Pink Bear and the First Lesson

After his morning run, Ewan returned to his dormitory.

By now, the entire dorm area had seemingly woken up, buzzing with the noisy chatter of students.

Ewan went back to his room and took a cold shower. The icy water shocked his skin, washing away the sweat and invigorating his mind. After his shower, he looked at his refreshed reflection in the mirror and stroked his chin in admiration.

“Mm. Perfect.”

“Still as handsome and roguish as ever.”

Although he couldn’t change his appearance overnight, Ewan felt that a different demeanor might just be enough to slightly alter how people perceived him. He had to change their impression of him as soon as possible. He was getting tired of everyone looking at him with the same shocked expression, as if they were wondering if he’d been possessed by an Evil God.

…

The Auditorium.

The opening ceremony was about to begin.

Ewan arrived a few minutes early and, following the signs, found his way to the second-year section. About half the students were already there. He found a relatively empty spot and sat down. In the original novel, due to his status and personality, Ewan Campbell had no close friends at the academy besides his “lackeys.” So, as expected, no one greeted him now.

But Ewan could feel countless eyes on him, their curious gazes making him feel like a rare giant panda on display.

“Strange,” Ewan muttered, looking around.

Many students quickly averted their eyes when he looked their way, but he could still feel their stares sticking to him like stubborn gum.

“I know I’m a bit of a celebrity at the academy, but I didn’t think I’d be this much of an attraction.”

“Wait a minute… did my apology yesterday actually work?”

Ewan’s fist hit his open palm in a moment of epiphany. It seemed the news of his apology to Ariel had already spread.

“In that case… they’re all looking at me because they’re curious if I’ve really turned over a new leaf.”

“Well, if that’s the case, I’d better put on a good show.”

“This is a golden opportunity to improve my public image. I can’t let it slip by.”

Gleefully, Ewan straightened his back and put on what he considered to be a perfect, charming smile. Paired with his naturally handsome face, his charm level instantly maxed out. Several first-year girls in their section had already noticed him and were letting out small, infatuated squeals.

But in the other sections…

“Oh no, Ewan Campbell is looking this way! Quick, look away…”

“Eh? He’s smiling. He’s smiling at me! Oh no, don’t tell me he’s taken a liking to me.”

“No, no, no! I don’t want to be one of his thirteen-timed girlfriends! I’ll be sunk by that dreadnought-class warship!”

Whispers like these spread like wildfire among the female students. Unfortunately, they were too far away for Ewan to hear.

And closer to those girls…

“Damn it! Those gossiping hags! Who are they calling a dreadnought-class warship?!” Ariel was on her feet, claws out, ready to pounce and tear their gossiping mouths to shreds.

“No, Ariel, calm down! This is the auditorium! You’ll get in big trouble if you cause a scene here!” Lilia desperately clung to Ariel’s waist, trying to hold her back. “Besides, even if you are a little flat-chested, a little hard, and a little strong, they’re not necessarily talking about you!”

“Lilia.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Whose side are you on, you little gossip?!”

“Waah! No, Ariel, stop tickling me! The ceremony is starting, hehe, the ceremony is starting!”

Screeeech—

The sharp feedback from a magical megaphone cut through the girls’ playful roughhousing.

On the auditorium’s large stage, a pink, bear-shaped mascot tapped the megaphone in its hand and said tentatively, “Testing, testing—can you hear me? Can you hear me? Good, it seems you can.”

“Huh?”

Ewan looked up at the comical pink bear on the stage, which seemed completely out of place in the grand, stately auditorium. “Did they hire someone to warm up the crowd?” For a prestigious event like the opening ceremony, hiring someone in a mascot costume to liven things up… maybe the academy’s higher-ups weren’t as stuffy as he’d thought.

“Well then… could all the students please return to their assigned seats and sit down quietly?”

The pink bear’s voice was lazy and listless, like that of a middle-aged, unemployed man. But as his voice spread throughout the auditorium, it was as if an invisible rule had taken effect. All the students simultaneously returned to their seats, and the massive hall, capable of holding thousands, instantly fell silent enough to hear a pin drop.

