The First Teacher Capture Practice
While sprinting down the hallway, I realized one thing. This morning, my toothbrush falling into the toilet wasn't a misfortune. It was mercy. The last mercy the world had given me, contorting its entire body to warn me. And I was the fool who not only kicked that mercy away but also tossed a torch onto it and burned it to ashes....
"Huff...! Huff...! Why...?"
Where the staircase leading to the lower floor should have been, a barrier resembling a deep indigo night sky blocked the way. It was as if the space itself had been sliced away and filled with the night sky....
"...Luciel."
It could only be that girl. A barrier like this...!
As I stood frozen in dejection after my escape route was cut off, a crackling noise came from the hallway ceiling.
Ahem. Can you hear me, Teacher?
It pains me greatly. To call us beasts... We simply wish to receive Teacher's affection, that is all....
In any case, since Teacher is not present, I shall substitute and commence the first special class of the Hall of Stars—the First Teacher Capture Practice.
The rules are very simple. It does not matter whether you use your Gift or brute force. The star who captures Teacher first shall be granted the right to express her wish to Teacher before anyone else.
For your information, there exists a preserved record of Teacher's past statement: 'I'll accept whatever you do to me.' The party in question has also acknowledged the memory. Therefore, this contract holds definite effect.
However, this Archdevil Ophelia Grimcodex shall not exercise the promise as an exclusive contract. After all, Teacher belongs to everyone. Therefore, we shall proceed fairly, through free competition.
I clutched my head at Ophelia's broadcast for a moment. Then—
Boom!
The building shook violently. When I spun around....
"Darling!"
Laira burst from the end of the hallway, her golden mane streaming behind her.
"Be good and get caaaught...!"
"Teacher is not your darling!!!"
True to her beastkin nature, Laira closed the distance with terrifying speed. My senses had dulled from teaching ordinary students at the academy, but... I am these children's teacher. I remember every habit, every quirk, every technique they've learned.
Laira always channels mana into her right foot right before dashing toward her target.
Woong—
And just as I taught her... Bang!Crunch.Boom! She doesn't charge in a straight line—she curves!
Now!
"Hyeeh?"
Boooom—!
Having read the rhythm in advance, I dodged her irregular strike and kept running. She'd probably need about five seconds to regroup. Whoosh!Boooom—!
"Uuu... Darling! Why are you running away!"
"Laira... Teacher is not your—urgh?!"
Slice— A thrust slipped in while I was talking. Excellent form!
"Huuung...."
"Wait... Laira... That's not it... That's not iiiiiit!!!"
Laira lowered her stance. Both hands hovered near the floor, shoulders pitched forward. Her tail swayed low, and her golden eyes narrowed to slits. I recognized that posture. It was the hunting stance I had helped her perfect.
Once her warmup finished, that technique would...!
Bang—!
Wrapped in golden mana, she charged. Everything around her shattered. Crash!
"Hyeeh!"
With that bizarre battle cry, I immediately hurled myself toward the window. Even though we were on the fifth floor, if it was me...!
Swish swish swish— Thud! Thud!
"Huh? Oh, damn it...."
"Hehe, Teacher. If you'd just obediently join our hero party—!"
"Ha!"
Ariel's arrows flew in, accurately targeting only my clothes and pinning them to the wall. Seeing her triumphant expression, I activated one of my secret techniques: Clothes Bursting.
To be precise, it was a desperate survival skill from my mercenary days. By deliberately breaking the cheap fixing spell on my clothes, I could leave only the outer layer behind while escaping restraints. It was a wretched technique I'd learned to survive barroom brawls.
Thud!Swish swish swish—
"Kgh...."
"Not yet, Ariel!"
Haha, it had been so long since I'd run like this with the kids. It brought back old memories and actually felt—
Boom!
"Mm...."
"Brunhilde, nice! Keep pressing him, Teacher!"
Brunhilde, with her usual stoic expression, charged using her shield and smashed straight through the wall. Behind her came Elena and Serena....
"I almost died just now...."
"Please don't worry, Teacher... That will never happen."
Of course. Serena could bring me back even if I died. Though that was honestly more terrifying.
"Checkmate, Teacher."
"Rowell. Give up."
Before I knew it, Luciel and Ariel had joined them. Every escape route seemed blocked.
"Hoo... This is troublesome...."
