The girl rose from her seat, her fist clenching in response to Hayden's words. "What are you saying?..." Emotions surged within her, but she fought to maintain composure. "Don't pretend like we're strangers!" Her voice quivered with a mix of frustration and hurt.
"Sorry?" Hayden replied, his brows furrowing as he attempted to study her face from afar, searching for any hint of recognition. However, her red hair doesn't ring a bell. "I absolutely do not know you," he added.
Indistinct chatter sounded from the students, wondering who is the condescending guy that just barged in their classroom. The fact that he's oblivious to the identity of Esperanza's daughter was enough to draw disapproving glances from the students.
Hayden noticed this sudden change of tension brewing in the air, and he doesn't like it.
He stared the girl dead in the eye and asserted, "Settle down… that's not the way to talk with your instructor."
"You'll be our Demon Hunting instructor?" the girl asked. "But dad told me you were about my age before."
The other students in the room were taken aback by her statement, their eyebrows arching in surprise. They exchanged puzzled glances, intrigued by how much Aubrey seemed to know about their new instructor, which contradicts Hayden's claims that they haven't met before.
"Yes, both of us will be your new instructors," Pou responded to Aubrey's question with a reassuring smile. "Although my partner may appear young—because he actually is, his combat skills and knowledge are that of a seasoned veteran, making him more than qualified to be your instructor."
A girl seated next to Aubrey pulled her back down into her seat and eagerly asked, "What's your deal with that hot but kinda scary guy in the black polo shirt?"
A girl from behind leaned her head forward over their seat. "He's our former bodyguard," Grace whispered with a witty smile.
"Seriously?!" the girls gasped.
"So is he actually around our age?" Jea, the girl who pulled Aubrey down, asked.
"That's true," Aubrey confirmed. Her face is still somewhat lost, uncertain if Hayden meant that she doesn't recognize her or he's just deliberately pretending to get revenge from their last argument.
The instructors went up in front, then inscribed their names on the whiteboard. Unlike their introduction from their first class this morning, they didn't go overboard this time, and instead kept it simple by just stating their names.
However, something seems to be missing and it's not their teacher's license.
It was then when a female student, also located in the middle section of the seats, pointed out the anomaly.
"Sir Hayden," Grace called out, "you wrote your first name, but what about your last name?"
"To tell you the truth, we don't have surnames," Pou answered. "In fact, I don't have a—"
"Hold on… your voice sounds familiar," Hayden said. "Who are you again?"
"It's Grace, does that ring any bell?"
Hayden gave a knowing smile, "Oh! I recognize you," he smirked, seeming arrogant as ever. "You're the good bitch, right?"
Disgust instantly ripples across the students' faces at the mention of that vulgar word. To call the child of the academy's Dean a 'bitch' came out as a chaotic surprise. Little to their knowledge that the Dean himself called her daughters bitches.
Of course, the students mumbled negative comments about their instructor's attitude.
"Correct, and just letting you know," Grace said, gently placing a hand on Aubrey's shoulder, "this is my twin sister."
Aubrey's eyes lit up with delight, a warm feeling of gratitude washing over her as Grace made sure Hayden remembered who she was.
"That makes sense, so the 'bad bitch' also studies here," Hayden said, smirking as the thought of this class turning out exciting crosses his mind.
One student reached her limit, unable to bear Hayden's insulting words any longer. She assertively stepped into the conversation and confronted Hayden with such resoluteness, "With all due respect, speaking of her in such a derogatory manner is unacceptable. Do you even know who she is?" Jea asked, her firm voice trying to defend her friend's reputation after getting unfairly tarnished by their arrogant instructor. "She's the daughter of Esperanza."
"Why should I care?!!!" Hayden banged the teacher's desk, his voice thundering with anger. "Does that make her any higher than anyone else in this room? For all I know, in this class, there's only instructors and listeners, so shove away your status outside for that does not apply in my class. In this class, I'm superior and every single one of you is merely a dust on my feet," Hayden slowly dictated, making known that he's the boss. "So shut all of your fucking asses up and let's begin the class," he glared down at his students.
Aubrey's eyes widened, witnessing that her formerly aloof bodyguard has the inner layer of self-conceit.
Hayden inclined his back against the whiteboard, remembering Euna's earlier advice to give the students something meaningful to do instead of slacking off. With that in mind, he came up with an activity that required him the least amount of work. "Get one whole sheet of paper and write everything you know about 'blessing.' When I said everything, I meant all of the things that you know and I want it to be 1000 words long. You have until 4pm to submit your work."
"Excuse me, sir," a timid guy in nerdy glasses seated in the front row said nervously. "I don't mean to be disrespectful, but our subject is Demon Hunting, and we don't write essays here."
