"Now, for the last student of our class, I will begin by presenting him a bit before he gets to speak. The reason for this is that he is kind of a special case, and even though we will look at you all equally, there is no doubt that Zero Adler is a one-in-a-million student."
'...what.'
Something was up. Even if Ms. Turner might have changed a bit after the peculiar situation with James Jackson, there was no way she would come up with doing something like this. 'Guess I'll have to wait and see what she has to say...'
Forcing myself to blush a bit, pretending to be embarrassed by the praise, I kept my mouth closed as she continued to speak nonsense. Of course, I didn't let my smile dissipate either.
"First of all, I need you all to keep the fact that Zero Adler is attending this class a secret. Of course, rumors are already going around but we don't want any of you to be the ones to confirm these. Now, the biggest reason why I'm talking about this is that it was a request from the pope of the church of Theia."
Whispers could be heard from Caroline and Rue, both of them equally surprised.
"-He is from the church?"
"-But hasn't the pope been hiding for years? This might be the first official decree that has been made for a long time..."
Probably understanding why the girls were surprised, Ms. Turner didn't lose her temper because of their chit-chatting. "Ms. Rue and Ms. Ito, I kindly ask you to keep silent until we are finished."
"I'm sorry, Ms. Turner!"
"Please forgive my manners, Ms. Turner!"
Giving a slight nod, our teacher went back to talking about me. I who was still sitting awkwardly in silence waiting for a chance to speak. 'I know that this will probably be good for me in the long run, but shit... It's so embarrassing...'
"Zero here is someone the church regards as the son of Theia, someone who will be one of the pillars of humanity in the future. However, they also wanted me to tell you all that because of some special circumstances, he has had no interaction with the world outside of the church."
"So the pope wanted me to tell you all to try your best and take care of him, and hopefully become his friends. After all, you would be the first friends he has ever had."
Audible gasps could be heard coming from my classmates, now making me feel as if a thousand eyes filled with pity were targeting my back. In the corner of my eyes, I could even see Stella tightening her fists, probably visualizing some insanely sad story in her mind.
Seemingly satisfied with her work, our teacher finally turned her head back to me, giving me a warm smile as if to say 'you're welcome!'. "Now, I know that I said that you should only present yourself with your name and combat role, but I would appreciate it if you could give us all a more detailed presentation, Zero. After all, it might help you get along with your classmates in the future."
'How much of a special case is she going to make me?! And that pope... No, it was most likely not the pope who made her do this... Dad... No! I mean, Aksel!'
Rising up to my feet, I turned around to my classmates, making sure each and every one of them could see me. 'It's time, don't fuck this up, Zero! You are the respectable and honorary child of god, the one who will bring salvation to the people in the future!'
After I mentally psyched myself up a bit, I opened my mouth, still smiling. But there were no words that came out. Suddenly, I felt a slight pull, as if I was taken away from my body, and a surge of emotions flooded my soul.
'NO! NOT NOW! FUCK!'
It was too late. The stupid version of me had taken control, and it didn't take long until tears were streaming down my cheeks. Anguish and happiness were simultaneously taking control of me, while I was losing control of my breathing.
"Sniff... I-I'm Zero... Z-Zero Adler. My hobbies are... I don't actually have any hobbies."
It was as if I was watching a trashy drama on the television, my body continuing to heave and forcing itself to speak in front of the ones I might be able to call friends in the future. What was even worse was the response I got from my classmates, with a lot of them starting to tear up as they heard me speak.
"I-I... I have been alone for so long. Guh...! No, not quite alone. I had my Dad... but he's the only... only person I got to meet. I hope... I mean... Sniff!"
Then, a hand landed on my shoulder, a warm hand full of support, "It's okay, Zero. We understand. You can sit down again if you want..."
Looking up behind me, my teacher also had tears in her eyes. Instantly, my mind was cleared, as if I was reminded who I truly was, as a memory of us standing on the castle roof in Kurat appeared in my mind. 'Shit! So now I have to solve this shit?!'
My mind spun quickly, as I knew that I needed to show a stronger side to myself if I didn't want to be regarded as someone they had to protect and shelter. After all, I needed to start cementing the fact that I would be the one leading them in the future.
Shaking my head, I managed to bring back my bright smile, "It's okay, Ms. Turner. I'm alright."
"Are you sure? You don't have to force..."
Turning my smile up yet another notch, I tried to mimic Arthur by blinding her with my ambiance, "I'm fine. Trust me."
Having no other choice but to trust me, she retrieved her hand from my shoulder, an act that served as my cue to turn back to my classmates. "I'm sorry about that, it's just weird to think that I would get to be in such a privileged position like this."
Now the blush was back on most of the girls' faces, as well as Thomas' face, as a response to my smile. "I'm Zero Adler, proud son of Aksel Adler! Although I don't know much about the world, and I don't know if I really am the son of Theia, I will be wearing my title with pride! Even with everything that is happening in the world right now, I know that if we stand together, we will make it through."
All of my classmates, including Gomerick who had looked like he had been watching some kind of ultra-pitiful existence, now got their shine back in their eyes. "And just like I will try my best to help humanity in the future, I will depend on you to help me acclimate to the world you think of as normal. Please do take care of me!"
Ending my little sermon with a bow, I had no idea if I managed to fix the situation that 'Zero' had managed to fuck up so badly. Even now my eyes were still hurting a lot from the crying, the soreness most likely indicating how red they must be.
'-Gahahaha! Oh, my dearest apostle, you truly never disappoint me! I'm so incredibly happy with choosing you now!'
'-Please shut up...'
As I quickly disconnected Loki from my mind, Ms. Turner took control of her lesson once again, "Thank you, Zero. You may sit down again."
I didn't need any more encouragement to do as she said, my cheeks burning up with embarrassment from the complete fiasco that had just gone down. 'Thankfully I think I managed to save it... Shit! It wasn't long ago I had control of the whole nation of Kurat, and now I struggle to control even a class of freshmen!'
Although I was putting myself down a bit as a means of self-preservation, deep inside I knew that I had been quite successful. Strong but weak, confident yet insecure. If my ambivalent act hadn't imprinted them with this image, I didn't know what could.
Standing behind the podium, Jessica finally proceeded with the homeroom session.
"With us now having finished our presentations, I will be talking a bit about what your school year will look like. As you might have heard, we have been forced to change a lot of things here, with one of the changes being the fact that we have reduced the number of freshmen."
'Ah, is it finally coming? I thought she would at least wait until the freshmen had gotten a bit comfortable...'
Wearing a stern face, she told my classmates the truth. The truth about what the future would be bringing.
"We reduced the number of freshmen because we cannot afford to foster anyone but the best of the best right now. We don't want to be the reason why our students die. I'm sorry to say this on your first day at the academy, but we are preparing for war. We don't know when or how, but as it stands right now, it is inevitable."
Raising her hand, the green-haired Celina seemed to be a bit confused, "War? With Kurat?"
Shaking her head, Ms. Turner finally revealed what was really happening, "No, Ms. Tromb. We will be going to war against the demons."