Who would've thought that the moment the freshmen brought up Kujō Hinano's name, the expressions on the faces of the upperclassmen from exorcist families would immediately twist into naked disdain.
For students like them—family-born exorcists whose performance at the Onmyō Academy was, frankly, mediocre—Kujō Hinano was a name they heard far too often.
Instructors loved to drag her out as a comparison.
They would lavish praise on Hinano's talent and learning speed, then turn around and berate these so-called heirs for disgracing their families. The contrast alone was enough to make their blood boil.
"So what if you know Kujō Hinano?" one of them sneered. "She's nothing but a lucky nobody who came up through some wild, unorthodox path.
And you idiots actually think she'll stand up for you? That's hilarious.
A C-minus-ranked civilian exorcist really thinks she's something special now? Any random adult from our family could knock her flat!"
Originally, these exorcist-family upperclassmen had only planned to give the freshmen a brief "lesson" before leaving it at that. But now that they'd heard the newcomers mention Kujō Hinano—of all people—their tempers flared, and their intentions turned vicious.
Just as the upperclassmen were about to strike, and the freshmen braced themselves to resist with everything they had, a calm male voice suddenly cut through the tense standoff.
"Figures. Wherever there are people, there's never a shortage of conflict. I guess infighting really is one of humanity's built-in flaws.
But since I've only just become a so-called instructor, I can't really pretend I didn't see this. So how about you all behave yourselves and stop here?
After all, I don't usually know how to hold back. It'd be pretty awkward if someone accidentally got killed."
The sudden appearance of Ren Kuroda brought the exorcist-family students to an abrupt halt.
One of them, seeing that Ren looked about the same age as they were, was just about to ask who the hell he thought he was—when a companion hurriedly clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Are you an idiot?! Don't you recognize him? That's the freshman who beat the hell out of Jijō Maru-michi back at the Shikigami Dorms!
And then walked away completely unscathed, with the Jijō family apologizing afterward!"
"I heard he's got the nickname 'The Redeemer' now. Strongest of the younger generation on the Exorcist Rankings.
Even my father said that if I ever ran into him at the Onmyō Academy, I should be as polite as possible—and if I could build a good relationship with him, even better."
Although Ren hadn't actually spent many days at the Onmyō Academy since enrolling, his growing reputation had already made him increasingly well-known within this peculiar institution.
"Tch. You're lucky today," one of the upperclassmen spat. "We'll settle this another time."
The moment Ren appeared, their bravado evaporated. After throwing out a few hollow threats at the freshmen, they turned to leave.
But they'd barely taken a few steps when Ren's voice stopped them cold.
"Did I say you could leave?"
The exorcist-family students froze.
Fear churned in their chests, but pride—ingrained by their lineage—wouldn't allow them to show weakness. Even so, the leading upperclassman forced himself to glare back at Ren and spoke with forced bravado.
"What do you want? Don't think we're really afraid of you.
No matter how strong you are, do you really think you can go up against all the exorcist families backing us?
If things get ugly, nobody wins. We've already given you plenty of face."
Ren nearly laughed out loud.
In truth, he hadn't stopped them because he wanted a fight. These few rookies didn't even remotely pique his interest.
But the attempt to intimidate him with family backing was so absurd it was almost funny.
"'Nobody wins'?" Ren scoffed. "You think a little too highly of your families.
There are plenty of exorcist clans that don't like me. Are yours stronger than the Jijō Family or the Kagamori Family from the Twelve Demon-Slaying Houses?
I beat the heir of the Jijō family half to death. If I really wanted to beat you, do you think I'd care who you're related to?"
His words left the upperclassmen completely stunned.
That was true. He'd already offended two of the Twelve Demon-Slaying Houses—and yet here he was, alive and kicking.
Their own families, while old and respected, were nothing compared to those legendary lineages.
If Ren dared to cross the Twelve Demon-Slaying Houses, why would he hesitate over them?
Realizing this, the exorcist-family students immediately grew wary, subtly preparing to call for help at any moment.
They knew perfectly well that against the rapidly rising Ren Kuroda, they stood no chance whatsoever. All they could hope for now was that an instructor would arrive soon.
