[V3C15] A Teacher Who Lays the Groundwork
Translated by Jodas 3: The Fateful Brothers“Umm…..Mr. Hütter……”
During midday break, while Hütter was preparing for his class’ upcoming individual lessons, a thin, forty-something man with frizzy brown hair called out to him. It was Armster.
There were four instructors assigned to teach the Apprentice Mages.
First, Caspar Hütter, who was, on the surface at least, the Dream Mage, dispatched from the Mage Association.
Then there was Röhm, who had short bangs and a cute impression, but was also a genius who used to be part of the Extermination Office.
Third, the smiley bastard himself, Sombart was a handsome young man who always showed a toothy smile.
Finally, there was Armster, who faded into the background.
Armster, who wore a loose lab coat over his malnourished body, was an ever pessimistic man. He always had bags under his eyes and a pallid face.
Now, as usual, he fidgeted nervously looking like he was on the verge of death.
“What’s the matter, Mr. Armster?”
“You see……One of the students from Mr. Hütter’s class…….umm……something……terrible……”
With each word he said, Armster convulsed like he was having a heart attack. To be honest, Hütter thought it was annoying and wanted him to stop.
Then, Sombart spoke with a smile, showing off his white teeth.
“You see, it sounds like Julius from my class and Tia from your class had a fight! Sheesh, what a bother, huh! Hahaha!”
If it bothers you, then don’t laugh at it. Hütter suppressed his sour expression as Hegelich and Röhm entered the room.
“That’s nothing to laugh about, you.”
“Ella came to us to report the incident, but it sounds like Tia jumped at Julius for some reason……”
(Something like that really happened after I left the classroom…….?)
What a pain, Hütter thought, massaging his forehead.
Considering that it was Ella Frank who came to give a report, then the contents of that report were relatively trustworthy. (If it were John Rose or Oliver Lange, it would be completely useless).
And since neither Sevil nor Wren gave a report, he could assume both of them were wherever Tia was at the moment.
Hütter asked Röhm to explain.
“Um, could you tell me a little more about the situation?”
“Yes…..”
With a worried expression, Röhm recounted the story she’d heard from Ella.
Apparently, after the group lesson this morning, Julius offered to teach Tia and Ella mana control techniques and suggested they become friends.
For whatever reason, that suggestion enraged Tia, and she jumped at Julius. Sevil intervened quickly to stop her, but Tia ran out of the room.
—Hütter listened to her description of the events, going “Oh really?” and “Uh-huh, uh-huh.” Sombart then interrupted him, acting like a passionate teacher.
“This is terrible, Mr. Hütter! We’ve got to do something to make the students get along better!”
“Well, how about we leave them alone?”
Hütter responded dispassionately, then looked at Hegelich. It was Hegelich who had the authority to decide things in this room.
Hegelich raised an eyebrow and asked.
“Show me why you think that.”
“As far as I can see, there are a ton of antisocial types among the Apprentices. Isn’t this incident a great opportunity for them to try figuring out a problem among themselves?”
The only people who would come to a backwater place like the Wedge Tower were weirdos or those who had nowhere else to go.
Whether due to that or not, those Apprentices were all strange, for better or for worse.
At their age, you’d expect there to be a couple who wanted to build ties with their peers.
Wren, from Hütter’s class, as well as the Shaman Sophie were that type of kid. They really wanted to build bonds with their classmates.
Hütter could tell that Tia and Sevil, on the other hand, surprisingly didn’t much mind being alone.
(My three get along pretty well, but I never really see them interact with anyone from the other classes.)
While it could be a bother if you tried to hang out with people and open yourself up only for them to take advantage of you, Hütter thought it was just as much of a problem to keep yourself closed off from everyone else.
And in a closed environment like this, even more so.
“The older ones, Rose, Oliver, and Sevil, each care for the younger ones in their own ways. When it comes to fights like this, I think we should let them try to handle it by themselves, and if that doesn’t work, then we’ll offer our advice.”
Hütter spoke casually and confidently, to which Sombart responded passionately with his hand on his chest.
“But is that responsible on our part as educators!? I want to help our students!”
He’s sketchy. Extremely sketchy. Don’t shine your white teeth at me like that. Hütter internally imagined sticking his tongue out at him, then spoke.
“Then I have a suggestion. How about we have the Apprentices discuss among each other tomorrow and have them select a representative? Something like a class president or whatever.”
Hütter thought that, up to this point, there haven’t been nearly enough opportunities for all the Apprentices to have a group conversation.
To that end, deciding a class representative was a good excuse.
In order to select a leader, they would have to talk to each other, and in the process a conversation will be born.
In addition, if there was a leader, it would be easier for the Instructors to relay information to the class going forward.
“Before we Instructors intervene, you want to create an opportunity for them to talk things out……. What do you think, Director Hegelich?”