“Mm. It seems the students are all very well-behaved,” the pink bear said with a satisfied nod. “In that case, I won’t waste any more of your time. I’ll just give a brief self-introduction.”

“My name is Pink Bear.”

“And I am your new headmaster.”

Oh, the headmaster. This Pink Bear’s character is pretty funny. He almost made me… wait, what did he say he was?

Ewan’s eyes suddenly widened as he stared at the stage in shock.

The headmaster?

This ridiculous pink bear was the headmaster?

That couldn’t be right!

In the original novel, the headmaster of Saint Marika Academy was a mature, voluptuous woman with a huge chest, who wore a low-cut professional suit that showed a hint of her lacy bra, as well as black garter stockings, and who patrolled the academy in ten-centimeter high heels. The description in the novel was so… captivating, that Ewan had been looking forward to it with great anticipation. After all, the original Ewan had slept through the last opening ceremony and had no idea what the headmaster looked like.

But not only was the voluptuous woman gone, she had been replaced by a comical pink bear that inspired absolutely no desire for… exploration.

This wasn’t just a case of “product not as described”; the entire species was different! He had ordered a life-sized, realistic Miss Perfect, and they had sent him a plush toy! Plush toys were cute, but they couldn’t solve his… expectations!

The rest of the students in the audience had also finally processed the information and erupted in a collective gasp of shock that was loud enough to tear the roof off the auditorium. It seemed they, too, were not pleased with the sudden transformation of a mature beauty into a teddy bear.

“Ahem.”

The pink bear let out a soft cough. The sound was not loud, but it instantly quelled the uproar.

“I know you are all very dissatisfied. Indeed, to go from a beautiful, freezing-hot, mature woman to a cute pink bear like me is quite a big drop. But, I had no choice. Your Headmistress Hathaway has been temporarily reassigned by the higher-ups to complete another task. So, I have no choice but to take over as acting headmaster. I know many of you are extremely unhappy about this, but—”

The pink bear’s mouth suddenly gaped open, and from the inky blackness within, a thick, powerful, and hairy arm emerged. The arm slowly extended, and then, it gave the entire student body… the middle finger.

“I don’t want to be the damn headmaster either, you bastards! It’s too much trouble!” the pink bear roared in a deep, gravelly voice. “If you have a problem, take it up with the higher-ups! I’m just a poor working stiff who was dragged here to fill in! I was on a beach full of beautiful women, basking in the sun and admiring the view, and then I was suddenly dragged here to be some damn headmaster! And I was strictly warned not to make a move on any of the female students! You think I’m happy about this?!”

“No, I am not happy! A headmaster who can’t make a move on his cute and lively female students has no reason to be a headmaster at all!”

“…”

With the pink bear’s roar, the entire auditorium fell silent once more. Even Ewan’s mouth had unconsciously fallen open, wide enough to fit a goose egg. Correction: this pink bear is not cute at all.

“Tch. A bunch of boring brats, as I thought.”

Having seemingly vented his frustration, the pink bear retracted his arm and continued in his listless, lazy voice, “Alright, that’s all I have to say. I don’t really have anything else to tell you, just wanted to say hi. So… well, have a happy end of the semester. Mm. That’s it.”

With that, the pink bear tossed the magical megaphone aside and swaggered off the stage with a gait that defied all convention. As he walked, as if to express his displeasure, he kicked over a teacup filled with goji berries that had been placed on the side of the stage. An angered middle-aged teacher standing nearby didn’t dare to say a word.

…

“Well, well, it’s your turn, little Celicia~”

Backstage, the pink bear, as if a completely different person, said to Celicia in a fawning, high-pitched voice, “Are you nervous? Do you need to rest a little longer? It’s okay to make those useless students wait a little longer.”

“That Father and the others would send you to temporarily manage the academy…” Celicia looked at the pink bear, a hint of confusion in her cold eyes. “Aren’t they afraid you’ll cause some real trouble?”

