Chapter 103
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: The Academy's Elementary School Boy Teacher
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“Hic...”
The dormitory, filled with the laughter and chatter of female students, echoed with an unfamiliar hiccuping sound.
“He's really the youngest son of the Belverk family...?”
“...He doesn't look it.”
“His hair's white too. Aren't Belverks supposed to have black hair?”
The culprit was none other than the wild Kairen, who had started wandering around Dormitory B since yesterday.
“His eyes are red, at least.”
“You never know. He might just look cute.”
“Yeah. He could have a nasty personality.”
Naturally, the girls watched him with wary eyes—less so than at first, but still guarded—as he crept around alone, glancing about.
- Sneak... sneak...
But just then, Kairen glanced at a group of girls who had been glaring at him and began tiptoeing toward them.
“Wh-what?”
“Why's he coming over?”
“B-be on guard, everyone.”
The flustered girls started backing away, then suddenly noticed something odd.
“...But why's he twisting his body like that?”
Kairen, wringing his body like a twisted towel, wore an utterly pitiful expression.
“Um, sisters...”
As everyone sensed the weirdness, he finally stopped in front of the girls and asked in a tiny voice.
“D-do you know where the bathroom is...?”
The group stared blankly for a moment before one silently pointed down the hall.
“Th-thank you...”
He hurriedly bowed in thanks and trotted off in the direction she'd indicated.
“...Pretty polite, huh?”
“Kinda cute, maybe.”
“Hey, don't let your guard down.”
Watching his retreating figure, the girls tilted their heads and murmured.
“Belverks don't even treat people like people unless they're royalty, right?”
“...”
“Who knows when he might snap...”
Of course, their wariness hadn't fully faded, so no kind words were exchanged.
“Um...”
“...?”
“Th-thank you!”
A few minutes later, Kairen came dashing back and pinned something to the chest of the girl who had shown him the bathroom.
“A praise sticker...?”
As the girls blinked in confusion at the red panda-shaped sticker, Kairen flushed red and bolted away.
“Haa...”
Letting out a deep sigh, he muttered sadly to himself.
“How did things end up like this...”
To understand why, one had to rewind time by about a day.
“Whoa...”
When Kairen and Astridje had just arrived at the academy.
“So amazing...”
Holding his mother's hand at the academy's main gate, Kairen gazed wide-eyed at the otherworldly sight before him, his eyes sparkling brightly.
“You might swallow a bug like that.”
“Gulp.”
“Well, the academy is a mystical place for first-timers.”
Astridje teased him lightly, then stepped forward—
“Mom!”
“Hm?”
“Butterflies are flying near the entrance!”
Kairen suddenly widened his eyes, let go of her hand, and dashed ahead.
“Those aren't butterflies. They're spirits.”
“Spirits?”
“Rare creatures you won't find easily outside an elf's great forest.”
Astridje flinched and reached for him but relaxed upon realizing what they were and began explaining.
“But... we shouldn't get too close to them.”
Her expression darkened slightly as she added,
“Our clan and spirits have been natural enemies since ancient times...”
“...”
“...Kairen?”
But the exact opposite unfolded before her eyes.
- Shuru...
- Shuring?
- Shung?
The cluster of spirits near the entrance flitted curiously toward Kairen.
“Heehee!”
“...”
“Hello!”
Excited, Kairen waved as most of the nearby spirits approached.
- Shung shung!
- Shurruk!
- Shush...
After observing him briefly, the spirits suddenly clung all over his body.
“Eek, that tickles...”
Unlike Astridje's warning, the spirits playfully tickled him without malice.
“How strange.”
“Huh?”
“Spirits normally go berserk at even a trace of our clan's aura...”
Beyond Astridje's understanding, she tilted her head and cautiously stepped closer—
- Shuaaaak!
- Shung shung shung!
- Shush!
Within seconds, the tickling spirits panicked and scattered.
“Ah, where are you going?”
“...Out.”
“Waaah!”
Kairen pouted and flailed at the air. Then a deep voice boomed from behind.
“The academy guardian declares.”
“Wh-what is it?”
“This is human territory. Not a place for you to tread.”
The massive golem—thought to be mere statue decoration—shook off grass and dirt, warning the intruder.
“So leave before I warn you again...”
“That tin can's still alive, huh.”
“...Astridje?”
The golem turned to Astridje, whose eyes glowed red behind Kairen.
“It's been a while.”
“Didn't you... graduate?”
“None of your business.”
Astridje replied coldly to the golem, radiating red aura in a counter-warning.
“Move, or I'll smash you this time.”
“...”
“Especially if you touch a single hair on my son right in front of me...”
She paused, then finished with killing intent.
“...I'll wipe the academy off the map.”
A tense silence fell.
“Astridje! That's enough!”
“...Hmph.”
“Your habit of destroying everything when your eyes turn red hasn't changed since your student days...”
Marquis Magnaris, rushing from the entrance, broke the silence—thankfully neither Astridje nor the golem.
“For such a cute kid to come from a mother like you is a miracle!”
“Huh?”
“Little one. Do you know her?”
