Academy’s Second Seat

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Our research was progressing at a rapid pace.

I felt my health deteriorating, but I didn't pay much attention to it.

The benefits seemed to far outweigh the cost to my health.

We were only making magical tools, but I was learning a lot.

There were many challenges in trying to incorporate the properties of a staff into a glove and adding other abilities.

As I worked through these obstacles, my knowledge expanded, covering various magical knowledge to the specifics of magical tools.

This extensive magical knowledge grew over several weeks of research.

Gradually, the outline of our project began to take shape.

"Ughhh..."

Gracie, clearly exhausted, let out a strange sound and slumped over her desk.

I handed her a cup of coffee and chuckled.

"Don't push yourself too hard. Our academic presentation is just around the corner."

Gracie, looking wronged, got up.

"How can you say that! I'm doing my best! I hardly sleep and don't even drink!"

"Yes, yes. You're doing very well."

"Then let me rest a bit. Just for two days… or even just one…"

Gracie pleaded with a distressed face.

However, I firmly responded,

"No. Please continue as you have been."

"Aaahhh... I'm the professor... why... why…"

Gracie moaned and slumped back over her desk.

This scenario had repeated so often that I had become somewhat accustomed to it.

I knew she would grumble for about ten minutes before getting back to work.

Ignoring Gracie's sullen face, I looked at the clock.

"Luna is late…"

Luna was recently juggling work in our lab and in McGuire's lab.

I was more worried about her than Gracie.

I had heard that the workload in McGuire's lab increased after he returned from the conference.

Managing that along with our lab work was nothing short of superhuman.

"Hmm..."

After some thought, I came to a decision.

"It's time to start using Kuhn..."

I had brought Kuhn into the student council at the beginning of the semester for this very reason.

Kuhn could use both alchemy and magic.

This ability was perfectly suited for magical tools.

Currently, as Kuhn was still a first-year and I had some spare time, I was assigning him tasks related to magical tools, but I planned to delegate more to him once I became a third-year.

His ability to use both alchemy and magic was perfect for magical tools.

I sometimes wondered if I was using the student council members too much for my own purposes, but it didn't seem to matter much.

I always ensured they were rewarded for their hard work.

Just then, the door to the lab opened.

"Haah... Haah... Rudy! Sorry! The professor had something for me to do!"

"Oh, Luna, you're here?"

Luna appeared to have rushed over, breathing heavily and with her hair in disarray.

"Luna, do you want to sit here for a moment?"

"Huh?"

Luna, looking bewildered, sat down in front of me.

Sitting face to face, I noticed the deep dark circles under her eyes, which only solidified my decision.

"Luna, I think it's better for you to focus more on your own work now."

"What?"

Luna looked at me in surprise, then waved her hands.

"No, no! I can do it. If I just reduce my sleep a little more…!"

"You should start preparing for your own work now. There's the combined first and second year assessment coming up, and you'll need some personal training for that."

"But, what about the work I've been doing…"

"Oh, can you hand that over to Kuhn?"

"Kuhn? Kuhn is going to join the research?"

"I haven't told him yet, but I think he'll agree."

Hearing this, Luna's expression fell.

"It's not because you're lacking. Without you, the research wouldn't have progressed this far. I'm just worried about you."

"Alright, I understand…"

Luna didn't insist further.

She seemed to know that she was reaching her limits.

However, she appeared regretful that she couldn't see the research through to the end.

"I'll finish up the research. It's pretty much done anyway."

"Okay… Thank you."

With that, Luna left the research lab, looking disheartened.

Luna left the research lab and sat down on a bench.

It was a rare moment of leisure for her, but her mood was far from cheerful.

She understood Rudy's decision.

Her physical condition was not normal; continuing the research could lead to her collapse.

Yet, she wanted to continue, desiring to be of help to Rudy.

"No… if I collapse, I'll just be a burden to Rudy…"

She realized that her falling ill would only hinder him.

Rudy, by nature, couldn't focus on his work if someone around him was in trouble.

Luna was well aware of this.

"What can I do now?"

Luna pondered, gazing at the sky.

The approach of autumn was evident in the blue expanse above.

The end of summer vacation was coming.

"Once summer vacation ends…"

As Rudy had mentioned, the joint assessment for first and second years was soon.

Other challenges awaited her – battles to fight and more research to undertake.

"Then…"

Luna glanced at her bag, which contained her magical tome.

While the tome's powers were extraordinary, her ability to wield them was lacking.

She could use various abilities, but they lacked strength.

In a recent fight, she felt helpless, merely watching without being able to contribute.

