I had arrived several weeks after classes had started, so my new job began immediately the next day. Walking down the dorm lobby, I saw Yuuki waiting for me on the couch.
"Oh, Rimuru!" He sat up excitedly, "you ready?"
"...yes." I eyed him suspiciously, Yuuki's enthusiasm was a little much for just picking me up to meet Class S… and it seemed to have something to do with the folded bundle of cloth I could see behind his back with [Magic Sense].
"Great!" Yuuki beamed, "I figured you might need a hand to get those kids' trust. They're a real tight bunch after all, but I brought just the thing to help!"
Yup, here it comes.
Whipping out a school uniform with great fanfare, Yuuki said excitedly, "look! If you dress like them, I'm sure they'll warm up to you in no time!"
All I could do for a moment was stare.
"...that's a girl's uniform," I said flatly.
"Uh-huh!" Yuuki's false innocence was really getting on my nerves.
"Dude, I already have an outfit!" I gestured to the long-sleeved white shirt, black vest, and black slacks I had made with [Material Creation]. "A teacher's outfit. I thought we'd already decided on this?"
"Well, you don't have to be a student to wear the uniform!" Yuuki smiled, though a pout was audible in his voice.
"For the last time, no!" I hissed, striding towards the door. "Put that thing away and start acting like an adult."
"Ooh, feeling touchy?" He laughed as he followed me out, "are those nerves I can sense from you?"
"No, it's annoyance. Learn to recognize it." I shoved the arm Yuuki had tried to sling over my shoulders away. Thankfully, his annoyingly familiar antics calmed down as we entered the school halls. I guessed Yuuki didn't want to put on a show like that in front of all the students he was over.
"Alright," Yuuki led me to a door labeled 'Class S,' "last chance to back out."
"Over my dead body," I huffed. "Let's do this."
Yuuki cracked a grin at my determination, and gestured for me to take the lead.
Opening the door, I stepped into the room wearing my classic salesman's smile–only to be met with a flaming sword to the face.
"Well," I deadpanned, grabbing hold of the burning blade and disarming the kid who'd tried to toast me alive. "I think I see why everyone else was scared off."
Yuuki was laughing behind me, while the spiky redheaded 8-year-old stared at me in shock.
"Nice going, Kenya!" A blonde girl started taunting him, "that didn't even work!"
"H-hey! It's not my fault the guy's fireproof!" Kenya, apparently, turned red and immediately began arguing back. Turning to me, he yelled, "that doesn't count! You cheated!"
First, I was really glad I'd created these clothes instead of buying them, or they'd be singed now. But second…
"So trying to maim someone the moment you meet them is a game to you?" I scolded, taking control of the magic on the sword so it stayed burning. Running a hand along it, I invoked my skill [Black Flame] and changed the color of the fire before holding it in front of me. I thought showing off a little might help earn me some respect.
Thanks for the assist, sage!
[[Confimed. It is not a problem.]]
"Woah!" The redhead, Kenya, stared in complete awe. "You gotta show me how to do that!" He jumped up and down eagerly, "please please please please please!"
"Not until you learn some fire safety lessons," I replied, extinguishing the sword and setting it on the big desk–my desk–behind me before turning back to the kids.
Well, I certainly had their attention now. A little dark-haired girl in the back had been staring at me with stars in her eyes since the moment I tanked that flame sword to the face. On the other hand, the oldest kid in the group, and definitely tallest, looked more suspicious and cautious than anything.
"You were still really cool, Ken!" Said a shy-looking black-haired boy to the redhead.
"Hmph," the blonde turned and folded her arms, "it wasn't that impressive."
So these were my new problem children.
"Well, now that all that excitement's out of the way," I said, clapping my hands to get their attention, "allow me to introduce myself! My name's Professor Rimuru, and I'll be your teacher from here on."
The kid's reaction was immediate and varied, but definitely hostile.
"What!?" Kenya burst out, and immediately turned to Yuuki. "Mister Yuuki, we already have a teacher!"
