Aethron looked at Lyra and asked hesitantly,
"Did I do something wrong, teacher?"
Without answering immediately, Lyra slowly walked forward.
She passed by Aethron, reached the back door, and closed it—locking it.
Then she turned back toward him.
A gentle smile was on her face.
"No, sweetheart," she said softly.
"I just want to get to know you a little better. That's all."
Her smile was surprisingly warm.
She lightly gestured toward the desks.
"Please, go back to your seat."
Her tone sounded like a request…
Yet at the same time, it felt like an order that couldn't be refused.
Aethron felt his heart start to beat faster.
Even though Aethron was a bit dense at times, Lyra's mature and divine beauty—and the way she acted so openly and closely—made him feel embarrassed.
His heart began to race unconsciously.
When Lyra saw that Aethron obediently returned to his seat, she felt secretly pleased.
She walked toward him slowly.
Then, she sat on the edge of his desk.
Her black stockings and red high heels remained within Aethron's line of sight.
Her movements were calm and deliberate.
This only made Aethron even more nervous.
Normally handsome and composed, his face suddenly turned bright red.
He lowered his head slightly.
Then he spoke with a stutter.
"M-Miss Lyra…"
The shyness in his voice was impossible to hide.
When Lyra saw Aethron's embarrassed expression, she found it extremely adorable.
A gentle smile appeared on her lips.
"Sweetheart," she said softly,
"When we're alone, you can just call me 'Lyra.'"
Those words made Aethron feel as if his heart had almost stopped.
He still hadn't recovered from his embarrassment.
His face remained bright red.
He spoke with a slight stutter.
"T-Teacher… did I do something wrong?"
There was a hint of anxiety in his eyes.
Lyra put on a fake angry expression and spoke.
"Didn't we agree that you would call me just 'Lyra'?" she said, frowning.
Her tone sounded serious.
Aethron took it seriously.
He panicked instantly.
"I-I'm sorry!" he replied in fear.
He quickly lowered his head.
When Lyra saw his reaction, she froze for a moment.
Then, she struggled hard not to burst into laughter.
She bit her lip, and her shoulders trembled slightly.
She was doing her best to hold it in.
"This boy is really too innocent…" she thought to herself.
However, Lyra's inner thoughts were completely opposite to the smile on her face.
"Unfortunately, I have to break this innocence…" she thought.
"This will hurt Aethron deeply."
"It will be cruel…"
"But if I don't do this, he will always remain a flawed, fragile being called 'human.'"
That thought made her heart ache for a brief moment.
Yet, she didn't hesitate.
She had no intention of stepping back.
Whenever she thought about humans, a strange sense of nausea rose within her.
Weak…
Fearful…
Temporary...
Lyra had been watching Aethron for years.
For so long that…
She had known him even before his so-called family did.
His childhood.
His fears.
His dreams.
She knew them all.
And Aethron had no idea.
Lyra's gaze slowly deepened.
The emotions she had suppressed for so long began to rise.
"You…" she thought.
"Aethron…"
"You are only mine…"
That thought awakened a dark yet powerful feeling in her heart.
Possession…
Obsession…
Protection…
All mixed together.
And Lyra knew very well
Lyra quickly suppressed her turbulent emotions.
She composed herself.
Once again, she returned to her calm, serious teacher persona.
"Aethron," she said in a normal tone,
"the reason I asked you to stay is related to work."
Aethron lifted his head in surprise.
Lyra continued.
"I heard that you're looking for a part-time job. I thought I could help you with that."
Those words were so unexpected that they instantly erased Aethron's embarrassment.
He froze for a moment.
"What…?" he thought.
At first, he had found it slightly strange that she knew his name.
But he hadn't paid much attention to it.
After all, basic personal information was available at school.
However…
How did she know he was looking for a job?
He hadn't even told his family properly yet.
Aethron spoke hesitantly.
"Teacher… I mean, Lyra… how do you know that?"
Lyra looked at him with a calm smile.
"Of course, through your former middle school counselor," she replied casually.
"He's an acquaintance of mine."
Aethron listened in surprise.
"Last year, he told me a lot about you," Lyra continued.
"He said you were very intelligent and hardworking."
