"I really hope Ken's okay…" Ryota mumbled into his sandwich. His mood hadn't improved since this morning, and we all knew why.

Professor Rimuru was trying to protect us, but we knew how sick Kenya likely was.

No, I shouldn't keep worrying. Professor Rimuru is taking care of him right now.

I wasn't sure what he could do to help our classmate, but he sounded pretty confident when he said Kenya would be alright. It didn't seem fake to me.

"I bet he's just faking it for attention! Or to get out of class!" Alice shouted.

"Alice, don't say that!" I scolded her. I knew she didn't actually mean that, but it still bothered me.

"Gale's right. Ken wouldn't pretend to be sick… he doesn't like others worrying about him…" Ryota muttered in response.

"Yeah." Chloe agreed, "Being taken care of by Professor Rimuru all day isn't something Kenya would want."

I nodded, agreeing with her. Kenya is too stubborn to like being doted on; he always likes to act like he's so tough and independent.

We ate in silence, enjoying the shade of the single tree in the courtyard. But just as lunch was finishing, Chloe piped up.

"Oh, no…" Chloe said from behind her hard-covered picture book, "It's those ones from earlier."

I look up from my food to where Chloe is staring and see the same group of older students that we had an argument with earlier in class. Based on the looks on their faces, they still seem upset about being called 'cowards' by Alice.

Alice stood up and straightened out her uniform, facing the group with her chin up and her hands on her hips.

"What do you want? We're too busy to deal with you."

"I want an apology from you, you blond brat."

"Brat?" Alice asked them testily, "There are no brats here, unless you count yourself."

"Someone needs to teach you your place!" The older kid snarled, "you think you're all so special just 'cause you're otherworlders. If the teachers won't make you learn some manners then I will!"

"You just try!" Alice shouted back, "Professor Rimuru will tell you off!"

One of the other kids snickered. "You still think you can threaten us with your little kitten?" She sneered, "what's he gonna do, hiss at us?"

Chloe stood up, brushing herself off. "Stop it," she ordered.

"Who's gonna make me?" The bully goaded.

"Insulting Professor Rimuru is really mean!" She shouted at her, "he's a really good teacher!"

"Yeah!" Alice added, "you guys couldn't beat a squirrel, let alone him!"

"You take that back!" The first bully rolled up his sleeves. "My dad's a member of the western council and I'm already a D-rank! I could beat you up any day! Any of you!"

"Hey," the third of the older kids spoke up a bit timidly. He was a little smaller than the other two. "These guys are supposed to be dangerous, remember? We shouldn't fight 'em like that…"

"People just think that 'cause they're little brats that nobody will punish!" The leader shot back, "I'm not scared of a few little kids!"

Suddenly, a hard-cover book clocked him in the temple.

"Owww!" He hissed, rounding on Chloe, whose hand was still outstretched.

"Go away!" She shouted, "stop talking bad about Professor Rimuru and my friends and just go away!"

"You think you can just get away with whatever, huh?" The bully snarled, "I'm gonna show you what happens when you mess with someone stronger than you!"

The bully stepped forward and wound up to swing at Chloe, but I was a lot faster than him. I shoved Chloe out of the way, but I was too slow to dodge, and his fist smashed into my cheek.

My head whipped to the side and tears started to enter my eyes from the stinging, but I was fine. I was just glad he didn't hit Chloe.

I raised my fists, ready to defend my friends, but before anything else could happen Chloe's voice caught everyone's attention. Her eyes were staring coldly at the trio of older kids, a stoney frown on her face.

"Flow of water, gather and send my enemies away! Water Cannon!" A massive torrent of water suddenly shot from her hands, blowing the bullies all the way across the courtyard.

We all stared at Chloe in shock. The bullies were already scrambling away with their tails between their legs.

"Since when could you fire one that big!?" Alice burst out, jumping with glee. "That was awesome!"

"That was really impressive, Chlo." Ryota agreed quietly.

"Hehee," Chloe giggled while shyly looking down at her shoes. "I've been practicing."

"That was scary, Chlo," I said, having been the one to stand by it when it shot past an inch from my nose. "You looked and sounded so mean chanting that!"

"Hehee." Chloe just giggled, looking pleased with herself. "Do you think Professor Rimuru will like it?" She asked shyly, poking her fingers together.

"He'd love it!" I said enthusiastically. "As long as you don't aim it at him, I think!"

