Subscriber of the Gods Chapter 302 - Rehabilitation Project

“Gasp!”

Oz woke up, twisting his whole body and looking around.

His last memory came back vividly.

He had certainly collapsed under Ethan’s shower of Fire Arrows.

But strangely, his body felt light. It was surprising to be this fine after being hit by such powerful magic.

“Where is this place?”

Moreover, he was in a place he had never seen before.

“What’s that over there?”

In the corner, there was a pile of iron objects. And next to it was a person holding those iron pieces.

Oz hurriedly got up from his seat.

Ethan Whiskers.

It was the new teacher who had knocked him down with Fire Arrow. He had fainted on the spot.

To faint in front of 149 people. Just imagining that unsightly scene made his teeth clench involuntarily.

“Are you awake?”

“Where is this place?”

“My office.”

“…?”

Oz made a puzzled expression.

How could a new teacher be assigned an office?

“It’s a special privilege.”

Ethan spoke directly to the puzzled Oz.

“Because I have skills. The principal gave me this special treatment.”

Oz quickly dusted himself off and stood up.

Then, without saying a word, he tried to go outside. Ethan sat in his seat and looked at the parchment placed in front of him.

“How’s your body? Fine, right? I have a talent for healing arts too. And I controlled my power. Normally, your bones would have broken easily. I went easy on you, so it ended with just bruises. And I even treated those bruises with acupuncture, so it’s essentially like nothing happened.”

Despite Ethan’s words, Oz still tried to open the door and go outside.

Creeak-.

As he opened the door, Ethan’s words were heard again.

“Oz Lazarus, 4th year, never missed being the top student since entering. You must have grown up hearing you were the hope of the Lazarus family, so your motivation must have been clear. Consistently good grades until the 2nd year. But entering the 3rd year, your grades started to drop little by little, and after your only relative, your grandfather, passed away, you gave up on everything. You took a leave of absence for the 1st semester this year and returned from the 2nd semester.”

Ethan read Oz’s academy evaluation.

“Outstanding talent. But with the death of his grandfather, his mentality was greatly shaken and he gave up on everything. In the end, he tried to drop out, but changed to a leave of absence due to the principal’s dissuasion.”

Oz’s body froze on the spot.

“What did you say?”

‘This must be his sore spot.’

Thump-! Thump-!

Oz approached, stomping his feet strongly as if he would break the floor, and struck the desk.

Bang-!

“Don’t talk about my grandfather carelessly…”

“Oz Lazarus, mind your words and actions.”

An tremendous aura burst out from Ethan’s body.

“You should show respect to your teacher.”

“Kk… kkhk.”

For a moment, an intense aura choked Oz’s neck to the point where it was difficult to breathe. But it was only for a moment. The pressure that was weighing down on his entire body disappeared in an instant.

“Damn it! What do you want from me? Do you want me to rehabilitate? Did the principal order you to do this? Fine, I gave up on everything after my grandfather passed away. But that’s not because of my grandfather, it’s because I’m stupid and pathetic, so don’t interfere!”

Oz glared at Ethan with fierce eyes. Despite experiencing that pressure just now, Oz’s spirit was considerable.

“I heard that Mason Yellowd had a change of heart and became a diligent student. Moreover, inter-academy exchange or whatever. But I’m not interested. I’ll do what I want. Since I stayed in the academy because the principal wanted me to, I have to put up with this!”

However, Ethan didn’t seem to care much about Oz’s words.

“What did you do during your year off? For someone who took a year off, your senses are quite good. Situational awareness, discerning eyes, and that talent. But you have too much faith in your own talent. You’re not handling your talent, but being swayed by it. Of course, given your great talent, you would have achieved some results even when swayed, but you must have felt your own limitations.”

“Are you not listening to me?”

Oz shouted loudly, seemingly frustrated. He had told him to leave him alone.

Ethan stared at the shouting Oz.

“Oz, if you don’t speak, even the gods won’t know your heart. Your heart, your thoughts are yours alone. So you shouldn’t expect others to understand without speaking. If you need help, you have to say so. Only then can others help. Is your goal to live like a ruffian? If you say so, I’ll never bother you again.”

