NOVEL NEXT Chap 223: The pinky promise.
Why are there so many students? My mind goes blank for a moment—less than twenty in the first weeks, now almost forty. Some teachers had joked about my class's popularity; I just laughed. Apparently those jokes came true.
It's hard to manage the progress of so many students; without my Personal World it would be even more complicated. So far they're obedient—I hope they stay that way. I don't want a repeat of the first class. I see Yuri working as hard as she can; if something similar happens I'll put her up for a duel. I must accompany her to the dungeon in about six weeks—I mustn't forget that.
All the students follow my instructions, from how to control their breathing while running to improving their lack of sight-body coordination—essential when using twin blades.
Some of them have real talent and a future; the rest are fairly decent. Brendu made me realize where I am when I told her about the situation: this is the best school in the world, and they all have exceptional talent. They might shine in other fields, but even the lowest ones here are still quite capable.
"Does Professor Maki have eyes in the back of his head? He keeps correcting everyone without stopping; sometimes he doesn't even look at them to give directions." Two boys behind me whisper while they train. I turn and smile broadly; they freeze for a moment and quickly refocus on their exercises.
"Not only is he strong and a great teacher, his face is cute and he has hypnotic eyes." A third-year girl trains next to her friend.
"Don't even think about looking at him that way—Princess Brendu might find out." Her friend replies. I don't look because they're training. The rumors about Brendu and me have become reality—almost the whole campus has seen us walking together or spending time.
In the middle of class I sense an object enter the range of my Personal World; I haven't extended it fully, only to cover my classmates. I catch the soda can with my Imra without turning around.
"I TOLD YOU! HE HAS EYES IN THE BACK OF HIS HEAD!" The same student from before waves his friend's arm while pointing at me. I ignore them completely and look at my visitor.
"Shawu." I stare at my friend. "Weren't you taught manners? It's rude to throw things at someone's back." I open the soda as she walks straight toward me.
She looks at me with a strange expression, like she's seeing a crazy person on the street. "It didn't hit you, nothing happened—don't make a drama." She takes her black daggers from her storage bracelet and starts playing with them.
I suppress an eye roll in front of my students. "Listen, everyone. Last week I promised to show you a top-level duel in the final ten minutes—finish your exercises in the last five minutes, please." Shawu glances at her watch and, without a word, sits in my teacher's chair as if it were her own home.
"Don't get distracted for a second. A way to learn is by watching. Try to follow our movements and look for the reason we do them—every action in our moves has purpose. How much you learn depends on each of you; at least a little will stick in your minds." My students sit attentively in the stands, waiting.
"Just physical strengthening, right?" Shawu asks as she takes an attack stance.
"Yes—try to strengthen to the level of an average intermediate Sapphire rank." Shawu frowns; she apparently doesn't understand what "average" for a normal person is. I let mana and Imra flow through my body as when I form my armor, set it to a midpoint, and she matches my reinforcement in a second.
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Shawu has sharp eyes—just one glance and she could estimate how much mana and Imra to use to match my power. I made it easy by letting her observe without an Imra block, but it's still an impressive feat. Those sharp eyes have allowed her to improve enormously with daggers—she's a true genius.
"Everyone, pay atte—" Shawu doesn't let me finish; she moves at full speed behind my back. Her movements are exquisite, without wasting a single step and as stealthy as a ninja.
I block the edge of my left sword against her dagger—she almost stabs me in the liver on her first strike. My other sword swings toward her abdomen and Shawu diverts the attack with her free dagger.
Since this is a demonstration and I'm helping Shawu improve, I don't exert more force than necessary, matching my friend's strength. Right now she's a bit faster than me, but I have better technique, so it evens out.
The ten minutes pass in the blink of an eye—I hadn't had this much fun in a twin-blade encounter since practicing with Gase. Shawu is far from that level, but she'll reach it in a few years—that's certain; she has the talent.
I extend my hand to Shawu; she sits on the floor after losing on points. We count each hit as one point—finally I win 13–2. She accepts my hand without complaint, brushes the dust off her clothes, and she puts away her daggers. I take out two bottled juices made from an apple-like fruit.
She snatches one from my hand and opens it—Shawu loves this fruit. I had bought them as thanks for helping with my class.
"As you may have seen, none of you have the slightest chance against her using twin blades. Don't be discouraged—life gave her talent but took away manners." My students laugh at my joke.
"She'll be in charge of the class for a week or two—follow my instructions during training and Shawu will help with small corrections. Thanks everyone, see you tomorrow." Today I received a letter from Susan—she looked for a substitute for me and chose Shawu.
My friend initially wanted to refuse, but with a bit of bribery and Susan's pressure she gave in. She thinks I'll be away for a few weeks at my territory because of a dungeon problem—Areci thinks the same. They offered to accompany me; Susan told them it was a family matter.
"Shawu, don't kill any of my students, please." I'm afraid to return and find one of them injured.
"Don't worry—I won't be mean to them. But if one of them disobeys, I'll give them a small memorandum." I can only rub my forehead—she is who she is and I can't change her. I hope my students aren't foolish enough to anger her—most already know what Shawu is like.
The rest of the days pass as usual. My teachers were notified directly by a letter from Susan. I'm sure Clari wrote them—poor thing must be working extra hours these days.
Some colleagues asked politely to see if everything was okay or if I needed help in class; others simply wished me luck and asked me to let them know if I needed anything. Jhonny was the most worried—he didn't let me go until I promised I'd ask for help if I needed a hand.
Finally, one day before heading to that new dungeon, I mustered the courage to tell Brendu. We sit on the sofa in my apartment. Wait—now is it our apartment? She sleeps here almost every day; she's brought several sets of clothes and I can see new belongings in every corner.
"That's the situation—sorry for keeping it from you." She lies with her head on my lap, her eyes hidden by her hair; I gently massage her head.
"Why you? Why did you accept? It's very dangerous—you might not come back." I stay silent for several seconds, thinking of an answer. I've already explained; repeating it would be redundant.
"You don't have to answer—I'm just complaining to life, Maki. Rhetorical questions." She turns her head to look at me.
"You'll come back, right? Promise." Her eyes are a little glassy.
"Yes, I will. I'll try to complete my mission with all my strength; if it's not possible I'll escape. I'll put my life first if the situation demands it." I can't die there.
"Don't say that, idiot. If you can't defeat that dungeon no one solo should be able to. The only way would be to gather an elite group led by you and Areci." She's right—if I can't do it alone, no other Sapphire should.
I understand why they don't do that—this is also a mini-tournament where power will be won or lost depending on achievements. I imagine that if there's no other option, they'll set power aside and send a special group.
"I'll come back, Brendu. If I don't—" Before I finish she covers my mouth.
"Don't jinx it, please." I nod gently. "I don't want to be a widow before I get married." She raises her left hand and points at the finger where a ring should go. It amuses me that this custom exists here too. Has any reincarnated person done that?
"Don't worry—I'm hard to kill." I wink as I raise my arm to show my strength.
"Yes, I know—you're like a human cockroach." I put the pillow over her head and she hits me with another pillow. "I'll be waiting." We intertwine pinkies to seal the promise.