After a brief pause, she added,
"He even asked me to help get you into Zenith College."
Those words suddenly connected many pieces in Aethron's mind.
"So that's the recommendation letter…" he thought.
Aethron let out a relieved breath.
"Ah… then thank you so much, Lyra," he said sincerely.
"I really don't know how I can repay you for all your help."
There was genuine gratitude in his eyes.
When Lyra saw his expression, a meaningful smile appeared on her lips.
Her smile was both warm and mysterious.
"Don't worry, sweetheart," she said softly.
"In the future… you'll have plenty of time for that."
As she spoke, her gaze deepened for a brief moment.
It was as if her words carried a hidden meaning.
But Aethron didn't really notice.
He simply nodded and smiled.
After chatting with Lyra for a while longer, Aethron finally managed to leave the classroom.
The moment he stepped out, he let out a deep breath.
For a second, he had felt as if he might lose his soul.
"I almost had a heart attack…" he muttered.
He started walking down the corridor to get some fresh air.
However, there was something he didn't notice.
A sharp, cold gaze was fixed on his back.
A girl with long crimson hair and violet eyes—possessing almost divine beauty—was standing there.
It was none other than Lilveth.
She stared at Aethron's back with dissatisfaction.
But her displeasure wasn't directed at him.
It was aimed at someone else.
"What is that prehistoric fossil trying to do…?" she thought angrily.
As she was thinking this, a voice echoed deep within her mind.
"Come inside."
It was…
Lyra's voice.
Lilveth's eyes narrowed slightly.
Without hesitation, Lilveth opened the door and stepped inside.
But the moment she took her first step, she realized she was no longer in the classroom.
The world around her had completely changed.
This was a pocket dimension that even sixth-dimensional beings could never perceive.
Time and space functioned entirely differently here than in the normal world.
Colors twisted, emptiness rippled, and reality itself constantly shifted.
Lilveth looked ahead.
The beautiful woman was gone.
Instead…
A colossal serpent stood before her—so vast that it surpassed even infinity.
Its scales shimmered like galaxies, its eyes burned like stars, and cosmic energy swirled around its jaws.
Its mere presence was enough to shake entire universes.
Yet, Lilveth showed no sign of shock.
She spoke calmly.
"You can't even last an hour without returning to your true form, can you?"
Her tone was mocking.
As if she were talking to an old acquaintance rather than a godlike being.
Lyra spoke in an indifferent tone.
"The human body is too fragile," she said calmly.
"Staying in this form for too long makes me uncomfortable."
She tilted her head slightly.
"If I were sure that Aethron wouldn't be harmed, I would have already returned to my true form completely."
Her colossal eyes shimmered faintly.
"But for now, I can only exist at most in a seventh-dimensional structure."
She let out a deep sigh.
Her gaze swept over the distorted space around her.
"These planets… are far too fragile."
There was both disdain and slight disappointment in her voice.
As if the entire universe were made of glass in her eyes.
Lilveth listened to Lyra's words in silence.
In truth, she could only accept them.
After all, compared to Lyra, she was still very young.
Because of that, she was extremely weak in comparison.
If Lyra hadn't allowed it, Lilveth wouldn't even be able to enter this seventh-dimensional space—let alone remain here for even a second.
She was fully aware of that.
At first, she had been attracted to Aethron simply because of his extraordinary handsomeness.
But now…
Everything had changed.
Aethron was capable of attracting the attention of such a powerful being.
That alone was unbelievable.
Because of this, her admiration for him only grew stronger.
After all, Lilveth knew very well:
Lyra's true power was almost equal to her mother's.
For a being like that to care about Aethron…
Was the clearest proof that he was far from ordinary.
While Lilveth and Lyra were quietly chatting among themselves, the very person responsible for all of this—Aethron—was completely unaware of everything.
At that moment, he had gone to the school cafeteria.
He was holding a bottle of ice-cold water.
Walking calmly, he stopped from time to time to take a sip.
"Today was really exhausting…" he thought to himself.
He knew nothing about cosmic beings,
nothing about pocket dimensions,
and nothing about two powerful entities talking about him…
He was just an ordinary student trying to cool down.