"Professor Viktor, I… I can't do it."
Henny quickly shook her head, lowering it so she didn't have to meet Viktor's eyes.
"Listen to me, Henny."
"These past few days, I let you sit in and observe my lectures. That was to help you learn how to properly teach a class."
Viktor's hand rested on Henny's shoulder. He could clearly feel her small, delicate body tremble slightly.
Henny raised her head, her eyes filled with unspeakable worry.
"Professor, I'm afraid I'll mess up… and it'll ruin your reputation."
"Reputation?"
He had a reputation?
That sounded a bit like self-mockery, but in truth, he really didn't care much about that kind of thing.
Viktor lightly patted Henny's back, calming her trembling body a little.
Once she had settled down, he spoke again.
"Go."
He knew that no matter how much he tried to persuade her, this timid little lamb would never agree.
So Viktor chose to give an order instead of asking.
Henny knew she couldn't refuse the professor.
If she did, he would be upset…
Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to push open the classroom door.
The noisy room quickly went quiet, but when the students saw Henny standing at the podium, confusion filled their faces.
Where was the professor?
Why was his assistant standing up there?
Feeling all those eyes wandering over her, Henny's pressure mounted.
"Um…"
"Professor has something to attend to today, so… I'll be giving the lecture instead…"
Her voice grew smaller and smaller until the last few words were barely audible, like the buzzing of a mosquito, so soft that even she could hardly hear herself.
As soon as she finished speaking, it was like someone had dropped a bomb into a calm pond.
Ripples exploded, and the "fish" started chattering noisily.
"No way…"
"She's just a teaching assistant, how can she replace the professor?"
"Even if the professor allowed it, does she have his skill?"
"We want Professor Viktor to teach us! If our grades drop, can you take responsibility?"
Each line from the students hit Henny like a blow. Her head hung lower and lower, like a bullied child.
Her eyes darted around in panic, wishing she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into and disappear.
'Professor Viktor… I can't do it, I really can't…'
'Professor, please come back soon…'
"Um… I'm so sorr..."
"Quiet!"
The sudden command startled Henny. She looked up timidly.
At some point, Erica, who sat in the front row, had stood up.
Waves of magical energy surrounded her, and a delicate, intricate magic circle floated before her.
Henny recognized that spell.
It was a Silencing Spell.
Aside from the caster, no creature within its range could utter a sound.
"Assistant Henny, please continue."
'Uuu… Erica, thank you!'
Henny felt deeply grateful for Erica's help, though guilt rose in her heart at the same time.
She'd spoken badly about Erica the day the professor first arrived…
And now, this same girl had stepped in to save her.
'Next exam, I'll definitely tell you the test scope in advance!'
Henny already knew how she'd repay her.
———
"Not bad," Viktor murmured from outside the door.
He could see and sense everything happening inside the classroom clearly.
Erica's timely help surprised him but also pleased him greatly. Henny's fear, however, was within his expectations.
He had originally hoped to use student pressure to help Henny grow quickly, but it seemed that might have backfired.
Still, letting Henny teach today had been unavoidable.
Tomorrow, he had to leave the city with Gwen, possibly for half a month, at least a week.
No matter what, if he wanted to keep his professor position, he couldn't abandon this class's lessons.
So Viktor thought of Henny.
After all, she was the one who prepared all his lesson materials. She was fully capable in that regard.
The only concern was her shyness.
He wanted her to overcome that herself, to realize she truly had the ability to teach.
With Erica's help, the classroom quieted down.
Henny took a deep breath, adjusted her emotions, and finally mustered the courage to begin the lesson.
She followed the content written in the lecture notes, things she had long since memorized by heart.
Soon, she found her rhythm and began teaching with increasing ease.
Viktor, secretly observing, nodded. When it came to lecturing, Henny clearly had a natural talent.
The students' attitudes changed too, from doubt, to curiosity, to surprise.
They realized that Henny's pacing was perfect.
It almost felt like Professor Viktor himself was the one teaching.
By the end, everyone was fully absorbed in her class.
Only Henny's voice and the soft scratching of pens on paper filled the room.
In the middle of the lesson, Henny suddenly paused.
This part required a magic demonstration.
Second-tier magic, Shattered Stars.
Since Professor Viktor was a powerful third-tier mage, she had written the teaching notes from his perspective.
Unexpectedly, she had set a trap for herself.
She was only a magic apprentice, she knew the theory, but didn't have enough mana to cast it.
Though flustered, she quickly calmed down.
"Erica, could you demonstrate this spell for everyone?"
She was gambling, gambling that Erica would help her again.
Thankfully, she guessed right.
Erica calmly walked up to the podium, took the magic book from Henny's hands, and glanced over the detailed notes on Shattered Stars.
The structure was so clear she barely had to think. A simple mental outline of the formation, and she could cast it with ease.
She raised one hand and tried it for the first time.
"Shattered Stars!"
A mysterious ripple spread out.
In the air, countless bright stars appeared one after another, like strokes of paint forming the pattern of a magic array.
Then, just as the spell was about to take shape, it vanished abruptly midair.
The students were still wondering what happened when,
Thud! Thud! Thud!
From nowhere, countless tiny spikes shot out, embedding themselves into the wooden training dummies around the classroom.
Seeing the dummies riddled with holes, the students' hearts all skipped a beat.
'What a vicious attack spell!'
But with Erica's demonstration, their learning speed soared.
"Oh, so that's how it works!"
They began chattering excitedly, not even realizing the Silencing Spell had long since faded.
Henny let out a long breath. She met Erica's eyes and both shared a smile.
The class soon ended in a focused yet relaxed atmosphere. When the dismissal bell rang, not a single student looked dissatisfied.
