The Exchange Teacher - Welcome to Dyntril Academy

The room around her was going crazy. Sanya's mother was screaming at Banca's father while Krill leaned back with the largest smile she'd ever seen him give. Once Liam had declared Reianna's interface to be just like any other, the chaos had exploded. Even the people sitting behind them were talking.

Reianna tried to ignore it all as her head still felt funny. Just like Liam said, it felt like worms had been digging and crawling around in her head. The sensation had mostly dissipated, just the afterimage of it stuck around.

The lady up front, the one who'd been introduced as Archduchess Emolie, banged something against her desk.

"Silence! Silence!" she screamed.

Eventually, everyone fell silent and sat down.

"Thank you. Royal Mage Billiam, please. Once again, your final report."

"My pleasure, Archduchess." The man's aura was almost as golden as Gerenet-Shr's was. When he'd first come into the room, he'd hidden it from her, but now, it glowed.

"As you can see, on the main menu, there are no extra options, just the standard ones you all have. Umm, Viscount Laroge, if you don't mind?"

"Uwugh! Get out of my head."

"Tsk. Reianna's only thirteen. Did you hear her cry?"

The viscount's interface floated up from the gallery to Liam, and once again, he spread his hands wide. The default blue interface expanded out. "Now, as you can all clearly see, nothing but the same options on the main page. And as we go through…"

Both interfaces had flashed and changed together, showing all the same options until they got to the shortcut page.

"Ha! She is a mage!" Duke Jorellan called out.

"Miss Reianna, dear, what are all of these?"

"Umm, just shortcuts to the standard menu items?"

"Can you show us, please?"

One of the worms wiggled in her brain, and she flinched. Reianna felt the control of her interface return to her. "Umm, well, like for the inventory hotkeys."

"Hot what now?" the silver-haired man who'd complained about the time asked. Unlike Reianna's hair, his wasn't naturally silver, but had faded that way due to age.

"Hotkeys. Like this one." She highlighted the >I1 command. "If I use this on my command line, the item from my first inventory will come out."

She demonstrated it, and the deck of letter flashcards Fawna had made for her appeared in her hand. "Everyone in my class can do it."

The room started murmuring again, but Liam shushed them. "Let the girl talk."

"When Gerenet-Shr taught us about the interface, he made everyone find something special about it. I've saved most of them in here."

Liam looked at Gerenet-Shr again, closed his eyes, and shuddered. When he opened them, he began talking again. "So, you're telling me that anyone here can do this?"

Reianna squinted. "Yes?"

"Can you teach me?"

Reianna looked at Gerenet-Shr, who nodded. The guy with the short black hair that Reianna recognized from the banquet dinner coughed.

Ignoring the man, and just like Gerenet-Shr had taught Class E, Reianna taught Liam how to create shortcuts.

More murmuring filled the room as people marveled over the new knowledge. During her explanation on how to make a shortcut for inventory slot one, she watched the viscount follow along and make a shortcut for himself.

"Very enlightening, Miss Reianna. Master Basque, thank you so much for imparting this knowledge on our children."

Gerenet-Shr grimaced and nodded. Reianna looked at him. Maybe I should have hidden those, too? But she hadn't been told they were unusual, just her Identify option.

Turning back to the three people in front, Liam said, "Archduke Willmas, Archduchess Emolie, and Archduke Benry, has her…non-mageness been satisfactorily concluded?"

The three people looked at each other. One after another, they nodded.

Spinning back to Reianna and the gallery, Liam winked at her. "Thank you, Miss Reianna and Viscount Laroge."

Liam turned off her interface's public display, then Reianna twitched as the worms dug out of her brain.

The Archduchess banged on the table once again. "It is officially confirmed that commoner Reianna Santi is not a mage. This test is over."

Sanya's mother slammed her fists on the table, then stood with such force that her chair rocketed backwards and slammed into the divide between the center floor and the gallery. She glared at Reianna, then stalked out of the room while everyone else was still standing up.

Duke Jorellan sat in his chair, his face ashen. Banca's expression didn't change the entire time, and her aura was white, completely neutral. White was the color of a stranger passing Reianna on the street—they had no positive or negative impact on her or anyone in her life.

"Basque-Shr!" the Hianbrun man with short hair whispered in a harsh voice. "You and I need to have a real sit-down sometime soon!"

Gerenet-Shr's face was expressionless. "Eder, you are the one who agreed to their demands for me to be a teacher here for five years. I do what I do—I teach. If you don't like what I teach, we'll just bring it up with—"

"Shut your mouth! You've already said enough to brats like that!" Eder said and pointed to Reianna.

Gerenet-Shr's face darkened. "She's worth twenty of you, and that's still selling her short."

