It is the teacher’s duty to guide the child back on the right path when they go astray.
Jacqueline Carroll, who graduated top of her class from the gifted teacher education curriculum at Sephiron Foundation.
When she received a call from the head of the middle school division, her face was filled with worry.
The news was that two elementary students were mimicking smoking with their wands.
And of course, one of them was NoName.
In Jackie’s eyes, NoName was a bit of a unique child compared to other geniuses.
While showing no interest in class, she was quite satisfied with her life at the academy, which was certainly a peculiarity.
Perhaps because of this, she voluntarily refused to skip grades and, despite her rapidly growing fame, continued to hang out with her friends.
Furthermore, during practical classes, she even helped the teacher control the mischievous children.
Instead of being a headache, she could be considered a favorable student.
However, she couldn’t shake the thought that NoName could be a bit too much for her to handle.
Jackie was a rookie teacher who had just entered her second year in the profession.
She was deeply troubled about how to manage a child who had already surpassed the limits of what she could teach.
[Although she doesn’t always show it outwardly, this child lives with a big scar inside. She has a tendency to recklessly rush into dangerous situations, so I hope you keep a close eye on her. And if Na-me behaves in ways that defy common sense, please don’t be swayed by her and firmly guide her.]
Professor Cheon’s earnest words lingered in her mind.
Jackie received the message of Professor Cheon’s wish for Na-me to lead an ordinary life.
After the incident in early semester when Na-me used a Level 4 spell without permission, she discovered that Na-me had caused trouble once again.
“No, even if it’s not smoking! Don’t you know using magic on school grounds is prohibited? And you, as a friend! If a friend is doing something bad, you should stop them! Were you just standing there and watching? Oh, hello, are you the homeroom teacher for these students?”
“Yes, yes. I’m Jacqueline Carroll, the homeroom teacher for 2nd Grade A Class.”
“It’s a problem with the homeroom teacher too. Haven’t you noticed that kids are fooling around in the corner of the academy until now?”
“When you say fooling around…?”
Cough…!
In between the two, Na-me awkwardly cleared her throat.
A bit of the hazy mana still in a steam state seeped out of Na-me’s mouth.
The year-head realized that raising his voice in front of the kids would not help and decided to delegate the issue to Jackie.
“What if external visitors see such disgraceful behavior in the academy? I trust you will handle it well, so I’ll be on my way. You all, don’t play around here in this secluded area; go play on the playground, got it?”
Once he finished his words, the year-head elegantly hopped over the wall and disappeared.
When Jackie glared at Na-me and Johan, each of them showed different reactions.
While Johan trembled in fear, Na-me’s gaze was directed at the distant mountain.
‘What? Is she thinking “try and scold me” or something?’
Considering it was an academy that taught magic, the teachers, including Jacqueline Carroll, were generally strict with the children.
“Can you tell me what you did wrong, directly to the teacher?”
However, such strictness didn’t work on NoName.
Instead, Na-me pushed Johan forward.
“Johan, you go back to class first.”
“…?”
“You didn’t do anything wrong. Don’t worry; I’ll explain it well to the teacher.”
“But…”
“Go on.”
Na-me sent Johan away from the uncomfortable situation.
‘Na-me really defends her friends even in situations like this.’
Suddenly, Na-me pointed towards the entrance of the building where Johan had entered and spoke.
“Actually, Johan did something wrong first.”
An entirely unexpected response popped out.
*
To convince the rest of the class that the one who confessed to me wasn’t Johan, the teacher’s role was crucial.
In the end, Jackie had no choice but to tell her everything that had just happened to scout for a target to share the blame.
And since she had said it would be a secret just to her friends, it wasn’t technically breaking any promises.
“Oh, Na-me must have been a bit flustered after being suddenly confessed to…! So that’s why you were trying to comfort Johan?”
“Kind of.”
Jackie muttered that kids these days are really quick.
“Nevertheless, Na-me. Just by teaching them similar behavior, I think it could spark a fascination with smoking. You’re smart, so you understand what I’m saying, right?”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Then you acknowledge that you did something wrong?”
The conversation seemed to take a strange turn, so I hesitated to answer for a moment.
“Na-me, didn’t you really do anything wrong? I don’t think so…”
“Teacher, do you remember a few months ago when I was really unwell and had to drink potion liquids every day? Actually, I forced myself to change it to steam form to drink it then. If you still think I did something wrong after that, I’ll accept it…”
Jackie’s opinion was not entirely wrong.
