The Exchange Teacher - Welcome to Dyntril Academy

Despite the semi-disaster it had turned into, Basque's plan was a success. While he was out training his students, a servant came to inform them that until the cafeteria was restored, all students were required to eat in their rooms.

There was a buzz among his students. Reianna raised her hand. "Is that where the Yani was?"

"Yes."

"I've never seen a Yani," Saevi said.

"Consider yourself lucky," Jame said.

Kyre hit him on the back of his head. "You've never seen a Yani, either!"

Jame stuck his tongue out at the terracotta-haired boy. "Never said I have! And I consider myself lucky!"

"What was it like?" Cayelyn said. Her eyes twinkled at Basque.

"It was a Yani. Soon enough, you all will be able to take them on yourselves."

"How descriptive," Taraia said. Her voice dripped with sarcasm.

Basque looked at her. "It was a minute from a corrupted pig. Non-mage, but with poison skills."

"Whoa!" the class said.

"Did you kill it?" Cayelyn asked. "I-I saw you come back covered in blood."

"I saw Gerenet-Shr fight on my first day here!" Fawna said. "I bet he's the one who took it down!"

Basque kept his expression steady. He didn't think anyone had seen his return. All he could do was hope that Cayelyn was the only person to have seen him. "I did not kill it. I was not permitted to partake in the hunt as I am a visitor."

"Boo," Cayelyn said. "I bet they were just scared of you showing them up again."

Basque smiled. "I assume this is something you would learn if you had a Kruamian teacher, but kills allow aristocrats to rise in rank. They wanted the kill for themselves."

Reianna scoffed. "Whatever. I just need to be a noble. I don't care about rank."

"I just don't want to die," Dmi said. Reianna took the girl's hand and squeezed it. No one else reacted to her comment.

After finishing the morning training, Basque and the students went back to the dorm together. When Basque entered his room, Sophia was waiting there with a man, and Basque recognized him immediately. He was the cook from the kitchen.

"Master Basque, welcome back," Sophia said and bowed. The man bowed with her. "Please allow me to introduce Reaggie."

Turning his attention to the cook, Basque looked him over again. Reaggie was probably in his late twenties to early thirties. His hair was a butterscotch color, and his eyes were a bluish green. The smile he wore failed to hide his nervousness.

"G—good morning, Mi—aster Basque. I am Reaggie, the—a cook."

"Hello, Reaggie. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Master Basque," Sophia took over the conversation, "Reaggie was the first to discover the Yani this morning."

Basque gave his best surprised face. "You look to be in good health. Congratulations on surviving."

Reaggie bowed again. "It was more luck than anything."

"Yes, as is the case with most encounters."

"As the kitchen is destroyed, Head Cook Reaggie needs to find work until repairs are completed. And, as you disposed of your last chef earlier this morning since he failed to procure sugar for your morning tea…"

Basque cleared his throat. "Ah, yes, Chef ummm…"

"Chef Rorert, Master Basque."

"Yes, Rorert."

There was a pause.

"I promise, Master Basque, I will never forget the sugar in your morning tea!"

"That's good to hear," Basque said, looking at Sophia. He did not like sugar in his tea.

She blinked slowly and with deliberation.

"I guess, welcome aboard then," Basque stuck out his hand.

Reaggie looked at the hand and then at Basque's face.

"It's called a handshake. It means a deal has been reached."

Reaggie tentatively reached out and took it. His grip was feather-light. "Thank you, Sir Basque—Master Basque, sir."

Sophia bowed and put her hand on Reaggie's arm. "I shall have Chef Reaggie prepare your breakfast. We shall then have him move to your servants' quarters."

"Excellent. Oh, Sophia, what about the students?"

"The students?"

"Yes, since they can no longer eat at the cafeteria, do they have cooks and chefs?"

It was Reaggie who answered, "Yes, Master Basque. Hea—"

Sophia's hand on Reaggie's arm tightened.

"Personal Maid Sophia arranged with the Head Maid for most of the cafeteria staff to be the ele—"

Once again, her grip tightened.

"Class E's chefs."

"Very good. Well, I guess I'll be seeing you around, then." Basque smiled.

Sophia led Reaggie away, and Basque was alone. He was sweaty, but he didn't feel like taking another bath. He flopped down and slouched on the couch. It felt reminiscent of his first two weeks at Dyntril Academy when he had nothing to do but learn the layout of the school and the surrounding area.

Not even when he'd first retired from hunting to become a teacher in Hianbru had he been as busy as he had been these past four days, and he'd only taught class for one of them. His fatigue felt heavy enough to drag him into the couch. Basque didn't realize how long he'd been lazing there until the knock at the servants' door roused him from his stupor.

