The morning sky was slightly cloudy, but not dark enough to hide the sunlight sneaking through the gaps between Akarius's tall buildings.
In front of a massive black-and-silver gate, adorned with the emblem of Oxoford gleaming like a digital knight's shield, a young man stood, narrowing his eyes at the grand building before him.
"Hmm... So this is Oxoford? It's closer than I thought..."Kaito muttered softly, both hands tucked into the pockets of his long black coat, the hem swaying gently in the breeze.
The atmosphere is calm... too calm.
"This is supposed to be a school. So why... does it feel like a military camp just waking up from a nap?"
He stepped past the gate—and was immediately greeted by... a strange kind of chaos, yet somehow organized.
Students in white uniforms with blue-purple ties—some in brown with the same tie—were scattered across the courtyard. Some were sitting on benches eating fried rice out of tactical containers, some were polishing firearms like they were shining shoes, and... some were selling bullets like old-timey newspaper vendors.
"Seriously, this is a school?"Kaito thought, frowning as he kept walking, though his heart skipped a little.
Under a large tree near the field, two students wearing protective helmets were chatting in a squat, and— as if that wasn't absurd enough—three others were playing... grenade juggling?
"...WHAT WAS THAT?" Kaito muttered as he instinctively stepped aside when a grenade was thrown toward the basketball hoop and—BOOM!!—exploded right as it touched the rim.
Cheers erupted around the court.
"YEAHH!! GOAL!!"
"Score's 3–1, brooo! The grenade hit the ring!"
"Hahaha, next time use a flashbang, make it more dramatic!"
But not every throw was successful.
One student kicked a grenade too slowly... BOOM!! It went off sooner than expected.
"ARGH—!"
The student collapsed like a rag doll thrown against a wall.
Kaito froze mid-step.
"...Okay. Is this a school or a survival arena?" he thought, raising one eyebrow.
Several students rushed toward the fallen one.
"Hey, get the plasma stretcher!"
"Call the Class 3 medics!"
Soon, a group of students in white with a blue-cross armband arrived, carrying advanced medical equipment.
"Heartbeat stable."
"Mild shock. Alright, let's get him to Bronze ward."
"Damn... another defective batch of grenades."
The unconscious student was calmly carried away—like it was all standard procedure.
Kaito stood still for a few seconds.
Then took a deep breath.
"...It's only been five minutes here,"he murmured.
"And I'm already questioning why I took this job."
But strangely... this feels familiar.
It feels like... I've been in a place this chaotic before.
---
[Flashback – 7 years ago]
A young Kaito stood tall in an underground bunker, wearing a bluish-gray military uniform. His voice was clear and firm as he pointed at the map.
"Delta squad, send two drone units to sector E7. Alpha, prepare to fire from behind the ruins!"
"Commander, we're low on ammo!"
"I know."
"Commander, we've lost two men!"
"I know."
His voice didn't waver. Not even when the monitor showed the red zone blinking rapidly.
"You scared?" one young soldier asked.
Kaito shook his head.
"If I'm scared, all of you will start trembling. So... I have to pretend to be brave—until it becomes real."
---
Back to Oxoford.
Kaito watched the students return to their casual routines after the explosion. Some even went back to selling bullets.
Yeah... this isn't a battlefield, but... it feels the same.
Chaotic, messy, yet somehow... alive.
"Am I insane for feeling comfortable in a place like this?" he thought with a faint smile.
A student selling bullets suddenly noticed Kaito and asked, "Hey... wanna buy some bullets? Buy three boxes and you get a free grenade."
Kaito tilted his head slightly and raised one hand in refusal.
"Nah, thanks. I'm... not a student."
The student raised an eyebrow. "Huh? Not a student? Then who—"
Kaito gave him a sharp look.
"Teacher."
The student froze. "Whoa, a teacher? Here? For real? But you look kinda like a student..."
Kaito narrowed his eyes.
Because I'm wearing this ridiculous outfit, genius.
With a sigh, he walked toward the main school building.
