Chapter 42

"Godolphen, you are an unfit educator..."

Godolphen's face changed at my sudden and rude statement.

"A brat like you, who's only twelve, has the nerve to say such things... Say it again!"

Godolphen grabbed my collar and glared at me with a murderous intent, but I was no longer the type to be intimidated by such empty threats.

Getting angry at being pointed out by a kid is proof that you are aware of it deep down.

Mr. Mujika tried to intervene, but I ignored her and continued.

"Godolphen, you have a major misunderstanding. You think this task is for my benefit, don't you? Hmph. You are way off. The one who bears the burden of this task is you, Godolphen."

He probably didn't understand what I meant.

Godolphen raised an eyebrow, maintaining his stern expression.

"What are you trying to say, brat?"

"You said at the initial orientation that the purpose of your coming to this academy, as ordered by His Majesty, was to raise the level of the students here. And then you said, 'Even if it means abandoning those who can't keep up, we must achieve our goal.' Can you explain this to His Majesty? Can you proudly report to His Majesty that you pushed the students to the limit, and most of them quit, but a few became an elite group? ...Answer me, Godolphen!"

I grabbed Godolphen's collar in return and interrogated him.

Mr. Mujika, standing next to me, screamed at my overly disrespectful attitude towards this old man, who seemed to be important, but I didn't care.

If you can't even grab your homeroom teacher by the collar, how can you claim to be a rebel?

Perhaps because I hit a sore spot, Godolphen made a bitter face and argued back.

"...That's just sophistry. Indeed, from my position, as you say, I cannot abandon students who can't keep up and achieve my goal. However, this task is meant to measure your abilities, and what I am asking is about your resolve, not your weakness!"

It's the typical "It's not about me! It's about you!" argument from a power-abusing boss.

I hate people who put themselves on a pedestal and lecture others while avoiding their own issues.

With a sneer, I asked Godolphen.

"Resolve? Don't make me laugh, Godolphen. Let me ask you something. How do you perceive the spirit of the Slope Club?"

Godolphen couldn't answer.

Of course not. I'm just organizing my vague thoughts as I speak. If he could answer, I would be surprised.

"As part of the activities, you know that the members are climbing slopes. But why is the club called the Slope Club, not the Running Club or something else? What do you think is the reason?"

I emphasized the nuance of "You are the advisor, right?" and asked Godolphen again.

"...I stated it clearly from the beginning. I won't interfere with the club's policies..."

I was exasperated by this unoriginal excuse. It's the typical "I'll leave the methods to you, but you must produce results" approach.

Since it's my task, it's natural to say that, but ultimately, Godolphen's way of thinking is no different from my former boss in my previous life. He abandons the responsibility of a leader.

"Hmph. It's not a problem that you don't interfere with the club's policies. Encouraging students' autonomy is necessary. However, not even knowing the content of the activities is a completely different matter. What you are doing is a convenient delegation. You probably think that 'those who can grow will grow even if left alone.' Let me tell you what that is called. It's called 'cognitive disengagement!'"

Godolphen let go of me, so I let go as well.

I continued to glare at Godolphen, who still had a stern look on his face.

"Since you don't seem interested in the process, it might be meaningless to explain, but I'll do it anyway. As I mentioned briefly when the club was founded, 'the path' refers to the path of life. If the goal was simply to acquire skills, there would be no need to give it such a name. However, I wanted to use this club to train the members' mind, technique, and body. Especially, I wanted to cultivate a strong 'mind' that doesn't give in to adversity!

Indeed, the most reliable method to clear the task, as you said, is to force out members who don't meet the standards. I'm not so naive as to help those without resolve. In fact, I have been pushing them to their limits every day with unreasonable words, thinking that they could quit at any time.

...But they didn't give up. They faced their shortcomings every day, striving to grow and looking at their path in life.

Don't you think it's absurd to impose impossible loads on them and question their resolve to quit?

Godolphen von Wankish is probably an excellent knight and a first-class person. But you are not sincerely engaging with the task of nurturing people.

I will say it again, Godolphen. You, who don't even understand the content of the activities, who have stopped thinking and delegated everything to the students, and who measure their resolve to abandon their companions for your own goals, are an unfit educator!"

I felt relieved after venting all the pent-up frustration from my previous life to Godolphen.

Then, Godolphen suddenly lost his murderous intent and started to affirm my arguments in his usual tone.

"Hmm. I understand your thoughts... I said I would aim to clear the task by pushing the members to their limits, but you saw a different path, didn't you?"

Tch.

What a slippery old man...

Did he let me off the hook, or is it just sour grapes?

"You said earlier that the purpose of your coming to this academy, as ordered by His Majesty, was to raise the level of the students here. That's exactly right.

Did you approach this task in line with the 'real purpose' I mentioned?"

Of course.

People who try to assign unrealistic tasks, deviating from the budget and schedule, usually have a vague understanding of the real requirements.

When working with such people, it's crucial to grasp the true needs that the client themselves may not fully understand.

If you fail to do this, you'll be stuck with a client who starts complaining, "That's not what I wanted," just when you think the job is almost done.

"Of course. The first and most important step is to thoroughly understand what the client truly wants. It's the basic principle of marketing."

I quoted a cheesy marketing consultant who was hired as a trainer in my previous company.

"Marketing...? If that's the case, can you tell this unfit educator what methods you used to achieve this goal?

The club you founded has over 100 members, right? Leading such a large number of people is impressive, as expected of Zold Vainforces' disciple.

...You don't mean to say that you just called out to them, thinking it was fine if they quit, do you?"

Godolphen asked with a smile, looking like a kind old man.

Haha.

He's not as calm as he pretends to be, is he? I can see a vein popping on his forehead.

I took out a report on the club members' activities, compiled by Kate and the other managers, from my bag and placed it on the table.