“Trouble? Me? What kind of trouble could I possibly cause?” the pink bear said with an innocent look. “I’m a peace-loving individual, you know.”

“…” Celicia’s gaze grew colder.

“Alright, alright, I swear I won’t cause any trouble! Please don’t worry, little Celicia!” The pink bear held up his hands in surrender. “Oh, please don’t look at me like I’m a piece of trash. It makes me so excit— I mean, so sad.”

“…And?” Not bothering to comment on the pink bear’s slip of the tongue, Celicia asked, “What could possibly be so important as to make Headmistress Hathaway leave the academy she loves so much?”

“Haha, it’s nothing, really,” the pink bear said, twisting his thick “waist” shyly. “Maybe she just went off to have a secret rendezvous with her little lover.”

“A Vow of Silence?” Celicia’s eyes flickered. “Then I think I understand what’s going on.” For a powerhouse of the pink bear’s level to be unable to speak about a matter, it could only be a Vow of Silence, sworn in the name of a god. Combined with Headmistress Hathaway’s area of research, it wasn’t hard to guess what had happened.

“An Evil God?” Celicia murmured to herself, then wasted no more time on the pink bear and walked toward the stage. It was her turn to speak as the student council president.

“Well, well, as expected of little Celicia. It’s hard to fool you.” Watching Celicia’s retreating back, the pink bear once again reached an arm out of its “mouth” and scratched its head in resignation. “Ah, right.” As he scratched, he suddenly seemed to remember something, and the comical bear face suddenly turned incredibly serious. “I almost forgot my main objective!”

“I have to get to Hathaway’s office before those stuffy old professors realize what’s going on!”

The pink bear looked left and right, and after confirming that no one was around, he muttered to himself in a grave voice, “The office of a mature, voluptuous woman… who knows what kind of exciting things might have been left behind.”

…

“Ah, it’s Celicia.”

Still reeling from being given the finger by a pink bear, Ewan felt his soul being purified the moment the cold and beautiful figure came into view. “She hasn’t changed at all.”

Ewan rested his chin in his hand, carefully observing the figure on the stage. Her shoulder-length hair was like a cascading river of silver, and her delicate eyelashes fluttered with every blink, as if catching and releasing the light. She was still as breathtakingly beautiful as ever, standing there like a snow lotus on a high mountain.

“It feels like… what happened before didn’t affect her at all.”

So cool.

So charming.

Even after what had happened, not a single trace of filth had been left on her pure, flawless petals. Instead, it only made the perpetrator feel ashamed of himself.

But that was a good thing, wasn’t it? Ewan thought to himself. To forever maintain her noble soul… that was the real Celicia.

…

“Golden September, the autumn wind is crisp… in this…”

It was worth noting that Celicia’s speech was surprisingly… ordinary. It was almost exactly like every principal’s speech Ewan had ever heard in his past life. However, perhaps because of the shock of the pink bear headmaster, the students listened with unusual attentiveness.

After her speech, the applause was thunderous.

After Celicia left the stage, the heads of the various departments came up to give some announcements and, at the same time, to advertise their departments to the first-year students.

Saint Marika Academy’s structure was slightly different from the schools in Ewan’s past life. There were no fixed classes here. It was much freer, like a university in his past life, where you could choose the courses you wanted to study. There weren’t even any required or elective courses. As long as you earned enough credits by the end of the year, you could choose whatever you wanted.

Although this choice was only available to new students, and it was a complicated process to change courses later, it was also to prevent students from being fickle and not persevering. So for the new students, this choice could determine their future, and it was extremely important. They had three days to sit in on and observe the classes of each department to help them make their decision.

But for the older students, the first class of the new semester began as soon as the opening ceremony was over.

“First class… is it ‘Introduction to the Basics of Magic’?” Ewan looked at his schedule. “Perfect. A very fitting first class for me.”

Since it was called “Introduction to the Basics of Magic,” it was sure to cover the fundamentals. Compared to Professor Planck’s practical magic class, it was definitely more suitable for a magic novice like him.

