Chapter 191: Chapter 182 – Parent Teacher Meeting

A few hours later, I was sitting in room.

Simple tables arranged in a circle as each person sat on a crude stool.

A dozen teachers along with the principal sat here, their eyes all turned towards me. There were eyes filled with curiosity, those with respect...and one pair that carried fervent devotion with a hint of insanity.

No, that wasn't good. It was bad to insult the insane like that.

Ilithyia was able to organize this meeting with all the staff that worked at this school, however I hadn't told anyone the contents of the meeting itself yet.

"I'm glad everyone could make this sudden meeting."

"No no! Of course everyone is happy to attend a meeting called by Elder Scarlet!"

The first to respond was Ilithyia, as expected. But as anything she said was pretty badly skewed, I couldn't take her words seriously.

Ignoring her, I scanned the rest of the room and received some positive responses.

"You are our benefactor in more ways than one. While it is a little sudden, it is an honour to be able to have this meeting."

The other teachers nodded to the teacher's words, keeping their eyes on me the whole time.

I could see it. While it wasn't nearly to the degree of Ilithyia, the others still held me in reverence. It was a bit much and a little intimidating, but not beyond what I could deal with.

"Now, as for the topic of this meeting."

Rather than waste everyone's time with excessive pleasantries, I cut to the chase. Everyone leaned in as the atmosphere changed.

"I've been doing some investigating, and I've come to the conclusion that the situation with the dhampire children needs improvement."

Many of the staff looked down at the table, and several clenched their fists on the table.

"Elder Scarlet! We...!"

"I've heard your opinion already Ilithyia. I want to hear what the others think."

Raising my hand up, I interrupted the school's principal and turned to the others.

"...We...we're very regretful of the situation. All of us, I believe without exception, had done what we could to raise our children with love. Yet, despite our efforts, they seem to lack the proper respect for their elder. We are all very sorry for our negligence in raising such ungrateful children."

The woman lowered her head apologetically after she spoke. As my eyes swept across the room, while each person had a slightly different expression, they all showed, at least to me, that they all felt the same way.

"To me at least, it felt like you all really did your best. Just because things didn't turn out just was you wanted it, doesn't mean that the result is entirely bad."

Or rather, I'm a little thankful that those kids didn't end up revering me. Considering how these sorts of things typically went, the ones who were pushed towards these sorts of worshipping from birth tend to become complete fanatics that overtake their parents' fervent worshipping.

Compared to that, I'd say that the dhampires were actually raised quite healthily.

They're strong, independent, yet also care very much for those important to them. While their opinions of me is a bit skewed, I can at least understand and respect their reasoning. Frankly, even if they never come to like me, I wanted them to grow stronger and succeed.

Of course, not at the cost of their relationships with their mothers. I wanted everyone who stood under the banner of my name to be happy.

"First of all, let me hear from your own mouths about the situation."

For the next while, I listened as each teacher gave her own accounts, experiences, and opinions.

And overall, it wasn't too different from what I had heard already, making the next step that much easier.

"I've heard your sides of the situation, so now, I want you to hear my own opinion."

The tension in the room shot up with those last words. All eyes were on me as everybody's bodies stiffened up, and my own in response. I had thought I had gotten used to speaking in these sorts of settings, being one of the nation's leaders, but to think that the staff of a school could make me so nervous. I still had a long way to go as the elder it seemed.

"From what I can tell, the dhampire kids had quite the difficult childhood. No, that's not quite right. It was their early childhood was quite difficult. As was the years you all had lived since I left all of you until you arrived at the Commonwealth."

I looked at each and every one of the mothers here. I couldn't understand the hardship they had gone through. But for them, it was something that had become a bond that tied all of them together, bringing them all as one giant family.

"Of course, the bonds they created due to those hardships can't ever be underestimated. Rather, I think they should be respected. All of you, thanks to the hardship you've gone through, each and all of you are practically a giant sisterhood, am I right?"

Quite a few nods came my way, and I even managed to get some gentle smiles out of them.

"The same goes for you kids. They also went through their own hardships, and their bonds, both to each other and to you, are strong thanks to that. And I can understand...well, maybe that's a bit strong of a word, but a part of me can get how its an important part of them. And due to that, they have problems with someone they don't even know, who didn't go through the difficult times with them, be talked about so positively by the ones they respect so much."

"But that's where we failed...!"

I held up a hand to stop the interruption.

"What I'm saying, is that it isn't a failure at all. Your kids have developed an identity from the shared hardships they have faced together with you all. That in itself is a good thing, I think. While they don't share some of the values you had tried to impart to them, I think the good things you've taught them far outweighs the things you haven't managed to teach them."

