Academy’s Undercover Professor-Chapter 344: Objection (1)

Ludger looked at the student standing before him.

It was Martin Kandark, a first-year student and a scion of a relatively well-known noble family.

Ludger glanced around.

Several noble students were watching Martin with encouraging eyes, clearly supporting his bold stance.

So, they sent a representative.

Ludger casually snapped his fingers—snap!

A sound-blocking barrier formed around him and Martin.

Now, no one outside would hear a word of their conversation.

Martin, seemingly unaware of this, stood his ground. Ludger thought it was necessary.

He silently stared at the student before him.

Martin’s pupils trembled under Ludger’s unwavering gaze.

There was a flicker of regret on his face, but he had already spoken the words, and now he seemed determined to push through to the end.

“So. Martin Kandark. You’re saying you’re quitting the class?”

“......Yes.”

“The reason?”

Did he really need to ask that?

Martin felt a wave of irritation but answered honestly.

“Because I think wasting time on such meaningless actions is pointless.”

“Meaningless actions?”

“......I am a student of Seorn. And a noble. Why should someone like me be forced to sweat like this, suffering through such training?”

Martin had been raised in comfort, pampered by his family.

Coming to Seorn had opened his eyes to the wider world, and he had learned that even commoners here were no pushovers.

He could tolerate that.

But this brutish, body-breaking training? Unacceptable.

He had endured it only because Ludger was in charge. But when there was no immediate result, impatience overtook his patience.

“I mean, even without all this, I’d eventually be able to summon my magic beast...”

“Martin. Let me ask you something. Did you feel your life was in danger during the field trip?”

Martin stiffened, unable to say yes.

The terrorist attack during the field trip—

Many students had been injured.

But Martin had been lucky.

He hadn’t been hurt. He had escaped to safety quickly.

He had only heard the rumors: chimeras rampaging, black storms tearing through the grounds, and students hospitalized because of it.

But that wasn’t his problem.

No one had died, and he was standing here unharmed. That was enough to ease his mind.

“......Why are you asking me that?”

Admitting it out loud stung his pride.

“If you’d truly faced death, you wouldn’t be standing here making a fuss about quitting.”

“That’s...”

“But I understand your reaction.”

Martin blinked in surprise.

He had expected to be scolded harshly, maybe even humiliated.

Yet Ludger said he understood.

“It’s frustrating, isn’t it? The grueling physical pain you’ve never experienced before, and the slow, tedious progress. Meanwhile, other students are pulling ahead, making you feel like you’re being left behind.”

Martin flinched.

Ludger’s words struck him as though they had been pulled straight from his thoughts.

He didn’t want to admit it, so he pushed back harder.

“I’m only saying this class is pointless.”

“And why do you think it’s pointless?”

“If it weren’t, why would I still be running myself to death with no results?”

“So because you haven’t succeeded, the class must be wrong. Is that it?”

Ludger still hadn’t raised his voice.

Martin, a little surprised, finally voiced what he’d been holding back.

“I’ve studied magic since childhood. I may not be Seorn’s top talent, but I’ve put in just as much time and effort as anyone else.”

His gaze shifted toward the students sitting cross-legged in meditation.

Not nobles.

Commoners.

Martin’s frustration and inferiority complex stemmed entirely from this.

Why should someone who had studied longer and trained harder fall behind?

If it had been other nobles, he could have accepted it—they had received the same early education as him.

But commoners?

Students who relied on Seorn’s support funds just to be here?

That was unacceptable. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

“So you want to quit? Because even though you tried, you couldn’t keep up?”

Ludger’s cold voice dropped «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» onto Martin’s shoulders like a weight.

Martin swallowed hard and nodded.

Even that tiny gesture took courage, his fists clenched tightly.

Because standing before him was Ludger Cherish.

A newly appointed instructor at Seorn—but no one treated him like a novice.

Since his arrival, Ludger had introduced new magic theories, risen to the position of planning director in record time, and earned the headmaster’s trust.