"Y-yeah!" Kenya's apparent sidekick, the smaller boy, timidly backed him up. "Miss Shizu is our teacher!"
"You're way too young to be a teacher," the blonde girl sniffed at me, raising her nose in the air.
The other girl with silvery dark hair and blue eyes was quiet, just hiding behind her picture book.
The oldest came up to Yuuki and asked, "Mister Yuuki, what's this about?" In a quavering tone.
"He's right." Yuuki nodded, placing a reassuring hand on the kid's shoulder. "Kenya, Alice, Ryota, Chloe, Gale," he addressed them each in turn–for my benefit, I assumed–before placing a hand on my head. "Professor Rimuru is your new teacher. Show him a little respect, alright?"
Maybe you should do the same instead of petting my head like I'm a child!
I had to resist my now-instinctual urge to dodge Yuuki's hand. I had to be dignified in front of these kids–as hard as that was with a teenager messing with the hair I'd pulled back just for today!
The kids all turned and started scrutinizing me, suspicious glares picking out my every flaw.
"I'm not letting some kid the same age as me tell me what to do!" The blonde, Alice, argued. "What gives him any authority over us!?"
"Actually, Rimuru is a bit older than he looks," Yuuki replied. "He's an otherworlder, just like you five–except he reincarnated."
"That's right," I grinned, "I'm a full-fledged adult, and…" quickly popping the mask out from inside me, through the back of my head where the kids couldn't see, I placed it on the side of my head. "I'm a friend of Shizu's. She's actually the one who told me about you kids."
"What!?" The kids chorused, shocked. "How do you have Miss Shizu's mask!?" Kenya demanded, while the others piled on similar questions.
"She gave it to me," I said, reaching up and running my fingers along the intricate patterns engraved on it, "along with a request. She asked me to help you."
The skepticism in the room was palpable. "I don't buy it," Alice said. Turning to Yuuki she shouted, "you can't expect this guy to just come out of nowhere and fix everything! I bet he isn't nearly as strong as Miss Shizu!"
Yuuki looked quite somber at that, so I decided to step in. "Well, why don't we find out?" I said, "let's go outside and play a game!"
Though still suspicious, the promise of a game was enough to get the kids to follow me and Yuuki outside. Facing the group of five in a grassy courtyard, I said, "if any of you can defeat me, I'll leave. You won't have to accept me as your teacher. But," I held up a finger and winked, "if I win against all five of you, you need to do what I say!"
"Alright!" Kenya shouted, raising a fist in the air, "but don't expect us to go easy on you!"
"I wouldn't dream of it," I grinned back.
Kenya's sword had been left back in the classroom, but it had already failed to affect me. Instead, he began chanting another flame spell, shouting as he simultaneously charged me while firing it.
I didn't even move to dodge the blast of fire, and caught Kenya's fist as he reached me. Easily sidestepping him, I released him to let his momentum carry him past me. Throwing the kid would've just been bullying.
Alice had somehow brought out three stuffed animals, which she sent at me. Wow, I marveled, as I batted them around a bit. A golem master? That's an amazing ability.
The stuffed animals were kind of annoying, and I was tempted to burn them up, but remembering the [Black Flame] I did in the dorm room made me decide it was too dangerous to use with the other kids coming at me.
Besides, she'd probably cry.
Gale and Chloe both shot magic bullets at me, which my [Multilayer Barrier] handled without issue.
"You can do this, Ryota!" Kenya shouted, "show 'im what you've got!" As I was dealing with the two mages and Alice, Kenya's sidekick, Ryota, charged at me.
Woah! I stepped aside as he flew past me. The kid's gone feral! Kenya's cheering had unlocked some sort of berserker art in Ryota, but he'd lost his marbles in the process, dropping to all fours and bearing his teeth at me like a wild animal.
I sidestepped him to let him past me, turning to deal with the magic users. But in the split second that I was distracted, Ryota ran up behind me and bit my hair.
Eeeeeep! I managed to hide it from the kids, but having someone's teeth in me was sending alarm bells all over. Frozen for just a second, I shuddered and got back into the action.
