I Possessed a Broken Academy Instructor

Chapter 24

“I’m joking. Why so stiff, haha.”

“Ah?”

Caught off guard, she fumbled with her lips, but then her eyes widened at Hughes’ jest, and she laughed along.

“Ah, ahaha…”

Of course, it was not a laugh that came from the heart.

She felt it instinctively.

That one line, masked as a joke, carried his true feelings.

Meanwhile, Hughes smoothly and casually changed the subject.

“Well then, I suppose I’m in first place. But are you going to keep us in the hangar?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll guide you to your accommodations right away!”

It wasn’t entirely incorrect, so Lieutenant Lee Hana stepped ahead.

But just then.

“Ugh! What kind of hell is this for me?”

“Instructor, everyone can hear you. Please, keep that mouth of yours…”

“What? Is this insubordination?”

As they stepped out of the hangar and reached the corridor of the platform, they halted at the sound of conversation echoing from the other end.

“What’s going on?”

Lieutenant Lee Hana, who had been leading the way, tilted her head and asked them, but Hughes whispered softly, looking at Philia instead.

“Hey, Philia.”

“Yes. Please, go ahead, Instructor.”

“Has there been a recent attack at the Western Special Officer Academy? Did the instructors get ambushed, leaving only that one alive?”

“I’ll look into it.”

Though it was meant to be a whisper, the voice was far from small.

Because of this, a man in a black uniform, his freckles standing out like stars against the night, turned with a grimace, his gaze snapping toward the source.

“What’s there to look into, Hughes? And you, lackey. Should I toss you both into the void, bound together?”

“…If only my rank were higher.”

“This is ridiculous!”

Meanwhile, trailing behind him, John, the military police of the Western Special Officer Academy, shook his head, gesturing to the other MPs that he was weary, but the others merely averted their eyes, saying nothing.

“Ugh. Well, cleaning up the mess is always my job.”

In the end, John sighed and stepped forward, attempting to regain control of the situation.

Was it fortunate?

It could have been worse.

Though he had seen him only a few times, he had heard that Instructor Hughes from the Eastern Special Officer Academy had a certain flexibility about him.

“I apologize. Our Instructor Miller has been rather excited after playing in the void.”

Yet there was one thing he did not know.

“It seems he is quite excited. If he speaks so rudely to a fellow instructor, not even a subordinate. If you don’t mind, I would like to contact the medical team to schedule a consultation for him.”

“…Huh?”

Hughes could be excused, but the fact that Philia, who had come along, was equally unhinged was troubling.

As she politely suggested, “You should consider seeing a psychiatrist,” John blinked in surprise, then shook his head and took a step back.

“What? You insolent lackey!”

“Hahahahaha! Philia, you’re something else!”

“You flatter me. And Instructor Miller, if you continue this hostile behavior, our military police will have no choice but to follow proper procedures.”

“What provocation is this! You started it!”

Ultimately, with John, the last bastion, withdrawing, the corridor transformed into chaos in an instant.

“Uh… that is, um?”

Naturally, Lieutenant Lee Hana, who had come to guide Hughes, could not hide her bewilderment at the sudden turn of events. After a moment of searching for answers, she stumbled upon another anomaly.

‘Why is there no escort with Instructor Miller?’

Though she didn’t know the name well, she had certainly heard that officers were assigned to welcome instructors and guide them to their quarters.

Yet, for some reason, there was no officer accompanying Miller and the Eastern Special Officer Academy’s group, led by John.

“Oh, is that what it is?”

“Excuse me?”

At that moment, John quietly approached Lieutenant Lee Hana, who had been deep in thought, and whispered.

“Why is there no officer in charge of the guidance? You were pondering that, weren’t you?”

“Ah, yes….”

“It’s simple. That fellow got annoyed and kicked a container in the hangar, and it collapsed on him.”

“Y-yes?!”

What nonsense is this… she thought absentmindedly, but as she caught sight of Miller, who was in a frenzy, she found herself nodding for no reason.

“Is the officer badly injured?”

“I heard he broke a rib, but it’s not a serious injury. What can we do? We’ve already agreed to compensate him.”

“Ah….”

In that moment, was it just her imagination, or did John’s eyes glisten with an unexpected dampness?

It seemed that accidents involving superhumans were on a different scale altogether.

But such admiration was fleeting.

As Lieutenant Lee Hana regained her composure, she began to fidget anxiously, her foot tapping as she asked John.

“Then, if he gets hurt again during a fight…?”

“Ah, that could happen. If we injure the instructor, how much should the compensation be?”

“That’s not the issue!”

Yet, no answer came, and John merely rolled his eyes, half resigned, listing numbers without a care.

Finally, just as Lieutenant Lee Hana was about to step in physically to intervene, she noticed something.

“Instructor! There are other instructors over there!”

From the opposite end of the corridor, Hughes and Miller began to see others approaching.

“What’s with that annoyingly cheerful voice?”

Miller muttered, still grappling with the military police from Philia, while Hughes turned his head toward the newcomers, his face filled with curiosity.

“Instructor? Can’t you hear me~?”

“…Please, be quiet.”