During the terrorist attack, he had fought bravely and saved many students.

Because of that, even noble students who had initially disliked him had come to respect him.

His cold, distant demeanor had even become part of his charm.

And yet Martin had to speak up.

“Yes. I want to quit. And your teaching method is wrong.”

Not just quitting—he was outright saying Ludger’s method was flawed.

It was a bold statement, well over the line.

Martin knew it.

He knew Ludger could humiliate him, expel him, or push him even harder.

But he still said it.

Ludger’s silence only made Martin sweat more.

Negative scenarios spun wildly in his mind.

His eyes dropped to the ground.

Then Ludger finally spoke.

“Very well.”

“W-what?”

Martin’s head shot up.

Had he heard right?

So easily... he accepted it?

“Do you think I’m so heartless I’d force someone to continue if they hated it? If it doesn’t work for you, then perhaps I was wrong.”

But Ludger’s eyes stayed fixed on him—clear, sharp, as if seeing straight through him.

“If that’s truly how you feel, I’ll admit I was wrong.”

“T-truly...?”

“I don’t take words spoken under someone else’s pressure as truth.”

“......!”

Martin gasped.

“Something wrong?”

“N-no, it’s just...”

He already knows.

Martin realized it immediately.

He hadn’t stood up to Ludger out of genuine frustration with the class.

At first, he had hated the physical training, yes. But as the days went on, he had felt some progress.

And while it was humiliating to fall behind commoners, he understood magic beasts relied on talent and sensitivity.

His strength lay more in theory, where he had respectable grades.

So why was he here, parroting such words?

Because of outside pressure.

"Ruin the class."

Hugo Burteg.

The leader of Seorn’s noble faction and a powerful senior instructor.

Hugo had called Martin aside and said:

"Martin, it’s simple. Just storm out and say you’re quitting."

"And what about the consequences?"

"Don’t worry. I’ll handle it. I’m filing a formal complaint to the headmaster anyway, accusing him of exhausting students with excessive training."

Martin had understood immediately—

Hugo wasn’t concerned about overworked students.

He wanted to undermine the headmaster’s growing influence by attacking Ludger’s success.

But Martin couldn’t refuse.

Hugo had close ties to his father.

"Your father’s doing well, isn’t he? Thanks to our Burteg family’s support, your house rose quickly in noble society."

The implication was clear: refuse, and your family might fall from favor.

Even though rationally he knew Hugo wouldn’t topple his family over something so petty, Martin was young.

And when Hugo added:

"If you do this, I’ll recommend you as a special candidate. That will secure your future after graduation."

Martin had been unable to refuse.

So, he had agreed.

And now, standing before Ludger, he felt utterly pathetic.

“Somehow... you knew all along.”

“Do you think anyone would believe a student who’s been diligently attending would suddenly quit for no reason?”

“But I’m just one student, out of eighty...”

“One student. Out of eighty.”

Martin trembled.

To behave like this, knowing Ludger could see straight through him—it was humiliating.

Even he found himself disgusting. Ludger must think him pitiful.

Yet Ludger’s voice softened.

“Martin Kandark. I consider you a capable student. I’m not here to scold you. But answer me honestly—”

“Y-yes?”

“Do you truly want to quit this class?”

Ludger’s clear gaze bore into him.

Martin almost said, I’ve already answered that, but stopped himself.

Ludger wasn’t asking for a formal answer.

He wanted the truth.

“......I didn’t really want to quit. I just thought... my opinion didn’t matter. Someone else would question this class sooner or later.”

“True. The one who put you up to this doesn’t want me to succeed. If you hadn’t done it, they’d have found someone else. You simply thought it was better for you to take the fall.”

Martin nodded shamefully.

Ludger didn’t scold him.

“If my class hadn’t produced results yet, they might have had a point. But, unfortunately for them—”

“W-what do you mean?”

“Look.”

Ludger gestured.

Martin turned in the direction Ludger indicated.

His eyes widened.

“A... magic beast?”

In the middle of the students meditating, a magic beast had just appeared.