I knocked on the principal's door to have my evaluation form reviewed, but there was no answer.

"Principal! It's Dian!"

Still no response. What's going on?

"Oh? Head Professor of Combat. The principal is currently away."

Just then, a staff member came out from the administrative office next door to inform me.

"Away? Where did she go?"

"She left on business related to the special students, but she didn't share any details."

"I see. Do you know when she'll be back?"

"She should return sometime during today's working hours."

What should I do? I already sent an assistant to call Professor Ismera.

If she finds out she made a wasted trip because I summoned her when the principal wasn't even here, she'll throw another fit.

I should go tell her right away.

Just as I turned around, I saw the assistant I had sent approaching. Professor Ismera wasn't with him.

"Head Professor. Professor Ismera says she can't come."

"That's fortunate. I was about to tell her not to come since the principal isn't here. But why can't she make it?"

"She said she wasn't feeling well and went to the infirmary."

"The infirmary?"

She must really not be feeling well...

I was about to return to the professors' office but changed my mind and headed to the infirmary instead.

I should at least check on her well-being, since we're colleagues.

Just as I was opening the infirmary door, it opened from the other side, and I came face to face with Ismera.

"Oh? Professor. Are you alright?"

"What do you want?"

Ismera asked with a cold gaze upon seeing me.

"I heard you went to the infirmary, so I came to check on you."

"I'm perfectly fine."

"But you look quite pale."

Ismera's face was ashen, with dark circles under her eyes.

I've met many elves before, but I've never seen one with such a deteriorated complexion.

"I'm just a bit tired, that's all. Thank you for your concern."

That's her way of telling me to mind my own business.

"I understand. By the way, thank you for supporting the Intelligence Professor. Thanks to you, I was able to complete the draft evaluation form."

I handed her the evaluation form I was holding, and Ismera took it.

"It's still a draft, so we'll need to discuss it further with you and the principal."

After briefly scanning the evaluation form, Ismera returned it without comment and then spoke.

"Good work."

That was it. Ismera walked past me and strode away toward the main building.

Pure-blooded elves live in their closed forests and rarely venture outside.

They're self-sufficient in their forests and, being naturally proud, consider other races primitive and inferior.

An elf who lost her forest in war and has lived for ten years in a human city—and the most complex one at that, the imperial capital Kalvasar—must be deteriorating physically.

On top of that, despite her ample qualifications, she couldn't become principal because of Kirrin, who has the emperor's protection, and now I've shown up too. She must be at her wit's end.

I should find an opportunity to tell Ismera that I have absolutely no intention of becoming principal.

She can't do anything about Kirrin, but at least she wouldn't have to suffer thinking of me as competition too.

# # # # #

Entering the main building, Ismera stopped walking and staggered, leaning against the corridor wall.

The draft evaluation form she had just seen was utterly shocking.

Ismera doesn't know exactly what the Special Task Force does. She only knows they carry out dangerous missions in secret.

But Ismera is a High Master and a professor at the Special Mission Academy.

She's a genius among geniuses who obtained her High Master qualification in just ten years, when others typically spend over 20 years to achieve it.

Because of this, even in unfamiliar fields, she has the discernment to gauge the level of work with just a glance.

From that perspective, the evaluation form draft Dian brought was exceptionally well-made.

And that's why Ismera felt even worse.

At first, she thought he was just an idle rich man with connections to the Imperial Castle.

Even when he turned the Combat Department upside down and raised the market district, she thought it was just a case of ignorance breeding courage—a lucky accident.

She had believed that while this man might have incredible luck, he was no match for her in any other respect.

But now, even that wasn't true...

Ismera, who looked like she might collapse at any moment, bit her lip and straightened herself.

She couldn't give up yet. She couldn't fall apart like this.

Had she already forgotten the resolution she made when she left for the human city ten years ago?!

Slap!

After giving herself a hard slap on the cheek, Ismera straightened her posture and strode purposefully down the corridor.

# # # # #

Kirrin returned near the end of the workday.

After examining the evaluation form, she lavished exaggerated praise, saying it couldn't be more perfect, and signed it with a flourish.

"By the way, Principal!"

"Yes, what is it?"

"Where were you all day? I heard it was related to special students. Did you have any success?"

"Ah, that... Well, it was so-so."

Kirrin's ears perked up as she smiled broadly.

She must have accomplished something. If not, she would have drooped her ears like a dejected puppy and looked miserable.

Unlike Ismera, Kirrin is the type whose inner thoughts are plainly visible on her face.

But she's not saying anything because she probably wants to surprise me later. How cute.

