“Valli? Are you okay?”
“Uh, uh. Y-y-yes……”
Vittorio was so startled that his desk shook violently as if an earthquake had struck. Thanks to that, the meal tray almost fell to the floor, but Jay caught it quickly, preventing a disaster.
However, Vittorio had already turned pale and stopped trembling, frozen like a statue. After stiffly confirming the situation, he checked the tray Jay had caught and pretended to be fine as he spoke.
“Th-thank you, v-very much.”
But sadly, the octopus hadn’t disappeared, so he began trembling again.
Seeing this, Jay released his grip on the tray and lightly touched Vittorio’s shoulder once more. Vittorio was startled again, but since it was less than before, the same incident as before didn’t occur. Jay asked very carefully so as not to provoke the frightened Vittorio.
“The octopus…… you don’t want to eat it?”
Jay wasn’t oblivious. No, even someone who was oblivious would know if they saw Vittorio right now. That he was terribly afraid of octopus.
The fear Vittorio felt wasn’t even in the normal range. His appearance, as if he might faint at any moment, made it seem like a monster had been placed right before his eyes.
“N-n-no, no.”
Vittorio shook his head violently several times in denial. But his appearance was rather like confessing, “There is a problem with me.”
Jay returned to his seat and switched his meal tray with Vittorio’s. At that moment, the other students subtly frowned. Especially Ivan frowned so strongly his brow seemed to cave in, and that appearance allowed one to feel life force from him for the first time.
However, Jay didn’t notice their reactions.
Without a doubt, Jay’s action was pure goodwill. He was planning to write in his report that Vittorio had eaten his meal well. But Vittorio was even more shocked by Jay’s action. His pale skin turned as white as marble, almost looking like a corpse.
Jay looked at Vittorio like that and picked up one of the octopuses on the tray in his hand and ate it. He didn’t feel there was any major problem with his action.
“Ah, ugh……”
Vittorio had now lost his words. He looked at Jay with fearful eyes. The fear he had for the octopus seemed to have transferred directly to Jay. Both pupils were shaking mercilessly like a boat on rough seas.
The other students also stopped eating and stared blankly at Jay. But that was all. The students soon resumed their meal. As if all of this had nothing to do with them.
“……”
Vittorio silently looked down at the sandwich that had become his portion. His body was frozen cold. He looked like a lifeless corpse, but seeing Vittorio not trembling, Jay believed he’d solved the problem and finished off the octopus.
To Jay and my mouth, the octopus was truly delicious.
At the signal that the meal was finished, the slave returned pulling the tray. After bowing politely, he collected the dishes with a rigid, expressionless face and placed them on the tray. Even though the slave saw that the octopus that had been Vittorio’s portion was completely gone, he showed no particular change, so Jay felt relieved.
“……”
In the end, Vittorio couldn’t touch the sandwich Jay had switched for him. His face turned dark as lead, and he seemed to have some idea of what was going to happen next.
Jay looked at Vittorio’s appearance with puzzlement. That face that knew nothing was hatefully pure. Jay was kind, but at the same time, because he was pure, he was ignorant. No matter how hard Jay stared at Vittorio, there was no way for him to know why he had frozen.
Before long, Chung and Ivan had finished eating and maintained an eerie silence, Vittorio frozen in shock, and Jay bewildered. Among them, only I watched this situation with a grin.
“……P-Professor-nim.”
“What’s wrong?”
Jay smiled broadly to appeal his harmlessness. It was as if he was exaggeratedly spreading both hands, showing he had no weapon in his hands.
But to someone, that appearance could look aggressive. Vittorio shrank like a snail. Like a fragile creature that would retreat into its shell if touched.
Vittorio ultimately couldn’t say anything more and quickly fled from his seat. His fleeing speed was not at all snail-like. After that, Chung and Ivan greeted him and left.
Only Jay remained alone, blankly mulling over the back of Vittorio as he disappeared, leaving only questions behind.
“Hello, Professor-nim.”
Following that, other students approached Jay and greeted him. Their appearance was polite, but to my eyes, it wasn’t respect for a professor but rather a slave-like obedience.
Jay, who knew nothing, smiled and accepted their greetings and entered the classroom.
