***The Junior Level Dormitories, the Conclave***
For Lady Srexe, her day would always begin once she decided to get up her bed.
"…"
However, it was difficult for her to pull herself from the comfort of the soft bedsheets and warm blankets the embraced her body. As someone who was not expecting much from her school—even dreading it at times, the goblin noble lady would rather remain lying down than going to her classes. But, as the other option could lead to her dropping out of the Conclave, she knew she had no other choice besides dragging herself to come to school.
"…"
She would waste a few moments of her time preparing that included eating her 'breakfast', washing her face, and wearing her scholar's uniform. The goblin girl would deliberately move slowly, as she savored every second that she was in the safety of her own dormitory room. Once ready, Lady Srexe would encourage herself, in anticipation of another 'hellish' experience in the school she'd rather call 'hell'. Her small sling bag, though it was stuffed with some notebooks, remained unopened; she would just leave it at its spot after coming from her classes, and pick it up whenever she went out.
Discouragement after discouragement made the 'luster' of education dim in her eyes.
"…"
Nevertheless, what kept Lady Srexe from completely giving up was her pride as a goblin, trying to salvage her reputation after declaring 'rivalry' against one of the Conclave's greatest living students—the Princess Noir of House Usarved.
Although for humans, 'student rivalries' are trivial matters; in Cherflammen, it is a different issue. A demon's reputation for life rests in their words and deeds. If she gives up, then it will stick on her name forever…staining the Red Goblins for eternity.
"…"
Just as what she always expected every day, Lady Srexe came upon her locker full of vandals. Words like 'idiot', 'loser', and 'failure' were scrawled at her locker's door, and it's not just simple pens—the ones her bullies used were magic writing instruments, designed to not be easily erased. From the corners of her eyes, she could tell that the ones who did this were having fun watching her.
"…"
However, as someone who was already infamous, Lady Srexe knew that the teachers would never listen to her complaints even if she asked for their help. And since those idiots always do this, intending to make her appear as the villain in the end, she would just let it pass.
Nothing good will happen if she fight, anyway.
The goblin girl let out a sigh, pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket, dabbed it in water, and tried to remove the vandals. It was a futile effort though, and she quickly gave up. Undaunted, Lady Srexe just unlocked her locker, took the things she needed, and was about to close the door when…
"!!!" the goblin girl almost jumped in shock when a fist hit her locker, bending the door out of its shape.
It was the orc girl, Tama'lee. As the orcs' physical strength was unequalled, even among the demons, it's like she was punching a piece of paper. "Good day, Srex!" she greeted the goblin girl as if nothing happened.
"You just broke my locker's door!" Lady Srexe protested.
"Oh? Tama did?"
"Can't you realize it?" Lady Srexe was getting annoyed. "Now I can't lock it! Where would I put my things then?"
"Ahehehe…" the orc girl forced out a laugh, trying to act innocent.
"What's with you?" the goblin girl couldn't hide her irritation. "You suddenly punched it!"
"Eh, Tama didn't like what she's read," Tama'lee explained. "Want it replaced with a new one?"
At that moment, Lady Srexe fell silent. She suddenly realized, the orc girl must've intended to do that, destroying the locker door because the ugly messages couldn't be removed, thus forcing the school to replace it with a clean, new one.
"You really destroyed this!" she accused Tama'lee, though her tone was going soft on her friend.
"What is Srexe saying? Tama just wants to greet her friend!"
"Hmm…alright," though the orc girl may not noticed it, Lady Srexe's face was flustered. The goblin girl was thinking that, even if Tama'lee could be stupid at times, she could really be perceptive of other people's feelings. The goblin muttered, "Th-Thank you…"
"Eh? It's not a problem, Srex!" Tama'lee smiled like she always did. "Let's go to class!"
----------
**Greg**
"Ah, and with that, our lesson about the life of the hero, Lady Cassandra David, is over for today. Do you have questions?"
"Sir?"
"Yes, Scholar uh…Bonaccie?"
"Well, it's more of a statement rather than a question, Special Scholar Sir," the demon guy who raised his hand stood up. "We just can't believe that you're our hero's teacher from her younger past."
"You can always test me if you like," I challenged him.
