Back to Babyls

Rimuru POV

"How was your excursion with your classmates?" Opera asks us both as we walk toward the entrance to Sullivan's mansion.

It's been a couple of days since we returned to the Netherworld now, and tomorrow is the first day of the new term at Babyls. Between now and then, we spent our last bit of free time with our classmates on that promised trip from before.

"It was a lot of fun!" Iruma says with his usual beaming smile.

"You call that fun?!" I exasperatedly ask, wondering if we went on the same trip or not.

"You didn't have fun, Rimuru?" Iruma asks innocently.

"For the most part, no. You know what happened to me."

I shudder a little just thinking about it, for multiple reasons.

"Oh…Yeah…" Iruma nods in realization.

"What exactly did happen?" Opera asks again.

"We don't have the time to talk about it," I explain.

"But, Rimuru… we still have the whole evening, don't we?"

"Babyls is waiting, tomorrow is our first day back, we can't cover this right now."

( Author's Note: What are they talking about? An extra chapter, that's what! It's fun but filler-y cliche nonsense and I wanted to give you guys some real plot (since you kept asking for S3 content *cough cough*), soooo… if you want me to post it right away, you need to tell me~!

Here's a hint about what it is: Beach Chapter :D )

…

So now it's the next morning and we're walking down the long, winding road to Babyls.

Azz and Clara had shown up at the gates to the mansion, as usual, eager to see us again even though it was just yesterday that we all spent time together.

"What a lovely morning it is today, Master Iruma!" Azz exclaims with a big smile on his face.

"Yeah, yeah!" Clara cheers.

"Uh-huh! I'm happy to be going back to school!" Iruma beams as we walk along. He seems happy to be home in the Netherworld, and part of me feels the same.

"What have you two been doing most of your break, if I may ask?" Azz politely asks us both.

"Visiting family," I answer. It's technically not a lie, but definitely not the whole truth.

"Oh, and I did some training too!" Iruma adds.

"Training, you say? Very impressive, Master!"

Iruma and those two continue their small talk while we walk right up until we finally reach the school… just for us to get immediately mobbed by students.

"It's the heroes of Walter Park!"

"Let me see, let me see!"

Iruma audibly gulps as he looks at the crowd surrounding us.

Time to use that specialized barrier again, it seems.

With a snap, a half-sphere-shaped barrier with extra-bouncy quality forms around my little group, and just like the last time, a bunch of teenage demons are sent flying because they ran right at us.

"Hehe, that'll never get old." I snicker to myself.

"Thanks a lot, Rimuru, we'd be squished if it wasn't for you!" Iruma thanks me, wiping a bit of nervous sweat off his brow.

"Yes, the crowd is quite rowdy this morning. I understand that they are impressed by your glory, but this behavior is unacceptable." Azz comments, with a hint of disdain in his voice.

"It comes with fame," I respond, knowing that this is just how things go when you're in the spotlight.

We fight through the crowd, the barrier repelling all of the school's demons, although not blocking the sight of the one with a camera. Eiko is at it again, climbing a tree just to get a good shot of us through the mass of students.

That girl needs to get a new hobby…

I can also see Ameri off to the side, pouting very obviously. She can't get closer with this thick of a crowd, and I'm sure she wants to see Iruma, as usual.

I nudge Iruma and point in her direction, just to help her out a little after she backed me up recently.

Iruma smiles wide and waves to her, which makes Ameri's pout disappear instantly.

It luckily didn't take long to get back to the classroom after putting up the shield, leaving me here staring at Kalego.

"Good morning," I give him a small greeting wave.

"Class doesn't start for another twenty minutes. Sit down and be silent." Kalego went over to his desk, looking irritated.

"So how'd your end of terminus go, Kalego?" I ask him in a friendly tone.

"Didn't I just tell you to be silent!?"

"Isn't it better to talk about our problems? You're all 'Emperor of Doom and Gloom' right now, y'know." I snark, enjoying the return already.

Kalego's eyebrows twitch angrily as he glares at me before turning his eyes toward Iruma. "Iruma, Professor Balam wishes to speak to you, go to his classroom. Afterward, report back here immediately."

I turn to Iruma. "If you want the barrier to stay up, just talk to me on the ring." Giving him a little heads up first, I turn to go sit down. Then look at Soi Purson, the invisible student I seem to be the only person to notice.

He was here before any of us, clearly.

