“Aya… Teacher?”Huo Wushuang’s eyes, still hazy from her recent awakening, held a touch of bewilderment. Her thoughts, a chaotic jumble, prevented her from reacting immediately.Her memory still lingered on the vivid image of her merging with the demonic vine, leaving her slow to fully regain her bearings. All she could feel was a persistent ache on both sides of her cheeks, a sharp sensation relentlessly stimulating her brain.She remembered… how she had unreservedly poured every ounce of her internal magic into the demonic vine, hoping to sustain it, to merely delay its inevitable disappearance. Yet, as moments bled into one another, her consciousness had gradually succumbed to an encroaching darkness.Until this very moment…”Awake, are we?”Noticing Huo Wushuang’s eyes open, Aya Tone silently retracted the hand she had been poised to strike with once more.”What… what happened?” Huo Wushuang pushed herself upright with a surge of effort, her gaze sweeping around, desperate to make sense of her environment.Her teacher was here, yet she had been unconscious. A burning curiosity consumed her: to what extent had their elaborate scheme succeeded?However, scarcely had she managed to sit upright when a profound weakness assailed her once more. Her slender back, momentarily straight, suddenly gave way, and she found herself teetering, on the verge of collapsing back to the ground.’Huh?’ The silver strands of hair in her blurred vision seemed to recede, and only then did Huo Wushuang belatedly realize the truth. ‘I’m falling backward!”Don’t go falling asleep again before you’ve even finished speaking,” Aya Tone quipped, half-crouching so that her head was just slightly below Huo Wushuang’s, who had barely managed to sit up.Just as Huo Wushuang seemed ready to collapse back into slumber, Aya Tone swiftly extended a hand, firmly catching her as she swayed backward.”Ah, thank you…” Her descent halted abruptly, and the anticipated impact never came. It took Huo Wushuang a beat to realize that her clothes, right across her chest, were firmly gripped by a pair of small hands.’…’ Aya Tone averted her head, consciously preventing her gaze from drifting downwards.’I shouldn’t open my eyes; this must be a hallucination,’ she thought. ‘The President’s younger sister isn’t old, but her figure is even more impressive than her sibling’s. She’s dressed in something rather light and airy, and Aya Tone’s grip just now… it felt like she’d stumbled upon something quite remarkable. Hmm… indeed, quite ‘well-endowed’. ‘Grab’ might not be the right word; ‘sank into’ feels more accurate.'”Teacher Aya, are you alright?””N-no… I’m perfectly fine!” The unexpected softness beneath her hand made Aya Tone’s words stumble. A deep blush spread across his face as he abruptly twisted his head away.Yet, to the observing eyes of everyone else, his frantic movements suggested anything but being ‘fine’.Having shed her initial bewilderment, Huo Wushuang’s expression gradually reverted to its customary coolness. The wave of weakness, though potent, receded as swiftly as it had arrived.Drawing strength from the small hands still gripping her chest, she surged forward, her cool, impassive face leaning intimately close to Aya Tone’s.”Hey, what are you doing, sis!” Huo Wushuang’s abrupt proximity startled Aya Tone, who instinctively cried out.”Teacher, you can release me now.””Oh, right, right!” Aya Tone hastily released her grip, quickly adopting the demeanor of a respectable gentleman.To the others, however, his sudden display appeared both comical and utterly adorable.From their perspective, it was merely a cute, white-haired loli who had inadvertently touched something she herself lacked, experiencing a sudden, profound realization upon being gently reminded.A few seasoned observers instinctively offered knowing, almost maternal smiles. They understood. Oh, how well they understood Aya Tone’s yearning for ‘grandma’ – a euphemism for ample bosoms. After all, who would ever suspect that the captivating witch before them harbored a male soul within?”Ahem, ahem.” Aya Tone cleared his throat twice, feigning composure as he sidestepped Huo Wushuang. He then pointed decisively at the gaping hole in the ceiling, declaring loudly, “See that massive hole up there?”The students collectively froze, their gazes following Aya Tone’s outstretched finger. Upon the ragged edges of the ceiling’s crater, faint wisps of undissipated magic still clung.’But why is the teacher bringing this up?’ they wondered.”You lot caused that, you understand?”The students exchanged bewildered glances. ‘Us?’ they thought. ‘Do we possess such immense power? Powerful enough to breach the defenses of a B-rank training ground? Why did no one ever inform us of this incredible feat…’Yet, Aya Tone paid no mind to their silent murmurs. He