Butterflies danced in Reianna's stomach at his praise. Did he really think that highly of her?

"Whatcha looking at?"

Reianna jumped and turned to look at the colorful head beside her. "Liam! You startled me."

He laughed. "I know, I could stare all day too. But you're only thirteen."

"Tell that to my classmate, Cayelyn. I think she's already got her wedding dress picked out."

"Ha! I can't blame her good eye."

"He's taken, though."

"What? One of the ambassadors?"

Reianna shook her head.

"Oh! Juicy details. Spill, sister."

"Miss Cormick."

His ooh was long and drawn out. "That minx! But call her Natt, darling. Don't help these Yani in here drag her further down."

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Reianna giggled. She'd never heard anyone talk like Liam before. "Are you her friend?"

He paused and hmmed while tapping his chin. "I don't know if she would really consider us that, but she's someone I respect. And I completely get why she and mega-man there fell for each other."

Liam stood up and ruffled her hair. "Don't go anywhere, 'kay?" He looked over at Banca. "Actually, just make sure to come back here when you're done with your chat. Oh! Earl Krill! Do you mind if I take a second of your time?"

Banca? Reianna questioned herself. Why would I ever want to talk to Banca?

Reianna watched the girl as she maneuvered her way out from behind the table in her wheelchair. Why is she in a wheelchair? Her father didn't move to help her. He still just sat there with his arms dangling by his chair, mouth slightly open, and staring off into space.

Banca wheeled over to the gate that separated the now-empty gallery from where the main actors sat. She spun herself around so that she could back through it since she couldn't open it with how her legs stuck out.

Only, the gate didn't push out; it pushed in. Not being able to simply back through, Banca held one side of the gate and used her chair to hold it open, but couldn't open the other side as the gate banged into her chair.

For the first time that day, Banca's face showed emotion as she became frustrated with her inability to get out. Sighing, Reianna stood up and walked over to the girl.

Coming in from the side Banca hadn't been able to open, Reianna grabbed the chair and pushed it forward, getting Banca out of the way.

"What are you doing?"

After getting the gates open, Reianna pulled Banca back through.

"I can do it myself, you know!"

"Where's Gertrude?"

Banca snapped her mouth shut and didn't complain anymore.

"Where are you trying to go?"

"Anywhere but here."

When Reianna pushed on the double doors, the guards outside grabbed the handles and held them open for her. "Thank you," she told them.

In the larger open corridor, Reianna had room to flip Banca around and push her, instead of pulling. Reianna had no idea where to go or how Banca had even gotten up to this floor in a wheelchair, so Reianna just pushed the lilac girl along at a slow pace.

"Stop!" Banca called out at a random-seeming location. "Here is fine. Thank you, Raz—Miss Reianna."

Heat swelled up inside of Reianna even though Banca had cut herself short. Pushing Banca closer to the wall and out of the way, Reianna turned to leave, but something held her there.

She had to know.

"Why are you in a wheelchair?"

"Because you broke my legs."

"No, I mean, shouldn't they have been healed?"

"This is my punishment for failure."

"But it's going to take months for you to get better! How are you supposed to get stronger if you can't even train?"

Banca blinked at Reianna. "I'm told it'll be nine months. I thought that would make you happy."

"I hate you. I loathe you. I despise you with every fiber of my being, but I don't want you to die."

Turning her head away from Reianna, Banca stared at her lap. She made it clear that the conversation was over.

Yet, still, Reianna couldn't tear herself away from her bully. She grunted and stomped her foot, clenching her fists and teeth. Opening her inventory, she pulled out a vial of ostemorphina and two syringes. Nurse Tyze had given her the bone-setting medicine on one occasion during the peak of the bullying so that she wouldn't have to go into his clinic every single time.

"This should be enough," Reianna said as she placed the vial and syringes in Banca's lap.

The lilac girl didn't say anything, and Reianna left her be. She hoped that this would be the end of it, that she and Banca would never see each other again. It wasn't hard to avoid the Class A students.

They no longer had to eat in the cafeteria, and morning and evening training sessions with Gerenet-Shr meant even the times they went to the classroom weren't the same. Reianna could go four more years without seeing that girl again. Unless there were more tournaments.

Was that the empathy Gerenet-Shr had been talking about? Is that why she'd given Banca such a valuable item? Nine months was a long time to go without training. Gerenet-Shr had shown Reianna what just a single month of training could do; she couldn't imagine what sort of things she'd be able to do in nine.

If someone told her she had to sit out, that she couldn't do it, she probably would have been as despondent as Banca. That's why she'd done it. That's why she gave the most evil girl in the world, someone just barely a step up from being a Yani, something so precious.

