6:44 AM
The teacher still hadn't arrived, and neither had Lucas.
"I thought the teacher would be here by now?"
A few people asked, scratching their heads. Since they'd never met the math teacher before, they had no idea what kind of person he was.
"Why is Lucas so late?" I wondered to myself.
Even though we'd had a study session yesterday, I'm sure I clearly kicked Lucas out of the room before curfew. That was at 8:54 PM last night.
And yet he still hadn't shown up. Did he oversleep?
6:45 AM
The sound of the door opening echoed. A well-dressed man with white hair, narrow eyes, and a perpetual smile walked in.
Even though he hadn't done anything yet, the students felt a sense of suspicion and unease the moment they saw him. How should I put it? He gave off a very sly and scheming vibe. He didn't look trustworthy at all.
"Hello everyone, I'm Teacher Jin, your math instructor. It's a pleasure to meet you all~" he said with a friendly tone.
"..."
"Hm? Why are you all so quiet? Is there something wrong with my face?" Jin scratched his head, looking confused.
Dude, your face just looks way too shady!!
"Damn it, I'm late!!" Lucas burst in, covered in sweat.
Then he saw everyone staring at him — and the teacher standing right there.
"...Oh."
His face turned pale. He knew that being late on the first day and getting caught by the teacher would definitely cost him credit points.
Damn it! I should've gone to bed earlier last night! Sleeping at 9 PM was such a terrible idea!! (That's actually early?)
"Um… you there…" Jin stopped smiling and looked at Lucas.
"Y-Yes?!" Lucas panicked, staring into the teacher's narrow, dangerous-looking eyes.
Jin walked over and stood right in front of him, making Lucas sweat even more.
"...What's your name?"
"L-Lucas! No last name, sir!!"
"Lucas…"
Jin placed a hand on Lucas's shoulder with a serious expression.
"Teacher forgives you!!"
"...Huh?"
"This is your first time being late, and I'm sure you had a reason. It definitely wasn't your fault, right?!"
"Um, well… actually it was because I didn't sleep earli—"
"Oh, what a good kid! Even though you were wronged, you still took responsibility! Teacher has never seen a student willingly admit fault like this. I knew I couldn't have misjudged you! Come here!"
"Huh? Wait, teacher— OHHH!!"
Lucas was pulled into a tight hug. He desperately patted the teacher's back, trying to get him to let go.
...Wait, why does this guy not feel shady at all? He just seems overly enthusiastic and way too affectionate with his students?
"You won't lose any credit points this time. However, if it happens again, Teacher will have to deduct points. That's the academy's rule, and I can't go against it. I'm sorry." Jin apologized while continuously ruffling Lucas's hair until it turned into a giant afro.
"Ah, it's fine…" Lucas replied, still stunned.
"Alright, go back to your seat, Lucas."
Lucas blinked a few times before returning to his seat, still looking dazed.
The teacher looked scheming… but he wasn't scheming at all.
'Teacher Jin, huh…' I thought as I looked at him. I had to admit, he looked quite young.
In the game, he barely appeared. With his villainous appearance and cryptic lines, I always thought he'd become an obstacle later. But in the end, he just… stayed in his role, teaching normally like an NPC. He can't be date or compete for attention either due to his limited screen time.
"Let me reintroduce myself. I am Jin, your math teacher. To be honest, I'm a former student of this academy. I wanted to become a teacher, so I applied here and worked as a teaching assistant for five months to prove my abilities."
"Wait, you were a teaching assistant? Then why do you call yourself 'Teacher'?" one student raised their hand.
"A teaching assistant is still a teacher!" Jin replied.
Is that how it works?
"Also, I used to study in Class Charlemagne back in my day, so I specifically chose to teach this class~ Though I do teach other classes as well."
"Alright, enough talking. Let's get back to the lesson!"
Just like the other subjects, the blackboard quickly filled with writing.
The students, who had just lowered their guard thanks to Jin's friendly demeanor, now had twisted expressions as they faced the content.
Well, it was math — the subject everyone feared. Even the best students broke into a sweat.
"..." My eyes twitched.
If the other subjects were at university level, then this one… was easy.
Ridiculously easy. This was literally material that 6th graders should be learning.
While it was difficult for everyone else, for me it was no problem at all.
"Looks like I don't have to worry about this."
If anyone's wondering why math is even needed here — dude, you're going to school. Of course you have to study math.
The three periods passed by quickly. I earned 45 credit points by raising my hand three times, and all my answers were correct.