"Yeah," Alice agreed, "you've gotten really good at water magic!"

Chloe just smiled, looking extremely excited.

Meanwhile, the Vice Chairman was enjoying a cup of tea while gazing out his window at the school's courtyard. It's been so peaceful since we hired Professor Rimuru, he sighed contentedly. I'm surprised, but I should have known Chairman Yuuki would have a good eye for talent.

He took another sip of his drink, satisfied that finally those kids were under control, as a massive water cannon shot by his window. He spit out the tea, staring at the now soaked window in shock.

"Goodness, me…"

I was still sitting in Kenya's room, now reading a book I had found at the library, when I heard a knock on the door.

"Yeah?" I opened it up to see the school's secretary, looking a bit pale.

"I'm sorry, Professor Rimuru!" She bowed frantically, "but there's been an… incident."

I looked back at Kenya, fast asleep, and stepped fully out of the room, gently closing the door behind me.

"Alright," I sighed, "take me to them."

In the Vice Chairman's office, four members of Class S were lined up in seats against the wall, while the Vice Chairman lectured them.

As soon as I entered, they started making a fuss.

"Professor Rimuru!" Ryota wailed, "we didn't try to cause trouble, I promise!"

"Y-yeah," Chloe said quietly. "We didn't do anything bad…"

Alice met my gaze, then immediately looked away, aloof. Gale was sitting with a resigned expression on his face and my eyes lingered on him for a moment. A large visible bruise on his left cheek that definitely wasn't there earlier this morning. Gale never seemed like the combative type, but by all appearances, he'd been fighting.

"Ah, Professor Rimuru!" The Vice Chairman said to me, "I'm so sorry to call you away, Professor Tiss informed me of the situation, but–"

"It's fine," I cut him off, "they're my responsibility. So what happened?"

"W-Well, you see," for some reason the Vice Chairman was nervous now. I couldn't imagine why. "I witnessed one of them fire a dangerously large water magic spell past my window, and when I went outside to investigate I discovered the target was a group of older students. Apparently, they got into a confrontation with your students, but we're still not sure who started it."

"They did!" Alice burst out, "that's what we've been telling you!"

"They called you a kitten, Professor Rimuru! It was so mean!" Chloe added.

Uh, okay…? It was a weird insult, but whatever, I guess. "So Gale," I asked, "why don't you tell me what happened to your face?" I asked, pointing at his swollen cheek.

"Um, well, Professor," Gale drooped, "we got in an argument with some older kids in Professor Tiss's class this morning, and they came back at lunch. Chloe threw a book at one of them for insulting you, so he tried to hit her, but I stopped it."

So she does use her books as weapons. I was wondering. Detached thoughts aside, it took me a moment to stifle the rage starting to stir within me.

Someone socked one of my students in the face!

Was this parental protectiveness I was feeling? I wasn't sure. It's not like my students are my actual children, but maybe this was how a parent felt when their kid got hurt.

"Chloe," I asked, hiding my emotions from my tone, "why did you throw your book?"

"Like I said, they called you a kitten!" She burst out, still livid at just the thought.

"Uh-huh." I wasn't getting anywhere with Chloe, she was too hung up on this 'kitten' comment. "Ryota, what happened? In detail, please."

"W-well," he ducked shyly, "um, one of them wanted Alice to apologize for calling them a coward this morning… but she wouldn't, so they started talking really mean about you."

"I said they couldn't even beat a squirrel, let alone Professor Rimuru!" Alice burst out, sounding pretty proud of her own quip.

"Y-yeah," Ryota nodded frantically, "and one of 'em said they could, um, beat us up any day… and Chloe threw her book and yelled at him to go away… but he said he needed to 'teach Chloe a lesson.'"

"And then Gale took the punch and Chloe blasted him," I finished, putting the pieces together and getting a nod from Ryota. I sighed, rubbing my eyes. "You guys, I told you not to get in any trouble." I don't blame them, but this is so complicated…

Technically speaking, my kids were at fault, but I couldn't have bullies coming explicitly to taunt them and make a fuss. This group has it hard enough without things like that happening to them. I wouldn't be surprised if Kenya's current state also contributed to this mess; stress can make people do some pretty impulsive things, especially when it comes to children.

"Were there any injuries besides Gale?" I asked the Vice Chairman.

