SRS 58

“…Your outfit is quite extravagant today.”

Even though he was only acting as a temporary professor, the headmaster arrived ten minutes late, laughing cheerfully like a fool. Yohan couldn’t help but doubt whether it was wise to let someone like him teach, but he chose his words carefully as he commented on the bizarre clothing. The headmaster straightened his back, adopting a dignified posture.

“A headmaster and a professor are different, so the clothes must be different too.”

“…Then why is it flashier when you’re the professor?”

“Well, if students decide to attack me, I still need to protect myself, right? Cloth rags don’t offer much defense.”

“…..”

He said it so casually that everyone fell silent. Yohan massaged his temple as he saw the students of the second-period Divine Studies class looking uncertain and disturbed.

“Now then, shall we begin the lesson?”

Regardless of how the students felt, the headmaster started the class at his own pace. And once the Divine Studies lecture truly began, Yohan, who was standing quietly beside him with little expectation, found himself surprised.

Unexpectedly… the headmaster’s explanation was kind and clear.

“The reason you’ve had trouble using divine power here in the Nameless Realm is simple. First, the god you serve is farther away from you than before. Second, this place is a multidimensional space where many gods can intervene. In short, the god you serve is weaker here than in your original dimension. Does that make sense?”

The students, doubtful at first, slowly nodded. Yohan nodded as well, caught up in the moment.

Since multiple dimensions were connected here, each god’s influence weakened. That explained why his power had felt weaker, even when he drew upon it fully.

Even during divine descent, the price paid to his god hadn’t quite matched the modest results. Now it all made sense. The students’ faces brightened a little.

The angel professor’s lectures were always high-handed and unfriendly. By contrast, the nameless headmaster’s tone, though sly, was easy to understand. Unlike the angel’s “learn it with your body first” Spartan method, this was actually instructional. It wasn’t surprising that everyone looked more hopeful. They were starting to believe this might be a different kind of class.

The headmaster continued.

“So then, how can you all regain the same strength you once had? It’s a question, so try to answer.”

Urged, or commanded, by that gentle voice, one priest in the front row raised his hand.

“…Should I practice releasing divine power more often, or maybe increase the number of believers to strengthen my god’s influence?”

“Oh?”

The headmaster’s glowing head brightened even more.

“Very wise. That’s close to correct. To wield stronger power, your god must be strong here in the Nameless Realm as well. They must have influence. Now, another question. Which god currently holds the greatest influence in the Nameless Realm?”

“Uh…”

“The greatest…?”

The students murmured, unsure. Yohan thought back to what he’d learned in The Birth and Origin of the Gods of Each Dimension. That class had taught him about various gods, but only within their own worlds. It hadn’t covered who was strongest here.

After all, a god who was supreme in one world might be weaker than others in the Nameless Realm. It was a difficult question, and one that could easily offend. Every student here served a different god, after all.

While everyone hesitated, the headmaster broke the silence.

“Hard question?”

“…Yes, a little.”

“It’s not something we can really judge.”

The divine students spoke cautiously, careful not to insult their own gods, or anyone else’s.

Fortunately, the headmaster didn’t rebuke them. Just as they were about to feel moved by his tolerance, he continued.

“You should think a little more simply. This is the Nameless Realm. And what’s the most famous place in the Nameless Realm? That would be Fantasiademia, of course. Was that enough of a hint?”

“Ah…!”

“Oh!”

The students began murmuring with understanding. Yohan tilted his head as he looked at the headmaster’s radiant face.

That sounded a lot like…

“Excuse me, Headmaster. Wouldn’t that mean the most famous god in Fantasiademia… is you?”

One student spoke Yohan’s thought aloud. The headmaster’s light flared even brighter.

“Ugh…!”

It was so blinding that several students groaned out loud. The headmaster, oblivious to their discomfort, laughed heartily.

“Exactly! The strongest god here is me, ‘the Nameless One.’ Now then, one final question. What must you all do to wield greater divine power in this place?”

“…..”

