Chapter Ten: Class Introduction II
Zenith left for breakfast twenty minutes before class. The stall owner that had sold the panda bread hadn't arrived yet so he bought a cooked meal at another store and sat there to eat. The meal was spicy for no reason and he barely got the taste of it.
He managed to finish while distracting himself with random panda pictures he found on the internet. He had reread the concept of cost of goods and change last night so he expected change when he gave a thousand gaads note to the store owner.
The stall owner, an older lady with a crooked smile, grinned widely on being given the note. "Ah, thanks." She pocketed the note, without giving change. She noticed the young Mage still stood there and looked up at him questioningly. "Y-You want the change back?"
She had heard of how he left a good amount of change to the other stall and wanted the same treatment. "You didn't take change from the… from the other stall yesterday." She tried to argue for it.
Zenith stared down at her with contempt and slight disbelief. "Such entitlement. I didn't even like the meal and normally shouldn't pay for something like that."
The lady's heart broke and she looked at the plate. Her meal was called 'something like that'? She hurried to find change but noticed the young Mage leaving. "Wait, please! I…I'd give you your change—"
"Keep it." Zenith interrupted. "Next time I come by, serve me what I can actually enjoy with it." He glanced at his wristwatch and continued leaving.
The older lady clenched her fists, her eyes were moist but no tears left them. "I…I failed my country… but next time, I'd definitely… definitely impress you!" she looked up with fire in her eyes.
When Zenith returned, the class was almost filled and it was time for class, the crazy students had arrived and the backbenchers whistled as he came in. He turned to them with a frown and the group of three chuckled.
"Silence." A surge of blue light zapped past them and they fell quiet. Zenith narrowed his eyes at them, he didn't do that, he glanced at Alexandria Feloncia who looked at him with his usual wide smile. Zenith looked away and fell on the seat.
Ten students had arrived already. Should he start teaching or wait for… "Why is it those two that haven't arrived? Nephis and Layla."
All the students turned to the two's table except Alexandria Feloncia that sat closest to them. A tall boy stood up and kept his head down. "Um… I am… um… the Class Captain of Class 11-B… and I need to—'"
"Name?" Zenith asked. The boy sat on a seat named Kawaya Mamai and Zenith didn't want to believe a boy answered that. The boy repeated the same name and he only sighed. "Is it normal for them to be this late?"
The Class Captain nodded. "Nephis is a Guandan, and not from this realm so she has to do prep with the interdimensional office before coming, to avoid having negative essence here."
Zenith understood that part. It also meant Nephis hasn't been in their realm long enough for her body to get adjusted. "And Layla Herbert?"
The Class Captain looked away. "I don't really know but she comes with Nephis' so maybe whatever delayed Nephis… delayed her too?" The other students looked cautious after the Captain said that.
Zenith knew they knew that it was stupid, missing class to escort a friend for prep but since he knew the two were friends already, it didn't come as a surprise.
If anything, he'd advise Layla to keep having close relationships with other students so she wouldn't think of suicide.
He tapped the whiteboard, while seating on the teacher's chair. "Introductions. State your name, current rank and the magic skills you need help with." He held a pen in front of a book. "Let's go."
The students didn't move, staring at him. At first, they were surprised that he didn't scold Layla for being late because of Nephis, but did they just hear 'magic skills'? Many people didn't even have a skill and only had an element they were compatible with so how could they have 'skills'?
The Class Captain already standing spoke. "I am Kawaya Mamai, and since I have the ability to learn two skills, I am currently D-Rank. Um… earth control… I guess."
His confidence waned as he spoke and how could it not, when the teacher looked at him like he said the un-funniest ever.
Zenith didn't think it'd be that bad for the Class Captain to be D-Rank, then the other students would be lower, wouldn't they? He didn't want to judge presence with actual rank but they should be higher than they currently were.
He dragged his eyes from the boy in disappointment. It must be because they had been concentrating on only theoretical aspects all through last term.
The Class Captain fell to his seat after being drained from all hope when the young Mage looked down on him like that.
"Next." Zenith said with a tired tone. Nobody moved, he looked up and his expression changed. Why did they all seem to be scared?
Maybe should stop then. The kids were lame, but had the capacity to be better. If he discouraged them now, he'd have failed as a teacher and they'd lose the confidence to do better.
He had to put himself in their shoes, no matter how hard that was. The first time he did the ranking test at ten years old, he was reported to be an S-Rank, so that felt like the bare minimum for him.
"Kawaya, right?" he asked the Class Captain. The boy nodded without looking up. "There's actually a worker at my agency, Mina Denji, I could ask her to give you exclusive tips on how to manage your earth control skill."
The boy raised his head and his mouth opened, with no sound coming out. The girl besides him looked from him to Sir Zenith. "Y-You mean Lady Mina Denji, AKA Earth's Core, will give Kawaya exclusive…. Huh!!"
"Huh!!!" the whole class went to an uproar. Was that who the teacher called 'a worker at my agency'?
Zenith felt relieved that they were back to their noisy selves. He knew Mina Denji was extremely powerful and a retired SSS-Rank Mage with Earth Manipulation as her strongest skill. She would always be a legend.
She settled at his agency few years before the war ended, saying she wanted to help a young Mage with potential achieve winning the war. Zenith never really mastered Earth Manipulation as she'd like but he knew enough to beat an S-Rank Earth Magic user.
Teaching the Class Captain the skill would make the boy happy but having a legend like Mina Denji do it might be best, at least, that'd be one less student to deal with.