There is a significant difference between professors at the academy and professors at modern universities.
University professors, especially tenured ones, enjoy social prestige and the privilege of guaranteed tenure as long as they don’t commit any major wrongdoings.
This privilege is based on something more fundamental than the university itself.
It is the social respect for the academic field itself.
However, in this world, that respect does not exist.
While there are people who personally respect academia, there is no social consensus on it.
‘So what protects the professors at the academy?’
For example, if a powerful figure says, “Give my relative a professorship” or “I don’t like that person, so block their path and make them quit,” what can stop that powerful figure?
The answer was Skaha, the dean.
In this world, the power of an individual’s charisma itself is strength and law.
The more Ellie thought about the structure of the academy, the more she felt that Skaha was not simply holding onto the dean position by chance.
Of course, even Skaha is not invincible.
While she may not bend to the political storms of the world, there will be times when she will need to slightly bow her head.
There might be times when she wants to kick someone out but is forced to appoint them as a professor.
‘Maybe Rachel was like that. She’s probably from a faction like Rensanti.’
Ellie walked around the administrative building to gather her thoughts, then suddenly looked up at the tower-like building.
In a world without elevators, the best floor is the second floor.
However, the dean’s office is on the first floor.
Since Skaha herself could perform tricks like teleportation, she probably chose this location to make it most convenient for the students to visit.
When Ellie had seen her true self before, she wondered if maybe Skaha was the most genuine educator of all.
‘Now that I think about it, should I go visit her?’
If you want people to visit comfortably, you should make it comfortable for them to come.
Ellie opened the main door of the administrative building, and professors, teaching assistants, and graduating seniors were talking when they suddenly froze.
It was the new student with black hair, the one they had only heard about, who appeared out of nowhere.
Ellie noticed their reaction, but she had something more important to do than making new friends right now.
‘No merit, huh?’
I wonder if she’s doing her job well as a professor. I should see her merit while I’m here.
Ellie knocked on the dean’s office door, as naturally as if she were visiting a friend.
“Come in.”
Once she was allowed in, Ellie immediately said, “Yes~” and entered.
Skaha was sitting at her desk, flipping through papers, but when she saw Ellie, she raised an eyebrow.
“What brings you here?”
“Are you busy? If you are, I can come back later.”
“No, it’s not that. I just thought you might have something specific to discuss.”
“How could you? Can’t I just visit the dean to hang out?”
Skaha chuckled.
Even though she had been the dean for over 30 years, no student had ever approached her so casually.
“No, it’s fine. You and your friends can come over anytime. Sit on the sofa; I’ll bring out some snacks.”
“Was this automatic?”
“I’d call it semi-automatic.”
When Ellie sat down, a spread with cake, cookies, and tea appeared just like last time.
“Help yourself. I’ll just take a moment to look at this.”
“Then I’ll enjoy it!”
As Ellie opened her mouth wide and dug into the cake, Skaha turned her attention back to the paperwork.
“By the way, Dean, is this room soundproof?”
“…I can assure you that no one is eavesdropping on our conversation.”
“Hmm, then, how can I quickly get rid of a professor?”
“Ugh!?”
Skaha’s small body flinched.
“Are you okay?”
“So, what exactly are you asking a dean?”
“Huh? Then who should I ask? In reality, the dean is the one holding everything together here.”
Skaha stared at Ellie, sighed, and stood up from her desk.
“Is it Vermi?”
“Yes, Rachel.”
“Regardless of the relationship, as long as they are a professor, they should be addressed as Professor Vermi.”
“Yes, I’ll call her that in front of the dean.”
“Even if you’re not in front of me, I’d appreciate it if you did.”
“Heh.”
For a moment, Skaha felt the impulse to sit next to Ellie and give her a playful knock on the head.
‘What was it?’ Ellie was kind of annoying.
Not that she truly disliked her, though.
“Hmm, hmm…”
Skaha took a sip of her tea.
“Of course, I can’t just dismiss Professor Vermi just because you asked. It’s the same for any student, or any professor, for that matter.”
