“Leafy, Leafy, did we succeed?”
Having just left the dining hall, Lin Ling immediately pulled Ye Liu into a small alley.
This time, they bore the hopes of their entire class, with success being the only option, failure simply not permitted!
“Ling Ling, slow down…”
A note of helplessness colored Ye Liu’s voice.
The three of them were childhood friends, having been inseparable since elementary school.
Perhaps it was their shared dreams, or perhaps an elusive bond that tied them together.
Their awakened abilities, much like their relationship, granted a damage buff when all three were together.
Ye Liu and Liu Fei often sighed in exasperation over Lin Ling, their friend who had been impetuous since childhood.
Yet, as they were all close friends, they simply had to indulge her.
“Ling Ling, is what we’re doing truly alright?”
Ye Liu wondered, comparing their actions to Aya Tone’s kind invitation; it all felt too…
…heartbreaking.
“Don’t worry, don’t worry, we haven’t actually done anything significant,” Lin Ling assured her, taking her hand and casting a reassuring glance back at her. “We’re merely collecting some of the teacher’s height data, that’s all.”
University life was not as burdened by numerous rules as high school.
Quite the opposite, in fact!
Given that Dragon Court Academy had only recently been established, even the most insignificant news could spread like wildfire in a short amount of time.
The dismal state of Magic Class One that morning had already caused a stir on the campus forums.
Furthermore, it wasn’t just Magic Class One’s plight being discussed on the forums; similar tales emerged from the classes under Ying Li’s instruction.
They had all witnessed the grim reality, knowing full well that their class would face the same fate in the afternoon.
Consequently, to avert a complete rout, a peerless genius from their dorm had emerged, determined to alter their grim prospects.
Lin Ling and her two friends had been entrusted with the task of gathering Aya Tone’s physical data.
Of course, this merely pertained to his basic height, nothing more.
They were keenly aware that attempting to use magic in front of Aya Tone, an S-rank mage, would be akin to brandishing an axe before Guan Yu.
Even the slightest fluctuation of magic could attract the teacher’s attention.
Their plan, before it even began, might already be doomed to fail.
“But can Wushuang’s plan truly succeed?”
Ye Liu still harbored some hesitation.
She reserved her judgment regarding her roommate’s proposal.
After all, they were planning to contend with a genuine S-rank!
Could a few C-rank novices like them truly handle such a feat?
“I think so,”
Liu Fei, trailing behind the two, interjected, “Rather than passively surrender, it’s better to give it our all. Wushuang claims she has a way, so we might as well choose to believe her.”
“Oh, Leaf,” Lin Ling exclaimed, “even if we fail, what choice do we have? Our opponent is an S-rank, so isn’t failure perfectly normal?”
Lin Ling clung to Ye Liu in a pleading embrace. “This is called daring to struggle, and we’ve already witnessed Teacher Aya’s methods this morning. How much worse could it possibly get? Don’t worry, don’t worry.”
“Alright then…”
Since Ling Ling and the others were so insistent, Ye Liu decided to go along with them.
Ye Liu sighed helplessly, yet her brows showed no sign of easing; instead, they furrowed deeper, enough to seemingly pinch a mosquito to death.
What she hadn’t voiced was this:
Ever since Wushuang had decided to give the teacher a ‘surprise,’ a persistent voice in Ye Liu’s subconscious had been warning her.
‘Stop immediately, or something truly terrible will happen!’
Yet, such an ethereal and baseless premonition seemed unlikely to be believed by anyone, even if she spoke of it.
Ye Liu gently shook her head.
‘It’s better to just let it be…’
****
“Ah, it seems the President has finally decided to act like a person.”
Sated and content, Aya Tone now lay comfortably on the large bed prepared for him in the academy’s dormitory.
The faculty dormitories here were all single rooms, though in special circumstances, one could apply to the school for alternatives.
Couple suites, for example.
As long as the requests didn’t involve illegal activities or crimes, they were generally granted.
“Still, what exactly were those three little girls’ names?”
This question, which had first surfaced in the dining hall, had persistently coiled in Aya Tone’s mind, refusing to be dislodged.
He genuinely couldn’t recall their names.
Yet, he felt too embarrassed to admit his forgetfulness.
‘Damn this pride!’
‘No matter…’
Aya Tone could sense magical fluctuations emanating from them.
Magical fluctuations meant they possessed magic-type abilities, which in turn meant they were students in his class.
He hadn’t seen them that morning, but he was certain to encounter them in the afternoon.
Then, under the guise of a first meeting, he could simply introduce himself, couldn’t he?
‘Holy smokes, I’m truly a genius!’
Aya Tone was utterly moved by his own ingenuity, wondering why his mother had managed to give birth to such a brilliant son.
Having conceived a solution, Aya Tone no longer fretted. He unlocked his phone screen and began browsing the photos Teacher Aya Jiu had posted in the group chat.
Aside from a message from Big White that morning, Aya Tone hadn’t even had time to open his phone all day.
‘He truly is a diligent and responsible teacher.’
Meanwhile, the magic-type students lying in the psychological counseling room thought: ‘Oh, absolutely, absolutely. Don’t think for a moment we didn’t hear the video call.’
‘The person who suggested treating them was truly a devil.’
‘Others experienced a moment of pain, collapsed from exhaustion, and lost consciousness.’
‘But us?’
‘We passed out, our magic depleted, only to be forcibly roused and beaten again.’
‘All under the pretense that class wasn’t over yet.’
‘In the end, everyone was traumatized, waiting for the beautiful and kind-hearted psychology teacher to soothe their wounded souls.’
Aya Tone, utterly oblivious to this, was still thinking, ‘I even treated everyone at the end—how wonderful was that?’
‘A diligent teacher like him should get a bonus!’
‘Oh, no, it should be a raise!’
Little did he know, his final act of ‘healing’ had delivered a critical blow to everyone.
Tapping open the class chat, his gaze fell upon the group name at the very top.
It had already been changed by the teacher from ‘Middle Class Four’ to ‘Senior Class Four’.
Observing the change in the group name, a hint of melancholy involuntarily settled in Aya Tone’s eyes.
‘Sigh… without realizing it, they’re already in the senior class.’
‘After this year, Aya Jiu will be starting elementary school.’
‘All those things online about parents getting brain hemorrhages from teaching their kids homework after they start elementary school—I wonder if they’re true.’
‘If that’s true…’
‘Ugh—’
Aya Tone shivered.
‘That would be terrifying.’
‘But it’s fine; he has Big White, and the milk powder he bought for Aya Jiu is said to enhance children’s physiques while also having a spirit-awakening effect.’
‘It should work, right?’
Aya Tone remained skeptical.
‘Although Aya Jiu is a bit cleverer than other children, she’s also secretly drunk a lot of that milk powder, and I haven’t seen any brain growth in her.’
‘It must be a story concocted by the manufacturers to boost milk powder sales!’
Aya Tone thought fiercely.
He had forgotten, however, that the milk powder was a product of the National Research Institute, rendering the notion of a “manufacturer” entirely irrelevant.
Scrolling down, he saw a continuous stream of photos showing kindergarten teachers playing with the children.
Not seeing his daughter standing with that yellow-haired kid, Aya Tone felt a profound sense of relief.
‘Indeed, that yellow-haired kid is every old father’s greatest enemy!’
“Hmm? Why is someone tagging me?”
What an idiot.