Anyway, with the principal's signature, the evaluation form became effective, and the academy immediately began preparing for the competition.

The first thing we did was to set up the practice field according to the evaluation form.

Thanks to my consistent management of the practice field since my appointment, this didn't require much extra effort.

The second thing was to notify the students about the competition. That was straightforward.

The third and most basic yet crucial step was physical training.

The academy does provide physical training, but it's not enough.

All organizations under the Security Office, regardless of whether they're field or office positions, include physical assessment during evaluations.

This competition will surely require physical fitness that meets those standards, so we need to train accordingly.

"Hey, Morton. Get ready."

I entrusted this to Morton, who has unparalleled physical strength and endurance from his time in the Legion's Long-Range Patrol Corps.

Every day, we ended classes early and gathered everyone at the training ground for physical training under Morton's direction.

"Ugh!"

After starting at the training ground and making a large loop around the academy, the students would invariably collapse on the ground, dry heaving.

The academy grounds are enormous, and Morton at the front sets an incredibly fast pace.

In truth, compared to the infiltration speed of the Long-Range Patrol Corps, it's not that fast, but it's challenging enough for the students to keep up with.

"Head Professor of Combat!"

Seeing the training ground filled with groaning students, Professor Ismera approached me with her ears standing straight up, ready to protest.

"Don't you think this is excessive? Such harsh physical training all of a sudden!"

Oh, she's back to her temperamental self, which means she must be feeling better?

She'd been walking around like a corpse for the past few days after her usual grumbling, and I was worried.

Seeing her back to her irritable self is actually reassuring.

"It's not harsh enough to warrant that description."

"But look at how much they're all struggling!"

"Yes, that's true, but it's a temporary phenomenon. I bet after a week, more than half of them will complete the course without issue."

But Ismera still wore an expression of incomprehension.

Well, what would a High Master pure-blooded elf know about physical training? All she can see are students vomiting and collapsing before her eyes.

"I understand your concern, but please leave this to the experts. These professors are seasoned veterans. Especially Professor Morton, who served as a training instructor at the Legion's Long-Range Patrol Corps training center."

"That's a training center for recruits who have already received basic military training. This is different."

"It's different, which is why we're adapting accordingly. And our academy is unlike other academies. We can't just prioritize safety above all else."

"They're still children."

"Please don't worry too much. Above all, we have Priestess Maya with us, so no accidents will occur. We're not doing this mindlessly; we're dividing them into groups by ability level to efficiently improve their physical fitness. You might internally curse us as ignorant combat department brutes, but please trust us."

When I refused to back down, Ismera bit her lip and looked away.

Just then, the students with the poorest physical condition at the very back staggered in, dropped to all fours, and began vomiting.

Seeing this, Ismera grabbed her skirt and hurried over, crouching beside them.

"Are you alright? Can you breathe?"

It was quite unexpected to see Ismera stroking a student's back with concern. I thought such things wouldn't matter to her at all.

That elf is a much more complex character than I realized...

# # # # #

Along with physical training, we began evaluating the graduating class according to the evaluation form.

There were three main categories: infiltration, assassination, and intelligence. These are the core functions of the Special Task Force's missions.

Typically, a Special Task Force team consists of three members, each specializing in one of these functions.

Of course, depending on the mission and situation, they might operate alone or in teams of ten or more, but even then, the difference is just whether one person handles all three functions or several people specialize further.

As newcomers, they gain experience in all three functions, but after three years, they choose their specialty, like selecting a major in university.

Well, that's assuming they've survived in the field until then.

In truth, I had already mentally selected a few candidates before the evaluation.

Knightley, Hindrasta, and a few other top students.

If the Security Office holds a team competition for academies nationwide as I expect, the teams will likely consist of three members, matching the standard Special Task Force configuration.

Knightley has excellent overall grades, and Hindrasta, being a dragon and a former member of the Reblanc Mercenary Corps, has extensive experience.

Forming a team with these two and one more outstanding student would surely yield good results.

"Head Professor. The principal is calling for you."

Just then, an assistant approached and informed me.

"What's it about?"

"A privately selected special student has arrived at the academy. They're at the front of the main building."

"Oh, really? Alright, I'll go now."

When I reached the main entrance, Kirrin was already outside.

"Welcome, Dian."

"Where's the special student?"

"I think it's that carriage over there."

Looking where Kirrin was pointing, I saw a carriage entering through the main gate and heading our way.

Let's see what kind of talented individual Kirrin has managed to recruit.

The carriage door opened in front of us, and a delicate-looking woman stepped out.

"Master Dian."

"What the—?!"

Merylda, carrying a large bag, smiled at me.