[21st Round] Inspection Team
▶ Explanation: The Fantasy Institution is a prestigious school, which means it has many partners, sister schools, and investors. However, due to unfortunate events, there’s been a sharp drop in the number of its graduates, triggering one of its dissatisfied investors to send an inspection team here. The director would normally be the one to explain the reason behind it and the one to share her vision to combat the situation, but she’s gone missing.
Wasn’t the world of Fantasy supposed to be the center of support for those who couldn’t adapt to society?
If so, then why was it focused on being a profitable business?
This was making my head spin.
I had always been more of a science guy.
“That’s why I said they’re useless here.”
“Shut up, Addicted Spirit.”
“Heeheeheehee… Kya?!”
I flicked my finger against her butt and continued listening to the beautiful Trainee Teacher’s explanations.
▶ Depression: To be honest, I’ve never been to outer space, so I don’t know much, but my senior colleagues turned pale when they heard the investor’s name. We can’t talk about this in public, but the faculty room has been thrown into absolute chaos.
I also didn’t know much about what was happening out there.
When I was still on Earth, I grew up watching documentaries where scientists and believers argued about whether aliens existed and whether there was life on Mars.
Not much had changed since I was abducted and dropped into Fantasy.
However, I found out that aliens did exist!
Unfortunately, this world’s stupid locals’ space-travel capabilities were still far behind, even when compared to Earthlings.
“Cowardly husband.”
“What?”
“Ask your beloved Trainee Teacher about the investor’s name. Due to my failed marriage, I live my days without due attention. However, I am still a graduate of the El Molando University, which is recognized and respected by everyone in the universe.”
“So, in a sense, you’re an astronaut then?”
I didn’t like what Ssosia said about our marriage, but I didn’t punish her yet since she might have important intel.
‘Who’s the investor that made the teachers feel fear and panic?’
▶ Answer: Mollansoft.
Mollansoft!
Their name alone hinted at grandeur.
▶ Explanation: They’re the largest manufacturer and supplier of hardware and software in the universe. That company is said to have had such a great impact that history itself is divided into before and after its founding.
I immediately shared the information with my wife.
“Mollansoft.”
“My God…”
“What?”
“Even though I single-handedly created the Fantasy system, I couldn’t land a job in that large corporation.”
“So there’s nothing special about you.”
All she could talk about was that she was a graduate of El Molando University.
“Stop interrupting me and just listen until I’m done talking, hubby. I couldn’t get a job with them, since I was chosen as the model for the latest android’s design, I was able to get an excursion with them.”
“Heh~”
Well, at least there was that.
“Such proposals are quite natural for me. I am the second most beautiful woman in the entire universe, after all.”
“Well, how did you like the excursion?”
“I can’t tell you because of the nondisclosure clause in our contract, but I can at least tell you to never make an enemy out of Mollansoft. The androids they produce… Agh! Just keep my words in mind.”
Clutching her head with both hands, Ssosia interrupted her speech.
“Mollansoft inspectors…”
It was hard to believe such a thing.
I accidentally destroyed a planet before, but talks about space still seemed like a distant concept for me.
Besides, this was business.
I could’ve easily made something up if it were any other field, but this particular one wasn’t my specialty.
“You were the emperor.”
“What makes you think business and politics are one and the same, silly wife?”
“Governments are no different from corporations.”
“What? Don’t be an idiot. Corporations give money in the form of salaries or wages, while governments take money in the form of taxes. What could they possibly even have in common? Their systems are completely different.”
“This is why you’re not a humanitarian— Ouch!”
“Shut up.”
I decided to punish my cowardly little wife for groundlessly insulting such different sciences, then focused again on Trainee Teacher.
‘Go on.’
▶ Dejection: Rumors have begun to circulate that they wanted the school to close, and I can’t even do anything to help my alma mater. That’s why I rushed to you and told you everything. I just need advice.
‘You’ve come to the right place, Trainee Teacher!’
I no longer gave advice as often as I used to, but in my 1st round, when my hands didn’t slip as much as they did now, I usually had to listen to the locals’ problems.
I understood the essence of the problem.
“We need to make sure the Mollansoft inspection team’s review of Fantasy is positive.”
“Ha… Do you think it’ll be that simple, my clueless hubby? Mollansoft isn’t just any small shop. They most likely already scouted our situation even before the faculty members knew about their inspection visit, which means they’ve already reached a decision by themselves. They dispatched an inspection team simply for formalities— Ouch!”
“You’re too noisy.”
I slapped my F-rank wife’s ass since she was being too pessimistic.
‘I am a hero.’
Many of Fantasy’s students presented themselves like that, but they were mostly just B-rankers. My rank was MAX.
The gap between us was all too obvious.
They traveled calmly, relying on the power of friendship and love, while I always had to overcome obstacles.
Today wouldn’t be any different.
I decided to fix this hopeless situation.
“Oh? Do you even have a plan?”
▶ Hope: I’m also interested in cadet Kang Han Soo’s plan.
I wanted to eliminate the inspectors to buy time, but after listening to Ssosia, I realized doing so would prove detrimental to our goal.
“Don’t you even dare!”
“I’m not even allowed to think about it?”
“You’re not! I don’t want to become a widow at such a young age!”
“Young?”
“Stop nitpicking at my words!”
My wife was imposing too many restrictions!
