781 Controlled Intervention

"Are the two of you perhaps… lovers?" The words of one of Rey's classmates echoed in the air, followed by a bunch of other excited statements and questions from the others. They had wide, sparkling eyes as they asked the shameless question, and Rey watched all of this with a slight sigh of relief—a far cry from his expression the previous time such a question was raised to him.

Right now, he was seated on his chair, surrounded by the students of Class 1-A, and they were practically bombarding him with questions.

Looking beside him, he could see that Lucielle was also going through her own interrogation by the absurdly perverted girls.

Everything was perfectly in place.

'Whew! That was a close one…' Rey thought to himself, his fingers brushing against his lips as he remembered what happened prior to this moment.

Or rather, what was supposed to happen.

'Using [Tempora] to reverse the time of everyone in this classroom was a smart choice. Of course, real time isn't affected, and nothing outside this classroom was subject to the Skill, but still…' Smiling to himself victoriously, he gave himself a nod of satisfaction.

'... I was able to prevent that catastrophe from happening.'

Well, technically, it already happened.

In fact, Rey could still taste Lucielle on his lips, and he couldn't even look at her the same way again—though he wanted to think that it was because of the recency of the incident.

However, none of his classmates—including Lucielle—would have any idea about what had just happened since he reversed their memories as well.

The disadvantage of [Tempora], which was physical touch, was easily resolved by his [Perfect Domain Of The Divine], which spatially made it possible for him to be in contact with everyone at the same time.

Hence, the ease in his Skill's use.

'I could have taken a lot less complicated route to prevent this, but… sigh… I guess being back in school sort of does this to me.' With all of that going on his mind, he had to find a way to address the mob that was circling him, while also hurling questions at him. If he let things continue like this, then it wouldn't be long before 'The Question' was asked.

Fortunately for Rey, he already knew what to do about this.

14:15

Indeed! He used the forbidden technique called 'Consorting to Authority!'

"O-oh! I thought I'd give you some time to blend well with the class for—a-ah, wow! Look at the time! I didn't know so much time had passed already!"

Rey smiled to himself as he watched the nervous act Mi'ja gave as she came to his rescue.

'Of course, the time would seem to have passed by so quickly. That's what happens when only your bodies are reversed in time.' Ultimately, it was his victory.

"Okay, everyone! Break it up! You can talk to them later, after their tour." Just like clockwork, Mi'ja saved Rey from his ordeal by intervening right before the cursed scenario began.

That meant Lucielle was never given the chance to humiliate him.

'This is only a temporary solution, though. I'll need to talk to her later about boundaries and the importance of information compartmentalization.' These were his thoughts as he rose to his feet and followed Mi'ja. Lucielle also followed suit, since the two of them would be going with the able Class Rep for whatever tour that she had planned.

"Hehe…" Rey heard a light chuckle from Lucielle, and so he looked at her to determine what was so funny.

What his eyes saw caused him to nearly stop dead in his tracks for a second.

'H-huh? Why is she looking at me like that?' He kept a calm facade as he watched her narrow her eyes and cover her lips as she chuckled.

Not only that, but she even licked her lips once she was satisfied with her giggles.

Rey would have freaked out if not for his Status Privileges, but it was also thanks to his understanding of Lucielle's behavior that he felt a bit anchored to the realm of common sense and calmness.

'There's no way she knows what happened. The Skill affected everyone in the classroom, after all…'

Nodding to himself, he trailed behind Mi'ja—enduring the strange stare that he received from Lucielle throughout the whole thing.

**************

[Moments Later]

"Once again, my name is Mi'ja… and welcome to the Draconic Imperial Academy."

As the three students walked in the hallway, the Class Rep turned to both Rey and Lucielle and flashed her wonderful smile at them.

"Cute and Adorable" were the best words to describe her.

She had a lively spirit about her that made it obvious she enjoyed her duty towards them, and even as all three of them began their tour, her steps had a bouncy feel to them.

"So, yeah, I'll be taking you around the Academy and explaining a bunch of stuff to you. If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to ask me, 'kay?"

Lucielle was the first to reply with an energetic "KAY!"

However, Rey quietly stroked his fingers on his chin for a second before raising his hand up for his first question.

"Yes, what is it, R'ai?"

"I was just wondering if the break would be long enough to accommodate the entire tour." He asked with a slightly cautious tone.

From his experience, Recess Periods or Break Times weren't very long—at least, not long enough for a detailed tour. He didn't want his tour rushed, but at the same time, he didn't want to get in trouble for being late for the next class.

Hence, his question.

"Ahh… don't worry about that. The first day of the week is usually the freest since that's when newbies enter the class, so we have a lot of time."

"Ohh! I see…"

"Mhm! Class 1-A usually spends this time slacking off, since we never have any new students right from the Entrance Exams, but today is an exception."

Indeed it was.

"It's funny, but other classes are the ones who will have free time for no reason today, since no new students are entering their class. Crazy, right?" Mi'ja stared at both Rey and Lucielle, her innocent expression expecting a response to her rhetorical question.

Of course, they made sure to respond appropriately.

"Yeah. Indeed it is."

"In any case, I'm happy we have new faces. I'm sure everyone feels the same, which is why they circled around you all like that. Well… that isn't the only reason, but…" A slight hint of pink appeared on her cheeks as her voice trailed and the last of her words were lost in silence.

"Yeah. The class is livelier than I expected." Rey responded with a slight smile.

"Well, what did you expect?" Mi'ja asked as she turned to him.

"I don't know. It's an elite class, right? I expected stuck-up people… sort of like that."

"Ahh…"

Mi'ja gave a smile that was slightly different from the usual innocent one. It was one that had a hint of danger to it.

"... Perhaps that would have been the case if you were different."

Rey felt a little apprehensive due to the change in mood, so he felt a little hesitant asking the question. Still… he did.

"Different how?" As soon as he asked this, her smile broadened and she parted her lips.

"If you weren't strong."

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