The Retired Supporting Character Wants to Live Quietly

“Are you okay, Professor…?”

Lina asked with concern, and I shook my head with a smile.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It was just a dream. Don’t worry about it.”

Having just seen the invitation to the Tatarnok event, I couldn’t help but dream of something like this.

After finishing the scalp massage, my hair felt quite decent.

“Oh my goodness!!”

Lina clasped her hands in excitement when she saw me.

“You should have cut it like this sooner! It looks so, so, so, so good! Right, Anna?”

“Uh, yes…”

Anna, who had glanced at me, quickly averted her gaze and mumbled.

It’s not wartime anymore, and with a salon right next door, I guess I’ll come here more often.

Hearing that, the owner was overjoyed.

“I’ll personally take care of the Head Professor. You must come again.”

“Yes, thank you.”

As we stepped outside, students enjoying their free time after school crowded around us, shouting.

“It’s the Head Professor!”

“Professor Dian!”

The students’ enthusiasm was overwhelming, and Anna and Lina were soon lost in the crowd.

“Your haircut suits you so well!”

“You look handsome!”

“When will you give me a private lesson!?”

“Secret prince!”

Kids at their age are always so noisy.

And ‘secret prince’? There are still students who believe such nonsense.

Responding appropriately, I headed to the faculty area when something caught my eye.

It was Kirrin, hiding around the corner of the market, watching me.

If I guess correctly, she came to suggest having dinner with me today but lost the chance because of the crowd.

When I waved, Kirrin quickly disappeared.

# # # # #

“Hm, what could it be….”

After parting ways with Dian, half-forced, Professor Lina walked alone, lost in thought.

“What could it be…”

“What’s the matter, Professor…?”

Anna, who was walking beside her, asked gloomily. Lina stopped and turned to her.

“You heard the Head Professor talking in his sleep just now, right?”

“Well… I didn’t hear it clearly… he shouted so suddenly…”

“I definitely heard ‘Linus’ and ‘Horned Ones’. What could it be…?”

“Is it something serious…? I don’t really understand…”

As Lina continued to ponder, Anna mumbled hesitantly.

“It was just sleep-talking… Everyone knows Sir Linus… And since the professor is a war veteran… maybe he dreamt of fighting alongside Sir Linus…”

“Could be… Hmmm…”

But Lina couldn’t let it go as easily as Anna.

Although she had always thought that what Professor Dian did in the past wasn’t important now, his sudden outburst during the scalp massage was too vivid to ignore.

“Where are you two coming from? Anna, did you get your hair cut?”

Just then, Professor Felimia greeted them, and Lina ran over to her.

“Professor! You used psychological warfare on the Head Professor last time, right?”

“What? Um… No…?”

Felimia adjusted her glasses and averted her gaze.

“You did, didn’t you? Didn’t you end up kneeling and vomiting?”

“That was just… because I drank too much…”

“Really? Professor, you think I wouldn’t notice if you used psychological warfare?”

At a loss for words, Felimia quickly drew back her cloak.

“Alright. I did attempt it. But I failed. But why?”

“It’s just that, earlier in the salon, the Head Professor had a strange sleep-talking episode.”

After Lina explained what happened, Felimia shook her head, looking baffled.

“I have no idea. It was probably just sleep-talking. Why give it so much meaning?”

“Maybe… But if you had heard it yourself, you’d be suspicious too, Professor.”

“Suspicious of what… Anyway, take care.”

“Goodbye.”

Felimia walked quickly away from Lina and Anna toward the dormitory.

Seeing Dian reunite with war veterans at the Ivronic Castle that day, Felimia had resolved never to reveal what she discovered about his identity.

Revealing the truth against Dian’s will would be an insult to the hero who made such noble sacrifices.

So she had no choice but to feign ignorance when Lina asked.

Despite her cheerful exterior, Professor Lina possessed sharp intuition and keen judgment.

She had noticed Felimia’s psychological battle against Dian in the pub and quickly dug towards the truth from a single sleep-talk phrase.

Even so, Felimia couldn’t step forward to defend Dian.

But there was no need to worry.

Professor Dian was a hero who, along with Sir Linus, had saved the continent.

Professor Lina couldn’t confront someone like that out of mere curiosity.

# # # # #

“Did you always look like this?”

Olysia asked with a satisfied smile when she saw him in his suit.

“It’d be great if you always dressed like this.”

Now, wearing a suit Olysia bought from a store in the city center and shiny shoes, he looked quite different.

Today was the day of the Tatarnok Village Restoration Event.

“Hoooh, that’s right. The Head Combat Professor of the Imperial Special Mission Academy should look like this.”

Olysia smiled contentedly, patting my shoulders.

