Faced with Cristina, I finally realized that she was a very tall woman, and with her high heels, this particularity of hers stood out to the point that my neck was sore from looking up.
"Do you have any guesses as to why I called you?"
- the teacher asked me.
I clearly didn't know the answer, but that obviously wouldn't be accepted, and I knew her well enough to know what she expected.
She wanted me to think for myself, to think and give the answers she deemed necessary.
A teacher at all times.
Despite everything, I didn't want to disappoint her.
Cristina could be a bit sadistic, but I was sure that she probably only wanted the best for her students.
However, while her question had three possible solutions, my rudeness in class, the exam I had just taken or some other outstanding problem.
These were the options that came to mind, even more so with my memory so jumbled that I didn't know when Dante Alighieri began and Dante Kain Bell ended.
"My dear Professor Cristina, I suppose I see two options in front of me. I may have offended you with my lapse of manners or my perfect answer in the exam may have dazzled you enough to decide to give me a reward."
I pushed my unnecessary thoughts to the back of my mind and concentrated on expressing my thoughts, although I couldn't resist the temptation to tease the strict teacher.
Which wasn't very well received, because throughout my monologue, the teacher's eyes were twitching slightly. Perhaps I had overstepped the mark.
But Cristina was also known for being as merciful as she was strict, which was a blessing, although it didn't make sense to receive a warning from a trigger and insist on teasing.
So Cristina, with all her experience in dealing with young people, just sighed and sat down at her desk. With a flick of her fingers, a wooden chair appeared in front of me.
Another snap of the fingers and an object was summoned. The first time, it could have been mistaken for a spell. However, a repeated gesture was not the work of magic. That could only mean that it wasn't a spell, because spells didn't depend on gestures for activation, only on first use.
What she used could only be called a magical ability.
Only magical abilities required a command signal, such as a specific gesture or some other action.
Magical abilities could not be learned, only received when leveling up in a class.
This particular skill was called Magnanimous Summoning.
A simple skill that allows you to summon inanimate objects, as long as you know where they are, from a certain distance.
I hadn't noticed it before because most of the other users in the original story used more subtle gestures, and I only knew about this skill because the protagonist's love interest had gained it towards the end of the story.
This meant that Cristina was much more powerful than I had expected. There were only two ways to acquire this skill.
At level 40, on the hybrid warrior path, fourth class, blade breaker.
And no matter how I looked at it, this class didn't suit Cristina. She didn't have the physique of a warrior, and the main reason was that the Bladebreaker class didn't grant any elemental affinity, unless the person themselves already had an affinity with some element.
The other possibility was an even rarer and more powerful class.
Lv 60, on the path of hybrid magicians, sixth class, magic strengthener.
This seems the most likely, as this class grants basic affinity to all the standard elements. However, this class has one major difference.
This wasn't a class focused on spells like other magic classes; the magic strengthener follows a very simple principle: unbridled destruction.
Nothing but pure brute force: the magical strengthener is able to exchange magical energy to reinforce their muscles, increasing their natural strength, and can also fuse with their elements.
They could also bombard their enemies from a distance with their spells, although that wasn't their focus.
"Did you know that's a bad habit?"
asked the red-haired teacher, who stared at me as she leaned her head on her hand with a slight smile on her face.
I felt my own face heat up. I had done something quite shameful. Without meaning to, I was absorbed in my thoughts for an unknown length of time, during which time I stared at Cristina.
So, to disguise my embarrassment, I pulled out the available chair and sat down quickly, praying that this teacher's sadism wouldn't come out and she'd decide to make fun of me.
"Beginner Dante, you're partly right. I'd like to talk about your exam, but first I'd like to talk about something else: your choice of class."
Suddenly, the subject took on a more important tone.
She no longer rested her head on her hands, and her slight smile had been replaced by a more serious and stern expression.
"I'll be frank with you, beginner Dante: your choice of warrior class doesn't suit you.
She didn't hesitate to express her opinion.
And perhaps I had to agree with Cristina. The old me could even argue with her, but I was no longer the same man, whether that was a bad thing or not.
The way of the warriors was powerful, but the mortality rate was extremely high: more than seventy percent didn't make it to the second class.
Being a warrior means fighting with your body; intelligence wouldn't be enough to survive.
However, this high mortality rate was what made warriors powerful and dangerous, because only the best would survive.
I agreed with the teacher, but I couldn't say it.
Something inside me prevented me from saying: "I give up the way of the warrior."
"You're a clever boy. I'm sure you'd be much more useful in the rear as an archer than on the front lines."
She kept trying to convince me to give up the warrior class.
"Do you know that by choosing the archer class, you gain the Instinct skill?
That's certainly a lot more useful than the skills that warriors gain, and your innate ability doesn't really complement the warrior class, does it?"
I didn't know why she was being so insistent about this, but Cristina must have known many students who made the choice to become warriors and didn't live to regret it.
But why was she being so insistent on changing my choice?
After all, a student's choice of class shouldn't be that important.
There was something wrong with this conversation.
"Teacher, wait a minute."