“I respect that about you.”
“…”
Ellie was really skilled at turning people’s feelings around.
The worst part was that everything she said was sincere.
“…Up until now, there have only been 10 cases where an academy professor has either died, retired, or been ‘forced out’ against their will.”
“Is the 10th one Professor Rensanti?”
“That’s right.”
Then, she added.
“You don’t need to use an honorific for someone who has been dismissed. If it’s not that case, feel free to use it.”
“Yes, Dean.”
Ellie smiled brightly, like a model student.
It wasn’t fake; she was joking, so Skaha shook her head and continued speaking.
“And as for the 10 dismissals… let me see…”
Her golden eyes reflected on the past.
“In order: embezzlement, murder, cheating in evaluations, cheating, murder.”
She counted on her little pinky.
“Cheating, robbery, embezzlement, murder… the last one was also cheating.”
“Aha. So, one has to commit something like that for there to be no consequences when they’re dismissed.”
“…”
“Thank you. I’m not sure how helpful it’ll be, but I’ll keep that in mind moving forward.”
Skaha looked at Ellie again.
It was really surprising how she spoke so confidently.
‘Is she really 15 years old? There’s no way she’s in the same department as me, right—’
“I was really born 15 years ago, in this world. You could tell I wasn’t lying, right?”
“…Hmm.”
That was the very thing that made her seem much older than 15.
Skaha, who had the same impression as Merit had before, saw Ellie smile again, quietly.
“Anyway, let’s end the talk about dismissing professors here. Dean, would you like a piece of cake?”
“Isn’t it mine?”
“Aha, forget the little details.”
Skaha realized something as she watched Ellie.
When She first entered the dean’s office, Ellie had been somewhat nervous, in her own way.
The small-framed dean looked at the tea set.
To be honest, if it was the ‘tea’ part of the tea set, that was fine, but the ‘snacks’ part was something she didn’t usually eat in her office.
It just didn’t feel appropriate for her to be eating something sweet in her position as dean.
But.
“Sigh…”
Suddenly, everything felt absurd.
Skaha, herself, comfortably took a piece of cake.
But the way she ate it—without caring if her hands got covered in cream or crumbs, just picking it up with her bare hands and taking a big bite—was wild.
At her small size, it looked cute, but if it had been her original form, it would’ve looked like she was tearing into a piece of meat instead of cake.
Or perhaps like eating a huge slice of pizza.
“…You eat pretty wildly.”
“Let me be.”
When Skaha lightly clenched her fist, the cream and crumbs disappeared in an instant.
Of course, it was magic.
“By the way, you…”
Skaha couldn’t hold back the curiosity she had been feeling.
“That…”
“What is it?”
“With me, you don’t feel, like, a sense of distance, or something like that, hmm…”
Skaha herself wasn’t even sure what she was saying.
The very distance and dignity that she didn’t want the kids to feel—wasn’t that the reason she put so much effort into maintaining her physical appearance? Doing so for over 30 years, every single day.
But after more than 30 years as dean, it was inevitable that the habit of trying to maintain a sense of dignity had become ingrained.
The saying, “position makes the person,” wasn’t just a phrase.
It was because of Ellie, who approached her without any hesitation, that Skaha realized the contradiction and imbalance she hadn’t even noticed until now.
‘How could anyone feel distance when she was acting this cute?’
“Eh?”
“…Hmm.”
Skaha looked down at her own body.
‘If she lowered her age too much, even speaking clearly might seem strange.’
A 10-year-old girl.
This body wasn’t something made from clay like a doll; it was exactly the same as the body Skaha had when she was 10 years old.
However.
When she had been 10, there hadn’t been a single person to tell her she was cute.
So, this was the first time she was hearing it.
That’s why.
It was out of nowhere that the words from Skaha Merlinnia, the dean, came out.
“Q-… cute, I mean…”
She took a shaky breath.
“…Really?”
Her face was burning.
It felt just like when she had been covered in enemy blood during a battle.
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