Grabbing Ryota, who had latched on to my stubby little ponytail, I ripped my hair out of his jaws grip and started wrestling him while ignoring the other four.
Of course, I wasn't really 'wrestling' Ryota so much as keeping him from getting another bite in. Even if I was slightly smaller, using any of my strength would have been disastrous. This kid has some potential, I thought as I gradually wore him down.
Several minutes later, I had five tired children panting in the grass, their energy spent and not a scratch on me. (Outside of the mental damage I took from nearly getting eaten.) Still, even though I'd exhausted the kids, the pulsing, raging energy that I could see inside them remained unchanged. Simple combat training isn't going to do much to help with their problem, apparently.
"Alright!" I said cheerfully, unable to help but laugh as I stood over them. "You kids now have to call me Professor Rimuru!"
Yuuki, of course, had been watching the whole thing. It was hard to tell what he was thinking; every time I glanced at him, with [Magic Sense] or otherwise, he just had this amused grin on.
"Ugh…" Kenya moaned.
"Maybe…" Gale panted, "maybe you are as strong as Miss Shizu."
"Hehehe," I laughed, "of course I am!" Leaning over my defeated pupils, I said, "so, who wants lunch?"
What better way to bond with my new students than to share a meal with them?
That managed to rouse them, and we began making our way inside. Just as I was following them, though, I felt someone's arms wrap around my shoulders.
"Eh?" I turned slightly to see the quietest one, Chloe, had wrapped me in a hug.
After a moment she pulled away, a red tint of her cheeks. "N-nice to meet you, teacher!" She gushed, before immediately rushing after her classmates.
"Aww," Yuuki cooed, "young love~!"
"Hey!" I snapped at him. "That's sick and you know it!"
Unlike you, I'm not a lolicon.
How else was I supposed to interpret his already-evident enthusiasm about sticking me in revealing costumes, given my appearance? Yuuki obviously has a 'type'.
"That was a nice fight out there," Yuuki complimented me.
"Please," I scoffed. "It wasn't, and you know it."
"Hah, got me there." Yuuki's ever-present grin looked pretty smug even though he was rubbing his head awkwardly. "Well, I need to get back to work. Have fun with your new students, Professor~!"
"See you around, Chairman." I waved grudgingly, before running to catch up with the kids down the hall.
The cafeteria was pretty empty, since it wasn't quite lunchtime yet. Me and my students were fairly early, but I felt I–they had earned it with all that hard exercise.
The few straggling teachers and upperclassmen sitting down all stared at us as we entered–and at me, in particular. I would have to get used to that until I wasn't so new around here, I guessed.
"Well, if it isn't my favorite class!" The kind lunch lady greeted my rowdy gaggle at the counter. "Are you here for lunch?"
"Yes, ma'am," I said, pushing my way to the front. "Sorry about these guys, they just had a lot of excitement."
"Oh, and who are you?" She cooed at me, "a new student?"
"What? No, I–"
"Professor Rimuru is our teacher," Gale stepped in for me.
"Yeah," I picked up, "I just got hired." Grabbing my adventuring license, I motioned to show it to the lady.
"Oh, no, you don't need to show me that," she smiled, "I believe you. I should have noticed based on how you are dressed. Sorry for assuming."
"It's fine," I said, pocketing the license. "I get it a lot."
"Well, a nice hearty meal will be the perfect thing to get that growing you still need to do! Then you won't have the same problem again."
"No, it's not like that. I-" I was about to try and explain that I was an adult and that I don't think I'm going to grow more any time soon, but was shoved a tray literally piled with spaghetti. There was an entire mountain of the stuff on it!
"Oh, uh–thanks." I stuttered, trying to balance the slippery mound of noodles as I waited for the kids. It's no use arguing. I didn't want to be rude to her, either.
"Yeah," Professor Rimuru reached into his pocket and pulled out an ID similar to the one Mister Yuuki once showed us. "I just got hired."
I was holding my picture book while my friends and our new teacher greeted the lunch lady. I was still feeling pretty tired; Professor Rimuru was really strong, and we fought him for a long time before we had to give up.