I interrupted her the moment I saw her determination to argue again.
"Why are you so insistent? Why me?"
I asked as I stared into Cristina's crimson eyes, who let out a sigh of resignation and crossed her arms.
"I have two reasons. Firstly, because I'm your teacher and I have to warn you when you make foolish choices."
"And the second reason?"
I asked impatiently, and she sighed again, but didn't seem to want to dodge the answer.
"Your mother and I used to be good friends at the academy and I felt I should at least make sure that her only son doesn't die in a silly way because he didn't choose the best class."
I felt a slight pain in my heart when she mentioned my mother. Despite my jumbled memories, I could vaguely remember that my mother had died when I was very young. I never knew my father, so I was looked after by Amy's parents, who were close friends of hers.
"In that case, I thank you for your attention. I swear I'll think carefully about your advice."
I thanked the teacher as I bowed my head slightly.
I thanked her honestly; I was really grateful for her attention to me, but it wasn't her job to advise me, even though she claimed it was her job as a teacher. That wasn't true.
It was just her being dedicated to her profession.
"You're dismissed, you can go home."
I looked at her, startled.
What do you mean, dismissed?
What about the conversation about my exam?
I looked at the teacher's face and noticed that her cheeks were puffed out and that she was clearly upset.
Was she really upset that I hadn't taken her advice and was just thinking about it?
I felt that I was seeing some very interesting and unexpected sides to the strict Professor Cristina.
"What about my exam, teacher?"
- What do you have to say about your exam? It was excellent.
Now go home."
All I got in response was a short answer and exaggerated hand signals, as if I were scaring away a dog.
Despite the teacher's short and somewhat rude response, I thought her attitude was kind of cute.
And, obviously, I couldn't get any more answers out of her.
So I got up from my chair and walked towards the exit.
"Beginner Dante."
I heard the teacher's voice calling me and immediately turned around.
With a jolt, I noticed an object approaching my face. Out of pure instinct, I raised my hands and grabbed the object before it hit me.
The first thing I felt was the cold touch of metal on my hands. I looked at the object I was holding.
It was a small golden metal box no more than 10 centimeters long.
"Open at home."
Again, a short sentence accompanied by exaggerated hand gestures that sent me out of the room.
But this time she didn't seem annoyed, but rather embarrassed; if the slight blush on her cheeks was any indicator, she was unexpectedly shy.
"Thank you very much, Cristina."
I thanked her with a smile on my face as I headed for the exit, but this time there was no voice calling me from behind.
As I opened the door, the first thing I saw was Amy leaning against a wall, apparently lost in thought as she stared at the floor.
She even looked a little melancholy.
"Has someone upset you today, Amy?"
I asked, concerned, as I approached the young elf.
She looked at me and tried to give a confident, cheerful smile, but failed miserably.
I've known her long enough to know when she's pretending to be strong, and this was one of those times.
"I'm not upset, I was just thinking about today's lesson," she said.
Amy lied, smiling.
For some reason, she was hiding something from me, but if she didn't want to tell me, I wouldn't press the issue for today.
The fatigue plaguing my mind was too heavy for me to care about other things.
But tomorrow she wouldn't be able to escape me; I would make her talk.
Even with my memory in shambles, I was certain of one thing: Amy was precious, someone I valued very much, and I wouldn't allow anyone or anything to dare hurt the feelings of this young, innocent and delicate elf.
I also owe it to Amy's parents, who raised me; protecting their beloved daughter was the least I could do to repay their kindness.
"What's that you're holding?"
- my dear friend Amy asked, pointing to the golden object in my hands.
"Honestly? - I have absolutely no idea. I got it from Professor Cristina and she told me to open it at home."
I replied to Amy as we walked home together.
After all, the academy was a huge castle, and only the emperor knew how long its corridors were.
"Really? Aunt Cristina gave it to you? I'm so jealous! I still remember when she used to visit us when we were little and give us lots of expensive presents."
Amy said something quite unexpected.
Even with the fuzzy memories, there were no memories of Cristina, which wasn't surprising.
I'm only human, and children rarely remember things that happen, especially after so long. Of course, that didn't apply to elves, who had long lifespans and excellent memories.
I probably don't have half her childhood memories.
But I've been fortunate to have her company for most of my life.
Amy is a fun girl to be around, and before I knew it, we had arrived at my house.
We laughed and joked all the way from the gym, and didn't even realize it until we found ourselves in front of a relatively large but simple wooden cabin, which was my house.
"Huh? Are we there yet?"
Amy asked, staring at the house in bewilderment.
"I think so. Do you know of another wooden house near the academy?
My ironic response immediately made Amy blush with embarrassment.
However, I had forgotten a certain factor about her.
When embarrassed, Amy can react rather aggressively.
"Urgh!!"
I let out a grunt of pain at the hard smack Amy gave my heel.
"That's what you deserve for being an idiot!"
Amy complained to me as she walked away to go home, and I could only laugh as I watched her walk away.
What a strong-minded girl!
I finished laughing, opened the door to my house and immediately my good mood vanished as I entered.
It was dark, lonely and very empty.