"Don't worry, Teacher! And I can state with certainty! If you stay with us, we will make you happier than anyone else!"
Elena declared it with a bright smile. That's usually something a man says... but well, it suits a hero, I suppose....
The other children were gradually tightening the encirclement....
But who am I? Rowell Ackerman, teacher to all these children.
"Huuup...."
I took a deep breath and—
"BACK LEFT CORNER OF THE HALLWAY!!!!!! THE HERO PARTY HAS ME CAPTURED!!!!!!"
I screamed at the top of my lungs!!!
"T-Teacher?!"
The beasts were thrown off by the desperate struggle of prey they thought they'd already caught. In that brief opening, my struggle drew the other beasts into the fray.
Clang—!
"Grrrr.... Hero...."
"Tsk... As expected of Teacher...."
Laira and Elena.
"....Oh, God."
"Into the deep sea with you...."
Serena and Tethys.
"...Mm."
"Ha! Insolent wench. You dare block the path of the Dragon King?"
Brunhilde and Valeria.
"Rowell... You're cunning."
"Well... that's why he's our teacher, right?"
Luciel and Irel.
"Would you consider stepping aside, Miss Mirabel?"
"Ahaha~ What are you saying? You think I'd just throw away a chance to claim Teacher?"
Ariel and Mirabel.
Everyone had found an opponent. And in that gap, I—
"Hoo!"
Quietly, yet faster than anyone, turned around.
The way to handle my students is simple. First, never try to win head-on. Second, remember each child's personality. Third, create situations where they have no choice but to check each other.
Perfect.
"Sorry, kids. Teacher needs to survive too!"
I shouted as I ran toward the opposite side of the hallway. A full-blown war had already erupted behind me.
"Hero! Move! I'm taking him first!"
"Sorry, Laira! But our hero party will be the ones to welcome Teacher first!"
Booom!
Golden mana and white aura collided, making the hallway walls scream.
"You mustn't get hurt. So you should come to my side."
"What Teacher needs is rest and stability. Not a place as deep as the sea."
"Serena. The sea embraces all wounds."
"I believe its embrace is too deep to be safe."
On one side, Serena's holy power tangled with Tethys's sea mist. On the other, Brunhilde raised her shield to block Valeria's dragon might.
"Stand aside, warrior. Blocking the path of this king is rude."
"Can't do that."
"Ha. A short and unpleasant answer."
"Yeah."
Ariel and Mirabel didn't even need words. Arrows pierced illusions, and illusions twisted the arrows' paths.
"Ariel, aren't you taking this a bit too seriously? ♥"
"I have no intention of joking where Teacher is concerned."
"Huuung~ How boring~"
Good. This should be enough.
That's what I thought. Right up until I rounded the corner of the hallway.
"Master."
My feet stopped. No—they were stopped.
A very thin sensation had caught my ankle. At first I thought it was dust. But the familiar feeling made my face drain of color as I realized what it was. Silver threads—Bellina's spider silk. Threads stretched like a spiderweb between the ceiling, walls, floor, and windowsills, quietly enveloping the entire hallway.
At the center of those threads, a girl wearing a white kimono stood quietly.
No. She was too serene to call a girl, and too polite to call a queen. My student, Bellina Moonthread.
"Bellina."
"Yes, Master."
Bellina neatly clasped both hands and bowed her head.
"This maiden is most delighted to have caught Master's footsteps after so long."
"Could you please not tie up people's ankles while speaking in that tone?"
"You taught this maiden that capturing and making one stay are two different things."
"I did, didn't I."
"Therefore, this maiden intends to release you."
For a moment, I saw hope.
"Really?"
"Yes."
Bellina smiled quietly.
"After making you wish to return, that is."
The hope died.
I immediately reached for my waist. The small dagger from my mercenary days. A tool I carried for self-defense. The instant I raised the blade to cut the thread—
"I do not recommend that, Teacher."
A polite voice spoke. This time it wasn't Bellina.
The classroom door beside the hallway opened slowly. Black suit. Goat horns. A calm smile. And a file folder in her hand. Ophelia Grimcodex stood there.
"Miss Bellina's threads are more efficiently handled by resolving the entangled conditions first rather than attempting to cut them physically."
"Conditions?"
"Yes. The threads currently on Master's ankle are designed to increase tension if 'escape intent' is detected."
"Why would you make something like that, Bellina?"