"...Elder Scarlet..."

A few of the teachers were sniffling, holding back their tears. All the while, Ilithyia openly let hear tears flow.

I'm not sure exactly what it was I had said which moved them this much, but I might as well run with the momentum I had gained.

"And it's thanks to these values that you've managed to teach them, that I think they're growing into people you all can be proud of. So, rather than forcibly try to change the few things you don't like about them, I think it's better to further improve their good parts."

Now that I had managed to get the preliminary groundwork done, it was time for me to finally expose the reason why I had called this meeting in the first place.

"So I've been thinking. The dhampire kids, maybe its because of their vampiric blood, or maybe it's because of the hardship they've gone through. Regardless of the reason, won't you agree that they're generally quite exceptional kids?"

The women looked at me with surprise, but that quickly melted into warmth.

(Pride, huh? That's very good.)

"I think, standardized education, while it's a very good system to allow everyone to reach a basic level of skill, it's too static of a system to handle kids who grow at a rate different from what the system is designed for."

Quite a few heads tilted to the side. Of course they did. I was the one to spearhead this entire system, yet now I was decrying it.

Even still, while I didn't know how well the other schools were going, I still thought that having this school was a good thing. The issues simply was that we had expected the dhampires to have difficulty with organized studies that they weren't used to.

Surprisingly, it turned out that they did quite well, according to the teachers.

Whether it was because they found it easy, or because they all had reasons to push themselves to excel, I didn't know. Either way, it meant that there was a lot of room to change things.

"As things stand, the kids are excelling to the point that the current curriculum isn't sufficient for them. Thus, there's a few things I want to add to it, and I want to hear your opinions on it."

Especially the opinions was important. I could throw out thousands of ideas, but without others to filter and refine them, the ideas could easily bring just as much harm as they could good if they were implemented without discussion.

"The first thing is to add extra curricular activities to the school schedule."

At no surprise to me at all, nobody had any idea what I was talking about.

"What I mean is, that we have option additional studies on top of normal classroom work for the students."

"Umm, what sort of additional studies do you mean?"

"For example, hunting in the dungeon."

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The air stood still as if all traces of life had suddenly vacated the premise.

(Maybe that wasn't such a good idea after all?)

I knew I was starting off with the most difficult activity, but it was also one which was most likely to be well received amongst the students.

"I'm sure you know about the minimum age that has been mandated for entering the deeper floors of the dungeon, right?"

I got a few nods out of them, though still a little stiff.

"Well, there is an exception to that rule, and that is for the underaged to enter the dungeon together with an adult. While this is something the kids can already do, I imagine that very few of you are actually willing to enter the deeper floors of the dungeon even at the request of your own kids, right?"

As expected, I got a few strong nods this time.

"Of course. The dungeon is scary. Especially true the deeper you go in, and who would want to go if you have nice and safe jobs already, right?"

This time I got a mix of responses. Of course I did, since I was giving mixed signals.

"It's not like I'm blaming anyone for this. Or rather, I'm the one to blame, as I didn't even consider this to be an issue."

"E...Elder Scarlet...!"

"No, it's fine. It's important to admit one's faults. And besides, I want to fix this mistake."

Ilithyia looked antsy, but didn't try to open her mouth again.

"I've talked to some of the dhampire kids in the dungeon, and while I don't regret placing the age limit there, I do now think that we need to organize how to deal with the exceptions in a better manner. And making an extra curricular activity to regularly allow several groups of kids to enter the dungeon while being supervised by an experienced hunter would help with things."

Though unfortunately it would only help with one half of what they wanted. Those kids were quite interested in farming as much money as they could despite how young they were. They treated hunting like a game, which was quite worrying for me. Especially considering their age.

There was the possibility that it was due to them lacking any real challenge or feeling of danger. It was important to instill the feeling of danger into them as early as possible so that they would be less inclined to take bad risks. To do so, they would have to face monsters that pose a real risk, but in situations where the risk could be mitigated as much as possible.

Frankly, this was something which benefited any students that would be even a little interested in becoming a hunter, not just the dhampire kids that were already pursuing that direction.

One of the teachers raised a hand nervously, and I quickly gave her a nod.

"Wouldn't this be dangerous? Our children are quite strong, surprisingly so even, but they're still children. Deliberately allowing them to be exposed to danger sounds risky."

"I understand that fear. Really, I do."

Just imagining Alicia and Fate being put at risk was enough to give me heart palpitations. I understood that they were exceedingly strong for their age, and from that perspective they could already succeed as hunters. But the fear of them being hurt, even if it isn't anything serious, easily stopped me from letting them face any form of danger, even though I knew that it wasn't the best thing for them.

