Chapter 192: Since It's Come to This, Let's Go to Class First
Midgar Magic Swordsman Academy.
Established within the royal capital of Midgar, it is the most prestigious magic swordsman academy on the continent.
In addition to local magic swordsmen, many promising magic swordsmen from abroad also come here to study, drawn by its reputation.
Thus, it's not uncommon to see a princess from a neighboring country walking and chatting amiably with a nobleman's daughter from the homeland.
Two people with completely different backgrounds could become friends here.
Mahiro, who had just arrived for his first teaching assignment, was met with countless curious gazes the moment he stepped through the academy's gates.
Aside from being captivated by his handsome features, both men and women were intensely curious about his identity—since he wasn't wearing the standard-issued Midgar Academy uniform, he probably wasn't a student?
But if he wasn't a student, the only ones permitted to enter the academy at this hour would be faculty members.
The problem was, he seemed far too young to be a teacher, looking about the same age as them...
Mahiro, however, paid no mind to these stares. After all, such attention wasn't new to him—he had long grown accustomed to it.
"First year, huh..."
In addition to his teaching duties, he had been assigned to oversee a specific first-year class, essentially acting as a homeroom teacher.
Perhaps it was fate playing tricks.
Claire happened to be among this year's incoming first-year students.
Would he end up being assigned as Claire's homeroom teacher, by any chance?
He wondered what expression Claire would make when they reunited.
She'd probably be so overjoyed and excited she'd want to run him through with a sword, right?
Just as his thoughts began to drift, a pained cry abruptly snapped him back to reality.
"Oww....."
Looking down, he saw a beautiful girl with pink twin braids sitting on the ground in pain.
Scattered around her were numerous books.
It didn't take a genius to figure out he had bumped into someone.
Judging by the uniform she wore, she was clearly a student of this academy.
Though her current fallen posture was rather... undignified.
Her slightly plump legs were tightly encased in black pantyhose...
"And they're pink..."
"Eeek—!!!"
The girl let out a startled shriek and hurriedly pulled her skirt down to cover herself.
Realizing his blunder, Mahiro bent down and extended a hand toward her. "My apologies, I was lost in thought and didn't notice you."
"....."
The moment the girl looked up at him, she unconsciously murmured something under her breath, but then quickly caught herself and corrected, "No, I mean... it's not your fault, I'm also to blame..."
"I shouldn't have been reading while walking..."
A flush of embarrassment spread across her cheeks, turning them bright red.
Still, despite her shyness, she took Mahiro's outstretched hand and slowly rose to her feet.
"By the way, are you interested in studying ancient artifacts?"
After helping her up, he asked while gathering the scattered books.
He noticed that nearly all the books were literature and records related to ancient artifacts—or Holy Relics.
"...Can you understand these?"
The girl seemed genuinely surprised.
"I suppose so. I happen to have a friend who enjoys researching these things, so I picked up a bit of knowledge."
"I see..."
The girl nodded thoughtfully, then mustered her courage to say: "U-um... My name is Sherry Barnett! M-may I ask for your name?"
What an awkward way to ask—just how nervous was this child?
However, as a proper gentleman, one of the fundamental principles of conduct is to avoid making women feel embarrassed.
Thus, he responded with a gentle smile:
"So you're the vice dean's daughter. Hello, I'm Yotsuba Mahiro, recently hired as a teacher at Midgar Academy."
That was what he originally said.
But the preparatory bell that rang just in time prevented the girl from hearing his subsequent words, catching only his name.
"Alright, Sherry, the preparatory bell has rung. You should hurry to class."
After handing her the last book, Mahiro urged her on.
Sherry understood that being late on the first day wasn't acceptable, so she nodded in thanks, stood up, and hurried toward the school building.
Though from her movements, it seemed her motor skills weren't particularly good—as if she might trip at any moment.
She reminded him quite a bit of Gamma, though with a somewhat clumsier feel...
Mahiro couldn't help but chuckle.
Still, he hadn't expected to encounter this girl—
Sherry Barnett. Though she was the daughter of Vice Dean Lutheran Barnett, she was actually his adopted child, not biological.
Lutheran had been Sherry's mother's teacher. After her mother's death, he naturally took in Sherry, who had inherited her mother's will and intellect, as his adopted daughter and strongly supported her research on Holy Relics.
But the truth was...
Sherry's mother had been killed by Lutheran's own hand, simply because she refused to provide him with the usage methods of the Holy Relics.
And Sherry remained unaware that the foster father she respected was actually the culprit behind her mother's death.
What a girl with such a complicated background...
Just like a certain Sherry being pursued by Gin.
The class he was assigned to manage was Class A of the first year—the same as the class he had been in when he enrolled at First High School. He wondered if this was fate's doing.
Mahiro took a slight breath, pushed open the classroom door, walked up to the podium, picked up a piece of chalk, and wrote his name on the blackboard.
