The chatter in the classroom continued to swell as they waited for the professor to arrive. Conversations overlapped, laughter echoed, and speculation ran wild.
Cindy leaned forward, clearly excited.
"Guys, who do you think our professor will be?" she asked cheerfully. "I mean, this class is important. Whoever teaches Elementary Black Magic is going to shape our entire semester."
Claudia thought for a moment.
"Hmm… I'm not sure. Personality-wise, Professor Hong Feng would probably be the best." She shrugged lightly. "But this is Kizen. No matter how good a professor's personality is, it won't mean much if we can't keep up."
Cindy nodded, then turned toward Knox. "Then, Knox—what do you think?"
Knox smiled, a mischievous glint flashing in his eyes.
"Hehe~ are you sure you want to hear my guess?" he said lightly. "I'm pretty sure it'll shut this entire classroom up."
Cindy tilted her head.
So did several nearby students who had been eavesdropping.
"Huh?" Cindy said. "Why are you saying it like that? You make it sound like some big shot is going to be our professor!"
Knox raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Cindy, since when did you develop prophetic abilities?"
"…Prophetic?" Cindy froze.
Knox chuckled. "Because my guess is someone who doesn't normally teach first-years." His smile widened slightly. "In fact, she's a very big shot."
Claudia immediately leaned in. "Who are you talking about? Stop being a riddler!"
Knox straightened up proudly. "Well, I am a writer. Of course I'm a riddler."
Claudia and Cindy stared at him.
They wanted to argue—but considering Knox's novels, that statement was annoyingly accurate.
"Alright, alright," Knox laughed. "Stop glaring at me like that." He paused deliberately.
"My guess is… the professor for this class will be—"
The surrounding chatter slowly died down.
Cindy, Claudia, and several students nearby swallowed nervously.
Knox smiled. "The Vice President of Kizen," he said calmly.
"Jane Olivia~"
Silence. Absolute silence.
It was the kind of silence that almost begged for a crow to caw somewhere in the distance.
Rick burst out laughing. "Vice President Jane Olivia?!" he said incredulously. "That's impossible!"
A few other students laughed as well, brushing it off as a joke.
But Knox only laughed softly.
"Hehehe~"
Claudia and Cindy felt a chill crawl down their spines.
That laugh—
It wasn't the sound of someone joking. It was the sound of someone who already knew what was about to happen.
Just then, footsteps echoed from outside the classroom.
Almost instantly, the students hurried back to their seats, sensing the professor's arrival.
The problem was—
The sound of the footsteps was… distinct.
Sharp. Rhythmic.
Not leather shoes. Not boots. But heels.
The kind unmistakably worn by a woman.
The moment that realization hit, several students froze.
Some stiffened outright.
Others slowly turned their heads, their gazes locking onto Knox with expressions filled with disbelief.
Knox, naturally, met their stares with the most irritating smile imaginable.
"Hehe~"
Veins popped. Brows twitched.
Someone in the back clicked their tongue so loudly it echoed.
Rick's hopeful expression visibly cracked. Simon's expectations quietly collapsed.
Several other students who had been clinging to different names felt their hopes shatter one by one.
The sound of heels crushed them all mercilessly.
This—
This was the moment the homeroom professor of Class A would be revealed.
The footsteps stopped. The door creaked open.
"Ah...!"
A collective sound escaped the room.
Every jaw dropped.
"No… this has to be a joke, right?" Rick muttered, his pupils trembling as if an earthquake had struck.
The professor stepped up to the podium, her presence slicing cleanly through the stunned silence.
A neatly restrained bob cut. A sharp, commanding expression. Violet eyes that radiated undeniable authority.
"My name is Jane Olivia."
The room felt colder.
She was the second-in-command of Kizen.
"I may hold the title of vice president," she continued calmly, "but during class, you may simply refer to me as Professor."
As Nefthis's closest aide, Jane Olivia effectively wielded Kizen's authority in her stead. Among all the faculty the students had encountered so far, she stood near the very pinnacle.
Rick swallowed. "…Why is she teaching first-year students?" he whispered, his voice barely audible.
The question lingered in the air, heavy, ominous, and unanswered.
Just as Rick had said, it was rare for someone in an acting leader's position—or even the second-in-command—to directly teach students. And on the rare occasions she did, it was almost always limited to third-year classes.
"Well," Jane Olivia said calmly, "sometimes in life, unexpected situations do arise, don't they… Rick Hayward?"
Rick stiffened as if he had just walked into a horror film.
"H-h-how does she know my name…?" Cold sweat trickled down his back.
Jane's gaze swept across the classroom. Then she paused.
"…Hm," she murmured. "It seems not all of you are equally surprised."
Her eyes followed the subtle shift in the room—students glancing toward a certain direction.
Toward a certain someone. Jane's gaze stopped.
There, seated casually, was a familiar figure. Someone who, to her, felt less like a student and more like an irritatingly talented younger brother.
The moment his eyes met hers, he immediately looked away and began whistling innocently.
Several students braced themselves.
He's dead.
That one's getting punished for sure.
But what happened next defied all expectations. Knox wasn't reprimanded.
Instead—
Jane Olivia smiled. It was slight. Extremely slight.
But it was a smile.
The students who caught it froze, doubting their own eyes. Some even rubbed them in disbelief.
By the time they looked again, her expression had already returned to its usual icy calm.
…Must be hallucinations.
Yeah. Too much workload. Kizen's fault.
Jane continued, unfazed. "I will be in charge of Class A's Elementary Black Magic for this semester."
"As Rick Hayward mentioned, I have only taught third-year classes until now."
Her violet eyes narrowed slightly.
"Please do your best," she said evenly, "so the gap in levels doesn't become… too painfully obvious."
Swallowing sounds echoed throughout the room.
In truth, being taught by Kizen's vice president was an extraordinary opportunity. But given her infamous reputation, no one dared feel purely happy about it.
"Of course," Jane added, "before discussing the gap between first-years and third-years—"
Her gaze sharpened.
"You would do well to focus first on the gap among yourselves."
A few students nodded unconsciously.
She wasn't wrong. But the sharper ones caught the true meaning immediately.
Or rather—
They understood who she was referring to.
Almost in unison, their gazes drifted—
Straight toward Knox.
The boy in question, however, simply rested his chin on his hand, wearing a relaxed smile.
As if none of this concerned him at all.