"No," he shook his head. "Nothing more than a few scrapes and small bruises."

"Well then." I thought for a moment, glancing at the nervous-looking man. "I'm assuming I'll be allowed to handle the punishment for Class S?"

"Of course!" He nodded rapidly, a little flustered.

"Then can I handle the other party's punishment as well?"

The Vice Chairman paused, scrutinizing me thoroughly, possibly sensing something's up. "I'm fine with it as long as Professor Tiss agrees, they are her students."

"Alright then." I nodded. "You four," I pointed, "go to the rest of your classes, and meet me in our classroom after school. If anything else happens today, you're all running laps until sunset."

They all glanced at the Vice Chairman, who nodded wearily. "You're dismissed," he said.

I'd never seen a group of kids leave a room faster.

"I'm really sorry about that," I apologized now that the Vice Chairman and I were alone. "They'll have a much tighter leash on, I promise."

He nodded. "Apology accepted, Professor Rimuru. I know things come up, and there wasn't any collateral damage. Next time just come to me and I'll find a dedicated substitute teacher."

I nodded, making to leave until the Vice Chairman called me back. "Oh, and Professor Rimuru?"

"Yeah?" I glanced back.

"Tell Kenya I wish him better soon."

"Heh." I smiled, feeling a little touched by his concern. "I will. Thank you."

Kenya had stabilized significantly by the evening, so I felt better about letting him rest on his own. He was still exhausted and definitely needed rest, but the magic energy he was giving off was much less now. Barely noticeable, actually, if you weren't a monster.

I didn't like benefitting from Kenya's suffering, but after a whole day of sitting in his room, passively absorbing magicules, I was feeling downright peppy! I might need to work some of it off myself, actually. I hadn't felt this good since I ate that greater demon. Maybe not quite as good as then, but it's definitely been a while since I've eaten any other monsters.

So I made my way to the classroom, where my other four students were supposed to wait for me.

I was a bit surprised to find them all sitting quietly at their desks, pensive expressions trained in front of them. Half of me had expected at least Alice to try and run.

"Okay, guys," I sat down at the desk. "Thanks for being here."

I was met by silence.

Sensing a good opportunity to use the tension to my advantage, I switched positions, hopping off the stool and sitting cross-legged on the desk. Sitting behind the desk just made me feel small, and I gained some height from it this way.

"Now, what happened today wasn't very good. Those kids had no right to seek you out just to bully you," I paused, "but fighting back physically wasn't the correct choice. What you should have done was walked away."

Still silence.

"On that note," I said dramatically, "your punishment is…"

Silence.

"Nothing!"

"Eh!?" They all let out surprised gasps. Finally, I had a reaction from them!

"Haha!" I laughed, "there we go! I don't like those stony faces, you know."

"But Professor, why?" Gale asked.

"Y-yeah!" Alice added, "why don't we have a punishment!?"

"You've already been punished," I winked. "Your punishment was the anticipation of being punished!"

All four of them groaned. "Professor," Ryota whimpered, "why'd you do that to us?"

"What do you mean? I just told you, that was your punishment for acting out!" I bantered back. The tension in the room had dissolved in an instant, and the kids were starting to act like themselves again.

"Now then," I held up a finger, "since your punishment has already finished, let's go over some things you could've done better. Alice," I looked at the blonde girl, "something tells me you were goading them on, even this morning."

Her guilty expression was enough for me. "I thought so. Don't do that, okay? I know our emotions sometimes get the better of us, but that's not an excuse for acting out."

"As for the rest of you," I said, "when someone is trying to bully you, the best thing you can do is just leave the situation. Come find me or another teacher–they want a reaction out of you, so don't give 'em one."

"Yes, Professor!" All four of them chorused. Good, they understood how things worked.

"Great!" I clapped my hands. "You're all dismissed. Except for you, Gale. Your punishment's not over."

"What?" He balked, looking wounded. "Why me!?"

"I'm gonna teach you how to block a punch. Sheesh, kid, if you're going to protect someone, you need to know how to protect yourself first." Hand-to-hand combat definitely isn't my specialty, but the Elder ogre taught me enough.

Early in the morning, I was filing papers away at my desk and getting assignments ready for my classes when Professor Rimuru appeared in the doorway, knocking softly.

"Professor Tiss?" He asked, "you have a moment?"