"Ah no, please don't take my words as an offense, Special Scholar Sir," my student shook his head. "I mean, we believe your words. But there's still this 'surreal' feeling inside us while watching and hearing you talk. Lady Cassandra David lived in a time even our grandparents confined to history, yet here you are—someone who nurtured the ideals of our hero, walking amidst the very halls she created."
The rest of my class were nodding in agreement to Scholar Bonaccie's statements.
Well, it's not like I'm a stranger to their sentiments. See, if I may say, Cassandra David—no, Alexa—was a 'larger-than-life' figure to every demon out there: dead or alive. She's on the same pedestal as her companion, Lord Jimmy Nee Rubinforth, Lady Madelaine's ancestor, though Alexa's more popular here than in Chersea. And I, her old teacher from Earth, am still alive and talking to these young demon kids about their revered hero's life.
I can tell that they treat me as a 'living history'.
"…"
Heh, you rarely see that anywhere…not even on Earth.
"Heh…" I smirked, "And how's the experience, having a person who walked side-by-side with your hero, as your teacher?"
"Honestly, Sir?" Scholar Bonaccie's face was surprised. Then he looked around the room, as if he was wary about something.
"Yep, you can be honest with me." Well, I found it odd when he did that; nevertheless, I gave him the reassurance that he could be open with me. After all, it was my policy even with my students back on Earth.
The demon scholar smiled, "I'd say it is a good experience. Compared to the other teachers, your way of teaching is easier to understand. And to think, I used to hate history subjects before…"
"Scholar Bonaccie's right," another student backed him. "I also thought that history is a bore fest; I didn't know it can be taught in another, lively, way."
Soon enough, a chorus of affirmation from my students echoed inside our classroom. Of course, as a teacher, hearing those were music to my ears. Not only it meant that my methods were 'correct', it also told me that my 'edge' as an educator wasn't lost all this time that I'm here in this world…or worlds.
"Alright guys! Enough of the praises; you're only going to make my ear grow big," I chuckled. "But anyway, thank you for the appreciation. To express my gratitude to your generous praise, please bring out a quarter sheet of paper. We'll be having a mini-quiz to test what you learned today."
I expected the demon students to air their disappointed groans the moment I told them there was a test. However, much to my surprise, they just followed my instructions, all without the usual begging to their seatmate to give them paper, or to let them borrow a pen. I couldn't help but to admire the dedication and the sense of responsibility the scholars of the Conclave displayed.
A far cry from my unruly, and a bit irresponsible, students from Earth. Those kids are the complete opposite of these demon children.
"Okay, so I guess everyone is ready?"
"Yes, Sir!"
"Nice. My test is only from item one to twenty. I'll read the questions for you, so you better listen up well. Answers are only one word long. Got questions about the directions?"
"We have none, Sir!"
"Alright then, let's begin! Question one…"
----------
I could say that the demon education system was advanced in some aspects than what I remembered from my old school on Earth. One of the best examples of these was the way the demon educators gauge the knowledge they imparted to their students. See, back there, we check our 'mini' quizzes by having our students exchange papers with their seatmates. In the Conclave, however, each of the teaching scholars were given a device designed to check the answers, as well as show the scores. Powered by magic, a teacher would just collect the test papers, place those inside the device, input that key to corrections, and leave it to be checked by their 'machine'.
The entire process would only take a minute to finish.
Well, we did have apps that do similar functions back on Earth. However, it was not officially supported by our education system; those old hags that run our public schools would rather have us checked the papers manually instead of a computer, adding work to us overworked educators.
"…"
Ah, I'd rather forget those stupid people. Anyway, when the quiz ended, it revealed that out of my class of 35 students, 92% or 32 of them passed my quiz.
"Nice…" Even I couldn't believe the results. I mean, I'm used to a 75%-85% passing rate, but never once in my teaching career of six years did I achieve such percentage before.
Now I'm wondering if I unconsciously made the questions easy for them…
Nevertheless, I'm still thankful my students learned something from me.
The bell rang just as I was cleaning up my desk. Just to give context, the bell that was sounded was meant for the scholar's break, as the Conclave had 'breaks' in-between the subjects. According to my co-teachers, this was instituted by Lady Cassandra David herself to allow the scholars to rest their minds before the next class.
