"You haven’t answered me."

Kaiser’s flat voice snapped Rina back to reality. She turned to look at him, realizing he had no expression on his face.

He looked completely blank as he repeated the question.

"How do you know that name?"

Maintaining her composure, she answered him.

"Our Reaper Guild once had a joint mission with him, and I was fortune enough to receive some recognition from him."

Kaiser’s expression relaxed slightly. "Oh? Is that so?"

Her remark and the way she obviously adored that man made him soften his attitude toward her.

"What is your relationship with him, though?"

Rina asked curiously. She had a hunch, especially after seeing Kaiser wield the darkness element.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t been able to confirm her hunch since then.

Kaiser rolled his eyes. "I wouldn’t tell you that. But you’re free to guess."

Rina was displeased and at the same time, surprised. Displeased because he wasn’t going to answer her despite her answering him, and surprised because he suddenly didn’t seem so distant anymore.

"You’re really something else."

She shook her head, then stood up.

"I’ll go deliver your message to the chairman now. You may return to the classroom."

Kaiser nodded, then walked out with her. To their surprise, someone straightened with a startled expression as the door was opened.

"Natalie. Were you eavesdropping?"

The blonde instructor gave her friend an awkward smile.

"O-of course not! I was just wondering if you’ve started taking a liking to students. After all, you haven’t gotten a boyfriend in yea—" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Rina immediately covered her mouth, glaring at her fiercely.

The other instructors merely chuckled at their antics, already used to it.

"Stop spouting nonsense. There is no such thing."

Without waiting for a reply, she walked out of the room with quick steps, her hips swaying seductively—completely unintentional.

Natalie turned to Kaiser, folding her arms beneath her ample chest.

"You don’t happen to have a crush on Rina, right? I don’t think she’ll even accept your feelings."

Kaiser shot her a disappointed frown, then walked past her, completely ignoring her question.

The woman froze in disbelief. By the time she turned around, he had already disappeared from the office.

"That damn brat...!"

.........

Meanwhile, Kaiser returned to the class, meeting another instructor who was already teaching.

The man didn’t even glance at him as he entered and took his seat. Even till now, the instructors were still indifferent to the attitude of the students in class.

After all, the monthly evaluation and penalty would be enough reason for the students to caution themselves and not misbehave. As for cases where students were called by other instructors during a class, it wasn’t punishable as the academy remained reasonable.

A few hours later, after a class had ended, Hazel stopped everyone from leaving since the classroom for lunch break.

"I apologize for the time being taken, but I’ll make it quick. The midterm exams are coming so we’d be in need of study groups again."

She stood before the class, her expression serious.

"I and Liam are willing to hold tutorials for those who are weak in some particular subjects, but we alone can’t handle the whole class. So we need volunteers. If you believe you can teach well, please signify."

The students glanced at each other, waiting to see who would raise their hand first.

To their shock, Kaiser actually raised his hand.

"Huh?"

Hazel blinked, completely caught off guard. She suppressed the urge to rub her eyes so she could confirm she wasn’t dreaming.

The class was deathly silent, with everyone of them staring at the boy in shock.

Ariel’s eyes narrowed. ’What is he planning now? Tutoring students? No, I don’t think that’s what he wants. He definitely has a hidden agenda.’

Several other students had the same thought, thinking he was probably going to traumatize the students in his study group.

Hazel’s eyes narrowed. ’Will anyone even be willing to learn from him? Although his scores are always perfect, he doesn’t seem like someone you can trust with your studies.’

More importantly, almost everyone in the class feared him. Would they even be able to understand anything he was teaching?

’This is really... I’ll find something to do about it.’

Pressing her lips together, she sighed.

"Alright, Kaiser. Anyone else?"

Her words dispelled the pensive atmosphere, and two other students raised their hands.

"Astron and Alisa. Thank you. I’ll make a poll on the group so you can choose who you want to study from. You all can go now."

As soon as her voice dropped, Sebastian left the class. He had only stayed on a whim, completely uninterested in the study groups.

Mordica took her lunchbox and left the class too. Before she stepped out, she gave Kaiser a long look, then walked away.

Hazel returned to her seat, turning to Kaiser while the other students left the class.

"You decided to really tutor people? Are you sure it’s not a prank?"

Kaiser replied without turning to her.

"Do I look like I’d joke?"

She shook her head, then sighed. "Alright. Although I don’t know why you’re doing this, I’ll owe you a favor."

He shrugged indifferently, then stood up.

"That’s on the premise that anyone wants to be taught by me."

Hazel smiled bitterly. He was right. In the end, all she could do was try her best.

Once Kaiser was gone from the classroom, Ariel spoke to her.

"Do you think he’s planning something?"

Hazel blinked. "No? He doesn’t look like that. Why did you say so?"

The silver-haired boy lowered his voice. "Kaiser has been pretty different lately. His actions and patterns aren’t the same as before. He’s becoming quite casual. And that normality is what makes me wary."

Hazel stared at him with a peculiar look, then shook her head.

"You were reading into his movements and all? You’re really a creep. Anyway, that is nothing to be wary about. People change."

Saying that, she stood up and left the class.

Meanwhile, Ariel remained seated, his gaze slightly complex.

’Change? No, that doesn’t apply to those called ’Solace’. They’re different from you all. I just hope whatever he does doesn’t affect the class, or I might have to get involved.’