CH 32

When Lou left the Vice-Principal’s office…

Fran was still standing in front of the Principal’s office, as if she had been waiting for him all along.

She refused to make eye contact with Lou, probably knowing that she was being moody.

“Fran, let’s have a meeting about tomorrow’s class!”

Lou cheerfully called out to Fran and opened the door to the Principal’s office.

He pushed her slender body into the room.

The principal’s office was almost the same size as the vice principal’s office.

The furnishings were almost the same.

Lou asked Fran to sit down, and they sat down on the chairs facing each other.

“Lou, you and the Vice Principal are very close…”

“Yeah, since I was a kid…she’s like my elder sister.”

“……..”

“Kelly suddenly disappeared from the village of Arlv five years ago, so I’m so relieved when I found out she’s working here.”

Lou smiled and said the same about Kelturi.

He had a carefree smile, but didn’t give off the vibe that he had a sweet time with his ‘girlfriend’ just now.

Fran, on the other hand…

Stared at Lou’s face and thought about how the two of them used to spend their time in the Arlv Village…

He…He was worried about the Vice-Principal.

That was right. They were like a brother and a sister.

But what if she weren’t his sister?

That Vice principal had been with Lou for…five years.

She was a lot closer to him than she was. 

Fran’s doubts and thoughts were shattered by Lou’s words.

“So, what am I going to do now? She asked me, and I told her that I’m here to protect you.”

Eh! Ehh?!

Yeeeeeah!

Why? Wh-why?

I’m so glad!

Fran’s eyes felt so hot!

In the blink of an eye, tears began to flow. 

Fran turned her head to the ceiling as best she could.

To protect me!

Ugh, I’m so happy!

She felt an unending sense of joy.

For a while…

Fran looked up, motionless.

No, she couldn’t move.

She knew she looked pathetic, but she couldn’t help it herself.

But…

It was better than having Lou see her tears spilling.

“Hey, hey, Fran. Your magical aura is turbulent. Are you okay?”

Gosh!

Can Lou sense it?

No helping it.

“Lo-Lou, please! Turn around for a moment, please!”

Fran asked Lou to turn around.

In the meantime, she wiped her tears and…managed to compose herself.

“I-It’s okay now.”

Hearing Fran’s voice, Lou slowly turned around.

But Fran’s eyes and face were still red…

Lou said nothing about it and smiled calmly.

“So let’s do it, shall we? Let’s have a meeting for tomorrow’s class.”

“Huh, ah, yeah…”

Fran still felt a little awkward.

The two of them then reviewed the basic textbook, Magic I.

They also checked on the students in Class 2C that Fran was assigned to.

While at it…

Fran’s feelings gradually began to unravel, and she regained her smile.

****

“Is Lou-sensei not going to come back?”

Adeline Colette, the newcomer, muttered with a slightly saddened expression.

Cindy Ryan, the head of the department, smiled amusedly.

“Hmmm, does that bother you, Colette-sensei?”

“No, no, no! As a new teacher myself, I’m just worried about him!”

Adeline vehemently denied it.

She even waved her hands in the air.

“I hope the Vice-Principal isn’t bullying him…”

Muttered Oltance Ashar.

Kelturi had been bullying the inefficient Oltance at every turn.

“I’m sure Lou-sensei wouldn’t pay attention to a Vice-Principal like that!”

Cassandra, the sister of the Bois de Fleur sisters, spat viciously.

Cassandra had a very masculine personality and had also suffered reprimands from Kelturi for her language, attitude and manners.

“But Vice-Principal Eltvara…her aura was different today, perhaps because of Lou-sensei.”

Clotilde Baudrier pointed out.

She was a former priestess and had a penchant for romance stories that brought men and women together.

“I felt surges of love for Lou-sensei…from the Principal and the Vice-Principal.” 

“Whaaat?!”

“No way! R-Really?”

“Not only from the Acting Principal, but also the Vice-Principal?”

All of the female teachers in the room were single, except for Cindy.

When it came to romance, everyone was curious even if it wasn’t about them.

Just then.

Fran entered the staff room with Lou.

Unlike before, Fran’s expression was bright.

She looked beautiful and full of glamour, despite having the same facial features.

Now everyone was convinced of Clotilde’s conjecture.

So that’s how it was…

Has the season of love arrived for [Iron Mask]?

A short time later, Kelturi came into the staff room, and her usual aura had also changed.

The teachers other than Fran did not miss such a subtle change.

A woman, especially a wizard, was particularly sensitive to such things.

Perhaps Kelturi sensed that she was being watched with curious eyes…

She clapped her hands louder than usual, announced that a staff meeting was to commence, and urged them to enter the conference room.

One hour later…

The staff meeting ended. 

Afterward, everyone was free to work at their own discretion.

Fran decided to take Lou with her to visit the staff members he hadn’t been introduced to yet.

When she informed Kelturi of this, she nodded, looking as dour as ever.

Fran regained her smile with a burst of energy, bowed lightly, and quickly pulled Lou’s hand as they left the staff room.

As Kelturi looked away, that thorn-like pain from earlier hit her chest again.

