All the facilities in the Black Rose were made to fit dozens of students, but the ones who would be using it were only thirty-four.

Twenty-five of them were always under my protection, but the same wasn’t the case for the other nine.

It was natural for people to be of different ages. Even the ages in our classroom had a range of two whole years.

A big age gap in the same class would prove counter-intuitive, so we decided to let them go to the normal classes.

Two of the students were in the second year, three in the third year, and four were grad students.

They were all put into different classes with the highest number of nobles and citizens from their kingdoms.

Even though we were taking hostages this year, the academy was the best on the continent. People flocked in without any need for threatening.

As for the grad students, since they were all planning to pursue research under specific, renowned professors of the academy, there was already an eye on them.

It was still better to meet with each of them. On the day the classes began, I kept some more of the cookies with me and waited near the entrance of the Black Rose section of the academy.

As the other classes ended and the students came around, I greeted all of them.

I expected the second and third-year students to find it slightly awkward, and it played out just like that. Instead of bothering them, I only introduced myself, gave them some cookies, asked if they had any troubles, and told them to contact me for anything.

With the grad students, I could have a lot more fun. Before I knew it, all of them came around, and by night, we were making plans to go out drinking next week.

It helped that they were at best two or three years younger.

Whoever said a new page in one’s life was a monumental moment was a liar. I didn’t even notice when I started fitting into the robes of a professor and when a few days passed.

No, it didn’t matter whether I fit in the role or not. I had to play it and that alone was enough.

My students still seemed awkward. That was to be expected, it wasn’t easy to get along at that age. Thankfully, they all seemed to be fairly interested in my classes which made them easy to handle.

I didn’t hear any complaints from the other teachers who taught the rest of the subjects either.

The view of a professor and the reality of the classroom were likely not the same.

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Which was why under the shade of a beautiful weeping willow, I sat on a bench with freshly baked catnip cookies in hand.

[https://i.imgur.com/hJoPUKs.jpg]

Was I eating too many cookies these days? Maybe so.

“You can have them all today.”

Iaso’s eyes widened at my words as she smiled brightly.

“Really? No takebacks!”

“Of course, of course.”

Iaso dived right into the paper bag and pulled out a cookie. I wonder if she ever dreamed of living in a cookie house.

Her smile brightened even more when she bit into it. Seeing her ears twitch with every bite she took out of the cookies was rather funny.

“How’s class?” I asked.

“It’s not bad. I think you teach well.”

“No, I wasn’t asking about me. I mean your classmates, are you getting along well?”

“I don’t talk a lot with them.” Iaso shrugged at my words and nibbled on the cookie again.

I expected there to be a few children left out, but I didn’t think it would be her!

“Those guys don’t leave me alone though. There’s always someone talking.”

Phew.

I sighed in relief and patted Iaso’s head. Even though I saw the class as my responsibility, it was impossible to not favor this girl a bit more than the others.

“What about the others? Are they all getting along?”

Iaso hummed with her arms crossed.

“I guess so. There are small friend groups thanks to you pairing people up, and the overall atmosphere in the class is not bad. It’s just very formal. Oh, except for these two annoying kids. One only speaks in poems and another is always on and on about some trivia!”

Hmm, as expected.

I also had a few kids that I thought would have the most problems in class.

“What about the prince of the empire?”

“He’s quiet. He keeps a respectable distance, but never ignores anyone.”

“Wouldn’t want to make the crown prince angry. The saintess?”

“She looks a little lonely. But it seems a lot of the stuff here is new for her so she’s always busy moving around.”

The cookie in her hand snapped as she glared at me. “Are you stalking your students?”

“I am only looking out for them.”

She kept staring for a few seconds before laughing and leaning back on the bench. She kicked her legs front and back and continued talking.

“That commander girl has it tough. Elara, right?”

I expected that too.

“People avoid her?”

“Yes, they also look at her in awe. It doesn’t seem like a problem yet, but she has no one to talk to.”

“So she is the one who isn’t getting along with others.”

Iaso shrugged at my words.

“She seems like she can handle it. I think someone has it rougher.”

“Rougher? Who?”

“That silver-haired pretty girl, Lumine?”

That was surprising. Lumine Ador was a priestess of the Lunar Sect. It was a diminutive religion formed from the Church of the Sun God.

Since the Moon reflected the sun’s light, and the members following that religion were very rich and gave fat donations while calling themselves servants of the sun, the Church of the Sun God left it alone.

In ways, she was the counterpart of the saintess candidate, but practically she was way below her in rank.

“She is a bit snappy. Quiet and cold, and whenever someone tries to talk to her she either ignores them or shoos them away. A bit more annoying than even that merchant girl.”

It might sound like she brought it on herself.

But if that was the case, our soft-hearted cat princess wouldn’t have said she had it rough.

“So?” I asked.

There was something deeper here.

“Well… It’s just a feeling. I told you. I don’t care too much about my classmates.”

“Right.”

“So it would be better to ask the nerd.”

I gasped.

“That’s rude! Don’t say that.”

Iaso turned her gaze away. Kids. Even one word of insult toward others was enough to set you up in the long run. The power of communication wasn’t to be underestimated.

“But still… Atlas Whisper huh? I worry he’ll get overwhelmed if he sees me.”

“That was more rude. You could pretend to not know.”

I guess we have no choice.