However, I had not committed any illegal acts and had even received special permission from the former principal to use magic below Level 2 freely.
If Johan ends up smoking in a few years because of this incident, I can scold him then, right? There’s no need to pick on innocent people now.
“Huh?”
I desperately shot Jackie a pleading look, trying to convey my grievance.
Jackie turned her head away, avoiding my gaze. She was tougher than I thought.
After some time of worrying, she suddenly slapped her cheeks and issued an ultimatum.
“Did it work?”
“Na-me.”
“Yes?”
“First, can you hand that over to the teacher?”
“Ah…”
The operation had failed.
I had tried to draw attention to the topic of smoking, but she wasn’t fooled.
“You know that bringing wands into the classroom is also prohibited, right?”
“Yes…”
“I’ll return your wand when I leave school later. Just don’t bring it to the academy next time. And after today’s classes, go find the gym teacher and clean the auditorium together, then I’ll forgive you completely. It’s a promise!”
“Yes…”
The tenacious Jackie had even taken my pinky finger away and puffed out her cheeks as if she had accomplished something.
“Great! Let’s go to class, Na-me! It’s the dueling practice you love the most, right?”
I grimaced in response.
“Sure… I just wish there was an hour of dueling practice every single day…”
How I wish there could be a time when I could cook the children to my taste every day.
“Shall I suggest that? To increase it to five hours a week?”
She asked me with a serene smile.
It seemed maybe she was trying to lighten up my mood after scolding me.
I seized the golden opportunity and jumped at it.
“Oh, that sounds…! Like a great idea. However, five hours might be too little; how about seven hours…?”
“I’ll bring it up at the next teachers’ meeting for sure!”
“Yes!”
*
It was autumn.
A little demon descended upon Sephiron Academy.
“2nd Grade A Class! I think I need to go quickly since the vice principal is calling for me, so please stay put as we still have about 20 minutes left in class, alright?”
“Don’t worry, teacher. I’ll take good care of them.”
“Okay, Na-me, since you’re our class physical education leader, it would be great if you kept an eye on the kids. I’ll leave the keys here, so when the bell rings, don’t forget to lock the gym door.”
“Sure. Be careful.”
The only hero capable of defeating the demon had vanished without a trace.
Once Na-me confirmed that the homeroom teacher had flown far away on her tiptoes, she picked up the key that was lying on the floor.
Clink-
After perfectly sealing the gym entrance, a chilling silence enveloped the vast space.
Brave Seo Yu-na dashed over to ask her why.
“Na-me, why are you locking the door…? Huh? We worked so hard in class, so we can take a break now, right?”
“Seo Yu-na, can you do a handstand with one hand now?”
“Uh… no. You showed me today; how could I do that right away?”
“Then you should follow me.”
Na-me shook her head and shoved Yu-na along, making her way to the center of the auditorium.
Various small moans echoed all around.
Handling aura originally required physical effort too.
Thus, the children who practiced covering their bodies with aura had all collapsed on the cold floor, each complaining of different pains.
Some complained of numb limbs, others of a sore back, and yet others of a hurting backside.
Bam-!
“…!”
Na-me stomped her right foot forcefully down, eliminating all the noise.
All the children glared at her with wide eyes.
At first, there was a delightful thrill from learning aura from the teacher and Na-me.
The sensation of feeling light like a trip to the moon must have been a novel experience for the kids too.
‘What the heck is she going to do this time!’
‘Please, let’s stop!’
But excessive usage put a strain on the body.
Somehow, Na-me skillfully gauged each child’s limits, torturing them gradually by switching exercises whenever their arms began to feel numb.
“Is everyone done with their warm-up? Shall we start slowly?”
Na-me swung her arms around, drawing the aura up.
But that was just the entire warm-up.
“Seo Yu-na, to your position.”
“To… position!”
“Handstand.”
“Ugh!”
Thanks to her specialized training during the break, Yu-na had flawlessly executed her two-arm handstand.
“It’s naturally difficult to hold with just one arm. There’s no need to give up too quickly. Let’s gradually increase the intensity. Hurry up and follow my lead; I’ll check your posture.”
“…”
“If anyone can’t do a handstand, you won’t be eating lunch today.”
It just so happened to be the fourth period, right before lunchtime.
Watching the children fall repeatedly as they tried to stand in a handstand, Na-me couldn’t help but smirk.
“Na-me, I did it with one hand…! Oh nooo!”
“Too bad! Let’s try again, Yu-na.”
Even thousand-mile journeys begin with a single step.
Na-me’s special training had just begun.
