<Chapter 28>

The thick canopy of trees completely blocked out the pouring sunlight. Relieved, Valentin folded up his parasol.

“It’s like someone pulled the blackout curtains.”

“Sure is.”

Jiho followed at the rear. It was standard practice for one teacher to lead the way while the other stayed behind during a field trip.

‘Youngja-unnie stayed on the bus.’

Apparently, the rain last night had made her joints ache.

[“Sora, just wait until you’re my age. The weather hits you like a truck. My my.”]

You couldn’t exactly drag someone along in that state. Besides, two teachers for four kids was more than enough.

“Kids! This forest is home to a magical mushroom. The glowing mushroom that shines even in the dark!”

I stopped the moment I spotted one and called out. The children eagerly gathered around me.

“I’ve never seen green mushrooms before.”

“It really glows.”

“Right? Should we try picking as many as we can with both hands? Let’s fill up this basket and have them as snacks tomorrow.”

Like they were hunting treasure, the kids’ eyes lit up and they scattered in search of the luminous mushrooms.

“There’s a bunch of mushrooms over here!”

“Hah! I already picked tons. I’ve got over ten!”

“I have ten too.”

“What? No way I’m losing!”

Valentin and Paul were locked in a weirdly competitive mood.

“Elf, I’ll show you where they are. You gather them.”

“Mhm.”

Brix and Ardishu teamed up in perfect sync. Actually, more than that. The two of them practically swept up every mushroom in sight.

‘Whoa. That’s way too many.’

I had clearly underestimated how competitive these kids were. At this rate, we’d be eating mushrooms for the next month.

“Aaack!”

Suddenly, Paul let out a shriek and dropped to the ground.

“Paul!”

Before I could even think, I rushed over and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. But Paul didn’t look at me. He stared off into the distance and muttered,

“Wh-Why is he here…?”

I slowly turned in the direction Paul was looking.

“Lian?”

Of course it was Lian. Draped in a coat, he stood quietly, looking down at us.

Even now, his appearance was striking. Glossy black hair, a sharp nose, a defined jawline, that upright neck…

‘Ah.’

I was momentarily stunned, but snapped back to reality and spoke.

“When did you get here?”

“Just now.”

“You weren’t in the director’s office, so we came on our own. What a hassle for you to come all the way out here.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Lian’s tone was flat.

“Still…”

“I can find you wherever you go.”

There was something quietly intense in the way he said it. He probably used some kind of tracking or detection magic.

“Even so, maybe next time don’t sneak up on us like that. You scared Paul half to death.”

“Sorry.”

I turned my attention back to Paul. He had tripped over a rock hidden in the grass. Tears were brimming in his eyes.

“Are you okay?”

“Hmph. This is nothing.”

True to his dragon nature, there wasn’t even a scratch on him, let alone any bleeding.

Still, falling down hurts. Not just your body but your pride too.

I took Paul’s hand and gently blew on it.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m casting a spell to make it stop hurting.”

At that, Paul’s ears turned bright red. He was surprisingly weak to small gestures of kindness.

That was one of the things that made him so endearing.

“Teacher! I hear something weird!”

Ardishu tugged on my sleeve and whispered to me.

“A weird sound? Ah!”

We had wandered in pretty deep while mushroom picking and had unknowingly stepped into Noriyuchi territory.

With so many sounds echoing through the forest, the mimic birds had begun blending them into one big mess.

“Okay, mushroom picking is over. Let’s sing a song now. If we do, all those strange sounds will turn into something beautiful.”

We raised our voices together in song. When the Noriyuchi joined in, our bright and energetic songs swelled like grand marches. Softer tunes became dreamy and gentle.

“More! Let’s sing more!”

“That was awesome!”

“Seriously, you’re all such babies.”

“Fine! We’ll sing without you. Paul, you’re out.”

“Hmph! Says who?”

Even their bickering had a rhythm to it.

“Brix sings so well!”

Ardishu clasped her hands, eyes sparkling. Brix, ever smug, lifted her chin and smirked.

“It’s a basic skill for a merfolk.”

The kids, riding high on excitement, wouldn’t stop singing. Technically I was supposed to rein them in, but…

‘How am I supposed to stop this?’

They looked so happy.

It was honestly kind of moving to see them like that.

“I’ve made up my mind. I’m taking those birds home to be my song slaves.”

Brix suddenly turned to me mid-song and made this royal proclamation.

“Nope.”

Just like that, my emotional moment crashed and burned.

Brix still had a long way to go.

* * *

Eventually, we reached the lake.

“Teacher, I’m hungry!”

“Me too. Let’s eat the kimbap already.”

We rolled out our mats and started munching on cheese kimbap. Jiho, thoughtful as ever, had brought a thermos of broth that tasted just like udon soup.

‘Now this is the good stuff.’

Eating kimbap by the lake with the kids made me feel completely at peace.

“Paul, open wide. Ah~”

“W-what do you think I am, a baby?”

“Really? Ardishu, your turn. Say ah~ here comes the kimbap.”

“Ahhh.”

I popped a piece into Ardishu’s mouth. Her tiny lips chewed diligently—so, so cute.

“Valentin, your turn. Ah.”

“Ah.”

I placed a piece in Valentin’s mouth too. After he finished, I gave him another.

“You especially need to eat a lot. Gotta bulk up.”