"Because Master runs away."
"Have you never thought about why I'm running?"
"This maiden has pondered it."
Bellina tilted her head slightly.
"Yes. This maiden believes it is because you feel embarrassed."
"That's not it!"
My shout echoed through the hallway. Ophelia very politely ignored it.
"And Teacher."
"Yes?"
"Just now, you executed an excellent diversion tactic by pitting the hero party against the non-human stars."
"Thanks for the compliment."
"However."
Ophelia closed her file folder.
"That tactic overlooked the fact that our demon stars had not moved from the very beginning."
"..."
At those words, I slowly scanned my surroundings. The shadows at the end of the hallway deepened. It wasn't that light was vanishing. The darkness itself was walking forward.
"Teacher's judgment is always swift."
Lifting the hem of her black dress slightly, Roselia Nachtrosen bowed her head with perfect etiquette.
"But this time, you were a little late."
Beside her, Astella Velvetnight smiled with seductive charm.
"Teacher, that's too much~ You didn't even spare us a glance and tried to run away?"
"I thought it would be dangerous to look at you in this situation."
"Hmph. Hearing that just makes me want your eyes on me even more."
And finally.
In the center of the hallway stood the Demon King wearing a black crown. Asteria Deathcrown. She looked at me with her arms crossed.
"Teacher."
"Yes?"
"Do not run."
"..."
"It is not an order."
Asteria closed her lips for the briefest moment. That short silence felt strangely unfamiliar.
"It is a request."
My heart stuttered. That word was foul play. The old Asteria would never have said it. The child who used to command, seize, and rage had learned to say the word 'request.'
I knew how much she had grown. That was precisely why it terrified me.
"Asteria."
"What is it."
"I'm truly impressed that you've learned how to make requests."
I slowly looked down at the threads binding my ankle.
"But if I listen to that request, I don't think your teacher will live very long, you know?"
"Why? We all love Teacher. Such a thing would never happen."
Roselia nodded.
"Of course. We will never do anything to harm Teacher."
Astella waved her hand.
"Yup yup. We definitely won't let you die~"
Ophelia smiled.
"Death is not included in the contract terms."
Bellina clasped her hands together.
"Master must live happily with us for a long, long time."
"..."
They were truly grateful words. Hearing the word 'love' from anyone was... really, truly, deeply grateful, but...
I broke out in a cold sweat and smiled.
"Kids."
"Yes, Teacher."
"Master."
"Teacher."
"Yes?"
"Please speak."
All five of them looked at me at once. I asked very, very carefully.
"Is there any chance we could find a compromise through conversation?"
Current status of the First Teacher Capture Practice: Victory to the Demon Stars.
Teacher's ankle has been captured by Miss Bellina's threads. The front is currently blocked by Miss Roselia, Miss Astella, and Miss Asteria. This Archdevil is responsible for securing the rear.
The moment those words ended, a tremendous roar came from behind me.
Boom!
"Teacher!"
It was Elena's desperate voice.
"You can't go that way!"
Laira's cheerful voice rang out too.
"Demon race! Put our darling down!"
The instant those words finished, the thread around my ankle pulled. Just a tiny bit. But even that slight force tilted my whole body forward.
"Master."
Bellina said.
"It is time to return now."
I reflexively grabbed the wall, my fingertips catching on the doorframe. I thought I'd survived. The moment that thought crossed my mind, the doorframe vanished. To be exact, the space where the doorframe had been folded into a deep indigo night sky.
"Rowell."
A calm voice came from the ceiling. It was Luciel.
"I blocked that side too."
"Whose side are you on!"
"Rowell's side."
"Then don't block it!"
"Only by catching Rowell can I be on Rowell's side."
"Your logic is completely broken!"
I screamed. I meant every word.
To my right, the demon stars. To my left, the hero party and non-human stars. In front, Bellina's threads. Behind, Ophelia's procedures. Above, Luciel's barrier. And what remained to me was—
The dignity of a teacher.
"..."
I slowly drew in a breath. Then I cast aside every last shred of dignity and said,
"I'll do anything... really, anything... Just please stop...."
A brief silence fell over the hallway. The gazes of all fifteen stars turned toward me at once. In that short silence, I realized something.
This morning, the world had tried to stop me. I hadn't listened. And now, the world was probably saying this:
See? I told you not to go.