'For Rudy.'

This thought crossed her mind.

Working on Rudy's gloves had sparked many ideas in her.

Researching the gloves had enhanced her understanding of Rudy's abilities and revealed his weaknesses.

"Defense."

Luna murmured softly.

It was Rudy's most significant shortcoming.

Nodding in determination, she decided what skill she needed to develop.

As she was making this resolution, a yawn escaped her.

Tears welled up as she yawned widely.

"First… I need to sleep…"

With a small smile to herself, Luna walked back to her room.

In the principal's office of Liberion Academy, Cromwell sat reading documents at his desk.

He wore glasses and seemed deeply focused.

Though McDowell's health had somewhat improved, Cromwell was still performing the duties of acting principal.

Sifting through the papers, Cromwell sighed upon reading a particular document.

"Who should I assign this task to...?"

It was concerning the upcoming joint assessment for first and second-year students.

He contemplated handing it over to Gracie but then shook his head, dismissing the idea.

Although Gracie was capable and efficiently handled assigned tasks, her experience as a professor was still limited.

The joint assessment was an event of utmost importance at the academy, involving both first and second-year students, numerous teaching assistants, and professors.

It was a responsibility too great for Gracie.

The most obvious choices were Robert and Mcguire.

However, Robert had been extremely busy lately, often disappearing on some unknown business, making it impossible for Cromwell to ask.

"Maybe I should hand it over to Mcguire..."

Mcguire appeared busy too, but relatively more available than the others.

"Hmm..."

Cromwell pondered briefly before lazily scribbling Mcguire's name on the document.

"Mcguire has plenty of experience as a professor; he'll handle it."

Knock, knock─

Just as he finished writing McGuire's name, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the door swung open.

"Cromwell, are you here?"

It was Mcguire.

Cromwell removed his glasses.

"Perfect timing. I was just handling some paperwork related to you."

"Related to me? What could that be?"

"Yes, it just came up."

"Again, dumping work on Robert and me?"

Cromwell, who was a perfectionist, couldn't stand seeing other professors handle tasks carelessly.

So during his tenure as acting principal, he had delegated most of the work to his trustworthy friends, Robert and Mcguire.

"But not this time."

Mcguire declared as he approached Cromwell's desk and handed him a document.

"What's this?"

"My travel request."

"What?"

Cromwell's eyes widened in surprise.

"It seems my research at the recent conference was impressive. Looks like I'll be away on a trip until early next semester."

Cromwell read the document, an official letter from the conference.

"This seal..."

"Yes, it's been approved by His Majesty the Emperor. I wanted to decline, but if His Majesty calls, I have no choice."

Mcguire spoke with a sly smile, clearly not reluctant at all.

The research conference provided immense support, making life quite comfortable for the lead researchers.

Accompanied by elite royal wizards and virtually unlimited funding, the level of research conducted there was in a different league compared to what was done at the academy with teaching assistants.

Cromwell pressed his temples, clearly troubled.

Mcguire, noticing this, narrowed his eyes.

"...Were you about to assign me the joint assessment?"

Cromwell averted Mcguire's gaze.

"Hey! You were planning to dump that on a friend? Do you know how tough that assignment is?"

"Then who should I give it to? Robert seems busy too."

Mcguire chuckled.

"You could do it yourself."

"What? I did it last year. Besides, I'm not a professor anymore; I'm the vice principal."

"If there's no one else, you have to do it. That's how it works,"

Mcguire teased.

"No, I can't…"

"That sounds like a good idea to me."

A voice came from the door.

Robert and McDowell were standing there.

"Principal? Are you feeling alright?"

Cromwell stood up abruptly, his eyes wide.

"I'm feeling quite well now. Time to get back to work, I suppose."

McDowell smiled.

"Then let's have Vice Principal Cromwell take on the joint assessment."

"Me?"

Cromwell looked at McDowell in surprise.

"Ha ha, there's no one more qualified than you at the academy. I'd like to ask this favor of you."

"But… my duties as vice principal…"

"For the duration of the joint assessment, I'll handle the vice principal duties. You just focus on your research and the assessment."

Cromwell looked at McDowell, speechless.

"There's a lot of promising students in the first and second years. For a good assessment, it's best to have a skilled professor. Ha ha ha!"

"Well, that's true, but…"

McDowell, still smiling, clapped Cromwell on the shoulder.

"I'm counting on you."

Cromwell, usually rational and logical, couldn't refuse such a direct request from the principal.

"Alright… I will do it."

Robert and Mcguire burst into laughter at Cromwell's resigned acceptance.

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