But as Hughes caught sight of the man leading the approaching group, his expression twisted in dismay.

Miller, sensing something was amiss, fell silent, his face betraying a look of concern as he observed Hughes.

“…”

How long did that strange silence linger?

At last, they reached the spot where the instructors stood, and came to a halt.

Hughes spoke with a friendly expression, as if to say, “When did you twist your face like that?”

“Oh, I never expected Jin Crow to send you from the Central Region.”

If one were to disregard the expression he had shown moments ago, it was a remark that felt almost intimate.

Because of this, the gazes of others shifted to Jin Crow. In particular, Lieutenant Lee Hana’s eyes sparkled as she stared at him.

‘The instructor from the Central Special Officer Academy I’ve only heard about. What’s with this atmosphere…’

Hughes and Miller, the instructors, were not lacking in appearance or physique.

No, they were rather exceptional.

Yet, regardless of Jin Crow’s outward appearance, there was an unspoken pressure that surrounded him, a weight that seemed to bear down on those nearby.

Gulp.

It was enough to make one swallow dryly without realizing it.

“…Right.”

And in that moment, after scanning them once, Jin Crow finally spoke, addressing them.

“How long do you intend to block the road?”

The unexpected response made the military police doubt their ears for a moment, but then the red-haired woman standing behind Jin Crow stepped forward, waving her hand at the military police.

“Step aside, chop chop.”

The military police, initially irritated by her, had no choice but to move aside as soon as they noticed the major insignia on her shoulder.

“The way is clear, Instructor.”

“Go on, Lieutenant Antonio.”

“Yes, Instructor.”

“Hey~. Are you ignoring me?”

Jin Crow continued to walk away, unfazed by her chatter from behind, and the atmosphere among those left began to shift in a rather peculiar way.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Lee Hana rolled her eyes and asked John, who stood beside her.

“What, what’s going on?”

“…I’ve only heard rumors about that person, but it’s more intense than I expected.”

Unlike her, who was completely at a loss, John seemed to have a rough idea of who the man that had just passed was.

“Kim’s coming. Let’s go, John.”

“Understood.”

Of course, before she could explain, Miller had already shouted, so there was no chance to hear it.

As they departed, what remained in the corridor were Hughes and the others from the Eastern Special Officer Academy, along with Lieutenant Lee Hana, who had been dispatched to guide them.

“…….”

“Ha, haha.”

As she observed the serious expression of Captain Philya, juxtaposed with the seemingly exhausted laughter of Hughes, she pondered.

‘…So what exactly is going on?’

For no reason, her mind became tangled.

*

The reason all arrived at the Central Special Officer Academy, the Western Special Officer Academy, and the Eastern Special Officer Academy around the same time was simple.

They had all been ambushed by the Red Hand immediately after entering hyperspace, resulting in issues aboard their vessels that necessitated the assistance of the 17th Fleet.

It was not an unusual occurrence.

Protecting a ship from a terrorist determined to commit suicide was not as easy as one might think.

Kugugugugugung—.

However, there was one exception.

A series of individuals disembarked from the armored cruiser that had landed in Hangar 56, and the lieutenant who had been waiting in the hangar hurriedly saluted.

“Loyalty!”

“Instructor, over here.”

Yet, none of those who had disembarked from the cruiser paid any heed to the lieutenant.

It was only natural.

Their attention was solely focused on a very small girl clad in a black uniform.

“……Hahm.”

It was as if a tiny doll had been set upright.

The military uniform, even though it was tailored for her size, seemed oversized, making her appear no more than a lower-grade elementary school student.

Thus, it was no wonder the lieutenant rolled her eyes in bewilderment.

‘A child this small…’

Of course, she had heard about her.

Moreover, she had received a rough account of what had transpired during the ambush in hyperspace.

Still, the cognitive dissonance between her appearance and the situation was not something that could be resolved simply by preparing oneself mentally.

Yet, the lieutenant’s hesitation did not last long.

“Hahm.”

“Lieutenant, is there perhaps a problem?”

As she rubbed her sleepy eyes, a man standing beside her inquired of the lieutenant.

A man in a white military uniform, glasses perched on his nose.

At first glance, he seemed stern, yet his polite tone and demeanor prompted the lieutenant to quickly gather his scattered thoughts and respond.

“I will guide you to your quarters. Please follow me.”

He immediately set off.

The man in the white uniform adjusted his slightly slipping glasses and spoke to the drowsy instructor, rubbing his eyes.

“After you, Instructor Yudis.”

“Mm, Dido.”

The two gendarmes who had been following remained behind in the hangar, trailing only the lieutenant who had come to guide them.

Thus, just after they exited the hangar.

The gendarmes, silently stationed before the armored cruiser, returned inside the vessel and murmured into the radio linked to their watch.

“This is Gendarme Lieutenant Hanselo from the Northern Special Operations Academy. Requesting assistance.”

At that moment, Hanselo, his nose twitching at the thick scent of blood, involuntarily shuddered.

‘…So, it is indeed the executioner.’

At the edge of his gaze lay the sight of over a hundred red uniforms, displayed in the hangar, each impaled on an unknown skewer, their heads severed.