“The first class of my new life as a magic student, and the first class of my debut after the vacation. Just you wait. I’ll show you all a different Ewan Campbell!”

After giving himself a little pep talk, Ewan, like a warrior about to step onto the battlefield, walked toward his bright future.

…

The Great Bell Tower.

Introduction to the Basics of Magic Classroom.

It was a huge, tiered lecture hall, similar to the university classrooms in his past life, capable of holding hundreds of people. But when Ewan arrived, he was the only one there.

“Am I the first one here?”

Ewan glanced at the time. There were less than fifteen minutes until class started. As expected, freedom also bred a certain degree of laziness. The tendency of many university students to show up just in the nick of time was no exception at Saint Marika. Of course, this world wasn’t as competitive, so the opposite trend of showing up early to grab a good seat had not yet been born.

“Well then, I’ll just wait.”

Ewan placed his textbook squarely in front of him, sat up straight, and waited for time to pass.

“I shouldn’t waste this time either.”

With that thought, Ewan closed his eyes.

…

“Damn it, that move has another variation!”

Ewan’s eyes snapped open, a sharp aura unintentionally radiating from him.

“Ah!”

Ewan heard a gasp. He turned to see a young girl clutching a stack of books, staring at him in shock, her own books having fallen to the floor unnoticed.

Oops. My battle-mode expression was too fierce. I scared her.

Realizing his mistake, Ewan quickly rubbed his face to soften his expression and smiled at the girl. “Sorry, did I scare you?”

“N-no…” the girl said, looking like she was about to cry.

“Then… let me help you pick up your books.”

“No, no, I can do it myself!” The girl quickly knelt down to pick up her books, as if she were afraid that if Ewan touched them, they would be infected with some terrible disease. She was clearly very nervous, her trembling hands fumbling with just a few books for a long time. After finally gathering them, she quickly scurried past Ewan and made her way to the third row… then, after a moment’s thought, she moved to the fifth row.

“Strange. Am I that scary?”

Ewan scratched his cheek in confusion. Why did that girl look at me like I was a top-tier scumbag who had cheated on a dozen girls? As if she was afraid that if she got too close, I would cheat on her too?

No. It must have just been his fierce expression just now. Smile. I have to keep smiling.

Ewan looked at the time.

Five minutes left.

Class was about to start. The other students should be arriving soon.

As if on cue, a flood of students began to pour in. Judging from the thick notebooks and reference books they were all carrying, Ewan deduced that most of them were diligent, high-achieving students.

These top students all paused for a moment when they saw Ewan sitting in the front row, right in the center. Then, they quickly grabbed their companions and scurried to the back, at least five rows away from him.

And so, the students who came after them followed suit, filling the seats from the back, and soon, a huge, semi-circular empty space had formed around Ewan. No one sat near him.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Even Ewan, who had been trying his best to maintain his smile, was starting to feel the strain. Am I some kind of super-pathogen? Why are they staying so far away from me?

But Ewan wasn’t the only one who was struggling.

Just before the bell rang, a group of students who were clearly “delinquents”—their uniforms sloppy, their hair dyed in all sorts of crazy colors, and adorned with various piercings—snuck in through the back door.

The moment they entered, they froze.

Where are our seats?

All of our nice, comfortable, warm back-row seats, where we can’t be called on by the teacher and can sleep until class is over… where did they go?

Why are they all taken by a bunch of goody-two-shoes?

They scanned the room and saw Ewan sitting in the front row… and the empty seats around him. But in the end… they chose not to go over. Although they didn’t mind sitting with Ewan, it was the front row. Have you ever seen a delinquent sit in the front row? It was simply impossible. They would rather stand until their legs went numb and miss out on their precious nap time than sit in the front row.

“What the hell is going on?”

Ariel, who was almost late, squeezed through the crowd with Lilia in tow, her eyes widening in disbelief at the unusually crowded back rows. Where are my seats? Where is my kingly seat in the back row by the window? Why is it gone? And why are so many people blocking the way?

“What do we do?” Lilia tugged on Ariel’s sleeve and pointed to Ewan in the front row. “Should we go sit over there?”

