<Chapter 14>

I know it’s embarrassing, but let me start with an excuse.

Yes, I did know that vampires are weak to garlic.

But come on, don’t movies show vampires being taken down by crosses, holy water, and wooden stakes to the heart? Not a sprinkle of garlic?

‘He really fainted from just that tiny bit of garlic?’

It wasn’t even whole cloves. It was minced! Just seasoning!

‘Isn’t he weaker than an average human?’

Despite those thoughts, I patted Valentin’s back to help him cough it up, then poured some water into his mouth.

“Haa…”

Luckily, after my frantic effort, his bluish face slowly returned to its usual pale tone.

“Are you okay? Can you hear me?”

“I am… fine. Just… napping now.”

Valentin managed to stand up with dignity, though his body still swayed from weakness.

“Let’s do that.”

I gently carried him back to the classroom. When I laid him down inside the coffin tucked away in the corner, he shut his eyes almost immediately.

‘He’s so light.’

Even at a glance, Valentin was seriously skinny. He was taller than the others, sure, but he looked like he weighed two-thirds as much, if that. He was definitely underweight, enough to raise concern about his health.

‘Wait, this isn’t the time to be thinking about that.’

An emergency had just happened. The priority was to notify his guardian.

‘This reminds me of something that happened during my practicum.’

One time, a kid ran off alone, tripped, and hurt their hand on a toy block left on the floor.

[“This is bad.”]

[“Why? It’s just a scratch. A little ointment and it’ll heal in no time.”]

Unlike my relaxed take, my mentor teacher turned pale.

[“Sora, if a child gets injured, even slightly, you must inform the parents. Immediately. If they notice the injury before we say anything…”]

The memory made her stomach twist. My mentor shaken her head like she was recalling a trauma.

[“…A war breaks out.”]

[“W-what if we tell them beforehand? Then it’s okay, right?”]

[“Not a chance. The bomb already went off. Some parents lose it over the tiniest scratch and flip the whole center upside down. Some even report it as child abuse.”]

[“R-report?!”]

Looking like the world was ending, she pulled out her phone. After letting out a heavy sigh, her voice perked up like a sales rep the second the call connected.

[“Hello, this is Teacher Yerim! I heard you visited the botanical garden over the weekend? Yes, Yerim told her friends all about it! Anyway, I just wanted to let you know something…”]

That shift in tone was legendary.

She led with casual chat about the weekend to show she cared about the kid, building trust with the parent before dropping the news. That was the strategy.

‘Too bad I can’t pull that off.’

Why?

Because all Valentin did since he arrived was… sleep.

What was I supposed to say? ‘Your child took the best nap ever in their coffin’? What is this, a five-star hotel?

To make matters worse, his guardian was the king of vampires.

‘I’m so screwed.’

I’d even argued with him during enrollment about classroom requirements. The only reason I came out of that alive was because the black dragon had my back.

“Why do you look so un-teacher-like all of a sudden?”

The voice snapped me back to the present. I looked down and saw Paul, arms crossed, peering up at me. He sounded gruff, but his eyes were filled with concern.

“T-teacher! I’ll hold your hand!”

Ardishu quietly approached and gently took my hand, as if she could sense my unease.

‘And I let them see me like this…’

I mentally slapped myself awake. A teacher’s panic spreads to the kids.

“You two worrying about me gives me strength.”

“I’ll protect you, teacher!”

Ardishu’s brow furrowed in fierce determination.

“Thank you.”

With a steadier heart, I headed to the faculty room.

In the corner sat four crystal orbs, each the size of a fist. They were our direct emergency lines to the guardians.

The one engraved with a bat symbol belonged to the vampire’s family.

With trembling fingers, I rubbed it. The pitch-black crystal immediately lit up white.

– “What is it?”

That fast?

“H-Hello, this is Yoon Sora speaking.”

I forced a steady voice and continued.

“Valentin came to school for the first time today. Thank you so much for entrusting him to us… but unfortunately, he had a reaction to the garlic in lunch.”

– “He’s probably passed out asleep by now.”

“Yes, exactly!”

I braced for scolding. But instead—

– “So?”

“Pardon? Your son was in danger…”

– “Was he?”

Um… Sir, you’re awfully chill about this?

– “That child’s always been fragile. Exceptionally so.”

“I… I see.”

– “He’ll be fine after a bit of sleep.”

“Then… is there anything I should be careful of?”

– “Don’t disturb him while he’s recovering.”

“Okay… Anything else—?”

That was it. The crystal dimmed.

My very first guardian consultation via crystal orb ended with a fizzle.

‘He doesn’t seem all that interested in his own kid.’

