William could feel everyone on the training grounds looking at him, waiting for him to say something. William felt like he was about to drop a knife when Headmaster Albert asked him a question. He knew that whatever he said next could either make his life a lot easier or turn it into a complete nightmare.
"With all due respect, Headmaster," William said carefully, keeping his voice steady even though he was under a lot of pressure. "I'm just a guy who knows how to teach. Nothing more, nothing less."
Albert's face didn't change, but his eyes seemed to dig deeper into William's soul, as if he were trying to read thoughts that weren't being said. "Holy shit... that stare means something important, I can tell."
The headmaster said again, slowly, "Just a guy who's good at teaching,"
"Someone who had been proven to be incompetent for three years suddenly beats one of our best combat instructors and gets three amazing students in one afternoon."
"Please forgive me if I find that explanation lacking."
William could feel sweat starting to form on his back, but he made himself stay calm. He knew that panicking now would only make things worse, and he had talked his way out of suspicious situations before in his previous life.
He said, "I had a wake-up call recently." This was technically true if you think of dying and being reborn in someone else's body as a wake-up call. "The old William Wade was wasting his potential because he had given up on himself. I decided to stop making excuses and actually try for once."
The headmaster looked at him for a long time, and William really couldn't tell if the old man believed him or was going to call the guards on him for identity theft or any other crimes that happened in this world. Finally, Albert's stern look softened a little, but his eyes stayed sharp and analytical.
"An interesting story," the headmaster said, his tone impossible to read. "Something that I might even believe in normal circumstances."
"But these are not normal circumstances, Instructor Wade. The academy is going through some tough times, so I have to be careful about any sudden changes, no matter how positive they seem to be."
"What kind of tough times are you talking about?" William asked, letting his curiosity get the better of his survival instincts.
Albert looked around at the students who had gathered. Most of them were still watching this conversation with interest, probably hoping for more drama to talk about later. The headmaster said, "Maybe we should talk about these issues somewhere more private." His tone made it clear that this wasn't really a suggestion.
Albert looked at the three girls who didn't even move an inch because of his aura that isn't comparable to anyone at this point. "Girls, I'm sure you have classes or other things to do. Instructor Wade will start your training sessions again after we're done talking."
Kaela looked like she wanted to say something, and her competitive nature was clearly upset that she was being ignored. But even a princess knew better than to argue with the headmaster of the academy. Lia and Ellie looked at each other with worry, but they nodded and walked away with the other students, who were slowly leaving now that the show seemed to be over.
Albert motioned for William to follow him after most of the people had left the training grounds and only William and the headmaster were left standing in the open space. They walked quietly toward the main office building, which was huge and looked like someone had taken a medieval castle and added some magical touches to show off.
"Uh-oh, am I really in trouble here?"
"I was reincarnated, of course. And I got carried away to act like someone who just changed this body his whole life."
"I'm ready to hit and run if something awful happens to me. No matter how strong this guy is or how much aura he has, I would rather not waste another good life that easily because of another stupid death."
...
William thought the headmaster's office was just what he would expect from someone in his position. There were shelves full of old books, a probably worth desk more than all of William's savings from his previous life, and magical objects lying around that glowed with power.
Albert sat down at his desk and waved William over to one of the chairs across from him. "Please take a seat, Instructor Wade."
William sat right away. "Thank you for having me, Headmaster."
Albert said, "I'll be honest with you, Instructor Wade," once they were both settled. "Enemies from within are currently watching the academy. We have reason to believe that someone on our staff, maybe more than one, is working against the institution's best interests."
William blinked because he didn't expect the conversation to turn so quickly into conspiracy talk. "Are you questioning me because you think I'm a spy or something?"
"I think you're an anomaly," Albert said, leaning forward and putting his fingers together. "And in times of crisis, anomalies are usually either solutions or problems. Before I make any decisions about your future here, I need to figure out which group you belong to."
"What makes you think the academy has enemies from inside?" William asked, even though he was still uncomfortable. "Isn't this supposed to be one of the best academies in the kingdom?"
The headmaster said, "Prestige is great at hiding things."
"Over the past year, we've had a number of incidents that seemed like accidents but show patterns when looked at closely. Training equipment breaking down at important times, students getting hurt in ways that shouldn't happen with proper safety measures, and instructors suddenly having conflicts that hurt morale."
"We could explain away each incident individually, but collectively, they paint a worrying picture."
William contemplated the Zero-Class instructor, who had previously occupied this body and endured ridicule and disregard from everyone. Did these so-called internal enemies pursue him, or was his failure solely due to his inadequacy? It was impossible to know for sure, but now that he thought about it, it seemed very convenient that he died right before William took over this body.
William said, "And you think I'm involved in this because I suddenly stopped being bad at my job?" He tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice but mostly failed.
Albert's lips moved, which could have been a sign of amusement. "I do think your sudden improvement is suspicious, yes."
"But I also think that if you were really working for whoever is targeting this academy, you wouldn't have drawn so much attention to yourself so quickly."
"Spies usually try to stay hidden."
"Oh, fuck me... now this will be a big problem for my new life. And all of it escalated on day one!"