The narrow corridor was silent. A flickering neon light swayed above, casting a pale glow across the floor. Kaito walked casually, trying to calm his mind after being barred from joining the battle by Doctor Budi's robot.
Suddenly—
"…Teacher…"
A faint voice drifted from the end of the hallway.
Kaito stopped. A female student was staggering forward, eyes tightly shut, arms stretched out like a zombie.
Kaito frowned.
"Eh… is she… sleepwalking?"
The girl drew closer and, without warning, wrapped her arms around Kaito, pressing her face against his chest.
"…Father… don't leave me… Father…" she murmured in her sleep.
"EHH!?" Kaito panicked, his hands frozen awkwardly in midair.
"W-wait! I'm not your father! Let go!"
Of course, that was the exact moment three other students passed by the hallway. They stopped abruptly, staring wide-eyed at the scene.
One of them whispered, barely holding back laughter.
"Eh… looks like we've got fresh gossip. Turns out Teacher Kaito has a secret daughter in this camp?"
Another student quickly covered her mouth, but her eyes were sparkling with amusement.
"WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT!?" Kaito shouted, face bright red.
"She's just SLEEPWALKING! Do you hear me!? SLEEPWALKING!"
But the students had already run off, giggling, clearly intent on spreading the story.
Kaito looked down at the girl still clinging to him. She murmured softly:
"…Father… your favorite black coffee is ready…"
Kaito covered his face with one hand, sighing heavily.
❝Just great… if this rumor spreads, I won't just be the 'Flying Teacher'—I'll be branded as someone's father, too…❞
Resigned, he patted her shoulder.
"Wake up, you strange kid… before my reputation gets completely ruined here."
The girl blinked, her eyes opening halfway, yawning sleepily. Her faint voice wavered:
"…Father…"
Kaito exhaled slowly, suppressing a reluctant smile.
"I'm not your father. Please don't call me that again. I'm Teacher Kaito, understand?"
She nodded gently, then sat on the floor rubbing her eyes.
"Teacher… sorry… I didn't mean to."
Kaito stood beside her, patting her shoulder lightly.
"It's alright. But please… don't let this turn into gossip. Believe me… my reputation is bizarre enough already today."
The girl gave a shy smile, her tail—clearly a fake cosplay prop—wagging faintly.
"Eh… but I'm glad I got to meet you, Teacher…"
Kaito sighed.
❝Damn… this kid is only making me more uneasy.❞
Suddenly, the sharp echo of footsteps rang from another hallway. Several students appeared, dressed in black uniforms marked with a strange emblem on their sleeves: the Order of Elios. Their expressions were stern, their demeanor solemn.
At the front, a silver-haired girl with piercing eyes fixed her gaze on Kaito.
"Teacher Kaito? Have you seen a certain suspicious student?"
Kaito narrowed his eyes.
"Suspicious? Who do you mean?"
The girl's tone was grave.
"We are from the Order of Elios. We believe weapons have souls, and each must be treated as one would treat a human. We are searching for someone… special."
Kaito arched a brow.
"Weapons… treated as humans? You're serious?"
The silver-haired girl nodded firmly.
"Deadly serious. And the weapon in question… is 'Duke 17.'"
Kaito swallowed, eyes narrowing.
"Duke 17… you mean… the lethal weapon from the war?"
The Order's student lowered her head slightly, speaking with reverence.
"No longer merely a weapon, Teacher. Duke 17 has become human. We believe… he is our prophet, destined to lead the Order of Elios in carrying out the will of the sacred armament."
Kaito stared at them, caught between panic, disbelief, and faint amusement.
❝Great. From sleepwalking drama, cafeteria gossip, mischievous cats… now I'm dragged into a cult about living weapons…❞
The sleepwalking girl looked up at him with innocent eyes, as if asking: Teacher… is this for real?
Kaito sighed, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets.
"Yeah… looks like today isn't just about cafeteria rumors anymore."
