* * *

[Monsters Subjugated: 27/50]

‘We’ve barely cleared half. Where are they going already?’

If I’d come out even a little later, I would’ve actually died from quest failure.

I never expected them to choose to retreat just like that.

‘These kids are smarter than me. Retreating when your commander vanishes is the right call.’

I hid my look of distaste as best I could and wiped the monster viscera splattered across my cheek with the back of my hand.

Since the massive thing had blown apart like a bomb, I was inevitably drenched in sticky sludge from head to toe.

‘If I looked in a mirror right now, I’d genuinely throw up.’

In the novel, they’d wash it all off in one go with some kind of cleaning magic. I want to learn that too. Ugh, I only have one set of clothes.

As I grumbled internally and lifted my head, I met five pairs of eyes staring dumbly in my direction.

Unbelievable. I said fight, didn’t I? The clock’s still ticking, you know? They’re like characters in auto-battle who keep freezing up.

The Healer was the first to speak.

“Professor?! Are you alive…?”

“Unfortunately for you lot.”

“Whoa… as expected of you, Professor! Did you let yourself get eaten on purpose to attack the boss monster from the inside?!”

The Model Student shouted with an expression like he was about to faint.

As if that were possible? Well, it was something along those lines, at least.

More importantly, this is painfully adorable. Not only does he interpret everything in the best possible light, he even makes a fuss about it. Thanks to him, my character roleplay is getting more solid by the minute.

“Silence. I believe I said today was your field training. Where exactly is your attention wandering? Forgetting your objective so easily—do you have a death wish?”

“Ah, we’re sorry! We’ll resume field training right away!”

“Nika! D-don’t charge in alone…!”

Once the Model Student and Healer returned to their duties, Twin-braid looked my way with a grin.

“Professor~ Those idiots might just let it slide, but not me. Whatever you’re scheming… I’ll figure it out someday, so watch me.”

I knew she deserved the title of Number One Threat. Terrifying. Can’t I just give her a passing grade?

“And I know what your personality is like, Professor, but go easy on those kids. They seem pretty shaken up~”

‘Gasp.’

I followed Twin-braid’s glance and almost flinched before I could stop myself.

“…This is the worst.”

One of them was streaming tears while glaring at me fiercely.

“P-p-prof. P-professor. Hic! Hic!”

The other had gone white only at the tips of his hair and was sitting on the ground, hiccuping.

Even the curse tattoo on his face seemed to have faded slightly.

…Did he half-Awaken? But does that make his hair two-toned?

I shot Twin-braid a look that said “Why are they like this?” but—

“Oops, I need to rack up my score too~ Field training, field training!”

The little brat darted off infuriatingly. Hey, kid!

In the end, only the Princess—who looked like he wanted me dead—and the Protagonist, still dazed and hiccuping, were left standing there with me.

Telling them to go hunt monsters at this point would be… a bit much, given the atmosphere.

But I had to maintain my character roleplay, so I opened my mouth to speak—only for the Princess to beat me to it.

“Did you… really have to do it that way? If you had the skill to blow it up in one shot, you could’ve done that from the start. Were you trying to create a dangerous situation? To see our true capabilities?”

That left me speechless.

What do I do with this. It’s a completely understandable misunderstanding. But since it actually fits the “strongest” roleplay better, I can’t exactly explain everything away.

“If that too is a form of teaching, then I understand. But… I-I was startled…”

The Princess finally hung his head and began to sob. The Protagonist’s crying grew louder in turn.

I don’t have a hobby of making kids cry! I want to pull them into a hug and apologize right now! But I can’t!

The longer I stay silent, the deeper the misunderstanding grows, and the more impossible it becomes to explain. Sure, this is perfectly in character for Chris, but still!

‘No! Princess, I’m really trying to survive here. I just didn’t have any other option.’

The reason I was able to blow that large monster apart from the inside.

It was actually quite simple.

To put it bluntly…

‘It ate too much and literally burst.’

You can’t just gorge yourself on S-rank mana and expect to be fine.

In the end, I skipped the explanation.

I can’t abandon my character roleplay.

“Haa… I believe I told you to leave if you had complaints about my methods.”

I’m sorry, please don’t leave. Keep staying in our class. If you actually go, I’ll wail and cry for three days straight.