Meanwhile…

After leaving the staff room, Fran took the magical elevator down to the first floor at once and walked to the administrative office.

It was to introduce Lou to the Administrative Manager and staff.

The counter, which was empty when Lou saw it the other day, was occupied by two young women.

They were sitting side by side, working on some documents.

“Good morning! Huguette, Liddy.”

The two women looked at Fran with a shocked, “Huh?”

She used to refer to them by their surnames whenever she called them, and never called them by their first names so cordially.

Huguette and Liddy were well aware of Fran’s ‘nickname’.

What was the matter with that smile that seemed to just overflow?

They were surprised and perplexed.

“G-Good morning, Principal.”

“Good morning, Francesca-sama.”

Huguette and Liddy barely responded.

The surprise on their faces had yet to fade, when…

“I want to introduce you to our new teacher. Is the Administrative Manager at the back?”

“Ye-Yes, please proceed to the office.”

The blonde personnel in her early twenties, called Huguette, stood up and led Lou and Fran to a back room.

The Administrative Manager was working on some paperwork at a desk in the front of the room.

However, when Huguette called out to her, she looked up and responded to Fran with a big smile.

“What can I do for you today, Francesca-sama?”

The Administrative Manager was a well-dressed, calm woman in her mid-forties with chestnut hair.

Her name was Morgaine Vallier, and she was the head of the administrative office that handled the school’s affairs.

“Nothing, Morgaine-san. I’m here today to introduce our new teacher to you.”

“Yes, I heard from Vice-Principal Eltvara yesterday that we will have a temporary employee for a year, is that right?”

“Yes, he’s also my servant. So, Lou, will you say hello?”

At Fran’s prompt, Lou greeted the Administrative Manager in the same way he had greeted everyone in the staff room.

“Nice to meet you too, Lou-sensei.”

Morgaine held out her hand for a handshake, which Lou accepted.

Huguette bowed behind him.

Adelaide had already issued Lou’s staff ID, so no problem there.

At the same time, she also reminded Lou to carry his staff handbook. After Lou responded OK, her work as a staff was completed.

After completing the procedures, the two left the main school building.

In front of them was the vast campus of the Magical Girls Academy.

The campus was a beautiful garden with lush lawn throughout.

Between the main gate and the main school building was a plaza with a fountain.

According to Fran…

The fountain was also a mechanism based on magical techniques discovered in Ancient Ruins.

It was spouting a powerful stream of water into the sky.

From the plaza, which resembled the central square of the royal city of St. Helena, there were roads leading to separate buildings, dormitories, and indoor and outdoor arenas, similar to those in the city.

It was spring break, so the students were sparse.

After showing him around the four-story annex with laboratories and training rooms, Fran took Lou to the student dormitory.

It was said that about 100 students, which was close to half of the 260 students in the school, lived there.

Because of the large number of students living in the dormitory, it was a five-story building with a size comparable to the main school building.

Naturally, the student dormitory was closed to men.

Lou was not allowed inside. First and second year students lived in double rooms, and only third year students were given private rooms.

Fran called the head of the dorm to introduce Lou.

The Dorm Supervisor was responsible for managing the dormitory and guiding the lives of the students who lived there under the direction of the school.

Since the dormitory was for girls only, the Dorm Supervisor was a woman, and a stern-looking elderly at that.

“I’m Sandrine Bazin. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

When Sandrine saw Lou, she coughed and introduced herself.

Perhaps she was trying to warn him.

“The Principal and Vice-Principal recommended you, and the Chairman approved of you, so I don’t have much to say, but just in case… The students are still children, but they are in the stage of growing into adults. Thus, they’re more curious than most people… You know that, right?”

Sandrine stared sharply at Lou, not forgetting to nail Lou.

Fran would have chuckled, but Sandrine was dead serious.

Sandrine’s educational guidance continued for a while.

So, in the end…

“Lou is not only a teacher, but also my follower, so I will take the responsibility.”

When Fran offered Sandrine this, she finally returned a smile.

After leaving the dorm…

Lou and Fran were returning to Fountain Square when they saw two familiar faces.

It was Michelle and Olga, with whom they had shared a meal the other day.

They were about to call out to them, but decided against it when they saw how devastated Michelle and Olga looked.

The cause of Michelle and Olga’s lack of energy was…

Probably becase of the person leading them…

She was a tall girl with rich, wavy blonde hair and dark blue eyes, walking briskly.

She was clad in dark blue leather armor and had a magical shortsword, hanging at her waist.

It looked like they were headed for the outdoor arena.

“That young woman is Giselle Carpantier, the Student Council President of the school, class 3A.

Giselle was the second daughter of the prestigious Carpantier ducal family.

She was one of the genius girls in the school, and was rumored to have been offered a position as a Female Mage Knight, as she was skilled in swordplay, water-attribute attack and defense magic, and Healing and Recovery Magic.

But her beautiful face was tinted with a look of deep melancholy.

“Michelle and Olga are like Giselle’s juniors, or maybe even her protégés…O-Oh no! Lou, let’s find out what’s going on.”

Fran said…

She urged Lou to go with her and see what was happening.