They had all learned a lot.
And they'd also gained new respect for Henny.
No wonder she was Professor Viktor's assistant, most lecturers couldn't teach half as well as she just had.
"Professor Viktor's assistant is really that amazing?"
"Yeah, seriously!"
Henny walked over to Erica, wanting to properly thank the girl who'd stepped up for her.
"Thank you, Erica."
"If it weren't for you, I would've totally embarrassed myself."
Erica smiled softly and waved a hand. "It was nothing."
Henny leaned close and whispered, "I still don't understand why the professor made me teach this class. It's his job after all."
Hearing that, Erica also looked puzzled.
But confusion alone wouldn't answer anything.
So Erica decided to visit Viktor's office after class to ask about it.
Seeing that, Henny agreed, they'd go together.
Meanwhile, in his office, Viktor sat on his desk, sipping coffee while flipping through a magic book.
He'd already seen that Henny had adjusted well, so he'd slipped back here to slack off a bit.
The fading daylight, the soft sound of turning pages, it was all very peaceful.
But peaceful moments never lasted long.
His mage tower alerted him to two incoming teleportation permits.
As the residual glow of the spell faded, two young, beautiful girls appeared before him.
"Professor…"
Henny's voice was still as timid as ever, as though he might eat her at any moment.
The sound of pages turning didn't stop. Without looking up, Viktor spoke in an almost casual tone.
"Good job today."
"How did it feel?"
Henny clutched her chest, exhaling a few times in relief.
"Thanks to Erica, it went smoothly."
"If there's a next time, I definitely won't be so scared."
Erica, who was feeding Vega, looked up and exchanged a glance with Henny.
That reminded Henny why she came here, she wasn't here for praise.
"Professor, why did you have me teach that class?"
Snap!
Viktor closed his book and placed the finely bound volume on the desk. Looking at Henny, he answered calmly.
"I'm going away for a while. It'll take me some time to return."
Hearing that, Henny didn't think much of it.
But Erica, who was still feeding Vega, flinched. Birdseed scattered across the desk.
'Hey! Girl! If you're gonna feed me, feed me properly!'
Vega protested unhappily, but of course, Erica didn't hear a word.
She ignored the bird's chatter, ears perking up.
"So I wanted to test whether you're capable of taking over as the class instructor."
Henny froze.
"Professor, you… were testing me?"
Viktor gave a quiet "Mm," and smiled faintly, so subtly it was barely visible.
"Not bad. I believe you'll make an excellent lecturer."
"Professor, uu… uuuu!"
Receiving such unexpected approval, Henny couldn't hold back her emotions any longer and burst into tears.
Meanwhile, Erica was still dazed.
'Huh? What? Viktor's leaving? How long will he be gone?'
For some reason, hearing that Viktor would be away made her a little sad.
During these quiet twilights after class, she'd always learned so much from him.
If Viktor left…
Then maybe she had no reason to come here anymore.
Even though he wasn't leaving forever, just for a few days, she still felt oddly down.
But then, another voice in her head chimed in.
'Perfect! That jerk's finally leaving!'
'Good riddance! If I don't see him, I won't be annoyed!'
She quickly adjusted her mood and shrugged.
Even without Viktor's lessons, she was still a genius mage.
"Oh, right."
Viktor turned his head to look at Erica.
"What problem did you bring today?"
"Hurry and ask. Once I teach you, I can clock out."
"…"
He even remembered she came to ask questions.
It was like, crack, a hairline fracture appeared in the psychological wall Erica had worked so hard to build.
Head down, she took out her prepared notes and walked toward Viktor… feeling oddly distracted for some reason.
———
That night, Liya walked into Viktor's study.
"The shop's been fully renovated."
These days, Liya had been staying in the capital to handle store matters, so she hadn't returned to the territory, just lived here instead.
She already had a room here anyway.
Viktor closed his book, ready to discuss pricing with her.
Liya said, "One thousand geo."
For consumables sold in the capital, that price wasn't cheap, but it was fair.
The potion was worth every coin.
If they could sell twenty bottles a day, that was twenty thousand geo straight in revenue.
And the cost? Just a Tree Fruit, rare, but no more than ten geo apiece.
That was what you called pure profit.
Viktor nodded. The price was exactly what he'd expected.
Higher would be too much; lower wouldn't match the potion's miraculous effects.
"Oh, and limit it, two bottles per person per day."
"Why?"
Liya looked confused. The potion was already expensive; they might struggle to sell it at all. And now he wanted to limit purchases?
Wasn't he afraid of stockpiling too much unsold inventory?
Viktor explained, "Early on, it's better to earn less and spread word of the potion's effects."
"The more people know later, the more we'll earn."
Hearing that, Liya's bright eyes lit up with admiration.
"Tch. I'm starting to think you're more of a merchant than I am."
It was like she was meeting Viktor for the first time in over ten years.
Yawning, she suddenly remembered something and asked casually, "Oh right, you're really going with Gwen to that… volcano, or whatever?"
"Yeah." Viktor nodded.
"Fine." Liya muttered and waved a hand.
"Don't die out there. I don't wanna spend money collecting your corpse."
"I'm going to bed."
With that, she slapped her cheeks lightly and left the study.
As soon as she was gone, Vega lifted its head, its eyes once again glinting with a strangely human light.
"Hey, is your sister… worried about you?"
"I thought you two didn't get along."
"We don't," Viktor replied, tapping his desk. A bottle of blue potion appeared in his palm. He toyed with it idly.
"Then why? How did you manage that?" Vega asked, puzzled.
Viktor set the blue potion on the desk and answered simply, "Because I can make money."
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