The Retired Supporting Character Wants to Live Quietly

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 17 – The Professor You Chose (7)

“What do you mean by that, Head Professor? How would the average drop?”

“There’s a reason for it, but explaining it would be a hassle.”

Nightley wracked her brain, trying to decipher the underlying meaning of Dian’s words.

The private tutoring of the academy’s top student, the daughter of a Duke, wouldn’t help his career? It couldn’t be that he couldn’t officially list it on his resume. But the ‘career’ Nightley was referring to wasn’t just about adding another line to his CV.

What she meant by ‘career’ was forging a close relationship with one of the key players in the Imperial House of Nobles, the Duke of Toulouse. Such a privilege was unimaginable for a mere head professor at an academy.

Since Dian already had an acquaintance with her father, creating another connection would undoubtedly benefit his future.

In truth, Nightley had fled to the academy to escape an arranged marriage and pursue her dream of becoming a special agent, a dream inspired by the stories of Imperial special operatives told by her brothers who had survived the Four-Year War ten years ago.

She wanted to escape the stifling mansion that felt like a cage and become an operative who roamed the continent. When the Special Mission Academy was established, she saw her chance and ran away.

However, the academy didn’t provide the education she had hoped for, so she trained on her own until Professor Dian appeared.

When she boldly charged at him with a wooden sword to see how skilled he was, Professor Dian, looking bored to the point of yawning, swung his wooden sword once or twice, and Nightley found herself temporarily unconscious, not knowing how she was defeated.

At that moment, Nightley decided. She would make that professor her own. She would use Professor Dian as a stepping stone to achieve her dream.

Conveniently, when her father visited the academy and saw Professor Dian, he tacitly approved of her attendance, so Nightley decided to take full advantage of this opportunity.

In other words, as long as Professor Dian was at the academy, Nightley wouldn’t be expelled or forced to withdraw by her family. So, using her family’s influence to win over a professor she liked was entirely possible.

But what was their relationship? Probably just a commander-subordinate relationship during the war. The details didn’t matter to her.

In any case, with Dian around, she wouldn’t be forcibly withdrawn or expelled, allowing her to confidently leverage her family’s influence to persuade him.

She thought that by teaching her, Dian could solidify his relationship with the powerful Toulouse family, not just add a line to his resume.

So, Nightley assumed Dian fully understood her intentions about ‘career,’ but now he was saying the opposite? That it would actually harm his career?

What was he thinking? And how great could his career be? At best, he probably had a few commendations from the battlefield.

Nightley, with her characteristic arrogance and self-righteousness as a noblewoman, couldn’t understand Dian’s reaction.

But she wasn’t one to give up easily. Nightley always pursued what she set her mind on until she achieved it.

That’s how she had shaped her own destiny so far, and Professor Dian would be no exception.

“Professor, please reconsider. It would be beneficial for both of us…”

“Once a week.”

“Pardon?”

Dian held up one finger.

“Once a week, I can tutor you. But I can’t focus on you every day like a homeroom teacher.”

“But Professor, isn’t that too infrequent? I haven’t received proper combat training at the academy until now. With just a year left until graduation, I need to be ready for field assignments…”

“That’s enough.”

“What…?”

“Once a week is enough. By the time you graduate, you’ll be able to undertake missions as an operative.”

Despite Dian’s confident assertion, Nightley found it hard to fully trust his words. No matter how skilled he was as the Head Combat Professor, that seemed a bit too optimistic…

However, she soon changed her mind. For now, securing this promise was a start. She could gradually increase the frequency later.

Nightley was confident she could win over Dian, this pale, unremarkable man. As the daughter of a grand noble family and the top student at the academy, she was well aware of her own beauty.

With enough weapons in her arsenal, she believed Professor Dian would fall within a month and become her dedicated mentor.

“Alright, Professor. Let’s do that. I’ll be happy to receive your instruction, and you can establish a relationship with my family. It’s a win-win.”

“Sure, sure. Now, go on. I’m busy and have a meeting to attend.”

As Dian waved his hands dismissively, Nightley asked.

“When will the first private lesson be?”

“I’ll let you know later. I need to see if I can adjust my schedule for this week. Now, go. Quickly.”

“Understood, Professor. I’ll wait for your contact. You can visit my dorm. I live alone.”

Nightley gave a rather seductive smile and crossed her legs, causing her skirt to ride up and reveal her smooth thighs.

But Professor Dian, instead of responding, walked to his desk, sat down, and started rummaging through a drawer.

Seeing this, Nightley chuckled softly. He said he had a meeting, but now he’s rummaging through a drawer? He’s trying hard to hide his flustered reaction to my legs. Turns out he has a naive side.

Just wait, Professor… I’ll make sure you can’t escape. You’ll become a professor dedicated solely to me.

# # # # #

After confirming Nightley had left, I pulled out a whipped cream pie topped with cherries from the back of the drawer.

Thankfully, it didn’t seem spoiled yet. I had to eat it by today, or it would have gone bad.

I had been thinking about this pie halfway through the meeting with Nightley, but the conversation kept dragging on, which was a problem. Since it was the only one, I couldn’t share it, so I used the meeting excuse to hurry her out.

Taking a big bite of the cream pie, the sweet taste filled my mouth, making me smile.

This is really good. It’s from the bakery in front of the academy gate. I’ll have to ask Olysia to get it more often.

