Chapter 252: [Freedom Dove] - Nerio’s part (4)
Leonard curled up his body, feeling the eyes waiting for something entertaining to happen. Among them, one gaze, full of satisfaction and malice, came from the podium.
Lifting his eyes beneath his slightly long hair, Leonard saw the teacher standing on the podium looking at him. Her smile curved up to her ears, and from her mouth spilled countless tentacles that writhed incessantly.
Her mouth grew wider and wider, until it swallowed her entire head, making it seem as though her head was nothing but a gaping maw with tentacles wriggling like a mass of giant worms.
Yet no one else seemed to notice. A striking, alluring woman stood on the podium, her hand pressed to her chest as she spoke with a charming smile: "I am Liora, pleased to meet you."
She let out a seductive, bewitching smile, and the students below enthusiastically clapped, chattering nonstop about her beauty.
They appeared vividly real, not like a group of pre-programmed NPCs, but more like actual people—real students, alive and breathing in this place.
"All right, go back to your seat. Remember to study hard, follow school rules, and become an outstanding student."
Teacher A said. It was the fifth time she had said those exact words—every student who introduced themselves heard this same reminder.
She seemed to care deeply for her students, just as Dove High School had described.
At that moment, a lazy, mocking voice suddenly rang out: "Teacher, what kind of punishment does a student get for being late?"
Looking over, Leonard saw the red-haired young man who had introduced himself earlier as Lucian. He smirked as he spoke, raising an eyebrow at Leonard, clearly anticipating the sight of Leonard being punished for tardiness.
Leonard, however, only stared fixedly at the teacher. He hurriedly swallowed, afraid the drool would spill out at any moment.
No... he couldn’t. At the very least, he had to wait until the teacher got closer. But he was so hungry. Strange—everything felt harder to control now. Obviously, before this, he had been able to endure. He could endure. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. It shouldn’t be like this...
"Students who break school rules must be punished."
Teacher A’s face turned cold. Immediately, her body began to change—her neck stretched out bizarrely, twisting and slithering toward Leonard.
The students below widened their eyes in excitement, eagerly watching the scene before them, as though they were anticipating Leonard being disciplined.
The teacher’s neck truly stretched long. Her head began to transform, her mouth sharpening like a bird’s beak. Her skin tore away, extending upward to the crown of her head. Her head became pointed, her eyes stretched sideways until they turned into two hollow gray sockets.
Tentacles spilled out of her beak, her head slowly approaching Leonard.
"Gulp." Leonard couldn’t stop swallowing, holding back so hard that tears nearly covered his mouth.
[Eat her, eat her already!]
[Leonard, your fangs should be bared, not hidden.]
[He’s craving it, look at his Adam’s apple moving, hahaha.]
[I was looking forward to seeing Teacher A get eaten, but not in this way, for god’s sake.]
[The one above getting horny should watch another show.]
The atmosphere suddenly grew eerily tense.
Damian had already stood up, his hands clenched tightly as his eyes widened at the sight before him.
He hadn’t fully understood the rules yet, but he definitely would have rushed in to stop this under normal circumstances.
But the one standing there was Leonard. Leonard—a man who could fight toe-to-toe with Drake. No matter how Leonard behaved, he was still strong. He shouldn’t just be standing still like this.
Leonard, do something. You should be doing something.
Yet some raised their eyebrows excitedly at the scene, like the two-meter-tall man who had introduced himself earlier as Thomas. He seemed to be already imagining Leonard getting ripped apart, blood spraying everywhere.
"Bang!"
But just then, a thunderous noise erupted. The classroom door behind Leonard—which had already been closed—was suddenly kicked open. Leonard’s body was shoved forward, and neither he nor Teacher A had expected it. Leonard’s body crashed down onto Teacher A’s head, making her let out a painful, piercingly shrill scream.
Teacher A was furious. But what she was more concerned about now was why someone had opened the classroom door. The number of students had already been filled—information like that should never be wrong!
"Well, now, I guess I’m late. How exactly do you plan to punish a student for being tardy, teacher?"
A boy, not even one meter fifty tall, stood at the door, looking nothing like a high school student. His hair was white, streaked with a few strands of natural sky blue, curling slightly at the ends.
His pale blue eyes shimmered in the sunlight, glistening like tears. He smiled, his face so beautifully adorable that it was hard to tell his gender. His slightly pointed ears resembled the elves of legend.
He wasn’t even wearing the uniform—just a cropped black vest over a white frilled shirt, tied at the collar with a small blue ribbon. His shorts reached just above his knees, and on his feet were leather shoes with calf-high stockings strapped with garters.
The boy smiled innocently at Teacher A and Leonard, sprawled across the floor, but his words dripped with provocation.
Leonard’s eyes widened at the sight of the boy. His lips trembled, forming a soundless call: "Nerio..."
[aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa]
[Finally, the moment has come—Nerio!]
[But why didn’t the system announce Nerio’s appearance?]
[Screw the dungeon system, sometimes it really can’t be trusted.]
[Nerio, Nerio—Nerio in shorts with stockings, mlem mlem mlem.]
[Aaaa my inner Shota heart is awakening!]
[How long has it been since Nerio last used this form and appeared before me? No, I can’t hold back anymore, I can’t hold back!]
[Already came.]
[Goddamn filthy lot!]
[He’s too adorable, I still can’t give up on making him into my necklace... too cute!]
[Hahaha, look at those humans’ faces!]
[Your eyes really aren’t shy at all, Leonard. You’ve completely dropped the act!]
[Leonard, I can understand, but what’s with that look on Lucian’s face? His whole expression is blank, like he just laid eyes on his soulmate of a thousand lifetimes.]
[This is the usual state of things whenever Nerio appears. Nerio isn’t food, and not everyone is a match for him, so could we please stop throwing in random ships already?]
[The "E" in Nerio is for Enigma, you clueless chickens!]
[Nerio should use his divine form to terrify all these delusional chickens, haha!]
[Too bad Nerio’s an older man who likes to play at being young, cosplaying as a shota.]
[Nerio is not old, for god’s sake!!!]
Nerio’s appearance practically set the comments section ablaze, the barrage of text scrolling so fast it nearly blurred the screen.
But Silvanus knew there was nothing significant in the chatter.
He scanned the classroom, his gaze pausing briefly on Lucian before dismissively blowing on his fingernails and saying, "I am Nerio."
Then he looked down at Leonard, extending one hand outward with a smile: "Come on, get up."
Leonard’s eyes widened at Nerio. Facing him, he no longer needed his thick bangs to hide behind—he hated them for not parting to the sides immediately!
He didn’t look that bad, did he? Did he?
Leonard pressed his lips together, raising his trembling hand with such agitation that it was as if he had Parkinson’s.
Nerio caught his hand and pulled him up. Leonard rose, leaning on Nerio’s strength.
But just then, Nerio suddenly let go. Leonard, staring so dazedly at Nerio that he failed to react, instantly fell forward—crashing down on Teacher A again!
Teacher A let out a shrill scream. This time, she wasn’t caught off guard. The tentacles from her beak shot out immediately, wrapping around Leonard’s entire face!