"You okay, Chlo?" Kenya turned to me.
"Mhmm." I nodded. I was just tired…
…and confused.
Professor Rimuru was strange.
I watched him as the lunch lady handed me my tray, following him to the table with the others. The sway of his hair, and the way his face moved when he talked… it was all familiar.
But he felt small. Of course he did, since he was an adult but looked younger than most of us–but for some reason that stuck in my mind.
"So you were re-uncinerated? Whazzat mean?" Kenya asked once we were all seated.
"Reincarnated," Professor Rimuru corrected, "I died back in my old world and was reborn in this one with all my memories. That's why I look so young, but I was actually 37 when I died."
"Hah!" Kenya shouted, "I knew it!"
"What?" Professor stared at him, utterly baffled.
"Yeah, I knew you talked like an old man!" Alice added, pointing her fork right at him.
"I'm not an old man…you don't need to include the 'old' part."
I giggled quietly; Professor Rimuru's face was funny when he said that.
"You almost look younger than Alice, but you really are an adult. That's gotta be tough." Gale said. I thought he was trying to comfort Professor Rimuru; he's nice like that.
"I think Professor Rimuru is fine the way he is." I said.
"Why do you like him so much, Chlo? He may be kinda strong, but he's not that special!" Alice complained.
I don't know.
Maybe it was because he seemed familiar… warm and safe in a strange way. Maybe it was because hugging him was like going home, a soft and comforting place where there were no problems.
Maybe it was because he reminded me of Miss Shizu, and she's always been there for us. Or because of his smile. It's bright and full of hope, reassuring in a friendly, kind of mischievous way.
"I just…do." I muttered, sinking a bit in my seat. Just thinking about him made my face feel hot for some reason… I hid my expression behind my book.
The rest of my friends still looked skeptical. I didn't know what to do… I just trusted Professor Rimuru. I couldn't explain why.
"You don't need to force yourself to trust me, alright? Trust is something earned, not given." He reassured us, though I didn't need it.
"There he goes, talkin' like an old man again." Alice quipped, side-eyeing Professor Rimuru.
"Well, I don't trust him yet!" Kenya exclaimed. I wished I could convince him, but I didn't have any words for someone as stubborn as Kenya.
"Yeah, how can we trust him when he talked big about 'helping' us?" Alice agreed with him, which made me sad.
At that, Professor Rimuru stood up from the table.
"I swore to Shizu that I would save all five of you, and I will do exactly that. That's a promise."
His loud, forceful declaration grabbed some attention in the cafeteria, both teachers and students looking over at us, which caused me to hide further. Over its rim I stared at Professor Rimuru, awe-struck. He can save us?
Nobody other than Miss Shizu had ever promised to save us before… usually they just smiled sadly and looked away.
Professor Rimuru sat back down at my now-silent table, looking a bit awkward but I could see he was trying his best not to show it. Maybe he was embarrassed because of all the attention he grabbed… I didn't know why though, he was so cool!
"Do you really mean it…?" Ryota quietly asked.
"Yes, I mean it." Professor Rimuru promised again, firmly. I tried not to be too obvious about it but I couldn't help but stare at him in excitement.
"I think we should give him a chance. He did show he's much stronger than any of us." Gale commented.
"Tch. I dunno…" a less-convinced Kenya sulked.
Alice meanwhile was still a little resistant, but went along with it in her own way. "I guess I can try trusting you, even if you are kinda creepy."
Part of me wanted to hit Alice with my book for calling him creepy, but I didn't want to get in trouble with Professor Rimuru right after meeting him. I was happy Gale agreed though; he's the oldest so of course he knows better.
"Well," Professor Rimuru smiled, "you don't have to decide right away. Eat your food and we'll go back to class."
The others nodded, finishing up their lunches while I kept looking at Professor Rimuru, trying to see if I could glean the truth from his eyes.
He really can save us, can't he? I knew that. I didn't know how or why, but I knew it in my heart.