“…”

Oz looked at Ethan for a moment at his sincere words. Then he immediately left the office.

“It wouldn’t be fun if it were easy.”

Ethan said that and waited for another guest.

Not long after, the other guest he was waiting for knocked on the office door.

“It’s Nadia, Teacher Ethan.”

***

“Is he trying to play the role of a true teacher? Just because he rehabilitated Mason, does he think he can fix me too, or something like that?”

It was quite unpleasant. He knows better than anyone that what he’s doing is not right.

He knows well that he’s doing pathetic things.

But he couldn’t find his bearings.

After his grandfather passed away, he didn’t know what to do or how to do it.

It felt like he was left all alone in the world.

He forgot the reason why he had been working hard until now, and why he entered Ivecar through special admission.

He forgot what he wanted to do at Ivecar, what he had set as his goal.

Because until now, his life had been a life to be with his only grandfather.

If his grandfather had been assassinated by someone, he would have lived his whole life for revenge.

But it was heaven that took his grandfather.

The time that’s fair to everyone took his grandfather.

Who could he resent?

There’s nothing to gain from resenting heaven.

Then he had to vent this anger on someone. He needed a target to release this resentment.

This was the result. Oz knew his situation, yet didn’t know.

“Oz Lazarus.”

Speak of the devil, Mason approached Oz.

“You little brat. Just calling a senior’s name so casually.”

Oz, who was angry, thought this was perfect timing. He had heard that this Mason Yellowd had changed greatly after meeting Ethan and now had become a complete disciple.

“I’m in a very bad mood right now. Young master Yellowd. From now on, you’re going to be the target of my anger.”

Oz suddenly stretched out his hand. He no longer wanted to attend the academy.

If he could get expelled for sure with this incident, that would be good.

He wanted to just throw everything away without having to think complicated thoughts.

“Venting your anger? Try if you can. But before that, I have something to tell you. Don’t you need someone to stop you right now? Or someone to help you.”

At those words, Ethan’s words from earlier suddenly came to mind.

If you need help, you have to say so. If you don’t speak, no one can know or help you.

At the same time, Oz threw a punch. It was a fast and accurate punch. However, Mason avoided Oz’s fist very lightly.

“…You.”

Oz showed his teeth in anger. He hadn’t seen Mason for long. But before his leave of absence, Mason was definitely not a match for Oz.

But now something was different.

Especially the look in his eyes.

It was a look that Oz really disliked.

“Just once is enough. If you just swallow your pride once and ask for help, everything will change. I know because I’ve experienced it. Oz Lazarus. No, Senior Oz.”

“Don’t say such nonsense! Are you trying to imitate a teacher now? You, the young master of the Twelve Families who knows nothing!”

“The more I look at you, the more pitiful you seem. You’re showing with your whole body that you need help. Looking at you makes me feel bad because you remind me of my past self.”

Mason said.

Oz swung his fist faster than before. If he had swung lightly earlier, this time he swung with all his might.

At this point, he was determined to completely knock him down.

Oz’s fist flew at an incredibly fast speed. Moreover, it was at an angle that was difficult to avoid.

But Mason was no longer the Mason of the past.

Following Ethan’s education, he had undergone grueling training during the vacation. Moreover, this level of attack was already familiar to his eyes from what he had experienced from Ethan.

Mason perfectly avoided that fist and planted his fist in Oz’s face.

Bbeog-!

Blood dripped from Oz’s nose. (+) ^[1] TLN: Originally it’s written as Mason here, since I feel like it’s a mistake, I change it to Oz

As if he didn’t expect to be counterattacked, Oz made a surprised expression once again. Mason’s skills had definitely changed.

“If you don’t want to change your mind, stay quiet during class time. This is an opportunity that won’t come to us again.”

“Damn… Damn you… Let’s go to the sparring ground. I’ll properly crush you…”

“Forget it. Unlike you who has given up on everything, I have a dream. I’ve decided to stop ruining my own life.”

With those words, Mason left.

Oz glared fiercely at Mason’s back as he left, clutching his nose.

“Damn it.”

Ivecar felt very unfamiliar.

***

“I heard a lot of stories while staying in the capital.”

In Ethan’s office.

Nadia, sitting in front, had a serious expression.

