"Oh, this." Himeko pointed at herself. "You'll be living with us. Your identity is a bit special, and combined with your poor physical constitution, it's not really suitable for you to live elsewhere."
The staff dormitories were mostly inhabited by retired Valkyries—people Theresa had taken in. They might not necessarily be strong enough for the front lines anymore, but they were Valkyries nonetheless.
Since they were Valkyries, their strength far exceeded that of ordinary people. After all, these were individuals capable of fighting Honkai Beasts, monsters that defied common sense.
If Irene were to move in there, there was a genuine fear that a friendly greeting between colleagues might accidentally leave Irene crippled. That wouldn't be good at all.
Moreover, although Irene's identity was tentatively credible, there were still some suspicious points. And while her combat ability appeared weak right now, that obviously wasn't the full picture.
Furthermore, if she really was a drifter from the Sea of Quanta, she needed a certain level of liveliness around her. This would likely help adjust her mindset. Pulling Irene into the villa clearly had more pros than cons.
"Is that so?" Irene nodded. What about the staff dorms I asked about? Is there still suspicion regarding my identity? Or is it something else?
"Eh, wait, Teacher Irene is living in the villa?" Hearing Himeko's words, Kiana's reaction from the sidelines was far more intense than Irene's.
The reason was simple: Kiana knew her own state during class all too well. Zoning out was a daily occurrence, falling asleep happened frequently, and skipping class was an occasional event.
Anyway, aside from attending class, Kiana wouldn't touch anything related to studying with a ten-foot pole. Usually, Himeko managed her, and every time she messed up, she would inevitably get a dressing down.
But after so long, for simple issues like sleeping or zoning out in class, Auntie Himeko couldn't be bothered to fuss over them once Kiana acted submissive. Clearly, Himeko understood that Kiana had reached the state of a 'dead pig not afraid of boiling water.'
But this new teacher, Irene, didn't know that! If Teacher Irene saw her behavior and then they lived together in Himeko's villa... she might not be as easy to talk to as Auntie Himeko.
As for correcting her ways? If Kiana could correct herself that easily, Himeko and Theresa wouldn't have such headaches.
Bronya, standing aside, seemed to see exactly what Kiana was worried about at this moment. "It seems Idiot Kiana will have one more person she needs to suck up to."
"What's wrong?" Irene looked at Kiana with a light smile on her face. "It seems this Student Kiana isn't very serious during class, is she?"
"That isn't allowed in my class, you know. If I have the chance, I will definitely call on you frequently."
Hearing Irene's words, Kiana immediately put on a pleading look. "Please let me off, Teacher, okay?"
[ Mm, this is indeed a child of the Kaslana family. ] Inside the Palace of Consciousness, Kallen looked at Kiana's appearance and nodded.
This dislike for studying was almost identical to how she used to be. In fact, it was the state of the vast majority of the Kaslana family.
However, understanding was one thing—after all, those in the Kaslana family who were good at studying were the minority—but it didn't stop Kallen from feeling a sense of 'hating iron for not becoming steel' toward her descendant.
[ Irene, when you teach her later, absolutely do not go soft. Call on her whenever you need to. I refuse to believe it—is it impossible for people of our Kaslana family to learn? ]
[ What kind of family makes 'disliking study' a defining trait? ] The Cat scratched her head, looking somewhat puzzled at Kallen, who seemed inexplicably excited.
[ I'll try my best, but honestly, Kallen, you'd best not get your hopes up, ] Irene nodded internally. However, regarding the matter of studying, Irene held no hope.
[ Compared to studying by themselves, I think you guys are much better at finding an excellent 'External Brain'. ]
Looking at the Kaslana family members Irene knew: Kallen didn't need mentioning; she directly found Otto to be her think tank. Theresa had Otto, Einstein, Tesla, and others as her think tanks successively. Kiana was even more so—Mei, Bronya, Einstein, and others all counted as the brains Kiana had found for herself.
[ Ahaha... ] Hearing Irene's logic, Kallen couldn't find a way to refute it for a moment. At least, she was indeed like that.