“No way!” Ariel’s eyes widened in anger. “Have you forgotten? The rumors have already gotten that bad. If I go and sit with Ewan Campbell now, who knows what kind of even more ridiculous versions of the story will start spreading.”

“That’s true. So now…”

“We stand,” Ariel said, gritting her teeth. “It’s just one class. It’s not a big deal.”

…

…

“Um… Professor Planck, I’m a little nervous.”

Outside the classroom, the new teacher, Miss Fran, said to Professor Planck with a timid look on her face. “What if I run into problems during class? I’m so afraid I won’t be a good teacher and the students will hate me.”

“Don’t be nervous, don’t be nervous. There won’t be any problems.”

Facing Miss Fran, Professor Planck’s expression was unusually kind and reassuring. “The first class is something every teacher has to go through. And on the first day, the students are always very forgiving. Believe me, they won’t hate you.”

“R-really?”

“Yes. As long as you perform as you did in your trial lecture, you’ll be fine,” Professor Planck said with a smile. “Although some of these students are a little mischievous, they are all very lovely children.”

“I see. Then I’m relieved.” Miss Fran patted her ample chest. At the same time, she felt a sense of anticipation. Lovely students… I wonder what kind of lovely they are.

Just then, Professor Planck led her into the classroom. And with a look of anticipation, Miss Fran looked out at the students before her.

Well, for a teacher, the lovely ones are definitely the good students sitting in the front row. I should definitely… huh?

Huh? Huh? Huh?

Where are the good students in the front row?

Why is there no one in the first few rows except for a dazzlingly handsome, golden-haired young man?

Miss Fran looked up and saw that all the students were sitting in the fifth row and beyond. Many of them were even standing, refusing to come to the front.

This…

This…

This looked exactly like…

…they hated the teacher.

I haven’t even started the class yet, and they already hate me?

“Professor Planck…”

Miss Fran’s eyes welled up with tears as she looked at him. You said they wouldn’t hate me!

“Wait, let me assess the situation.”

Professor Planck was also at a loss. But his confusion lasted only a moment before his sharp, hawk-like eyes accurately spotted the one person who should not have been in that position.

“Ewan Camp—BELL! What in the world are you doing?!”

“Me?”

Suddenly being called out, Ewan looked up, completely bewildered. He spread his hands and said, “I’m not doing anything.”

“Not doing anything? Then why are you sitting in that seat?” A guy who always sits in the back row and sleeps is suddenly sitting in the front row. Something is definitely wrong.

“Why can’t I sit in the front row? I just want to be a little closer (to the blackboard).” Ewan was shocked. “Do I have to have good grades to sit here now?”

“Well, no. You can sit wherever you want.” A flicker of suspicion still remained in Professor Planck’s eyes. “But for you to be sitting in this seat… it just feels very wrong.”

“There’s nothing wrong! I just want to study hard!” Ewan couldn’t help but wail. I just want to be a good student! Why is it so hard?

“You—” Professor Planck was about to say more, but then he remembered Ewan Campbell’s recent behavior. Perhaps… he is being sincere.

With that, Professor Planck took a deep breath and looked at the delinquents huddled in the back of the classroom. “What are you all doing?! Get to your seats, now!”

“But…”

“No buts! Sit!”

Professor Planck’s stern gaze swept over the crowd, finally landing on Ariel. Seeing that the student he valued so much was also mingling with the delinquents, he frowned, slammed his hand on the desk next to Ewan, and said, “Ariel Bourgard, you sit here!”

“Eh? Why?”

“No why! I’m giving you the best seat in the house. Are you not happy with that?”

The best…

Looking at Ewan Campbell sitting next to that seat, Ariel’s cheek twitched. But due to Professor Planck’s usual authority, even though she was very reluctant… she still dragged Lilia to sit next to Ewan.

“Hello. We meet again, Miss Ariel,” Ewan said with a smile.

“You…”

Looking at the smiling Ewan, Ariel’s face was contorted with anger. Deciding that out of sight was out of mind, she huffed and turned her head away.

