“My race is Lizard half-human…”
In the midst of the self-introduction.
Tia was busily scanning the entire body of the child who claimed to be a Lizard half-human with a rather serious expression.
As scales peeked slightly from the collar of the child’s clothing, Tia hurriedly adjusted her own neck.
However, instead of rough scales, only smooth flesh could be felt.
And after confirming the tail that protruded from the modified skirt, Tia secretly brought her hand to her own buttocks to touch her tail.
Of course, its appearance, texture, and color were all different from that child’s.
‘Emergency!!!’
Cold sweat was trickling down Tia’s forehead.
No matter how she looked at it, that child was too different from her.
Aside from the fact that they both had tails, their commonalities were almost non-existent.
Should she really go out in front and introduce herself as a Lizard half-human?
Tia’s six-month-old brain began to work frantically.
“I’m Taylor. I’m a human…”
From the front row, the children began to step forward one by one to continue their self-introductions.
Strange half-humans, elves, and various races that Tia had never seen before stood in front of her.
But no information was entering Tia’s ears.
She was simply shivering in nervousness, waiting for her turn like a cow led to the slaughterhouse.
All the thoughts she had been considering were forgotten.
Before long, Tia’s mind had become a blank canvas.
The gaze of the demon girl sitting next to her occasionally turned toward Tia.
“Yawn. Hey there. Stop talking. The self-introduction isn’t over yet. Next is the back row, right? You, the one in the hood. Come on out.”
“Muu…!”
Finally, it was Tia’s turn.
Tia confidently answered the call, knocked her chair over as she stood up.
She must not show any signs of nervousness.
No matter what happened, she must not appear flustered and must be dignified.
Those were her mother’s words.
Thinking about those words, Tia slowly took her steps.
‘What is that?’
In response to her demeanor, the homeroom teacher, Yuli, flinched and trembled while yawning.
She was making a fuss, trying to look intimidating, with a scrunched-up face.
With her shoulders broad, she seemed to be trying to threaten them.
And her proud steps.
It was definitely a cute appearance that should make anyone laugh just by looking at it.
But no laughter came at all.
Instead, Yuli had to tremble with the chilling sensation.
‘Aura…?’
She was a former knight, now retired due to injury sustained in battle, working as an instructor in a training center.
Many aspiring knights had passed through her, and although talented ones were rare, she had seen enough to know how to recognize them.
That girl was exuding the spirit of a born warrior.
Even the most talented individuals would only learn to emit an aura after being driven to their limits, evoking extreme anger in them due to parental pressures.
What on earth was that girl angry about?
Yuli felt the old injury in her knee throbbing and instinctively stepped back.
“Hmm…”
At last, Tia stood in front of the podium and took a deep breath.
From now on was crucial.
Tia promised to showcase everything she had devised with her outstanding mind without reservation at this moment.
“I am Tia. Tiamat. Nice to meet you! My age is… Muu… uh… A secret! And I’m a Lizard half-human!”
“……?”
Tia shouted boldly.
At that cry, the students’ gazes, momentarily startled, converged on Tia.
It was a declaration that woke them from their doze.
Tia, who had been standing with her hand on her waist, realized her mistake after about three seconds and blushed.
“M-Muh! No! I’m a Lizard half-human! I misspoke! Er, uh? I look really different from that Lizard half-human over there, right? Don’t you all think so?”
“……?”
No one thought so.
Among half-humans, there were countless rare breeds and subspecies.
Nonetheless, Tia, dripping in cold sweat, desperately continued her already concluded explanation.
“Why is my tail black and hard? Th-That’s! I’m a special Lizard half-human! It’s absolutely not because I’m the child of a dragon!”
“……”
Suddenly lifting her skirt to show her tail, Tia spoke.
Until she revealed it, no one even knew she had a tail.
No one asked, and no one was curious, but she poured her heart into presenting unnecessary information.
“And also! This horn! T-Tia has it because she’s a special Lizard! It’s definitely not like a dragon’s horn! It’s a powerful and special trait of a Lizard!”
“……”
Isn’t that a dragon?
The students began to murmur to each other, getting restless.
“I’m not a hybrid born of a dragon and a human! Don’t misunderstand, everyone! My self-introduction is over! I wanna go back!”
“Wow…”
After passionately finishing her introduction, Tia returned to her seat sweating profusely.
Tia walked back proudly, receiving a shower of applause.
She had successfully convinced them.
She had slipped past everyone without anyone discovering her being a dragon’s child.
Believing firmly that she was a Lizard half-human, a smile involuntarily spread across her face.
‘I’m a dragon’s child.’
‘So I’m a dragon-human hybrid.’
‘How fascinating. I’ve never seen dragon bloodline before.’
Of course, Tia had no way of knowing that her persuasion had not taken root at all.
Yuli and the students clapped with hollow expressions while following Tia with their eyes.
Little did they expect to see a dragon-human hybrid in front of them, a being only told in legends.
