Chapter 1: Prologue: Waking up and rediscovering Sentience

'Accursed Lightning Beast, I shall devour you one day.' A beautiful teacher with two horns sticking from her forehead cursed the Lightning Beast that destroyed the power line in their area.

 

It was a hot and humid day, an hour after noon without the help of air conditioning.

 

This horned woman was Mia, or Teacher Mia, as the students referred to her. She was an Oni and the homeroom teacher of the First Grade Room 2. She was a new hire and had just moved up from being a student teacher two months before the school year began.

 

'Aaaah~ sweet cold air. I love magic.'

 

Mia praised the Spell cast in the nap room.

 

The air conditioning was not working, so the teachers had to rely on [Frost Magic] to cool the children's nap room. 

 

'I wish I could use magic too and, hmm? That kid….' Teacher Mia went to the nap room to wake the children for afternoon classes only to find a student had already woken up. 

 

The kid was standing on a stool, looking out the window. His hands were on his back, and he sighed time and again. 

 

The six-year-old boy looked in the distance. His eyes were reminiscent of a seasoned veteran. Someone who had survived a hundred battlefields. Undisturbed by the noise of the outside world.

 

'His eyes… It's like how my Grandpa acts while Grandma is yelling at him for leaving the toilet seat up.'

 

Again, he looked like a Season Veteran. 

 

"Theo, is something the matter? Did you just wake up?" Teacher Mia asked as she approached the kid named Theo, "Do you need to wee-wee? Do you need a teacher to accompany you to the washroom?"

 

"It appears that the afterlife is an imitation of the real world. Or is the real world an imitation of the afterlife… is this body even my own? Or am I hallucinating? It might even be possible that I was just dreaming… or is this the dream? Is life but a man dreaming a life—"

 

It had been ten seconds since Theo started talking and seven seconds since Mia's head floated to the Interworld Martial Arts Tournament she had watched the night before.

 

'I have no idea what he's talking about.' Teacher Mia retained her smile against the confusion. When the boy started talking about imitation and life, she was already at a loss, 'In the first place, how can this human boy talk so straight already? Is it their Racial Ability?'

 

Humans baffled her. 

 

"—so, what do you think, Teacher?"

 

'Oh no… it was a question! If I don't give him an answer, he'll realize I wasn't listening and might lose the trust of us teachers! I cannot have that!' Teacher Mia kept her confident smile. She steeled her heart and threw and left everything up to chance.

 

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"Ye-yeah, whatever you think is correct, dear. But, remember, only time will prove if what you choose is right or wrong. So, do not be afraid of doing either."

 

She answered with a vague yes. Supportive, but giving him the chance to find his own path in life. Truly, a magnificent dodge to a question she didn't listen to.

 

"I see… then I shall accept the teacher's wise input. Thank you for answering my question."

 

"Wha? Hmm? Yeah, sure." 

 

Teacher Mia gave three cheers for his mumbling to turn into a yes or no question.

 

But a bitter taste remained in her mouth.

 

'...I am a failure as a teacher.' Teacher Mia cursed her ineptitude, "Then, stay there, Theo. I need to wake up the others for the afternoon lesson and activities."

 

"A second, please?" He grabbed her hand and stopped her from waking up the others.

 

Teacher Mia was already exasperated. She didn't know how to deal with him. Her face constricted to annoyance, but when he saw his eyes filled with seriousness and anxiety, she understood something was wrong.

 

"Please… don't wake them up yet. I… I need a teacher to help me."

 

'Is he trying to confide in me? Wait! Could it be he is finally talking so much because he can no longer take it? Is it bullying? Domestic violence?' her mind went wild, but her will to help her student was stronger than it had ever been, 'Is this what he was asking me about? Thankfully, I answered him with such positivity!'

 

Teacher Mia assured him and held his hand, "You can tell me anything. Teacher will help you the best she can."

 

Her eyes were practically burning with dedication. She was ready to fight tooth and nail for her student! She had failed him once! But never again!

 

She who had walked the path of teaching would guide him to a better future the best she could!

 

Theo's cheeks reddened, his eyes never meeting with his teacher's. His lips opened as they shook. Hesitating in the utterance of a confession, "I lost to my bladder. Even when I am so young, I still failed to answer nature's call properly."

 

They both looked down and saw the patch on his shorts.

 

"...oh."

 

Teacher Mia was happy he was in danger, but she would be lying to say she wasn't a touch disappointed.