“Eh?”

Ewan was stunned. Did I say something wrong?

“It seems she still hates me.” Ewan scratched his head, then turned to the other side. On his other side was a delinquent who had been forced to sit there by Professor Planck. Ewan thought he looked familiar; he had probably been one of the original’s followers.

In that case.

“Hello,” Ewan said with a smile.

“…”

The delinquent’s cheek twitched. He also huffed and turned his head away.

Ewan: ???

“Hmph. Do you all have to make me angry?”

Looking at the now-full classroom, Professor Planck grumbled and tapped his cane on the floor. Then he looked at Miss Fran. “You may begin, Miss Fran.”

“O-okay.”

Miss Fran nodded vigorously, then turned to the students before her and forced a smile. “Um… hello, everyone. I’m Fran Fodor. From now on, I’ll be your teacher for Introduction to the Basics of Magic. I hope we can all get along.”

“…”

The room was silent.

Miss Fran looked to her left. A strangely dressed delinquent was sitting there, chewing on something and occasionally letting out a sinister laugh.

She looked to her right. A girl with a face as dark as the bottom of a pot was staring out the window, as if the teacher didn’t exist.

A wave of despair washed over Miss Fran. Professor Planck, are these children really lovely? Why are they so different from what I imagined?

“Great!”

Only the handsome, golden-haired young man in the middle was clapping enthusiastically. “Hello, teacher!”

“Hello, my student.”

Miss Fran was moved. It seems there are good students here after all. Look at this young man. He’s handsome, polite, and his name is a little… wait a minute. His name? I think it’s Ewan Campbell. That name… I think I’ve heard it somewhere before. Where… oh, that’s right. The previous teacher mentioned him. And I think I saw it in a newspaper.

Ewan Campbell. The legendary son of a duke. The ultimate scumbag who cheated on thirteen girls and forced his ex-girlfriend to have an abortion!

Miss Fran’s vision went black. She looked to the side. Professor Planck, save me…

But Professor Planck had suddenly received a call. He picked up his communication stone and listened to the message.

“What?” he roared. “Those bastards from the fifth year blew up a school building during an experiment? And the floor they blew up had the magical beasts from the Beast Rearing Club? And now all the magical beasts have escaped? Damn it! I knew keeping the magical beasts next to the laboratory was a bad idea! You just wait! I’m on my way!”

After hanging up, Professor Planck said to Miss Fran with a look of apology, “Sorry, something’s come up. I have to leave now. I’ll have to leave the rest to you, Miss Fran.”

“Eh? Wait.”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine!”

Professor Planck gave her a thumbs-up and a forced bowl of chicken soup for the soul before disappearing in a flash.

“…”

Don’t cry, don’t cry. This little setback won’t defeat me.

Miss Fran blinked hard, forcing back the tears. She turned back to the class and said with a strained smile, “Well then, students, let’s begin.”

Here we go!

Ewan immediately perked up. He had been preparing for this for so long! The first class was always the most important, so he couldn’t miss a single word. For a complete novice like him, the best way was to follow the teacher’s pace.

“Please take out your textbooks.”

Mm-hm. Take out the textbook.

“Turn to the first page.”

Mm-hm. Turn to the first page.

“Using the table of contents, find the chapter on the ‘Introduction to Multi-stage Continuous Chanting’.”

Mm-hm. Find the… wait a minute. Something feels wrong.

“Today’s lesson will be on the basics of multi-stage continuous chanting. If any of you have any questions, please raise your hand.”

“Teacher, I have a question.”

“Um… E-Ewan Campbell, was it? Please, go ahead.”

“Um… why are we starting with something as profound as multi-stage continuous chanting?” Ewan asked with wide, innocent eyes. “Why can’t we start with something a little more basic?”

“Basic?” Miss Fran tilted her head in confusion. “But this is the most basic.”

“Nonsense!” Ewan slapped the thick textbook, his voice full of righteous indignation. “What about all this? All this thick content before it? Multi-stage continuous chanting is on page one hundred and something!”

