I Became an Unknown Professor at the Academy

A musty smell.
A hard, cold floor.
A small ray of sunlight seeping through the iron bars in the ceiling.
“Get lost, you little shit!!”
“Ouch!!”
“It’s mine!! I caught it first!!”
Children fighting over dry, tasteless bread and water bottles.
“Stop it!!”
A girl raised her voice, and the children who were entangled with each other slowly moved apart. However, some of them clutched their bread and water bottles tightly, not wanting to let go of what they had claimed.
“Stop fighting! Take two pieces of bread and three water bottles each! There will be new ones by the time you finish these, so don’t be greedy, okay?”
The girl threatened the children with her fist, and the children who were holding something in their arms put them down and pouted.
The girl ruffled their hair lightly and distributed the bread and water bottles. Then she came towards me with her share and one person’s share.
Yes, she came towards me.
“Whitey, are you in pain? Why are you so quiet today?”
“White…y?”
“Yes, our cute puppy!”
She put down what she was holding and reached out her free hand.
Thwack!
My body instinctively moved to slap away the girl’s hand, which was about to pat my head.
“What’s wrong with you today? You’re acting really strange.”
“……”
Strange?
I’m strange… strange… what does that mean?
“I…”
“I don’t know what’s wrong, but eat this.”
She picked up the bread from the cold floor and offered it to me.
The bread in my hand was hard, hard…
“Are you really in pain?”
“No… I’m not in pain.”
I bit into the bread.
It didn’t fit in my mouth in one bite.
‘Were my hands this small?’
I finished eating the tasteless bread.
“Drink some water.”
“I can do it myself…”
“Sure, sure.”
I swallowed the cold water, which was colder than the cold floor.
‘Disgusting…’
My head hurt.
My chest felt stuffy.
I just, just didn’t know.
“Our Whitey, you must be tired.”
“……”
Tired?
Maybe.
Swoosh.
“Yes, yes, take a nap in my arms.”
I didn’t want to lean on her.
But why did it feel so comfortable?
“You’ll feel better after you wake up.”
“……Okay.”
I closed my eyes, relying on the only warmth I could trust in this place.
**
Clank.
“Number 37, wake up.”
“……?”
Someone shook my body.
I was hungry.
And thirsty.
“Get up and follow me.”
“Follow… you?”
“Sigh, you’re so troublesome…”
I jumped higher than I had ever jumped before.
“Ugh…”
The sunlight hurt my eyes.
“Put her down there.”
“Stay still, Number 37.”
My feet touched the floor again.
“Come this way.”
“Ugh…”
An unfamiliar aunt grabbed my arm.
“We need to take these off so they don’t get wet, okay?”
“I’ll be cold without them…”
“It’s okay. We’re going to a place where it’s not cold anymore. And feel this.”
Whoosh!
“It’s warm!!”
“Yes. Do you want to take them off now?”
“Yes!”
The wind on my body tickled me.
But it was okay.
The warm water made me feel good.
“Oh my, you’re so clean, you’re like a doll. You’ll sell for a high price.”
“Expensive?”
“Yes. Our Number 37 will sell for a very high price.”
I didn’t quite understand.
But my body felt warm and comfortable.
**
“Wow, you’re so shiny.”
The children were wearing pretty clothes, unlike me.
And next to them were children wearing the same clothes as me.
“What are you smiling about?”
“We get good food and go to a warm place.”
“What?”
The boy sitting next to me made his ugly face even uglier.
“That’s only for those kids over there!!”
“I don’t know. A handsome uncle told me that.”
“This is…!!”
Thud.
“Ouch!!”
“Behave, or you’ll damage the merchandise.”
Another uncle in a black suit grabbed the ugly boy’s arm. Tears welled up in the boy’s eyes.
“Hic, hic…”
“Crybaby.”
The boys I used to hang out with would attack me when they called me a crybaby, but this ugly boy just kept crying like a fool.
“Okay, little miss? Do you want to follow the uncle?”
Another unfamiliar uncle came up to me and grabbed my hand. I got up from my seat and followed him.
“She’s twelve years old. She was abandoned at birth and raised in an orphanage. Apart from her slightly unusual appearance, she doesn’t have any special story. The starting bid is 70!”
Strange uncles and aunts with colorful things on their faces.
“80, 90, 100… 300, and now it’s going up by 50!”
The uncle who had grabbed the ugly boy’s arm earlier kept talking without a break.
‘I’m hungry…’
I hadn’t eaten anything since I woke up in the morning.
I wanted to eat something quickly.
“This is incredible!! 900!! It’s 900!! Once again, this child has no special story!! 900!! 900!! Yes, the 30th item has been sold for 900!!”
The uncle came back and grabbed me, taking me down.
**
“This is where you will live from today.”
The sunlight shines brightly, and the place smells nice.
And there are so many things I’ve never seen before!
“If you awaken, that’s good. If not, we’ll raise you well and use you as a lobby display.”
“We will start the education from tomorrow.”
I found out the next day why the ugly boy had cried.
Thwack!
“I’m… sorry.”
“I’m sorry for hitting you, but you made me point it out twice, so let’s make up, okay?”
“……Yes.”
My cheeks hurt.
More than when the boys hit me.
**
My body is hot.
I’m thirsty.
-Haha! I didn’t expect it, but you’ve awakened!!
-As expected of the Guild Master.
I heard the voices of two men who seemed to be happy in my hazy consciousness.
‘That’s good…’
They seemed to be in a good mood.
Today, I might be able to sleep without getting hit.
**
“What? Nothing comes to mind?”
