“When there is gum in your hair, cutting it is sometimes the only option.”

- The Journey to the Afterlife

***Kingdom Newerth, Capital City***

***Seria***

I ruffle my hair, looking through the curriculum. “Who decided that I should teach mana control, magic theory and practical experience? Whatever the third one is? I obviously showed incredible skill with life magic when they tested me! Why not let me teach what I am good at? It must be that rathead's doing. What was his name?”

“Miss?”

“Trebor! Yes, that's it! He should have been glad that I broke him just a little and not completely. The next time I won't show mercy!”

“Miss?”

“What!?” I look up and scream at the student in front of me. The whole class looks at me as if I am a maniac. But I am not. I just don't give a shit about them... well... except for Adea. Sorry, guys, I know that it's horrible to have a teacher who doesn't care about her students. But that's life. Deal with it!

The student who is apparently the bravest of the entire bunch asks me in a confused tone, “Who are you!?”

“I already introduced myself as Seria.” I try to speak slowly, pronouncing every word for him, so that his rattled brain can understand me this time. Maybe he didn't listen when I greeted them?

“Yes, but why are you here?” he continues.

I roll my eyes. This isn't the brightest fellow in the world. “Where am I sitting?”

His forehead wrinkles in confusion. “In the teacher's chair?”

I clap my hands and finally he looks a little angered. “So it stands to reason that I am your new teacher!”

“And what about the old one?” he asks. “This is supposed to be the advanced class. You didn't teach us anything. Instead you are sitting here and studying documents.”

I shrug my shoulders. “Before I teach you anything, I have to know the curriculum. I am new at this job and since they forced it onto me, I didn't have the time to prepare. And as for the old teacher, I suppose they simply deemed me as the better choice.”

The student's eyebrows rise. “Teacher Hondwein is a deity. There are only a handful of people who are better than him. And he certainly had better experience and manners than you. Normally I don't insist on status, but you are rude to the extreme! As the third prince, I can't tolerate that.”

I look away from the documents and inspect the student. He has dark, brown hair and a lean build. Now that I look at him, I indeed recognise similarities to Marcus. “Third prince you say, Caden?” Don't tell me that he is Adea's crush.

My eyes wander to Adea who is sitting behind him. On the outside she is a perfect part of the classroom, but a slight shifting motion tells me that she is trying to warn her Wuwu by using her foot to poke him. Well, well...

My expression turns into the broad grin of a Cheshire cat and Adea groans. Then she slams her forehead onto her table. The noise alarms the prince, but it's already too late. I have my sights on him.

“Why don't you join me out here in front of the class? This lesson is supposed to be about mana control and I certainly won't stop a student who is eager to learn,” I purr with my best seductive voice, stealing the trademark skill of my mother.

The male part of the class gasps, while I earn a killing glare from the girls. Caden snorts, unimpressed. He stands up and joins me, standing next to my desk.

“Now. First I have to gauge your abilities, so we will start with something simple. Oh, I know. Caden, cast a magelight and then I'll try to break your concentration. You know what happens if you lose control of a spell and don't abort it correctly?” I ask.

Caden nods. “Of course. The mana will flow back into me and cause sensory overload. In the worst case scenario, the caster can go into shock and die.”

“Wonderful, so make sure not to use too much mana on the magelight. It's a small spell, but we don't want you out of commission for the rest of the day. You may start.” I wave my hand and gesture for him to go on.

Caden snorts and summons his magelight while I watch. The blue orb of light which appears above his hand is a perfect sphere. I don't recognize any fluctuations. He channels the mana through his hand to stay in control and support the spell.

The technique may be a basic one, but it certainly allows for the most control. Stretching out my leg, I poke his thigh. He shows no reaction, his attention is glued to the spell. At least he isn't underestimating me. I stand up and walk around him, studying his technique.

Bending forward, I whisper into his ear. “You like Adea? You gave your best to ignore her, but sometimes it's better to listen if someone tries to stop you from doing something stupid. Don't you also think that she is cute? Ever thought about undressing her?”

His control wavers a little, but not much. Turning, I place myself in front of him so that the class can't see my expression. “You are good. But you should work on channelling mana through your whole body. Currently you are simply guiding it towards your skin and then channelling it towards your hand. That can have a very bad ending when someone touches you in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Parting my lips, I smile and reach out, brushing my fingers along his cheek and down to his neck. I try my best to catch his eyes with the most lusty expression I am capable of.

The sensation of my touch causes him to shudder and the flow of mana is disturbed. As expected, he doesn't manage to abort the spell and the magical backlash hits him. The magelight sputters out of existence and Caden starts trembling. Foam gathers at his mouth and he drops like a felled tree.

I turn towards the class and clap my hands together. “And now we will inspect all of you for similar mistakes!”

Adea is the only one who doesn't look shocked. Instead she is just sitting there, her hands on her temples and staring at nothing. Due to the silence I can even hear her mumbling. “...bad wish. Never should have wished for something. She warned me, but as the fool I am, I didn't resist the temptation...”

Well, maybe I was a little harsh. The class could certainly need a little success after seeing their prince defeated in such a manner. Adea should be able to pass the test. I trained her in a similar way and she learned very fast to avoid the backlash. I just have to avoid using her name. Otherwise people will know that we are related. I point at Adea. “You there, pay attention during class. You are next.”

I point at two other students in the first row. “And you two, clear that up. You know first aid? Lay him in a corner so that he can't swallow his tongue, then return to your seats.”

The two chosen students nod and hurry to execute my commands. I really could get used to this... being a teacher I mean. It's almost like being royalty, just that the circle of people to command around is smaller.

I turn my attention to Adea and smile. This will be fun.

An hour later, three quarters of the class are out of commission and I am happily skipping along the hallway towards the exit. I already had two other classes today and it's evening, so there is not much more to do than going home. All in all, I think I did a great job for my first day as a teacher. Though I must say that Adea's class was the most trouble.

The students of the previous two classes were much smarter and avoided drawing my attention. Though that will only help them as long as I need to study the curriculum.

Seriously! How do they expect me to teach from scratch. The only reason why I got at least some things accomplished was that I already have a general overview about what the students are supposed to know. The month I spent teaching Adea was a great help.

Though I still have to know what I am supposed to teach next. Back at home in Dedessia, we avoid all the schooling and teaching nonsense. Instead we focus our time on awakening the memories of our previous lives. Why relearn something when you already know it? Recovering the memories is much easier.

The people of this world are apparently not willing to risk their lives in near death experiences, which are the best motivation to recover old memories.

Hah... but all that isn't important right now. I still have plans for this evening. Like sneaking into the director's office and finding out who is responsible for the subjects I have to teach. And it's also a good warm-up exercise for raiding the palace. Yes! I seriously need to gather some dirt on these people. Enough of leaning back and enjoying a different culture.

Tonight I am going to spy!

Turning around the corner, I run face first into a broad, hard chest. Definitely a man. I step back, but the obstacle catches my hand and kisses it.

“Seria! It's so great that I managed to intercept you. What do you think about going on a date tonight?” Marcus smiles down at me in a way which makes me want to commit more than a small sin with him under me. He looks at me as if I am sex on a stick.

What's wrong with this guy? Always kissing my hand? Is that a fetish of his, does he like hands? Not that I would complain, it's kind of flattering when he does that. I force myself to smile. Well, maybe spying will be more difficult than I thought. This man is worse than gum in my hair. “If it doesn't get too late?”

.