“Ts······. Damn.”
White smoke billowed from Alexander’s mouth.
Outside the window, students were flocking to school.
Today was the day St. Sophia reopened.
In other words, it was the day new students poured in.
Just watching it made him want to sigh.
“What on earth led me to a place like this······.”
Alexander sighed as he extinguished his cigarette in the ashtray.
Go to St. Sophia.
That was the command he received from the church.
At first, it was just a ‘request’ asking if he could work as a temporary instructor until they found a new teacher for the vacant position at St. Sophia.
When he stubbornly refused, in the end, an order was issued.
“I came here to search for a holy maiden, so why······.”
Frustration surged.
It seemed that the higher-ups in the church thought Alexander was idling around.
Of course, it was true that the search for the holy maiden was currently at a standstill.
Because the hero showed no intention of moving at all······.
However, that was only temporary.
The hero would soon resume the search for the holy maiden.
No, Alexander planned to make that happen.
Yet, the church, unable to wait, tossed Alexander to St. Sophia to take care of kids.
Officially, it was a mission he was assigned alongside the search for the holy maiden, but in reality, it wasn’t much different from a demotion.
“Am I supposed to be considered an authority in this field? Ha. Have all the so-called authorities died? I’m an authority?”
Alexander shook his head in disbelief and opened the lesson materials he had received in advance.
He was assigned to teach history.
If there was any relief, it was that he wasn’t in charge of any particular class.
As he flipped through the pages of the lesson materials, Alexander couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
“How incredibly narrow-minded······.”
The ‘history’ described in the lesson materials was almost close to fabrication.
While it wasn’t to the extent of dressing lies as truths, it was at a level comparable or even worse.
A foolish and indecisive puppet was transformed into a hero, while a true patriot who cared for the nation was recorded as a traitor and betrayer.
For Alexander, who had dealt with almost all the secrets of the world as part of the papal office’s espionage agency, it was ridiculous.
“Still, if I’m told to do it, I have to do it······.”
With a sigh, Alexander closed the materials.
The time of being blinded by the truth and unable to see an inch ahead was long gone.
Even if the history was close to a lie, it was necessary to maintain the system.
He recalled the time when the papal office split, triggering wars and chaos around the world.
After a long civil war, the papal office, reunited, summoned the knights to put an end to the worldwide wars and ultimately brought peace to this era.
To prevent such chaos, it was inevitable for the papal office to govern the whole world with strict discipline.
And maintaining that strict discipline required strong power.
Alexander had believed that and had never once doubted that conviction until this moment.
“Hu······.”
Alexander pulled out the dagger hidden in his sleeve and began to wipe the blade.
He had been living as a sword of the church for nearly 20 years.
Even in times of peace, he had honed and sharpened it daily so that it wouldn’t dull.
He even intentionally drew blood in places where he didn’t need to use a sword.
He believed that there was a need to show the world that his blade was still sharp.
Yet it seemed that the church thought a bit differently.
That was why he was currently stuck in St. Sophia.
The church no longer needed a sharp blade.
Just as Alexander bit down on his lips.
“Whoa!”
“······?!”
The classroom door, which must have been locked, opened with a clatter.
Startled, he saw the thick, metal lock shattered and rolling around on the floor.
“You are······.”
“Mmm?”
A girl with dark black hair, blue eyes, and a half-human hat.
It was a combination that looked familiar.
After staring at the girl’s sparkling eyes for a long time, Alexander finally gave up trying to remember.
“Are you a student from Class 3? This is an unused classroom.”
“I’m sure it’s Class 4······. Oh right! I was originally in Class 3!”
“Okay. Quickly go to Class 3 then.”
“Mmm. But what about you, teacher······.”
“Teacher? Do I look like a teacher?”
“Aren’t you a teacher?”
“That’s true······.”
Alexander tilted his head in confusion while checking his outfit.
Dressed in a black priest’s robe with a cross hanging, he indeed looked like a priest.
However, the fact that she called him a teacher rather than a priest bothered him, but he decided to brush it off.
“The teacher is······ mmm······. Definitely······.”
“Definitely what?”
“Mmm! I don’t know!”
“······.”
Tia, too, felt a sense of déjà vu seeing Alexander, but she ultimately failed to recall him and instead smiled shyly.
“Classes are starting soon. You should hurry to Class 3.”
“Mmm! Thank you! See you later, teacher!”
Tia said with a bright smile while waving her hand and then swiftly disappeared.
Class 3 was in the opposite direction, but before Alexander could say anything, he closed his mouth again.
Turning back to the lectern, Alexander then noticed that the dagger was glinting sharply.
