Know your place insect

"Huh? Is the academy short on teachers?" asked Kouro with raised eyebrows upon hearing Theresa's words.

He remembered that when he attended this academy back then, there were less than 30 teachers including Himeko, as well as the undercover Welt.

Coupled with nearly a hundred staff working in the divisions of logistics, maintenance, research and so on.

Then considering that there was a high possibility that Welt had retired as a teacher by now due to the previous incident of the Anti-Entropy Invasion, the number of teachers at the academy had been reduced.

But since Sakura had applied to the academy as a teacher the number should have returned to normal.

"No, that's not it. Uh... How do I explain this? You know the male teacher who taught chemistry before?"

"Mr. Welt?" said Kiana with a thoughtful expression, she remembered that teacher not only because he was the only male teacher, but also because it was the teacher who had pointed out her poor test scores to Kouro and the others back then.

'Welt? Don't tell me Mr. Welt taught chemistry?' Kouro thought, remembering a certain fictional character who sold something to the fried chicken cartel.

"Yes. Unfortunately a few months ago Mr. Welt resigned due to his illness. So now there are no more male teachers in the academy." Theresa said with a sad expression.

She was sad because Mr. Welt was a reliable and competent teacher so it seemed a pity to let him resign but she accepted his resignation letter anyway because Mr. Welt had a chronic disease.

"Right, so what's the problem?" Kouro asked in confusion, what did the lack of a male teacher at the academy have to do with him.

"The problem is that it just so happens that the day was close to the end of semester exams. Because Mr. Welt resigned as a teacher at that time, the students became discouraged when studying Chemistry class so that they all did not score well in the Chemistry exam." Himeko said, continuing Theresa's words.

"They even organized a demonstration for the academy to hire a male teacher or else they would deliberately skip class." Himeko said while shaking her head with a sour expression.

"Woah... I really didn't expect that..." Ayame said not knowing what expression to put on.

She didn't know that girls could be like that when they didn't get what they wanted.

Theresa massaged her temples with a troubled expression and continued, "Right now all the girls are getting extra classes to supplement their Chemistry grades. They also requested that the teacher who teaches the extra class must be male otherwise they won't learn."

Hearing Theresa's story, Kiana then said with a complicated expression, "It seems like it's not easy being the principal. If it were me, I would've given up."

Kiana was self-aware that something that required brains like management and calculations was not her forte.

"In the end I had no other choice but to promise them that I would recruit a new male teacher." She continued.

"But... I have very few male acquaintances, other than Grandpa-Overseer, and you, I have no other acquaintances. The other teachers are the same. So I have no other choice but to ask for your help, Kouro."

Theresa looked at Kouro with a pleading expression, she was trying to act cute to lower Kouro's defenses.

'Cute.' Kouro thought without changing his expression.

He then felt sharp from behind her so he quickly cleared his throat and said.

"I don't mind, but you know, right? That I am an Einherjar. I am a frontline fighter against Honkai. I don't have much free time."

Seeing that Kouro did not immediately refuse, Theresa immediately said enthusiastically.

"That's okay! You just need to teach an extra Chemistry class today! I know you're busy, I'm just asking for your help temporarily. I need time until I can recruit a male teacher."

Kouro rubbed his chin with a thoughtful expression before nodding his head.

"Alright, I'll help."

"Yeah! Thank you, Kouro!" Theresa jumped up and down happily like a child.

"By the way, what should I teach? My education isn't high anyway, in fact I haven't even gone to college at all."

Kouro remembered he had only studied books of all subjects from elementary school to college students, he felt a little doubtful in his teaching ability due to having no experience.

It was boring anyway, right? If the already difficult Chemistry lesson was directly described like reading a book directly without giving understanding it would be tantamount to lying.

"It's okay, you're handsome, that's enough." Theresa said with a serious expression.

Kouro's eyebrows slightly twitched, for some reason he felt Dejavu with Theresa's words.

'Where have I heard those words...'

Kouro quickly shook his head before saying, "By the way I have a condition when teaching."

"Say it."

"First, I want to use a fake name. I don't want it to be by chance that I'll meet my student outside. Second, I want to disguise myself so that I won't be recognized by the students." Kouro said while raising his index and middle fingers.

"Alright, I accept your terms. By the way, what fake name are you going to use?" Asked Theresa curiously.

Kouro smiled in response to her question before answering.

"Walter Heartwell White."

__

Inside a special class where extra lessons were about to begin, the female students had filled the room and were sitting neatly waiting for their teacher.

A girl sitting in the frontmost seat looked at her watch before muttering, "Soon, the teacher will come."

"What do you think our new teacher looks like?" Girl A whispered to her seatmate.

"I don't know, but I hope he's nice to look at." replied the classmate who turned out to be an acquaintance of Kouro.

She was a girl with long black hair tied into a ponytail with decent looks, but when compared to Ayame, Kiana, Mei and the others, she was still a little below average.

She was Kyouko, the first girl Kouro had rejected her feelings for when he attended Tachikawa Academy.

