The other?
It was in the row right above my original seat.
Taking a deep breath, I sighed and walked up the steps, sliding into the second row.
But, at that moment, a familiar student’s head suddenly flicked upward, locking onto my figure.
Letting out a dry cough, I took the seat next to Aizo, leaving his friend and accomplice in defacing Ruby’s desk to be with Magnus.
*Ring~ring*
As the bell rang, Professor Lily strolled into the classroom as always, giving out some information about the practical exam next week before leaving and letting Dr. King in.
Class passed by as usual, while Aizo simply gazed at me, his eyes narrowed, prompting me to be on guard the entire time.
Finally, as Dr King posed a question to the class, he looked up and away from me.
Unfortunately, he seemed to meet Dr. King’s eyes.
"How about you...Ai- aiero?"
"....uh?"
Hiding my desk behind Serena’s head, I whispered while gazing up at him.
"Their private spot. It’s their private spots."
His head trembling, he glanced down at me and whispered back while the entire class gazed at him.
"What!?"
Cupping my hands around my mouth, I whispered back even louder.
"Their private spot. Say it!"
Scratching his head awkwardly, Aizo pretended to think for a few more moments before opening his mouth.
"Their private spot!"
"..."
The entire classroom went silent.
"*AHEM*"
Letting out a dry cough, Dr. King pointed at the nose of the creature drawn on the whiteboard and turned around, hiding his expression.
"While the nose is the traditional and...expected answer, the forest dweller does have a weak spot on its...private parts, just like any other creature."
Lying my head on the desk, I muttered, trying to hide my laughter.
"You’re welcome."
However, instead of gratitude, an insult instantly came whirling back.
"Go fuck yourself, you knew nose was the answer."
After history and mana-theory class, where we are simply taught how to sense mana, not use it yet, Professor Lily returned at the end of the school day.
As usual, I got up, ready to sprint out the exit back to my dorm room; however, her voice suddenly sounded.
"If your name is not called in the next few moments, you are dismissed. Leo, Serena, Hearin, Carissa, and Athen Dee, please remain in the classroom.
Instead, I heard hushed gossiping between students as they flooded out.
"One of the names is not like the rest..."
"You know, I thought it was something important, then that last name sounded."
"I mean, it can’t be for smart students either, because Haerin is there, right?"
"What type of list!?"
However, more than the rest of the students, I was...confused.
Why didn’t she call him? Magnus!?
For a moment, we made eye contact, his golden pupils meeting my blue, but he simply looked away in disgust.
Like the other students, Magnus left the room, and notably, I noticed my new deskmate, Aizo, not following him out like the other members of his entourage.
Aizo would leave Magnus later in the book anyway, but it seemed my duel with him had sped up the event.
Finally, as the last student, Ruby, left the classroom, Lily scanned the five of us before starting.
"Whether because of your academic achievement, physical prowess, or even moral judgment, you five have been selected by me and your fellow first-year teachers as the first-year task force."
It seemed my good standing with Dr. King, alongside the impressions I had tried to make on Professor Lily through my telling of Aizo and my fight with him, had consequently caused her to pick me.
Additionally, although Aizo was the one caught for defacing Ruby’s desk, Professor Lily must have assumed Magnus to be the real perpetrator, lowering her standing of him. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on N0veI.Fiɾe.net
Snapping me back to reality, her voice continued.
"As you all should have noticed by now, your class is not like the rest, containing the brightest and strongest students."
"Thus, a task force, in case of events, has been formed for first-years."
"All of you are free to invite one to two outer members whom you believe to be worthy, but every Friday, the five of you are to gather here, with or without my presence."
"During these meetings, you will all go over all events, big or small, that occurred during the past week. Your feedback and discoveries are extremely valuable and will impact decisions made by us, the faculty."
Nodding my head, I side-glanced at Carissa, immediatly noting that she seemed to be back to her usual self.
It was hard to explain. Perhaps, because of all the observing and attention I had placed on her over the past few weeks, I could remember her habits.
For example, the way she pushed back a silky-white stand of hair over her ear, or the way her expressions took form on her face.
Whenever she was surprised, her eyes would slowly rise to the top of her eyelids before dropping like a roller coaster ride.
Noticing I had been gazing far too long, I returned my attention to Professor Lily and nodded my head upon hearing her done talking.
...
...
...
Gazing out the window at the orange sky outside, I grabbed my backpack and took one last glance at my painting before exiting the dorm room.
If I didn’t stop this incident, there wouldn’t be any immediate effects like a massacre, for example, with Zyn.
But...the Carissa I had painstakingly written and described would vanish.
While Carissa’s mom was known as a saint and an amazing hero to the rest of the world, Carissa’s father and I knew the real truth.
Till the very end, she was "evil."
Her kindness and generosity? Simply a mask for the heinous acts she committed behind the scenes, killing government agents and spies while feeding information to the demon army.
In the end, it was her very own husband, whom she had married not out of evilness, but love, who killed her.