(MC POV)
"I know this might be sudden, but we have another transfer student today…" Our homeroom teacher announced when everyone had settled down.
One of the boys in front immediately raised his hand, "Is the transfer student a girl?"
Our homeroom teacher sighed, "Yes, she's a girl."
The boys in our class immediately erupted into cheers and high-fives, a stark contrast to the groans that I had heard when I had transferred here.
"You can come in now," The teacher called out, prompting the door to slide open again.
Tsuki and I already knew who it was so we were the only ones who didn't show much reaction when Lian Li walked through the door with practiced grace.
Similar to what happened with the Takeda boy and his bodyguards, everyone in the room was stunned by her beauty, a few of them even had their jaws opened comically.
Lian Li stopped beside the teacher and bowed her head, "Good morning everyone, my name is Lian Li. My mother is a foreigner but I was born and raised here. Due to family circumstances, I had to transfer here as a student. I look forward to learning with you all."
The teacher nodded at her introduction before pointing to the seat that had mysteriously appeared behind me, "You can take a seat there behind our dear Onii-san of the class. You two are related as well aren't you?"
Even the teacher too? Is there anyone around here that doesn't refer to me as the 'brother'?
My disciple nodded her head, "We're distantly related cousins."
Some of the boys groaned, though I don't know why.
Our teacher smiled at her, "That's good then. Then go ahead and take your seat."
Lian Li made the slow walk towards me, not minding the fact that everyone else in the class was still staring at her.
I thought she would just sit down straight away but she stopped beside me and said in a voice loud enough for the rest of the class to hear.
"Nii-sama. Please take care of me in school as well."
I reached up and patted her head, "Of course."
That small interaction seemed to cause most of the boys to fall into despair, some of them faceplanting onto the table and crying.
Hmm… This is just a normal interaction between cousins right? Why are they so upset?
Oh well, none of my business.
My disciple took the seat behind me and class began as normal, if you count the occasional classmates glancing behind to peek at Lian Li as normal of course.
Heck, I even saw Aoki turning back to glance at my disciple a few times, as though she couldn't understand how Lian Li got there.
Soon enough, the bell signaling the end of the lesson had rung and the class started the age-old tradition of surrounding the new student to bombard them with questions.
Since her table was right behind mine, the area around me started to get crowded so I escaped to Tsuki's table where her friends were also gathered around.
Unlike me, who most of the class already knew from Tsuki and also from seeing me wait at the school gate everyday, Lian Li was someone completely new to them which sparked their curiosity even more.
"Well… Now I know what the fuss this morning was about…" Nishimura sighed, the baseball ace eyeing the crowd at the back of the class.
Tsuki grinned, "Our cousin's really pretty isn't she? Even I was quite surprised when I first saw her."
Yeah, surprised to find her inside a crystal prison that is.
Fujiwara whistled, "No kidding... I'd kill to have my hair like hers. Maybe if I ask, she'll tell me what conditioner she uses?"
Maeda turned to look at me, "You never mentioned about a cousin, Onii-san?"
"Well… Between you and me, I didn't know about her until recently either. I did some checks but she really is my cousin," I lied.
Normally people would question more about this, but I made sure everyone was more accepting of this fact with a few reality bending techniques I did.
At first I considered only limiting it to the school but I thought why the hell not and just did it on the entire world instead, just in case we ever go overseas.
Maeda nudged me, "So… You have two beautiful girls living under the same roof with you, must be nice, eh?"
I shrugged, "I can't deny the perks of it, both of them are really cute after all. Just by seeing them every morning heals my heart."
The girls giggled at my answer while Tsuki desperately tried to find a way to change the topic.
Tsuki glanced at the crowd around Lian Li, "Umm… Aniue. I think you should go rescue Lian Li Onee-sama soon…"
They've already questioned her for a good fifteen minutes.
Right, I think I made Lian Li suffer enough so I made my way towards the group.
"So… What kind of guys do you like, Lian Li-san?" I heard one of the girls ask.
"Eh? Umm… I like… Umm… I don't know…"
"Oh? I know that look. That means Lian Li-san has someone in mind already, don't you?"
I couldn't see what Lian Li did but the next moment the girls were going 'Kyaa, kyaa' while the boys lowered their heads in disappointment so I assumed she affirmed the other girl's words.
Well, I've been with her long enough to know who that 'someone' was. Guess even without her memories, love is still instinctive I guess, as sappy as that might sound.
I chose that moment to step in.
"Alright, alright. I think you guys have interrogated my cousin enough."
"Nii-sama…" Lian Li called out to me in relief.
Our classmates made a few polite noises to her and returned to their seats, leaving Lian Li and I alone.
I smiled wryly, "Sorry, but you know how it is."
My disciple shook her head, "No, I understand. Everyone likes new things after all, especially new gossip. Was Mas… Ummm… Was Nii-sama subjected to this too?"
"Nah, Tsuki took me away before they could and besides, they already know me since I come to pick up Tsuki everyday."
"Must be nice…"
I was about to ask her what she meant when I felt the stir of power in the air and the air became filled with the presence of Quarks.
Looking away, I realised that everyone in the room had stopped moving except for Lian Li, Tsuki and myself. The colours of everything that was frozen had also become more saturated, as though we were looking at the world through some kind of filter.
Tsuki stood up from her seat, looking to me for help.
"What's going on Aniue?"
I didn't have the chance to answer her when I felt Lian Li tugging on my arm desperately.
"Master… What's that thing outside…"
Shifting my sights again, I instantly spotted the thing Lian Li was pointing at.
A giant black ball that was similar to the eyeball monster that I fought inside the dungeon was floating outside the school.
How the hell did this thing come here?!