All-around teacher at the magic academy

Today is the first day of the new semester at St. Peter's College.

This also marks the official beginning of Leon's responsibilities as a faculty member at the academy.

There will be no formal classes on this day; it's just a chance for first-year students to familiarize themselves with the school environment and campus rules.

Leon naturally took on the task of greeting the first-year students. Two other teachers, also newly hired, were also involved in the greeting work with him.

One of them was Ms. Lean Ottolia, the beautiful and gentle teacher Leon had met by chance on the train. The other was Ms. Vic Degan, whom Leon had a brief conversation with in the interview waiting room.

Mr. Vic is a true aristocrat, because he always exudes an air of nobility. You can tell his pride as an aristocrat just by looking at him, but he seems to have some prejudice against commoners.

Teacher Vic always wore exquisite and elegant aristocratic clothing, with a medal on his chest symbolizing his status.

His black hair was styled to a gleaming shine, yet showed no sign of greasiness. A pair of expensive gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, exuding an undeniable aristocratic air.

Whenever Leon met Teacher Vic, he always wore a pair of spotless white gloves, which seemed to be his insistence on aristocratic etiquette.

"Perhaps this is a habit unique to nobles."

Every time he saw this scene, Leon couldn't help but secretly chuckle to himself. To be honest, he was actually a little envious, especially after thinking about how little money he had left in his pocket.

At their first meeting, Leon had a brief conversation with Mr. Vic. Initially, Mr. Vic greeted Leon politely and asked for his name.

Leon generously introduced himself, and he responded with the same politeness.

However, in the second exchange, Teacher Vic directly asked about Leon's identity.

Although it was somewhat presumptuous, Leon had no intention of hiding it. He frankly revealed his commoner background.

Upon learning Leon's identity, Teacher Vic immediately lost interest and never spoke another word to Leon afterward.

To be honest, Leon was very annoyed by his appearance. If he could, Leon would love to beat him up and tell him that his attitude was really unpleasant, and that he might want to do the same to him.

Unfortunately, it seems that both Leon and Professor Vic are quite rational. Doing so would bring them a lot of unnecessary trouble, and Leon doesn't want to cause unnecessary conflict.

He himself was too lazy to communicate with Mr. Vic, lest he be met with a cold shoulder and make a fool of himself. His participation in the first-year student reception work was entirely the dean's personal wish; Leon didn't even have a chance to object.

"Fortunately, Ms. Lian was with us. I must say, Ms. Lian is a truly elegant lady who makes people feel like they are bathed in a spring breeze."

Leon felt a sense of pleasure every time he talked to her.

"By the way, Professor Leon, when did you arrive at the academy? I haven't seen you once in the past few days."

As the three walked toward the academy gate, Lean asked Leon a question.

"Ah, I've been at the academy for five days now. The reason I haven't run into Professor Lian is because I've spent most of my time in the academy's library."

Leon explained to Lian. To be honest, Leon didn't think she would move into the school so early, since it was quite rare for someone like him to have to move in early due to financial difficulties.

"I see, no wonder."

Lian suddenly realized, "I never imagined that Professor Leon was such a gentleman who loves knowledge!"

Leon smiled shyly after being praised.

"Actually, no. I need to look up some information in the college library because of some personal matters."

When Leon told him that he had been spending the last few days in the library, Mr. Vic's expression became somewhat unnatural.

But when Leon explained that he needed the library books because of his special circumstances, Mr. Vic's expression returned to normal.

Leon noticed this tiny detail precisely. He felt that the other person might not think of him as someone who loved knowledge. Although Leon himself felt that he might not love learning, he was still very unhappy and felt that the other person looked down on him.

...

"We've arrived at the college gate. It's not even nine o'clock yet, and new students are already starting to arrive and wait at the gate."

Lian saw that there were already some people standing at the entrance of the academy and remarked on their enthusiasm and energy.

The task of welcoming new students is actually quite simple. The main task is to confirm whether all the new first-grade students will be here today. Each student entering the school will be asked to sign a form with their corresponding name to confirm their arrival.

Leon and his two companions each took two forms and were responsible for a group of students.

