Chapter 142
Chapter 142
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 142
Chapter Title: Chapter 51: The Young Curmudgeon (2)
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When Jamie first stood in front of the class, various thoughts crossed his mind.
The first was, 'What kind of kids will be here?' followed by, 'What will they think when they see me?'
'According to Teacher Sophia, the girls are going crazy over me... Even if I do have a good-looking body, that's a bit overwhelming.'
He had pondered how to discipline them if they underestimated him for being young, but now he was worrying about how to handle the female students swarming him like fans.
He wasn't nervous. There was no reason to be. It was just standing in front of some kids—he wasn't naive enough to get worked up over that.
He looked up at the class name. Alpha Class. Where only the most outstanding students from the elementary division were gathered.
For a place like that, the auras emanating from inside were just average.
Well, it was silly to expect much from the elementary division anyway. He just needed to observe and find the raw talents worth calling gems.
"Student teacher, please come in."
At that moment, Javelin's voice called out.
Jamie unnecessarily straightened his collar and stepped inside.
He felt all eyes on him. A familiar sensation he hadn't experienced in a long time.
As Jamie's lips twitched upward slightly, someone from the back suddenly shot to their feet and shouted.
"Y-You're... why are you here?!"
It was Lennon Simon.
Jamie's eyes widened slightly. He hadn't expected that guy to be here.
With skills that should place him in the high school division...
He didn't know the reason, but spotting a familiar face made him glad.
So he waved cheerfully, as if to say let's get along, but Lennon's face twisted.
The guy looked embarrassed.
"Oh—there's a transfer student. I forgot with all the morning rush."
Javelin smiled at Lennon as if he'd just remembered.
"First, let's introduce the student teacher, then you can introduce yourself."
Lennon glanced at Jamie and nodded.
Javelin nodded at Jamie.
The signal to introduce himself.
"Ahem. Nice to meet you all."
Jamie scanned the students as he began his introduction.
"I'm Jamie Welton, and starting today, I'll be your student teacher for the next month. It's an unexpected role, so I'm a bit dazed, but since I've taken it on, I plan to do my best during this time. I hope you students will follow along diligently. Looking forward to it."
His introduction, neither too long nor too short, ended, and silence fell over the classroom.
Everyone stared at Jamie with blank faces, no response. Javelin looked slightly flustered by the awkward atmosphere.
"Um, you all should say 'looking forward to it' too..."
As he tried to urge the odd-behaving students to respond,
"Waaah—! Lord Jamie!"
"I-Is it really Lord Jamie?!"
"Oh my gosh! He's so cute!"
"Autograph, please give me an autograph!"
The students, especially the girls, jumped up and started cheering wildly.
It wasn't just the girls.
The boys began whispering among themselves.
"The real Jamie Welton?"
"The magic genius boy from the Welton family?"
"His hair color proves it's him."
"He's gonna teach us starting today? He's at least five years younger than me."
"Whoa... is this for real?"
Unlike the girls acting like his fan club, the boys eyed Jamie with wariness.
The important thing was that Jamie's entrance had thrown the classroom into total chaos.
"H-Hey, kids! Calm down, calm down!"
Anne tried to stop her friends rushing toward the podium but got swept away in the wave.
Lennon, at the very back, gaped in shock at the morning uproar.
'What the hell is this?'
Having holed up in the Simon family focusing solely on magic training, he was clueless about fads.
He couldn't fathom why the girls were mobbing Jamie Welton like that.
In the midst of it, that nosy Anne kid was rolling on the floor after trying to block the students.
As Lennon clicked his tongue,
"Everyone, sit down!"
With Jamie's sharp command, the students charging toward him instantly returned to their seats.
Silence returned in an instant.
They faintly sensed the mana aura emanating from Jamie's body and showed tense expressions.
Jamie continued.
"How dare you impudent students try to invade the podium? Don't stand shoulder-to-shoulder with your teacher as a mere student. The teacher is the heavens; disciples need only look up to them."
