‘Aaaagh!’

Andrea screamed without a sound.

To just draw a sword on someone without knowing who they were! Well, of course, this Tot person must have had the confidence to do something like that, but!

‘That makes it even worse! Isn’t this about to be a massive disaster?!’

Be that as it may, Tot addressed the opponent who was staring at her with a “what is this?” look in his eyes.

“You. What are you, not even bothering to hide your killing intent? Were you perhaps waiting for us to arrive?”

There was no one to save Andrea, whose inn was on the verge of being destroyed.

Serif stood by watching, and Bright only sighed.

When no answer came from the opponent, Tot curled her lips into an aggressive smile.

“Ah, shall we converse with our swords? If you’re asking for a brawl, I can oblige. You look like the type who doesn’t know how to cherish their own life…….”

At that moment, the opponent moved.

“……!”

He grabbed the wine bottle sitting on the table.

Then spat out in a raspy voice.

“Fuck off unless you want your skull cracked.”

“Haha! Well now, wouldn’t your head come off first?”

And then came a breathless standoff.

It was clear that if anyone moved first, the quiet equilibrium would shatter and all hell would break loose.

The seventy-year-old man, the veteran innkeeper Andrea, made his decision.

It was time to quit being an innkeeper.

* * *

And at the same time, Chris also made a resolution.

If I could use just one magic spell, I would absolutely choose Spatial Magic. So I could bolt the hell out of situations like this that are absolutely fucked.

Of course, she couldn’t do that now, so she was just fucked.

* * *

“Temporary Professor, there’s a huge emergency! Please call the Principal immediately!”

“Nika, I keep telling you, my name isn’t ‘Temporary,’ it’s—”

“It’s urgent! Michael Foxin is about to rampage again!”

The professor currently serving as the temporary homeroom teacher for X-Class, hereafter referred to as ‘Temporary,’ sighed.

He knew this was the class Chris had all but abandoned educationally. He had braced himself for an unprecedented level of free-spiritedness.

But the X-Class he actually took charge of was even more…… chaotic than he’d imagined.

‘Damn it! I only took this on because they said the students were all from families with some real clout, hoping some crumbs might fall my way.’

The fact that the students didn’t follow him at all, he could let that slide.

But how long was this ‘show’ of theirs going to go on?

“You said rampage this time? Let’s go have a look.”

And so, dragged into the classroom by Nika’s hand—

“……Urgh, uuuurgh, uuuuurgh.”

—there was Michael, twisting his body while making an awkwardly bizarre groaning sound.

“Temporary Professor! Look! Michael is on the verge of rampaging!”

“Kh…… kuuugh……. The, the thing inside me…… is about to explode…….”

The way he glanced at Temporary for a reaction and then raised his voice a notch more was, to anyone watching, clearly not a state where ‘reason was evaporating into a rampage.’

If anything, seeing his ears turn red from embarrassment suggested he was entirely too much in his right mind.

“No~ Michael! You need to do it with more of a burning passion to make it look real. Like, try tearing your clothes a bit too.”

Dolce Bright’s figure came into view as well, whispering from behind him.

She wore the face of a scheming manipulator pulling the strings of a puppet king—there was no doubt she was enjoying this situation more than anyone.

“Ah, um, this time I’ll heal anyone who gets hurt, so don’t worry…… okay?”

The effort to help with this unfunny theatrical production was commendable, but Bell had no future as a great actress either.

“……Professor. I don’t know these people.”

Angelina, who had turned her head away as if she couldn’t bear to watch, held what appeared to be a class transfer form.

“Ha…….”

A sigh escaped involuntarily. Temporary fixed his cold gaze on Michael and spoke.

“Michael. When signs of a rampage appear, the magic placed on you automatically sends me a notification.”

“Ah, r-right……?”

“Yes. And yet the magic is perfectly quiet right now? Which would mean there’s nothing wrong, wouldn’t it?”

“……I’m sorry.”

Michael immediately backed down.

The one who came up with this ‘rampage show’ was…….