I can't help but to think that it's only Alexa forcing her own ideals in studying. She would always ask me before why we won't give them at least 'an hour' of break before each subject.
"…"
Of course, if it's me, I'd allow it. After all, an average human mind could only fully focus for 45 minutes. However, the lack of classrooms, schools and teachers forced us in the public education sector to make compromises…like a 'two-class-in-a-day' arrangement.
----------
Anyway, returning to my present classroom, my students stood up and said their farewells to me, just as I encouraged them to take their well-deserved breaks. However, the moment I exited the door…
"…"
"…"
I turned and asked the three demon students who went out of the classroom and closely followed me, "Uh…can you guys tell me why are you following me? Isn't it forbidden for you to come out, unless it's lunch?"
"What are you saying, Sir?" one of them, Lady Srexe, the goblin girl who challenged me to a duel before, countered. "It's not like we came out and followed you on our whims."
"Ha?"
"You said it before; did you forget?" she countered. "You're going to talk to me after class about helping me!"
"No, I did not say that. What I told you is that we're going to talk about your situation once I have no class and other paper works. Also, what are these other two doing with you?"
"Let Tama'lee explain, Sir!" the tall, blond, and well-toned orc lady, Tama'lee, interjected. "Tama'lee, Srexe and Nari…we failed the Special Scholar's test!"
"Oh…so you guys are those three who got the low scores?"
"Yes," the werewolf girl, Nari, curtly answered. "Us three. Teach us."
"Ugh! It's Srexe's fault, Sir!" Tama'lee cried out, "Srexe keeps on bugging Tama'lee and Nari while taking the exams!"
The goblin girl rebuked, "I did not! Can you shut your mouth just for once, you behemoth!"
"Ah, it's fine," I reassured them. "It's part of learning, see? Sometimes, you pass; sometimes, you fail. It's just a mini-quiz anyway, you know? Just do better next time!"
"Tch. You don't understand, do you, human?" Lady Srexe never hid her irritation, not only from her voice, but also on how she conducted herself before me. I could tell that even though I soundly defeated her in the duel before, she still held me in contempt. "I might've lost to you before, but this test is…life and death for us, see?"
"What are you saying?" I couldn't help but get confused on what the goblin girl was telling me.
"Nevermind what Srexe is babbling about, Special Scholar Sir!" the orc girl replied. "If Srexe doesn't want 'ya, at least, Tama'lee and Nari want the Special Scholar to teach them."
"Did I say I don't want him, orc?" Lady Srexe snapped at her.
"So Srex wants the Special Scholar now?"
"Didn't you hear me earlier?" the goblin girl's voice was getting louder. "Of course, I want him to teach me about Lady Cassandra's history and help me pass! How can that happen if I don't like him to do it?"
"Oi," I interjected, annoyed, "you can hide your real thoughts, you know?"
"For what?" Lady Srexe asked.
It seemed like this goblin wasn't aware of human 'sensitivities'. Well, in any case, I'm glad that she speaking out her mind; I could deal with her easily.
"Ha? You want special lessons?" Well, let me be clear on this one. While they always say that it was a teacher's 'wet dream' to have students who would run after them to ask for supplementary lessons, I'm not one of them. For me, a study session was for studying, and a break was for…well, resting. I love to teach, but if it invades my private time, I'd pick up a gun and rebel.
Of course, that's just an overstatement. I just hate it when my 'break' is infringed upon.
"Isn't that your job?" Lady Srexe sharply countered. "And you did say you're going to help!"
"Hey, I did not say I'll help; I only told you that I'm going to talk about this after my class," I'm getting pissed, especially at this goblin brat before me. "And it's not yet the end of your classes, so go back to your rooms!"
"Hoh…are you really sure you're fine with us failing?"
I froze when I heard that; all that I could do was ask her, "Wh-What did you say?"
"Do you think I don't know the purpose of why you're here, human?" Lady Srexe's lips drew a smirk. "I hold the cards here; one wrong move, and I can ask the Conclave to expel you."
I could feel my blood as if it was being drained out of my body when she said that.
So, it has come to this, huh?
