The Retired Supporting Character Wants to Live Quietly

Chapter 7 – The Headmaster Must Stay for My Own Convenience

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 7 – The Headmaster Must Stay for My Own Convenience

The sluggish movements of the academy students, the obstacles that barely function, and the empty bows they shoot with their mouths.

Whenever someone enthusiastically tries to move faster, the instructors shout and stop them, saying it’s dangerous and they might get hurt.

Watching this from the control tower, I felt it keenly. This is truly a time of peace. Ten years ago, when the Demon King’s army was rampaging, such a scene would have been unimaginable.

The root cause of the turmoil across the continent has disappeared, and the nations that suffered enormous losses during the four-year war are now focusing on post-war recovery, ‘for now’, setting aside their old grudges.

In this situation, the headmaster is so entrenched in a safety-first, self-preservation mindset that nothing is functioning properly.

“There’s a mage in the academy, right?”

“Yes, there is… but why do you ask?”

“Call the mage. From now on, I will take direct control here.”

When I instructed the mage who arrived at the training ground on what I had in mind, the comprehensive combat training professor was shocked and shouted.

“That’s not allowed! It’s too dangerous!”

“Do you think they can be deployed in actual combat at this level? They’ll all be dead.”

“But the headmaster herself has already assessed the safety….”

“Enough. I’ll take all responsibility. I can’t tolerate this way of training.”

Anyone who saw me would think I was a dedicated and passionate head professor, but that’s far from the truth. My sole concern is ensuringHeadmaster Kirrin retains her position.

If these subpar students were to be deployed as they are, we’d be heavily criticized. The Second Princess, who has been sharpening her knife, would seize this opportunity to oust Kirrin and install me in her place. If not me, she’d bring back Linus.

For Linus and me to live peacefully, Kirrin must remain the headmaster, and for Kirrin to remain the headmaster, the academy students’ skills must improve dramatically.

The problem is that Kirrin is so afraid of losing her head over a safety accident that she’s extremely restrained. She doesn’t realize that this very behavior is what’s actually endangering her position.

So, I have to step in as the head professor.

“So, you mean to say I should cast attack magic dangerously close to the students?”

The mage licked his lips excitedly, his eyes sparkling. Given the current atmosphere at the academy, he hadn’t had a chance to use real magic, so he was quite thrilled.

When the first explosion occurred from the attack magic cast by the mage, the academy students, who had been lazily jogging, were stunned and looked back.

“What are you doing?! If you stand there, you’ll get roasted!”

It wasn’t until the second explosion knocked a few of them down that the academy students grasped the situation and started running. Attack magic relentlessly rained down behind them.

Nodding as I watched the training ground explode, I thought, this is more like it. This is what an Imperial Espionage Academy should look like.

“You crazy bastard!!!”

At that moment, I saw Headmaster Kirrin screaming and running towards us from the entrance of the training ground.

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“Ah, headmaster. You’re here.”

“What the hell are you doing?!”

As a Dark Elf, Kirrin leaped onto the control tower in a single bound, trying to grab me by the collar.

Dodging smoothly, I avoided her grasp, and when she tried again, I evaded once more. Eventually, she gave up trying to grab my collar and shouted.

“Are you trying to get the kids killed!?”

“In fact, I’m trying to keep them alive.”

“And casting attack magic at them isn’t trying to kill them!?”

“If these kids graduate in their current state, you’ll lose your head.”

Headmaster Kirrin, who was about to draw a dagger from her sleeve in her excitement, stopped.

“What… my head…?”

“If the students trained at the academy are a mess, whose fault is it? The headmaster’s fault, right?”

“That, that’s….”

“You’re aware the Palace looking for any reason to fire you, right?”

“Ugh….”

Seeing she knew this, Kirrin put away her dagger and stepped back a few paces. I smiled and held up my fingers.

“To avoid taking responsibility for accidents, you drastically reduce training. As a result, the students’ skills decline. Various departments that receive these new recruits raise objections. The Second Princess rejoices. The headmaster goes back to the forest.”

“No, I can’t…!”

“The actions you’re taking to secure your position are ultimately the noose around your neck. Do you understand?”

“I know that… but….”

The headmaster looked at the training ground, where magical smoke was rising, with fearful eyes.

The Dark Elf clan, who had once sided with the Demon King’s army and then defected again. Representing this clan in civilized society, the burden and responsibility must be immense. I understand.

Regardless, having seen the state of the academy, my immediate goal is to ensure this headmaster is recognized in the Palace.

Kirrin benefits by keeping her position, the Second Princess gets well-trained graduates, Linus can focus on raising his child without worry, and I avoid being appointed as the headmaster. It’s a win-win-win-win situation.

# # # # #

I spent the whole day inspecting the academy.

Here, the Imperial Special Mission Academy’s curriculum is divided into two main categories: one is the theoretical education mixed with various subjects, like any other academy, known as the Theory Department.