Jamie gazed satisfactorily at the darkened faces of the students and spoke with a pleased expression.
"Got it?"
Jamie was a curmudgeon.
Watching Jamie subdue the class in one go, Javelin had various thoughts.
The one taking up the most space was this:
'A young... curmudgeon?'
The fact that words typically from a seasoned old teacher came from an 8-year-old boy's mouth was quite shocking.
There was talk of 'young curmudgeons' these days, but he'd never seen one this 'young.' Could 'young' and 'curmudgeon' even coexist?
His next thought was about the incredible magic prowess.
'He dominated the space in an instant.'
It reminded him of Academy Head Siegfried.
Comparing him to the pinnacle of spatial magic was premature, but Jamie was a high-class mage on the verge of 7th Circle.
Truly astonishing skill.
Whatever Javelin was thinking, Jamie spoke again.
"A month is not long. In terms of learning magic, it's but a fleeting moment."
Words not fitting an 8-year-old's mouth, especially one brimming with talent.
But his skill was real, so no one objected.
"So you'll have to follow along quite diligently. If something like today happens again, I'll deem you hopeless."
"......"
"Respond."
"Y-Yes......"
The students must have been bewildered.
A cute boy their age had suddenly turned into a scary curmudgeon teacher.
"Good. Anyway, you're all not bad."
Jamie smiled somewhat satisfied as he gauged the students' skills.
He hadn't known what to expect from the elementary Alpha Class, but they all seemed like they'd amount to something when grown.
'Though quite a few look mature for their age.'
Over half were around his age and at 2nd Circle.
He even spotted one on the verge of 3rd Circle.
Finding so many unpolished gems satisfied Jamie.
Then he noticed a girl with messy sky-blue hair. The nosy kid who had mistaken him for a freshman when he first arrived in the magic world.
'Anne, was it?'
Anne was peeking at Jamie cautiously.
'She's in Alpha Class too?'
Compared to the others, her magic realm didn't seem high. Her mana quantity was average too.
An unremarkable girl.
Considering the class average, she fell way short.
He couldn't understand why she was in Alpha Class, but if she was, there must be a reason.
He could figure it out over the month.
"By the way, what subject do you think I'm in charge of?"
The sudden question made the students blink.
Javelin crossed his arms beside him and chuckled silently, recalling the subject Jamie had chosen.
"I'll give a gift to whoever guesses right."
At Jamie's words, the students' eyes lit up as if they'd never feared him, hands shooting up everywhere.
"Me!"
"I'll guess!"
"I think I know!"
You couldn't just browbeat kids. You had to dangle candy like this to earn their trust and obedience.
That was Jamie's educational philosophy.
"You. What's your name?"
"Cheshire!"
"A cat-like name. Alright, what subject do you think I'm teaching?"
"Um... Elemental Studies?"
"Wrong."
Jamie made a crisp buzzer sound, and Cheshire pouted as she sat down.
The next student was the same. She said 'Understanding and Analysis of Magic History,' shocking Jamie that such a useless subject even existed.
As a few more failed,
The girl in the third seat from the front raised her hand.
It was Anne.
"You, your name?"
"A-Anne Mayer."
"Right. Let's see our nosy Anne take a guess."
"......"
Anne thought for a moment before cautiously speaking.
"Magic Circles... right?"
"Why do you think that?"
"No big reason. I heard the teacher's circle is 6th Class. Magic Circles is a very advanced subject, and even with high-circle teachers handling it, there are only a few."
As she said, Phoenix Academy had one Magic Circles teacher each for elementary, middle, and high divisions.
They wouldn't assign top-tier talent like Jamie to a basic subject.
Advanced ones where low circles weren't even allowed to teach were 'Magic Circles' and 'Understanding Attribute Variance.'
But 'Understanding Attribute Variance' was middle division and up, leaving 'Magic Circles.'
