The heavy door of the mechanical lab began to creak open, its iron hinges letting out a slow groan that echoed across the room, slicing through the low murmur of voices and the faint ticking of cooling mechanisms. Aether didn't even have to look up from where he was inspecting a fragile mana filament. That steady, confident step, that delicate rustle of a skirt coupled with faint jingling earrings—it could only be one person.
Simultaneously, the heads of all the students jerked up, eyes wide, ears perked like startled forest animals. Even those who were elbow-deep in tangled mana wire or bent over calibration gauges froze completely, breath caught in their throats.
And then it came—a melodic, lightly amused voice that seemed to brighten even the dimmest corners of the room.
"Hello class, how have you all been?"
The words seemed to sprinkle a handful of stardust into the stale air of the lab. It was Akabane teach, standing in the doorway with a warm, radiant smile that could have coaxed blossoms from frozen earth. The soft lamplight caught the glossy waves of her hair and made her eyes sparkle, turning her into an ethereal figure who could outshine even the crystal conduits on their workbenches.
For a long heartbeat, absolute silence reigned. Then, like a dam breaking under pressure, the students exploded.
"Teach!"
"Akabane Teach!"
"You're finally here—!"
In an instant, the entire gloomy mechanical lab transformed. All the misery that had clouded their faces these past two days shattered into pieces, replaced by joyous relief and something dangerously close to worship. The girls, especially, flocked to Akabane Teach with tears welling up in their exhausted eyes, clinging to her arms and hands, burying their faces into her sleeves as if she were the one last light in their dark tunnel.
"We're so glad you're here, teacher!" one of them sniffed, her voice cracking from equal parts exhaustion and elation.
"You've come to save us, haven't you?" pleaded another, gripping her wrist like a lifeline.
"Yes, if you hadn't come, we might have completely lost our will to live…"
Their complaints and desperate gratitude overlapped in a gentle storm of youthful voices, wrapping around Akabane Teach so quickly she could only stand there, arms slightly lifted, eyebrows raised, mouth parted in astonishment. Her confusion was plain; she darted a quick look around as if to ask: What in the world happened to these poor children?
Meanwhile, Aether watched this whole dramatic scene unfold with an expression that teetered between disbelief and exasperation. A single dark vein popped on his temple.
"Seriously?" he muttered under his breath. "Aren't they being a little too dramatic? I didn't even do that much to them—I just taught them. Properly." He huffed, crossing his arms. "Hmph. Women."
At least, he thought, the boys surely wouldn't—
"Akabane Teach!" came a sudden chorus of masculine voices.
Aether's eyes darted to his male classmates, hope dying on the spot. The boys too had crowded forward, their faces wearing almost identical expressions of desperation.
"Teacher, Aether absolutely crushed us with his monstrous power!"
"Yes, he tortured us by refusing any breaks—he's been teaching us like some heartless devil!"
Every word felt like a tiny dagger stabbing Aether's pride. His jaw slackened, his eyes hollow. Slowly, dramatically, he raised a hand and pressed it to his chest as if to soothe a mortal wound.
"This… is life," he whispered gravely to himself. "A life where you can trust no one. Betrayal lurks everywhere. Trust only yourself, because even your fellow men—" he shot them a bitter glare— "will sell you out the first chance they get."
With a pitiful sigh, he shook his head and breathed one final, disappointed:
"Men."
But still muttering, he stabbed a finger toward the cowering boys. "Hmph, you guys betrayed me huh…"
Akabane Teach finally managed to hush the whirlwind of voices long enough to tilt her head and gently inquire, "Uhh…umm…I see…" Her pouting lips formed a delicate curve of concern as she swung her gaze to Aether, who immediately stiffened under the weight of her innocent brown eyes.
"Aether," she said, voice lilting dangerously sweet, "did you… bully them?"
Aether threw his hands on top of his head in a grand gesture, eyes flicking side to side, an awkward chuckle bubbling out. "Ahahaha, nope! Not at all. I just taught them—exactly what they didn't know. That's all."
Inside, he mumbled to himself fiercely, Yes, that's right. That's exactly what I did. Absolutely nothing more.
But his classmates weren't having any of it. Their unified shout almost shook the glass tubes on the workbenches.
"LIARRRRRR!"
The lab descended into chaos again, voices overlapping, hands waving in dramatic gestures of betrayal. Akabane Teach blinked at them all, then burst out laughing—a clear, bright laugh that seemed to shake a little of the gloom from even the corners of the room. Her eyes crinkled up in mirth as she approached Aether.