For a brief moment of surprise, at Saint Sophia, where all sorts of unique races and species gathered, they decided to simply shrug it off.
“Then there’s just one left. Step forward…”
Yuli, who had calmed the brief commotion, turned her head toward the back-row window seat, trailing off at the end of her sentence.
A tall, gorgeous woman with an elegant appearance that clashed with the classroom full of children.
Yuli could hardly suppress a deep sigh that seemed about to burst forth.
Though there weren’t many demons in this school, most of them were problematic.
Even if they weren’t problematic, discrimination and bullying against demons occurred frequently at Saint Sophia.
Either way, the homeroom teacher had taken on a troublesome burden.
This year, a demon had enrolled, and it just had to be under her care.
Yuli had to strive to keep a friendly expression on her face.
“……”
The demon woman slowly rose, silently sliding her chair back with her eyes closed.
Though she had heard all demons were barbaric, every movement of hers exuded a disciplined elegance.
As she stood before the podium, surveying the classroom with her cold gaze, the children fell silent in an instant.
It was as if she could make people see her as the homeroom teacher of this class.
After a moment of silently staring at Tia, she parted her lips.
“Ha-wa-wa… I-I’m Turi… I’m 8 years old… D-Do I have to say my race…?”
“……”
Her voice echoed in the classroom, trembling.
It was a voice like that of a three-year-old child.
Yuli and the students stood frozen, astonished.
…
“Damn.”
Why was I clinging to the school bars like this?
Suddenly hit by a moment of enlightenment, I lost all strength in my body.
“Neh!”
Eventually, I fell into the bushes.
Ah. I hadn’t intended for this to happen.
Tia’s class was located in the back of the building, almost near the bars, and it was on the second floor, so I thought I might be able to see the class from outside, and I rushed to the back of the school.
But who would have thought the thorny vines wrapped around the bars would obstruct my view…?
Anyway, getting hurt was fine, so I took off my shoes and stockings, carefully crawled up the bars to avoid snagging on my clothes, but with my current strength, climbing up the bars was impossible.
“Hah…”
When I raised my hand, it was covered in blood clots.
My feet were the same.
I looked more than a bit, no, very shabby.
No matter how worried I was about Tia, this was too much.
I decided to stop before I got branded as a troublesome parent.
It was just as I stood up, shaking off the dirt from my knees.
“Mm?”
“……”
I bumped into someone.
A shadowy figure in a black outfit hanging near the bars.
In an instant of panic, I couldn’t even speak properly.
How suspicious for an outsider to be snooping around the school like that.
Just as I was considering whether to alert the school’s security, he approached me and removed his hood.
“Yuli-ya?”
“You are…?”
Green short hair.
It was such a distinctive hairstyle that I recognized him immediately.
He was the contractor who had handed me the metal token and vanished without a word.
I think his name was Sailor Moon or something like that.
“But what are you doing here?”
“U-Um…”
Sailor seemed flustered, avoiding eye contact.
Was he up to something suspicious?
Thinking back, it was a clear case of recklessness, but I couldn’t overcome my curiosity and pressed Sailor.
“Well, um… Ah. Would you like to take a look inside the classroom with me?”
“Huh? I’d love to.”
Enthralled, I immediately accepted.
As Sailor extended a hand, a square screen appeared, starting to show the scenery inside the building beyond the bars and school walls.
“Oh wow…”
It was hard to see, so I moved a bit closer to Sailor.
I could watch Tia in class.
I was immensely excited, my body heating up.
I felt as though I was forgetting something, but it didn’t matter.
I could see Tia stepping onto the stage of school life for the first time in front of other kids without me.
“What! Turn left there! Yes! That classroom!”
“Right here, right?”
“O-Oh! I see her! It’s Tia!”
Finally, Tia started to become visible.
I couldn’t contain my excitement and pinched Sailor’s shoulder, bouncing up and down.
What was going on? Was she giving her self-introduction?
Her nervous face was so cute it felt like I was going insane.
As I pressed my face against the screen, I felt Sailor trembling occasionally beside me.
It kept happening, causing the screen to shake, so I rested my chin on Sailor’s shoulder for stability.
This was much better.
“Uh?”
“Let’s run away.”
“Wh-What?!”
Suddenly, the screen went black, and Sailor vanished in a flash.
He just left like that?
How could he abandon adorable and precious Tia?
Maybe Sailor didn’t have a heart.
Just as I was lamenting this disappointment.
“I detected a magic event. Please stop there.”
“Ah?!”
Suddenly, an unknown force pressed against my body, causing me to kneel.
A bright light shot directly toward me.
I covered my eyes, slowly seeing the silhouette of a man approaching.
At last, his face came into clear view.
“The writer from the Ryuba Tavern?”
“Hey! I’m not a writer anymore!”
It was the Ninja Priestess.
As soon as he recognized my face, his expression twisted.