"Of course!" I answered, picking up on his serious tone. "Is this about yesterday? I'm so sorry I wasn't there, I thought it would be okay to let them take lunch outside while I took care of something!"

"What? Oh," Rimuru waved me off, "nah, you're fine. You can't be expected to spend every second with them at the drop of a hat."

What? When did he drop his hat? I didn't even know he had a hat… Oh. I think I get it. He means so suddenly since it was a last minute thing.

"Still, though, I do feel bad." I said, "I've already talked to the other kids involved, they shouldn't do that again."

"Um, about that…" Professor Rimuru tips his head in a way that tells me he's about to ask a favor. "Can I handle their punishment? I would need to borrow them for lunch, that's all."

"Hm?" I wonder what he'd want to do. "Yes, that's fine, so long as it isn't too extreme. They've already had a talking-to, though."

"Well, the thing is, I don't think 'talking' is… enough. Would having them run some laps be okay? I'd like to talk to them a bit myself too."

"Sure!" I smiled, "I don't see anything wrong with that. It'll help them get that energy out–they're always such a restless group in class!"

"Thanks, Tiss!" Rimuru beamed, immediately whisking out of sight. "You're the best!"

Later, I took lunch in the teacher's lounge, unpacking my small boxed meal by one of the windows. Just as I was wondering how Professor Rimuru was doing, since he'd be picking up the kids about now, a painfully high-pitched noise rang from outside.

"Oh my!" I winced, "what is that awful noise!?"

Then I heard Rimuru's voice.

"You three better pick up the pace, or I'll take the G and R off that grass I'm lighting on fire!"

"What?" I stare out the window to see my three trouble makers running laps, as promised. Behind them is Rimuru in the strangest clothing I had ever seen. A pair of sunglasses (Yuuki had once shown me his pair,) and wearing a baggy shirt and pants with a green, cloudy pattern all over them, tucked into big, lace-up boots. With that and his hair pulled back Rimuru looked nothing like his normal self, especially with the way he was using magic to set the ground on fire at the heels of the students.

Black fire; how strange.

"You call that running!? My seven-year-old can move faster than that! Move those feet!" Rimuru snapped his fingers and another plume of black flame scorched the ground where the kids feet had just been.

Chantless magic? How impressive. It's so precise too!

Rimuru brought the object that had been on a cord hung around his neck, bouncing on his chest, up to his mouth, and I heard that painful, high-pitched shriek again.

As they turned toward the building to do another lap, Rimuru caught sight of my face in the window.

"Oh, hi Tiss!" He beamed, the picture of innocence as he slowed down briefly to wave at me.

Then, as soon as he turned away, the shouting started up again. "Did I say you could slow down!? It's only been ten minutes! You better not need a break, 'cause there's fifty more to go!"

"Chairman! Chairman!" One of the students cried out, passing Chairman Yuuki who was sitting in a lawn chair (another otherworlder invention he'd shown me) with his own pair of sunglasses and a drink. He was even wearing the summer floral shirt and shorts I knew he was so fond of.

"Chairman, you're not gonna let him get away with this, right!?" The second student to pass him begged.

Pausing from sipping on his drink, I could see Yuuki's smile from here. "Hey Rimuru!" He shouted, "you were supposed to tie your hair in a braid, remember?"

"Say that again and I'll shave yours off while you sleep!" Rimuru shouted back without missing a beat, still dogging at the heels of the unfortunate runners.

Should I… do something about this? But I quickly dismissed the thought, remembering that I did leave their punishment in Rimuru's hands. He isn't doing anything egregious enough for me to say anything and the Chairman seems to be in approval of his actions too.

Almost an hour later, Rimuru allowed the three students to stop running. They immediately collapsed, panting on the ground.

"Why are you sleeping!?" Rimuru shouted, standing over them not even out of breath. "You've got ten minutes to eat! Go, go, go!"

The three immediately scrambled up, probably more panicked about what Rimuru would do if they didn't then about missing lunch. They dashed off to the cafeteria, probably in a bid to escape.

"Hahaha!" Rimuru's laugh echoed into the sky. "That's right! Go to class! Woo!" He clapped his hands, still talking at full volume. "It's been a while since I've had a chase that exhilarating!"

"Yeah, alright, Sergeant Major." Yuuki came up to him. "Lower your voice, I'm pretty sure the whole city can hear."