However, I tried my best to bluff her, "I said nothing about helping you, yet," I clarified to her. "However, why are you blackmailing me? Do you think that will make me cooperate with you even more?"
"Hoh, trying to put up a brave front I see," the goblin girl answered. "But, you know, I'm one of the juniors. And as far as I know, you need us all to pa—OW!"
"!!!" Everyone of us were surprised when Tama'lee flicked her friend on the forehead. "Srex, stop being rude! The Special Scholar is a kind human; he helped Tama'lee and Nari earlier with Science, and taught new things! Don't be bad to the Special Scholar, and apologize!"
While we were stunned at what she did, it was Lady Srexe who was affected the most. I think the orc—despite her 'miniscule' movement—put considerable power in that flick of hers, and now the goblin girl's head was wounded a bit.
"Wh-What are you doing, Tama—"
"Apologize!" she insisted.
"I—"
"Tama says Srex should apologize!" the orc lady was about to flick the goblin girl's forehead again. Fortunately, Lady Srexe realized her mistake and did what she was asked. Of course, I just let it pass and didn't make an issue out of it. And to get to her good side, I healed her with my god-power.
"Hmph!" the goblin girl did not even thank me. A tsundere, huh?
Anyway, I wanted to confirm something about what she said earlier, "Where did you hear about my goals?"
"Some blabbermouths…" she casually revealed. "…though, I'm curious as to why you need all the juniors to pass, Special Scholar Greg Santos. Is it because you're trying to impress the Lord Scholar? He's an easy man, you know?"
I could only stare at her.
"Or…" the goblin girl chuckled, "…you want to make yourself useful to that Usarved Princess? I'll tell you what, Princess Noir's family is hard to please. If you aim to get some prominent place in the House Usarved, I think you'll be better off serving me, and my clan."
At that point, I could breathe easily. I guess Lady Srexe's question involving the Lord Scholar was a 'lucky shot'; though, she thought I'm more after a prestigious position inside Princess Noir's clan. Nevertheless, I still needed to keep my guard up.
I don't want everyone to know what my true intentions are, save for the right people, or some will try to derail me.
"You're right," I sighed. "I need you guys to pass to your seniors, and though there is no time limit for me to do it, a human body has its limits. I can't do this forever, unlike you guys."
"Well, you're in luck," the goblin girl slapped my back. "We can help each other, then! See, Tama'lee, Nari and I are the juniors who are performing badly in our studies…especially in history class. If you can do something about it, then it's all good."
"Look, I'm a Special Scholar, indeed. And I know that my responsibility is to teach you. However, I'm tired for today, and would like to take a break. Aren't you guys exhausted as well? Don't you want to take a rest for your next class?"
"We're tired," Nari verbally confirmed, in addition to her nodding.
"But…"
"But what?" I turned to Tama'lee.
"You accepted a job here without knowing what you should do?" it was Lady Srexe. "In that case, allow me to explain, human! You gave us a test, right? And we failed. Because of that, we don't get to eat."
"What?" I was shocked to hear that. "Why?"
"Special Scholar Sir, Tama'lee gets to eat only if she passed all her exams for the week. That's how it is: punishment if we fail, reward if we pass."
"Ha? You guys don't eat if you fail a test?"
"True," the werewolf girl answered.
"I can't believe there's a rule like that here," I muttered. "That's absurd!"
"Isn't it, Special Scholar Sir?" Tama'lee quickly agreed to what I said. Then, without warning, the orc girl knelt in front of me, her hands clasped as if in a prayer, pleading, "Tama'lee is at the Special Scholar's mercy. Teach Tama'lee, and let her take the test again!"
"Please," the werewolf girl followed suit.
Lady Srexe never moved from her spot. Nevertheless, I could feel that she was about to do the same, so I didn't let her. "Stand up, scholars! Look, though I understand your plight, what's done is done. I don't want to give the same test again. Besides, how many days you haven't eaten?"
"Two weeks."
"I would die if that happened to me!"
"Of course, you're inherently weak, human!" Lady Srexe said. "Don't compare your fragile bodies to us noble demons! Even a goblin like me can last several weeks without food or drinks."
"Oh yeah?" I had enough of this cheeky brat's tongue, "Then why are you about to plead to me for another chance at your test?"