"Let me introduce myself. I am Yotsuba Mahiro. Starting today, I will be your homeroom teacher for the next three years. I hope we can get along well during this time."
Of course, it didn't really matter if they didn't get along.
However, after he finished speaking, the entire class fell into an eerily silent stillness.
Almost everyone was looking at him with expressions of surprise.
Mahiro's gaze swept slightly across the room and happened to meet a pair of deep pink eyes—those of Sherry Barnett, whom he had met earlier.
Her small mouth was slightly agape, her expression as shocked as if she had seen a ghost.
But then, the classroom erupted with astonished exclamations.
"—Teacher Mahiro?!"
"—Lord Yotsuba?!"
Hmm, and from two people at that.
One of them was Claire Kagenou, who had enrolled today. She shot up from her seat, looking at him in disbelief.
As expected, he knew he would reunite with Claire in the classroom.
But fortunately, Claire didn't immediately draw her sword and charge at him—that could be considered a good thing, right?
Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly heard the sound of slicing wind, followed by a gleaming white sword tip rushing toward him.
A swift and sharp thrust.
There was no need to guess—it had to be Claire.
But the next moment—
Clang!
A clear, resonant clash of swords echoed through the classroom.
It wasn't him who had acted; another sword had blocked the attack, shielding him.
"Who are you?!"
Claire's sharp gaze and the weapon in her hand immediately shifted toward the person who had intercepted her strike.
To be honest, she was shocked.
After injecting the potion Mahiro had given her, she could feel her strength had improved in every aspect, breaking through her previous limits.
Just like that strike—from drawing her sword to launching the attack, it had taken less than two seconds.
Yet, aside from that bastard teacher, she hadn't expected anyone else to be capable of blocking it!
"Rose Oriana—that is my name."
The person who had blocked Claire's attack spoke calmly.
She was a girl with elegant, honey-gold drill-shaped curls cascading down her back.
Her academy uniform accentuated her slightly refined figure, and she wielded a slender longsword.
Though her golden eyes carried a sharp intensity, her facial features were soft, and she exuded an elegant, fashionable aura.
Rose Oriana was the princess of the artistic Kingdom of Oriana, studying abroad at Midgar Academy.
Contrary to the stereotypical image of a weak and delicate artist, Rose possessed exceptionally high swordsmanship skills and was among the top-ranked students in the academy.
However, blocking Claire's strike had left her deeply shaken.
Her first impression was—
So strong!
But for the person behind her, she absolutely could not back down!
"You're Claire Kagenou, right? I don't know why you suddenly attacked Lord Yotsuba, but this is a classroom, not a place for you to settle personal grudges! Unless you want to attract the knights to take you away!"
Rose reprimanded her sternly.
Claire narrowed her eyes slightly, studying Rose for a moment, then glanced at Mahiro for a long while before letting out a soft snort. She sheathed her sword and returned to her seat.
Seeing her stand down, both Rose and Sherry, whose heart had been pounding in fear, let out a slight sigh of relief.
Even the frightened strand of hair standing upright on Sherry's head slowly drooped, lying weakly atop her head.
"Then, Yotsuba-sensei, please continue with the lesson."
Rose bowed respectfully to him and then turned to return to her seat.
But at that moment, the entire class collectively gasped.
What was going on?
Such an intense situation right at the start of the school year?
The daughter of Baron Kagenou suddenly attacking the new teacher, only to be stopped by the eldest princess of the Kingdom of Oriana?
Though they didn't understand the grudges and affections behind it, they couldn't help but imagine a novel spanning hundreds of thousands of words.
Witnessing this scene, Mahiro also felt a slight headache.
I never expected such big news on the very first day.
Although he had known early on that the princess of Oriana would be studying at the academy, he had no idea which grade she would be in, let alone that she would be in the same year and even the same class as Claire.
When their eyes met, her gaze was filled with laughter.
She never dreamed she would reunite with Lord Yotsuba here!
Her acquaintance with Mahiro mainly stemmed from a kidnapping incident several years ago.
At that time, she had accompanied her father to the Midgard Kingdom on official business. Being playful, she sneaked out alone and was playing with some children when suddenly everything went dark.
When she woke up, she was already locked in a cage.
Her hands and feet were tightly bound with coarse ropes, and a gag was stuffed in her mouth.
Though there were no injuries on her body and her clothes remained intact, the fear and unease lingering in her heart made her tremble uncontrollably.
"I told you this kid's clothes looked high-class, but I never expected she'd be the princess of Oriana! Haha!"
"As expected of the boss! Such great luck!"
"Bastard, this is skill, understand?!"
The bandits' crude laughter echoed in her ears.
They must have learned her identity by searching her belongings.