Kaiser, sitting next to me, was radiating an unnecessarily strong competitive aura.
"Even though I knows math isn't everyone's favorite subject, I didn't expect anyone to answer everything correctly on the very first day. You all have my praise." Jin clapped cheerfully, but no one clapped back — they were all burned out from math.
"By the way, what class do you have next?"
"Physical Education, sir."
"Do you all know where the changing rooms are?"
"Yes, we do."
"Hmm… Then make sure you take it seriously. Coach Riffon is very strict, especially with students who are weak in physical fitness."
Hearing that, the girls' faces grew even worse. Physical education had never been their strong suit.
"Alright, have a great day, everyone." Teacher Jin waved cheerfully and left.
Everyone looked at each other and sighed, complaining internally.
'He's a good teacher… It's just too bad his subject is so painful.'
After that, the class headed to the changing rooms.
...There was one problem.
"You've got to be kidding me."
The problem was me. My body was basically a walking refrigerator.
After I accidentally created my starter monster yesterday and released a burst of cold air, everyone knew I had ice attributes.
However, they just thought it was a normal mana outburst. Accidental mana releases weren't that rare, after all.
Yeah, if it was just a normal outburst, I wouldn't complain. The real issue was that I constantly leaked cold mana if I wasn't wearing this coat or the crystal necklace.
And don't even get me started on the state of my room this morning — I still hadn't cleaned up the mess from my experiment!
"What's wrong? Aren't you going to change?" Lucas asked.
"...I want to, but if I do, I'm afraid this place will turn into an ice sculpture gallery."
"What are you talking about? Ice sculptures?"
"...Try taking off my coat."
"With pleasure, haha. You worry too much!"
As soon as Lucas started pulling off my fluffy coat—
"There's no way anything like ice sculptures would happen~"
The coat fell to the floor.
"See? Nothing happen!" Lucas laughed, then patted my shoulder with both hands, which were now completely frozen.
...
...
"Huh?" Lucas blinked at his two ice-covered hands.
"Ugh, why is it so cold?"
"Achoo!"
"Wow, this cold is like winter!"
Everyone started panicking, hugging themselves against the freezing temperature.
Especially Kaiser. His magic attribute was dragon, so it wasn't surprising that he felt the cold even more intensely.
"Thanks, even though it's a bit cold. But just so we're clear, it wasn't me who took it off — you did it for me." I patted the shivering Lucas on the shoulder and took out my sports clothes to change.
I did feel cold, but my crystal necklace had absorbed most of the chill, so I could endure it. I had already gotten used to this level of cold anyway. This body was surprisingly resistant to low temperatures.
After putting the coat back on, the cold leakage decreased significantly.
In return, the entire boys' changing room had become a second refrigerator.
"Holy shit, it's freezing! Can't you control it??" Lucas asked, his nose running.
"I wish I could. I haven't learned any magic yet."
"Are you serious?! Kaiser and a few others are frozen solid like statues over there!"
Can't blame them. Their attributes were weak against mine.
"Why don't you summon your monster? It's fire-type, right?"
"Oh yeah, good idea. Let me look for the card."
Lucas pulled out his card and chanted the spell.
It took a full 10 seconds before the card responded and glowed.
"Come out, Flame Warrior Soul!"
A small round flame with eyes and two boxing gloves appeared.
"Vulcan! Show them your power!!" Lucas shouted with fiery eyes. His monster also looked determined.
Vulcan? That's actually a pretty cool name.
"Piii!!!" Vulcan roared, flaring up.
Everyone stared at it.
It was… really…
REALLY SMALL!! How was this supposed to warm anyone up?!
Vulcan was tiny. Its flames barely had any effect…
Seeing everyone's disappointed looks, Vulcan's self-confidence dropped, and its flames began to shrink.
"Vulcan!! Don't let these ordinary people affect you! You're better than that!" Lucas stood face-to-face with his monster, cheering it on.
Oi, who are you calling ordinary?
"Your flames may not be strong, but they never go out. That's proof of your existence — a monster that never fades and always burns with passion!"
This guy's got a silver tongue. Why don't you become a motivational speaker instead?
Hearing its master's encouragement, Vulcan's eyes filled with tears, and its flames blazed brighter than ever.
The entire changing room quickly warmed up. The frozen students slowly thawed.
"So warm… like summer…"
"I want to stay here forever…"
While everyone was enjoying the warmth, I kept blinking while staring at Lucas's monster.