"Good, the queue is neat and orderly, and no one is cutting in line."

Mr. Vic showed satisfaction when he saw the group representing the noble students; this was the first thing he said that day. But when he turned to the group representing the commoners and saw some students cutting in line, his face revealed undisguised disgust.

Leon was numb to his performance, even finding it more in line with his character. Meanwhile, Professor Lian simply gave an awkward smile.

To be honest, Leon felt that Teacher Vic was deeply prejudiced. In the Kingdom of Odris, less than one in a thousand people held noble status, and it was very likely that it was even less than one in a thousand.

Even at St. Peter's Academy, commoners make up the majority of the student body. Leon hasn't conducted a specific survey, but from what he understands, the number of nobles is definitely not large. Commoners, on the other hand, constitute the vast majority of the country, so many that there might not be a single noble among a thousand people.

There are only a dozen or so aristocratic students currently in line, but over a hundred commoner students are. Given such a large number, it's predictable that a few impolite students will slip in.

Furthermore, there are very strict class distinctions among nobles. When a count's son meets a marquis's son, he will always lower his own posture. This is a normal phenomenon caused by the difference in status.

But children from ordinary families don't have this advantage. They come from very ordinary families and rarely have access to people from high-class backgrounds. Even if some families are wealthy, their social status still cannot be compared to that of the nobility.

Mr. Vic's attitude of rejecting all ordinary students at once is very unfair to those ordinary students who are queuing normally.

Leon didn't intend to point out Professor Vic's problems, after all, others have their own set of standards for judgment. It's difficult for outsiders to fundamentally change this mindset, and Leon didn't want to make himself uncomfortable.

Time flies, and before we knew it, it was almost lunchtime.

"Professor Leon, would you like to go for lunch together after this is over?" Professor Leon said, stretching.

“Yes, it would be my pleasure,” Leon replied politely.

This morning, about two-thirds of the new students successfully checked in, which will greatly reduce the workload in the afternoon.

"Sitting for so long is so tiring. I hope I can finish early this afternoon and submit my work to the dean."

On the way to the restaurant, Mr. Lean complained to Leon. Mr. Vic didn't come along; he seemed to prefer being with the nobles.

“Many students have already arrived this morning, and there aren’t many left. Besides, they want to arrive early to use the extra time to learn about the school, so we’ll probably finish early this afternoon,” Leon analyzed seriously.

"I hope so."

Leon enjoyed his lunch break. Afterward, he treated Professor Lian to a cup of coffee out of his own pocket and asked him some questions.

Although Leon wasn't a very generous person, he didn't hesitate at all when it came to buying Professor Lean coffee.

"Thank you so much for the coffee, Professor Leon." Lian politely expressed his gratitude to Leon.

"You're welcome."

"By the way, Professor Lian, do you have any research on curse magic?" Leon thought for a moment and decided to ask her anyway.

"I don't know much about curse magic, but I'm more proficient in elemental spirit summoning magic."

"Teacher Lian apologized."

"Have you been investigating this matter for the past few days? Have you been cursed or something?"

"Not really, I just want to learn some magical knowledge about curses."

Leon planned to keep his affairs a secret from Professor Lian, as there was no need for others to know his situation.

"Okay, that's good. I'm sorry I can't offer you any effective help in this regard."

Teacher Lian said with some self-reproach.

"It's alright, Professor Lian, you don't need to apologize. It wasn't a very important thing to begin with."

...

As Leon had predicted, the work was completed quickly in the afternoon. After submitting their work to the dean, Leon and Lian returned to their respective residences to prepare for tomorrow.

Back in his room, Leon lay on the bed and rubbed his temples, trying to relax his body and mind.

He had only intended to take a nap, but ended up sleeping until six in the afternoon. After waking up, Leon quickly tidied himself up and went out again.

Today, while accepting new students, he ran into a familiar freshman and they agreed to meet at 7 p.m. to chat. Now it's almost time for the appointed time.

Leon walked along the road at dusk, the scattered rays of the sunset shining on him and casting a long shadow. His thoughts were taken back to four years ago, recalling the time when he first met him.