The other is the Combat Department, which I observed earlier, covering infiltration, assassination, kidnapping, terrorism, guerrilla warfare, and more.

The Theory Department doesn’t seem to have significant issues.

It has a Head Theory Professor like me, and all the professors are experts in their fields. Since it’s conducted indoors, Headmaster Kirrin doesn’t interfere much.

The biggest problem is the useless training caused by the headmaster’s overly cautious nature, resulting in no practical combat experience. In other words, the training I need to oversee in the Combat Department.

Most field exercises have been replaced with theoretical classes, and even when conducted outdoors, any activity with even a slight risk of injury has been drastically reduced or excluded, making it almost like a picnic.

I’ll likely need to focus on this area, as I’m unfamiliar with theoretical education. The Palace and Linus sent me here to leverage my practical experience.

First, I’ll have to overhaul that strange ‘safety assessment’ system. I also organized various plans to improve the Combat Department into a report.

When I went to the headmaster’s office to get approval for the report, the administrator director shook his head as he saw me.

[Translator – Peptobismol]

“It would be best for you to quit, Head Combat Professor.”

“What?”

“It’s probably about making the Combat Department’s courses more practical, right? The previous professor ran away trying to do exactly that.”

“Oh, really?”

The administrator director sighed deeply.

“If everything the Combat Department tries gets rejected, nothing can function properly. Well, if you’re determined to proceed, I won’t stop you.”

“Thanks for the advice. I’ll go in now.”

I entered the office and explained the report to Kirrin. As she listened, her expression changed constantly.

“That’s not possible! What if they get seriously injured?”

“No problem. Isn’t there a medical facility here?”

“Well, there is….”

“Then it’s fine. We’ll cut the safety assessment criteria by half and make the training more practical.”

“But if they really get hurt, it will be a problem.”

“It won’t be a problem. Wait a moment….”

I had a bad feeling when I saw Kirrin’s eyes.

“Are there any noble children among the academy students?”

Kirrin nodded silently, and I shrugged.

“We’re still going ahead. If they don’t like it, tell them to leave.”

“I could never say that!”

“It’s fine. Nobles or not, they’re just academy students here. And.”

Looking Kirrin straight in the eye as she remained uneasy, I said.

“If anyone makes a fuss about the tough training, just say I did it. This won’t trouble you, headmaster.”

“What?”

“I’ll protect you. So don’t worry.”

“What…?”

Kirrin stared at me for a moment, then suddenly turned red with anger.

“If anyone hears that, they’ll think you acted cautiously out of fear!”

“Well, isn’t that the truth? Why make a fuss about it?”

“Then I’ll leave it here, so please approve it quickly. If not, I will become the headmaster and approve it myself…”

“Get out! Leave the documents and get out immediately!”

Laughing, I stepped back.

“And tidy up these documents while you’re at it. What is all this?”

I pointed to the piles on his desk, and Kirrin sighed with deep fatigue.

“What do you expect me to do when they keep piling up…”

“Haha, well, nothing can be done then. Good luck!”

### ### ### ### ###

“Crazy bastard!”

Kirrin suddenly shouted, throwing the pen she was holding. Although it had been a while since Dian left the office, Kirrin couldn’t focus at all.

It wasn’t the contents of Dian’s report on improving the Combat Department that bothered her. It was what Dian had said earlier.

‘I’ll protect you’.

“Aaaagh!!”

“What’s wrong, headmaster?!”

Hearing Kirrin’s scream as she held her head, the administrator director burst through the door.

“What happened?”

“Nothing. Go back to work.”

As the administrator left, Kirrin abruptly got up and threw open the window. The warm spring breeze blew in, fluttering her black hair.

However, the spring breeze did nothing to calm Kirrin’s heart; instead, it made it even more turbulent.

“Shit, shit, shit.”

Kirrin muttered rough words to calm her chaotic mind, pulling out the dagger from her sleeve. Feeling the cool, sharp blade brought a slight sense of relief.

Kirrin had lived her whole life in the Dark Elves’ forest.

Dark Elves are colder and more cynical than other races. For them, expressions of affection or warm physical contact were forbidden.

Kirrin was also a Dark Elf and had never heard a kind word from anyone. Instead, her father constantly pressured her to elevate the clan’s honor.

Dian’s words that he would protect her struck Kirrin with an immense shock. It was like….

“Get a grip, you idiot!”

Kirrin clenched the dagger and shouted.

That statement was just a common expression meaning he’d take responsibility. Don’t get stupidly excited!

Mercilessly slapping her own cheeks, Kirrin strode back to her desk. Frowning, she cupped her cheek.

“Ah… it hurts….”

Then, she scrawled her signature in the approval section of the report submitted by Dian.

Looking at the contents, it seemed like a death warrant, but it was inevitable. Considering all factors, there was something about this man named Dian.

Maybe he really could protect her…

[Translator – Peptobismol]