* * *
“To understand this book, you have to read <The Flower of Suffering> written by this author’s older sister.”
The class went smoothly. The students’ attitude in class was impeccably diligent, and there wasn’t a single child who couldn’t keep up with the progress.
Excited by the smooth progress, Jay chattered enthusiastically. Since classical literature was a field with few who needed it, from Jay’s memory, it had been a long time since he’d taught a class like this.
Moreover, these were the first students so docile. Wealthy students who grew up lacking nothing were generally arrogant. In his memory, there were only experiences of struggling while teaching students. If Jay’s setting had been that he had money, his memories would have been a bit more comfortable.
Clang, clang, clang.
The bell tower rang noisily, signaling the end of class time. At the sound, the students just smiled like pictures and looked at Jay. That appearance was truly like a bunch of mannequins laid out.
At the artificial appearance like wax dolls, Jay forgot his initial joy and got goosebumps, but soon smiled and said.
“Then see you next time.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
The students bowed as if choreographed, not off by even an inch, at exactly the same timing. It was like a thoroughly rehearsed large-scale performance’s group dance. The disciplined appearance instilled a bit of fear in Jay.
“Surely…… not all the students are like that?”
Pitifully, they were. The thought of “surely not” became reality.
All the students were like elaborate automata dolls. Everyone wore an artificial smile as if drawn, and showed no sign of dislike. But because they were living people, they created an alien atmosphere. It was natural in a way that Jay felt repulsed.
“Ugh……”
With his stomach churning, Jay rubbed his belly. Looking out the small window, the sun was high in the sky. It was finally lunchtime that everyone had been waiting for.
Jay waited for the students he was in charge of to return to eat lunch, scribbling content to write in his report in his notebook in the guidance room. Though it was daunting, Jay didn’t stop his hand, thinking of the reports that had been given to him. How long had he written? The sound of the door opening was heard.
“……”
“Ah, you’re here.”
It was Ivan. He appeared like a ghost, lightly bowed his head to Jay in greeting, and sat down. After that, students returned to the guidance room one by one.
The last person to enter was Vittorio, and he had a very pale face. His face, whiter than marble, looked lifeless. He looked around with trembling eyes as if fearing something.
Ironically despite such vigilance, fortunately nothing happened to Vittorio. Unlike in the morning, octopus didn’t appear at lunch.
Nevertheless, Vittorio couldn’t relax and finished his meal looking anxious and tense. He looked like he didn’t know if the food was going into his nose or mouth. He left almost all the food on his tray.
Dinner was no different. Jay was concerned about his haggard face, but whenever he tried to speak to him, Vittorio would shrink back, so he had no choice but to back off.
* * *
“So…… how was your first class today?”
Vinoshu asked. Though it sounded like concern, the voice was full of dryness, making it sound rather like a reproach. Jay tensely held out the report he had worked hard on. He was so nervous that his answering voice was stiff.
“Yes. It was good. All the students were gentle and diligent.”
“They’re students that Connubium is proud of, so naturally.”
She spoke as if without emotion, but underneath that was pride. Jay was a bit surprised to see the strict-looking person appear different for a moment. That appearance also struck me as interesting.
However, that appearance was brief. Her appearance while reviewing the report was sharp, so Jay swallowed his saliva. Vinoshu, who had been reading for a while, twitched her eyebrows. She was in the middle of reading the report about Vittorio.
“Student Valli ate all the octopus?”
As planned, Jay had falsely reported that Vittorio had eaten all the octopus. It was an action entirely for Vittorio’s sake. He thought that if it became known that he hadn’t properly eaten the school’s menu, Vittorio would be punished.
It was a guess, but it was somewhat correct.
Though it was an impulsive act, Jay didn’t regret his action of helping Vittorio. He was the kind of person who would act the same way even if he returned to that moment. Because Jay Doe’s character was fundamentally good.
“Yes…… Is there a problem?”
Jay spoke so composedly it was hard to believe he was lying. His appearance looked innocent, and it seemed like no one could believe he was lying. Jay’s ordinary appearance shone at times like this.
In fact, that appearance resembled my appearance when I usually went on missions. Sometimes at times like this, Jay seemed like my own flesh and blood. We really had many similarities.
