Cantarella strolled down the hallways alone until she met up with Barb. As soon as their eyes met, she smirked, and Barb frowned.
"Hey, girlie! I got some downtime. Let's hang out!" Cantarella screeched while lunging at Barb and trapping her in a hug.
"Ack! Fine, Cantarella, but release me!" Barb complained.
"No can do! If I let you go too soon, you won't feel the love~," Cantarella argued playfully.
"I don't need to feel the love!" Barb shot back.
Cantarella held on for a few more seconds before ending her embrace, and Barb straightened her clothes with a scowl.
"Follow me," Barb stated coldly, and Cantarella smiled, trailing behind as Barb led the way to her room.
Once inside, Barb locked the door and got wine glasses for both of them.
"I'm not going to get you in trouble, right? You're supposed to be supervising the kiddos," Cantarella commented as she sat down.
"Oh, don't worry about that. They've been given an official break today," Barb began while handing one of the glasses to Cantarella. "I'll make sure they go to bed on time tomorrow so the mission isn't jeopardized, but until then, they're free."
Cantarella nodded, then watched as Barb retrieved her bottle of whiskey.
"I thought you might be coming, so I put some ice from the cafeteria in my cooler," Barb stated while pointing to a small cooler bag on the desk.
"Wow... and you tried to act like you don't love me!" Cantarella exclaimed. She unzipped the bag and put one ice cube in her glass before Barb poured her drink.
"Also..." Cantarella started again, "You can call me Rella from now on... if you like."
Barb prepared her own drink and sat in the armchair across the room.
"... Sure, Rella," she replied before taking a sip.
"By the way," Barb continued, "you said you ruined a relationship with one of the students onboard... I've been curious about that ever since you mentioned it."
Rella's cheerful disposition deflated, and she slumped in the chair.
"You don't want to hear about that," she replied.
"Actually, your reaction has made me much more curious," Barb argued.
Rella groaned and chugged down her drink.
"You're going to have to get me drunk first," she mumbled.
Barb frowned.
"According to your file, you're only capable of getting tipsy, not drunk. Even that doesn't linger long."
Rella winked and extended her glass for a refill.
"Oh, you've been snooping through my files, huh?"
Barb grew slightly flustered and took another sip before saying,
"I looked at everyone's files."
Barb placed her glass on the table and walked over to Rella with the whiskey bottle.
"You want this?" Barb asked while swishing the liquid around inside.
Cantarella smiled eagerly.
"Then tell me..." Barb added, and Rella rolled her eyes.
"Fine! Since you're so nosy and giving me free drinks... but I might mix in a few lies so I don't look that bad," Rella muttered.
Barb smiled and refilled Rella's glass.
"My special skill is lie detection. I can also make people feel physical pain when they lie to me... though I won't do that to you. I promise," Barb explained calmly before returning to her seat.
"That's a scary-ass power... and I feel mildly threatened. So fine, I'll keep the lies to a minimum. I guess I don't have anything more interesting to talk about, anyway," Rella replied in an exasperated tone.
---
Three years ago (Rella's POV)
I had just started working at the Maledictus Academy.
I've always been classified as a B-tier cursed. My powers have a high lethality, but because I have to contaminate drinks, food, or physically touch a target to hurt them, my rank is lowered.
The most impressive aspect of my power is that I can ingest poison, analyze its contents, and produce an antidote within minutes.
It was because of this ability that I excelled in chemistry and foraging.
My skills were deemed not useful enough for the ALPHA military, but perfect for becoming an academy instructor.
I was moved into the teachers' dormitory, which was larger than the one I had as a student, and a colleague was assigned to escort me around campus. Her name was Ms. Emerald.
"This is the main building where you'll be spending most of your time because the cafeteria, classrooms, and library are all here. There's not much to do on campus, after all," Emerald stated while pointing to a classroom with my nameplate pinned to the door.
"I appreciate the tour," I replied.
"Cool, bye," she muttered coldly as she spun around to walk away.
"Wait! I saw a restaurant on my way here. Can I go there? Do we actually get paid to work here?"
Before I could finish speaking, Ms. Emerald laughed while clutching her stomach as though I'd said the most ridiculous thing in the world.
"You can, but we don't get money here. Maledictus are not allowed to receive currency directly, as you know. In this school, you earn Merit Points based on your performance."
She wiped a tear from her eye and straightened her back before meeting my gaze.
"You haven't accomplished anything since you just got here. Stick to the free food in the cafeteria."
Her voice lowered, and she suddenly sounded eerie and deeply annoyed.
"Now bye," she stated again, without a hint of amusement left in her voice, before leaving me alone.
She had shown me around most of the campus, but not thoroughly enough for me to feel confident that I wouldn't get lost.
So I sat at my desk and read through the textbook for my course. It was about an hour later when a bell rang, and students started trickling in. This period was designated for A through SSS-tier students only. Everyone gave off a powerful vibe, but they seemed well-behaved and presentable, which was a relief. Maybe this job will be even better than I expected.
