Chapter 28.1

 After leaving Jason, Asami covered her red face with shame while joining the other students. She was beyond embarrassed at being caught but refused to show any weakness in front of anyone, including Jason.

"Hey, where were - you ok?" Alina asked while Michelle who was checking her gun looked at the two.

"Yep. I'm fine. Great! Why wouldn't I be ok?" Asami asked in one breath, unaware of how nervous she sounded.

"Nothing," Alina answered to Asami's relief, which doubled when she saw Emily joining them.

"Hey, Emi! Whoa, what happened to you?" Asami turned to Emily, successfully drawing Alina's attention to the newcomer.

"I think I caught a cold," Emily replied in a nasal voice. Her red nose, flushed cheeks, and uncomfortable gaze informed them of how ill she was. "I also have cramps, I think."

"Do you wanna go to the infirmary?" Alina asked when she saw Emily rubbing her forehead with a hand, trying her hardest to massage the hammering headache away.

"No, I want to stay," Emily answered rather firmly and the others nodded, respecting her persistence. Emily was insistent because she was hoping to gather more information about how to progress her Esper powers from Jason's lesson. If he didn't mention anything about improving levels, she planned to ask him privately after class.

"Alright," Alina answered and all four returned their attention to Jason who was now at the front of the class.

Once Jason returned he noticed that everyone had gathered. Almost three hundred students gathered in the large gym, a scene that would make most teachers sigh with exhaustion and trepidation but Jason simply smiled. He was thinking of how much fun it would be thrashing them all in the name of teaching them combat.

"All right, let's start … with …" he noticed all the students looking in a certain direction and he followed their gazes to see Alice, sitting all prim and properly on a chair.

She turned her innocent eyes to Jason and he realized that the students were wondering if he'd beat them up in front of her. As he thought of this, Alice looked at him with a gleam of smugness that passed through her eyes and faded almost immediately; he knew that she was thinking about how accurate she was about his violent teaching methods.

"On second thought … I'm tired. Let's take it easy today," Jason said while yawning in a fake manner. The students sighed with relief when they heard him and Jason looked at them with a mischievous glance. "What was that? Hey, if you guys hate it that much then we could always …"

"No, sir, no! We wouldn't dream of it!" one student shouted loudly.

"He's right, professor! We're fine with taking it easy today!" another chimed in.

"Yeah, we're happy! Excited!" a third student said while grinning ridiculously to show his happiness.

"Ecstatic!" another added to the third voice.

"Besides, if you're tired, you should rest, sir!" a student said with concern.

"Damnit, you saying I'm old?!" Jason yelled at the last student who flinched when the other students, especially the females, turned to glare at him. He shrunk back and shook his head frantically while looking around for help, only to realize that his pals had moved away from him and pretended not to know him.

"Ah, whatever," Jason muttered to himself before raising his SEC gun and shooting at the gym floor. A magic circle covered the entire floor, surprising the students who had never seen such a large magic spell. The spell formed soil which solidified and hardened into stone chairs.

"Well, what're waiting for? Sit, sit," Jason said while gesturing at the students and he himself sat on a stool. Taking out a handkerchief, he coughed violently in it for a minute. He quickly folded the handkerchief so no one would see the bloody coughs inside it before turning and smiling sheepishly at the crowd. "And, now you know why I'm taking it easy today."

As he spoke Asami turned to look at Emily who was sitting next to her, grateful at being able to sit and take it easy. "Looks like it's the flu."

He can catch the flu? Emily thought while nodding at Asami but didn't reply out loud while Jason continued talking.

"Now, we can't just chill here doing nothing," Jason said. "Silvie will kill me if I did that. Instead, let's talk about … ah! History. Let's have a history catch-up"

"Awww…" A series of groans sounded out.

"Hmm?" Jason raised an eyebrow. "What was that?"

"Yah!!" Several students screamed when they saw his dissatisfaction.

"All right, all right," Jason said. "Let's start with the simple stuff … hmm … ah! World War Three. Five years after the start of the war, the AKEERA made its debut. Now, what does AKEERA stand for? Michelle."

Hearing her name, Michelle stood up with a straight posture, her arms at her side like a soldier.

"Oui! AKEERA stands for Avancée, I mean, Advanced Kinetically Enhanced Élimination & Reconnaissance Armor," Michelle answered in a clear voice.

"Very good," Jason answered. "So basically, Gundam bots."

A few laughs and sniggers echoed as Jason continued. "These were large mechs that were used to fight in World War Three. The first series had a cockpit, like a fighter jet, but later versions were streamlined to a standing control system. There were several reasons for that, just pick up your textbooks if you wanna know.

"Instead, let's focus on the creators of the AKEERA and, yes, this will come up in the exams. Now, can anyone give me the names for the brilliant minds behind the creation of the AKEERAs?"

Olivia raised her hand while standing up, catching Jason's attention who nodded at her.

"The original prototype was created by Dr. Aiko Hirano and Dr. Mariia Kuznetsov," she answered confidently while looking at Michelle competitively. "It was a prototype meant for aiding space exploration. Lunar mining for helium, to be specific."

"Right on both accounts," Jason said. "The name Mariia Kuznetsov should be known by all of you though. After all, you all know a descendant of hers."

Jason looked around incredulously when he noticed the blank stares directed at him while ignoring the pleading stare from Olivia that was asking him silently to not continue.

"C'mon, you guys really don't know? Your student prez! She's half-Colombian and half-Russian! Damn, saying it out loud … that's a really hot combo there," Jason muttered the last line but students were able to hear him clearly since he was using an audio enhancing spell to increase the volume of his voice.

Most girls were unimpressed and Alina, Emily, and Michelle sent Jason a piercing glare that made him clear his throat and look away guiltily.