"Yes?"

"Master Basque, I have your breakfast," Reaggie's muffled voice came through the door.

Basque wondered for half a second how Reaggie knew he was still in the room. Did they knock every time, and if he didn't reply, would they come in, assuming he was gone? Or did they have a way to see into the room to tell if he was there or not? It was probably more likely that servants knew from each other where their master was at all times.

"Please, bring it in, Reaggie."

Basque's new personal chef opened the door and wheeled in a cart with a covered plate on it. "Would you prefer to eat here or in your bedroom?"

"Here's fine."

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Reaggie set the plate on the table, then dressed the sides of it with a napkin and silverware before removing the silver cover. He revealed a plate full of an omelet and a salad.

"Maid Sophia said that you would enjoy this."

"It looks great, Reaggie, thanks."

The corners of Reaggie's mouth went up slightly. He set a cup of tea down with the meal. "I've prepared the tea as Maid Sophia explained you like it."

"And how is that?"

"With the sugar boiled in during the brewing process."

Basque hid his mental facepalm behind a smile. Was Sophia messing with him on purpose? She didn't even leave him the option of asking for it on the side so he could ignore it. "Excellent. Thank you for all the hard work."

Reaggie pulled back. His eyes were wide. "You're—you're welcome. It's my pleasure to be serving you, my lord, Master Basque…sir."

Basque's smile became genuine. "You don't need to worry yourself about being formal with me."

The chef blushed. "I thank you for the kindness, my—Master Basque, but I need to practice. I hope you don't take offense, but I've heard that you will only be here for five years. I'd like to use you as a stepping stone to get in with a noble properly. No offense, Master Basque, my lord, sir."

"None taken. I can see you wanting the opportunity. I'll do what I can to help you along. Don't know what help I'll really be, though, considering how the others feel about me."

Reaggie's smile faltered. "I'm sure…I'm sorry. I've taken up too much of your time. Please enjoy the breakfast." He bowed and pushed the cart out, closing the door behind him.

Picking up the fork, Basque pushed the salad around, mixing the dressing some, and then poked at the omelet. Despite the busy morning, Basque didn't have an appetite. But, Reaggie had gone through all the effort…

Basque cut off a bit of the omelet and took a bite. He put the fork down and sat back. He blinked several times. Sitting straight again, Basque picked the fork up and ate more of it. He had never had anything like this in his life before.

Reaggie's skills went beyond incredible. Basque was blown away by how utterly average the omelet was. He was sure he would forget what he ate for breakfast the second he walked out his door. Even the salad was remarkably forgettable. He would feel sated, he knew that, but he also wouldn't be able to answer any question about what he ate, other than, "Yes, I ate."

Before he knew it, Basque's plate was empty. It was a perfect six out of ten. Even now, he tried to recall what was in the omelet. He knew there was cheese, but couldn't remember if there had been potatoes or green peppers in it.

"What an amazing skill," Basque said.

The food wasn't bad at all. No, if it had been bad, it would have been memorable. But by the same token, it wasn't good either. It was the strangest sensation Basque had ever felt.

He took a sip of his tea and gagged. Basque glared at his cup and set it down. Now that's remarkable. Sophia would be getting an earful next time he was able to speak freely to her.

Taking the cup to the sink, he dumped it down. Basque shook his head. Sophia had made the tea the focal point of everything, and then made it so Basque would hate the results.

Basque was contemplating the tea set next to the sink when someone knocked at his door. He opened it to find Reianna standing there again. "Please, Reianna, come in."

The silver-haired girl walked in, and Basque closed the door behind her.

"What can I do for you this morning?" He walked past her and sat on his sofa.

Reianna walked to stand between the two chairs opposite the sofa, but she didn't sit. "I just want to thank you. I don't know how, but I know—"

"For what?"

She tilted her head. "For the—"

Basque couldn't let her finish that sentence. "No. I've done nothing to be thanked for, and you have nothing to be thankful for. I didn't do anything. All I did was get drenched in Yani blood."

"But it was my fault that the other kids attacked us yesterday."

"No! I don't want to hear any of that. You are not responsible for the bad actions of another."

"But they—"

Basque cut her off. "At breakfast, you were accosted first, weren't you?"

"Yes, but—"

"You did nothing wrong. I will not have you blaming yourself for any of this. You stood up for yourself. If you had backed down and reacted in a different way, their assault would have come in a different manner, but it would have come."

"How can you be so sure of that?" She folded her arms.

"It's just a feeling that I have."

"A feeling? I thought you were going to give me some wise, sage-like thoughts, but all it is is a 'feeling'?!"

