"Class president," said the teacher in a tired tone that still carried a note of irritation. "I'm asking you to rein in that student, or I'll be forced to take action. This situation is out of line, and you know exactly how I like things kept in order."

  Valentina swallowed hard.

  Her mind raced through every possible way to smooth things over, but the harshness in the teacher's voice was unmistakable.

  Valentina, unaware of Eleonora’s true power, just wanted to prevent her friend from facing serious consequences—because if they got back to the academy and the teacher reported this…

  Maybe they'd expel Camila from the academy?

  "Camila…" she said in a trembling voice. "Please, calm down. We don't want this to end badly…"

  Eleonora, however, showed no sign of willingness to listen.

  Right then, she had already formed a conclusion about that human whom all these students called "teacher."

  "I don't need you telling me what to do, demi-human," Eleonora replied coldly, not taking her eyes off the teacher. "And you—congratulations. You're complete trash."

  ...

  'What!?' both Valentina and Alexia thought.

  Was Eleonora really insulting the teacher!?

  Alexia, who had been staying on the sidelines out of curiosity about what Eleonora was aiming for, realized that things were already crossing the line.

  'Is she trying to pick a fight with the teacher...?' she wondered, trying to figure out what Eleonora stood to gain.

  Unlike Valentina, Alexia had already witnessed a bit of Eleonora's power when she completely subdued that bastard Darius—and, of course, the way she toyed with Leo.

  Clearly, the teacher was on a completely different level than they were, but having seen how Eleonora treated the girl—who had blocked that massive magical attack without even breaking a sweat—there was a very real possibility that either Eleonora or that girl could wipe the floor with him. And although Alexia didn't particularly care for the teacher, the real problem was with their other classmates; not because of his strength, but because of the repercussions if the academy ever found out.

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  This was an issue that could escalate far beyond a mere expulsion, but…

  What could she do to stop it from spiraling further?

  Suddenly, at that very moment, an earthquake shook the ground beneath their feet.

  The rumbling sound reverberated across the floor, causing the tent to sway.

  "An earthquake!" shouted one of the students from outside.

  'Damn, yes!' Valentina thought happily.

  'Oh… what luck,' Alexia thought, relieved.

  Without a second thought, the teacher spun around and started walking quickly toward the exit.

  'I'll teach that bitch a lesson when we get there…' he thought, annoyed.

  "Follow me," he declared, and the girls began trailing him out of the tent.

  But then the teacher suddenly stopped, noticing that only Alexia and Valentina were following him; seeing that the rebellious girl—along with the other girl—had remained inside the tent, he didn't hesitate to go back in to see what the heck they were doing.

  Alexia and Valentina, following him, swallowed nervously.

  "What are you doing?" he demanded, clearly irritated. "Come here now! Can't you see there's an emergency?"

  Ignoring the teacher's order, Eleonora had seized the perfect opportunity to act—and now she was about to grab the Kluir.

  In Eleonora's eyes, that device was rather peculiar.

  The Kluir was small enough to comfortably fit in the palm of a hand. Its shape was a cross between a flattened sphere and a cylinder, suggesting it was no ordinary artifact.

  Engraved inscriptions and faintly glowing runes adorned its surface, but the most fascinating feature was the series of concentric rings—reminiscent of the tumblers in a safe's lock.

  Until that moment, the artifact had exhibited a dull red hue with hints of yellow, but as soon as Eleonora grasped it, the Kluir burst into a blinding radiance.

  Everyone was forced to cover their eyes as the white light emanating from the device filled the entire tent.

  Completely bewildered, the teacher shouted,

  "Let it go now!"

  Now he was truly angry.

  "I order you—let it go!"

  But Eleonora, paying no heed to his commands, held the Kluir tightly in her hands.

  'This is draining some of my energy…' she thought, surprised.

  Although she had managed to channel only a fraction of her power during the brief time with those humans, this device was siphoning a significant part of her reserves!

  Eleonora shot a sidelong glance at her summoned creature, which watched her with its mouth agape.

  It looked astonished—and that expression reminded her somewhat of her sister Cerys…

  'I need to teach that thing some manners…' she thought.

  In an instant, the Kluir's light shifted; what had been a reddish glow with yellow sparks transformed into an all-out yellow brilliance.

  'Did the Kluir fully charge up?! What the hell did that student do?!' the teacher thought, astonished.

  "Enough of your jokes, girl!" the teacher shouted, advancing quickly toward Eleonora. "Hand it over now!"

  But Eleonora, with a defiant smile, met the teacher's gaze squarely.

  There wasn't an ounce of fear or doubt on her face.

  "Do you think I care what you say?" she retorted in a disdainful tone laced with amusement. "I don't take orders from weak humans like you."