"You don't? Well, now you do. So, you better grab that paper and start writing," said Hayden.
Pou then added further instructions. "Until 4pm, none of you are allowed to bother us. Furthermore, those who fail to submit any work will face severe consequences," he recited that rehearsed line.
"What are those consequences?" the same student asked.
Pou, unable to answer since that question wasn't of his rehearsal, had to improvise. He took out his phone and blatantly Googled 'What will happen if you fail to submit a school activity.'
A result popped up, and he read it aloud, "Students who fail to submit their work on time will receive an F." Pou, who hadn't been in school either, was puzzled by the 'F.' Leaning close to Hayden and covering his mouth, he whispered, "What does F mean, Wolfy?"
Hayden, also ignorant of that term, went with his guts and whispered back, "I'm pretty certain F means Fuck."
Pou then faced the students and elaborated with a smile, "So basically, failure to comply will result in you getting fucked up real bad."
The look on the students' faces grimmed, almost identical to the class 1C.
"And don't forget, you may not disturb us until you submit your work, and we won't accept any submissions until 4," Pou reminded, essentially implying, 'Don't bother them until class is over.'
The students began writing, and a couple of hours later, the room was peaceful—mainly because the instructors were asleep. Hayden was slumped in the teacher's seat, his head tilted back with an open book resting on his face. His arm dangled over the side of the chair, a posture that would definitely result in a stiff neck when he woke up.
With only one chair available, Pou had to sleep on the desk. Curled up on his side, he hugged his knees with one arm while using the other as a pillow, trying to make the most of the narrow surface.
Both instructors were in a deep slumber at the front of the class. By this time, every student had finished their essays but couldn't submit them yet. With nothing else to do and their instructors asleep, the students quietly discussed with their seatmates how horrible their instructors were. While some male students are totally chill about it since it's basically free time, others had a completely different opinion—take Aubrey, for instance; she was on the verge of erupting in her seat.
Couple more hours have passed and it's finally 4pm. The instructors just woke up and their eyes are still half-closed. Pou crawled down from the desk, unintentionally slamming his body on the wooden platform after losing his balance. It took him a second to get up,asking his students', "Is everyone done?"
Despite their brimming anger, accumulated during the intoxicating hours, the student still respectfully nodded, saying they're done.
Hayden also got up and said, "Since everyone is done, you may now write '100%' on your paper. That'll be all. We all now may happily go home."
"Are you being serious?!!!" Aubrey lashes out, unable to maintain her temper.
Hayden glanced at her, "You got a problem?"
"You're not even putting an effort to read our essays?" her voice laced in shaking anger. "Is this for nothing?"
"I'm actually being generous for giving you a perfect score, yet you're taking it for granted," Hayden said, his voice still sleepy. "And if you think I'm reading all of your works, then you've got to be out of the loop. There's like 40 of you here—I ain't reading 40 thousand words, that's basically binging a novel."
Hayden yawned, "if you have nothing to say, bye." Rubbing his eyes, Hayden and Pou walked to exit through the door, but before they could leave, a dual bladed scythe came hurtling at them.
It spun mid air, darting down towards Hayden. At the last moment, Pou pinched Hayden's shirt from the back and tugged him away, avoiding the blade by an inch.
Upon missing the target, the scythe proceeded to the whiteboard with its blade lodged into the cracked wall.
Hayden was literally one step away from suffering the same fate as the whiteboard, but instead of getting mad, he was rather amused.
The scythe has an intricate wavy design, even having a violet-ish aura that engulfs the entire weapon. At the handle of the scythe, attach a chain, connecting it with the other end of the scythe.
Hayden followed the chain until his eyes met the person holding the other end. It goes all the way up to the middle section of the seat, and there stood Aubrey with a furious gaze.
Out of worry Pou said, "Careful with your weapon, Missy. Your techniques may look premature, but the tremendous mana in your weapon could kill."
Hayden chuckled smugly, amused by the 'blessing' his former VIP possessed. She surely did not disappoint, given that she's the daughter of an SSS-rank DH.
Even her classmates were left speechless by the power she displayed, especially considering she had only recently awakened.
Aubrey huffed with a tight expression on her face. "At first, I thought you had changed from the months you were gone… But now I understand you're just the same jerk I've always hated!"
"You've crossed the line there, Aubrey," Hayden said coldly.
Aubrey's eyes agape at the mention of her name. Her tight grip on the chain slightly loosened and the tension in her muscle calmed ever-so-slightly.
"Okay," Hayden continued, "since you're being insistent, hand over your essay." He gave her a shady look. "I'll read it in front of everyone."