Remedial Lessons

The teacher who entered the classroom was a young woman with hair tied in a brown braid behind her head, wearing glasses as thick as the bottom of a milk bottle. Her clothes were a plain, brownish sort; Kent’s first impression was that she looked incredibly somber.

“It seems everyone is present. I am Tia, and I have been put in charge of these remedial lessons. I will be taking up the cane as a teacher starting today, so I look forward to working with you.”

Aside from Tia-sensei, only Kent was in the room. Since she had said “everyone” was present, Kent decided to ask a question for clarification.

“Sensei, may I ask one thing?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“You just said everyone was present, but am I perhaps the only one in the remedial class?”

“That is correct. There are several students for the first and third years, but for the second year, it is just you, Kent-san.”

With the teacher’s words, Kent’s doubt was cleared.

“Still, for my very first assignment to be a remedial class with only one student… I really have no luck… Sigh. And a student with zero points in every subject, no less…”

“Sensei, your inner thoughts are leaking out.”

“Hah! My goodness, I am sorry. That was a terrible slip of the tongue. To hurt a student’s feelings on my first day… I am a failure as a teacher.”

“If it were anyone else, maybe, but I don’t mind, so it’s fine. Time is precious, so please start the lesson.”

“Thank you. I was wondering what kind of dropout student you would be, but I am relieved to see you are unexpectedly eager to learn.”

Judging from her talk, this teacher only knew about the recent test results and didn’t seem to have any data from before that.

“Then, let us get straight into the lesson. Now…”

The remedial lessons consisted of a total review of the material covered in the first semester of the second year, ending with a test; if a passing grade was achieved, the remedial lessons would conclude. If a passing grade was not achieved, the lessons would be held again, repeating the process until a passing grade was reached.

Normally, if the student wished and the teacher permitted it, the review could be cut short to move straight to the test. However, because Tia was under the impression she had to teach from scratch due to Kent’s zero-point score, she didn’t mention this to Kent and dove straight into the lecture.

“Sensei, that part is wrong.”

“Eh? Oh no, you’re right… I’m sorry.”

“Also, this explanation is a bit hard to follow, so it’s better to do it like this.”

Before long, Kent was the one teaching Tia how to conduct the lesson.

“Um, how should I explain this part so it’s easier for everyone to understand?”

“Let’s see… how about doing it like this…?”

“Ah, I see! Teaching it that way makes it very clear.”

When the bell rang to signal the end of the first period, Tia snapped out of it.

“Oh dear! Without realizing it, our positions were reversed. I was supposed to be the one giving the remedial lesson… I am sorry. Well then, let’s take a short break.”

With that, Tia left the classroom. After the break, the second period of remedial lessons began.

In the end, their positions never switched back, and today’s remedial lesson concluded with Kent essentially teaching Tia.

“I am sorry. Truly, I am sorry. Even though I’m in the position of needing to teach, I ended up being taught instead. I really am a failure as a teacher.”

“It can’t be helped if it’s your first lesson. I think it’ll be fine once the new semester starts and you can teach in front of many students, so until then, just relax and treat this as practice.”

Kent was a bit bewildered as Tia bowed her head to him repeatedly. Just then, due to the momentum of her bow, Tia’s thick glasses fell off. The face that appeared from beneath them was one Kent recognized.

(This is the woman who was being attacked in the alleyway the other day.)

Kent remembered the scene a few days ago when he was returning from Baron Frederick’s mansion, where a woman was being attacked by three men in an alley. Since she wore glasses like the bottom of milk bottles, her eyesight must be quite poor. She hadn’t been wearing glasses back then, so she likely hadn’t seen Kent clearly. For the sake of her honor—since she had been stripped naked—he decided not to mention it.

“Glasses, glasses… there they are.”

Tia picked up the glasses and put them back on.

“I have poor eyesight, so I can’t see anything at all without my glasses.”

“Is that so? Still, seeing someone wearing glasses is quite rare.”

