Sefina rubbed her sleepy eyes and dragged her slightly weary petite frame, slowly walking along the passage leading to the outer area of the duel arena.
The drowsiness of the afternoon crept over her mind like gentle waves, one after another.
Ah… that soft sofa in the office… how wonderful it would be to sink into it right now and take a nice nap…
She couldn’t help but let out a small yawn, a little physiological tear even slipping from the corner of her eye.
At that moment, a familiar figure approached from the opposite direction.
Tall and slender, with smooth black hair flowing straight down to her waist, wearing thin-rimmed glasses — it was the new summoning teacher, Selina.
Since the last teachers’ gathering, this cheerful colleague seemed to have categorized Sefina as a “meal buddy,” often inviting her to eat together.
Both being new teachers, Selina was indeed easier to approach than others. Sefina was also willing to dine with her; after all, always eating alone felt a bit too lonely.
“Teacher Sefina!” Selina greeted her with a smile and a wave, quickening her pace to say hello.
“Your match today was amazing! Wow, I really didn’t expect that someone who looks… um… so petite and cute could be so strong! Absolutely incredible!” Her tone was filled with sincere admiration.
Sefina was long immune to such compliments and only gave a slight nod. Her wine-red eyes still bore traces of fatigue as she replied flatly, “Thank you.” All she wanted now was to get back to the office quickly.
Selina didn’t seem to notice her tiredness—or perhaps she was just used to Sefina’s indifference—and continued enthusiastically:
“By the way, Teacher Sefina, the Teacher Cafeteria has launched a new limited-time dessert today! I heard it’s a mousse made with a mix of Moonberry and Nebula Cream. There’s still plenty of time during the lunch break. Want to go try it together first? We can rest after eating, no rush.”
Surprise.
Dessert?
That word felt like a tiny key, gently unlocking the drowsy nerves wrapped in sleepiness inside Sefina’s mind.
Although the culinary standards of this world were uneven, some desserts truly had their unique charm and flavor. Occasionally, they could bring her a small measure of joy.
For the sake of food, sacrificing a bit of sleep…
was not entirely unacceptable?
“Um… alright then.”
***
After a brief internal battle between drowsiness and appetite, Sefina nodded in agreement. It should still be fine to try the dessert before taking a nap.
“Great! Let’s go then.”
Selina said as she reached to take Sefina’s hand and head out. However, at that very moment—
Sefina:!!!!!
A sudden, extremely abrupt tremor surged through her body…
Her mind immediately buzzed with a loud ringing.
This was clearly not the sensation of a magic rune activation, but…
an extremely intense, unbuffered powerful vibration!
Sefina’s petite face instantly flushed deep red, like a ripe apple.
Her small frame stiffened sharply, freezing in place as she barely kept herself from losing composure on the spot.
It was that!
The device she had secretly made by combining knowledge from her past life and the magic of this world, designed to counteract magic rune flare-ups… and thoughtfully made with magic to be completely silent, which was why Teacher Selina had no idea what was happening to Sefina at this very moment.
Otherwise…
otherwise this formidable, domineering teacher who had just been so impressive would be socially dead right then and there…
Moreover, the severity…
was definitely at Level III, maybe even MAX!
C-Could it be that she accidentally triggered it?
Her mind went blank as her arm trembled slightly, hastily reaching to feel the pockets on both sides of her uniform skirt.
Empty! Both sides were empty!
It was over!
Definitely, during her duel with Clyde just now, her movements had been too big, and that pink little remote must have fallen out from the shallow pocket!
And now, some unlucky soul had picked it up and carelessly set it to the highest level!
Tears welled up in Sefina’s eyes, her vision blurring.
She had to turn it off immediately!
Otherwise… ahhhh!
“Teacher Sefina? What’s wrong? Your face is so red. Are you feeling unwell?” Selina finally noticed her odd behavior and stepped forward with concern.
But at this moment, Sefina had no time to answer and didn’t care at all about the dessert she had agreed to try earlier.
Skipping out was one thing; social death on the spot and losing all dignity was a whole different matter!
“S-Sorry! I suddenly have an urgent matter!” Sefina forced out a broken voice through clenched teeth, not even bothering to notice Selina’s stunned expression.
She spun around abruptly and, despite her trembling, weak legs, with sheer willpower and a desperate fear of social death, stumbled and ran clumsily back toward the duel arena!
“Eh?! Teacher Sefina? Where are you going? The dessert…” Selina’s surprised call was left far behind.
Quick! Quick! Quick! It must have fallen near the duel arena!
Sefina’s face burned as if bleeding, her breath ragged, struggling to keep running though her abnormal condition made her steps stagger.
As she rounded a corner in the corridor—
“Ow! That hurts—”
Sefina collided hard into a soft but somewhat resilient figure, banging her forehead.
Tearful and blurry-eyed, she looked up to meet those shimmering wine-red eyes.
Standing before her was the Empire’s princess—
Aleria!
Stars spun in Sefina’s vision; her petite body involuntarily staggered backward.
“Teacher?”
Aleria’s cold, puzzled voice rang above Sefina’s head.
The princess seemed a bit dazed from the collision but quickly regained her footing, looking down at the unusually acting teacher.
“Why are you running so fast?”
Sefina had no time to answer, nor any concern for teacherly dignity or composure!
She pressed both hands firmly against her lower abdomen, her cheeks burning hot enough to fry an egg.