"Welcome to my class, my name is Madam Cantarella," I said while writing my name on the whiteboard. When I faced the students, one had her hand raised, so I pointed to her and asked, "What is it?"
"Are you married?" I felt a bit confused by her question, and she added, "I thought our kind could not get married. Are teachers an exception?"
"Why do you ask?" I muttered nervously, still put off.
"Your honorific is Madam, doesn't that mean you're married?"
After her explanation, I giggled.
"Oh yes... normally yes, but I just like the word Madam," I answered.
She blinked at me, and moments later the classroom erupted in laughter.
I heard one student say,
"That's such a silly reason."
and another commented,
"Our new teacher is funny!"
This moment seemed to release all the tension in the room.
We breezed through the laboratory projects without incident.
Most of the students didn't do well on the assessment test I created. That was to be expected since I hadn't taught them anything yet, but I had hoped they would possess some basic knowledge about which plants were safe to eat and how to identify them.
Only one student had more than half the questions correct; in fact, he had a perfect score.
This test was not intended to affect their grades at all, but after reading his paper, I wished I could give him extra credit of some sort.
"Veil Havoc..." I mumbled his name aloud. Based on his assigned name, his powers likely have something to do with visual disruption... or possibly causing mental anguish of some sort. It doesn't really matter. All that matters is that I look forward to seeing what else he knows... and if he continues to impress me, perhaps he can become my assistant.
I hadn't gotten a good look at him in class, but I decided to review the student files during my short intermission before the next batch arrived.
I found him: Veil.
Age: 17.
Power: Complete Submission... vague description.
He has consistently aced his tests, possesses a photographic memory, and spends much of his free time reading. Some teachers commented that they've seen him reading through an encyclopedia and a psychology textbook during class.
"He passes all my assignments, so I'll allow it."
Based on this, he likely read the textbook beforehand and had it memorized.
It might even mean he's the perfect candidate to be my assistant. There's no doubt he'd be able to guide the other students well.
I skimmed his file more, and at the end it said,
"Warning, the other students tend to follow his lead, so it's best not to make an enemy of him." The teacher's name was redacted, and beside where their name used to be was the word [terminated].
How strange... It's rare for academy instructors to be fired. I wonder what happened.
My next class was for A through B-tier students. It didn't go nearly as well. No one acted out but there were many more mistakes, chemical spills, a shattered glass. I didn't even bother passing out the assessment exam.
I did notice that one of the students looked mildly familiar. He had silver hair and greenish-blue eyes. He was also very quiet and kept to himself in the back of the room. There's no possible way I know him... and yet I can't stop thinking I've seen him before.
I had a hard time finding my room, and while I was aimlessly roaming the campus, I passed by him. I recognized him from his file ID photo... the picture hadn't done him justice at all. He was smiling and surrounded by a crowd of students.
He had dark red hair and striking, deep pink eyes. I'm amazed I didn't notice him earlier.
The silver-haired boy from my second period was standing next to him, and that's when I realized they looked alike. Their facial features were so similar that if they were in a black-and-white photo, they'd look like twins. The main differences were that Veil had broader shoulders, stood taller, and had a more athletic build. The one I assumed was his brother had a softer, more delicate appearance.
I decided to approach them and their group of friends. As soon as I got close, their chatter stopped.
"Hey," I greeted shyly. The students I didn't recognize frowned at me, and some of them turned in Veil's direction as if they were seeking his reaction before acknowledging me. He grinned and gave me a small wave.
"Madam Cantarella. Hi," he replied. One of the students gasped and whispered something to him. Veil snickered and blurted, "Yeah, that was her!"
I cleared my throat.
"I'm sorry to bother you... I just wanted to say two things," I said while holding up two fingers. Veil mimicked me, and his brother followed his lead.
"Two things," Veil copied. I took a deep breath,
"First, I wanted to praise you for doing so well on the assessment exam! You were the only person who got a passing score."
Veil's smile faded, and he looked like he was growing bored.
"Okay, what's the next thing?"
"Oh... I'm a bit lost, could you point me in the direction of the teachers' dorms?"
There was a moment of silence before he started laughing, and the others quickly joined him. I blushed from the embarrassment, waiting sheepishly until they quieted.
"You're not a bit lost, you're very lost," Veil corrected. He then waved his friends aside, and they parted to create a path for him. "It's on the other side of campus. I'll show you the way," he offered.
I was completely thrown off and said,
"Thank you, but you don't need to do that."
"It's your first day, and this school is like a maze. Don't be stubborn, just follow me," he instructed, as he stepped past me. "I'll come to your room later, Vision!" He shouted while gesturing for me to come over.
The silver-haired boy nodded and waved goodbye.
So his brother's name is Vision...
I trailed after Veil. He walked fast, and the path to the dorms had a lot of twists and turns, so he wasn't exaggerating when he described it as a maze. The sun was beginning to set by the time we made it.
"Thank you for the help!" I said.
He merely waved me off and went his own way.