I put forward my fist to see if he will actually interact with me. It takes him a few seconds, but he finally acknowledges my presence and looks me in the eye.

Reluctantly, Soi does give a small fist bump back, before turning away and trying to look like he doesn't see me again.

Iruma POV

"I'll be back soon," I reassure Clara and Azz before leaving the classroom.

I better avoid the crowd or I'll end up being late for class!

I'm sure I have enough time to go see Professor Balam briefly, but if I end up having to autograph things and let people take pictures, I might not.

But my efforts were in vain…

I'm immediately stopped by a big group of other students.

"I'm sorry, but I really need to go-"

"Just give me one little interview!"

"No, but, I don't have th-"

"No, I need the Hero of Walter Park to sign this photo!"

"Please, I need to-"

Just then, I feel something wrap around my waist and I'm lifted off the ground and pulled up and out of the crowd of demonic high schoolers.

I look down to see what grabbed me and see that it's a vine.

Oh, Professor Balam just saved me.

I just close my eyes for the ride, not scared by it. The vine isn't even pulling me away that quickly or roughly, which is to be expected when it comes to Professor Balam. He's always been pretty gentle when transporting students like this.

I get pulled right into his office, the same place I was already heading toward. He sets me on the floor and releases me once I'm safely inside.

"I'd like to make sure you are well, and healthy. The Netherworld is a dangerous place, and a human like yourself could easily become unwell."

I nodded and looked around, Balam's office always had some new and interesting things to look at.

Then I realize what he is talking about. "Ah! Yeah, I feel good, so I think I am pretty healthy. What are you worried about though?"

"The food mostly, I wouldn't think Netherworld dishes are very palatable to humans. Particularly considering that they would have a large amount of mana in them, which to my knowledge would be dangerous to creatures from other worlds." Balam explains softly, turning to his desk to set out some instruments. "Can you grab my notebook? It is up on the shelf, the large book."

The book is very high up, and it's also very big, so I don't think it will be easy to reach it. Professor Balam does have a small ladder nearby though.

I pull it over, but after climbing up it, I'm still not able to reach the notebook.

Maybe I can use 'that'...

It's the only skill I gained after that initial flood of them that the Voice of the World gave me, and actually something I got midway while training with Hinata. I think I should be able to get that notebook down with it.

It's called Magic Field, an extra skill. It's kinda an extension of my survival instincts that I've built up throughout my life, but with some extra perks. If I focus and try hard enough, I can move things near me without touching them, but it's pretty limited in range and capability. Honestly, this notebook will be the largest thing I've tried this on so far.

So, using the relatively small amount of magic in my body, I turn on the new skill and reach above me with it, focusing on grabbing and pulling out the book. It's only about an arm's reach past my hand, so not very far; close enough that I can see the book wiggling its way out from between its neighbors.

Come on…come on…

After a few seconds of effort, the book is free from the shelf…and immediately slips out of the grasp of my skill and starts falling.

Shoot!

I raise my arms to catch it but wasn't really ready to deal with the weight shift and end up starting to fall backward.

Professor Balam catches me from behind with a vine, though, so I don't fall to the floor.

"Whoa! Please be careful!"

I get set on the floor and he takes the book from me. "I apologize, I did not consider that you would be unable to reach the upper shelf." Balam took the book over to his desk and made the vine let go of me.

"Haha… Yeah. I guess I should have said something." I stood back up straight.

"Well, since I just saw you do something new, what was that? You didn't use an incantation, and I know you haven't been taught non-verbal magic yet." Balam turned to me and opened up the big notebook to a new page.

"Oh? That? It's nothing… Just something I can do now." I didn't really know how to explain skills to Balam, for all he knows, I've never left the Netherworld. Plus, there's no way he could know about Rimuru's world and its weird skill-granting voice thing.

"An ability that simply manifested itself? Very interesting…" Balam turned to his notebook and wrote something down.

"Do you want to know more about it?" I tilt my head slightly.

"No no, that is alright. I'm sure it will develop itself more wholly in the next few months, I simply have that feeling on it." Balam nodded softly and continued writing before turning back. "I do have a request though, would it be alright if I used my aura to inspect your body's magical qualities? I'm still worried about your resistance to mana."

I think about that for a minute, I was able to take the aura of Aoki, and even the aura of the Demon Lords, with Rimuru's help. So Balam should be fine. "Yeah, sure. Just be careful, if you are so worried."

