After the discovery of the gate seed, Jake told Reina to call the teacher. Mr. Whitehound and Ms. Green immediately came after a while. They carefully destroyed the wall, revealing a blue orb inside it. The orb was the gate seed, and it was made of condensed mana. It was in a solid form, but when it touched a little mana fluctuation from other objects, it would explode and become a portal. That was the reason both of the teachers handled it with great care. Mr Whitehound turned off the explosion magic carved on the orb first before taking it out of the wall.
After a while, Fang Whitehound took out the orb from the wall and showed it to the students with a big smile. "We have successfully tamed the gate seed. Everyone is safe now."
People cheered after hearing his words. However, the one who felt happy the most was Titan. People weren't stupid and knew they had wronged him, so many girls apologized to him and even called him a hero. They didn't even hesitate to get close to him.
Jake smiled happily when he saw that. He wished this event would cure Titan's inferiority complex a little.
"Aiya, this gate seed is expensive. What are you going to do with it, Jake?" Fang asked.
"Huh, me?"
"Obviously. You and Titan discovered this together. As a good teacher, I won't let anyone claim this reward. This gate seed is extremely valuable because you can take anything, I mean anything inside it."
"Is that so?" Jake looked at Titan. "You decide. This is all yours. This is just an appropriate reward for you," he said nonchalantly. He wanted the rich inside it, but he wouldn't dare to claim this gate seed as his own. However, it seemed Titan wasn't a greedy type either.
"I don't deserve that thing myself. If that gate seed exploded, many people would have died from the monster outbreak. It is just right for everyone to enjoy the fortune inside it."
People looked at Titan gratefully. Many of them even expressed their regrets for thinking of him as a cruel person.
Jake smiled at Titan's decision. "Wise decision, Titan. Then, how about this? Why don't we hold a special training class to investigate this gate? Don't we have to face the gates eventually? This gate is the lowest level gate, so I think this is a big opportunity for everyone to learn about the gate."
Fang rubbed his chin and replied, "That shouldn't be a problem. I and Ms. Green will take care of the permission, so we can hold a special event tomorrow. Please announce this to every student in the elite class, Jake."
"Wait, tomorrow? But tomorrow is Saturday?"
"Yeah, is there a problem? You were the one who suggested this."
"But why on the weekend, teacher? Can't we do it next Monday?"
"We won't get the permission if we disturb the class schedules. Then, I am counting on you to announce this special event tomorrow, class president." Fang waved his hand and left Jake stunned.
Jake did suggest the idea, but he hadn't expected it to be held on the weekends because Saturday and Sunday were supposed to be the only days he could laze around. Not to mention, he still promised to take Marilyn to date since the previous date was disturbed. However, the teacher's decision was final, so he could only get along with the event.
---
The next day, elite class students gathered in the gymnasium. All of them were wearing their gym outfits because they could predict they would move a lot inside the gate. While waiting for Mr. Whitehound to finish awakening the gate seed with Ms. Green, they were having casual conversation.
People gathered in their own social circles, and nobody was alone. Even Titan was having a conversation with the girls. It seemed he became close with many girls after yesterday's event.
While the girls from both classes were gathering in one circle, the boys of both classes were not united yet. The bullies had their own circle. Good people got along with each other. The boys with teenager raging hormones sensed similarity among themselves, and they got together to not look sad.
The only person who was alone was Jake. He wasn't bullied. He just wanted to observe the students' relationship from afar plus he wanted to laze around as long as he could because he had a plan in the gate that would make him busy.
As he observed the students, a pair of hands covered his eyes from behind. "Guess who I am?"
Jake obviously knew it was Marilyn. He had many ways of recognizing her from the smell, voice, and touch. But most importantly, no girl was daring enough to have skin contact with him.
"Aunt? Do you have business here?" Jake asked, pretending to not recognize her.
Marilyn opened his eyes. Her hands slid down to his cheeks and pinched them. "Are you saying I am old? Bad boy."
Jake laughed heartily. "Who is this? Reveal yourself to me this instant."
Marilyn grabbed his head and forced him to face her. Their faces were close against each other, and they immediately looked away from each other.
Jake still could remember Marilyn's sadist and cute expressions from yesterday, so he couldn't face her yet. He was unsure why she looked away, though. "You pulled my head. Why are you avoiding me?"
"What are you talking about? You look away first," Marilyn said, her body shaking in a cute, shy gesture.
"Any man will flutter when an attractive woman gets close to them," Jake said, but he instantly cringed at his choice of words. His current behavior reminded him of his father and mother when they were together alone. He once promised himself to not be a fool for love like them, but it seemed he just acted like a fool.
"Eh? What? Did you just say that? Our nonchalant Jake?" Marilyn jumped and sat beside him. "Please tell me about it once again," she said excitedly. For some reason, her eyes shone behind the blindfold.
Jake clicked his tongue and admitted, "I find you to be attractive. You have got a problem with that?"
Even though she was the one who pestered him to say it, she blushed when she heard it directly from his mouth. She didn't know what to say, so she buried her face on his wide shoulder. "Uuuu...."
Marilyn couldn't mutter anything but that "Uuu" noise, making things awkward for both of them. Jake didn't want everything to be awkward between them, so he initiated a conversation. "You don't join the girl's circle?"
"I—I feel unfair. Just unfair."
Marilyn didn't say the exact reason, but Jake clearly knew what she was referring to. "Sorry," he said.
Marilyn suddenly raised her head and smiled. "But I am also glad when I heard you helped to lift the punishment of your classmate. You are still the same old kind Jake. I figure you will help more people in the future, so I have decided I will share your burden."
"Marilyn...."
Before Jake could feel touched by her words, Marilyn added, "So... Do you have an idea to laze around inside the gate? Please share your ideas with me."
Jake looked at her with a dumbfounded expression. "Be honest. You just want to laze around."
"W-what? It's not true," Marilyn said with a flustered expression. Then, Jake stared at her intensely, and she admitted, "Just a bit. I still want to help you to make them stronger. After all, I was the one who requested you to win the Young Heroes Tournament, not mom."
Jake observed her and found out she wasn't lying. "Are you serious? Why?" He asked, surprised.
Marilyn touched the seal on her neck while looking away. "You know why. Even if I disappear, at least I want to leave a mark of my existence, proof that I once lived in this world and achieved something."
Jake put on a sad expression and pulled her to his chest. "Don't worry. Aunty and I won't let you disappear."
Marilyn closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his body tighter. "Thanks," she said.
They stayed in that position and enjoyed each other's warmth. He felt she was there. The proof of her existence. The fact that Marilyn was Marilyn, not some random eldritch being.
Jake wanted to stay like this for a while, but he released her when someone whispered his name from his side. He looked and saw Mr. Whitehound standing close to them. Then, he realized the stares of the students behind the teacher.
"I hate to disturb you, but the gate seed is ready," Fang said as he pointed at the swirling portal in the middle of the gymnasium. "Plus I am reminding you so you won't get point deductions from my bab—I mean Ms. Green."
"Oh... Right. I am sorry about that, and thank you, teacher."
"Don't worry about that. I personally don't mind if students have their love life. That aside...." Mr. Whitehound brought his face closer to Jake. "How far has your relationship gone?"
Jake put on a dumbfounded expression. His homeroom teacher was too nosy.