Zane
"Why did you bring us to your house?" I asked.
"Professor Dirak from Elava School wants to meet you. He said he has something urgent to discuss," Vien replied.
What? Professor Dirak! I know him well. Back when I was studying at Elava School, he paid quite a lot of attention to me, which is why I was able to learn so much.
"You should have told me this sooner instead of acting like some suspicious idiot," I said.
I opened the car door and stepped out, then opened the back door for Nilo and Nico. They both climbed out and immediately grabbed hold of my hands, each standing firmly on one side of me.
With both of them holding my hands, I followed Vien inside his house.
As we stepped in, I saw Professor Dirak sitting on the living room sofa.
"Professor!" I called out, walking toward him.
"Oh, my Zane—you've grown up so much! And are these your children? They're adorable."
I smiled and nodded. Professor already knew about my condition—that despite being a man, I could get pregnant.
"Nilo, Nico, this is my professor. Greet him," I said.
Both of them bowed politely and greeted him with a soft "Hello."
"Aww, your sons are so well-mannered and cute. I wish I had grandsons like them," he said warmly.
After that, the professor and I sat down, while Vien ran around the house playing with Nilo and Nico.
I leaned back against the sofa, crossing one leg over the other, and fixed my gaze on the professor.
"So, what's the reason you suddenly came to see me? You haven't contacted me even once since I graduated from Elava School," I said.
He looked at me, then turned his eyes straight ahead.
"Well, you were the most brilliant student I ever had. I was always proud of you. After you graduated, I never found another student like you," he said.
It really felt like fate hearing the professor praise me. Back in school, he never praised anyone, nor did he talk much with students. He was such a strict man that everyone used to call him Straight Face.
"I wouldn't have bothered to come and talk if it were any other student. But since it's you, I couldn't just sit back and do nothing—that's why I'm here," Professor Dirak said.
Now I was starting to feel nervous. For the professor himself to come here… it had to be something serious—something big.
I could see the nervousness on his face and even a flicker of fear in his eyes.
"What do you want to talk about?" I asked again.
"Something dangerous is happening right now, all across the country. You wouldn't believe it if I told you. There are people—some from Elava School—who are coming after you. Their target is you. They want to kill you."
My eyes widened at his words. He had said two things—one I couldn't quite understand, but the other was clear enough: people from Elava School wanted to kill me.
But why?
And what exactly did he mean by the first thing?
"Professor, one moment—can you explain it to me in simple words? Without beating around the bush? You know I can't understand what you're saying at all."
"There's a disaster about to happen across the entire country in just a few days," Professor Dirak said gravely.
"Take care of yourself and your children during that time. And… the other thing is, there are people who want to kill you. They're going to use the chaos of the disaster as an opportunity to get rid of you."
His expression was so serious that I couldn't even bring myself to ask if he was joking.
"And what is this disaster? Why would someone want to kill me?"
It's not like I've made a lot of enemies. Only a few. Even back in school, I never killed anyone—I only beat them to a pulp when they tried to bully me.
I frowned. "I don't think I've made that many enemies."
"Can you at least tell me the names of these people? And what exactly is going to happen? Why are you calling it a disaster?" I asked.
"I don't know much about the disaster," Professor Dirak admitted.
"I only received fragments of information. But the ones after you are called Zero, Tiger, and Air."
Wait—Zero, Tiger, and Air… those sound like code names given by the school.
Once we entered Elava School, our real names didn't matter. No one asked for them.
Only the professors and the principal knew our personal information. Other than that, students only knew each other by their code names.
I had been given the code name Shark. But I don't remember anyone with the names Zero, Tiger, or Air.
I'm sure I must have met them back then, but it's been many years. I don't remember most people from school anymore.
"Who are they now? Because I don't remember anyone with those code names," I asked Professor Dirak.
"Well, that's expected," he said.
"You never paid attention to others—your whole focus was on learning."
Hehe, that was true. I didn't want to make friends, but still, I did end up making one—Ken. Yes, Ken had also graduated from that school.
He was a slow learner who couldn't pick up most things, and that's why he ended up becoming a hacker.
"Anyway, just be careful. That's all I wanted to say. By the way, are you interested in sending your sons to Elava School? I could get them enrolled there," the professor offered.
Sending both of them to the same school I went to… Honestly, I didn't want my sons to go there.
Elava School was a special place, sure—it taught many things. But if we failed to learn, we faced punishments: sometimes not even getting food, and worse.
I had only been punished once. After that, I made no more mistakes and learned everything I could.
"No, it's okay, Professor. I don't want to," I said firmly.
Just then, both Nilo and Nico came running over, their curious eyes flicking between me and the professor.