secretary paid it any mind.

How long did that peculiar silence stretch on?

“Is that so? So it is.”

“Pardon?”

When she questioned his mumbling, the middle-aged man replied with a faint smile gracing his lips.

“Still don’t understand? This is his answer.”

“……Then?”

“Yes, even if it’s been broken, the essence doesn’t just vanish.”

Before long, the faint smile had transformed into one of delighted admiration.

But unlike the middle-aged man, the secretary standing beside him wore an even more serious expression as she cautiously spoke.

“Instructor Jin Crow is dangerous. If he were to entertain other thoughts…”

Her words were a clear warning.

Yet, unlike her, who always wrestled with paperwork, the middle-aged man found her concerns to be of little consequence.

Hiss, ha-.

He exhaled a thick smoke between short breaths.

“Karine.”

“Yes.”

“Whatever he does, let it be for now.”

“…Yes.”

It was a commanding order, devoid of any explanation.

Yet in that moment, her only choice was to nod in agreement.

It was only natural.

The middle-aged man before her could not possibly make a wrong judgment.

That was not mere trust; it bordered on fanaticism.

〔Oh, God, please have mercy…〕

Of course, even amidst that fleeting conversation, the requiem, woven from the soldiers’ cries, resonated endlessly, cold and detached.

*

Ideale’s response came quicker than expected.

In the dead of night, when thoughts swirled too much to allow sleep, the watch had rung.

[Back park. – Ideale]

Jin Crow rose from his bed and slightly lifted the blinds.

‘If it’s the back park…’

It was a park created for the welfare of the instructors, yet due to the busy lives of its patrons, it was a fitting place for secretive meetings, rarely visited.

To have summoned him there suggested quite a lot.

With a swift motion, he donned the outer garment he had thrown over a chair and stepped outside. Passing through the corridor and descending the stairs, a sentry stood guard, asking in an exceedingly businesslike tone.

“Is it the training ground?”

“Yeah.”

“Confirmed. Loyalty.”

Having been engaged in early morning training for several days, there was no suspicion to be found.

As he made his way to the back park, the watch rang once more.

[To the inner maze garden. – Ideale]

What a cautious woman she is.

Jin Crow couldn’t help but smirk as he headed toward the rendezvous she had chosen.

Upon reaching the maze garden, he found Ideale waiting silently, her gaze fixed upon him.

“Jin Crow.”

“Have you made your decision?”

Naturally, the instructors who usually accompanied her were absent from this gathering.

I found myself curious, deep down.

Was she aware of it?

No matter how much they claimed to follow her of their own volition, to an outsider, it was still a small faction in its own right.

‘She must know.’

Whether by instinct or calculation, the way she subtly pushed them away suggested she was not entirely oblivious.

Sss, wet—

As I pondered this, I took a drag from the black cigarette, and for a fleeting moment, Ideale’s brow twitched.

But that was short-lived; realizing it was a meeting after hours, she seemed to understand there was no justification to reprimand me and quickly got to the point.

“I will ask first. Is all of this the will of the faction behind you?”

“Does it matter?”

“It does. If that is the case, I will leave this place.”

I was not one to speak in falsehoods.

Jin Crow knew this, so I conveyed my intentions to her as plainly as possible.

“They won’t be unaware in Rosen. However, if this incident has disturbed their mood, I too shall pay the price.”

“That means…”

“Yes, this matter is entirely my own decision.”

No immediate response followed.

Only Ideale’s distinctive white eyes bore into me, as if reading the truth.

But the silence was brief; soon, a voice laced with confusion slipped through her lips.

“…Why?”

I understood her narrowed brow of inquiry was not without reason.

The large-scale invasion of creatures targeting the planet Aurum would later be remembered as a symbolic declaration of war, dubbed the ‘Aurum Shock,’ yet for Ideale in this moment, his actions bore nothing but risk.

Humans typically exhibit a negative attitude toward that which they cannot comprehend.

Could there be another intention behind it?

And Ideale was no different in this regard.

“Does the reason matter?”

“What?”

But for now, she could not have all her questions answered.

A misstep could easily shatter the delicate balance teetering between doubt and distrust.

Thus, the choice was made to deny her the time to think.

“What I proposed was not a pact of mutual openness and cooperation, but a transaction, pure and simple.”

At the same time, he removed the nearly burnt-out black cigarette from his lips, extinguishing it in a portable ashtray, and pulled a tiny hard drive from within his coat.

“Though I may not topple the Kukenhausen family, this information could at least leave a scratch.”

He spoke as if it were nothing, yet inflicting even a ‘scratch’ on a behemoth like Kukenhausen, with its myriad interests and power, was no trivial feat.

Swoosh…

A breeze swept through, swirling between the two figures before dissipating into the air.

Ideale seemed to struggle with her words, her lips twitching as if to form something, before finally spitting it out.

“…Yes, that was all.”

The emotion in her voice was not simple; it was an endless murk, leaving her true feelings shrouded in mystery.

One thing was certain, however: she had decided to accept this transaction.

“In three days, there will be a meeting of instructors to discuss the newly established course. Will you support me then?”

“Is there not more you could offer?”

“…Yes, that’s true.”

Only after Ideale’s self-deprecating tone brushed past his ears did he realize he had unwittingly adopted a mocking tone himself.

But he knew well that this was not the time to concern himself with such trivialities, so he tucked the tiny hard drive back into his coat and said,

“Then I shall take my leave.”

“…”

Ideale turned sharply, disappearing beyond the maze garden without a word.

There was no reason to exit through the same entrance and invite gossip, after all.

‘Now it’s down to Rosen’s choice.’

As she had said, Ideale, having distanced herself from her family by half choice and half circumstance, could offer only a handful of support.

But would Rosen, embroiled in a bloody struggle for dominance against other factions, let such a golden opportunity slip by?

Beep—.

Just then, the watch’s alarm rang out.

[Proceed.]

“The first gamble has gone smoothly.”

Seeing the message from a restricted sender, he couldn’t help but smile, a mix of relief and satisfaction washing over him.

But this is just the beginning.

Letting one’s guard down would be a grave mistake.

With that thought, he took another drag from his cigarette and retraced his steps.

If he lingered just long enough before returning, they would likely think, “Did training end a bit early?”

“……What a disaster.”

But it was at that very moment.

As he turned his gaze toward the familiar yet chilling voice that brushed against his ear, he caught sight of a tuft of red hair peeking out from behind a tree in the park.

Thud-.

In an instant, Jin Crow recognized the owner of that hair and, without thinking, dropped the cigarette from his mouth, muttering to himself.

“Obia?”

“Yes, yes?”

At his low murmur, she peeked out as if she had been waiting for this moment.

Her demeanor was oddly cheerful, yet the excitement in her expression and the trembling red pupils left him with an unsettling feeling.

“……Did you hear everything?”

Had she brought a hip flask with her?

No, first and foremost, he was unarmed.

He couldn’t afford to cause a scene.

But if she had overheard the deal with Ideale…

“Well… I didn’t hear it all, but I’ll keep it a secret!”

Jin Crow’s eyes sank low.

At the same time, cold sweat poured down his back like a torrent.

The situation was dire, the company was worse, and everything was at its worst.

Swoosh-.

Just then, as he was about to pull out the hip flask as a last resort.

“On a late night, in a secret meeting between a notoriously prickly superior and a taciturn subordinate…! Kyaaah!”

Obia exclaimed with a gleeful expression before darting swiftly into the woods.

Thanks to her, Jin Crow could only stand there, dazed, muttering softly to himself.

“……What nonsense.”

It seemed that things had taken a turn for the worse.