continued, his voice laced with earnest persuasion, “Now, your teacher here? I’ve been through it all myself. I understand that you young folks enjoy stirring up a bit of mischief. So, this time, let’s simply pretend nothing out of the ordinary occurred…””Teacher!”Just then, a rather less-than-clever student raised their hand, interrupting her. “That hole was clearly caused by you… Ah!””Hehe, now, what was that this student just said? My ears have been a bit problematic lately, and I didn’t quite catch it. Could any kind student perhaps repeat it for me?”The students’ bodies stiffened in unison, their gazes instinctively darting to the classmate now sprawled motionless beside them. That ‘little darling’ had been the one to speak up, and now they lay unconscious, a faint, unsettling aroma of roasted meat lingering about them. As for the perpetrator… ‘Gulp.'”No! That was entirely our doing!”By now, it was abundantly clear to them that this ‘witch’ intended to foist the blame for the ruined training ground squarely onto their shoulders.”Excellent,” Aya Tone purred, a satisfied smile gracing his lips. Only then did he retract the magic wand he had been holding.His preferred method, above all, was to ‘subdue others with virtue.’Since his students had so readily admitted responsibility, then as a teacher fiercely protective of his charges, it was only natural for him to shoulder the blame himself, wasn’t it? After all, the distinction between a mastermind and an accomplice was rather significant. ‘Truly, I am a genius!’ he thought.”Hmm… seeing as there’s still half an hour left, perhaps we should continue with our lesson?”In truth, from Aya Tone’s belated arrival to the resolution of the entire ordeal, barely more than ten minutes had passed. A staggering ninety-nine point nine percent of that time had been consumed by Aya Tone expelling the excess magic from his system. As for the demonic vine itself… a creature born from an S-rank dungeon, only to perish from some inexplicable residual energy – truly a rather ignominious end. Factoring in Aya Tone’s hour-long tardiness, there was still approximately thirty minutes remaining until the official end of class.”No!” The students’ brows furrowed deeply as they vigorously waved their hands in protest. Every last drop of their internal magic had been channeled into the demonic vine. Utterly depleted, they simply couldn’t withstand any more of Aya Tone’s ‘training.’Then, one particularly quick-thinking student, mustering every ounce of their remaining strength, bellowed, “Teacher has already trained us for a full hour today! They even taught us how to unleash magic powerful enough to shatter B-rank defenses! Teacher, you’ve truly worked tirelessly!”The rest of the students’ eyes immediately widened, turning to stare at their insightful classmate.Upon hearing these words, Aya Tone’s hand, which had been mid-gesture, paused, then sheepishly retracted.”Oh, my, it wasn’t *that* much trouble, really.”With such considerate students, he simply adored them too much to ‘torment’ (he mentally crossed out the word) – *train* them further.”In that case, let’s just dismiss class early.””Long live Teacher! Thank you, Teacher!”‘Hoooh—’ A collective sigh of relief swept through the room. The witch’s simple declaration of ‘class dismissed’ proved more potent than any miraculous elixir; all their physical discomfort seemed to dissipate into thin air at that very moment.’Heh, early dismissal today. How delightful.’ Aya Tone’s eyes crinkled at the corners, his small nose upturned ever so slightly, revealing two playful fangs.If the students could leave early, then so could he.”Ahem, ahem, now don’t get *too* excited just yet. If anyone happens to ask what transpired here, you all know precisely what to say, don’t you?””We know!””Very well. Class dismissed! Now, keep your voices down, all of you. Let’s not make too much of a commotion, understood?””Understood!”With remarkable alacrity, the students scrambled to their feet, shedding their previous listless demeanor as they surged eagerly toward the main entrance.Lin Ling and her two companions, however, did not join the exodus. Instead, they gravitated toward Huo Wushuang, their eyes alight with unconcealed worry.While they had merely supplied external magic, Huo Wushuang was different; she had been the very core of the demonic vine. Its ability to persist for an entire hour was inextricably linked to her.”I’m fine…” Huo Wushuang managed a slight curve of her lips, forcing out a smile that was, by her standards, relatively normal.But just as the trio prepared to offer more words of comfort and concern, the students who had been on the verge of departure suddenly gasped. “The Principal!? The Vice Principal!?” Aya Tone’s eyes widened. ‘Huh?’
What happened to the spacing?