I can sorta feel Professor Balam's aura using my Magic Field, and it was an unusual feeling to know someone else's magical force was there.

It takes several minutes for Balam to be done with his test, signaled by his aura finally receding.

"Hm… Do you have an aura of your own? I got an unusual level of resistance, even more so than I'd expect from a young demon… Along with that, your resistance to mana is robust, more so than most demons. It is very impressive." Balam immediately began taking many notes.

"Ah… Yeah. I think I do, at least. Rimuru said it was really similar to one." That much is true, but we didn't spend long talking about it so I don't know the details. Hinata seemed annoyed about it though, for some reason. I blush a bit from Professor Balam calling it impressive. "Thank you, Professor."

"Are there any other magical abilities you have developed?" Balam glances back, a new look of wonder in his eyes.

"Huh? Yeah. I can make my body stronger by putting my mana in my muscles, bones, and other stuff. At least, that is how I've been able to use that ability." I came up with a pretty reliable way to explain skills now, I think.

"I see… I can't keep you longer, but if these abilities develop any further, please come discuss it with me later. You may go." Balam keeps writing in his notebook but opens the office door for me with a vine.

I got back to the Royal One with a minute or two to spare, thankfully without any trouble with students wanting me for interviews and stuff this time.

Sabnock, who arrived in the few minutes I was gone, immediately spots me as I walk inside.

"My rival! He has arrived!"

"I said to be SILENT!" Kalego scolds us loudly, getting fed up with all the outbursts.

Sabnock doesn't seem to care about our professor's yelling, though, and walks right up to me and slaps me hard on the back. I lurch forward but manage to remain on my feet.

"We should probably sit down…"

I glance at Professor Kalego and see that he's growing angrier by the second.

"...but it's good to see you again!"

Sabnock flashes me a grin and then sits down.

I take my seat next to Rimuru and start hearing some whispering a couple of rows behind me, so I turn and look, trying to hide that I'm listening.

"What, do you think I'm crazy?! There's no way I'm doin' that!" Jazz forcefully whispers.

"But do you not want to see it yourself?" Camui says, trying to sound enticing.

"Well, yeah, but-..." Jazz mutters and seems to look at Rimuru next to me, "It's too dangerous; not worth it, not even close!"

"I will not give up!" Camui declares with confidence, standing on his chair.

"Shut up and sit down you insolent fool!" Kalego screams across the room, causing Camui to plop down onto his chair.

I wonder what they're talking about…

"Camui never learns his lessons…" Rimuru mutters under her breath, also listening in on the two boys' conversation. "I should've just taken care of him, then and there…"

Professor Kalego takes advantage of the temporary quiet and goes to the front of the classroom.

"Today is the first day of your new term." he explains, "Get over your lax attitudes from break, and prepare for your studies."

"Yes, sir!" we all respond in unison, not wanting him to shout at us again.

"The new term will bring the Harvest Festival-" he starts to say.

"Wait, Harvest Festival?!" Rimuru bursts out, sitting up straight and looking visibly shaken.

"Rimuru Tempest, do not interrupt me again!" Kalego commandingly chastises Rimuru.

"Uh…sorry, I guess." Rimuru relaxes almost immediately and drops the subject.

"As I was saying, there will be the Harvest Festival, the Music Festival, as well as rank-advancement exams."

"Master Iruma, it seems like there will be plenty of opportunities for you to raise your rank!" Azz gleefully says to me.

"Y-yeah! Let's do our best!"

"But." Professor Kalego says ominously while slipping on a pair of headphones, "That would be the case if you were normal first-years. Since you have claimed the Royal One, that means you are 'special', and that entails taking classes worthy of this classroom."

The professor pulls out and sets up some sort of scroll, which then bends toward us and sprouts a pair of eyes.

"Iruma, cover your ears," Rimuru warns me, and I cover them in the nick of time.

"Babyls special class order!" The magic scroll thing shouts extremely loudly and all my classmates scramble to cover their ears too.

It's nowhere near enough, though, and no matter how hard I hold my hands to my head, the voice from the scroll is still ear-piercingly loud! The only person that doesn't seem to be in any pain from this is Rimuru, although her ears are still covered.

"The Misfit Class must all reach Dalet rank before becoming second-years! If you fail this order, you will immediately be ejected from the Royal One!"

"What!?" most of my classmates scream.

"A class of first-years all reaching Dalet rank. That will be quite the feat." Professor Kalego sneers at us. "Hey, are any of you listening!?"

