Perhaps it was because Sefina was already nearing her limit, or maybe the sudden visitor outside the door had caused an intense wave of nervousness and adrenaline that sped things up.
In any case, after that brief knock ended, Sefina nearly blanked out, hurriedly tidying everything amidst a whirlwind of chaos and embarrassment.
She collapsed onto the floor, leaning against the door panel, panting heavily for quite some time before she could barely calm her racing heart and still somewhat weak body.
Though the flush on her cheeks hadn’t completely faded, her mind was slowly regaining clarity.
Sefina muttered a curse under her breath, struggling to stand up.
She quickly smoothed out her disheveled skirt and the slightly crooked white knee socks, took several deep breaths, and forced her expression back into its usual cold indifference.
The mirror.
Despite the shimmering moisture and lingering redness in her wine-colored eyes that refused to obey so easily…….
She stepped forward in her small leather shoes, one step at a time, to the door. Taking a deep breath, she unlocked the bolt and pulled open the office door.
Outside stood a tall woman. She had long, silky black hair cascading down to her waist, a clear and delicate face, and wore thin-rimmed glasses.
She looked to be in her twenties, standing at least a head taller than Sefina, who barely reached 1.7 meters.
This woman named Selina looked at the “little girl” opening the door before her with a face as delicate as a doll’s.
Her blue hair was slightly tousled, her cheeks still flushed, and she exuded a naive yet adorable aura.
Almost instinctively, she gave a gentle smile and very naturally reached out to lightly pat Sefina’s head. “Hello there, little sister.” Selina’s voice carried a friendly cheerfulness, as if greeting a student.
“You must be one of Teacher Sefina’s assistant students, right? Is Teacher Sefina in her office now? I have some things I want to discuss with her.”
A vein almost immediately bulged into a “井”-shaped pattern on Sefina’s smooth forehead.
There were two things she hated above all: being mistaken for a student! And being patted on the head!!! Especially the latter!
Sefina sharply turned her head to dodge the hand, biting her silver teeth so hard her lower lip turned white.
She lifted her head, her wine-red eyes still moist with a hint of tears, but she forced out an icy cold and commanding gaze.
She stared intensely at the innocent-looking Selina and spat out, word by word through clenched teeth:
“I… am… Sefina!”
The smile on Selina’s face instantly froze, her outstretched hand awkwardly hanging mid-air.
She widened her eyes, incredulously sizing up this suddenly fierce little “loli” in front of her.
“Ah… ah?! You… you are Teacher Sefina?”
Selina’s face flushed bright red as she quickly withdrew her hand and apologized flusteredly.
“I-I’m really sorry! I didn’t expect… didn’t expect the new Element Department teacher to be so… accomplished and young! Such a rude mistake on my part!”
She struggled for a moment, coming up with “accomplished and young” to save face.
Who would have guessed that the rumored powerful, ruthless new teacher who tossed students out of the window on the first day of class was actually…….
Such a cute little thing! Selina’s mind screamed, but her face maintained an awkward yet polite smile.
Sefina snorted coldly, reluctantly accepting the stumbling apology, and asked gruffly:
“Hm. I am. What do you want?”
She just wanted to get this person out quickly and go calm down.
Selina pushed up her glasses, trying to sound more professional:
“Hello, Teacher Sefina. Let me formally introduce myself. I’m Selina, the new Summoning Department teacher, your colleague as of this year. I heard you arrived recently, so I wanted to come by and meet the new faculty.”
She paused, noticing Sefina’s sour mood, though she had no idea why.
Then she cautiously extended an invitation:
“Um… are you free now? Would you like to… have lunch together in the faculty cafeteria? It’d be nice to chat and get to know each other.”
Sefina had intended to refuse outright but then reconsidered. Since she had just arrived at the academy, it was indeed necessary to familiarize herself with colleagues and the environment.
And after that “intense exercise,” she was quite hungry.
“Lead the way.” She finally spat out those three words coldly.
***
The Osalenka Magic Academy faculty cafeteria was housed inside a standalone glass-domed building, bright and clean.
The interior was exquisitely decorated but not extravagant, with white stone tabletops and dark wood chair backs carved with simple patterns.
Selina led Sefina inside and quickly found a relatively quiet round table, where a few other young-looking teachers were already seated.
As the two approached, a male teacher drinking soup looked up, his eyes lighting up as he saw Sefina beside Selina, jokingly saying:
“Hey, Teacher Selina, is that… your little sister or daughter? She looks so adorable!”
Sefina:凸(艹皿艹)!!!
Selina quickly forced a smile and waved her hand in denial:
“Teacher John, please don’t say such things! This is Teacher Sefina! The new Element Department colleague! I’m not married yet, so no big daughter here!”
She felt the atmosphere around her grow heavier again.
John immediately choked on his soup, coughing repeatedly, his face flushed red as he hurriedly apologized:
“Oh dear! Sorry, sorry! Teacher Sefina, my bad for the mistake! Please don’t take it to heart!”
Sefina scowled, ignoring him, angrily pulling out her chair to sit down, crossing her arms, unwilling to say another word.
She felt like coming to eat today was a mistake!
Including Sefina and Selina, four teachers surrounded the round table, all seeming fairly young and likely recently hired.
The atmosphere chilled slightly after John’s awkward apology but quickly warmed up again thanks to Selina’s lively energy and the others introducing themselves.
“Hello everyone, I’m Selina, the new Summoning Department teacher. Please take care of me!”
“I’m John, the new Potion Department teacher. I have some experience with various potions, so feel free to ask if you need anything.”
“I’m Ben, the new Alchemy Department teacher, specializing in magical device crafting and rune engraving.”
As the teachers enjoyed the quite tasty food, they chatted about academy matters, and the atmosphere gradually became congenial.
Although Sefina mostly remained silent and cold in expression, she occasionally contributed brief, sharp remarks when topics involved elemental magic or teaching management.
Her clear thinking and incisive viewpoints soon stopped the others from underestimating her due to her appearance.
The subtle harmony of the gathering persisted until——
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