"Don't listen to her." Himeko patted Irene's shoulder. Understanding that Irene's physical constitution wasn't strong, she held back a lot of force in this pat. "This guy is simply unrepentant. You must use the strictest methods to discipline her."
"I will, Teacher Himeko." Irene nodded. "Then, I'll be in your care, Student Kiana."
"Nooo!"
*
After the short holiday passed, Irene, guided by Himeko, quickly reviewed the knowledge she might need to teach using the books Himeko provided. She took over the duties of the Literature Teacher from Himeko's hands.
During her review, Irene didn't forget to train her teaching skills. As for the subject...
At this moment in the classroom, Kiana was lying listlessly on her desk. The reason was simple: during the last mid-term exam, she had failed spectacularly.
Aside from P.E. and combat-related subjects, she had failed every single subject. So, her short holiday had not been pleasant—Himeko had not let her off the hook.
And Irene's practice target for teaching happened to be Kiana. The two teachers had dragged her directly into a room for remedial lessons. Except for meals, Kiana hadn't seen the sunlight outside throughout the entire short break.
"Are you okay?" Mei patted Kiana's head, trying to offer some comfort. "Although this holiday was a bit tiring, there are benefits."
"If you pass the makeup exam, you won't have to be locked in a room for tutoring next time."
"Uuuu~" Kiana enjoyed Mei's head-pats. "But Teacher Himeko and Teacher Irene were too ruthless! They wouldn't give me even a little time to rest."
"Mei-oneesama, ignore this idiot," Bronya said, looking at the lethargic Kiana. "Kiana brought this completely upon herself. If she had been even slightly serious during class, she wouldn't have fallen to the level of failing everything."
"I didn't fail everything," Kiana prepared to defend herself. "At least I got excellent grades in P.E. and combat!"
Rather, if a member of the Kaslana family couldn't even achieve that, she might as well give up.
Bronya's face remained expressionless. "But you still failed the other subjects. So instead of complaining, Idiot Kiana should focus more on studying and preparing for the makeup exam in two days."
The conversation between the three didn't avoid others, but the passing students didn't find it strange. There were some unfamiliar teacher names in their conversation, but rumors of a new teacher had already spread through the grapevine during the break.
This wasn't strange. Irene wasn't actually tutoring Kiana 24 hours a day; she had to go out to buy daily necessities. After all, she had arrived from Nagazora City with nothing.
While out, she inevitably bumped into other students, and her identity as the new teacher was quickly leaked during conversations. It wasn't anything that needed to be kept secret anyway.
A few students familiar with Kiana leaned in to join the conversation. "Eh, Kiana, I was wondering why I didn't see you out playing during this long weekend?"
"So you were grabbed by Teacher Himeko and that new teacher for tutoring? Does that mean the new teacher lives with you guys?"
"Yeah, she's practically a demon." Having received no comfort from her best friend, Kiana immediately turned to complain to her classmates. "Taking turns on me... they really didn't let me rest for a moment."
"Oh." The classmate nodded in understanding. "Sounds like a very strict teacher. What does the new teacher look like? Is she a cute girl, or a mature beauty?"
"I guess she counts as a cute girl?" Kiana thought about Irene's appearance. Although during tutoring, Irene looked like a demon no matter how Kiana viewed her...
But looking at it from another angle—a silver-haired girl holding a book, gazing at her with gentle eyes—she exuded an intellectual beauty no matter how you looked at it.
Of course, that was assuming one ignored the fact that Irene and Himeko had forcibly locked her in a room to study.
While they were chatting, the class bell rang. Bronya and Mei quickly returned to their seats.
Outside the classroom door, Himeko walked in with Irene. Except for Kiana and the others who already knew, everyone looked curiously at the new face walking in.
"Quiet, quiet." Himeko shouted habitually twice, then patted Irene beside her. "I know you're all curious about this stranger. This is your new Literature Teacher."
"Hello, students." Irene wore a smile on her face as she scanned the class, her gaze stopping briefly on the 'Protagonist Trio' sitting in the back, and on Fu Hua, who was sitting in the front looking serious.
"I am your new Literature Teacher, Irene."