“Are you fattening me up to eat me later? Like the witch in Hansel and Gretel?”

“Exactly. Rawr~”

I opened my mouth wide like I was about to gobble him up.

“Please spare me…”

“…Sorry.”

Valentin trembled like a leaf. His genuinely frightened reaction made me instantly regret it.

“Alright, Brix’s turn next.”

“If you ask nicely, I might consider accepting.”

I was just about to feed Brix when Paul muttered from the side,

“Kimbap’s taking off. It’ll fly straight into the mouth of whoever says ah first.”

“Ah!”

Paul was a second too late, Brix snatched the bite.

“Wow, some great merfolk you are. Getting hand-fed like a baby.”

Paul pouted. Brix smirked.

“Seems dragons prefer feeding themselves. No servants to offer you snacks? I can lend you one of mine if you’d like.”

In my mind, I pictured Brix lounging with a row of servants, each popping fruit into her mouth.

‘Come to think of it, our kids really are like royalty.’

Scenes like that weren’t fantasy for Brix. They were just Tuesday.

“Tch…”

Paul glared at her, but didn’t know what to say.

Time to jump in before this turned into an actual fight.

“Alright, kimbap round two, coming in hot!”

“Ah, ahh!”

Paul flung his mouth open in a panic. I slipped the kimbap in.

“Well? Isn’t it good?”

“I-It’s okay, I guess.”

Oh, Paul. So bad at hiding how he felt.

After lunch, we all sat in a circle and drew pictures of the lake.

“I’m drawing done!”

“You mean, ‘I’m done drawing.'”

I gently corrected Valentin and took his paper. The crisp lines and careful coloring were so like him. Curiously, he hadn’t drawn any people, only scenery.

“It feels like you captured exactly what’s in front of us. You painted the glimmer on the water so beautifully.”

“What is ‘glimmer’?”

“This here. The sparkling ripples reflecting the sunlight. That’s called glimmer.”

I pointed to the white paint dotted across the waves.

“There’s a name for sparkly waves? That’s amazing.”

“Everything in the world has a name.”

Even if Korean didn’t have the word, another language probably did.

‘Didn’t someone say that German has a word for everything?’

No matter how abstract the idea, someone always gave it a name.

“Then I’ll name my picture too. ‘The Lake Full of Glimmer.'”

“Perfect. It sounds just right.”

Next was Ardishu. In her picture, the lake was just background.

“I’m so happy to be here on a picnic with Teacher!”

She had drawn me and herself front and center on the picnic mat. Everything else was clearly an afterthought. You could see exactly where all the love went.

“I’m happy to be here with you too, Ardishu. Valentin gave his picture a title. Want to give yours one too?”

“Hmm… I’ll call it ‘My First Visit to Pommel Lake with Teacher.'”

She carefully wrote the title at the bottom. Her handwriting was neater than mine. So grown-up.

But suddenly, things got noisy. A fight had broken out between Brix and Paul.

“My mother said dragons are rulers of the skies. Guess modern dragons just lounge around on the ground.”

“Say that again, I dare you. I can fly!”

Paul shifted into his dragon form and soared around Brix. Every flap of his wings stirred the air. I instinctively shielded Valentin.

“That’s dangerous. Come down, Paul.”

“It’s not dangerous at all.”

“Maybe not for you. But what if someone else gets hurt? What if Valentin collapses? Wouldn’t that be your fault, Paul?”

“Fault…?”

Paul hesitated. He might still be young, but he understood what it meant to be responsible.

Flap.

His wings slowed. He shifted back into human form. It was the first time I’d ever seen a polymorph happen right before my eyes. Honestly? Really cool.

“Did you finish your drawing?”

“Of course.”

I checked Paul’s paper. At first glance it looked like a wild scribble, but there was movement and energy in every stroke.

“This is awesome. Looks like a comic. Full of life. Want to give it a title?”

“A name? Then… ‘Picnic.'”

A perfect choice.

“My drawing’s done too. Teacher, you shall be the first to witness it.”

“Such an honor. Let’s see it.”

The moment I looked, I was floored. Despite using the same paints as the others, Brix’s colors were richer, more vivid.

But what really stood out was…

“You drew yourself.”

There was no lake. No other kids. Just an oversized portrait of Brix.

“I merely drew the most perfect thing here.”

Of course she did. That was Brix for you. Full of self-love.

“But Teacher, our classroom doesn’t have a name yet.”

They say Germans have a word for everything. Here, vampires might be filling that role.

“You’re right. Our classroom doesn’t have one.”

With just one class, a name hadn’t felt necessary. But giving it one might help us feel like a real group.

“What would be a good name for our class?”

The kids looked up at me, full of anticipation. I wanted to give them something that felt just right.

‘The class I interned in was called the Sunshine Class.’

The one below it was Dewdrop Class. The one above was Sky Class. There was also a Cloud Class.

But I didn’t want to reuse an old name.

This class was different.

Ours.

While I was lost in thought, I noticed a sprout pushing through the rocks.

‘How did it even grow in a place like that?’

I remembered that even seedlings could break through concrete. It wasn’t strange. It was amazing.

‘I don’t know what that sprout will become…’

And that made it even more beautiful.

“Our class will be called the Sprout Class.”
 

<To be continued>

Join the GS Discord to stay updated on the latest chapter releases:

https://discord.gg/PRZEAJZE3J