Muttering softly, "...This is just the beginning, not even the real deal yet."
The main building of Oxoford stood proudly, walls in a neo-classical-futuristic style, blending blue glass and gunmetal steel. Standing before its doors, Kaito paused for a moment, scanning the structure from top to bottom with sharp yet lazy eyes.
"Well... time to go in. Hopefully it's not as weird inside as it was outside," he murmured, taking a long breath.
He reached for the handle and pushed the door slowly—
THUD!
"OWWW!!"
A pained voice came from behind the door. Moments later—THUNK!—a stack of thick books fell right at his feet.
"Huh?! Did I just... hit someone?" Kaito froze in mild panic.
He pushed the door open wider and found a girl sitting on the floor, holding her forehead.
She wore the white-and-blue-purple tie uniform, an eye-catching bright orange jacket, long silver-white hair, golden-yellow eyes glistening slightly from the pain, and... an MP5 slung casually on her back.
"Ugh... my head... seriously, no warning at all, huh..." she muttered quietly, as if scolding herself.
Kaito crouched down and offered a hand.
"Uh, sorry! Really sorry! I didn't see you standing behind the door."
She forced a small smile, still holding her head.
"Ehehe, it's fine... my fault too, walking while reading."
"Okay. At least she's not mad. But... why would someone read a book right behind a door?" Kaito thought while helping pick up the scattered books.
As he handed them back one by one, he asked, "By the way... may I know your name? And your class?"
The girl blinked once before answering while dusting off her skirt.
"I'm Mila, Class 2A, Elite High. Thanks for helping."
"Elite High..." Kaito repeated, a bit surprised.
Oh? So she's one of the top students here...
Mila's eyes scanned Kaito from head to toe—long black coat, leather shoes, an oddly suspicious mature aura. Her gaze finally stopped at the necklace around his neck, which held a small card with a mysterious logo reading: G.T.
"Hm? Never seen this logo before... G.T.?" Mila thought, stepping a bit closer out of curiosity.
"What's your name?" Mila asked casually, one eyebrow slightly raised.
"Oh. I'm Kaito," he replied, meeting her now slightly serious gaze.
"Why'd she suddenly ask? Is she suspicious? Or... just making small talk?" Kaito wondered.
Not wanting the mood to turn awkward, he offered again, "Want me to carry your books to your class?"
Mila shook her head with a faint smile. "No thanks. I can manage." She hugged the books to her chest. Polite girl. But her vibe... isn't like a normal student.
Kaito nodded slightly. "In that case..."
But his words were cut off.
"What's your phone number?" Mila suddenly asked.
Kaito froze.
"Eh?"
"Did I just mishear that?" he panicked internally.
"Phone number?" he repeated, slowly pulling his phone from his pocket.
"Hmm... +008."
Mila's eyes widened.
"+008...?! That's the central government's network code! Don't tell me..."
Her gaze darted from the G.T. card on Kaito's neck, to his face, then back to the card.
"Eh? Eh?!" Her face flushed bright red.
"S-Sorry, sir... Teacher!" she blurted out, bowing deeply as if she had just punched the principal.
"Huh?" Kaito was startled. "How do you know I'm a teacher? And why are you freaking out?"
But before he could ask further, Mila had already dashed off.
Running fast through the school garden.
"Ugh... why am I such an idiot... Asking for my teacher's phone number... and it's the new Flying Teacher... and... so handsome too..." Mila screamed internally, her face burning hotter as Kaito's image popped back in her head.
"ARGHHHH!! I'm so stupid!!"
In her panic, Mila nearly bumped into a bespectacled student coming out of the hall. The student paused for a moment, watching Mila vanish into the crowd.
He simply sighed and resumed walking toward the entrance.
Kaito still stood near the main door of Oxoford, eyes following Mila's silhouette disappearing into the crowd. His expression remained unchanged, but his breath was slightly heavier. Just arrived, and already bumped into a student. Not a bad start.