"Noooo!" Elizabetta cries.

"I don't wanna!" Lead whines.

"This is too cruel after experiencing how fun this classroom is…" Goemon complains.

"But going up to Dalet rank is impossible!" Camui squeals.

"Huh, with all that buildup, I was expecting worse." Rimuru shrugs.

"However, this is just a part of your classes. You will not be given impossible tasks. In order to help you all advance to Dalet, our school has prepared special tutors for all of you."

Five demons walk in the room; one of them I just saw a few minutes ago, actually.

First, Professor Kalego introduces Sergeant Furfur, a red-skinned white-haired muscular demon. Jazz and Allocer are going to be working with him.

Next, Vepar, a demoness with long medium-blue hair, fins for ears, a beak for a mouth, and teary eyes. She also has a fish-like tail instead of legs, much like a mermaid. Goemon and Agares are her tutorees.

Then, Professor Raim, the purple-haired succubus teacher here at Babyls. Elizabetta and Clara are the ones she'll be tutoring.

Fourth, Mr. Hat, an older gentlemanly demon with a gray handlebar mustache and a cup of tea in his hand, dressed in a suit and top hat with a leopard-like pattern. Camui and Keroli will be with him.

And fifth, Professor Balam, who will be with Sabnock and Azz.

Wait, what about me, Lead, and Rimuru?

I look at Professor Kalego; he's the only teacher left in the room, right?

"Not me. I'm just in charge of assigning all of your instructors," he answers without us even getting the chance to ask.

"Oh thank goodness…" Lead sighs deeply, apparently thinking the same thing I was.

"Don't act so relieved in front of me. How annoying." our teacher scolds us both with his arms folded.

"Who's our tutor going to be, then?" I ask him.

"Yeah, I'd like to know," Rimuru adds.

"Same here," Lead agrees.

"For you two boys, he's right there." Professor Kalego points to the side of the room.

"Aw, shucks! I'm still a newbie, and now I'm being trusted to mentor them? But don't worry! If you leave everything to me, your rank will go up in no time! You can just call me Master!" Professor Robin enthusiastically gives us both a thumbs up.

Rimuru snickers at this a little.

"Wait, so I'm not with them?" she asks Professor Kalego.

"No, your tutor will be here in a few days. You will study under one of the others in the meantime."

"Wait one moment, why does Rimuru need a tutor when she has already surpassed Dalet rank?" Azz asks skeptically.

"For the same reason you are also being instructed, Asmodeus. You have already achieved the necessary rank yourself. All of you have room for improvement, and this is the perfect opportunity to nurture your talents."

Azz nods and sits back down.

"Who's gonna be my tutor, though?" Rimuru asks, not satisfied.

"Be patient." the professor orders.

"You don't know, do you~?" Rimuru asks him teasingly, her hands planted on her hips and a large smirk on her face.

"I never said that!" screams Professor Kalego.

"Heh."

"In that case, may I ask for this young lady to be placed with me for those few days?" Professor Raim, the succubus professor, asks Professor Kalego in a smooth voice.

"I'm not against it."

"Riri's gonna join us, Riri's gonna join us!" Clara cheers, bouncing in her seat.

"No. No way!" Rimuru shouts, blushing a bit from embarrassment. "It's nothing against Professor Raim, Clara, or Elizabetta…it's just that I have no interest in seduction techniques."

"Oh, what a shame…" Professor Raim mutters.

"Can I just go with Professor Balam?" Rimuru asks tiredly.

"Yes! Please let Rimuru join my group for now!" Professor Balam enthusiastically agrees.

"It is settled then."

"Rimuru has picked my group over yours, Valac!" Azz joyfully rubs it in the girl's face, making Clara pout.

"Riri just wants to beat you up in training!" Clara shoots back.

"And I will gladly let her if it leads to me getting stronger." he smoothly answers.

"Please don't fight." I softly plead with my friends.

"It's a shame that I can't train with Master Iruma, but at the same time, this means I can surprise him with my improvement afterward!"

"Me too!" Clara adds.

"My improvements and growth will be far greater than yours!" Azz fires back

Before Clara can respond, Professor Raim has grabbed both Clara and Elizabetta

"Well since you are so enthusiastic to begin, we can start right away!"

"Professor Raim, you know that is not possible, both for you and my students." Professor Kalego interjects.

"I suppose I got a bit carried away~!" Professor Raim giggles.

