Broken Wings Can Be Fixed
I handle what happens in my class myself. To claim that obvious right, I had cornered Adelheid and firmly established my position. The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth. It was unpleasant enough having my own thoughts confirmed through someone else’s mouth, but proving them by applying a bit of pressure wasn’t exactly easy. Still, thinking about it now, if Usteria returning had been an ordinary student, I probably wouldn’t have overreacted to that degree.
‘Something I’ve realized lately. Turns out I don’t actually hate this job as much as I thought.’
So a girl with every color in the spectrum, someone who could blend right into our Forget-Me-Not Class, would always be welcome. If she was the kind who wouldn’t cause problems, I might have tolerated even Adelheid’s forceful demands and let her in. However, the reason I had torn the headmaster’s office apart was simple: Usteria was a creature whose very existence was pitch black. That doesn’t mean she’s a dark elf. It just means her true nature is black. And… crude as it sounds, you have to be careful with black. Like every other color, black paint only needs a single drop to ruin an entire palette. No, it doesn’t just ruin it—it turns everything black. That’s why it demands special care. It can exist, sure, but mixing it with other colors requires even more careful thought.
So in the class where I had barely managed to create a working ensemble, the last thing I wanted was an outsider who had been gone the whole time showing up and muddying the waters. That was why Adelheid had granted me full authority over her. And the reason I came to work today… was to make thorough, meticulous preparations so I could suppress the real Usteria the instant I laid eyes on her.
But.
But……
‘What the hell? Did she just piss herself? Why…?’
It seemed I had misjudged her color. Usteria’s color wasn’t black—it was yellow.
‘…Guess it’s a relief it’s not brown?’
Whatever the reason, she had come out acting like a coward in a way that didn’t suit her at all. The moment she saw my face she let out strange groaning noises—hik, hiiiiik—and then took it one step further by losing control of her sphincter. The sight was unbearable.
“Wh-what is this? Usteria. What on earth is going on…!”
“H-hik, hiiik… U-ugh. Uuugh.”
At first I thought some unknown anxiety disorder had suddenly flared up. But the way she couldn’t meet my eyes while fighting back nausea made it crystal clear that Usteria’s current state was my fault.
If that was true, it was seriously fucking awkward. The only factor that could possibly elicit that kind of reaction from her toward me was, intuitively, my appearance. The world’s strongest insane psycho bitch was completely losing it just from looking at my face. To me, that was… Fuck! I’d never really heard that I looked particularly ugly, but seriously? This is how it is?
Thanks to her, I learned something I never wanted to know. An elf’s small puddle smells more like tree sap than ammonia.
…….
…. I feel empty.
I had been ready to rip her shoulder out, but if she’s already pissing and frying herself, what’s the point? I miss my mom.
“Uh…”
Since a girl had never done anything like this in front of me in my entire life, I couldn’t seem to unfreeze my rigid brain.
“Ugh, ugh…?”
“The Saintess… made a mistake…”
“—Hehe, uhahaha!”
And when I actually looked around, the classroom had turned into a complete madhouse in an instant.
“Okay, Usteria. First, breathe. …Forget what I said earlier for now. I’ll help you right now.”
Of course everyone moved according to their roles. Irina approached Usteria and examined her.
“Oh my… Lady Usteria. I’m not sure if this will help, but please use this for now.”
Alun handed her the blanket he used…
“Puhyahyahya!!”
“Uh, uhahaha…! That bitch, that bitch… She kept such a tight grip on her pride, but the second she sees the professor she ends up like this?”
“That’s prime material for the perverts in District 3. Isn’t that holy water? If we collected it and sold it, we could make some decent money, right, Miss Zikrinde?”
“Wow, gross. So there are people like that. I don’t know much about the society of shit-eaters, but if you say so, I’ll believe you.”
“Aah, I’m so glad I listened to Professor Joseph. This is way more fun than a gambling den.”
Valentina and Zikrinde surprisingly got along well and were laughing their asses off at the scene. There was no sign of my mind returning anytime soon. But I am a professor. A damn professor.
“A-are you all right?”
When I tried to check on Usteria despite my confusion, Irina waved her hands frantically and blocked me.
“Professor. Professor…!”
“Class president…”
“Even though you’re someone I respect, could you please not come any closer?”
“Huh?”
“She’s a girl, after all. Please understand.”
“Ah.”
As expected, once I sorted out the situation, that was what it came down to. I… couldn’t do anything. I was useless.
“Th-that person…”
But it would have been better if it had stopped there. Usteria continued with difficulty and drove a wedge straight into my heart.
“Please separate me from that person……”
“That person…? You mean Professor Joseph?”
“I’m scared. Scared, scared… I’m scared. Please…”
The moment I heard those words, the mental structure inside my already frozen brain completely collapsed.
This fucking bitch….
“Did you hear her, Professor? The rest can wait. For now, please allow us to clean this up.”
“Do whatever you want. I’ll give you all the time you need!”
