I Became a Kindergarten Teacher for Monster Babies!-Chapter 558 Crying

Another sniffle.

The sound was soft, almost embarrassed, like someone was trying very hard not to make noise.

Dante’s pen paused for a moment above the attendance sheet.

The babies slowly turned their heads.

Drake blinked.

Luna leaned sideways to peek around her desk.

Felix narrowed his eyes like a detective analyzing a crime scene.

Kelpie tilted his head, water dripping from his hair.

Rocky froze with his small hands gripping the edge of his desk.

Boo floated two inches off the desk before remembering he was supposed to be "sitting" and immediately sat back down again.

Another tiny sniffle came from the middle row.

All eyes landed on Rocky.

The little stone boy had both hands covering his face, his shoulders shaking slightly.

"Rocky?" Luna asked slowly.

Rocky lowered his hands just enough for his watery eyes to appear between his fingers.

"I... I’m not crying," he said immediately in a trembling voice.

Drake looked with wide eyes.

"You are absolutely crying."

"I am not!" Rocky insisted, his voice cracking.

A tear rolled down his cheek.

Boo gasped loudly.

"Oh no."

Kelpie looked panicked. "He is crying!"

Felix rubbed his temple. "This escalated quickly."

Rocky sniffed again and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

"I just..." he mumbled softly. "I thought teacher was... really sick..."

His voice got quieter.

"And I wish I had given her my shiny pebble yesterday. The really smooth one. She likes smooth ones."

The room went silent again.

Luna’s ears drooped slightly.

Drake looked genuinely guilty.

Kelpie looked like he might cry too.

Boo floated up slowly and hovered near Rocky’s desk.

"You can still give it later," Boo said gently.

Rocky sniffed again. "But what if she stayed sick forever?"

Felix sighed dramatically. "She is resting for one day. One day. That is twenty-four hours. It is not forever."

Rocky wiped his face again.

"I know... but what if tomorrow she is still sick... and then the next day... and then the next day... and then she forgets about us because she is too sick to remember?"

Kelpie suddenly splashed water anxiously.

"Oh no. I didn’t think of that."

Drake groaned. "Don’t start that thought."

Boo gasped again.

"What if she becomes a ghost teacher?! What if we have to teach her how to be a ghost?!"

Rocky’s eyes widened in horror.

Luna smacked her hand on the desk.

"BOO."

"What?!" Boo said defensively. "Ghost teachers are excellent educators! I would know! I am a ghost!"

"She is not becoming a ghost!"

"You don’t know that!"

"She is resting! Not dying!"

"Resting is how dying starts!"

Felix leaned back slightly. "Please do not escalate the situation. This is not helpful."

Rocky’s lip trembled again.

Across the room, Dante slowly put the pen down.

He looked at the small stone boy for a moment, his dark eyes unreadable behind those glasses.

Then Dante walked slowly between the desks, his footsteps soft against the floor. The children parted like water around him, chairs shifting slightly as he passed.

He stopped beside Rocky.

Rocky looked up nervously, his wet eyes wide.

For a moment Dante simply studied him—the way the small stone fingers were twisting together, the way his eyes kept watering despite his effort to stop, the way his whole little body seemed to tremble with worry.

Then Dante spoke calmly.

"Your teacher will return tomorrow."

Rocky sniffed. "For sure?"

"For sure."

Rocky hesitated.

"...You promise?"

Dante crouched slightly so he was at Rocky’s eye level. The movement was smooth, controlled, bringing the powerful shadow lord down to the height of a small stone child.

"I promise."

The boy stared at him for a few seconds, his round eyes still wet, as if he was trying to decide whether to believe the powerful man standing before him.

Then he nodded slowly.

"...Okay."

For a moment Rocky wiped his eyes again with the back of his small hand, clearly embarrassed that everyone had seen him cry.

Dante watched him quietly.

"You did not need to cry over this," Dante said calmly. "She is fine."

Rocky sniffed once more but listened carefully.

Dante’s voice carried the same calm authority he used when speaking in courts and battle meetings, yet now it was softer, adjusted for a child, gentler around the edges.

"In life there will be many moments when the people you care about face small difficulties," he continued. "A cold. A bad day. A little exhaustion. These things happen. They are part of existing."

Rocky nodded slowly.

"But if you panic every time something small happens," Dante added, his dark eyes steady, "then when something truly important happens, you will not have the strength to stand. You will have used all your worry on things that did not need it."

The classroom had become quiet again. Even Boo stopped floating.

Dante gestured lightly toward Rocky’s chest.

"You must learn to be steady here."

Rocky blinked.

"Strong stones do not crumble when a little rain falls," Dante said. "They stand firm. They wait. They know the rain will pass."

Rocky looked down at his small rocky hands.

"...Stones are strong," he murmured quietly.

"Yes," Dante replied. "And you are a stone child. That means your strength should come from patience, not panic. From waiting, not worrying."

Rocky slowly straightened his back.

His breathing steadied.

Then he nodded again, this time with more confidence.

"I understand."

Dante gave a small approving nod.

"That is better."

Behind them, Boo leaned toward Felix and whispered loudly, "I would like to file a complaint. Why does Rocky get wise stone speech and I do not get wise ghost speech? Ghosts also need wisdom."

Felix whispered back without looking at him, "Because you cry about bananas, not existential crises. Also, you never stop talking long enough to listen."

Boo gasped dramatically.

"I have deep emotional complexity! Ghosts are deep!"

Luna rolled her eyes so hard it looked painful.

Meanwhile, Drake leaned toward Vlad Jr. and muttered quietly, "Principal lectures are actually kind of cool. Very dramatic. Very wise."

Vlad Jr. nodded thoughtfully.

"Yes. Very structured wisdom. Efficient delivery."

Dante stood up again, adjusting his glasses once more.

The class had calmed.

Then Boo raised his hand.