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After finishing his meeting with Haruno Yukinoshita, Lucian returned to his desk.
Knock, knock.
Someone tapped on the office door again.
"Come in," Lucian said, setting down his teacup.
The door opened, and two beautiful girls in Sobu High uniforms stepped inside.
Walking in front was Class 1-B's class president—a gentle girl with long black hair and a distinctive little "horn" sticking up from the top of her hairstyle: Ran Mouri.
Behind her was the transfer student with chestnut-colored hair and a mischievous grin—Xia Mi.
Watching Xia Mi trail in like a clingy tagalong, Lucian raised an eyebrow. "Mouri, I remember calling you here through the intercom to ask about the class situation. Why did Xia Mi come along too?"
Xia Mi didn't act shy at all. She skipped up to the desk, hands clasped behind her back, leaning forward with a bright smile. "Teacher, did you forget already? This morning in class, I won the election to be your math representative with sheer passion and overwhelming strength! If the class president is here to report, it's only natural for me, the class rep, to tag along and help pour tea, right?"
Lucian rolled his eyes internally at this shameless "First Generation Dragon King."
Pour tea? If he actually let her near the water dispenser, the thing probably wouldn't survive the day.
Still, no point hitting someone who came in smiling. He didn't expose her nonsense. Instead, he pointed at the chairs beside him. "Fine, since you're here, sit down. Mouri, as class president, I'm not very familiar with our class's academic performance yet. Give me a quick overview."
Ran sat down obediently, pulling a report sheet from her folder. Her voice was gentle, clear, and well-organized.
"Teacher Lucian, Class 1-B ranks among the top in the entire grade. Especially Xia Mi—although she's a transfer student, she's consistently ranked first in every test since enrolling. She almost always scores full marks in every subject."
Hearing that, Lucian glanced at Xia Mi.
Xia Mi, off to the side, was nodding like crazy.
"And what about Yukinoshita?" Lucian asked casually.
"Miss Yukinoshita works very hard and her grades are excellent, but…" Ran glanced at the smug Xia Mi beside her and gave a wry smile. "She's always just a few points behind Xia Mi, so she's been ranked second in the grade for a long time."
"And the rest?"
"The others…" Ran hesitated, her voice growing quieter. "Kato Megumi's scores are very balanced—she passes every subject, but just barely. Sawamura does very well in English, but her math is a complete disaster. As for Takanashi… she turned in a blank math test last week. She said the numbers were cursed runes sealing the Evil Eye and couldn't be solved…"
The more she spoke, the softer her voice became. Clearly, even she was a little overwhelmed by this group of wildly different personalities.
"Got it." Lucian rubbed his temples. This really was a problem class through and through.
He cleared his throat and leaned forward slightly, his tone turning more serious, like a proper old-school teacher.
"Besides grades, as the homeroom teacher, I also need to pay attention to students' mental well-being. Mouri… ahem, is there any… early dating going on in the class?"
At the words "early dating," Ran's pure and gentle face instantly flushed red.
This karate captain—basically a humanoid Gundam—turned out to be unexpectedly innocent when it came to romance.
"Um… everyone in the class is pretty focused on studying and club activities, so for now… for now, there haven't been any obvious cases of that."
"Really?"
Xia Mi immediately leaned in, eyes sparkling mischievously as she looked at Lucian.
"Teacher, you're so concerned about whether the girls are taken… are you worried they're already spoken for? Or are you planning to take advantage of being young and handsome at nineteen and start a forbidden teacher-student romance? How about me?"
Thunk.
Lucian casually rolled up the attendance book on his desk and gave her a light tap on the head.
"Stop asking nonsense. This is part of a homeroom teacher's responsibility. If I don't prevent problems early, should I wait until your grades are affected?"
Though the hit wasn't hard, Xia Mi still clutched her head dramatically, sticking out her tongue with a pitiful look.
After asking a few more questions about discipline and cleaning duties, Lucian waved his hand. "Alright, I've got a general idea now. Class is about to start—head back."
"Okay, Teacher. Goodbye." Ran bowed politely.
"Oh, right, Mouri," Lucian suddenly called out. "Do you know someone named Kudo Shinichi? Or maybe an elementary schooler named Edogawa Conan?"
"I do… he was a neighbor when I was little, but I haven't seen him since elementary school." Ran thought for a moment. "Conan… I don't know him. Is something wrong, sensei?"
"Hmm… nothing." Lucian nodded. "You can go."
"Bye, teacher~ If you need someone to pour tea next time, remember to call me!" Xia Mi waved cheerfully as she followed Ran out.
Watching them leave, Lucian picked up his teacup and took a sip, about to organize his lesson plans.
Click.
The office door opened again.
This time, it was Yukino Yukinoshita.
It seemed she had deliberately waited in the hallway until she was sure Ran and Xia Mi were gone before choosing this moment to come in.
The office was still empty except for Lucian. Yukino closed the door behind her and walked over on her long, straight legs. Her cool, beautiful face carried a rare trace of tension and curiosity.
"Yukinoshita? What brings you here?" Lucian asked, though he already knew.
Yukino took a deep breath. Her icy blue eyes fixed directly on him as she got straight to the point.
"Teacher Lucian, I heard from Teacher Hiratsuka… my sister came to see you just now. What… did she say to you?"
Though Yukino tried to maintain her usual calm, the way her fingers clenched tightly betrayed her inner unease.
She knew her sister far too well.
If Haruno had figured out the truth about her staying out all night… or even discovered what had happened between her and Lucian… with Haruno's personality, she would definitely blow the whole thing wide open.
Seeing the girl looking like a kitten nervously stepping on the edge of a minefield, Lucian didn't tease her.
Instead, he calmly pulled open a drawer, took out the thick kraft envelope Haruno had given him earlier, and placed it lightly on the desk.
"Your sister… she's quite the generous one."
He tapped the envelope and curled his lips into a meaningful smile.
"She gave me thirty thousand and asked me to take good care of you for a while… and protect you from those 'evil things.'"
"W-What?!"
Yukino froze, her beautiful eyes wide with disbelief.
"....."