Clara looks disappointed for a moment but then Professor Raim, noticing, speaks up.

"I will just have to make you work extra hard for our first lesson then since you are so excited!"

"Haha, yes, we should all make them work extra hard!" Sergeant Furfur agrees.

Professor Kalego is also smiling, although a lot more sinisterly.

I look at Professor Robin again, starting to get a little worried about what he might put us through. At least he's one of the nicer teachers.

…

The day passes by super fast, but I honestly had a hard time focusing on the lessons. Not only am I just getting back into the routine of school, but then we had that sudden news dumped on us this morning. I'm not sure what to expect, and I can't stop thinking about it.

"Are you done yet?! We're here to pick you up!" the cheerful Furfur bursts into the classroom. He marches right up to Allocer and Jazz and scoops up each boy under an arm. "It's time for your special lessons!"

"Hey, wait! Where are we going!?" Jazz sputters, squirming to try to escape.

"To have some fun!" Furfur declares and laughs at the boy's struggle.

"Please excuse us…" Vepar apologizes to Professor Momonoki, whose class they interrupted the end of.

"Er…right…I heard that you'd come by, but this is rather sudden." Professor Momonoki says to the other woman, a bit uncomfortable with her constant sobbing.

Professor Balam gestures for Azz, Rimuru, and Sabnock to follow him.

"I, Asmodeus Alice, swear that my loyalty to you will never wane, even when away from you, Master Iruma." Azz turns and bows to me first.

"I'm gonna grow lots by the next time we see each other!" Clara declares.

They're both acting like I won't see them for a long time…

"You guys… I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"Of course. I will be going now."

"Bye-bye Iruma-chi! Seeya Riri!"

"Rimuru, shall we be off?" Azz asks Rimuru, who's still sitting at her desk, but she doesn't respond.

"Rimuru?" I ask, but she seems distracted, leaning her face on one hand with her eyes sorta glazed over. "Rimuru!"

"Huh!? What? Oh, is class already over?"

"Yeah, we need to go to our special classes now." I explain, "Is something wrong?"

Rimuru stands up, gathers her stuff off the desk, and walks past me.

"I was just checking on Aoki," Rimuru whispers as she passes, but then Professor Balam comes up behind us and scoops Rimuru up, much like what Furfur did with two of our classmates.

"Hey!"

"What?" Professor Balam innocently asks, "With what we are about to do, I thought you might want to conserve your energy."

"I'll be fine, so put me down." Rimuru insists, and Professor Balam obliges.

"Hahaha, this will be grand! I look forward to training to the utmost!" Sabnock proudly shouted.

"Iruma, good luck with…whatever Robin's gonna teach ya."

Rimuru POV

Balam, Azz, Sabnock, and I all bring out our wings and take to the skies, the aforementioned teacher leading the way. All he said was that we're leaving the school grounds to train. What kind of training is this going to be? I have no clue.

He leads us to some random, fairly expansive cave out in the middle of nowhere, which makes me think that whatever we're about to do is going to be destructive. Why else would we be going to some useless dump to train?

"You three are the strongest demons in your class, and my goal is to make you even stronger. It is a happy coincidence that you are able to join us for a portion of our training, Rimuru."

"Yeah, sure, but what exactly are we gonna be doing?" I inquire, shushing Ciel who is buzzing about the Netherworld's techniques in the back of my mind.

Balam grins; I can see it in his eyes even though his mouth is still covered with his metal mask.

"Since you are here, Rimuru, I've changed that slightly, but the essence of this training will be the same for the other two. Sabnock, Asmodeus; your goal is to land a single blow on me, no matter how long it takes. And Rimuru, please use your bloodline ability to split into five bodies."

"Uh…you do realize what will happen if I do that, right?"

He just nods knowingly.

Dammit, just to keep things consistent, that means I'll be unleashing 4 childish little fiends!

"Alright," I sigh and use my fake bloodline ability, which means I have to take a smaller form too.

I create a puff of smoke to hide things and add dramatic effect, as well as create four parallel fragment clones. I don't bother giving them different outfits this time, instead just copying the exact thing I'm wearing.

"There. Now what?" My five voices all say simultaneously. (I haven't actually split my consciousness quite yet).

"One of you will strictly defend me, while the other four will attack those boys in teams of two. Your goal is to maintain control of your unique magic and exercise your focus over five perspectives at once."