“Well, I’m off.”

I e left the faculty area and walked towards the main gate. Linus had arranged for a carriage to be sent to the gate.

“Hello, Anna.”

“Huh…? Who are you…?”

Anna, carrying something to the stables, stared at me blankly.

“It’s me.”

“He-Head Professor…?”

“What are you doing this weekend? Going to see the kids?”

“Uh, yes… But your outfit today… um…”

Anna stammered and quickly ran off.

As I continued to the main gate, I saw students gathered there.

Students preparing for their weekend outings.

“Huh?! It’s Professor Dian!!”

I tried to walk around them, but someone noticed and screamed.

“Where, where?!”

At that, students began to swarm like a flock of sheep.

“Professor Dian!! You look so cool!”

“Where are you going!!”

“Uhh. I’m off to marry a dragon.”

Even though the joke wasn’t that funny, the kids laughed uproariously.

But one student stood in shock.

“Wh-What do you mean… marrying a dragon…?!”

It was Hindrasta, the pink-haired White Dragon.

Is that dragon ever doing any studying with all this wandering around?

“A dragon… there’s only me…”

Hindrasta trembled and muttered nonsensically.

“No, no… I can never mate with someone like you!!!!!!”

Her roar was almost like the Dragon Roar, shocking the students who turned to look at her.

“You beat me up before, and now you plan to assault me?! No way! I’d rather die! Just kill me instead!!”

“Sophie, what’s wrong…?!”

Hindrasta’s lower-ranking followers, who worshipped her like a god, worriedly watched as she burst into tears and ran off.

“Where are you going! Not going out?”

Her followers chased after her as she fled to the dormitory.

That crazy dragon. Tsk, tsk.

“You look impressive.”

While watching Hindrasta run off, Knightley appeared, pushing through the students.

“Are you going out too?”

“Yes. But where are you going?”

“I told you. To marry a dragon.”

“Ha. I see. If you’re going into town, let’s go together? It’s on the way.”

“I’ll go on my own.”

“I’ve called for a carriage. Come on, let’s go together.”

Knightley pointed to a carriage waiting at the main gate.

Wait, that carriage…

“You guys take another carriage.”

Opening the carriage door, Knightley turned to her followers with a cold glare.

“This carriage is for the Head Professor and me.”

“Okay, fine…”

As her followers moved back, Knightley smirked and got in the carriage first.

As she sat down, she froze.

“Uh…?”

“You’ve mistaken the carriage.”

“Huh…”

Knightley’s eyes widened as she saw Linus sitting across from her.

Oh no, it’s Linus’s carriage.

“Uh, um… So…”

The usually cynical Knightley scratched her head awkwardly.

“Sir… Sir Linus…?”

“Move aside, kid. This isn’t your carriage.”

As I pushed her aside, Knightley clumsily stepped down the steps backward.

“Seems you’re quite popular at the academy, Dian.”

As I boarded and closed the door, Linus chuckled.

“A student casually sharing a carriage with the Head Professor.”

“That kid’s unusually cheeky. She’s the Knightley Toulouse I mentioned before.”

“Ah, yes. The young lady from the Duke Toulouse’s house. Bold, she’ll make a great figure someday.”

“I don’t know about that. But she’s certainly talented. If she were an ordinary student, she couldn’t keep up with half of what I demand and would’ve given up.”

“Blood doesn’t lie. By the way.”

Linus looked at me up and down.

“You’re dressed splendidly.”

“Olysia insisted. Said it would be impolite otherwise.”

“She did well. The villagers will appreciate it.”

Will they? I’m not sure.

Will Knightley be okay?

Of course, she will.

‘Just try telling people that Sir Linus arrived at the academy gate to pick up Professor Dian,’ I thought. ‘Who would believe that?’

# # # # #

“Knightley. Knightley!”

“Huh…?”

Waking from her daze, Knightley blinked at Professor Lina’s call.

“What are you doing here, standing like that?”

Lina had been on her way out for errands and saw Knightley standing like an idiot on the side of the road.

After staring at Professor Lina for a moment, Knightley finally managed to speak.

“Professor… Sir Linus…”

“What?”

“I just saw Sir Linus…”

“What are you talking about? You saw Sir Linus?”

“He was in that carriage over there…”

Knightley pointed to a carriage moving away in the distance.

“And Professor Dian was with him… They went together…”

“The Head Professor…?”

At that moment, Lina recalled the strange sleep-talking incident at the salon the day before.

“P-Professor? Where are you going? Huh?! That’s the carriage I called for!?”

“Please follow that carriage!”

Lina jumped into the carriage that had just stopped at the gate and ordered the driver to follow the disappearing carriage.