When she returned to the testing room, the guards opened the doors for her again. The room was empty except for Gerenet-Shr, who was leaning with his butt on the table and arms crossed, and Liam, who stood next to Gerenet-Shr with his hands clasped together.

She wondered where Banca's father had gone as they hadn't passed each other in the hallway, but he was no longer in the room. Since Krill was gone as well, she figured they had to have gone off to one of those back rooms together. Not that Reianna cared about any of them.

"See, I told you she would be back soon."

Gerenet-Shr pushed off the table. "Where'd you go off to?"

The idea of lying and saying she'd gone to the bathroom flashed through her mind, but she was done with lying to her teacher. "I helped Banca leave."

"How is she doing?" His voice was flat, but Reianna could still hear the stifled anger in it.

She shrugged. "Not good, I guess."

"Now! Can we go get some lunch, please?" Liam said.

"Well, considering you had Krill leave us here, I don't think we have much of a choice."

"You could always hail a carriage."

Reianna's stomach rumbled. Gerenet-Shr looked at her, and she blushed. He walked over to her, took her hand, and led her back to the double doors.

"Fine, but you're paying."

Liam pumped his fist. "I know the best place between here and the academy! You'll love it."

"I sure hope so."

When they went back into the hallway, Banca was gone. Reianna didn't know if her dad had come to get her or if her personal maid, Gertrude, had come for her. It bothered Reianna that she looked, that she cared.

She'd done her good deed—her 'empathy.'

"What is it, Reia?"

She shook her head.

"Ohh! Reia! I love it! Will you call me Liam, Master Basque?"

"I will not, Royal Mage Billiam."

"But Reia does!"

"Please call me Reianna."

Liam staggered. "You two are too cruel!"

Reianna smiled. She didn't mind if he called her Reia, but, at the same time, she did want to keep it as a name just her parents and Gerenet-Shr called her.

As they traveled through the building, not only the servants, but the nobles as well, gave them a wide berth. Considering they hadn't done that when Krill had been guiding them, it seemed that most of the nobles were afraid of Liam.

He seemed so jovial, but at the same time, there was an edge to him that reminded her of Loushee. Again with mages being near insane! That thought made Reianna realize Laim's jovial self also wasn't normal.

Gerenet-Shr still held her hand, and she squeezed it. He squeezed back, and a sense of calm spread through her body. His hand was an anchor for her. Even when they weren't connected, his existence became that hand, steadying her.

It wasn't just her, either. All of Class E was supported by his presence, and now kids from D and C were learning about it, too. That snippet of conversation she'd overheard between Gerenet-Shr and Eder tugged at her attention.

She could tell Gerenet-Shr didn't like his fellow countryman, so for that reason alone, Reianna didn't like him either, but she was grateful to him—he gave her Gerenet-Shr. He wasn't supposed to be their teacher, that's why he'd been so reluctant at the beginning.

"What are you grinning about over there, Miss Reianna?"

Pulled from her thoughts, she looked around Gerenet-Shr at Liam. "I'm just happy."

"Happy is always good! Have you ever been to a restaurant before?"

"My parents used to run a bakery."

The sides of Liam's eyes crinkled as he smiled. "That's pretty amazing! Not quite the same. I'd love to try their bread someday."

"She said, 'used to.'"

"Oh? What happened?"

"There was a fire."

Reianna's stomach did a flip. A fire? She knew her parents were safe, Gerenet-Shr told her that, but she had no idea her former home was gone.

"Oh, dear! I hope your parents are safe."

Basque nodded. "They made it out in time and are staying with some friends."

Liam put his hand on his heart and exhaled. "What a relief. Well, I do have an oven at my house, maybe we can have a big party one day, and they can use mine. I'm always on the lookout for new cooks and chefs."

"Thank you, Liam."

"That is very generous of you, Royal Mage Billiam."

The colorful man shrugged. "What good is money if you don't spend it, right?"

Walking down the last set of stairs, they exited out into that large, empty front building where Krill and Philer had chatted forever. It was late in their journey, but Reianna just realized that not once had they had to open a door. Someone always opened it for them, whereas with Krill, he or Gerenet-Shr had to open the doors themselves.

The sun was high in the sky and had warmed the cooling fall air a bit too much. Reianna shielded her eyes with her free hand, and Gerenet-Shr did the same.

Down in the street in front of them, a lavender and pink carriage with four horses hitched to it waited for them. Because of the colors, she had to assume it was for them.

"This is us," Liam confirmed, and a footman opened the door for them. "Please, sir, my lady, let us depart."

All of them climbed into the carriage, and it rocked as the horses started to pull. Once they were underway, the smile fell off Liam's face. "Okay, you two." His voice was no longer light and harmonious, and his aura vanished. "Cut the Yani-shit, and tell me how the Yani you hid her being a mage."