“Before?” Miss Fran was even more confused. “Didn’t you learn all that in the first year?”

“…Ah.”

Ewan froze. And then, he remembered. And then, a wave of mixed emotions washed over him.

How could he have forgotten something so important?

He was… a second-year student now!

They weren’t going to reteach the first-year material!

No matter how much he wanted to follow the teacher’s pace, it was impossible. There was now a thick, insurmountable wall between them. The great chasm between the first year and the second year…

What do I do… should I just fail the year?

“…”

Seeing Ewan’s crestfallen expression, Miss Fran decided it was best not to ask what was wrong. Class. I have to continue the class.

“Alright, let’s begin our study of this chapter. If there’s anything you don’t understand, please be sure to let me know.”

“Regarding multi-stage continuous chanting, we must first start with the originator, the great archmage Meradomir, from a thousand years ago. She created…”

“Wait, Miss Fran!” Ewan raised his hand again. “I don’t understand.”

“Eh?” Miss Fran was stunned. “But I just started.”

“I know,” Ewan said, pounding the table with tears in his eyes. “I don’t understand a single word! What in the world is multi-stage continuous chanting?!”

“…”

This guy… he’s not just trying to cause trouble, is he?

“Then…” Miss Fran forced a smile. “What exactly do you want, Mr. Campbell?”

“Teacher, how about this? You start from the beginning.” Ewan flipped his textbook back to the first page and said with a serious expression. “Start from here. It’s okay if you go a little slower.”

“Eh? Why?”

“Because I want to listen!” Ewan leaned forward and grabbed Miss Fran’s hand, his voice full of earnest sincerity. “I want to hear you explain this entire book to me, from beginning to end!”

“E-eh?”

The sudden male presence, and the feeling of his large, warm hand wrapped around hers, sent the inexperienced Miss Fran into a panic. “W-why would you want me to explain the whole thing?” she stammered. “That would take a very long time.”

“Because I want to understand! I want to understand everything! It doesn’t matter how long it takes! I just want to hear you, Miss Fran, explain the entire textbook!” Ewan shouted with genuine passion.

“Th-this…”

As Ewan leaned in closer, Miss Fran’s face grew hotter, and she could feel steam rising from the top of her head. Her vision swam with a jumble of tangled threads.

Calm down, Fran Fodor! You’re a teacher! How can you lose your composure at a time like this? Calm down and figure out what this student is up to.

→ First, I need to be clear about one thing: Ewan Campbell is a bona fide bad student. The previous teacher for this course once mentioned that Ewan Campbell had gotten an unprecedented score of three on his final exam last semester! Three! In Professor Planck’s words, that’s a score you could get just by stepping on the answer sheet and leaving a footprint.

→ And as a bona fide bad student, his most prominent characteristic is that he hates studying. So Ewan Campbell is definitely not doing this because he wants to learn.

→ Second, he mentioned just now that he sat in this seat to be closer. Closer to whom? Is there anyone else in front of him?

→ Next, when the entire class was being cold to me, the new teacher, he was the only one who was enthusiastic. This abnormal behavior is clearly suspicious.

→ Finally, he’s asking me to explain the entire textbook to him, no matter how long it takes. In other words… he wants me to be with him all the time.

→ In conclusion, and taking into account the fact that he is a scumbag who has cheated on thirteen girls…

The conclusion:

Ewan Campbell! He’s trying to hit on me!

“N-no! You can’t!”

Miss Fran’s face was as red as a tomato. She forcefully pulled her hand away and shouted, “You can’t do that!”

“Eh?” Ewan was dumbfounded. “Can’t do what?”

“You can’t pursue me!” Miss Fran squeezed her eyes shut and, as if using all her strength, shouted, “A relationship between a teacher and a student is not allowed! Even if the position of a duchess is very tempting!”

“Huh?”

Ewan felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He had no idea what she was talking about.

But before he could say anything, the classroom door was suddenly knocked on and then opened.

“Excuse me. Student council, checking for attendance on the first day of class.”

Celicia, with her secretary Vera in tow, walked in.