"......So I thought Magic Circles."
As Anne finished, Jamie nodded quietly.
Now he knew why this girl was in Alpha Class.
'Impressive analytical skills.'
Unlike the others guessing randomly, she understood the situation and reasoned it out.
The problem was her reasoning was spot on.
"Correct. Come to the staff room after class ends. I'll give you your gift."
"Yay!"
Excited at getting it right, Anne flung her arms wide.
Then she met Jamie's eyes and hurriedly lowered them.
"Haha. Roll call's almost over, so shall we end here for now?"
"Sounds good."
At Jamie's reply, Javelin looked at the students.
"The new semester has started for all of you. You're always diligent kids, so no sleeping. Fighting today too."
"Yes!"
The kids responded energetically.
Javelin eyed Jamie to say something too.
"Ahem. See you soon. Today we have Magic Circles class."
"......Yes."
The students replied weakly to Jamie's words.
"Respond energetically."
"Yes!"
Javelin laughed heartily.
It was only a month, but he had a feeling it'd be an entertaining class life.
"......I didn't know Lord Jamie was such a scary person."
After the teachers left, the students gathered and sighed heavily.
The kingdom's top star right now was none other than Jamie Welton. The classroom had been festive when he entered.
"He was more of a curmudgeon than my dad."
"My illusions are shattered......"
"But he was cute."
"Yeah. And handsome."
Disappointment was disappointment, but the boy Jamie was as cool as they imagined.
8 years old, yet his build looked early teens.
From the sword-famous Welton family, his body was naturally honed. That fact ignited the young girls' hearts.
"Guys have to be manly."
"Right. That commanding presence dominating us."
"So cool."
They'd called him a curmudgeon moments ago, but their minds instantly bloomed with flowers. What else from early teen girls?
"Damn. Why are you girls grinning like that?"
"What's with the attitude?"
"Ugh, pathetic."
The boys, conversely, grew more hostile.
Similar age, handsome, cute, incredible magic, and even their teacher.
This was unfair. Too unfair.
"The world's so unfair. How can a guy like that exist?"
"The Weltons are famous for swords, so why does a magic genius pop up?"
"Damn. Jealous. I want the girls' attention too."
Hearing that, Lennon inwardly clicked his tongue.
Boys or girls, they all looked pathetic to him.
More importantly, he'd have to learn from Jamie Welton for a month. Last year's events resurfaced.
'Learning from that psycho. Damn......'
Why had Father stuck him in elementary?
Just send him straight to high school.
Lennon cursed the Simon Count somewhere in the magic world and squeezed his eyes shut. Then he glanced at Anne diligently studying diagonally across.
'That one's no ordinary either.'
He'd thought her just a nosy brat.
Her detectable mana was scant, her magic realm far below his.
But he'd learned from Simon Count that magic wasn't everything.
'Won't be boring.'
Jamie's face resurfaced, making boredom sound better.
As Lennon sighed from the back, Finn next to Anne peeked over.
"By the way, Anne. You know Teacher Jamie? He called you nosy earlier."
"......Doesn't matter."
Anne didn't want to remember.
'Betty would die of joy hearing this.'
One more thing to tell her roommate tonight.
"Why so prickly."
Finn grumbled unnecessarily, rummaged in his bag, and pulled something out.
Anne glanced and exclaimed.
"You drink that too?"
"Apophis X?"
"Yeah."
"A friend said it works great the other day, so I bought some. Want one? Got two bottles."
"No. Just curious since Betty bought some too."
"I'll let you know the review after."
Finn popped open the Apophis X and chugged it.
How great could a tonic be? Still, curiosity sparked a bit.
'Betty too, Finn too.'
Rumors about it were rampant lately.
Seemed some kids actually saw effects.
Anne wasn't very interested, but hearing about it often drew her eye.
'No. I'll study with my own power.'
She could buy another magic book with the money for those tonics.
With that thought, Anne resumed studying.