“No…”
“Tsk, you’re so troublesome.”
“I’m sorry…”
How many days had I been lying down?
I didn’t know.
However, one thing was clear: the man in front of me was in a bad mood.
“Follow me.”
“……Yes.”
I expected to get slapped on the cheek as usual, but for some reason, the man didn’t hit me.
I followed him before his mood got worse.
I left the building I had never been able to escape from and got into a car, which I had only seen during my education. And for the first time, I was able to enter a temple.
“Please hand over the child to us.”
“What? No, why are you suddenly saying that…”
“When I came out of the prayer room, the nun who had brought me here and was wearing a white outfit like my hair was talking to the man about me.
“If you have any conditions, I will do my best to meet them. Don’t ask why.”
“Let’s go back and have a meeting…”
“Let’s decide here.”
I heard the man swallow.
‘That’s strange.’
The sound that I couldn’t hear before was now clear.
And my body felt lighter than before.
The bruise on the spot where I had been hit before was gone.
“Hello.”
“Hello.”
I sat there, dazed, waiting for their conversation to end, and the nun who had been talking to the man came towards me.
“From now on, you will live here.”
“I understand.”
“Good. I like good children.”
A new owner, a new cage.
My short outing ended like that.
**
“May the grace of God be with you all, thank you for your hard work.”
As the priest of the God of Love left the lecture, the apprentice clerics, including me, got up from their seats.
-This is so fucking boring… Ouch?!
-I told you to watch your language!
My gaze naturally turned to where the commotion was.
A pretty girl with pink hair was sitting on the floor, rubbing her back. Next to her was a mature-looking child with beige hair, clicking her tongue.
Unlike me, who was always alone, these two were always together, never missing a day.
‘I envy them…’
I watched them for a moment, then packed up and left my seat.
Instead of going to the dining hall, I entered the Street of Light and returned to the temple.
“I’m back.”
“Good job.”
“Yes…”
One of the high priests of the God of Mercy.
And my third owner.
Fortunately, my third cage was larger than the previous two.
‘At least I can take a walk.’
I entered the room at the very end and sat on the bed.
“It’s meat.”
Today’s evening training seemed a bit difficult. There were often days when I was beaten mercilessly when meat was served.
“Luminosus…”
After filling my stomach at lunch, I clasped my hands and prayed.
The day I first prayed.
The short conversation I had with the god who appeared before me.
And the promise we made.
‘Open the door for me.’
So that I can leave this cage I’m trapped in.
**
Koo-goo-goo-goo-goo!
The whole world turns gray.
The sky, once a bright blue.
The white clouds that floated in it.
Even the sun, the only source of light for me.
“Haha…”
I can’t help but laugh.
How can I not laugh when the door to the cage I so desperately wanted to open has finally opened?
But I didn’t leave.
No, I couldn’t leave.
“Aaaaaaahhhh!!!”
Because the world outside the cage no longer existed.
The blue sky I had looked up at all my life was no longer there.
“What did I do wrong…”
I did everything I was told.
When I was hit, I apologized and took the blows.
I always complied with everything without any resistance, striving to be a loyal creature.
“But why…!!”
The male student who had approached me died.
The female student who had strangely taken my side also died.
And now, there was no one left with whom I had even the slightest connection.
The man standing right in front of me killed them all.
“Why!!!”
For the first time in my life, I asked someone a question.
Why did he do this?
Why did he spare only me?
【…】
The man didn’t answer.
I didn’t ask for an answer either.
“I’m going to kill you.”
I hate the person who took away my last hope.
“So if you don’t want to die, kill me.”
And I’m scared.
I’m afraid of being left alone in this empty world.
I slowly walked towards the man with my broken arms hanging down.
“Die.”
Even when I was right in front of him, the man still looked at me with empty eyes. I opened my mouth to sink my fangs, the only weapon I had, into his neck.
【The only precious child in the world, I suppose.】
The man spoke for the first time.
At the same time, my body froze.
The man took a few steps back and faced me.
【I think I understand a little.】
“…”
What is he babbling about?
【But my will shall not change.】
The man’s blackened irises slowly regained their color.
He reached out to me.
At that moment.
Whoosh!
Something flowed into my mind.
It was a memory filled with warmth and happiness.
The memory that flowed into me made me jealous, as the person in it was smiling so happily.
【So, do it.】
My consciousness gradually became hazy.
【Without leaving a single regret.】
Because your happiness will be his happiness.
**
On the second day of the children’s nightmare, Claire left the bedroom after finding the fairy sleeping next to the three children.
‘He’s not here again…’
She walked down the quiet hallway, thinking about the man she adored, who hadn’t sent a single email since leaving the mansion.
Stepping on the faint moonlight, she carefully opened the door to Baek Hana’s room, which was on the opposite side.
“Hana?”
Claire quickly entered the room when she saw Baek Hana sitting up in bed.
“Hana, it’s okay. You were just having a nightmare.”
Claire didn’t ask what had happened.
She simply wiped the tears from Baek Hana’s eyes and hugged her weak shoulders.
“Sister…”
Her voice was hoarse.
“Yes, go ahead.”
Claire sat on the bed, facing Baek Hana, and let go of the shoulders she had been holding.
“I…”
Baek Hana grabbed Claire’s hand and spoke.
“I love him…”
“I see.”
“I’m so sorry…”
Baek Hana blinked her eyes.
She didn’t get the response she had expected.
“Hana.”
“Yes, no, I, well…”
Claire held Baek Hana’s hand, which was on top of her own.
“I’ll help you.”