But outwardly, all I could do was sigh wearily and sweep my hair back.

Because that’s… who Chris Dotten is.

“…I’m not someone who makes the same mistake twice.”

“A-ah, w-we’re sorry… Please don’t abandon us, Professor… *hic*.”

The Princess clenched his jaw and wiped his tears, while the Protagonist struggled to stand on trembling legs.

My heart ached. No, I mean I physically felt pain. It felt like being a university professor with a one-star community rating, bullying freshmen.

I felt tears threatening to come, so I scrunched my face even harder.

“Now, do what you’re supposed to do.”

Is giving orders with an arrogant tilt of the chin really the best I can do?

Yes, it is.

I see.

Feeling my psyche fracture, I sent the kids back to the battlefield.

‘I’d love to explain in detail if I could, but…’

Every living creature in this world has mana.

Among them, monsters—beings unloved by the gods—have less innate mana than humans. So they instinctively crave the mana of other creatures.

Humans, in particular, possess an overwhelmingly large amount of mana, making them easy targets.

In other words.

[Mana: S-Rank – Human Magic Core]

So what does Chris, who has nothing but mana, look like to them?

‘Like the finest foie gras topped with caviar, garnished with ground diamonds. And she can’t even use magic? It’s a trussed-up roast walking right up to you!’

Hey, if it were me, I’d be drooling with my mouth wide open too.

But if even a shred of intelligence had been granted to that monster, it would never have chosen to swallow an S-rank.

‘Try shoving a watermelon into a small plastic bag. Does it fit, or does it rip?’

The monster’s body bursting from absorbing more mana than it could handle, versus my mana depleting.

I bet on the former being faster, and the result… well, as you can see.

‘But ultimately, this only works if I actually get swallowed by the monster. If anything, surviving was possible because it was a large one.’

In other words, this method only works if they swallow you whole in a single gulp. If those little horned-rabbit minions had swarmed me all at once, I wouldn’t have stood a chance either.

‘Thank god the students were here…’

With the apex predator gone, the minions started openly coveting me, but look.

“Monsters! Look over here! Light of Protection, 『Dawn』!”

The tank, Model Student, pulled aggro for me.

“Then let’s go on the beat! One, two, yap~! 『Tidal Surge』!”

The area-of-effect dealer, Twin-braid, scattered their formation—

“『Icicle』.”

And the Princess, whose sense of responsibility was so strong he didn’t forget to attack even while crying, finished them off.

“Michael, guard the Professor. 『Song of Sprouts』.”

Even the Protagonist, buffed by the Healer, fought off monsters slipping through the gaps.

“Huu, hic, 『Campfire』…!”

Perhaps the incomplete Awakening had affected his stats—the Protagonist’s flames were noticeably larger than before.

Watching them, I was beyond admiration; I wanted to give them a standing ovation.

‘I haven’t taught them a single thing, and yet they’re already working together like clockwork.’

No matter how I look at it, the role of “professor” in X-Class seems to amount to checking homework and writing newsletters.

Well, as long as they grow on their own, that’s fine by me.

‘So let me focus on keeping myself alive.’

[Equipped Item: ‘Monkey KeyRing’!

Agility increases by one rank for the duration of equipping.

F / Snail’s Friend -> E / Snail’s Senior]

With no need to give direct orders, I didn’t have to open my mouth anymore. In that case, I’d better make the most of whatever items I had.

I was a squishy body that’d go see my late grandmother from a single minion’s basic attack, so I needed to boost my agility…

“Eek! P-Professor, are you okay?”

…The moment that thought crossed my mind, I barely dodged a horned rabbit’s front paw.

I really hoped it looked to the Protagonist like: ‘The damage is basically nothing, should I just take it? Nah, too annoying. Let me just dodge.’

‘If I still had F-rank agility, I’d have lost half my face for sure. Don’t let any mobs leak through, you brats! I’m not Hobap Man!’

I poured that desperate sentiment into my gaze and looked at them pleadingly—

[Monsters Subjugated: 36/50]

[Monsters Subjugated: 43/50]

[Monsters Subjugated: 49/50]

The kill count suddenly shot up.

“I thought we were doing pretty well, but she’s still glaring at us like that~”

“I still haven’t met the Professor’s standards! I shall redouble my efforts!”