This'll just be another bit of practice for me when it comes to merging my perspectives later…

[[Yes, and it is needed practice, considering what your other body back in Tempest is currently doing.]]

Yeah, yeah, I know, I'm having fun with my kid…

I already miss Aoki, which was why I was turning my attention back to my other self just a bit ago. I couldn't help myself, okay? I'm a new parent!

I'd rather divvy up roles than actually pilot all five at the same time, so I relinquish direct control of the four extra bodies and let their own individual thoughts take over.

"You. You'll fight Azz, and you; you'll fight Sabnock. I'll handle 'defending' Balam." I lift my hands doing an air quote. Not that the guy actually needs it.

"What about the other two?"

"They'll be on standby. I don't think I need two each to fend off these boys."

"Haha, if you say so!"

"Wait one moment! For me to face Rimuru while she is in a weakened state… that is a very dishonorable thing!" Azz protests.

"Haha, are you scared of fighting Rimuru? You did always seem cautious while we sparred with her in the past!" Sabnock jabs at Azz.

"That is not it! I simply want to face her fairly, that's all!" Azz retaliates.

"Oh, it'll still be fair all right! I can kick your ass sixteen times over even without my full strength!" The clone I assigned to him taunts.

"I'm looking forward to this!" Sabnock yells with a big smile.

"Same here!" his respective mini-Rimuru says, cracking their fingers menacingly.

"I should give you one more condition that you can win with," Balam hands me and my other four bodies a piece of bright red cloth. "Tie that wherever you want, as long as it is within reach and sight. If one of those two manages to take it from you, you lose and they win." Balam explains. "And if both of you fail to take a cloth from one of Rimuru's bodies in the three days she will be with us, you boys will lose and I'll just make your training harder."

I tie mine around my neck, while my clones end up putting the cloth around either their leg or arm. The one across Sabnock wraps it around their middle finger, funnily enough, earning another exclamation.

"This oughta be interesting," I comment, starting to think this is gonna be a lot of fun. It's a lot like a game; a game where I get to help train a few kids. This should make for an entertaining few days before my real 'tutor' arrives, whoever that'll end up being.

"Wait, you're really not gonna let us fight?"

"Yeah, that's not fair!"

The two backup clones start complaining loudly.

"Just go sit over there and watch. You can fight later once those two get a turn."

"No! That's boring!"

"Yeah!"

"Fine. Why don'tcha work on our homework then?" I hand them the bit of homework I accumulated today, and both give me pouty frowns in protest, before grabbing some pencils.

Balam nods, "Now, why don't we get started?"

Iruma POV

"Hurry, hurry!" Professor Robin urges me and Lead while we both run behind him.

"Okay!"

"Why're we in such a hurry?" Lead asks, panting a little from the run.

"My sis is waiting! We have to hurry!"

"Sis?!" both of us ask him in unison.

We keep running after him as he explains.

"I was a little uneasy about the thought of having to train you two, so I called up one of my relatives to help. She's really amazing!" Robin continues before we enter a room behind him, "I mean, she's super strong and super reliable-"

Professor Robin is interrupted by someone slapping him hard in the face, sending him tumbling backward and into the wall.

"Professor Robin!?" I shout at my dazed teacher who's now completely out of it from the impact.

"For crying out loud… How long were you bastards gonna make me wait?! Looks like you need to work on that fighting spirit! Well!?"

The pink-haired, pigtailed demoness in the room says with great annoyance, staring at us and loudly crunching on a cookie. She's dressed in all pink, with feathers in her hair, a bow on her chest, frills at the edge of her dress, and striped tights.

She kinda reminds me of Milim, but a lot ruder and nastier. Why is she being so mean when we haven't even met before?

"I can't believe you had the nerve… to make me wait five whole minutes. Man, talk about a total bummer," she grumbles and continues snacking. "Just so you know, I only came here because Lord Sullivan asked me to. I haven't agreed to be your mentor."

Grandpa asked her to be here?

"Honestly, I can't wait to go home right now."

"Wait, please!" I beg her, already down on my knees.

"We can't rely on Professor Robin alone!" Lead joins me in my pleading.

"Man, they clearly don't trust ya, Robi." she sighs as she looks at the professor whose head seems to still be spinning, "Though I can't blame 'em."

She looks back down at us from her spot sitting up on the desk cross-legged.

"If ya want me to be your mentor, you're gonna have to treat me like one!"

Treat her…like one?

I look at Lead and he seems equally confused.