This was the final step of Nem's plan to get thrown out of the monastery on a mission. In Nem's opinion, it was quite a great plan, and it didn't even involve any lies. By annoying some instructors and getting on the good side of others, Nem created the image of a troublemaker who was actually quite nice and without ill attentions, and therefore didn't necessitate any drastic punishment.
The real issue was that Nem knew he always sucked at making strategies and preparations and always liked to "wing it" and deal with the issues later. This time though, he couldn't really afford a mistake, and could only count on his luck and the papers and information he had collected during his search.
As for who to annoy and who to please, it was quite an easy choice, as Sunny was naturally following the tradition of PE teachers back on earth, being a petty and arrogant jerk who didn't actually have any skills while Jane and Mr. James were simply too scary to anger.
'Did I mention I hate PE teachers ? Anyways, I'm quite satisfied with this one-hour sex-ed class I just gave.'
He had worked really seriously to memorize and structure what he wanted to teach the children, as this wasn't something he could teach without thinking. It gave Nem newfound respect towards school teachers, except the ones in charge of physiological education, of course. He had even stolen a piece of chalk to draw the reproductive organs.
'The look on their faces is really priceless as well...'
Anyways, the idea was to make the monks realize that they had more to lose keeping him here rather than sending him out on a mission.
'Oh, Mr. Haynes actually just got here when I finished. Haha, he has the same expression as the kids !'
As Nem finished the lesson and spotted the teacher, he almost couldn't hold himself back from laughing. He tried to make a serious expression but couldn't quite erase the smile on his face. After quickly thinking of the risks he took doing this, his face finally adopted the correct expression.
Silence reigned over the classroom as the boy and the teacher stared at each other. Nem's lips twitched from holding his laughter back and Mr. Haynes finally seemed to recover from the shock. He said in a trembling voice :
"You... you, j-just go to your room, t-this..."
At this point, Nem had to tilt his head towards the ground to hide his uncontrollable smile. He walked very fast towards the exit and closed the door behind him. The orphans closest to it could swear they heard someone laughing for a second before silence once again installed itself.
Mr. Haynes ran his hand through his rarefied hair and decided that he was not qualified to deal with this situation. The monastery had quite a non-violent policy towards punishment. The correct approach was to remove benefits except adding punishment, so they were no such things as beatings here. This was in line with the Church of Peace's teachings. At this moment, though, Mr. Haynes felt more open-minded and was quite tempted to "try new things".
***
This incident was quite a big deal for the monks in charge, as the education of these children was of the utmost importance to the future of the church. There was no doubt that if the damage was too big, the responsibility would fall on them.
Nem had anticipated this, and was thus not surprised when he was woken up early by the monk Okof himself.
'They want to evaluate the damage I made. Thankfully, I was very careful not to go too far and also stressed the importance of consent and the fact that it was an activity reserved for adults, even if it's not really true, I suppose.'
Nem stared at the troubled face Okof was making, and asked with an innocent voice :
"Did I do something wrong, uh, Brother Okof ?"
The monk's face twitched, almost like he got stung by a bee.
"Call me Father." He articulated through his teeth. "Come with me, we'll ask you some questions, so you have to be completely honest with us, alright ? This time, it's really important."
Nem nodded, putting on a serious expression, with a bit of perplexity as well. He suddenly seemed a bit scared :
"Is Mr. Clark going to be here as well ? I don't want to, he is scary."
"No, Mr. Clark is away for a few days, don't worry, this doesn't concern him anyways."
Nem let out a real sigh of relief. If Mr. Clark was there and found out he had become a Cursed, the situation would really become grim. If that was the case, he would try to flee directly without bothering with the details, claiming to be traumatized by the man.
'It's not far from the truth, this hallucination was really too scary... I almost got a damn heart attack that time.'
Nem looked towards the monk as they walked. Different from their first meeting, he could see way more things when looking at the old man. He could tell that he wasn't actually annoyed at Nem for calling him Brother, actually his only reaction was indifference. The superior disregard coming from a person in power when looking at a random passer-by on the street.
Nem could see the slightly inflated fingers and ink stains indicative of someone who wrote a lot. He even spotted the slight concern regarding the current situation and the more discreet smell of chemicals emanating from Okof's body.
It was the same way he could spot the strange loneliness coming from the usually ruthless and cheerful Jane Spencer and the earnest interest Mr. James had towards special items. It was part of Nem's Curse, and he couldn't turn this power off even if he wanted to.
Of course, he couldn't directly draw conclusions from those observations, it required a lot more practice on a lot more people. But it was still quite useful.
Soon, they arrived at a large table, with the instructors and a few unknown monks. As Nem scanned through them with his red eyes, he concluded that Okof was the highest authority in the monastery from the various reactions of respect.
He was guided towards one end of the table while the old Okof went to the other. That way, everyone could see both of them easily. Nem felt a bit of pressure and repeated his prepared answers in his mind to pass the time.
The first question came from a stern monk.
"Nem, do you know what you did wrong ?"
'Well, this seems to be more relaxed than I thought.' Nem was presently surprised that they treated him so normally.
"Uh, is this become of what happened in sharing hour yesterday ? But I don't really understand why that would be wrong ? Did I make a mistake ?"
It was the honest truth.
'Sexual education is very important, especially for people entering adolescence like those children.'
The monks shared a helpless look. Some of them had interrogated the children last evening and wrote a report that the rest had already read. The conclusion was that this was completely correct. A few had even admitted to themselves rather embarrassingly that they learned a few things for this report.
The next question came from Okof.
"How did you learn such... precise knowledge ? Did no one tell you that it was a delicate subject ?"
"It's normal to know that much from where I come from. My family said that it was something teenagers should know... Is that wrong ?"
Nem's voice was honest and interrogative. His eyes were a bit embarrassed, like he a child who asked if Santa actually existed.
Father Okof rubbed his wrinkled forehead, seemingly not willing to argue that Nem was only ten and some of the orphans even younger.
Instead, they all started to ask more specific questions, sometimes even requiring Nem to remember the exact words. The instructors watched with strange expressions as their student seemed to have turned into an experienced teacher, although in a slightly special domain.
In the end, they were forced to admit that was Nem did wasn't really that problematic and that most of it was easily fixable with an hour-long conversation. Still, they became a bit reluctant at the idea of letting Nem in contact with the other children.
Who knew exactly what he knew and what was going on in his trouble-making head of his ? This 'special lesson' also clearly reacquired punishment, but since he apparently had the best intentions, it would be unfair to be too harsh...
"We should expel him from the orphanage ! Let him handle himself on his own since he knows so much !"
This vicious suggestion came from Sunny, which finally found a way to make Nem pay for his previous behavior. The boy almost smiled in delight when he heard him.
'All according to keikaku.'
Immediately, a monk who could still think straight interjected.
"Are you insane, we can't do that, it would be too dangerous..." He quickly glanced at Nem and corrected himself. "...For him, he is just a child, we can't abandon him like this." The real reason was of course because Nem knew too many secrets of the church.
Before Sunny could propose silencing him forever, Nem acted like his honor was challenged. He opposed, vexed :
"I can take care of myself on my own. I'm already better than most 14 years old in almost everything." He only seemed to realize what he said just a moment afterward. "Oh but I don't want to be expelled, uh, sorry."
He made himself blush slightly and looked away, embarrassed. Jane, who seemed to melt at the boy's bashful behavior, realized Okof was looking towards her and confirmed his statement.
Suddenly, the old monk seemed to have an epiphany. Nem's eyes shined like bright gems as they stared at him. Finally, the words he waited for came out :
"We can send him on a mission for a few months !"