Thinking about it, this vast academy lacks proper amenities. Modern universities have all sorts of franchises on campus, right?

Bringing in various franchises would benefit both the staff and students, while the academy could collect rent and fees. It’s a win-win for everyone.

Of course, quality control would be essential to prevent monopolistic complacency. That’s something the administrative office could handle.

Although it’s not directly related to the Combat Department, it greatly affects my quality of life. I’ll have to discuss this idea later.

Hmm, what should I bring in? Since Olysia has been doing a lot of grocery shopping lately, I’ll have to ask her this evening.

First, there needs to be a bakery, and at least one restaurant, no, maybe two or three of different types? With so many people here. And also…

# # # # #

[Translator – Peptobismol]

A few days later, late evening at the dormitory.

“Um, Class President…”

A few female students approached Nightley with shy expressions. Each held a small, prettily wrapped box in their hands.

“Could you… take this…”

Nightley, staring intently at the students offering the boxes, scoffed.

“Sorry, but I’m not interested in dating girls. Try somewhere else.”

“Huh?”

The girls’ eyes widened in surprise at Nightley’s icy response, and they began to stammer in embarrassment.

“Th-this isn’t for you… it’s for Professor Dian…”

“What?”

“We wanted to give these to the Head Combat Professor…”

“What did you say?”

It wasn’t that their voices were too soft or that she was trying to scare them by asking again. Nightley simply couldn’t comprehend what they were saying.

“We saw you with the Head Combat Professor the other day… You seemed close. He’s too high-ranking for us to approach directly…”

Nightley, staring at the girls in silence, suddenly realized she had made a ridiculous misunderstanding, and her expression twisted with shame and anger.

Since her freshman year, she had been the target of gifts and confessions, so she naturally assumed they were meant for her.

“Do you think I’m your errand girl? Delivering gifts like a servant?!”

Startled, the girls quickly apologized and ran away, while other students, who had been watching with bated breath, tried to stifle their laughter and avoid eye contact or quietly left.

“Those girls are really something.”

Nightley’s followers, who had gathered around her, gave her fake smiles and cast disdainful glances.

“Who do they think they are, telling Lady Nightley what to do?”

“Right? If this were outside, they wouldn’t even be allowed near her.”

“You guys are no different, are you?”

Nightley’s sharp retort silenced her followers, who exchanged uneasy glances.

Leaving them behind, Nightley strode down the corridor.

“Nightley! Where are you going? The night infiltration class is about to start!”

“I’ll handle it. Mind your own business!”

Nightley was highly agitated. Even the smallest things set her off. Days had passed without a word from Professor Dian.

He had agreed to teach her once a week, and she had thought she had ensnared him with her deliberate flirtation, but why was there no news?

Fuming, Nightley left the dormitory and headed for the faculty building. She intended to confront him directly in his office.

“Professor! Professor Dian!”

She pounded on the door marked ‘Head Combat Professor Dian,’ but there was no response. Seeing no light under the door, she realized he had already left. Should she go to his quarters?

But the night infiltration class was about to start. Unlike a theory class, it involved practical exercises in the academy’s external mountainous terrain, so skipping wasn’t an option.

After a moment of indecision, Nightley returned to the dormitory.

She decided to attend the class. She could meet Professor Dian tomorrow, but night infiltration exercises weren’t a daily occurrence.

“Hey, there she is! Nightley, could you give this letter to Professor Dian…?”

“Get lost!”

“Eek! I’m sorry!”

# # # # #

Outside the academy, the night infiltration class was held in an area with coastal cliffs and a few high points.

Students, wearing black uniforms and with their faces blackened with charcoal, formed teams and navigated the night terrain under the supervision of their instructors.

Each team was given a different infiltration route, but all had to cross high points, simulating an infiltration into the academy. As it was the first night infiltration exercise since the academy’s founding, the difficulty wasn’t very high.

As the teams set off one by one, Nightley remained standing with her arms crossed. She wasn’t dissatisfied with the class but because she didn’t have a team.

“Professor, is it my turn yet?”

“Yes, it is.”

As Nightley raised her hand, Professor Lina handed her a map. When she looked at it, she couldn’t believe her eyes.

“What is this…? Is this supposed to be my infiltration route?”

“That’s right. Follow that route to infiltrate the academy.”

“But this…”

The route on the map was drastically different from the others. The contours indicated intentionally chosen treacherous terrain.

“There’s no way a person can go through this.”

“I’m sorry. This is a direct order from the Head Combat Professor. I have no authority over it.”

The Head Combat Professor? Professor Dian? Is this the personal training he mentioned once a week?

Maybe he chose a separate location to train her away from others’ eyes. Not bad.

A private lesson in a secluded spot late at night… This will be another victory for me, Professor.

Feeling finally at ease after days, Nightley began to move with a sense of satisfaction.

At the bottom of the map, there was a strange message: “The professor you chose. Endure with grit.” But she didn’t pay much attention to it.

He must be trying to make up for being swayed by my flirtation during our meeting and to assert dominance with this bluff. Cute.

# # # # #

An hour later.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it! That wretched professor!”

Clinging to a nearly vertical slope on all fours, Nightley cursed under her breath.

“Where the hell are you?! Why haven’t you shown up yet?!”

[Translator – Peptobismol]