"Teacher Irene will be taking over for me as your Literature Teacher," Himeko chimed in at the right moment to explain. "However, you troublemakers better pay attention. Teacher Irene's health isn't very good; she can't handle your roughhousing."
Hearing Himeko's words, a student raised their hand to ask, "Does that mean Teacher Irene is a normal person? Not a retired Valkyrie like the other teachers?"
"Not entirely," Himeko explained vaguely. "But in short, in her current state, Teacher Irene's physical constitution is poor. So take it easy when saying hello."
"And you don't need to worry about your Honkai energy affecting her. Although Irene's physical constitution is poor, she does have Honkai Resistance."
"Okay, got it, Teacher Himeko." The student who raised their hand nodded and sat back down obediently.
"Mm, good." Himeko nodded, then turned to look at Irene. "Then I'll leave it to you. I'm heading out first."
"Don't worry, I've prepared the lesson." Irene waved the textbook in her hand. She hadn't been idle when she wasn't teaching Kiana.
Fortunately, although the history of the Honkai world had changed somewhat due to the Honkai, literary works hadn't changed much. Literature was basically the same old stuff.
Although Irene didn't quite understand why Valkyries needed to learn this, it was better than asking her to teach Math. She didn't know that stuff either.
The teaching skills practiced on Kiana during the break proved effective, or perhaps the students were just cooperative. In any case, Irene's first class ended successfully.
"Phew..." Hearing the dismissal bell ring in her ear, Irene let out a sigh of relief. She hadn't majored in education; it was really tough on her to jump straight into the job.
"See you next time, students." Irene packed up her textbooks, gave a final wave to the students, and walked out of the classroom. She had checked the schedule.
She only had this one class today, so she could go back directly. She didn't need to return to the office; she could head straight back to Himeko's villa.
Upon returning, Irene smelled a faint scent of alcohol. Following the source of the smell, she saw Himeko lying on the sofa, drinking beer and watching TV.
"Mm, you're back?" Himeko looked up at Irene, who had just come in from outside. "How was it? Did the first day go smoothly? Were there any troublemakers?"
"No troublemakers, but there were sleepers." Irene's face wore a look of helplessness. She finally understood why Kiana's grades were so bad.
Irene thought her lectures weren't particularly hypnotic, yet Kiana still fell asleep instantly in class. The student next to her couldn't stand it and patted Kiana's shoulder, but even that didn't wake her up.
"Hahaha." Himeko laughed twice, glad to finally have someone else to share her pain. "Honestly, if you can get her to pass, even if it's just in Literature, I'll give you this."
Himeko gave Irene a thumbs up. Irene looked at the gesture and chuckled, then walked over to collect the beer cans on the table.
"I'll try my best. But Teacher Himeko, even if you don't have classes today, you shouldn't drink so much."
"Sigh, I just love this stuff. Can't quit it." Himeko waved her hand. "But speaking of which, Irene, you seem very good at taking care of people?"
"I suppose. Though before, I only had to take care of myself." Irene threw the gathered cans into the trash, then turned to grab a bottle of yogurt from the fridge and handed it to Himeko.
"Now I just have to take care of a few more people, but it's all the same."
"Is that so?" Himeko took the yogurt Irene handed her and watched as Irene walked upstairs. "Resting so early? Oh, right. Since we have nothing to do this afternoon, how about we do a combat test?"
"Mm, sure. Let's go after we eat." Irene turned back, nodded to Himeko, and then returned to her room to lie on the bed, closing her eyes.
Of course, Irene wasn't resting because she was tired from teaching. It was because...
Rhythmic music gradually played in Irene's ears. The pitch-black darkness before her eyes gradually revealed points of light. The points of light extended, connecting into a massive plaza.
Irene stood on this suddenly appearing illusory plaza. Opposite her stood Kallen, holding the Starry Judah.
"I'll be troubling you, Teacher Kallen."
________________________________________
🌸 Help Love Bloom!
Our girls need a little push... and you can help!
💖 Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 50 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter to warm your hearts.
🚀 Community Reward: If we reach 10 supporting members, we'll have a +5 chapter marathon across all stories! The romance won't stop.
👻 Come to our secret corner: Search for GirlsLove on (P). You know that's where the magic happens... 😉