Why is she here? This can be explained years ago when the third Eruption happened and Kouro rescued her and everyone at Tachikawa academy.

She really took a liking to Kouro and became completely obsessed with him. Kyouko became uninterested in men other than Kouro himself.

When she heard that Kouro left Tachikawa academy from her homeroom teacher after the Third Eruption, she was really sad and scared because she thought she wouldn't be able to see Kouro again.

Thus she put in a lot of effort trying to find Kouro, long story short, although Kyouko couldn't find him, she found out where Kouro went to school after leaving Tachikawa academy which is the academy where she goes to now.

St. Freya's Academy.

Unfortunately when she successfully enrolled in this academy, she later found out that Kouro had graduated from the academy and enrolled into the world-class military organization, Schicksal.

In order to meet Kouro, she tried to study hard so that she could quickly graduate with the best grades and get the principal's recommendation.

Oh, right. The reason she was in the extra class wasn't because her grades were incomplete, but she wanted to see the male teacher who would be teaching.

Of course it wasn't that she wanted to compare the teacher to Kouro, after all there was no man on this earth that could compare to Kouro.

As she was thinking about this, she saw the entrance door slide open and a man in his twenties with white hair and violet eyes wearing glasses entered and immediately wrote his name on the blackboard.

The man had the mysterious yet authoritative aura of a great nobleman.

The man then turned to look at them all with a calm expression while raising his glasses slightly.

"He looks way more handsome than what I imagined!" muttered a girl with a flushed face. No, almost all the girls in the class blushed and their eyes lit up at the sight of the man.

The class became full of talk about how handsome their new teacher was.

But there was only one person who had a different expression and that was Kyouko.

Her eyes currently looked wide.

'No way?! Kouro-kun?!'

Although the man in front of her had a typical European face, those violet eyes could not deceive her.

Back then, the reason she was attracted to Kouro aside from his face, was because of his eyes that felt very unique.

And as a person with an eye fetish, she could confirm that this teacher in front of her had the same resemblance to Kouro!

'But... How did his body shape and appearance change?' Kyouko thought.

The intuition of a girl in love is terrifying...

.... 

Kouro had no idea that the world would be so small that he ran into some old acquaintances.

He saw Kyouko, his first acquaintance at Tachikawa Academy and the first girl to confess to him. Of course he immediately refused, as he was focused on training to prepare for the Third Eruption.

Then he also saw the girls who once wanted to gang rape him at night on a deserted street, luckily he was able to escape from them by tying their shoelaces together.

It felt really nostalgic when remembering it, but Kouro quickly dispelled these thoughts and refocused because he was currently a teacher named...

"Silence. I am your new teacher who will be accompanying you during extra classes. My name is Walter Heartwell White but you can call me Mr. White." Kouro said with a calm expression without being shy about using other people's names.

After that, Kouro read the attendance list to make sure that all the students of the first session were present.

"Abane Mikoto?"

"Present!"

"Akagumi Sagiri?"

"Present!"

...

"Nagimoto Kyouko?"

"Ah? Present!" Kyouko answered a little late as her mind was focused on Kouro's eyes.

"Saseguri Aru?"

"Here."

"Tachibana Ayano?"

"Present."  

"Yusaki Yuuna?"

"Present!"

Aru, Ayano and Yuuna were the three girls who had tried to rape Kouro in the past.

Judging from their appearance now, they seemed to have repented and returned to a better path.

'Strange, why do I feel familiar with Mr. White?' Aru thought in confusion, but her attention was immediately drawn to Kouro's words.

"Well, everything is here. Then open the book to page 17."

Kouro then explained his understanding of the chapter before explaining it at a more basic level and giving simple examples.

The girls listened to Kouro attentively, no, judging by their faces, these girls were lost in their flowery thoughts.

Time quickly passed, the bright sun was beginning to set creating a beautiful evening glow.  A few hours later, the first session, second session, third session and finally the fourth session ended.

Kouro taught as a teacher for almost 10 hours more until the day reached evening.

In the empty classroom, Kouro wore a helpless expression remembering how when he asked if there were any questions and the girls instead asked if he had a girlfriend and some other personal things made him feel a little tired.

But he didn't get angry. After all, if the world was peaceful without Honkai and so on, he would probably be like them having fun, enjoying youth.

"Too bad I don't have that luxury..." Kouro muttered.

Starting from his childhood, he was trained very hard by his grandfather and as a teenager continued to train despite acquiring a system that allowed him to become stronger more easily.

His original intention was just to save people with miserable destinies but in the end the future of the world rested on his shoulders.  

'Is this what Mr. Welt faces every day?' Kouro thought as he organized his books before leaving the classroom.

'I hope Kiana and the others didn't wait too long. '

As he walked down the school hallway, he stopped and turned his head to stare at the rising sun facing him, the dark orange twilight light looking beautiful.

'Being a teacher isn't so bad. Maybe... After the world is peaceful, I'll work as a teacher. '

He then turned his head to look ahead where he saw Kyouko looking at him with a strange expression, a mixture of happy, sad, and nostalgic.

