I Became an Unknown Professor at the Academy

What’s going on here?!” The woman who had been guiding them moments ago rushed over, her face pale with shock.

“Jayden.”

“Yes?”

The boy, who had been standing there dazed, flinched and responded.

“Bring him over.”

“Yes, sir.”

He looked like he had a lot to say, but he kept his mouth shut and trudged over to retrieve the man I had knocked out.

“Um, excuse me…”

The woman, who had somehow appeared right in front of me, whispered as she glanced at me.

“Are you the person in charge?”

“No, I’m not…!”

“Get the person in charge.”

“Um, yes, of course.”

After a moment’s hesitation, the woman nodded at the large man being dragged over by Jayden’s magic and quickly turned to leave.

“Next time, a heads up would be appreciated. My heart nearly stopped, seriously…”

I pushed her away as she tried to lean in close to whisper in my ear, her face annoyingly close.

Click.

I took a picture of the unconscious man’s face, his eyes rolled back, and sent it to Claire.

[Me: (picture)]

[Me: Do you know him?]

Woong-

The reply came quickly.

[Claire: Ben Stiller, an awakened American.]

[Claire: He’s on the rankings, so I know his face.]

[Claire: I’ve never had any contact or communication with him.]

[Claire: I wonder what he said about me…]

[Me: No.]

I was about to send a reply that I’d contact her again after the opening ceremony when—

[Claire: (●♡◡♡●)]

[Claire: (´∀｀)♡]

[Claire: ✿♥‿♥✿]

[Claire: ㅂㅜㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏㅏ]

[Claire: It’s not me. The little one pressed it.]

I couldn’t see it, but I could clearly picture Claire scolding the fairy, who was probably squawking in embarrassment.

[Claire: Woo-jin…?]

[Me: I’ll contact you later.]

I was tempted to press some of those emoticons, but I put my phone away instead.

‘Ben Stiller.’

I felt a surge of displeasure as I looked at the face of the man I had knocked unconscious, causing a concussion.

I had no memory of ever meeting him.

From the magic he possessed and Claire’s mention of the rankings, I could easily guess that he was a double-digit ranked individual.

‘I don’t know.’

The man had been hostile towards me from the moment he arrived.

While it was irritating, it wasn’t enough for me to take action.

But the moment his lips uttered Claire’s name, I acted without thinking.

‘…Is it because of my possessiveness?’

Greed was currently very cooperative with me.

However, it was a power that wasn’t originally mine, and I couldn’t easily predict when or how it might cause trouble.

As I searched for the reason why I had acted against the man, the woman who had disappeared earlier returned with an older middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man, wearing a brown long coat, stopped about five steps away and bowed politely.

“I’m Eddie Holt, the chief organizer of the opening ceremony.”

After introducing himself politely, he slowly straightened up, and I examined his face.

Soft eyes and shallow wrinkles.

And a cross-shaped scar on his left cheek.

‘So this is Eddie Holt.’

In the other world’s memories, his appearance was never described in detail. Instead, every time the name Eddie Holt was mentioned, the cross-shaped scar on his left cheek was always noted.

The former captain of the Royal Guard.

Britain’s sharpest sword.

And…

‘The Queen’s Shadow.’

Eddie Holt stood there calmly, waiting for me to speak first.

Originally, I had planned to wake up the unconscious man, listen to what he had to say, and then wrap things up.

But the appearance of the Queen’s confidant changed my mind.

“His name is Ben Stiller.”

“Yes, it is.”

Eddie Holt nodded after glancing at Ben Stiller, who was lying on the ground.

“The name Ben Stiller is not on the submitted list. Did you invite him separately?”

“No.”

“Then he must have entered illegally.”

“Yes.”

His voice was calm and steady, without any fluctuations.

“I hope that’s not a lie.”

“Of course not.”

His audacity was impressive, perhaps due to his age.

“Jayden.”

“Yes, Professor.”

“Wake him up.”

“Should I slap him?”

I nodded at his question, and—

Slap—!! Slap—!!

Two crisp slaps echoed quickly.

Jaden had squatted down and slapped Ben Stiller’s left and right cheeks in quick succession.

The effect was immediate.

“Ugh…”

The blue irises descended into the white of his eyes.

The dazed focus gradually became clearer, and—

“Huh?!”

Suddenly, he sat up, gasping for breath.

“You… you…”

And then he pointed at me and opened his mouth.

“You coward, using an artifact on top of a surprise attack?!”

Correction.

After the accusation, he denied reality and fabricated a lie.

‘Is he hot-tempered?’

I took control of the magic that was actively moving within him.

“Huh…?”

The intense magical wave of malice, on top of the hostility he had shown earlier, disappeared, and the man once again made a stupid expression.

But that only lasted for a moment.

He twisted his uniquely shaped face and glared at me with anger.

“What trickery are you up to—?”

“Ben Stiller.”

I cut him off.

Perhaps because he had shown malice earlier, his body tried to move on its own again. If I used my power again, he would either become half-paralyzed or die.

“Tell me what you were going to say to me earlier.”

“You crazy bastard…”

The man glared at me with the intention of pouncing on me if he could, baring his teeth.

After glaring at me for a while, he spat on the ground and opened his mouth, his eyes filled with mixed emotions.

“I came to see Claire…”

Crack—!!

This time, I moved my hand of my own volition.

“You bastard… kugh?!”

“Don’t speak my lover’s name so casually.”

You vermin.

I swallowed the rest of my words.

I didn’t want to show this look to Baek Hana, who was watching me with concern.

“Huff…!”

Instead, I loosened the magic that was squeezing his heart a little.

“I’ll ask again. What were you going to say to me earlier?”

“I came to meet the Executioner of the God Bwiar…”

His voice, which came out of his mouth again, was calm and settled, as if his anger had subsided. But in his eyes, which were staring at me, there was an even denser negative emotion than before.

“I approached you because I wanted to find out the location of your lover, who isn’t here…”

Creak!!

A chilling sound escaped from the man’s mouth.

“The purpose of my visit was…”

“To show you that I’m a better man than you…”

I took a step back from him.

I judged that if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to suppress the urge to tear his mouth apart.

‘Is that so…?’

Through the emotions that were boiling as much as his, I found the reason why I had used my power against him.

He had not only dared to desire her, but also tried to disgrace her by revealing his ugly thoughts.

My body, which had acted on its own, must have sensed the ugly emotions that the vermin in front of me had felt.

‘As I thought, my wretched soul is not enough to fully utilize the original owner’s body.’

Suppressing the boiling emotions, I asked the vermin, who was still baring his teeth at me, a question.

“Tonight, at the opening ceremony party, I’ll give you a chance to prove what you just said.”

“Huh?”

The man contorted his face strangely.

“So… let’s have a proper fight in front of everyone?”

“Yes.”

“…”

Unlike what I had expected, the man showed a lot of hesitation.

“Fine. But I’ll also call a separate witness.”

“Do as you please.”

I returned the control of the stolen magic to him and waved my hand.

“Get lost.”

“Remember that no matter how great your artifact is, you’ve dug your own grave, you bastard.”

The man flipped me off and disappeared from sight with a single leap.

I turned my head and looked at the Queen’s Shadow, who was standing there like a bystander.

“So that’s how it is.”

“It seems there’s a lot to prepare for the two of you to have a fair fight. Is there anything else you’d like to say?”

“No.”

“In that case, I’ll have to be rude and take my leave, as time is of the essence.”

Eddie Holt bowed politely, just as he had before, and left without a sound.

“Something smells fishy—”

“Shut up.”

I pushed Jayden away and closed my eyes.

No one spoke until the rehearsal began.