Epilogue

"Next.. hm?"

Teacher Glib muttered for the next family in line to proceed. It was a male and a female student. The female felt a little blurry in her eyes.

Glib flipped through the list, her eyes landed on Noel's name. Reading through the description, she realized that the girl was a person with special circumstances.

Also, there was a note that mentioned Noel as a student that she had to pay special attention to.

"Manifestation into reality.."

Noel's TALENT, she remembered that short report about it.

"Noel right?"

Glib asked.

"Yes, that's me," Noel replied.

Glib narrowed her here at him— an incorporeal sphere that only she could see, had little scratches here and there, but for the most part, it was properly intact— he had light mental wounds.

He had a good life.

"And Liliath," Glib turned to look at Liliath whose muddled figure had cleared up.

Her gorgeous velvet hair tied to the back, her alluring facial features, rosy cheeks and bewitching crimson eyes.

But..

Her sphere had nothing but cracks— torn into shreds. Bits and pieces held together by icky black substance, some fragments spinning around the mass.

This was the first time Glib had seen anyone with this degree of mental damage...

This student was—

Bro.. ken.

How could she be here?

That was the question that came to mind.

Faking a calm expression, Glib continued.

"What an interesting TALENT. Good to meet you all, my name is Glib, and I will be the homeroom teacher for Noel's class this year. Alright, you two head into the auditorium first, I'll discuss the rest of the details with your parents."

Glib needed to talk to their parents about this, were they aware?

"The speech is about to start and it's my responsibility to make sure you two enter ASAP. So go."

Liliath, who had clear eyes, a face and reaction that didn't look like someone with mental issues, bowed at Glib before following Noel into the auditorium.

"Can I ask a few things about your son and his summon, Liliath?"

Glib asked about how it started, about his TALENT. Even they didn't understand much about Noel's deep and complex TALENT.

The main concern however, was Liliath. The black ink that held her sphere together, Glib had seen it in some individuals before albeit rare. Mental patients in asylums were among them. But normally, Glib would only see a few small blotches of the ink, a dot here and there. That was it.

Liliath was different, her sphere was almost entirely covered by the ink.

"Liliath? She has been a good girl so far, there really isn't any behaviour problems besides her lack of common sense at times," Noel's mother said.

"Big sister Liliath had a bad past," was what Noel's little sister said.

"Potential wife for Noel," was his father's comment. Glib was taken aback a little.

"Please look out for her, she might be unstable."

At Glib's words, the three nodded seriously— as if they already knew about it. It seemed that they also understood a little about the severity of the matter.

Whatever it was, Glib prayed that Noel would be alright…

It was still unnerving to learn that a person like Liliath, with her degree of damage— could still operate like a normal person.

At the same time, it's naive to assume past scars determined one's future conduct.

*

"No volunteers? Alright, Noel, pick a person."

The baton was passed around, the four individuals exited class and voting started.

Glib paid attention to Liliath, her presence was waning as always, Glib thought she had to have some sort of TALENT that allowed her to remove herself.

Liliath didn't vote in the end, only gazing out the door where Noel went. Kai was the person with the most votes.

"Kai, pick someone as your helper."

"Okay, well, then Liliath."

"Denied," Liliath's crisp rejection echoed in the classroom.

"Is there anything wrong with my selection?" Kai pressed on with a smile.

The class gasped.

"Anyone else beside Liliath Kai?" Glib asked.

"There's nothing wrong with choosing someone with strong mental capabilities right? Liliath's the best in class."

"Anyone else beside Liliath Kai?" Glib asked.

Though Liliath's scars meant she had amassed an incredibly high level of mental fortitude, it didn't mean selecting her was a good idea. Glib knew that Kai would most probably judge Liliath as someone capable due to his TALENT, and he wasn't wrong.

"Liliath? Are you going to reconsider?" Glib frowned.

"My denial is absolute, I don't intend to accept," Liliath's glare made Glib feel an uncanny sense of discomfort, she felt as if she had been strangled at the neck— couldn't breathe..

"Calm down class, calm down. Kai, choose someone else," Glib tried her best to control the situation away.

"Owh. Noel then," Kai answered nonchalantly.

"Seriously?" Noel turned to look at Kai, Liliath closed her eyes as if she had given up.

It was a sign to say she was willing to at least tolerate this much.

"Noel, any objections?"

*

Knock. Knock.

"Come in."

Glib entered Principal Navy's office. His bald head caught light and rendered her blind for a split second.

The Student Council President, Elyja, was sipping on her tea.

Other teacher's had come to report on their observation, Class E, Glib's class was the last.

"Here are the reports."

"Thank you miss Glib," Navy replied.

"The person called Noel is a student of your class next year right, teacher Glib?" Elyja asked.

"Yes."

"MUuuu.. he didn't listen to my speech properly," Elyja complained, "I guess he has a high tolerance against Rishell's TALENT."

"Most people do," Glib replied. Which was not really the case...

"What is your first impression of the four noteworthy students?" Navy asked.

Noteworthy— as in, students that have the potential to become a danger to society.

"Eunice was quiet, she didn't speak much, nor did she use her abilities. Her mental scars are moderate, normal."

Eunice— her TALENT given the name: Furtive Charm.

"How about Kai?"

Kai— his TALENT given the name: Cognitive Misdirection.

Elyja passed a cup of tea to Glib.

"Kai was a little troublesome, but he's open minded."

"And Noel?"

Noel— his TALENT given the name: Manifestation Into Reality.

"Normal, unattentive, and disinterested in contributing, he lived a good life. But his familiar is what I'm concerned about."

Though, Noel's lack of understanding over his own TALENT is a risk factor.. Liliath looked to be a larger threat.

"Liliath," Navy mulled over.

"This girl right? How come I didn't see her during the assembly?" Elyja blinked, a little confused.

"She has some sort of TALENT to remove her presence. However, the most concerning issue is her mental health. The mental damage she suffered is the worst I've ever seen—I don't understand how she can still act a normal person. There's something about her that's just not right."

"How bad?" Navy asked in a serious tone.

"Worse than even the mental patients in the wards I've come across in the past," Glib answered with a grim expression. Elyja gasped.

"If that's the case then I'll notify the watchers and other teachers to keep tabs on her," Navy said, both hands weaved together, supporting his chin. "I'll leave the counselling to you if needed."

Glib nodded. She was, after all, one of the few counselling teachers in school.

"I'll ask the student council member to keep a lookout too," Saying that, Elyja circled Liliath's name on the noteworthy student's list. "Noel, he's the person who summoned her right? Then isn't he in danger?"

"There's a risk he may be hurt by her if not careful, so I wouldn't say that the risk is not there."

"Hope he'll at least last till next year," Elyja made a silent prayer. Glib rolled her eyes.

"Alright, anything else to report?" Navy interrupted.

"Yes, one more thing, Noel asked me to punch Keaton." Glib leaned against the sofa, pushing up her glasses.

"Keaton?" Navy showed a puzzled look. What did this guy do again this time around?