They both showed interest in hunting monsters in the dungeon, so the best thing was to make sure they respected the dungeon, even if the process to do so made me break out in a cold sweat. The same went for the dhampire kids, so I could understand the feelings of their mothers when I was suggesting that they be allowed to face monsters strong enough to seriously harm them.

Not like the monsters in the first four floors couldn't seriously harm them if they got too careless, but the risk level was different.

"But quite a few of your kids have already shown serious interest in the dungeon. I believe, it's important for kids who are interested in spending time in the dungeon to be taught how to respect it, to see firsthand the dangers of the dungeon in the safest manner possible. I believe it's far safer for them to do so under the supervision of an experienced hunter than on their own when they grow old enough to go past the fourth floor without supervision."

The teachers took my words in and chewed on them, some even moving their lips and jaws a little as they squeezed their hands in thought.

"Of course, this would require cooperation with the Hunter's Guild, but I think that won't be much of a problem. There are plenty of quality hunters to draw from, and I'm sure we can find enough reliable ones for our purposes."

The only thing I would worry about would be the reliability of the hunters hired to host these sorts of work, but it would likely be alright as long as I get hunters Peitho or someone she trusts to sign off on them.

"But...is this really for the best?"

Another teacher looked up and asked.

"Personally, I'd rather not let my Cassius hunt in the dungeon at all."

"Me too. I don't want my Livia to be put in danger like that. Not after everything they had to suffer through."

"Are you all alright with that?"

As sentiment was going against even the idea of letting the dhampire kids using the dungeon at all, I threw out my question, halting the air itself in this room.

"Are you all alright, shutting doors to your own kids' futures?"

I looked at each and every one of them. All mothers like myself.

"I understand the fear of your kids being put into danger, danger that could easily be avoided. Especially so with how safe it is living in the Commonwealth. Especially compared to the life you all lived before coming here. But are you all fine? Are you fine with the idea that you are shutting out a future that quite a few of your kids had expressly shown interest in chasing? Can you tell your kids that? On the day they say they want to be a hunter, can you tell them that you won't allow it? No matter what they say? Because you are afraid for them?"

Leaning in, I raised my voice as I continued my little speech.

"If it was my daughters, I wouldn't be able to say no. I wouldn't be able to deny them the future they want to chase themselves. Because there's nothing wrong with such a future. There is danger, but it is still a future that they could chase with their heads held high. And one I could be proud of them, even if was also terrified by the fact that they could get hurt at any moment."

My hands trembled a little at the thought. My emotions jumbled and swirled around. But at the same time, where there was fear, there was also understanding, that I really would be proud of them if they wholeheartedly decided to take that path and succeeded.

"So rather than risk them chasing their dreams headlong and blind, I'd rather give my blessing and prepare them to the best of our abilities. Isn't that what a school is for? To prepare our kids for their futures, any possible future they one day chose to chase?"

*Clap clap clap!*

"What a marvellous ideal, Elder Scarlet!"

One person gave me a standing ovation the moment she thought my speech. was done. All I could give in return was a wry smile before turning to the rest of the room.

"What about you? Don't you also think that we should be doing our best to prepare our students for any possible future they decide they want for themselves? That we should be opening doors for them, not closing them?"

The other mothers looked back and forth, from me to each other.

"...I'm still scared for my boy..."

I looked at the teacher who first spoke up while holding my breath.

If I failed here, I would be failing those dhampire kids. I didn't mind if they continued to hate me, but I didn't want to fail to secure their future at least. Even if they were never grateful for it.

"...but a part of me hates the idea of telling him that he can't follow his dream. Both as a mother, and as a teacher. I want pridefully boast about my Cassius as he follows his dreams, more than anything in the world!"

"I do too! I want to be able to boast about my Livia!"

"That's why I became a teacher in the first place!"

"Yea! The whole point of being a teacher is to prepare our kids for their future!"

Once the breach was made, the dam crumbled as the others followed suit, nodding and agreeing to the same sentiment.

A warm smile spread across my lips as I leaned back in my seat, watching how everyone came together in solidarity over being both mothers and teachers.

It looked like the hardest part of my proposal had succeeded, and the future of the kids that were under my wing was glowing brightly.

"Of course, this can't be the only extra curricular activity for the kids as well. There are tons of other directions our students would want to consider, so it's important that we discuss what other activities they should be able to access. Things like tailoring, or smithing, or perhaps alchemy?"

And with those words, we started to discuss what other sorts of activities should be available and how they could be implemented. The discussion grew so heated that we hardly noticed the time, and eventually we had to break the meeting with the promise to have another once some research can be done.

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