Basque frowned. "Okay, Reianna, let's look at it another way. Say it is your fault, that these people who showed up and attacked Malcalm kept bullying you and your classmates."

Reianna's lips quivered, and she alternated between blinking and squeezing her eyes shut.

"What are you going to do about it?"

"Pardon?"

"Well, in your mind, you've set the other students off on you and your classmates, despite evidence to the contrary, and I just want to know what you're going to do about it."

Reianna looked at the ground. "I…I don't know." She looked up. "What can I do about it?"

Basque spread his hands. "You're already doing it."

"I am?"

"Let me ask you, how many other first-years have you seen on the training grounds while we're out there?"

She shook her head. "I haven't seen any."

"And yet you and your class have already had three days of training. Because of you. I have another question. What are we learning in class now?"

"How to read and write."

"Yes, because you had the courage to admit that you didn't know how. You're already helping your classmates grow. You just keep being you. I have faith in you."

The girl's cheeks flushed. "Thank you, Gerenet-Shr."

He shook his head. "No, thank you, Reianna."

"I guess…I guess I'll be going then."

"See you in class," Basque replied.

Reianna bowed and left Basque alone. Because of her nerves, Reianna could come off as gruff and rude, but the truth was she was one of the sweetest and most caring students Basque had ever had. He looked forward to seeing what a fine lady she would become. There was no doubt in his mind that she would become a truly noble noble.

Checking the time, Basque clicked his tongue. He had to get to the teacher's room for the morning meeting. If he could spend every second of every day just teaching his class or sleeping, he would have loved his assignment.

But no. He had to deal with the other "teachers." The thought of spending the next five years seeing those faces every day made him want to throw up his breakfast. Glancing down at his empty plate, the salad dressing gave away the fact that he'd eaten a salad, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember if it had been only a salad or if there had been something else as well.

Cocking his head to the side, Basque muttered, "That Reaggie, quite the cook."

By the time Basque got to the teacher's room, most of the others were there. He recognized some of the higher-class year teachers as some of the people who'd gone to fight the Yani earlier, but he still couldn't remember most of their names.

He was the last of the first-year teachers to arrive. Harnel gave him a hearty hello, the rest ignored him, and Natt was sleeping on her empty desk. Basque sat down and tapped the end of his fingers on the edge of his desk. He did it softly enough that it didn't make a sound.

"Good morning, teachers," Headmaster Yasher started the meeting.

The teachers returned the hello.

"As I'm sure all of you have heard by now, a Yani found its way into the first-years' cafeteria. Thanks to the valiant efforts of our deputy headmaster, the incident was concluded without incident."

Basque wondered if the man caught that he said the same word twice. And it didn't even make sense.

"We're still looking into how the creature got into the cafeteria in the first place. All of our border sensors remained silent, and the farm count…?" Yasher trailed off and looked in Davith's direction.

"All accounted for, Headmaster," the weapon-repairs instructor answered.

"I see," Yasher stroked his gray beard.

There was a murmur among the teachers.

"Does that mean our sensors have failed?" one of the third-years asked.

"No, Master Frankyl. I checked them myself this morning. They are still active and do not have any issues."

"Do you think one of the elevators might have snuck some sort of animal in?" a fourth-year teacher asked.

All the heads turned to Basque.

He looked around; he needed to throw the scent off himself and keep the vultures away from his students. "I asked them this morning at the training ground. They are all clear, though they did mention a girl in Class A, what was her name…Bionicle? Barnacle?"

"Banca?" Julvie asked.

Basque snapped and pointed at her. "That's the one! Banca. My students said that Miss Banca was boasting about having a dog at the banquet."

There was an uproar in the teacher's room as everyone spoke at once. Julvie stood and pointed at Basque. "How dare you besmirch the name of the daughter of a duke!" she shrieked.

Most of the other voices were in agreement with her.

"People! People!" Krill yelled, calming the room.

Basque shrugged. "All I'm saying is what my students told me."

"A likely lie to cover themselves!" Julvie cried.

"Madam Julvie, if you please," Headmaster Yasher took over. Julvie sat back down. "After today's classes, we shall commence a full search of all first-years' possessions. Just to be safe."

Basque nodded. "Fine by me. I would just like to be there," he looked at Krill, "you know, to fulfill my duty to observe."

"So it shall be," Yasher finished. "Now, if Deputy Headmaster Krill can go over today's points."

Yasher sat, and Krill stood. "Yes. Today, I'd like to go over next month's Grade-Level Separate Opening Battle Tournament. If you look at the sheet in front of you, you can see the format that we will go with this time."

Basque froze. He looked at the paper on his desk. Battle tournament?! Basque's stomach lurched. Krill might as well have called it the Class-E Target Practice.