Another lesson had passed me by, with me once again not understanding most of it. This time, however, my mood wasn't affected as much by it.
Mainly due to the fact that I felt such immense glee when sensing the angry looks that Will couldn't help but send my way from behind me. It was even to the point where the looks I got from the rest of my classmates suddenly didn't feel so bad.
Or at least not as bad...
Already, cliques had started to form in our class, and it went without saying that I was not part of any of them. They say that the first days of school are the most important when it came to making friends, and so far I had done a wonderful making sure no one would ever want to get close to me.
Actually, no, that was not quite true. Because as I entered the hallway, making sure to let my classmates go before me once again, I was instantly met by someone who seemed very intent on getting close to me.
"Hey, punk!"
Hugo, the brown-haired bully that Matthew had fended off this morning had returned, and judging by his face, he wasn't about to suggest a nice coffee date. Still, I now had a reputation to uphold.
Acting as if his mere presence was an eyesore, I tilted my head lazily.
"Haaa... What do you want?"
"You fucking...!"
Now, although I to some extent could respect his resolve for coming here as soon as my class ended, there was no doubt that Hugo was someone that didn't quite carry the intellect that was expected of a student at Augustus.
Because if he did, he should have been able to recognize the fact that if the students left the classroom, there was also another individual that would sooner or later follow them.
"Stop acting like monkeys in the hallway."
Coming out of the classroom, Ms. Zito didn't hesitate for a second to exude her domineering aura, making it hard for all the students around her to breathe. The sheer grandeur of her presence was enough for the whole corridor to be silenced.
Sadly, I was also a victim.
"So, who are you? Aren't you one of the students that belong to Mr. Ainsworth's class? What business do you have here with one of my students?"
I had no idea why she even asked Hugo a question as she should have been well aware that he had no way of responding due to the pressure he was subjected to. In fact, at this point, my vision had started to become blurry, likely a result of being a mere [F]-rank that couldn't handle her aura.
"You know, Ms. Zito, though I have no business telling you what to do with your students, I do have to question why you are releasing your pressure on one of mine."
Luckily for Hugo, another voice rang out in the corridor, a voice coming from a golden-haired man wearing a black suit that framed his well-built but slim body.
"Fuueee...."
Withdrawing her pressure, I noticed myself taking a deep breath to regain the oxygen I had lost, my vision instantly clearing up again, making me able to now witness the spectacle that was the interaction between my teacher and the teacher of the other freshmen.
"I was merely asking your dear student why he deliberately came to our classroom just to blatantly harass poor Aarick here."
Still walking proudly, it didn't take long for Mr. Ainsworth to reach us, his hand quickly reaching up to his chin to show how deeply he was thinking about the situation.
"That does sound like quite the irresponsible thing for a student to do, doesn't it?"
Then, out of nowhere, his demeanor shifted from the gentle guidance of the youths to someone who clearly had a bone to pick with my teacher.
"But it can't be that you haven't heard the rumors. That your little student, who even though he seems so small and harmless, had already instigated a dispute with Mr. Lance here before classes began this morning."
"I am aware."
"Then, you must also be aware that he even went so far as to say some incredibly distasteful things to a student of your own. A certain Ms. Ayim if I recall correctly."
"What do you want to say, Henrick?"
"Well, Dona, I was just thinking that it might be for the best for everyone to just leave things as they are and let bygones be bygones. You must, after all, already have some disciplinary actions planned for Mr. Laupier from the incident this morning."
A moment of silence enveloped us, as tension that was on the brink of being tangible made shivers go down the backs of all of the students. Cat and dog was the best way I could explain the interaction in front of us, with both of them obviously disliking each other prior to this moment.
"Fine. Just make sure that your student doesn't come around here anymore."
"Of course! Hugo, please come with me."
Giving each other one last look, I had a feeling that we somehow both felt equally small, something akin to children whose parents had for some reason come around and started arguing with each other.
Thankfully, all is well that ends well. So brushing off the nonexistent dirt on my uniform, I was just about to start walking when...
"Mr. Laupier. A word, please."
Having no way of escaping, I just hung my head and walked back into the classroom.
Closing the door behind me, my dear teacher looked as if her head was about to explode as she pinched her nose.
"How... How is this possible, Aarick?! You haven't even been here for a week and you are already causing problems! Explain!"
Sitting down at a desk, I more or less told her exactly what had gone down, and why I had chosen to act as I did.
"Are you stupid...? Why didn't you just tell her like a normal human being that you didn't want to hang out with her?!"
"Well, I'm not exactly a normal human being anymore..."
"Aarick!"
"Argh, I don't know, okay?! I panicked! There's so much going on that it's really hard trying to make rational decisions, and it doesn't help to know that the academy is filled with spoiled brats that act like gangsters!"
"But you are the same age as them?"
"You know what I mean!"
It wasn't exactly easy to have just recently woken up from a very, very long sleep and then be told I was a demon, while simultaneously being thrown into an academy filled with little monsters.
Now, I admit that there were probably other ways to go about things, but I still wanted to believe I had done an acceptable job so far.
"Haaa... Fine. So, what's your plan now? At this point, it will be hard for you to make friends at the academy, and it might end up with you being all alone."
"Umm... Do you actually care about that stuff?"
Putting her hands on her hips, she looked at me as if I was stupid.
"Of course I do, I am a teacher. Why wouldn't I care about my dear students and how they do at the academy?"
"I guess? I kind of just figured that it was kind of like a front, you know? Like, your real identity is a demon, and this was just a play for the masses while you work behind the scenes?"
"What? Why would that be the case? I want to coexist with humans, and I just enjoy being a teacher. Why do you carry the same prejudices as humans?"
'Probably because I was one until three days ago...'
"Anyway, just make sure to stay out of trouble from now on. I don't want to have to leave this life just to save your ass."
Somehow, with her pushing back a lock of her hair from her face, I could finally see a few a bit of her honest feelings.
"You care enough about me that you would run away with me...?"
"Stop! Get those puppy eyes away from me and get moving! Your next class is starting in five minutes, so if you don't get going you will be late."
==========
Having followed the instructions of my teacher like a good boy, I was now sitting in the middle of a huge room covered with tatami mats, supposedly meant to circulate my mana throughout my body.
It was hard enough to do on its own, as I had never done so before, but it became even harder as, unlike the combat course, I was very much not the only student here.
In fact, it felt like a majority of the freshmen were present in the mana manipulation class, no matter what kind of specialization they had.
So, seeing Levi's and Will's bodies glowing in a bright blue and red respectively, it was hard to not feel unmotivated when seeing just how far behind I was.
This, even if the old lady that was our teacher seemed very sweet. She even came over to me, who was the only one who didn't even know the basics, to encourage me.
"Don't worry, young man. Just keep trying and you will be able to do it just like all of your classmates."