"The extra class hour is long over, Nagimoto-san. Aren't you going home soon?" Kouro asked in a calm voice.

"That..." Kyouko's head looked down as if she was thinking about something.

"If there are any missed items or other matters, do it quickly, the class will be closing soon." Kouro said before walking past her without changing his expression.

He didn't try to greet Kyouko and his old schoolmates at Tachikawa academy, he and they saw the world differently.

He didn't want to involve those who were ordinary people towards his cause.

"Kouro-kun!" Kyouko's shout from behind him made him stop with a furrowed brow expression.

He did not expect that Kyouko could see through his disguise, did all women in this world have such sharp intuition?

He immediately turned his head back to look at her and said calmly, "Nagimoto-san, it's rude to shout like that, who is that person you called?"

Kyouko looked at him with a determined expression not even changing her expression after hearing Kouro's denial.

"No! You might be able to fool the others but I'm sure you're the Kouro-kun I know!" Kyouko said adamantly.

Kouro tried to deny several times but Kyouko stuck to her word and was sure that he was Kouro.

'What a stubborn girl...' Kouro thought with a helpless expression.

He then took off his disguise and looked back at Kyouko, "Well, you found me, I am indeed Kouro."

"Ah! I knew it! My intuition is never wrong! Don't you know how hard I looked for you all this time?"

Seeing how happy Kyouko was when she found himself made Kouro tilt his head.

"Why did you bother looking for me? Oh, if you want to thank me for saving you, that's not necessary. That was my duty."

Kyouko nodded her head, she could not tell the truth that she was looking for him because she had fallen in love with him.

Because... She had already been rejected by Kouro.

She still remembered the reason Kouro had rejected her confession a few years ago, "I'm sorry, Kyouko-san, but I'm not thinking of dating right now, I want to focus on studying."

And this time, she wasn't going to rush things, she wanted to know how Kouro was doing after he saved herself and joined the Schicksal.

She wanted to know if Kouro already had a girlfriend or at least if he had a crush on someone.

"Well... I still want to thank you though. I especially want to hear how you're doing now, Kouro-kun."

Kouro nodded his head with no objection.

The two of them then walked side by side while recounting what they had experienced, of course Kouro only recounted things like fighting the Honkai Beasts and other missions he had done in Schicksal.

He did not tell about the Herrschers, the alternate world or anything else that was very important.

On the other hand, hearing Kyouko's story made Kouro a little surprised because Kyouko at her young age had become a millionaire with her own successful company.

"Woah! You're really great for growing a successful company at your age now. By the way, what company did you form?"

Kouro's question made Kyouko smile a little stiffly and subconsciously avoid his gaze before saying softly.

"... Toy company... "

"I see... "

By the way, this reminded him of Otto and Welt who also made their own company. If he was not mistaken, their companies were both based on animation and games.

If he was not mistaken, Arahato and Kallen Fantasy Chronicles.

Both of their companies were really very successful. It went global and is still in operation today.

Unfortunately Kouro didn't have the chance to watch Arahato or play the Kallen Fantasy Chronicles game because he was busy.

'Maybe I can watch and play with Bronya later.'

They talked about many things but it was all impersonal before Kyouko finally couldn't resist asking.

"Kouro-kun... What do you think of me as?"

Kouro turned to look at her before saying in a casual tone, "Hmm? Of course a friend, nothing less, nothing more."

Kouro's words felt like a thousand knives piercing her heart, her expression felt stiff making her unconsciously touch her face.

Kyouko tried to hide her expression before saying.

"... Kouro-"

Her words were interrupted by someone and that someone immediately hugged Kouro without hesitation.

"KOURO!"

"Kiana? Mei? Ayame? Why are you guys here?"

Kiana hugged Kouro's neck while Mei and Ayame hugged Kouro's hands.

"I was bored because I kept losing games to Bronya~ So I came looking for you."

"Kiana... You..." Kouro's expression looked helpless as he heard her reasoning.

Kyouko who saw this could only remain silent and could not say anything.

"Who is she by the way, Kouro?" Asked Ayame looking at Kyouko in front of them.

"Ah? She's my old classmate, her name is Kyouko."

"Kyouko this is Kiana, Mei and Ayame."

"Ha-Hello..." said Kyouko.

Ayame nodded her head with a smile in response to her greeting before saying "Then we'll leave first, Kyouko-san."

Kyouko nodded her head stiffly.

Looking at the backs of the four of them, she looked at Kouro who was smiling sincerely while talking to them.

Kyouko subconsciously opened her mouth wanting to say something before goosebumps suddenly broke out making her body freeze.

She raised her head and saw, 'Mei', 'Ayame', and 'Sirin' were looking at her with a sharp and haughty gaze.

The eyes of the three of them were shining brightly, from their gazes Kyouko somehow understood what they wanted to say.

'Know your place, insect.'

As her body was covered in cold sweat, the three of them finally turned back and chatted with Kouro as if nothing had happened.

Kyouko, who immediately collapsed on the floor, felt her legs weaken with fear.

'What was that exactly...?'