Nanomancer Rising: Divine Alchemist Reborn as Academy's Worst Teacher
Chapter 45: Confronting the accusations (Collapse - Part 7)

Chapter 45: Confronting the accusations (Collapse - Part 7)

"I don’t give the slightest fuck about what everyone thinks," Theo interjected, continuing with the theme of not letting the other party’s words ring out. "We are not here to take a popular vote, one that’s skewed against me, but to establish whether I’m guilty or not."

Theo breathed out before closing his eyes and leaning his head back.

For a second, he remained motionless, as if completely done talking, perfectly satisfied with nothing more but rejecting Julius’ idea of justice.

A mere second later, however, Theo rose up from his seat, instantly causing Celeste, the armed servants and even some of the supposedly elite teachers on the tribunes to twitch.

"From what I can see, hear and ultimately tell, you’ve made your case. So now it only makes sense for me to take the floor, doesn’t it?" Theo asked, locking his eyes on Julius’s face for but another moment before rolling his eyes away with clear, open and unbridled disregard.

"Obviously, it would be most convenient for you if I followed the narrative you’ve worked so hard to establish. Sadly," Theo smiled, not even wasting the energy to turn his head and smile at Julius directly, "that’s not what’s going to happen."

Stepping away from his seat, Theo was perfectly aware of the hundred-or-so stares following him, with not only the servants but Celeste herself ready to step in if he was planning to cross some sort of a line.

’Aren’t they quite the hypocrites?’ Theo thought to himself as he turned his back to the tribune and then slowly walked back to his designated chair. Then, with his back still to the spectators...

"Let’s start with the so-called extortion. Or rather," Theo turned around again, this time skipping over both Julius and the armed staff, opting to look beyond them and directly at his fellow teachers on the tribune. "According to my settlement with the academy, I am to take part in the lessons conducted by star teachers in order to preserve my station as a teacher. But according to those accords," Theo leaned his head over his shoulder and locked his hands behind his back, raising his chin as he effortlessly commanded the very gravitas Julius oh-so desired, "I am not to be disturbed or obstructed for while those accords last."

By now, some of the teachers started to whisper among themselves, most likely trying to figure out the connection between Theo’s sudden lecture and the actual topic he started with.

In other words, Theo’s time for introducing the lore of the story he came up with was already running short, measly few moments since the beginning of this opportunity.

"And yet, what none of you likely ever heard or knew, when the time for me to participate in the first of the many lessons had arrived, it’s been over four days since I’d last had anything to eat."

Theo’s statements would normally be enough to shock the whole scene into perfect silence, with people taking a few moments to figure out whether he was just bluffing or actually telling the truth.

"That’s right. Those accords, while supposed not to affect my daily life while the decision of me getting fired waits its turn on the headmaster’s desk, made it nigh impossible for me to score any missions. In other words, by the time of the very first lesson, conducted by the very teacher Celeste standing behind me," Theo stretched his right finger out before pointing it at the woman standing to his back, "I’d been approaching the level of bodily harm from malnutrition. And it was exactly then when, as I openly admit, I extorted her kind soul, claiming not to bother her during the lesson for as long... as she offers me her dinner."

Before, when Theo first brought up the matter of starvation, the people on the tribunes hardly reacted.

For them, the acclaimed elites of the academy teaching body, the concept of starvation or ravenous hunger was... just that: a concept.

But even if they’d never experienced it themselves, it was enough to give them a proper perspective on Theo’s situation back then.

"So, yes, it is true. I did extort a fellow teacher of mine, abused her kindness and exploited the specific circumstances I was in, knowing full well she couldn’t refuse my right to attend her lesson," Theo continued to self-report, only to then lower and slowly shake his head, before raising his eyes back up and looking over the crowd. "But tell me, what would disturb her worse, watching how I’m collapsing from starvation during her class, or losing a single sandwich?"

After dropping this question on everyone in the room, Theo shook his head again before starting to pace around in silence, giving the teachers some time to ponder over the situation, to imagine it... and then find the answer themselves.

"Next, you claimed that I went back on my accord with the academy, refusing to participate in your lesson..." Theo stopped again, leaning his head over his left shoulder as he rapidly turned his head and locked his piercing gaze on Julius’s face. "But was it really true? Or did the academy break those accords first by affecting my livelihood?"

There was no need to elaborate any further on that point.

By all means, Theo was at fault here. It was on him that he ended up too enamored with the idea of figuring out the cultivation with his hive that he forgot about the time, his duties and all.

That’s why, contrary to how he treated the first accusation he addressed, he opted to just skim over the second one, merely mentioning it in passing as to take away Julius’s right to claim it was something he conveniently ignored.

But now that he spoke about the two lesser problems, it was finally the time to address the actual crimes he was said to commit.

Thankfully, just from how much bigger of an issue they were, it only made it all the easier for Theo to mount up a proper defense against them, a task made all the easier by him being actually innocent.

"Now, to leave the best part for the end, an intimately inappropriate behavior towards a student..." Theo shook his head again, this time with disappointment and disgust so clear on his face, even a blind person could see it. "Those sure are some big claims and even bigger crimes to commit. Curse upon all who would dare to abuse their authority, position and/or power to do such a thing!"

Theo’s voice rapidly grew, all the way to his loud exclamation at the very end.

An exclamation that he then followed by another twist of his body that brought him fully face-to-face with Julius, with only about two steps of space left between the men.

"But since you are so readily accusing me of abusing a female student, you surely can bring the victim here so that she could testify, wouldn’t you?"

It was, quite honestly, a bet.

Having that damned thieving girl testify before all of those people, when taking into account how Theo treated her, would do no good for his cause.

Not because Theo could fear retaliation from what he did—in both cases, forcing that annoying girl out of his place was a perfectly justified thing to do.

No.

After threatening to take her life two whole times...

What he was worried about, was just what kind of a fantasy story she would be willing and able to come up with on the spot, just to bury him with her testimony.

But...

’But seeing how they didn’t bring her here to begin with,’ the corners of Theo’s mouth twitched as he looked with confidence into Julius’s eyes, ’he does fear what she would have to say too, doesn’t he?’