The answer was obvious, too obvious. But it was so blatant that no one wanted to say it. The students’ once bright eyes dulled as they looked at the headmaster as if staring at a cult leader.

Even under all those contemptuous stares, the headmaster didn’t back down.

“The answer’s simple. You just have to believe in me. Praise me, worship me. The Nameless Realm doesn’t require you to follow a single god, after all. What do you think?”

He spoke brightly, apparently expecting cheers.

“…..”

Not a single student responded, but that didn’t discourage him in the slightest, that was the real problem.

“Since I’ve given you the method, you should put it into practice. For the rest of the class, you’ll spend the time praising me. I’ll sit here and listen to your prayers.”

Floating calmly in the air, the headmaster said this with a benevolent smile. Yohan, for a brief moment, felt the urge to smack him in the back of the head, and then was startled by his own violent thought.

“… I’m an idiot for expecting anything.”

“…Why is there not a single decent professor in this place? Can a headmaster even act like that?”

“Tejara, do you have any poison? The students in Herbology learned how to make that stuff.”

“…Anyone know silence magic?”

But when he heard his classmates muttering far worse, Yohan realized he wasn’t the only one fighting off violent thoughts. The entire class was on the edge. It was painfully obvious now why the other priests had started breaking down.

He glared at the headmaster. His friend had been right, he was a fool for hoping otherwise.

“Ha…”

He sighed loudly enough for the headmaster to hear, but instead of the man reacting, all the students turned to look at Yohan.

“Yohan!”

“Yohan.”

“Yohan…”

Only then did they seem to remember that there was someone else in the room with authority besides the headmaster, and their eyes suddenly brightened.

“Yohan, we believe in you.”

Before he knew it, they’d turned away from the headmaster and started praying to him. Yohan froze. Their eyes grew even more sincere and pleading.

“Yohan…”

It was hard to ignore such desperate voices. In the end, weighed down by guilt and the responsibility of being the assistant, Yohan closed his eyes and called out to the headmaster.

“Excuse me, Headmaster.”

“Yes?”

“…If it’s alright, may I help my classmates?”

He couldn’t let his friends waste their time listening to nonsense when they’d come to learn. Yohan didn’t know much, nor was he as skilled as a real professor, but at least he wanted to give the students something useful, something that would help them grow.

The light above him dimmed slightly as the headmaster looked down.

“Hmmm…”

“…I’ll make sure not to tarnish your reputation, Headmaster.”

Yohan bowed politely, his voice earnest.

“Ahahaha! No need to ask so formally. I can’t even joke around with you, Yohan. Go on, teach them whatever you’d like. That’s why I brought you here as an assistant.”

“…”

His approval was lighthearted but laced with mischief, which somehow made it even more uncomfortable. Yohan suspected the man had planned to dump everything on him from the start. But when he realized that forty minutes of the class had already vanished, he forced himself to focus.

“…I don’t know much, but I’ll do my best. Please bear with me.”

For some reason, even that simple line made him feel embarrassed and itchy. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he spoke up, and the students cheered him on.

Yohan took a deep breath and quoted the angel professor’s words.

“Remember what the headmaster said about divine power being the authority of gods, that it can do anything? This is something I figured out by chance after I enrolled here…”

He couldn’t exactly tell them that he’d discovered it while sneaking out before dawn and fighting a golem, so he glossed over that part. Instead, he explained how to control divine power as if it were an extension of their own hands.

He began with words, then demonstrated, then moved among the students, personally correcting their technique. Each time he took a step, another student raised their hand.

“Yohan, is this right?”

“Hold on.”

He helped them patiently, one by one, walking until his feet hurt. Before he knew it, the bell signaling the end of second period rang.

“Hmmm… quite impressive. At this rate, I can trust you with the next class too. See you third period, Yohan!”

The moment the bell rang, the headmaster stood up, rose on a cloud, and vanished into the sky.

Yohan blinked, momentarily stunned, then clenched his jaw.

……He really did dump it all on me!