Thinking about the fate that awaited her, she couldn't help but feel despair. The bandits had only two ways to deal with her:
One was to use her as a hostage to negotiate with the Kingdom of Oriana for a large sum of money.
But mere bandits surely wouldn't have such courage.
The other option was to sell her for profit.
As for where she might be sold, she didn't dare imagine—probably the best outcome would be being sold to a red-light district!
No...
I don't want this...
Someone...
Please... someone save me...
With her mouth blocked, she couldn't utter any words, only muffled sobs. The bandits only laughed more wildly upon hearing them.
Feeling her body jolting along in the carriage, her despair deepened.
However, just as she was silently weeping, a melodious cry suddenly sounded from afar.
Immediately after, she felt the carriage come to a halt.
Ding-ling
Ding-ling—
She heard such a sound, clear and pleasant like bells.
The moment she slowly opened her eyes, she witnessed a scene she would remember for the rest of her life.
At the end of the road stood a figure.
But the moonlight was too bright, making it impossible to see the person's features. The only thing clear was that they wore a blue-white kimono resembling moonlight, while slowly unfolding a folding fan in their hand.
From behind them, four tails gradually emerged, appearing like a four-tailed fox demon under the bright moonlight.
But this alone wasn't enough to frighten the bandits.
What terrified them was the figure stepping down from the full moon above.
Their coat was as dark as the night, and the crimson and crystal-blue magic circles shining in their pupils were dazzling.
Eyes capable of reflecting the terror of the night sky!
Then, she saw that person swing a sword.
With just a single sword strike, the three bandits on the carriage were decapitated, their bodies mercilessly torn to shreds by the ensuing sword wind.
Scalding, dripping blood splattered across the ground.
That elegant and powerful sword technique left an indelible mark on her young heart.
From behind the carriage, screams continued to echo.
A golden figure, entirely different from the previous white and black ones, appeared. Her long hair shimmered like gold, unforgettable even at a single glance.
As she drew closer, that pure, saint-like face and gem-like, brilliant azure eyes made her feel ashamed of her own inadequacy.
It wasn't until she noticed the pointed ears that she realized—this was a legendary elf!
"How is it, Alpha?"
"She is not a Demon Possessor. There are no signs of demonic possession on her."
"Oh, what a pity, don't you think so, Master?"
A magnetic male voice and a light, pure female voice alternated, their tones alone sending waves of pleasure through her cells.
But... a Demon Possessor?
How could she be such a being?
"I don't think it's a pity. Since we've encountered her, let's consider it a good deed."
The male voice was devoid of emotion, as if merely sighing softly. Then, the cage imprisoning her suddenly crumbled to dust.
The ropes binding her and the gag in her mouth were removed.
Before she could speak, she felt herself slowly lifted off the ground and embraced in a warm hold.
"You're crying. There's no need to be afraid anymore, so please don't cry. Crying too much will make you ugly. You wouldn't want to grow up ugly and unable to marry, would you? My lovely princess."
She felt a finger gently wipe away the tears at the corner of her eye.
When she looked up, she saw an exceptionally handsome face smiling at her.
"...Wh-Who are you?" Rose asked almost instinctively.
"My name is Yotsuba Mahiro, a passing Kamen Rider. And you, my lovely princess?"
Perhaps due to the embarrassing address, Rose's face gradually turned red.
She replied in a voice as faint as a mosquito's hum:
"M-My name is Rose Oriana... Mr. Kamen Rider, thank you for saving me..."
It was because of Mahiro's appearance that her fate was altered, steering her away from the path of art she was meant to follow and leading her to pick up the longsword despised by the kingdom, beginning her training in sword techniques.
She hoped that one day, she too could reach that level of beauty and power.
At the same time, this became an extremely precious memory for Rose, a secret she never shared with anyone, belonging solely to her.
But she never expected that, just two years later, she would reunite with that elegant, beautiful, and powerful Lord Yotsuba!
Most importantly, she even learned that Mahiro would be teaching the Royal Capital Martial Heart Style sword techniques. It was like joy upon joy, a double blessing!
However, she didn't notice the hostility in Claire's gaze as she looked at her.
When Claire turned to glance at Mahiro on the podium, she shot him an angry glare.
Even though she was also happy to see her teacher again, her earlier attack was merely a way to vent her inner frustration.
Even though they could meet again so soon, this was her punishment for making the farewell so sentimental.
She knew full well that no matter how fierce her sword skills were, she could never harm this sadistic teacher—that's why she dared to act this way.
But she never expected a girl she'd never seen before to appear in class, who also knew this bastard teacher!
Even Claire herself didn't realize how heavy her jealousy had become, nor how terrifying her expression looked. At the very least, her classmates had already backed away to a safe distance.
So scary...
Claire is so scary...
Mahiro naturally noticed all this, but—
"Whatever. Since things have come to this, let's just focus on the lesson first."