Chapter 75. A Sacrifice, But She’s Choosing Not to Be Dramatic About It
The conversation that followed unfolded in the shadows of the academy’s corridors and the whispered exchanges of the dining hall, a slow-burning realization that passed between the students without William’s knowledge. Throughout that evening and into the following dawn, the group grappled with the implications of Clara’s observation.
They weren’t just students anymore; they were becoming a unit that noticed when the foundation of their world began to shift.
It was Lia who finally forced the issue into the light. She caught William just as the morning sun began to bleed across the training grounds, the air still crisp with dew.
The others hovered behind her like a silent formation: Kaela wearing a mask of studied, aggressive nonchalance; Ellie fidgeting with her sleeve, her eyes bright with earnest concern; and Clara standing like an immovable statue, observing everything.
"We want to talk to you about something," Lia said, stepping forward.
Her voice was steady, carrying that quiet authority she had developed since the dungeon incident. "Before training starts."
William paused mid-motion, setting his practice sword aside. He felt the weight of their collective gaze; it wasn’t the gaze of pupils awaiting instruction but of equals demanding honesty.
"Alright," he said, straightening his posture, giving them his undivided attention. "What’s going on?"
"We know why our sessions have been getting shorter, Instructor Wade." Lia didn’t sugarcoat it.
There was no accusation in her tone, no venom, just the blunt delivery of a fact that could no longer be ignored. "You’ve been spending that extra time with the vice headmaster for a reason..."
"And that reason is... you’re helping her process whatever trauma she’s carrying from the dungeon."
A muscle twitched in William’s jaw. For a split second, the instinct to deflect, to arm himself behind the persona of the untouchable instructor, flared up.
But he looked at their faces, really looked at them, and knew that lying to this group was a fool’s errand. They had grown too sharp, too perceptive.
"I see," William said quietly, a resigned exhale escaping him. "So, all of you noticed... I figured that day would come."
"Kaela tracked the minutes like a hawk, and Clara mapped the pattern of your movements," Lia said, glancing back at her companions. "But me... I noticed the why."
"I noticed how you look when you come back from her office... You’re not just tired, but it seems to me you’re carrying something."
William felt a pang of genuine guilt. "I didn’t want any of you to feel shortchanged..."
"You’ve all been working harder than anyone I’ve ever taught..."
"You deserve every minute of instruction I can give, not just the scraps left over while my mind is half buried in someone else’s crisis."
"That’s exactly why we’re here, Instructor Wade," Lia countered, stepping closer. "We’re not here to demand our minutes back."
"We’re telling you that you don’t have to hide it..."
"You don’t need to apologize for being human, and you don’t need to split yourself in half trying to balance a ledger of time like we’re some kind of accounting problem."
Kaela, who had been pretending to examine her fingernails with intense interest, suddenly snapped. She stepped forward, arms crossed tightly over her chest, her expression twisted into a scowl that failed utterly to hide her discomfort.
"Look... it’s not like we’re worried about her or anything pathetic like that..."
She paused, her throat working visibly as she wrestled with the words. When she spoke again, her voice had lost its defensive edge, dropping into something uncharacteristically soft.
"I mean, obviously she’s the vice headmaster, and she’s tough..."
"She doesn’t need us fussing over her like some fragile glass doll. But..." She cut herself off, cursing under her breath before continuing. "But if she’s actually struggling or if she’s breaking and you’re the only one who can help her hold it together... then just do that."
"Don’t pretend you’re not doing it."
She looked away sharply, adding in a rush, "We can share a little less of your time for a while... It’s not a big deal."
William stared at her for a moment before a genuine, warm smile broke across his face. "That’s surprisingly generous of you, Kaela."
"Don’t make it weird, Instructor Wade," she snapped immediately, her face flushing.
"I’m not making it weird."
"You’re smiling at me like I’m some kind of saint, and it’s weird."
"I’m smiling because that was kind, Kaela," William said, his voice gentle but firm. "And you’re allowed to accept that without deflecting into anger."
Kaela made a face of pure disgust, clearly uncomfortable with being seen in a moment of vulnerability, and retreated half a step. Behind them, Clara produced her journal, watching the exchange with the detached amusement of a playwright observing actors stumble through a scene.
Her quill moved with precise, rapid strokes.
"What the hell are you writing now?" Kaela demanded without turning around.
"Character development," Clara said simply, not bothering to look up from her notes. "This is a noteworthy moment in the narrative."
"What’s that supposed to mean?"
"It means," Clara said, finally meeting Kaela’s glare with those unnerving, knowing eyes, "that you just expressed genuine concern for someone else’s well-being without immediately turning it into a competition for dominance."
"I do that all the time!" Kaela barked.
"You really don’t," Clara countered flatly.
"I absolutely do."
"Kaela, three days ago you turned Ellie’s mana control exercise into a contest over who could finish their warmups faster."
"That was different!" Kaela shouted, throwing her hands up. "Those were warmups! Warmups are inherently competitive by nature!"
While Kaela and Clara continued their familiar back and forth, Ellie stepped forward with a gentler, more direct sincerity than Kaela’s carefully guarded offer. "We really do mean it, Instructor Wade..."
"Instructor Blackwood’s been kind to all of us since she started teaching..." Ellie smiled. "She helped me when nobody else at this academy would even look at me without flinching about my control problem..."
"If there’s something we can do to help her the way she’s helped us, even if all we’re doing is giving up a little bit of training time, that’s an easy trade."
William looked around at all of them, the genuine warmth in the offer settling somewhere deep in his chest, and found himself, not for the first time since arriving in this world, deeply grateful for the exact group of people who had ended up gathered around him.
"Thank you," he said, meaning it fully. "All of you..."
"I promise I’m not going to let your own progress slip because of this..." William smiled. "I’ll still be watching everyone’s development closely, even with shorter sessions, and the moment things stabilize with Catherine... we’ll go right back to full hours."
"Take whatever time you need," Lia said. "This isn’t a sacrifice if it’s for the right reason."
"It kind of is a sacrifice," Kaela muttered. "I’m just choosing not to be dramatic about it for once."
"There it is," Clara said, still writing.
"Stop documenting me!"
Olivia caught the tail end of the conversation on her way past the training ground, pausing just long enough to take in the general shape of what had transpired and to offer her own opinion without waiting to be asked.
"For what it’s worth," she said, "I think that’s the right call."
I’ve spent enough time around the vice headmaster’s office lately to see the difference myself... She’s steadier already. Whatever you two have been doing, it’s working."
"You’ve been watching her that closely?" William asked, mildly surprised.
"I notice things... It’s sort of my whole deal." Olivia shrugged, unbothered. "Besides, someone around here has to keep an eye on the administrative side of things while you’re busy playing physical therapist with a sword."
"I’ve been quietly covering a few of her smaller duties this week so she has more room to actually focus on herself instead of drowning in paperwork on top of everything."
William blinked, genuinely touched by the admission. "I didn’t know that..."
"You weren’t supposed to... It wasn’t for credit." Olivia offered a small, knowing smile before turning to continue on her way. "Just make sure it’s worth it, Instructor Wade."
"She deserves that much, at least."
"It will be," William said, and meant it fully.