Calm footsteps came from the garden. A student approached, his white blazer neat, blue-purple tie swaying gently with each step. He wore thin round glasses, his expression calm like a library, holding a thick book titled "Social Network Theory in the Neo-Technological Era."
The student stopped right in front of Kaito.
"Flying Teacher Kaito, I presume?" he greeted politely.
Kaito glanced at him for a moment, narrowing his eyes.
"Ah... you're the one from the governor's office... Anwar, right?"
Anwar smiled faintly, adjusting his glasses. "Exactly. I didn't expect you to come to Oxoford first. Quite a quick response."
Kaito raised his phone, showing the notification screen.
"Well, your message was the first one to pop up," he said, pointing to the name Anwar – Oxoford Library Issues on the screen.
Anwar nodded, seemingly satisfied. "Good. My full name's Anwar, Class 3A, Elite High. I'm the library supervisor, and... also a somewhat well-known novelist in Akarius," he added with a proud smile.
He offered a polite handshake.
Kaito accepted it half-heartedly.
"Oh... alright then," Kaito replied flatly, without much expression.
Anwar froze for a moment. His eyes widened, then narrowed.
"Eh...? Wait? Just 'alright then'?
Usually teachers say stuff like: 'Wow! The Anwar, the genius novelist! I read your work as a kid!' But this? Why does it feel like talking to a cold-blooded crime novel character? Even the antagonist in Volume 4 of my own book was more appreciative!"
His face smiled, but inside, he wept.
"By the way," Kaito said, trying to change the subject, "You know Mila, right?"
Anwar nodded, his tone returning to calm.
"Of course. The girl who almost bumped into me earlier, right? She's the current student council president. In this school, she's... sort of the stability keeper."
Kaito frowned. "Stability... keeper?"
"Yep. Without her around for just five minutes, this place could go full chaos. Elite and Bronze classes might start brawling over something as stupid as a power outlet."
"Hah? So she's... like the school's janitor?" Kaito looked half-confused, half-amused.
Anwar sighed lightly and shook his head. "Not quite, teacher. More like: the MVP with an all-area support role."
Kaito chuckled. "Your wording's... interesting."
In his mind, Kaito imagined Mila with the MP5 on her back, running around putting out class conflicts while calming kids with a diplomatic smile and gentle voice. MVP, huh? So that's how it is...
"Funny. I used to be like that... though my way of resolving conflicts was far more... explosive," Kaito thought, his eyes slightly distant, recalling when he was just 13 and had to unite two feuding squads with only two words and a single flashbang toss.
Anwar glanced at Kaito, noticing him momentarily lost in thought.
"Teacher?"
Kaito blinked. "Hm? Sorry."
"If you don't mind, shall we continue our talk while heading to the library?" Anwar suggested politely.
Kaito nodded. "Alright. Lead the way."
Anwar began walking along the front corridor, down a stone-gray pathway lined with Akarius's signature bioluminescent blue artificial plants. Sunlight streamed through the glass roof above. Their footsteps echoed softly, occasionally mixed with the distant shouts of Bronze kids arguing over whether plasma rifles or hybrid snipers were stronger.
"By the way, teacher..." Anwar said, glancing back slightly, "Is this your first time coming to Oxoford?"
Kaito nodded. "Yeah. You could say... it's also my first time being a Flying Teacher."
"Oh?" Anwar raised an eyebrow. "So... your previous work wasn't in education?"
Kaito only replied with a small smile. "You could say that."
If I told them I was the youngest commander to conquer Graven District while still wearing size-36 shoes, would they even believe me?
Anwar nodded thoughtfully. "Hmmm... mysterious teacher. Perfect for a main character in a novel."
"Don't tell me you're actually going to write about me?"
"Already noted it down. Your short, curt way of speaking has a unique charm. Kind of like a tsundere character."
"...I'm a teacher, not a romcom protagonist," Kaito replied flatly.
Anwar chuckled. "Ahaha, alright then. Still gonna use it though—might land me another best-seller."
Kaito shot him a look that screamed are-you-serious-or-not, then shrugged.