Maybe this world doesn’t have any real concept of child welfare yet? Come to think of it, I haven’t seen any formal childcare system here either.

‘Even in my world, child rights only became a focus relatively recently.’

Realizing that, I couldn’t be too surprised.

I put the crystal away and returned to the classroom. Ardishu and Paul peeked at me as they continued coloring.

“Thanks for waiting! Let’s finish coloring, and when our new friend wakes up, we’ll learn a new song together.”

I’d even prepared the lyric chart in advance!

We waited and waited for Valentin to wake up…

“……”

But he didn’t. Not even by nightfall.

When it was time, Youngja-unnie and Jiho packed up to leave. I saw them off at the entrance.

“Sora, I’ll head home first. Don’t stay too late.”

“Do you want me to stay? You were here pretty late last time too.”

Jiho paused mid-shoe and looked at me.

“It’s okay. I’ll leave once Valentin wakes up.”

“You’re really working hard. I made some rice balls. Eat them if you get hungry, okay? Don’t skip dinner.”

“I won’t.”

After seeing them off, I sat beside Valentin’s coffin, nibbling the savory rice balls. The mayo left a rich, lingering taste.

In between bites, I finalized the supply list to send to Lian and worked on materials for story time.

Even as night fell and stars twinkled above, Valentin remained fast asleep.

‘Didn’t he say he’d be fine after a nap?’

At this rate, I’d be stuck here overnight.

‘So sleepy…’

My eyes fluttered closed again and again.

And eventually, I fell asleep without even realizing it.

* * *

Though it was late, the lights in the temple remained on. Lian, with no particular reason, made his way inside.

Compared to last time, the classroom had grown more colorful. Kids’ drawings adorned the walls, and handmade teaching tools were neatly placed throughout the room.

But that wasn’t what caught his attention.

“……”

Sora lay fast asleep on the floor.

Her light brown hair spread across the floor in a soft mess. Her body rose and fell with even breaths, fragile in a way she never seemed when awake.

“Yoon Sora, was it?”

He spoke her name aloud. In a world like this, even names felt unfamiliar.

“This time, it’s a name like that, huh.”

Lian took off his leather gloves and murmured. Kneeling beside her, he gently brushed the scattered strands of her hair.

[“Um… are you human, Mr. Lian?”]

He remembered Sora’s question. He hadn’t expected her to ask that of all things.

She’d been looking for a tail, but really, only a young dragon like Paul would still leave behind traces after polymorphing.

He should’ve said no. But on impulse, he nodded.

He wanted to see how things would unfold between them, just human to human.

“If I leave her like this, she’ll catch a cold.”

Humans were delicate. Always vulnerable to one ailment or another. He took off his coat and gently draped it over her.

“What’s this?”

He noticed the paper in her hand. Picking it up, he saw:

<Flexible blocks, paper blocks, picture books, origami paper…>

A supply list, clearly.

Tap.

Lian turned off the classroom light and stepped out. While the room now sat in darkness, the hallway remained bright.

Because the supplies were being created in real time.

Light burst from Lian’s fingertips, bringing to life every item on the list, one by one.

This miracle, the power to create something from nothing, was a magic allowed only to the Dragon Lord Aurelian.

While Sora slept, the classroom transformed dramatically.

* * *

“Mmm…”

The sunlight stung my face. I frowned instinctively. Still half-asleep, I tossed and turned as a strange sound reached my ears.

Tap. Tap-tap.

What was that?

Annoying, but still tolerable…

Crash.

“Ah!”

The clatter jolted me awake. My eyes flew open and I saw Valentin sprawled out on a pile of colorful waffle blocks.

“Valentin?”

Only then did I remember what happened yesterday. I’d waited for him to wake up after that garlic fiasco… and ended up falling asleep myself.

I was glad he’d finally woken up. But what was all this?

I looked around in a daze.

The block shelf was stuffed full of building blocks, modern ones I recognized from my world.

‘Am I still dreaming?’

I lifted my arm to pinch my cheek but paused. Something was draped over me.

A black coat with gold buttons.

It carried a deep, woody masculine scent.

“Lian was here…”

Now that I thought about it, all these blocks were from the supply list I’d written.

‘Our director sure is capable.’

It was like he’d stepped inside my brain and pulled them out.

“Good morning.”

“Morning, Valentin.”

I folded the coat neatly and walked over. Valentin was busily stacking the fallen waffle blocks.

“Did someone come by while I was asleep?”

“I saw no one.”

“I see. Well, you must be hungry by now. Since I don’t know what you can and can’t eat, how about we cook something together?”

This was my chance to win Valentin over.

After all, no kid ever says no to cooking class!
 

<To be continued>

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