There was no one else around Kent who wore glasses, so it felt very fresh to him.

“When I told my father and mother I wanted to be a teacher, they worked hard to save up money to buy them for me. That is why they are precious to me. It’s not easy for commoners to buy glasses, so I made my parents push themselves. Thanks to that, I was able to get my teaching license and start working as a teacher at this school, even if it’s a mid-term hire.”

“They are good parents. I don’t have parents, so I’m envious.”

“Um, Kent-san, you don’t have parents? Then, how do you make a living?”

Having heard Kent’s story, Tia spoke with a worried face.

“Currently, I’m allowed to work at the shop across from my house. The owner treats me well, so I have no complaints about my current life.”

“I see. If you ever have any trouble, please consult me about anything. Since you are the first student I’ve ever looked after, I will work hard to be of help.”

“Thank you, Tia-sensei.”

“Hau… Kent-san, could you say that one more time?”

“Eh? Ah… Thank you, Tia-sensei.”

She seemed to be incredibly happy at being called “Tia-sensei.”

“Oh no! A considerable amount of time has passed since the final bell rang. I’m sorry.”

“Sensei, you’re always apologizing, aren’t you?”

“That’s true. I’m sorry… ah.”

Realizing she had apologized unconsciously, Tia looked embarrassed.

“Well then, I look forward to working with you again tomorrow.”

“Yes, Sensei. Goodbye.”

The first day of remedial lessons ended, and since he was a bit late from talking, he decided to hurry to his part-time job.

“Welcome back, Kent-san.”

“I’m back, Marie-san.”

After returning home once to drop off his things, Kent headed to Marie’s bakery across the way. When he entered through the back door, Marie had a troubled look on her face.

“What’s wrong? Was there some kind of trouble?”

“Well, about that. Could you take a look at the shop floor for a moment?”

As told by Marie, he peeked at the state of the shop. He noticed that the atmosphere in the dining area was different than usual.

“Are the people in all five tables nobles?”

“That’s right. Until now, the only noble who came to eat and drink in this shop was the Duke, but today it’s like this, with noble ladies coming in one after another. Because of that, the regulars who use the dining space seem to be having a hard time coming in…”

It seemed Elnette had been here until a short while ago, but because Josette and Caro—the two who were used to handling nobles—were keeping a sharp eye on things, no major trouble had occurred in the shop. However, if this state continued, the shop’s turnover rate would drop significantly and affect profits.

Just then, one seat became vacant, and Caro went to clear it. Two more young noblewomen entered the shop.

“Oh, it’s a small shop, but it’s kept quite clean. You there, could you guide us to a seat?”

The noblewoman who entered spoke to Josette, who was nearby.

“Yes, I will guide you to a seat right away. Please come this way.”

Unlike her usual self, Josette responded in full customer-service mode. Normally, this shop didn’t go that far—customers would just sit at any open seat and call a clerk if they had an order—but according to noble etiquette, they wouldn’t do such a thing, so Josette matched them and guided the two noblewomen to the seat Caro had just finished cleaning.

“Please call me once you have decided on your order.”

Josette gave a bow and stepped back.

“Could I have a moment?”

“Yes, have you decided?”

“We would like that thing called ‘Ice Cream’.”

“Would you like the flavor to be vanilla?”

“Eh? …Yes, that would be fine.”

“Understood. Then please wait a moment.”

Josette gave a bow and went to the kitchen to put in the order. It seemed all the nobles who came here today were ordering ice cream. Kent had an idea of what the cause was.

“Josette-san, do you have a moment?”

“Oh, Kent-san. Welcome back. What is it?”

Kent spoke to Josette after she put in the order.

“By any chance, did the Duke do something?”

“Yes, there was a small party yesterday, and at that time Father served ice cream for dessert. It seems the participants became very interested in it. When asked where it came from, he apparently told them about this shop.”

“I see. So the people who heard that story came here.”

Kent understood the situation after hearing that.