What… what the hell did I do so wrong? I’m the victim here!
Could this also be part of her scheme?
“I-I’m leaving. I’ll just leave! Tiel, come on. Let’s go together.”
Still, there was no other choice. I had no option but to grab Tiel’s hand and get out of there. Why? Because Tiel was publicly known as a boy. Even so, she couldn’t watch this situation. If anything, this was the considerate thing to do.
Swish… Swish, swiiish…
“There, all done. Little sparrow. I don’t know what you did to break your wing so badly, but I’ve secured it with bandages and a splint. It should be fine soon.”
Cheep, cheep, cheep—.
“You won’t be able to fly for a while. I’ll take you somewhere nice. There’s the Lagrange ducal residence nearby, and the food there is killer.”
Peep, peeeep—!
“Heh, this is a good opportunity. Who knows, you might even become Sir Laval’s messenger? It’s a luxury other sparrows can’t even dream of. You’ll get to live with a noble mission in your heart. Think about it.”
The place I reached with Tiel was the school rooftop I often visited. As if to prove that a gloomy presence had arrived, a cute little sparrow was suffering on the roof with a broken wing.
I was already feeling down, and watching a small creature cry out in pain only made my heart heavier. Even if it probably couldn’t understand me anyway, the reason I kept talking to it while doing what I could was exactly that.
“…Wow, Professor.”
Tiel seemed genuinely fascinated. She widened her large blue eyes set in that small face and spoke.
“Y-you’re incredibly skilled at treating injuries…”
“That’s only natural. Until just five years ago I was a soldier with fourteen years of service. You have to know basic first aid just to hand out your business card.”
“But treating a bird is different from treating a person, isn’t it…?”
“When they die, it’s all the same. No, what I mean is… Whether it’s a bird or a human, the body structure is fundamentally identical. So making a splint to support it isn’t that difficult.”
“Still, it’s cool that you can do it.”
“It’s all thanks to Student Tiel lending me the bandages. You’ve been following my advice to always carry them. I’ll give you a commendation.”
I’m not completely oblivious. I had caught a glimpse of how badly Tiel panicked the moment Usteria entered. By bringing her outside like this, letting her breathe fresh air, treating the sparrow, and shifting her focus, her expression had relaxed considerably. Maybe she was even feeling the freedom of stepping away from routine during what should have been morning assembly.
Since Tiel is actually a girl, there wouldn’t have been a problem if she had stayed to see what happened inside, and she was probably curious. But there was nothing that could be done about it. This was better than awkwardly telling her to stay. For now, I’m satisfied with things as they are.
“You must have been really surprised, Tiel.”
That ordinary remark seemed to strike Tiel differently. She fidgeted with her mouth, carefully refining what she wanted to say.
Tsk. This isn’t good. Please, I’m begging you, don’t be anxious too. This teacher is already complicated enough.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this before either, so I was a little surprised.”
“Ah… So you were surprised too, Professor…”
“Yes. I ended up talking about the military earlier out of necessity… But it seems what I experienced there was nothing. Society is harsh, and holding a teaching position is far more difficult.”
So I decided to shift the topic slightly and talk about myself. At those words Tiel completely released her tension and gave a faint smile whose meaning I couldn’t quite read. As if it were a habit, she swept her hand over her bandages and glanced at me right away.
Huh. This kid. She used to avoid making eye contact with me at all costs, but today something feels different.
‘Why?’
The moment I thought that, Tiel unusually raised her voice.
Saying she raised her voice might make it sound less serious, but since she normally acted like a boy and kept her voice in a neutral low register, this higher tone meant—
“Professor…”
On the contrary, speaking in this high voice meant she was revealing her true self. In other words, she was bringing out her sincere heart.
Oh ho. So it’s that thing I told her about last time?
—To speak when she was ready.
“That person… That pink-haired, white-eyed Saintess… That person, before, to me…”
But that was the limit of her courage. The voice she had forced out with such effort began to tremble, and the rest of the words wouldn’t come.
Still, it was fine. From her expression, I already had a hunch.
Tiel. Tiel Kelga….
‘You were bullied by Usteria, weren’t you?’
That’s why your mentality shattered. Seeing that you came to school normally, it must have broken even more.
Simply put, it was school violence.
…If something like that had happened, her family would have been furious. They should have definitely stepped in. At the very least, they should have prevented her suspension from being lifted ahead of schedule.
‘Clearly, Adelheid said the two families had reached an agreement, right?’
—Wow. The puzzle pieces are finally fitting together. Tiel’s will must not have been part of that agreement.
The thing under her arm that almost went berserk last time was definitely connected to this. For example, after hearing from her family that they had agreed and her suspension was lifted, she might have feared Usteria—the object of her terror—coming to find her, and her inner anxiety had grown. Or perhaps she felt rage toward her own family.
So that expression…
‘At least, in that situation, she thinks I’m the most reliable adult. She’s asking me to help her.’
She took a deep breath and steadied herself.