Teaching & Learning Methods [BL]

Untitled Part 25

I parted ways with Tan at a midpoint. He asked if he should take me to the Royal Academy, but I refused.

Today, I planned to walk to the Academy. I wanted to know how much walking it would take to exhaust me. I wasn't sure if I was still being followed, but unless they were incredibly foolish, they wouldn't make a move today.

And soon, I lost my way.

I never thought I had a poor sense of direction. But every time I went into a new place, I got lost. Each time, I apologized to passersby and asked for directions, but the Royal Academy never appeared.

As I stood on the road, looking around, I bumped shoulders with a passerby. I moved to stand against a wall, and a shabbily dressed child quickly shoved a brush onto my shoe.

"Your shoes are dirty. You need to polish them."

The shoe polish boy stuttered an excuse when he saw me looking at him.

I lowered my head and looked at my shoes. They were dirty, probably because I had been walking around for a long time yesterday. I obediently handed my shoes to the boy.

I thought he would just soap them up, rinse them in water, and step on them like washing clothes, but the actions of the shoe-shining boy were quite different.

First, he scooped up a black substance that looked wet and spread it on my shoes. Then he scrubbed with a brush, and once again rubbed the leather that had turned black with dirt. After repeating this process several times, my shoes shone as if they had been oiled.

The shoe-shining boy quickly tidied up his tools and held out his hand.

"Two coins."

The price seemed too cheap. I was wondering if I should give him a few more coins, even if not a silver coin.

"One coin. Your shoes were dirty, but I'm a beginner... Still, you have to give me one coin!"

He hesitated and then suddenly yelled out.

I asked for directions to the Royal Academy as I handed over two coins. The shoe-shining boy informed me that I had been circling around the Royal Academy and then led me to the main gate.

Thanks to the boy, I safely arrived at the Academy. As a token of gratitude, I gave him an extra coin. The boy exclaimed, "Wow!" and bowed his waist. He quickly disappeared after putting the money in his pocket.

Now familiar with the route, I arrived at the integrated professor's office. It was when I was about to open the door and enter.

"Finally, we meet! I've been looking around for Professor Letier, but I couldn't find him. You must have been busy, right?"

Professor Oster greeted me warmly and grabbed my arm. I gently removed his hand and responded.

"Hello. You seem particularly lively today."

"Good news, the dean has been looking for Professor Letier!"

"Do you mean Dean Orlando?"

"Yes. If things go well with the dean, professors might be willing to let you take over their classes. It's well-known that Professor Letier is very good at lecturing. He's quite capable."

"I see."

I knew almost nothing about the dean of the Royal Academy. His name was Jeffrey Orlando, he succeeded Gary Winsbuck as dean, he believed that Albert Letier had committed fraud and embezzlement, and he had viewed Albert Letier's documents at the police station. That was all the fragmented information I had.

Professor Oster kept talking. He even said that the suspension imposed on Albert Letye might soon be lifted. It was hard to believe.

The last time we met, Dean Orlando blatantly ignored and belittled me. He seemed to have no fondness for Professor Letier.