OLD-WORLD EXTRA-Chapter 343: A Man Of Mystery And Honor

"What happened?"

Standing right in front of them, Emir asked with his hands behind his back.

His eyes were trained on them like a hunter on its prey, making them shiver. The intensity of

his gaze reminded their bodies why they feared him so much, sending chills down their spines and making their breaths hitch.

But Arthur didn't stay shivering for long. He stood up, reaching just below his professor's shoulders at his tallest, and stuttered out:

"H-He's framing me for something I didn't do!"

The bully shot back, stuttering even more:

"B-b-but you did! I saw you!"

'Seriously?...'

Emir shook his head and raised his right hand, showing them his palm. "Quiet."

They did as he said, immediately shutting themselves up.

"Good."

His gaze then left Arthur and landed on the bully.

"What did you lose?"

After a few seconds of hesitant silence, he received a reply:

"...My terminal."

Nodding his head, he asked:

"Did it happen in class?"

"...N-Yes."

"Yes or no? Be sure."

"Y-Yes!"

His cold face broke into a calm smile at that answer, and he turned to Arthur, meeting his furrowed brows and golden eyes.

"Did you steal it?"

Almost wincing at the question, he thought their professor believed the bully. But he didn't stay quiet and eventually ended the silence through gritted teeth:

"I did not! What would I do with a terminal that I can't even use?!"

'True.'

Emir's smile widened even further as he turned his back to them and returned to the front of the room.

"Who do you think is telling the truth?"

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No one raised their hand to answer.

It seemed that they didn't want to interfere in something so pointless, or they just didn't want trouble with the professor-not even Max did, knowing the consequences quite well.

Noticing that, Emir faced them and asked another question, switching up his words a little bit:

"Who do you think is responsible for the incident?"

But this time he didn't wait for them to answer, as he pointed at himself and stated:

"It was me."

His eyes, through the shades, showed that he truly believed his words.

"Everything that happens in this class is my responsibility."

Returning his attention to the two troublemakers, he asked the bully:

"So I'll compensate you and buy you a new one... but..."

His reaction to his professor's words wasn't happiness but dread, as he knew what was coming next.

"If I ever find out that you lied, you'll be kicked out of the Academy before the principal even knows. Is that understood?!"

The bully blinked as his professor's words echoed in the classroom.

He didn't know what to say or do, so he stayed frozen in place, acting as if he could escape the situation by pretending he wasn't there, believing his professor to be like one of those monsters that only saw movement.

But Emir was no fictional dinosaur-he stared right at the kid.

"So?"

Urged to move, he looked around in panic and stuttered out while reaching out to the ground: "A-Ah! There it is!"

He picked up a terminal hidden behind his seatmate's desk and stood up, looking back at his professor with his head down.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble, Sir! It looks like I lost it! I don't use it much, so I sometimes

forget it..."

The bully didn't believe his own words as with each second his voice lowered in volume until The shut himself up.

His act wasn't getting awards anytime soon.

But, obvious as it was, no one said anything about it, not even Emir, as he shrugged it off and approached the bully, wanting to tell him something directly.

"S-Sir?"

Once he reached his seat, Emir lowered himself slightly and whispered:

"Do whatever you want, kill yourself, I don't care, but not in my class or when I'm around,

and for the sake of your daddy, who's paying for all of this, find better ways to bully the kid,

alright?"

Wide-eyed, the bully stepped back and looked at Emir, speechless.

Just what type of professor would talk that way to his own student?

They understood him to be evil, but that really was an understatement.

He was simply unfeeling. He saw them as nothing, so of course he was fair to them.

Who would treat an ant any differently from the one behind it?

The bully's head was now clear. He understood.

"...I understand."

And so he said.

"Good man."

Patting his head, Emir went back to his desk, standing in front of the class.

"Now with that over, does anyone have any questions?" Time's almost up."

A couple of students raised their hands, but Emir had time for only one, so he chose a student

who hadn't asked a question before, appearing to be shy or simply afraid.

"T-T-T-Thank-ssh Thur."

She was definitely afraid.

Wincing for a bit tongue, she braved on, stabilizing her breath, focusing her eyes, and asking

her question:

"How can I be more like you?"

Surprised, Emir showed genuine emotion for once, as he looked at the girl with interest.

"Like me' how exactly?" freёwebnoѵel.com

She let out a heavy breath and said:

"...Brave... Confident."

'She saw me fight that symbiote then.'

Emir concluded that she was one of the students who stayed behind that day, which was why

she arrived at this question, seeing how he dealt with all that mess at the time.

"Brave huh..."

He allowed that word to marinate a little, then said:

"I learned to be that. And one can only be brave when they're scared... The man you see in

front of you has experienced far more setbacks than successes, and they taught me to be strong. So do your best, if you die, at least it'll be on your own terms. Looking cool is a plus~."

While those next to her quietly laughed at his joke, she didn't show any sign of a chuckle, staring at him with extreme seriousness.

"But... what if it's impossible? What do I do if I, a lone student, am surrounded by a hundred men who are dead set on killing me?"

Emir grew slightly confused, but he didn't think much about it and answered:

"That's impossible indeed... only if you challenge them yourself. Every situation has more

than one solution. In this case, you should call triple nine as soon as possible. Their Guard will

reach you in minutes."

She shook her head.

"And if I can't?"

He shrugged his shoulders.

"Run away."

She shook her head again.

"If I have someone to protect?"

He smiled, now picking up on what she was laying down.

"Get them up on your shoulders and run."

She shook her head for the third time.

"I'm slow, they can catch up."

He began to nod his head slowly, imagining the scene.

"Are you willing to die?"

Her reply came without hesitation:

"I am!"

His smile reached the tips of his mouth, stretching unnaturally wide.

"Then fight and die."