What is going through that girl's head? I wondered, trying not to look directly at the silvery black-haired girl named Chloe. She had been staring at me this entire time, barely eating her food, and it was starting to creep me out.
Seriously, why is she doing that? I was sure she had a lot on her mind because of her situation. They all would. Today had been a big, life-changing day for them.
"Alright!" I cheered, stacking the empty trays and dishware together. "Everyone ready to go back?"
"Are we going back to the classroom?"
"Exactly, Gale."
"Wait, are ya actually gonna try to teach us? Like a real teacher?" Kenya asked with skepticism.
"Well, yeah…and I am a real teacher, Kenya."
"But…we haven't done any school stuff since…Miss Shizu left." Ryota muttered.
"I'm aware you're all behind on your schoolwork; that's why we're going to have a pop quiz. I need to figure out where you are currently so I can effectively teach you."
"Wait, a test!? That's just cruel of you!" Alice loudly complained.
"Yeah! First you beat us up and now we're gonna be tested!?" Kenya shouted.
"I don't wanna…" Chloe muttered, hugging her book to her chest.
"It's not fair to test us when we're all exhausted. Can't this wait until tomorrow?" proposed Gale, but this can't wait.
Not just that, but the scene they were making was really grabbing attention, and not the positive kind. This whole thing was happening right in the middle of one of the main hallways and we were getting stares from both students and staff. I needed to assert myself or nobody would take me seriously.
"Hey, hey! Calm down everyone! It's not going to be anything hard, just something that I can use to set a baseline."
"This is not fai-!"
"Kenya, stop."
"But-"
"You said if I won, that you'd listen, so listen to me and stop."
My stern voice seemed to rein in the group's behavior a bit, thankfully, and they followed me back to the classroom. Still muttering and grumbling about having to take a test, but doing what I told them to anyway.
The kids were surprisingly quiet as I walked them back to the classroom; worn out, perhaps? Depressed because they're taking an exam?
Well, if they were too tired to fight and make noise, that would make this exam easier. I honestly wasn't expecting much, but having any sort of idea where to start would help me, and getting these kids in the habit of actually attending school needed to happen as soon as possible.
So, they sat at the tables that worked as their desks, I handed out some pieces of paper, and we got to work.
Everything was peachy for about the first three seconds, until…
"Professor," Gale raised his hand, "I can't read."
Well. If Gale couldn't, there wasn't any hope for the rest of them.
"Alright," I said cheerfully, masking the depressed sigh in my mind, "we can work with that." Putting my hands together, I said, "in that case, we'll do some interviews. I'll take you each into the hallway for ten minutes," I pointed toward the door. "The rest of you need to behave in here. If I finish with all five of you," I grinned slyly, "then you'll all get a special prize!"
"What's the prize?" Kenya asked curiously.
"That's a secret," I wagged a finger and winked playfully. "But," I cautioned, "if you act out, you lose, and then you'll never know what it is."
That got their attention. I could see the light of determination, no, desperation in their eyes.
"We gotta do this!" I saw Kenya whisper harshly to Ryota next to him. "Don't screw up, okay?" to which his friend nodded vigorously.
"Is it a puppy!?" Alice burst out excitedly.
What would make her think it's a puppy?
"You'll seeeee~!" I answered in a sing-song voice.
Another round of excited whispers broke out between the kids. "Now then!" I said to get their attention. Figuring I may as well start with the oldest, I gestured to Gale and said, "Gale, you're up first. The rest of you need to stay seated at your desks and not make too much noise. You can read, draw, whatever you want, but you have to do it at your desk!"
So, one by one, I managed to assess the whole class.
As expected, the results weren't pretty.
The tests were pretty simple. I ended up doing the math portion verbally as well, even though it probably wasn't necessary. In short, I discovered that each of these kids were a year or two behind to my estimation, and the knowledge they did have had gone stale as nobody had pushed them to improve since their summonings.
Even Shizu mainly focused on teaching them adventurer skills instead of academics, and the other professors never required them to pay attention in class.
So, bad. But not terrible. Fixable, actually.
