My Disciples Grind, I Get 100x Their Progress

"Lady Adelle!"

Unlike usual, the selection office responsible for scouting hidden gems out of the Slums, normally so quiet and calm, had suddenly grown noisy.

The reason for that came down to one particular woman, elegant and composed, who’d decided to drop by after wrapping up some business over in the invaded territories.

Adelle Feyenoord, or, more properly, the headmaster of Canelo Academy, located in the Central region.

"Hey~ how are you holding up?" Adelle, a mature woman with an unusually bright, energetic air, had come to visit one of Canelo Academy’s former graduates, someone she’d once been fairly close with.

All around, staff members who spotted her passing by greeted her with respectful bows and addressed her name with genuine deference. Not a single person here dared act carelessly around her, well, except for one person, of course.

"Lady Adelle, I have no idea why you’re visiting today, did something go wrong? Or do you need something from me?"

Adelle had long green hair, and eyes as soft and gentle as a crescent moon hanging in the night sky. Despite her age, she showed no sign of aging whatsoever.

"Do I need a reason to come see my sweet little Odette?" She laughed softly, moving closer to Odette.

Odette was a young woman with pale blue hair. Unlike Adelle, who radiated a mature, elegant charm, Odette carried more of a youthful, almost childlike air about her.

Her sharp eyes fixed on Adelle intently for a moment before she looked away. "I’m busy."

And she wasn’t lying. Odette sat behind a desk buried under a scattered mess of documents. On top of overseeing the young hopefuls coming out of the Slums, all trying their luck at getting into Canelo Academy, Odette also handled a wide range of matters concerning the Slums region itself.

Judging by her bloodshot eyes, the dark circles beneath them, and how sluggish every movement and word of hers seemed, there was no denying she was completely exhausted.

Adelle smiled, a little awkward. "Has something bad been happening lately?"

"Quiet," Odette had no intention of getting into that. She was genuinely losing her mind over how out of control the illegal activity in the Slums had gotten. It was a difficult problem, since she couldn’t just wipe all of it out, some of it had to be tolerated just to keep the Slums functioning at all.

So the real issue was how Odette could find some kind of balance, keeping enough of it in check without eliminating so much that the Slums couldn’t sustain itself anymore.

This region only grew messier by the day.

A man walked in just then, bowing his head toward Adelle before approaching Odette and handing over a stack of documents. "Miss Odette, I’ve brought the report—"

"Quiet."

’When is this ever going to end?’ For a moment, Odette found herself missing her old academy days.

As a child, she’d complained about not being allowed to make any decisions of her own, desperate to grow up into a teenager already.

As a teenager, she’d wanted to become an adult as fast as possible, sick of being just another academy student.

Now, as an adult, she worked without a single moment’s rest, and found herself thinking her academy years had actually been better than this.

"Ugh...."

Adelle couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy hearing Odette’s sigh, sounding exactly like a zombie groaning. She hesitated for a moment, cleared her throat, and said:

"Odette, how about you come take a little walk with me?"

Hearing that, Odette, who’d looked like a walking corpse a second ago, suddenly brightened, her eyes lighting up.

Catching herself, she coughed, and, a little embarrassed, pushed the documents aside.

"Since it’s Lady Adelle asking, I won’t refuse."

"Hehe~" Adelle giggled softly.

After that, Odette headed out with Adelle. Fresh air greeted them through the window of the building’s second floor.

Odette felt genuinely refreshed. She followed along beside Adelle, her mood gradually improving with every step.

They made their way down to the first floor, where they found a fair number of young hopefuls, all gathered there with their guardians, trying their luck.

"Hey, hey, Odette," Right then, Adelle matched Odette’s pace and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "You still haven’t gotten married, have you? Look at that man over there, he’s handsome, why don’t you go try talking to him—"

Odette raised a hand, pushing Adelle’s face away by the cheek. "You haven’t gotten married either, Lady Adelle. So if you find him interesting, go talk to him yourself."

Odette glanced briefly at the man, and honestly, for someone from the Slums, he had an unreasonably good-looking face.

And it wasn’t just him, even the girl he was accompanying looked stunning too.

"Their appearance is a little too impressive for the Slums..."

"Right? Haha."

Adelle agreed with that. And, as it happened, since the man and the girl were now being called up for their turn, neither Adelle nor Odette could help but feel curious.

They exchanged a brief glance, then followed the pair toward the skill assessment room.

"What’s your name?"

"It’s Kiena."

The examiner asked her name, close enough for Adelle and Odette to overhear.

Both of them held onto that name for a moment, then turned their focus to watching the girl finally pick up a wooden sword as her main weapon.

"Do you think she’ll pass?"

"Hm?" Caught off guard by Odette’s sudden question, Adelle tilted her head and smiled. "Want to make a bet? I’m betting she fails. If I’m right, you’re keeping me company on a trip this weekend. If I’m wrong... hm... let’s see, how about I help you deal with your biggest problem right now?"

Odette always lost these bets, so she opened her mouth, ready to turn it down. But then, suddenly, she reconsidered.

’A break? On the weekend?’

Wouldn’t that actually work out in her favor either way?

Given how busy she was and how rarely she got any real rest, this actually sounded like a genuinely good deal for her.

She hesitated, then a small, sweet smile crossed her face. "Alright."

"Deal!" Adelle added cheerfully.

Then, right at that moment, the girl, Kiena, finally made her move. She lunged forward, raising her sword and striking toward the examiner, who held his own wooden sword in one hand, his other arm resting behind his back.

Kiena swung her blade, opening with a curved slash that the examiner blocked with ease. Kiena didn’t try to trade raw power with him, instead darting in and attacking from every angle, searching for an opening rather than betting on a strength contest she had no chance of winning.

It was a smart call, whether from the examiner’s perspective, Odette’s, or Adelle’s. There was a clear gap between Kiena and the examiner.

"Oh... she’s pretty good, if she keeps this up, won’t she pass?" Odette murmured softly, just loud enough for Adelle to hear. But strangely, Adelle said nothing back, which was unusual, since Odette knew perfectly well how talkative Adelle normally was.

Puzzled, she glanced over and found Adelle staring at Kiena, looking genuinely startled. Her expression had gone completely rigid, her eyes slightly widened, a small, uneasy smile creeping onto her face.

"Lady Adelle?"

Adelle hesitated for a moment, looked at Odette, and said, "That girl... she’s clearly still rough around the edges, she’s got a long way to go. But the real issue is her swordsmanship style."

"What about it?" Odette asked.

Adelle let out a small laugh. "She looks like she’s just trying to copy something she’s seen somewhere, but it’s unmistakable, that’s a swordsmanship style from the elite region."

At that moment, Adelle realized she’d already lost this bet. The examiner might not have noticed what was happening here, but Adelle had already made up her mind, whatever happened, she had to bring Kiena into the Academy.

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