“Then we need to turn the Fantasy Institution into the ideal academy to prevent them from finding any flaws in it.”
The problem was time.
‘How long do we have until they arrive, Trainee Teacher?’
▶ Confirmation: According to my senior, they’ll be here in about a year.
‘Which senior? Supervisor Bakery?’
▶ Surprise: Yes. How’d you know?
It was just my intuition as the Perfect Hero with 200 years of experience.
While the director who oversaw the system was absent, my wife and I would have to get things in order.
Aside from Trainee Teacher, who was looking after me, we couldn’t set up a meeting with the faculty members due to school rules.
There was a simple solution to that, however.
Supervisor Bakery deliberately passed on such vital information to Trainee Teacher.
Henceforth, if there were any important news or changes, he’d deliver them to me in the same way.
‘How do you like my logicism and critical thinking?’
▶ Admiration: Simply incredible!
It was too early to admire me.
Based on how I knew Bakery, he most likely told Trainee Teacher what criteria the inspection team would use to assess Fantasy.
‘He did, didn’t he?’
▶ Surprise: You’re right! He told me they would randomly choose a class and watch the Hero’s journey from start to finish. They will evaluate the effectiveness of his training on criteria such as combat power, responsibility, actions, confidence, analytical ability, psychological stability, adaptability, integrity, compassion, and potential.
How confusing.
However, the most crucial intel I gained from that was that they wanted to evaluate the effectiveness of the Hero’s growth.
“I wasn’t going to tell you this because you’ve accused me of pessimism, but since this is objective information, I’ll tell you anyway. If what Trainee Teacher said is true, then we won’t be able to avoid the school’s closure. The heroes right now didn’t just cease to grow. They’re actually losing ground.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. And my aunt’s grandson, whom you beat up, is still in shock.”
“… Really?”
“Yup. The angels are secretly treating him, but he holed himself up in one place and refuses to go anywhere.”
“He has no mental strength at all.”
But he wasn’t to blame.
The core of the problem was that the teaching staff kept kidnapping such weak-minded people.
I could hardly change those losers.
What was the optimal course of action in this situation?
Stroking my ungrateful wife’s back between her 4th and 5th lumbar vertebrae, I reached a decision.
“Let’s go back to the past as we did before, Ssosia.”
“Are you planning on changing history again?”
“Yes.”
“Give me a minute. Do it, Mollan.”
“Mollan? Mollan~”
Pulling Master Mollan out of her chest, Ssosia began to roughly knead him with her hands.
And… Voila!
They created a purple stick with a five-pointed star at its tip.
“What is it?”
“A magic wand. It’ll allow you to change the Fantasy system’s settings at will. It can’t handle heavy tasks like skill creation, but it can execute simple ones in no time. I used this a lot before my aunt betrayed me.”
“Hmm…”
My cowardly wife always complicated things whenever she pretended to be intelligent.
“Was my explanation that hard to understand?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, basically, if you need anything, just let me know.”
“You should’ve just said that from the start!”
“Ohh…”
Ssosia waved her wand, forming a spatial gate before my eyes.
I was the Perfect Demon Lord.
It wasn’t that hard for me to intuitively deduce where it would lead me to.
The past.
Not a distant one, however.
“You got that right. We’ll go back to a year before Lanuvel summons the Hero.”
“One year won’t be enough.”
“There’s nothing we can do about it. You’re the one that said the inspection team would arrive in a year. Only the changes you make over that duration will apply to all courses and classrooms. We could go back to any point in time if my aunt helped us since she’s in charge of it, but I’m sure you’re well aware that’s impossible given our current circumstances.”
“Yeah.”
Complaining was a waste of time.
I entered the spatial gate fearlessly.
***
It felt like my whole body was in chains.
I remembered the moment the MAX-rank Hero who defeated the Demon Lord Pedonar was sealed for 2,000 years.
The seal most likely caused this feeling of stiffness.
However, judging by how it weakened, it would probably disappear naturally in a year, even if nothing was done about it.
A year.
That signified that the Demon Lord was resurrected and arrived safely a year before the Hero was summoned.
I filled my body with strength.
PSSSSSS!
History would change dramatically once I, the Perfect Demon Lord, had broken my seal a year earlier than anticipated.
Bang!
The moment it was destroyed, I regained my five locked senses.
“Husband! Be careful!”
Ssosia’s insistent cry immediately pierced my ears.
But there was no need to warn me.
I was the Perfect Demon Lord.
From the moment I removed my seal, my defenses became as perfect as I was.
Bam!
A dark space formed around my neck, causing a sword to ricochet.
My head would’ve been decapitated if I deployed my protection a second later.
Who the hell?
Although it was a little later than my hearing, my eyes finally reactivated, allowing me to identify my enemy.
“Strange…”
It couldn’t be.
“The rage of losing my comrades!”
“Wait. Give me a moment.”
“My comrades are not dead! They live on inside my heart, supporting and cheering me on! Kh?!
“I need to think.”
“Kh…”
“Why is my senior here?”
“Demon Lord Pedonar!”
“Huh?”
“I will punish you!”
My resentful senior, clad in heroic armor, called out my father-in-law’s name and charged again.
Did my appearance change?
That didn’t seem to be the case. If so, then why…?
“Well…”
I decided to do something about my corrupted senior first.
