The SSS-rank Guide Doesn't Need Saving

Classes went on as usual for the rest of the morning, but when it came time for combat training class, their combat instructor didn’t show up.

The classroom sat empty at the front where he usually stood with his hands clasped behind his back. Students shifted in their seats, glancing at the door every few seconds, wondering when he would come through.

After getting evaluated and graded highly by him, the students in the class found themselves looking forward to attending his class. And now that they knew he was someone who not just came from the Association, but someone they could only get a glimpse of from magazines or through forums, they couldn’t help but feel excited about being in the class.

"Where’s Instructor Zeke?" Vesper asked, craning his neck to look down the hallway through the open door. "Don’t you think he’s running late?"

Sabel leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms, saying, "He’s probably busy with something more important. You know, he is the Supreme Commander at the Association, after all. Can’t expect him to babysit Class 7-D every single day after he made such a grand entrance at the annulment ceremony."

The moment the words left her mouth, Sabel shut up immediately. Even her two friends stared at her with wide eyes open, shooting her with a glare.

"Sabel," Kane said, low and warning.

Sabel blinked, then winced. She turned to Aisha with an apologetic look. "Sorry. I didn’t mean to—I wasn’t trying to bring up what happened."

Aisha looked between the three of them, genuinely confused for a second before she understood what they were worried about.

"It’s fine," she said. "I don’t mind you talking about what happened."

Everyone was already talking about it at the academy’s entrance gate. It didn’t matter if they joined in on the discussion since she didn’t really care anymore.

Sabel still looked uneasy, so he decided to explain properly. "To be frank with you, we saw the ceremony. It was broadcasted live on GaiaNet News. We... We actually didn’t want to mention anything about it in front of you. It’s just that we’re just as surprised as everyone else that our instructor turned out to be someone so amazing."

"When I heard them introduce who he was, my mom had to put a cloth in my mouth cause I couldn’t stop screaming," Vesper added, nodding vigorously. "I mean, an SS-rank teaching Class 7-D? I can’t even dream of meeting someone of his caliber in my entire life!"

Kane added, more careful this time. "After we watched the broadcast, we agreed we wouldn’t bring up anything else from the ceremony unless you brought it up first. We didn’t want you to feel like you had to explain yourself to us."

Vesper nodded along seriously, for once not making a joke out of it.

Aisha felt something warm settle in her chest. It wasn’t often that people thought about what she might think about something, prioritizing their own curiosity instead.

"Thank you," she said. "I’m fine, really."

None of them looked entirely convinced, but they let the matter drop after offering her a pat on her head and shoulder as if she was a little child who needed some comfort.

With no instructor and nothing else to do in their class, the students in Class 7-D were left to their own devices for the period. Most simply stayed in their seats and talked among themselves. But Aisha’s group decided this was the perfect opportunity to use the free time for what they actually needed—practice for the upcoming match.

They made their way to the training field, only to find it already occupied.

Several students, clearly from one of the higher classes, had taken over most of the rings. When Aisha’s group approached an empty ring near the edge, three students blocked their path before they could even step inside.

"This one’s ours," a girl with sharp cheekbones said, not bothering to look up from filing her nails. "Go find somewhere else."

"There’s literally nobody using it," Vesper said, gesturing at the empty ring behind her.

"We’re planning on using it later," another boy said, smirking. "Besides, why does Class 7-D even need to train? It’s not like any of you are going anywhere."

A few of their classmates laughed. One by one, they spread out, claiming every remaining empty ring on the field, even ones they clearly had no intention of using anytime soon.

Vesper’s jaw tightened, and his hands curled into fists at his sides. Sabel put a hand on his arm, but even she looked ready to snap.

Aisha shook her head slightly to the two of them and caught Vesper’s wrist before he could take a step forward.

She turned instead toward the professor overseeing the field, who stood off to the side with his arms folded, watching the entire scene without saying a word.

"Professor," Aisha said, her tone light. "It’s interesting that the academy doesn’t have enough training rings for every class to use at the same time. I wonder if that’s a budget problem, or if some professors just prefer watching their students bully others instead of doing their job."

The professor’s face went dark. His eyes narrowed to sharp slits as they locked onto her. He had seen the ceremony broadcast just like everyone else, and he recognized her instantly.

"You," he said, voice dropping low. "I know exactly who you are. You sure don’t know your own place for somebody who had just broken her engagement with the prince and came from the lowest sector. People like you shouldn’t even be allowed inside a dignified place like this, let alone speak to me with that tone."

Aisha tilted her head, unbothered. "Even monsters treat each other better than that, Professor. At least they don’t discriminate against their own kind just because one of them happened to be born somewhere different."

A few students gasped. The professor’s face flushed red, his mouth opening and closing without any words coming out.

Finally finding his bearing, the professor pointed at her and shouted, "You—how dare you speak to me like this! I’ll have you punished for this!"

"Go ahead and punish us," Aisha said, meeting the gaze of the professor with an eerie calmness unbefitting of a student. "But I do wonder how you’ll explain it when Instructor Zeke asks why his students were denied a place to train during his own class hours."

The professor’s mouth snapped shut at the mention of the admiral’s name. His face cycled through several colors before he managed to speak again, considerably quieter this time.

"Fine," he bit out. "Use the ring at the far end. But don’t think this is over."

He turned and stalked away, muttering under his breath, while the students who’d been blocking their path slowly backed off, exchanging uneasy glances.

Once they reached the ring at the back of the field, Sabel let out a breath. "Was it really okay to threaten him like that?"

"What do you mean? Aisha did the right thing," Vesper said before Aisha could answer, still glaring in the direction the professor had gone. "Does he think he owns the training field?"

Kane stared at the professor before thoughtfully reminding Aisha, "People are going to start wondering even more now about your relationship with the Admiral.

"It can’t be helped," Aisha said with a small shrug.

She didn’t tell them what she was actually thinking—that there was no point pretending she didn’t know Zeke at all. People would speculate regardless of what she said or didn’t say. And with the empire watching the broadcast and seeing him escort her in the imperial hall, she supposed that people might have already written articles about her relationship with him.

Not that she cares or plans to explain anything. They were free to think whatever they wanted, just as long as it wouldn’t pose a problem for her.

She and Zeke would then have nothing to do with each other after the match. With time, the rumors would die down.

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