"Geh!" the goblin girl was surprised when I pointed that out, but it was the orc who answered for her.
"Special Scholar Sir, Srexe haven't eaten for five weeks already," she revealed. "Between her, Tama'lee and Nari, she's the hungriest."
"Oh…" For a moment, pity took over my annoyance.
However, the Lady Srexe was unrepentant, "Don't you try to pity me!"
"Alright," I shrugged, "just as you said so, then I will not. Have fun starving then!" I turned around and headed to the faculty. However, the other two were desperate to stop me.
"Special Scholar Sir," Tama'lee took hold of my legs, clinging to it like I'm chained into some boulders and making it impossible for me to move, "please give Tama'lee and Nari another chance! Forget the goblin hag; have pity on us!"
"Ah, don't worry, I won't record these quizzes anyway, so it won't reflect on your performance. I just used these to determine if you guys learned from our today's lesson, see? Teachers from my world do it a lot of times."
"But, food…" the werewolf's voice trailed off as her shoulder drooped. "Forbidden."
"Hmm…if you're starving," I winked at them, "then you should come at the cafeteria by lunch. If someone asked you, tell them the Special Scholar allowed it."
Tama'lee and Nari exchanged doubtful looks, but they eventually let me go.
----------
***The private room of the Lord Greg***
"Hoh?" Princess Noir's chamberlain, Shevaun, greeted her the moment she ordered for a change of clothes. "You're going out, Your Highness?"
"Yes," the Usarved Princess nodded and smiled at her. "I need to check on the Lord Greg; I want to see how he's adapting to his new environment."
"I see…but do you really have to go out as Prince Hurion Devras?" she asked. "You can watch him as Lady Noir, though."
"Hm…it's fine, Shevaun," Princess Noir reassured her. "My 'brother' is rarely seen nowadays. It'd be better to make him appear from time to time; you know, just to tell the others that the Prince is still ruling."
Shevaun's eyes were sarcastic, as she unbuttoned her lady's clothes, "All the while he was playing and fooling around here in the Conclave with his 'friend', the Lord Greg."
"…"
"Why are you suddenly quiet, Your Highness?"
"For some reason, Shevaun, that sounds kind of kinky," I could feel my cheeks getting warm.
"What is?"
"You know…Prince Hurion and the Lord Greg, together—kyaa!" Princess Noir screamed the moment she saw blood ooze out from Shevaun's nose. "A-Are you alright? Do you n-need to take a break?"
Nevertheless, with all the ruckus she was making, the chamberlain was as calm as ever. Shevaun just took out a handkerchief from her pockets and wiped the blood off her nose. "I'm fine, Your Highness," she told her mistress. "It's just that…the imagery…uh, i-it's too much for…uh, me!"
Another gush of blood came out and nearly stained the princely clothes Princess Noir was about to wear.
"Stop it, Shevaun! You might die of blood loss!"
"My apologies, Your Highness…but my mind…oh my! Two males from rival races are engaged in forbidden love that transcends their differences, and would fight the world…angry at their feelings."
"Whoa! I like the sound of it, Shevaun!" the Usarved Princess was getting carried away as well. "The Prince Hurion, eager to protect his love for the Lord Greg, kidnaps him to his land and keeps him his prisoner 'till he falls for him!"
"The Lord Greg must be like, 'What are you doing to me? Unhand me, Your Highness!' "
Acting out on their roles, Princess Noir (as Prince Hurion Devras) then pushed her chamberlain to the wall and caressed her cheeks, "What are you saying, Lord Greg? Don't you know you're mine?"
"Oh my saint! My heart! My poor heart, Your Highness!" Shevaun was already pleading, "That is too much! Please stop! Kyaaa!"
The two of them kept on squealing like crazy as they imagined various scenarios involving the Prince Hurion Devras and the Lord Greg Santos. Soon, it was not only Shevaun who was sporting a bleeding nose; the Princess Noir's dress was stained with her own blood, and the purpose of her change of clothes was eventually forgotten.
On the other side, the Lord Greg suddenly felt terrible chills. He wondered if it's the iced tea he was drinking, or if someone thought terribly of him.