SS – “Tempest Academy Festival Event” – The Lottery With The Most Benefits
Author’s note: This is a short story written for the special volume.
The problem regarding the summoned children in the Kingdom of Ingrassia was solved.
With this, Miss Shizu’s regret was resolved, and things have been settled.
There was no reason for me to continue to be a teacher, but I didn’t immediately bid farewell either.
I had to entrust S class to another teacher before I resigned.
Fortunately, my replacement has already been decided.
I only needed to hand over, and afterwards I wish … I could live a peaceful life.
Many things had happened.
And again today —
# # #
I’m currently in Rimuru City.
Shuna called me for “a consultation”.
“So what would you like to consult about?”
“About that. The temple school/Terakoya* has been well-received, and many people are now enrolling. My level of understanding in teaching has increased as well. I think we can call it a good start.”
I had inadvertently used the term “Terakoya” to name a place that taught reading, writing, and arithmetic. Although it had nothing to do with Buddhism, it was used to recruit new students and teachers.
There might have been a more appropriate term to call it, but in all honesty, it was too troublesome to think of another term.
The denizens of this kingdom, the demons, were the ones attending the Terakoya. It was an attempt to educate and prepare them for future interactions with the human nations.
According to Shuna, the Hobgoblins seemed to have mastered computations using the four fundamental operations in arithmetic. (EN: Addition, subtraction, multiplication and division)
Even though they have evolved, their actual age was only around 10 years old.
Even Rigurd had only turned twenty.
Their growth in that short period was amazing, though the lessons taught were mainly for the lower grades** in elementary school. I thought it was reasonable to focus only on two subjects. Moreover, everyone worked hard as well.
If my assumption were true, I had no idea what Shuna would want to consult with me about.
While troubles were bound to occur daily, I hope it was nothing major.
“Then, there’s no problem, right?”
To my question, Shuna gave a bitter smile as if anxious about something.
“Well, there is no problem so far. However, if the aren’t any positive variations in the daily learning activities, I’m afraid they would lose interest.”
That was a valid point indeed.
Many of the attending students at the Terakoya were more confident in their intellect rather than their physical fitness, which was one of the reasons they chose to study instead of joining the security forces.
To begin with, they were motivated to learn, but there was a risk of getting bored should the daily learning activities remain unchanged.
Also, the security forces had a duty to protect the towns from ferocious monsters every day. It might be a good idea to think of an event for them that was a nice change of pace.
“I guess you’re right. It would be interesting to think about various events that could provide some fun. Shall we discuss this matter together with everyone?”
“Yes! That’s a great idea!”
I nodded upon seeing Shuna’s optimistic response.
Although I did not realize it at the time … it was the beginning of yet another embarrassing, dark past of mine.
# # #
We moved to another room to further discuss the matter at hand.
Executives gathered in a conference room that had been reorganized in a classroom style.
Of course, Shuna was there. Shion and Benimaru were also present, so were Gabiru and Geld.
Other than that, the former chief elder of the Hobgoblins Rigurd, and Kaijin as well as the three Dwarf brothers also came.
They were crucial attendees for my conferences.
Upon seeing what everyone wore, I suddenly recalled something from my memory: an incident where I was dressed up in a special outfit.
First of all, the group of males —.
Benimaru was wearing a Nagaran***/long school uniform blazer/long Gakuran – or long blazer and Dokan/baggy pants.
Souei wore Tanran***/short Gakuran/short school uniform blazer and Bontan/balloon pants.
Gabiru wore his standard clothes, Geld wore Sarashi***/cloth tube top and Yoran/western-style Gakuran/western-style school uniform blazer. (EN: Yep, the guys are dressed like Japanese student delinquents. LOL)
Next, the female group. Both Shuna and Shion wore blazers.
Shuna dressed like an honor student, while Shion dressed like the discipline committee president. I wondered if it was because I entrusted them to be my secretaries, but both of them gave a very serious first impressions.
Rigurd and Kaijin dressed the way they normally did. In terms of age, I did not feel like I was in the student category, so I decided to be low-key.
Incidentally, Shuna, Kaijin, and also the three Dwarf brothers had helped in arranging the uniforms. They did a smooth job, and the finishing touch was exactly as I to be expected. With this, I could expect other tailor-made products as well.
Showing off their work to wow everyone was my intention.
“Everyone, thank you for gathering! Today’s agenda is about education, which is indispensable in developing the demon-resources in our kingdom. At the moment I am teaching fundamental academic knowledge at the Terakoya, but I plan to teach higher education as an extension of that. I plan to build a school for that purpose as well, but before that, I think the most important thing is to motivate students to keep learning!”
Going with the flow, I unconsciously put on my teacher’s aura that I wore when I taught at Ingrassia Academy, and wrote “FUN IS IMPORTANT” on the blackboard. I sternly enunciated while pointing at those words.
Even if I say so myself, this was all I needed to do.
So with this, my work was completed. All we had to do was to discuss the opinions of the executives.
Or so I thought. Unfortunately, I was wrong.
“Excuse me, Lord Rimuru. Before discussing that topic, may I ask a question?”
With a stiff expression, Benimaru raised his hand and gazed sharply at me.
“What is it?”
Any questions were encouraged, so I responded in a positive way.
Hee hee, perhaps because I had been doing my best in teaching the children that I had mastered this attitude. Benimaru might have been a little intimidated by my majestic presence – I was feigning calm but was made greatly perplexed by his following remark.
“I want to be clear here, but I’ll never sing in public again! Depending on the content of this event, I think I should be allowed to withdraw.”
Oh, wow —!!
What a way to make me recall that incident!
I understood what Benimaru meant perfectly.
Actually, I participated in an idol activity just before this.
It was a live concert gig.
Including me, there were five of us. Shuna, Benimaru, Milim, who jumped in uninvited, and the last one was Miss Shizu.