Before the first period in the morning.
Under his classmates' peculiar gazes, Luo Shu reached his seat and sat down, then took out his phone to open LINE's chatroom interface.
Several messages had already appeared in the chatroom:
[Eriri: Transfer students? Haven't heard anything at all. No rumours among first-years~ Could it be a mistake?]
[Utako Kasumi: So, no transfer student news among the first-years, then?]
[Eriri: Second-years too. Just checked through classmates. Only the third year remains unconfirmed.]
[Eriri: Speaking of which, about this official organisation's ability instructor... Are you sure we can really keep secrets around them?]
[Utako Kasumi: Though I shouldn't be the one answering this, isn't Eriri actually the best actress among us?]
[Utako Kasumi: Am I right? The art club's genius girl artist, the Flower of Toyogasaki High School, Eriri Spencer Sawamura.]
[Eriri: Damn it, you definitely used Mind Reading on my friends this morning, didn't you? You absolutely did!]
[Utako Kasumi: I seem to see someone secretly gloating? Or is it just my imagination?]
[Eriri: Damn it!! (angry.jpg)]
After briefly scanning the messages, Luo Shu frowned and glanced at the nearby classmates observing him. After intimidating them away with his gaze, he muttered:
"Shouldn't there be some class clique gossiping and leaking information at a time like this?"
Though it sounded dramatic, for Japanese high school students who constantly had to read the atmosphere, finding conversation topics was practically a necessary ability.
And the topic of transfer students was undoubtedly a hot one in Japan that could liven things up for a while—otherwise, so many light novels wouldn't feature a transfer student arc.
Unfortunately, Luo Shu didn't encounter such a scenario. In fact, due to the dating rumours from walking with Utaha Kasumigaoka yesterday and today, he had become the current hot topic instead.
Luo Shu had already overheard many conversations like: "Are they dating? Those two." "Definitely, lots of people saw them." and similar remarks.
Fortunately, the students at Toyogasaki High School seemed quite civilised, so no one had directly confronted Luo Shu with blunt questions yet.
[Luo Shu: If we can't find any leads, then there's no choice but to use unconventional methods.]
[Eriri: What unconventional methods? (curious.jpg)]
[Utako Kasumi: .....]
Utaha Kasumigaoka sent a string of ellipses, seemingly having some inkling of what he meant.
Then, Luo Shu typed on his phone screen:
[Luo Shu: Utaha, let's investigate the teachers after class.]
[Eriri: Uh.]
Eriri Spencer seemed to realise the truth.
[Utako Kasumi: I'll give you an answer before second period.]
It was clear Utaha Kasumigaoka was very confident.
Seeing this, Luo Shu pocketed his phone and thought:
'I should find time to give her the materials for ability advancement. Hmm, I can just claim it's a reward for intelligence gathering—an advance payment, of course, so she'll have to provide free assistance for some subsequent work.'
Giving it away completely for free was impossible, so he'd have to use the quest chain approach, which involves giving rewards in advance while requiring the completion of linked tasks to earn them truly.
Utaha Kasumigaoka was smart—she'd understand Luo Shu's meaning about how small favours create gratitude while large ones breed resentment.
Just as Luo Shu was making arrangements for Utaha Kasumigaoka, the class bell rang.
Strangely, for English class, it was the Japanese literature teacher Takagi who entered. More surprisingly, following behind him was a black-haired girl in a black gothic dress, with the stature of a middle schooler, looking like a living doll.
Seeing the girl, Luo Shu froze momentarily before processing the situation, while the class erupted in chatter.
"What's this? A transfer student? Didn't hear anything about it!"
"Wow, what a cute girl~~"
"A junior high student? Calling her a high schooler seems like a stretch..."
"Oh no, she's totally a legal loli~"
"Ahem, quiet."
The bald Takagi rapped his textbook on the desk, then scanned the gradually quieting students and explained:
"The English teacher, Ms Nanjo, has been transferred to another school and will no longer be teaching our class. For the remainder of this semester, your English lessons will be taught by Ms Natsuki. Let's give her a warm welcome!"
Before the students could react, Takagi had already started clapping enthusiastically.
Yet not a single student joined in. They simply stared wide-eyed at the youthful-looking girl with long black hair, their expressions full of disbelief.
"Teacher?" xN
"No way!" xN
While the class was in shock, Luo Shu expressionlessly took out his phone from his pocket, opened a messaging app under the desk, and sent a text.
[Luo Shu: No need to go to the staff room. She came straight to our class. As for details, you'll definitely find out after class.]
Without even looking at his drawer, Luo Shu typed with perfect accuracy when suddenly his brow twitched. He turned his head and met Natsuki's gaze.
She seemed to merely glance at him casually without comment, waiting until Takagi stepped aside before writing four kanji on the blackboard: 'Natsuki Minamiya'.
Beside it, she added a small note: '24 years old'.
"That's all."
Natsuki flicked away the chalk dust and clapped her hands. Despite her youthful features, she exuded an inexplicable aura of authority:
"I won't explain further. Starting this semester, I'll be responsible for your English lessons. Understood?"
The students exchanged bewildered looks, seemingly unsure how to respond.
At this, Luo Shu sighed softly and called out:
"Understood!"
Natsuki on the podium glanced at Luo Shu, and soon the rest of the class followed with uneven voices:
"Understood~~"
Takagi, seeing this, sighed in relief and chuckled quietly. "Well, it seems my job here is done. I'll leave the rest of the lesson to you, Natsuki."
"Fine." Natsuki nodded slightly and watched as Takagi left the room. Once the door closed, her sharp gaze swept across the classroom, silencing anyone who might have considered causing trouble.
"Open your textbooks to page 33. Now."
After a brief pause, the sound of flipping pages filled the classroom in unison.
Meanwhile, Luo Shu narrowed his eyes as he turned the pages, thinking to himself:
'Witch of the Void Natsuki Minamiya... So, another visitor from the Abyss?'