“Ah, Michael! You can’t give up already! The only person who’s ever calmed your rampage is Professor Chris, so if you rampage, Professor Chris will have no choice but to come back—that’s my brilliant plan!”

……this one, it seemed.

Fortunately, before Temporary’s headache could worsen, Angelina pinched Nika’s side with a “Jjeubeul deutcheu” and shut his mouth.

I’ve lost count of how many times this has happened already.

At first, the students had been cautious, merely submitting formal requests about the sudden professor change.

But as the Principal continued her silence, the X-Class kids completely lost it. They started pulling every excuse in the book to get Chris reinstated.

Chris, Chris, Chris!

What on earth did they see in that insolent woman that they’d go this far?

Temporary was completely sick of it after barely two days.

At this point, he wanted to ask the Principal to reassign him, but…….

‘I just need to hold out until the Parent Observation Class. Their parents are all big shots, so if I can get my foot in the door with them, my life is set.’

Thus, the ambition-filled Temporary failed to notice. The ‘rampage show’ was their last operation ‘within the school.’

The night before Parent Observation Class, the X-Class kids climbed over the school wall.

* * *

That is to say, I just found a cockroach in my room.

“Aaah! Mom! Hwaaah, Mom, I hate this so much! Isn’t that a monster?!”

It was an old inn, so perhaps it was inevitable. But the moment I locked eyes with those beady little eyes, there was no way I could stay in that room.

So I fled to the first floor, and seeing the countdown on the system window, I felt like downing some soju, so I ordered a drink.

Though it tasted like absolute garbage, thinking about the disaster that had befallen me, it went down surprisingly smooth.

And then came the hours of anguish.

‘What do I do? Ah, seriously, what do I do?’

Should I just go and beg the Principal to reinstate me right now?

But that would be a character roleplay collapse! ‘Chris’ doesn’t bow to the Principal! She’s got too much pride for that!

Honestly, the best scenario would be if the students came begging, ‘Prof Chris, please come back!’ and I went like, ‘It’s a pain, but I suppose I have no choice~’

Of course, there was no chance in hell something like what happens to a feel-good story protagonist would happen to me.

After all, this wasn’t just anyone—this was Chris, the very epitome of a voluntary loner.

Even I would’ve just celebrated, ‘The trash professor who leeched off my tuition finally got fired, justice is served!’

I suppose I had no choice but to storm into the Academy without a plan.

No. Even so, lurking around without any strategy would ruin my image, so I needed to come up with a plan.

As I sat there agonizing alone—

Jingle.

A new group of customers walked into the inn, which had been empty as could be.

“Ah— oh my, welco—gasp.”

I, who had been thinking something along the lines of ‘the old owner looks happy, that’s a relief,’ froze solid.

Serif? Tot? Bright?

A duke, the Royal Knight Commander, and the Magic Tower Lord showing up here? No, more importantly—

‘This is a parent-teacher meeting……!’

Those people are the father, mother, and grandfather of the Princess, the Model Student, and the Twin-braid twins, respectively!

‘I’m fucked! I’m not mentally prepared for this!’

Ah, I should have worn a hood. I never expected to run into them like this!

They might not look it, but every one of them was a major figure counted among the most powerful on the continent.

I stifled even the sound of my breathing. Right, there was still a chance.

They were busy people—surely they wouldn’t know what the new professor looked like? Then I could just slip by quietly.

‘I am a cockroach. A cockroach wedged into the corner, avoiding the gaze of humans. A tiny cockroach, one with the darkness……!’

In my desperation, I even called upon the roommate I so despised.

But as always, God was not merciful to me.

“You. What are you, not even bothering to hide your killing intent? Were you waiting for us to arrive?”

“…….”

‘Killing intent? My only crime right now is desperately erasing my presence!’

A fight was picked, and ‘Chris’ was not the type of person to avoid such things.

“Fuck off unless you want your skull cracked.”

“Haha! Well now, wouldn’t your head come off first?”

‘I think so too, so can we please just settle this peacefully with words, ma’am?’

The situation of a parent’s sword sending my head flying had finally arrived.