Since I didn't need sleep, I spent the rest of the day after class and the entire night in the teacher's lounge putting together a curriculum with the help of [Great Sage].
I was here to save them, but it would be pointless if they couldn't live full lives afterward.
A few hours into my work, just as the sun was going down outside the windows, Professor Tiss poked her head in the doorway; probably because my light was the only one on in the room.
Seeing me bent over the desk, I saw a small smile cross her face. Pretending I hadn't already noticed her with [Magic Sense], I kept working as she walked up behind me.
"What are you doing, Professor Rimuru?" She asked.
"Making a curriculum for Class S."
Peering over my shoulder, Tiss frowned curiously. "What's that writing?" She asked as she examined the Japanese characters I was writing my curriculum in.
"It's the language from my homeland."
"Really?" She asked in surprise. "I never realized there were other written languages still used."
"...huh?" I paused and squinted up at her. "What do you mean?"
"I've only ever heard of a single writing system being used for everyday things," she clarified. "Every country in the world, all the way to Dwargon, uses the same system."
"Well that's weird," I shrugged and returned to work. "Where I come from, there's tons of different languages, written and spoken."
"Really?" Tiss seems amazed, which in turn amazes me. "Where are you from?"
"Japan," I answered, which just ended up confusing Tiss even more. Thinking I better clarify, I added, "it's a country in another world."
Tiss was stunned silent for a moment. "Oh," she realized, "I didn't realize you're in the same situation as those kids! No wonder you're so eager to help them!"
"What? No," I quickly corrected her, "I'm not. I'm stable. I wasn't summoned, I died back in my old world, but I kept my memories."
"I've never heard of that…" Tiss stared at me in wonder. "So you're… reincarnated? That explains your, um… maturity."
"...Yeah." Thanks for pointing it out. She didn't mean anything by it though, and I know what I look like. I decided to let the topic slide.
Tiss was now completely silent, probably burning with questions she didn't think she could ask. I could see her fidgeting behind me, though she wasn't aware of it.
Figuring it couldn't do any harm, I decided to give her some peace of mind.
"I was stabbed. Took a knife for my coworker, actually. Right here." I lifted the hand I'd been resting on the desk and stuck my thumb towards the spot in my back where I was shanked.
"What!?" Tiss exclaimed, clearly not expecting that.
"That's how I died. Weren't you wondering?" I asked blankly.
"W-well, yes! But–uh… if you don't mind, could you explain in more detail? Please?" Tiss asked, a strange mix of flustered and excited.
"Ha," I laughed a bit. I might tell this story more often, just to get the reactions. "There's honestly not much more to say." Turning away from the desk so I could talk while facing Tiss, I explained, "I was meeting my coworker Tamura and his fiancee. We were going to eat at a nice restaurant. Then, this random guy comes running down the street with a knife, and Tamura, like the idiot he is, just stood there! So, I pushed him out of the way, and got stabbed in the process."
Honestly, I had less to live for than he did, so in a way it was a good outcome.
Tiss looked a bit disturbed. "Was there not anyone who knew holy magic nearby?" She asked, "or potions? This was in the middle of a city, right? How did nobody help you!?"
"Oh, they tried, I think," I answered nonchalantly. "But my old world doesn't have magic. Like, at all. By the time the paramedics probably came, I was already dead."
"P-paramedics? What is that?" Tiss was completely enthralled now, curiosity burning in her eyes.
"Uh," I tried for a moment to think of a good way to describe it. "It's a word we had for doctors who specialized in coming to emergency sites when something happens. They're part of a group of people we call 'first-responders.' It's their job to show up when something bad happens."
"So kind of like the guard?" Tiss asked.
"Sort of," I said, "but not really? What you call guards we called 'police,' they're also first-responders. They're usually the ones who call the paramedics to the scene."
"Fascinating," Tiss mused. "You'll have to tell me more about your world sometime. I've distracted you from your lesson planning long enough."
"Don't worry about it," I reassured her. "It was nice of you to stop by."
"Well, good night, Professor Rimuru!" Tiss turned back and smiled as she left the room.
"Good night, Professor Tiss!"