“At first, I kept my mouth shut. Because I hadn’t directly confirmed the rumors I heard.”

“…It’s as you know. My grandfather, who is the Chancellor of the Holy Empire and the pillar of Tschernkastel, has collapsed.”

The Chancellor of the Holy Empire and the head of the Tschernkastel family had collapsed.

“Because of that, the Tschernkastel family is now in a dangerous state due to the successor problem. My mother is not coveting the position of family head, but…”

“The family head must have particularly favored Teacher Nadia.”

“Yes.”

Nadia’s talent was certainly something that would catch the eye of the family head.

While Ciron and Iris had various struggles at Ivecar, Nadia didn’t.

Although overshadowed by Ethan, she was definitely outstanding among the new teachers.

Nadia was assigned to lead one class that she had organized herself this second semester.

Of course, it was an indirect privilege due to Ethan’s achievements, but the fact that only Nadia received such an opportunity, surpassing Ciron and Iris, had a special meaning.

‘It’s certainly an amazing achievement from the perspective of a new teacher.’

“What you told me before. It kept lingering in my mind. I believed it absolutely couldn’t be true… But Teacher Ethan’s words were right. All of it. I never thought it would happen… My family, of the same blood… tried to kill me.”

Nadia had complained of abdominal pain during the recruitment exam, saying she seemed to have indigestion.

Originally, she would have failed the exam due to that abdominal pain. But Ethan helped her, and Ethan told her that it wasn’t just simple abdominal pain, but someone had intentionally done something bad.

After that, Nadia investigated why such a thing had happened, and finally found the answer.

“Not just me, but they were doing such things to my mother as well.”

Generally, the succession issue was serious for high-ranking noble families, including the Twelve Families.

Except for the most stable Ramsdale family of the Sword Saint, most had not properly determined a successor, and even now, they were repeating the successor wars that had been passed down from the past.

‘They consider killing each other too naturally.’

The reason why the situation leads to the worst choice of successor war is very simple.

It’s because it’s a tradition that has continued from the family head, and the previous family head.

To strengthen the power of the family, that power must be united.

But if there are several successor candidates, when the family head dies, that power will inevitably spread in all directions.

If that happens, it becomes difficult to maintain the family’s status and power. The territory also gets divided.

‘For that reason, they continue that terrible tradition, but it’s not very efficient.’

Tschernkastel, like other Twelve Families, was facing a big successor problem.

‘Originally, Nadia would be quickly eliminated. The final victor would be the current Chancellor’s first son, who is Nadia’s uncle.’

Brendon Tschernkastel would handle all the Chancellor’s problems and become the new family head.

‘He has ability.’

In the game, he had talked with that Brendon Tschernkastel a few times.

“Who tried to kill you, teacher?”

“My uncle… Brendon Tschernkastel.”

Although it was a matter that would become a family disgrace, Nadia didn’t try to hide it.

‘As expected.’

“What I heard was similar. It was a story predicting what would happen to the Tschernkastel family. Everyone was talking a lot about Ms. Nadia’s uncle, Brendon Tschernkastel.”

“…!”

Nadia seemed shocked, as if realizing that her uncle’s power had already spread to the capital.

“I was surprised too. I never thought your uncle would be targeting Teacher Nadia.”

“My head… is too complicated. This is the first time I’ve experienced something like this, so I don’t know what to do. But I can’t just sit still either. My father entered the family as an adopted son-in-law, so he doesn’t have much power. He probably doesn’t even properly understand that the situation has become like this. Or even if he knows, he might have no choice but to stay still.”

In fact, even Nadia didn’t know she had just been indigested until Ethan told her.

“I have no choice but to do it myself.”

Nadia stood up from her seat.

“Thank you, Teacher Ethan. Thanks to you, I’ve made my decision. I’m going to the principal’s office right now. I can’t continue attending the academy in this situation…”

The Tschernkastel family, one of the Twelve Families.

‘It’s a family that can strongly support our Whiskers, which has newly risen to the Twelve Families.’

“I think I can help.”

Ethan had a very easy way to resolve this situation.

• 1. TLN: Originally it’s written as Mason here, since I feel like it’s a mistake, I change it to Oz