Ah~ the University of Magic~

The meeting room buzzed with half-hearted greetings, coffee breaths, and-

“Okay, cut the crap,” Addai grumbled, looking impatiently at Lydia.

Lydia gasped and clutched her pearls. “You interrupted my brilliant introduction…!”

“It’s lame,” Addai crossed his arms.

“Lame is your ass,” Lydia shot back, mirroring his stance.

Mine pinched his nose bridge and sighed. It was only seven in the morning, and he had to bear with Addai’s morning bitterness and Lydia’s teasing the poor man, increasing his bitterness even more.

If that wasn’t enough, Ajal was extra that morning, giving each teacher a dose of his joyful way of someone who woke up shining in the early morning. Also, he was super excited to have Blanche around after everything she faced in Agarath’s claws. Miss. Blanche, much the contrary to the shining Ajal, was as composed as ever. Her white-as-snow hair was tied in a high bun, and her uniform – a bit different from the other teachers – was neat and straight.

Like Mine, Abannak was pinching his nose bridge since he entered the meeting room at the Main Administration Building. He was clearly not a morning person, much less the kind of person – well, dragon – who was used to having that much commotion in the morning. To make things worse, Ajal was glued to him that morning due to a sour fate: Abannak was going to give Ajal's students a lesson about draconic curses. Well, in Abannak’s mind crossed every kind of draconic curse to make Ajal shut his talkative mouth.

But to Mine and Abannak’s luck, Mr. Soleil had just entered the meeting room wearing his flamboyant lemon-patterned suit with a pale green bowtie. He was as Soleil as ever, smiling and beaming as if he was the sun.

“Good morning, you all!” Soleil beamed.

“Finally, Mr. Soleil,” Abannak stood up, his hair fluttering in the air as he walked towards the Director.

Soleil chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. “My bad,” he said, coughing lightly as he guided Abannak to his seat.

Addai and Lydia shut their mouths when Mine, finally fed up with their bickering, pinched their lips together and glowed his hair in crimson. It was more than enough for Addai and Lydia to lift a white flag and behave well.

Blanche sat beside Ajal, whose tail couldn’t stop wagging. She took a stack of papers from her bag and placed it on the table, sorting a pile for each teacher while Soleil drank a cup of water after coughing.

“Thank you, Mrs. Blanche,” Soleil nodded towards Blanche, who nodded back. “You must be asking yourselves why I gathered only you four here, but it’s a very important thing, I might add…” he clasped his hands, “Mr. Shire is currently on urgent leave for a short period, and his classes will be shared between Mr. Addai and Mr. Ajal.”

Addai’s eyes flickered. Mr. Shire was… on leave? He was sure Mr. Shire would text him before doing such a thing once they were in touch almost every day and every working hour.

He didn’t expect Soleil’s words at all.

“Also, Mr. Mine and Lydia will make sure both Mr. Addai and Ajal do not get contaminated with miasma after Mr. Shire’s classes once he is in charge of denser topics that demand lots of practice,” Soleil continued, looking at Mine and Lydia, whose eyes brightened at the statement.

“Leave it with us, Mr. Soleil,” Lydia said, proud and smiling.

Soleil chuckled and looked at Abannak, waiting for a signal. Abannak nodded and stood up. The Vice Director headed to the room’s door and placed his hand on the handler, looking at Soleil. Soleil stood up as well and dusted his suit, smiling even wider.

“For today's quick meeting last topic… Mrs. Blanche will be the tutor of our new temporary teacher of Magic Defense,” he announced. “She’ll also give students bits of knowledge about hell-related miasma and teach them how to properly use their body to effectively tackle threats.”

Mine, Lydia, Ajal, and Addai looked at the Director – everybody was confused. Another new teacher? Since when? Mine was sure he hadn’t seen any vacancies for it, nor any signs. It was so sudden that Addai was downloading and digesting that information piece by piece, just like Lydia and Ajal.

Soleil waved his hand at Abannak, who turned the doorknob and opened the door. A woman with burgundy hair tied in a high ponytail entered the room. She had a fine posture and determined steps, but when her eyes laid on Addai, she tripped.

Addai’s eyes locked on the woman, and the woman did the same.

Their mouths open in a gap.

“Welcome, Mrs. Belial!” Soleil beamed.

What the fuck are you doing here?! Addai and Belial thought the same.