One of the Order's members, a young man with golden eyes, spoke gravely.
"Teacher Kaito… if you ever encounter Duke 17, you must never harm him. Even… if it means standing against the entire world."
Kaito swallowed hard, his face expressionless.
❝…I only wanted a quiet walk down the hallway. How did I end up tangled with a weapon-worshipping cult…❞
The corridor thickened with tension. The Order of Elios stared at Kaito, waiting for his answer.
Then, a weak voice rose beside him—the same sleepwalking girl.
"…I… I saw…" she murmured, half-yawning.
Every member of the Order whipped their heads toward her.
"You saw what!?" demanded the silver-haired girl, eyes blazing.
Still half-asleep, the girl raised her hand lazily.
"…a suspicious person… in Class… A2…"
"WHAT!?" the Order roared in unison. Their solemn aura ignited with urgency.
"To Class A2! Now!" the silver-haired girl commanded, waving her hand as the entire group sprinted away.
Kaito blinked, dumbfounded.
"Eh… wait, wait! Where even is Class A2?"
The girl turned to him, her face still blank with drowsiness.
"…inside a dream…"
Silence.
Kaito blinked several times, staring blankly ahead. Then his face twisted—somewhere between exasperation, fatigue, and near laughter.
"Seriously… I just watched a full-fledged cult get duped by a sleepwalker…"
The girl smiled faintly, tilting her head.
"Ehehe… sorry, Teacher."
Kaito dragged a hand down his face, groaning.
"Alright… before my head completely bursts from today's nonsense, can I at least know your name?"
The girl straightened up, though her eyes were still drowsy.
"My name is Aklin. First-year student."
She reached into her skirt pocket, pulling out a crumpled slip of paper and handing it to Kaito.
"This… I was told to give you too. My medical record."
Kaito frowned, unfolding the note. The doctor's handwriting was scrawled across the page:
Patient Name: Aklin
Condition: Psychological Trauma
Symptoms: Somnambulism (sleepwalking), distorted dreams, blurred reality, mild hallucinatory tendencies.
Note: Must be supervised by a guardian/teacher in high-stress environments.
Kaito stared at the paper for a long time. His uneasy smile slowly faded into something far more serious.
"So… this isn't just ordinary sleepwalking…"
Aklin lowered her gaze, fingers clutching the hem of her skirt.
"…I'm not lying about my dream, Teacher. In my dream, Class A2 is real. There's always someone… standing there."
Kaito looked deep into her eyes. Part of him wanted to laugh at the Order of Elios for being tricked, but another part sensed a darker weight behind her words.
❝This girl… she isn't just a source of odd rumors. She might be the key to something far larger…❞
He returned the slip of paper to her hand.
"Where is Class A2, really?" he asked quietly, testing her.
Aklin lifted her face, her eyes heavy but her lips curving in a faint smile.
"Oh… Class A2 is easy, Teacher. Just follow that person."
"That person?" Kaito stiffened, turning quickly.
But Aklin only nodded softly, pointing down the same hallway the Order of Elios had taken earlier.
Kaito clenched his teeth, exhaling sharply.
"Great… I'm getting directions from a half-asleep kid now?"
Yet without further hesitation, he sprinted after the Order, his footsteps echoing until they vanished around the corner.
Aklin remained still in the corridor. Her gaze drifted blankly, then slowly shifted.
From afar, a man strolled leisurely through the hallway.
His jacket was black-and-white, frayed at the edges. A thin mustache and unkempt stubble marked his face. Cigarette smoke curled from his lips, swirling beneath the flickering neon.
The man glanced briefly at Aklin. His eyes were cold, piercing straight through her.
Aklin froze, breath caught in her throat.
But the man didn't stop. He walked on casually, exhaling one last stream of smoke before vanishing through a steel door into another building.
Aklin stood rooted, whispering softly under her breath:
"The student… in Class A2… it isn't just a dream, is it…?"