Nakama’s name was last on the list, since she was the latest transfer student, but the little girl didn’t seem to mind the fact that they would be done only after the others were. Apparently, the true highlight of today’s parent-teacher conference, the Students’ Showcase, was only done at night. More importantly, as a small school, there weren’t that many classes across the years either, so the queue probably wouldn’t be that long.

“Class 4-A, eh?” Gaius rubbed his nose. “Can’t say I know this teacher. I was only paying attention to Nakama during her classes.”

“She teaches us math,” the little girl replied, blinking her wide eyes.

“Eew.” Gaius shuddered, although he couldn’t remember why he had such a reaction. It was probably a vestige of his time back on Earth, although he couldn’t remember the exact circumstances behind his distaste. After all, assassins needed a good grasp of some math, didn’t they?

He shook his head inwardly, and then turned to look at Isabelle, who was nodding with interest. Her eyes were narrowed somewhat, and the boy had the feeling that she was remembering her own days in school.

Gaius caught the first glance of Nakama’s math teacher when he entered the classroom. As she was sitting on a chair, he couldn’t get an accurate read on her height, but he was certain that she was around one and half times taller than Nakama. Her brown hair, done up in curls, swayed as she spoke to another student and his parents, with a result slip sitting silently in front of them.

The boy’s parents were clearly displeased with their child’s results, but after a few rounds of detailed explanations, their faces had turned from one that promised a punishment of a lifetime to something more…palatable. After a few more minutes of speaking, the meeting was over. The cycle continued on and on, with some parents clearly more pleased than the others.

“Nakama!”

Gaius, Isabelle and Nakama got up from the chairs allocated for waiting parents.

“Mei-sensei, good afternoon!”

“Good afternoon to you, Nakama.” The teacher — Mei — had a pleasant smile on her face. “And you must be her…”

Her words faltered slightly, and Gaius could see why. In the place of Nakama’s parents were a boy around twelve or thirteen years old, as well as a clearly-foreign teenager. It wasn’t hard to see that she had some trouble trying to decide how to address the two, lest she offend them. After all, anyone with the wherewithal to attend Kishi Gakuen had to be minimally richer than most others in the Mi-Zu.

“I am her brother,” said Gaius.

“And I’m his…retainer,” Isabelle added on, a sunny smile on her face. “Please, do not take alarm at her unusual family arrangements. There are extenuating circumstances, especially in such troubled times.”

“I see.” Mei had an understanding smile on her face. “Well, these circumstances might account why Nakama has such a drive to learn, at least. This is her report card for this year — though there’s not really much to talk about, compared to the other students.”

She slid a piece of paper over to Gaius, and the boy heard a gasp from Isabelle.

“Straight As,” Gaius murmured. “Impressive. Well done, Nakama! And you too, Isabelle.”

His sister’s face lit up like a lightbulb at these words, which Isabelle and Gaius both returned with an encouraging smile.

Mei nodded. “It is quite the feat, considering that she is a transfer student. Most transfer students struggle with the highly rigorous curriculum in Kishi, especially if they came from less-funded schools. Her stellar grades are a monument to how dedicated she is to studying.”

“And on the social side of things?” Gaius asked.

“She has melded in very well with the class,” said the teacher. “Incredibly well. She seems to have a talent in this particular field, even more so than that of her academics. I’ve spoken to her other teachers, and the general consensus is that she is a nearly-perfect student.”

“Nearly?” Gaius echoed.

“Nakama has a tendency to think on the pessimistic side, according to the homework she hands in for Society and Culture, as well as History,” Mei answered. “Her works are…well, unnerving. Her fellow students, when they use her compositions as a reference, are usually greatly affected by how she depicts social issues.”

Gaius tapped his thigh lightly. What on Ear—Orb is Kishi Gakuen teaching to nine-year olds? Social issues? I may not have studied on Earth, but I’m quite sure some of these topics are a bit too advanced for children, no?

Isabelle came to the rescue. “It is part of our family’s policy to expose the younger generation to the realities of life, so that they do not grow up living in a sheltered world. I do not believe this is an issue, given the persistent realities we all live in today.”

“If that is part of your family policies…” She nodded. “I see. Other than that, Nakama has a slight tendency to glorify violence and heroics. Her suggestions for the Students’ Showcase was…rather disturbing.”

“What did you suggest, Nakama?” Gaius asked.

“The Eastern Battlefront,” she replied. “I wanted to…”

“We’ve talked about this before,” Gaius cut in hastily. “I understand where you’re coming from, but violence for its own sake isn’t a good thing.”

He shook his head and addressed her teacher. “I apologise for this incident.”

“No harm was done, mister…”

“Gaius.”

“Mister Gaius.” She looked at a small pile of notes. “It’s just that we make it a point to bring up any issues we think are pivotal, up to and including mindsets.”

“Other than that, we are very pleased and honoured to have Nakama as our student. It has been our pleasure to teach such a driven student,” said Mei. “And I think her guardians have a big part to play in cultivating such mindsets and qualities too.”

Nakama beamed, and after a round of more small talk, the three left the room.