However, thinking back to how the girl had no reaction, it seemed she hadn’t seen the dagger after all.
What a relief.
Realizing he had narrowly escaped being kicked out of the job he had gotten due to demotion in just a day, Alexander sighed in relief.
‘What a crazy psycho teacher!’
Meanwhile, Tia was running away breathlessly.
A teacher carrying a dagger and sharpening it at school.
She had never heard of such a lunatic.
Tia decided to add that seemingly neat and handsome priestly teacher to her list of people to be cautious of.
*
“Arrived!”
After circling the building, Tia confidently opened the door to Class 3 for the first year.
With a loud bang, the entire classroom shook for a moment, drawing all eyes to Tia.
The children looked at Tia with surprised eyes but soon redirected their gazes and resumed their previous conversations.
Feeling awkward, Tia examined the door.
Surely, it hadn’t made such a loud noise when she opened it earlier······.
It seemed the door of the adjacent classroom was much stiffer.
“So many children!”
After quickly scanning the classroom, Tia exclaimed in excitement.
Being among so many peers.
It was beginning to feel so joyful.
“Mmm. No way.”
But then, recalling that arrogant boy she had met at the entrance ceremony, Tia’s expression hardened.
She never wanted to see that brat again.
Tia scanned the classroom, looking at each child’s face until she was assured that the blonde, rude boy was not there.
It seemed that kid had been assigned to a different class.
“Ah!”
As Tia looked around the classroom, her gaze fixed on one spot.
The tall, beautiful demon she had seen at the entrance ceremony.
She noticed her sitting quietly with her long, dark-red horns on display.
That beautiful person is my homeroom teacher.
Just as she was lost in that thought, Tia realized that the demon was sitting at the very back of the classroom.
“Mmm······?”
Tia rubbed her eyes, wondering if she had seen wrong, and opened them again.
Still, that demon was somehow sitting all alone at the back, resting her chin on her hand.
With a body size akin to an adult, among girls and boys······.
Wondering if that large figure was a student, Tia pondered.
At that moment, she remembered having heard that demons grow much faster than humans or half-humans.
Her interest piqued.
Tia immediately dashed over to the back seat and placed her backpack next to the demon girl.
“I am Tia!”
“······.”
Tia shouted loudly, her hand extended toward the demon, requesting a handshake.
But the demon girl’s red eyes briefly gazed at Tia’s hand and then turned away, appearing uninterested.
An unfriendly response right from the start.
Tia felt a bit flustered and awkwardly withdrew her hand.
Does she not like me?
Perhaps she was the type that found everything in the world annoying, like her butler brother.
“Don’t like handshakes? Then can you tell me your name?”
“······.”
Still, there was no answer.
Tia puffed her cheeks and plopped down in her seat.
Although she felt upset, her pride wouldn’t allow her to move to another spot.
Somehow, she was determined to make that beautiful girl speak.
Just as Tia was clenching her fist in resolve, the door swung open again.
“Are all the first years here? Ugh, what’s this? Why’s the door moving all ruckus? Who broke the door? Who’s it?”
The one who entered was a young-looking human woman.
Wearing gym clothes with her hair tied back, she had an expression that conveyed utter annoyance and was resting a wooden club on her shoulder.
While she examined the door with a serious expression, Tia felt the need to shrink back and shiver.
I didn’t do anything wrong.
It’s the door’s fault for being weak.
Tia kept repeating that in her head.
“Eh. It’s fine. Welcome, new students. Did everyone hold hands with their mothers and come here? Should we count? One, two, three, raccoon······. No one’s missing. Good. I’m Yuli, your homeroom teacher! You all haven’t seen me before, right? So let’s do some self-introductions to get familiar with each other. Let’s start from the front row, one by one.”
As Yuli pointed with her club, a student scurried to the front.
Meanwhile, Tia recalled the self-introduction her mother had taught her.
I am Tia.
My real name is Tiamat, and I like ice cream.
Absolutely not a half-blood born between a dragon and a human, but a lizard half-human.
‘Done. Perfect.’
She had memorized it perfectly without leaving out a word.
Filled with confidence, Tia decided to listen to the self-introduction of the child standing in front of the lectern.
That girl, still seeming unfamiliar with the classroom, awkwardly stepped forward after taking a deep breath and spoke.
“Ah, hello! My name is Lena. My race is a lizard half-human and······.”
“······?!”
Tia’s eyes widened.
Since there weren’t any lizard half-humans in this world, even if someone pretended to be one, no one would know.
Her entire plan was falling apart.
Tia wore an expression as if the world had crumbled around her.
