In the academy corridor.
Locke was contemplating ways to break the deadlock when the academy's History class teacher, Olde Franklin, suddenly appeared in the hallway.
Olde Franklin appeared to be in his sixties, with one eye covered by a black patch and the other behind gold-rimmed glasses.
An student accompanied the old man.
Locke immediately recognized her as another citizen of Anjou Kingdom—Angel Macklin, the youngest daughter of Viscount Macklin from the southern region.
She had previously belonged to the same social circle as Locke's original host at this academy.
At the moment, Angel was chatting cheerfully beside the old man while Professor Olde spoke to her with a smile.
"Angel, I know you can't afford this semester's tuition. I can't waive your fees, but I can offer you a way to earn money. You can come to my office after your last morning class each day to transcribe historical texts for me—just one hour at noon each day."
Professor Olde said with a kindly smile, "The payment is ten Gold coins per session."
A look of interest appeared on Angel's face.
Earning ten Gold coins daily was far from enough to cover a semester's tuition at Aurelian Academy.
But ever since her family had cut off her financial support, maintaining her previous standard of living had become difficult, and all her former friends had turned their backs on her.
She was indeed in desperate need of money now.
Angel replied, "Professor, I'd be happy to. Thank you for this opportunity."
"You're truly a good person."
"I never realized before how kind-hearted you are."
Professor Olde's smile widened as he noticed Locke Augustine, his expression briefly flickering with surprise.
"How strange, it's been over a week already..."
"Could it be...?"
His smile growing even brighter, he addressed Locke: "Locke, you haven't come to my office for three days now. Are you facing some difficulties?"
"My offer still stands—one hour daily transcribing historical documents for me. Your previous work was excellent."
"You're the most outstanding student I've ever encountered."
Locke frowned, his internal alarms blaring.
He knew perfectly well that the reason for his transmigration was because the original host had died within a week of copying documents for this old man, allowing his soul to cross over.
The problem was, no matter how much Locke combed through the original host's memories, he couldn't understand how simply copying history books for this professor could prove fatal.
Yet in the days before death, the original host had grown progressively weaker and more exhausted each day.
On the final day, after copying texts in Professor Olde's office in a daze, he had returned to his dorm room and suddenly died—making way for Locke's arrival.
Since Locke hadn't yet figured out why copying historical documents for this professor was so dangerous, he absolutely refused to work for Professor Olde again.
It was far too risky.
Locke forced a smile, trying to make his response appear normal. "Professor Alder, thank you for your kind words."
"It's just that I've been looking for other part-time work recently..."
Professor Alder waved his hand dismissively. "You can continue working for me until you find something else."
"Preferably starting at noon today."
"I'll be waiting in my office. I'm very satisfied with the work you've done."
Locke's heart skipped a beat. As expected, the old man wasn't going to let him off easily.
The professor had specifically sought out someone from Anjou to work for him—this was clearly no coincidence.
Locke hurriedly declined, "Professor Alder, I appreciate your high opinion of me. But I haven't been feeling well lately."
Professor Alder chuckled. "Not feeling well doesn't affect your work. Young people must endure hardships and trials. I understand you've been down recently, but that's all the more reason to work harder."
"Look, Angel will be coming to my office at noon today to transcribe historical documents."
Angel thanked the professor, "Thank you, Professor."
"I never expected a faculty member to lend me a hand during such difficult times."
At the same time, Angel shot Locke a puzzled and suspicious look.
She couldn't understand why Locke would refuse the professor's kindness.
With both of them having lost family support and nearly running out of living expenses—given how costly daily life at the academy was—what better options did they have than accepting the professor's offer?
Professor Alder nodded in satisfaction.
Locke glanced at the naive Angel, then continued his stubborn refusal. "I'm sorry, Professor."
"I really can't spare the time right now."
The smile vanished from Professor Alder's face, replaced by clear displeasure as he coldly stared at Locke. "Well then, Locke, History class is a mandatory course at this academy. Besides tuition, you'd better pay this semester's history course fees soon."
"I expect you to settle the 600 Gold coin history course fee by our next meeting."
"Otherwise, don't bother attending class."
History class, Language class, and Swordsmanship class were the three mandatory courses at Aurelian Academy. Failure to pay for any of them would likely result in expulsion.
Professor Alder took a few steps, then added thoughtfully, "Of course, if you continue working for me, I could extend your payment deadline for this course by one month."
"If you change your mind, Locke, you can come find me in my office."
"I still think the work you do is quite excellent."
Putting on an angry act, Professor Alder turned sharply and stormed off with a dramatic wave of his hand.
Angel hurried after him, but after a few steps, she seemed to remember something. Turning back, she ran up to Locke and couldn't help but scold him. "Locke, what's wrong with you!"
"You actually made the professor angry."
"He's being kind—who else would give us Anjouans such an opportunity? You're being ungrateful."
"You'd better apologize to the professor immediately. Times have changed. You're no longer the earl's son, and I'm not some viscount's daughter anymore."
With that, Angel quickly ran off to catch up with Professor Alder.
Locke looked at her and shrugged his shoulders.
Angel was originally a fellow student in his circle at the academy. As the daughter of a mere viscount, she had spent her days fawning over him—or rather, the original host—but now that the Kingdom of Anjou had fallen, she no longer needed to flatter him.
Still, he had initially considered offering her a kind, humanitarian warning, but it seemed unnecessary now.
Character determines fate.
Given her attitude, if he warned her, she might just turn around and sell him out to Professor Alder.
Locke began to ponder. "History class is held twice a week. The next one should be in about three days."
"If I can't come up with a solution by then, I'll either be expelled from the academy or forced to agree to keep transcribing history textbooks for Professor Alder."
"I need to find a way out of this predicament as soon as possible. Or at least figure out what to do if I have to leave the academy. The Kingdom of Anjou is no longer an option—it's too dangerous there."
"Should I become a wandering noble?"
Locke glanced at the Synthetic Magic Cube in front of him. The display showed forty-five minutes remaining until synthesis was complete.
"Language class is about to start. I should head there first."
"The most important courses at Aurelian Academy are the three mandatory ones, but even among them, there's a hierarchy."
"Language class is undoubtedly the most significant."
"Followed by history, and then swordsmanship."
Locke recalled that in other academies or regions, grammar teachers were typically low in status.
After all, this era resembled the Middle Ages.
Among the knightly class, martial prowess was clearly valued far more than culture, so swordsmanship should logically rank above history and language.
But at Aurelian Academy, that wasn't the case at all.
Here, the language teacher was none other than the academy's headmaster, a figure of immense authority whose word was law. Sometimes, they even commandeered other classes for their own.
So, if the academy's outstanding graduate quota was tied to any particular course, logic suggested it was most likely linked to language class.
That might just be his way out of this mess.
(End of Chapter)