Rimuru chuckled something that was probably an apology, but I couldn't tell what he was saying.

Well, I thought as I finished my drink, that explains how he wrangled Class S. He's a bit scary when he tries. I hope my students aren't traumatized…

My lunch period was over. It was time to get back to work.

The kids were on their best behavior after the spat they got into with that trio of Tiss's students and their classmate's return. It took only one more day of rest for Kenya to recover enough to come back to class. The other four were thrilled that he was back, and so was I.

Still, his illness was just another reminder of what I need to do. This would keep happening until I found a solution to the underlying problem, that being all that energy coursing through their souls, unchecked and uncontrolled.

So, I redoubled my efforts trying to find a cure.

A couple of weeks had passed now, and I still hadn't figured out anything further, but I kept trying, using the vast majority of my free time to manually scour relevant books. [Great Sage] was excellent for speed-reading materials, but I'd gotten the feeling it was combing over it all with too wide-toothed of a comb. Maybe it missed something that wasn't a direct answer to my problem, was what I thought. It wasn't exactly the best with subtlety, nuance, and metaphor, after all.

"Contracts with spirits are one method to better control your spells, but few are able to successfully form them. Elementalists, is what these individuals are called, and they are definitely a talented few champions of humanity that protect us from the evils of this world."

Wait… what?

I was sitting in on one of my kids' classes, taught by Professor Emeritus. I was spending my time barely paying attention to the lesson, instead trying to think of a solution to my students' problems when something the other Professor said grabbed my ear.

"Some other cultures with a stronger connection with the spirits have a higher rate of success with this, but still, most are only able to ally with Lesser Spirits, which do not augment their strength as much as the rare and powerful Greater Spirit that the the strongest and most skilled Elementalists partner with."

Ifrit was a Greater Spirit, right?

[[Answer: That is correct. Greater spirits of the fire element are designated as 'Ifrit'.]]

With that confirmation, my mind swarms with some of the things Shizu told me about herself before her death. How she was brought here as a child and how she was cursed with Ifrit soon after her summoning by the Demon Lord Leon Cromwell.

Shizu, only being a kid when she was brought to this world, should've had the same fate that any summoned child would, but that wasn't the case with her. For some reason, she survived and lived a full life… is that because of Ifrit? Did the spirit that plagued her throughout her life actually save her from dying very young?

It was hard to accept that, knowing how much of a plague that thing was on her, but now I couldn't dismiss the idea easily.

[[Notice: fusion with a Greater Spirit of the proper affinity for the individual it inhabits would lead to significantly higher control of magicules. It can be predicted that this would prevent spontaneous outbursts of energy from the soul. This is likely to have been the situation that the individual, Shizue Izawa was in, up until the separation and consumption of Ifrit.]]

So, if I can find Greater Spirits for my five kids, I can save them?!

[[Answer: Affirmative. This outcome can be replicated under the correct conditions.]]

"Yes!" I shouted out loud and stood up from my seat from excitement. I didn't mean to, but realizing that I had a solution was just too thrilling for me to contain.

Everyone whipped their heads around to stare at me; my students, Jeff's students, and even Professor Emeritus himself.

"S-sorry…" I sat back down, trying to ignore the glare I was getting from the other Professor. I didn't mean to interrupt his class or anything.

Now I just need to figure out where to find some Greater Spirits!

"Psst… Chlo… what's going on with Professor Rimuru?" Ryota nudged me with his elbow and asked in a whisper.

Our teacher just randomly yelled in the middle of one of our classes and now he looks like he's thinking super hard about something.

"I'm not sure…"

But that look in his eyes… it feels… familiar.

"... but I think it's something good."

Ryota gave me a confused look, but quickly turned back to Professor Emeritus, who was still teaching.

The rest of the class Professor Rimuru was like that, just sitting there with the same expression. He didn't even flinch after everyone started gathering their things to leave for lunch.

"Professor Rimuru?" I tried to grab his attention, but he didn't seem to notice me at all. I got up and walked over to him. "Professor Rimuru!" I said louder, shaking him a little by the shoulder.

"Oh, Chloe, did you need something?" He asked with a friendly smile.

"It's time for lunch."

He looked slightly confused and looked around the room, as if just noticing that most of the students had already left. My classmates were still here, waiting for both of us, but Professor Emeritus's students had already rushed out.

"Yes it is. Let's go."