It seemed… too intelligent?
No, it was way too smart. Even my starter monster wasn't this intelligent!
How?
Looking at the close bond between Lucas and Vulcan, my eyes widened in realization.
Don't tell me… it's because of intimacy level?!
I thought only Aelith could do that! Since the protagonist could communicate with her monster to some extent, their bond increased faster.
Even if the monsters weren't very smart and could only follow orders, they could still feel care and respond accordingly.
Not to mention starter monsters, which already had much higher intelligence than normal ones.
'...Why did I even buy that book earlier? This method is so much simpler. I need to learn more.'
My admiration for Lucas skyrocketed.
"Uh, why is it getting hotter?"
"Yeah, I feel like… AHH!! MY STUFF IS BURNING!!"
"IT'S TOO HOT!!! HELP!!!"
Yeah… it didn't take long for disaster to strike.
"Calm down, Vulcan!! Lower the flames! Lower them!!" Lucas panicked.
Vulcan tried desperately to stop, but the fire wouldn't die down.
"..."
And just like that, my admiration for Lucas dropped back down.
Luckily, my body was already cold, so the heat actually felt nice.
"Hm?" I glanced at one corner and saw Alvin facing the wall, struggling to change despite the intense heat from Vulcan.
He still hadn't finished changing?
"Oi Alvin, need help?"
"H-Huh?! No, I'm fine!" Alvin waved his hand in refusal.
"Why? Guys helping each other isn't gay."
"It is gay! I don't need help!!"
"Chill."
I looked at his sweaty back as he struggled with his shirt.
I took out my card and summoned my monster. Fluffy Snowflakes appeared with a lazy expression.
"Fluffy, blow some cool air on his back to help him out."
"Wu~"
Alvin immediately felt a refreshing chill on his back and turned around.
"W-What are you doing?!"
"Just cooling you down? You gonna refuse?"
"Well…"
"Just accept it. You can pay me back later, duh."
"..."
After a while, Alvin finished changing.
"Thanks…"
"No problem. Wait, you still wearing your long pant inside?"
"I'm shy."
"Guys get shy about that?"
"Shy about gay stuff."
"Alright, I get it."
After that, everyone left the changing room.
The girls also came out of their changing room, chatting happily and comfortably.
The boys, on the other hand, had just survived a closeup fire-and-ice disaster in a cramped room with no windows.
"Oii! What happened to you guys?" Alice noticed the boys' terrible expressions and asked.
The boys immediately turned to look at me and Lucas.
"I wasn't going to take my coat off. He took it off for me," I said innocently, pointing at Lucas.
"OI OI! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO YOUR FRIENDS?!"
The boys glared at Lucas.
Poor guy… He was just unlucky.
"By the way, aren't you two going to recall your monsters?" Alvin asked curiously.
"Nah, let them enjoy being outside. Keeping them in the cards all the time isn't good," I said, patting Fluffy's head.
"Same here!" Lucas replied, giving a peace sign along with Vulcan.
The whole class then headed to the sports field, where a tanned, muscular man wearing a tank top with a very upright and heroic face was standing.
I really hope he's not from some NTR plot or anything…
"You're three minutes late!" he barked, pointing at our class.
"...Sorry?"
"Answer properly!"
"...We're sorry?"
"Apologizing is good! I'll overlook the first offense, but the fact remains that you were late, so you'll be punished!"
"..."
No wonder Teacher Jin said he was strict. I felt like he was more oppressive than strict.
"Run 3 laps around the field for being 3 minutes late!"
We looked at the massive sports field — it was big enough to host a FIFA match.
'Well, at least it's not 30 laps,' I thought.
"Within 1 minute!!"
THAT'S JUST EVIL!! He's making 11-year-olds run 3 laps on a field this size in one minute?!
"Any objections?"
"Sir, I—" Tryo raised his hand.
"I asked for objections, not talking back. You get one extra lap!"
You've got to be kidding…
"Alright, start runn—"
The sound of many footsteps made us turn our heads.
"Huh? Isn't that Class Arthur? Why are they here?"
"They're already in their PE uniforms. Looks like we have class together."
As expected, their class was right next to ours.
I saw Aelith walk past. Our eyes met for a moment before she looked away.
"Ah, our potential rivals are here!" Lucas blurted out, only to be silenced by a glare from Coach Riffon.
Today, Class Charlemagne had Physical Education together with Class Arthur.