Seeing their tense, defensive expressions, Ren found it almost amusing. It seemed that after the Shikigami Dorm incident, he'd become some kind of demon in the eyes of exorcist-family students.
"If this were before, I wouldn't have bothered with something like this," Ren said lazily. "But since I'm a certified instructor now, I can't just ignore it.
According to academy rules, bullying, coercion, or unauthorized combat between students carries some pretty severe penalties, right?"
The students' hearts sank.
Then Ren suddenly smiled.
"But who told you I wasn't a handsome and compassionate instructor? Young people make mistakes—it's only natural.
So how about this: the few of you come over and demonstrate your family's onmyōji techniques. As your instructor, I'll give you a proper evaluation, and we'll consider this matter settled.
Just… take it as a lesson for the future."
At first, the exorcist-family students were overjoyed. They genuinely believed Ren had backed down under pressure from multiple families.
The civilian freshmen nearby felt the same disappointment. They'd thought this young instructor might be different—but in the end, he seemed no better than the others.
That impression didn't last long.
Very quickly, the exorcist-family students learned what Ren really meant by "demonstration" and "evaluation."
In simple terms, the "demonstration" meant they attacked Ren using their family's inherited spells.
The "evaluation" meant Ren instantly found the flaws in those spells and crushed them with overwhelming counterattacks.
Put bluntly, the fancy wording boiled down to one thing:
They got beaten up. Again.
And the worst part was—they had absolutely no grounds to complain.
Even appealing to Headmaster Kurahashi Tomoko or their families would be useless.
At this moment, they were students, and Ren Kuroda was an instructor.
Everything he did fell squarely under "instruction and critique." And they had agreed to it themselves.
"This spell's effect isn't bad," Ren commented casually, "but your chanting speed is way too slow. You're not even close to bringing out its full potential."
"This one's supposed to create body doubles to confuse the enemy," he continued, swatting another student aside. "But your clones don't even cast shadows. Anyone can tell they're fake. Poor execution—fail."
Within minutes, several exorcist-family students lay sprawled on the ground, faces swollen like overripe melons, utterly unrecognizable compared to their earlier arrogance.
Ren clapped his hands together lightly, looking thoroughly satisfied.
He wasn't a violence addict. The reason he was in such a good mood was simple—through that brief exchange, he'd learned several onmyōji spells that couldn't be taught within the Onmyō Academy.
Making them use their family techniques had been deliberate from the start.
At the academy's current level, students' hand seals and incantations were painfully slow. Against someone like Ren—who operated on an entirely different level—their techniques were practically laid bare.
Naturally, since these particular students weren't especially skilled, the inherited spells Ren picked up were mostly basic, low-power techniques.
Still, for him, it was a decent haul.
Some spells didn't suit his spiritual power path and couldn't be used—but a few were genuinely practical.
"Hm. Your techniques all have flaws," Ren concluded calmly, "but I can tell you've at least practiced diligently. So we'll let this end here.
Next time I catch you bullying new students, though, I'll be very happy to 'evaluate' your spells again."
With that, Ren turned and walked away without another glance.
He had to admit—it felt pretty good being an instructor. He'd disciplined a bunch of obnoxious students and copied their family techniques in the process.
Best of all, everything he'd done fell perfectly within his official duties. No one could find a single fault.
As Ren left, the freshmen who had earlier felt disappointed stared at the unconscious upperclassmen on the ground, then at Ren's retreating back, their eyes filled with gratitude and admiration.
They'd thought this young instructor would side with the exorcist families like all the others.
They never imagined he'd handle things so cleverly—punishing the bullies while causing trouble for no one.
Meanwhile, as Ren cheerfully replayed the newly learned spells in his mind, the System kept chiming with notifications about increases in Human Reputation.
To be honest, ever since he'd appeared on the so-called Exorcist Rankings, it had brought him plenty of trouble—but also an enormous amount of reputation.
When he'd first returned to the main world, he'd been practically starting from nothing. But after participating in multiple rescue operations, he'd farmed enough reputation to exchange for a large quantity of low-grade yokai power crystals—pushing both his and Spider Princess's demonic power to A-minus.
And now, after appearing on the Exorcist Rankings…
His human reputation was steadily piling up once again.