“Shall we take a break soon?”
“Understood.”
Tia and Elnet moved to the classroom where Kent and his companions were students they were in charge of, and began grading. Their assigned desks in the staff room were not enough space, so the teachers in charge of grading used empty classrooms, practical training rooms, and conference rooms. Of course, they began their work after the students had gone home to prevent them from being involved in the grading process, and strict checks were conducted at the entrance to prevent anyone other than teachers and related personnel from entering the school.
“Do you do this work alone every time?”
“Yes, I would like to say that, but actually, I can ask acquaintances other than students for help, and I can also hire people to help with grading for money. However, I don’t have any acquaintances I can ask for such favors, and since I haven’t been a teacher for long and my family isn’t very wealthy, I don’t have the financial余裕 to hire anyone. This time, thanks to Teacher Arnet, I was able to avoid working alone, but from next time, I will have to do this by myself.”
Elnet thought that being a homeroom teacher at this school might be a disadvantageous role.
“In that case, shouldn’t I be the one to secure people?”
“That won’t work. There’s a rule that anyone assisting must be registered the day before.”
“Whoa. If you had told me a little earlier, I could have brought about ten excellent people… nya.”
“W-well, if you hired that many people, I wouldn’t be able to pay them.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. If it’s a servant, their wages are covered by the house, so it won’t be necessary… nya.”
“Hearing talk like this makes me feel you’re a young lady…”
Tia realized anew that Elnet was from a Duke’s family.
“That was a joke. nyah. If I bring my house servants here, they might suspect something. To avoid being suspicious, we can only work with two people… nya.”
“That’s right. Well then, let’s finish our break and continue with our work.”
After a short break, the two of them silently resumed their grading work.
“The grading work finished faster than I expected. If it were just me, I would have been working through the night today.”
“I don’t want to see answer sheets anymore…”
Elnet’s work speed was fast, and the grading work was finished sooner than Tia had expected.
“There’s still time before midnight, and once we submit the grading results, our work will be done. We can probably get a good night’s sleep tonight.”
“I wish that were the case, but tonight looks like it’s going to be long.”
“Eh?”
Relieved that their work was finished, Tia began tidying up, but Elnet’s expression hardened as she sensed a presence from outside.
“Well, teachers, it seems the grading work is finished. Good work, good work.”
“Why is a student still remaining in the school? Students are not allowed in during grading work.”
Tia spoke to the male student who entered the classroom after the door was opened.
“Tia, behind me.”
“Ah, yes.”
Elnet, who stepped between the student who entered and Tia, whispered to Tia.
“You’re Cedric from the second year, aren’t you? What business do you have here at this late hour with only two women present, nya?”
“My, my, Teacher Arnet noticed those who are waiting behind me.”
As Elnet spoke, the male student Cedric, who had just entered the classroom, replied with a grin. As if on cue, a group of robust men entered the classroom.
“Hmph, hmph, hmph.”
The men then positioned themselves beside Cedric and let out vulgar laughter.
“These people are here to help with the grading work. We have permission to enter the school.”
“They don’t look like they’re here to help by any means. What teacher would accept people like that?”
Facing such unsavory characters who clearly didn’t look like they were there to help, Cedric replied. Elnet then spoke to Cedric, trying to find out which teacher was cooperating in such a matter.
“Houhou… I’m right here.”
Elnet had hoped to get information about a collaborator, but Cedric answered readily.
“Hey, let go of me!”
“Teacher Lilia!!”
Lilia was brought into the classroom by a burly man. Looking at the situation, it seemed more likely that she was being forced to cooperate rather than cooperating willingly.
“Teacher Lilia here insisted that she absolutely wanted to help with the grading work, so I introduced her to some acquaintances.”
“You guys are…”
“What a noisy woman. Chew on this.”
“Mmph, mmph!!”
A burly man by Cedric’s side placed a gag in Lilia’s mouth, preventing her from speaking.
“What do you intend to do with us by going to such lengths?”
“It’s simple. I want you to alter the grading of the test answer sheets that were just graded. My butler came to ask the other day, but was refused, wasn’t he? For a commoner, you had quite the nerve to refuse my request.”
“I see. However, for matters like this, you should have used a proxy so that it wouldn’t be traceable. If the person themselves or those involved appear, it will be easily traced, and who knows what will happen.”
“With a commoner like you, my father can easily make such a problem disappear. If you agree to help now, I won’t resort to rough measures. But if you refuse… you understand, don’t you?”
Cedric said with a defiant smile.
“I cannot be complicit in fraud. Please leave.”
“Ho ho ho. Just because you look a little good, you say such insolent things. Hey you guys, you can do whatever you want with these two. Make them scream, and then force them to comply.”
As Tia instantly refused, Cedric, who was displeased, gave an order to the burly men.
“Yippee! We have permission. I’ll take the silver-haired woman over there.”
“Then I’ll take the brown-haired older sister.”
Two of the burly men, who seemed to be the leaders, approached Elnet and Tia with excitement.
“Honestly, such vulgar people.”
“What did you say?”
As Elnet said with a look of exasperation, one of the burly men became enraged and said.
“Now’s the time. Let’s see the performance of this outfit.”
Saying that, Elnet pulled the ribbon on her dress with all her might and tore it off.
“What! The clothes are transforming?!”
The frilly skirt of the dress Elnet was wearing detached midway, and the fluttering parts tightened to fit her body snugly. The burly men were surprised by the sudden change in the shape of the clothes.
“This is amazing. It’s easy to move in.”
When Rachel gave her the clothes, she had told her to tear off the ribbon on her chest if necessary. However, it seemed she could only use it once, and this was the first time she had tried it. While the material was originally easy to move in, the strings attached to the ribbon were linked to various parts, and all the unnecessary decorations and embellishments that would hinder movement were removed, transforming it into clothes focused on ease of movement. Then, Elnet drew out the special police baton she had hidden, which fit snugly against her thigh, and assumed a stance.
“This woman is serious, isn’t she? Let’s take her down first.”
The leader of the burly men ordered his men, and they all attacked Elnet at once.
“Too slow! What, is your physique just for show?”
“Th-this woman is strong.”
“Guh!”
Seeing the burly men fall one after another, Cedric realized he was at a disadvantage and began to retreat step by step.
“All that’s left are you two.”
Then, only Cedric and the man holding Lilia remained.
“Eek!”
“Damn it, take this!”
“Ugh!”
The man who couldn’t stand the tension released Lilia and attacked Elnet. However, he was quickly defeated and fell to the floor.
“Now, there’s nowhere to escape. What are you going to do, little boy?”
“Eek! I’m Cedric, the Minister’s son. Do you know what will happen if you lay a hand on me?”
“So what?”
As Elnet advanced step by step with a tremendous glare, Cedric, terrified, trembled and said in a reedy voice.
“Teacher Arnet, I’m sorry!”
“Eh? Guh!”
Elnet, who had let her guard down thinking only Cedric remained, suddenly felt a powerful impact on her back.
“Kyaa! Ms. Elnet!”
Tia, who had been watching the scene from behind, screamed. A knife was plunged into Elnet’s back. And the one holding the knife was Lilia.