“We’ll try it.”
Hegelich’s instant response came as a bit of a surprise. He thought he was the type to give these kinds of things a little more thought.
(……No, it’s probably because Hegelich was thinking the same thing. Since I suggested it, that just made it more convenient for him.)
Hegelich declared to all four Instructors: Hütter, Röhm, Sombart, and Armster.
“During tomorrow’s group lesson, Mister Hütter, since you were the one who suggested it, you shall instruct the students to elect a class representative.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Determining a class representative by drawing lots is forbidden. They must talk it out before deciding. Furthermore, the representative will be given permission to access the Second and Third Libraries. Communicate these two points to them.”
That made sense, he wanted the position of class representative to come with some bonuses, rather than being an undesirable assignment.
The fact that he could confidently offer the privilege to access the libraries signified that he definitely planned this out beforehand. If anything, perhaps this was an annual tradition.
(Ah, thanks to that smiley bastard [Sombart] being a bother, I’ve accidentally suggested something I shouldn’t have…..)
He felt that Sombart clearly had some ulterior motive to interfering with the students. That was why he ended up making this needless suggestion.
(Well, since I suggested it, I might as well make use of it.)
Hütter looked at Hegelich with a serious attitude.
“Director Hegelich, may I suggest something?”
“Say it.”
“I’d like you to give them one week to determine their representative. I think we should tell them about it tomorrow, let them talk amongst each other, then have them report to us in a week.”
Hegelich furrowed his brows in suspicion to Hütter’s suggestion.
“And what is the reason for giving them a week of breathing room?”
“As I said before, they need time to talk to each other. If we give them a week, don’t you think they’ll start talking to each other even outside of group lessons?”
Then, with a whole week at their disposal, there will be some who try to make all sorts of moves.
There will be those who seek to form factions, those who work in the shadows, those who shout to campaign for themselves, those who want anyone but themselves, and those who just want to be done with the whole thing.
The easiest thing to envision would be a standoff between the Classical School Roswitha and the Modern School Julius. The rivalry between the two standout talents among the Apprentices could be a serious tinderbox.
Therefore, rather than keeping a lid on that tinderbox, Hütter thought it would be much easier to move onwards if they let that fire burn itself out now.
More than anything, with a week of discussion time, he would have to give the Apprentices time to talk to each other, meaning he had to do less work in individual lessons. This was an incredibly important reason to the con man who was unable to teach magecraft. —Hiding those true feelings of his, Hütter laughed mysteriously.
“I bet we’ll see quite a lot over this next week. We’ll see their individual quirks.”
Presented with the suggestion of a third-rate con man who lived from one stopgap solution to another, Hegelich paused to think, then nodded.
“……Very well, I see no reason not to give them a whole week.”
“Thank you very much.”
Offering his heartfelt thanks, Hütter mentally clenched his fist.
(Alright! That means I can take it easy for a week!)
That said, since he was the one who suggested it, it would probably be best for him to lay a little bit of groundwork first.
(Ms. Röhm seems pretty positive about my suggestion. I don’t have a clue what Sombart is thinking. Armster is pessimistic no matter what I suggest, so I don’t need to worry about him.)
Hütter thought for a bit, then decided to make a request to Röhm.
“Oh, right, Ms. Röhm. Do you have a second? There a student of mine who I want you to talk to…….”
“In that case, can we meet this afternoon? It sounds like my students are going to visit the other towers today.”
“That would be a huge help, thanks. Sorry to take your time!”
As they discussed the contents of Röhm’s instruction, Hütter made sure to confirm the movements of the students in Röhm’s class.
Roswitha, the genius girl of the Classical School, wanted to join the Extermination Office. The diligent, glasses-wearing Ella and the Shaman Sophie often visited the Library Office.
Taking that into account, next he struck up a conversation with Armster.
“By the way, haven’t your students been visiting the Third Spire: Water Bubble a lot lately as well, Mr. Armster? That sounds nice, imbuement magic and all. You get that feeling of making something with your own hands! Will they be headed there today as well?”
“Eh……Yes……..It’s more practical than my instruction, so…….”
“Don’t sell yourself short. I’ve heard of your talents with imbuement magic. On top of that, isn’t it great to have students who are so self-reliant?”
The students in Armster’s class are highly likely to be in the Third Spire: Water Bubble. That wasn’t bad information.
(The confrontation between Tia and Julius today is a good opportunity. On top of that, the other students conveniently have set destinations for this afternoon.)
While he considered how to make best use of that information, Sombart spoke up with a smile.
“As expected of Mr. Hütter. You’re really looking out for the students!”
“Nah, I still have a long way to go.”
Hütter laughed awkwardly, and passed off Sombart’s empty praise.
Good grief, being a teacher was a lot of work.