"Ahahaha, oh dear," she chuckled, reaching up to gently pat Aether on the head like a small misbehaving animal. "Don't worry everyone. Now that I'm here, this demon won't be able to hunt you down anymore."
A ripple of delighted giggles swept through the students. Someone shouted "Yay!" while another nearly cried with relief.
Aether, on the other hand, sighed theatrically, muttering under his breath, "Haisyhh…she's joined their side too. Seriously…" Yet despite the put-upon groan, a small, genuine smile tugged at his lips as he watched his classmates lighten up around their teacher. The gloom lifted from their shoulders; laughter and playful teasing returned. It was like the heavy, choking fog he had woven around them had been swept aside by a warm summer breeze.
"Yay! Are you going to teach us too, Akabane Teach?" they chorused, all hope and sparkling eyes.
Honestly, even if she'd said no, there was no way they would have let her escape the lab without staying. But with a brilliant smile, she spread her hands wide and said, "Of course! That's why I'm here today."
Cheers erupted so loudly it made Aether wince.
Yet just as everything settled into bright chatter, Aether leaned slightly forward, lips curling into a sinister grin. His eyes glowed with a dark promise as he whispered just loud enough for them all to hear:
"I'll get my revenge when she's not around. You guys better be ready, okay?"
The effect was instantaneous. Fear shot down their spines like lightning. The entire class turned to stare at him with wide, horrified eyes, frozen in place.
"TEACHERRRRR!" they wailed, panic-stricken.
Akabane Teach jumped and whipped around so quickly her earrings nearly flew off. "Wha—What happened here? Why are you all like this?"
In perfect betrayal, every single student in the room pointed at Aether simultaneously.
"It's because of Aether!" they cried in unison.
Akabane Teach spun toward Aether with narrowed eyes, lips parted in suspicion. But all she saw was him standing there with an angelically innocent face, big eyes blinking slowly as if he hadn't heard a thing.
"…What did he do?" she finally demanded, thoroughly exasperated.
The students shouted all at once, voices tumbling over one another. "What didn't he do!"
After a few more minutes of frantic explanations and Akabane Teach trying to soothe her students like a shepherd calming a herd of terrified lambs, the storm gradually subsided. The lab returned to a gentle buzz as everyone settled back at their stations, shoulders relaxing.
Akabane Teach clapped her hands lightly to draw their attention. "Alright everyone! Don't worry—I'll be here to help. If you get stuck, just call for me. We'll get through this together."
Her calm, gentle encouragement worked like a healing potion. Smiles broke out everywhere. Even those who'd looked ready to collapse moments before sat a little straighter, picking up their tools with renewed determination.
Meanwhile Aether lingered off to the side, arms crossed, watching with unreadable eyes. His fingers tapped lightly against his bicep.
"Since Akabane Teach is here, things should go a lot smoother now…" he muttered under his breath. A faint twinge passed through his chest. "Seems like everyone's finally able to move forward again. Is it because of the teacher's presence that they feel safe? Am I…really that bad at instructing?"
For a brief instant, Aether's usual confident smirk faltered. His eyes lowered, lost in thought.
At that moment, Akabane Teach bent over one of the blueprints laid across a wide table, her delicate fingers tracing the complex mana flow diagrams and etched rune circuits. Her brow furrowed as she studied Aether's intricate handwriting.
"So this is the blueprint, huh?" she murmured, half to herself. "It's exceptionally well done…no wonder the students are struggling though. Even with how beautifully it's laid out, it's advanced beyond their typical level. And we don't have much time left, either."
She straightened up and called softly, "Aether?"
He turned, startled out of his thoughts, and made his way over. She met his eyes seriously. "Can we finish this before the deadline, Aether?"
He let out a quiet sigh, glancing at his classmates—some excitedly tinkering under her watchful eye, some still fumbling, though more confidently than before. "Well…I can't say for sure, not with how things are going right now."
"Hmm, I see…" A shadow of worry crossed her face too.
Aether tilted his head, then shrugged slightly with a smirk. "But honestly, it's not that big a deal yet. Now that you're here, I think they'll be fine. We'll just have to wait and see."
Her face brightened, a light laugh escaping her lips. "I'm glad to hear you say that." But then she squinted at him suspiciously. "Still…what exactly did you do before I got here, Aether?"
He froze, pupils shrinking. She remembers?
"Ehh—that, um, you know…hehe…"