She tapped the lead golem with her staff to calm it, glared briefly at Astridje, then addressed Kairen.
“The reason Astridje had no choice but to heed my request this time...”
“...”
“...J-just kidding!”
Astridje's eyes reddened again, and Magnaris hastily backpedaled.
- Rumble... boom!
A massive quake shook the academy grounds right then.
“Eliminate... intruder.”
“Eliminate...”
“Expel.”
Not just the pacified golem, but statues lined up behind—and even those buried in the earth—rose to hostile Astridje.
“What is this?”
“I-I don't know either.”
Magnaris panicked far more than Astridje at the anomaly.
“I turned off the academy defenses...”
“...”
“Hold on... Ah, could it be?”
She frantically restrained the golems with her staff, checked the overheating core, and realization dawned.
“Astridje. You're too strong now. Can't control the guardian golems.”
“Hah.”
“Even manual override won't switch...”
Astridje glared incredulously at the bound golems.
“Keep them restrained like this, and the core overloads. The academy could burn.”
“Then what?”
“Problem is... I need a Belverk for this class. Uriel's too busy...”
Glancing nervously at Astridje, Magnaris's eyes shifted sideways.
“Hm, little one.”
Directly at bewildered Kairen standing there.
“Want to try being a teacher?”
“Me?”
Kairen blinked blankly before pointing at himself.
“Me?”
Thus, Kairen Nox Belverk was granted special teacher status an hour later.
- Thump, thump, thump...
A day had passed since I arrived at the academy.
“Haa... Haaaa...”
Why was I so nervous? Because I had to teach the girl sisters an important lesson as an academy teacher.
Is this really okay...?
Apparently, it was a class traditionally handled by Belverk Ducal House and Marquis Magnaris's agreement, discontinued recently due to Mom's no-show.
Could a first-time teacher like me handle such an important class?
No, I can do this.
I fretted anxiously but knew dithering wouldn't help, so I steeled myself with a deep breath.
- Creak...
Trembling, I pushed open the door to the special classroom in Dormitory B and entered.
“H-hello...”
I hurried to the lectern, avoiding the flood of girls' stares.
“...Ah.”
Before properly starting, I hit my first snag.
What now...?
The lectern was taller than me, completely blocking my view.
Not a huge issue, but crushing for my current height woes.
- Creak...
Anyway, class must go on. As I tiptoed to peek over—
“Step up on this.”
“Eek.”
“I put cushions underneath, so it'll be comfy.”
The girl who'd shown me the bathroom earlier dragged over a chair.
“...Thanks, sis!”
Grateful for the help in my bind, I pulled out another sticker, touched.
“Take a praise sticker!”
Incidentally, Marquis Magnaris gave them to me herself.
No idea why red panda-shaped, but she said it'd be fun to give to students, so I kept them.
“Alright, then... Class starts.”
“...”
“What I'll teach you today is!”
After sticking another on her chest, I climbed up and opened my mouth to begin properly.
“It's...”
But before finishing, a deflating sound filled the room.
- Pffft!
The cushion under me slowly leaked air with a pathetic squeak.
“...Huh?”
I stared down puzzled, tilting my head, then spoke with waning confidence.
“It's... Monster Studies...”
Even I thought my voice sounded too pitiful and lame; the mood would sink if I continued like this.
“For example, like this!”
“...Grng?”
“How to survive against really scary monsters...”
Forcing up the energy, I even tried summoning Fluffy from my shadow, where it slept.
“Uh... Fluffy?”
Guess Fluffy and the pups weren't in the mood today.
“Why won't you come out... Achoo!”
Peeking into the shadow to coax, I sneezed from the piled-up fur dust and bowed forward.
“...Sniff.”
Sniffling back onto the lectern, tears welled up. I mumbled apologetically.
“S-sorry...”
Giggles erupted from the front.
“Haa...”
“Hmm...”
“Haha...”
Seemed like showing charismatic Belverk style like Mom was hopeless.
Failed.
Could I really finish the remaining week's classes properly?
“Uuu...”
As Kairen trembled atop the lectern, staring down dejectedly.
“Hah, he's freaking adorable...”
“What's with the praise stickers? Heh heh.”
“Totally hilarious...”
The girls watching from their desks had mostly dropped their guard against him.
“Should we ask him for his first love story?”
“...Hey, even if he is cute.”
“Kinda curious, though. Hehe...”
Girls' intuition at that age? No one could match them at spotting if the teacher was prey.
“Huh?”
Just as Kairen's reputation was about to be trampled by the girls' teasing—
“Wh-what?”
One girl checked her academy-issued hourglass and gaped.
“M-my store points went up 10?”
“...What?”
The one who'd shown Kairen the bathroom and fetched the chair stammered, shaking. The others gasped in unison.
“F-for real? That?”
“Why? How?”
“Classes haven't even started a week ago. Possible?”
The academy store points were the ultimate currency.
Used for most transactions, filling credit shortages, even factoring into student rankings—a versatile system.
“No way...”
The girls easily guessed the cause of the sudden 10-point boost.
“...The praise sticker?”
Their eyes, turning to teary, nervous Kairen up front, grew intense one by one.