Chapter 113: Problem Class

Louis Ferdinand stood before the imposing entrance of the school, his aged eyes fixed on the sleek sign mounted above the main gate.

Stellar Academy.

He stared at the words for several long seconds before releasing a heavy, weary sigh.

What, in the name of the cosmos, was he actually doing here?

He was the supreme Overseer of the Astral Dominion, a Tier V Ascendant Lord who governed countless populated worlds and possessed enough absolute authority to make entire galactic civilizations tremble.

He had participated in legendary cosmic wars, witnessed the rise and fall of godlike Lords, and spent centuries orchestrating matters that determined the fate of endless star systems.

Yet here he was, standing outside an elementary school because a terrifying domestic woman had sternly instructed him to pick up her granddaughter.

What an absurd, humiliating turn of events.

Louis shook his head, smoothing his simple robes, and walked through the open gate.

He would fulfill his brief obligation, collect the necessary educational records, and swiftly return to his high-level duties. Surely, looking after one young child couldn’t be that difficult.

With that reassuring thought, he entered the primary building.

It took him several minutes of wandering through carpeted hallways to locate the specific classroom he had been directed to.

After double-checking the room number provided on Seraphina’s paper, he stopped before the closed entrance.

Mrs. Smith’s Second Grade Class.

Louis gave a single nod to himself. This was the place.

He reached for the metallic handle and pushed the door open.

The moment the seal broke, a deafening wave of unfiltered chaotic noise slammed directly into him.

”Jimmy! Put your pants back on this instant!”

”HAHAHAHA! LOOK AT JIMMY!”

”Samantha, stop staring at Jimmy!”

”But, Mrs. Smith, he’s running around completely naked!”

”JIMMY, GET BACK HERE!”

”AHHH! AUSTIN, I SWEAR IF YOU TAKE OFF YOUR PANTS TOO, I WILL—”

The teacher’s increasingly desperate, squeaking cries echoed off the walls.

Two young boys were sprinting maniacally between the desks, one of them having apparently decided that wearing trousers was an unacceptable restriction on his personal freedom.

A dozen other children had gathered around to watch the spectacle, shouting, laughing, and actively encouraging the madness.

Storybooks lay scattered across the linoleum floor, a desk chair had been overturned, and someone had apparently decided that hiding under the teacher’s podium was an ideal fortress.

Mrs. Smith was currently chasing Jimmy around a cluster of chairs, her face flushed red with absolute exhaustion.

Louis remained frozen at the doorway.

He blinked once.

Then he blinked again.

He glanced back at the sign beside the door. No, this was undoubtedly the correct room.

’Have I inadvertently wandered into a juvenile asylum.’

He watched in stunned disbelief as Mrs. Smith finally snagged Jimmy by the arm, only for Austin to seize the momentary distraction to drag down his own trousers with a triumphant yell.

”AUSTIN!”

The teacher’s anguished, soul-crushing scream nearly shattered the Overseer’s eardrums.

The Tier V Lord slowly closed his eyes, pressing two fingers against his brow.

‘I am far too old for this…’

He had faced terrifying cosmic horrors and planet-ending crises throughout his long life, yet something about this chaotic scene made him question every single life choice that had led him to this doorway.

Was this what Seraphina had meant when she requested he tutor her granddaughter?

No. Surely not.

Even if the child possessed some extraordinary latent talent, he couldn’t imagine how that justified subjecting an Ascendant Lord to this specific brand of hell.

Then again, he had yet to identify his target. Perhaps the girl was simply hiding somewhere among these little monsters.

Louis opened his eyes and exhaled softly. Enough was enough.

He raised his right hand and casually snapped his fingers.

Snap!

The sharp sound was barely audible over the screaming.

Yet the surrounding reality reacted instantly.

The air within the room trembled imperceptibly as the subtle, suppressed aura of an Ascendant Lord swept through the classroom.

It wasn’t an attack, nor was it intended to harm a single soul; it was simply an absolute, undeniable declaration of presence, one that made every child’s primal instincts recognize that an entity far beyond their comprehension had entered their space.

The classroom fell dead silent.

Jimmy froze mid-stride.

Austin hurriedly yanked his trousers back up to his waist.

Samantha’s mouth remained wide open, but no sound emerged.

Even Mrs. Smith froze on the spot, one hand still firmly gripping Jimmy’s sleeve.

Every single pair of young eyes turned toward the dignified, elderly gentleman standing at the entrance.

Louis surveyed the chaotic room with a cold, composed expression. “Everyone sit down.”

There was no shouting, no overt threat, and no need to repeat the command.

The children scrambled frantically toward their assigned desks. Jimmy hurriedly buttoned his trousers, while Austin followed suit, looking as though he had suddenly remembered that public indecency was generally frowned upon.

Within seconds, the classroom transformed from a chaotic warzone into a pristine, orderly collection of seated students.

Louis watched the transformation with quiet, refined satisfaction.

’Much better.’

He nearly sighed in relief. Perhaps this task wouldn’t be as agonizing as he had initially feared.

With measured, dignified steps, he walked toward the front of the classroom, his sharp gaze sweeping across the rows of silent children as he searched for Seraphina’s granddaughter.

It didn’t take him long to find her.

Seated near the far window, a young girl sat quietly at her desk, entirely absorbed in a thick book.

Unlike her wild classmates, she hadn’t been running around, screaming, or participating in the anarchy.

She hadn’t even bothered to look up when he snapped his fingers or when the room fell silent.

She simply continued turning pages, treating the preceding commotion as if it were nothing more than meaningless background noise.

Louis paused in his tracks.

‘Interesting…’

He had fully expected to find Seraphina’s granddaughter among the most troublesome troublemakers in the room.

Given her grandmother’s terrifying domestic authority, he had even prepared himself for the possibility that the girl might be the ringleader of the chaos.

Instead, she appeared completely immersed in her reading.

There was something distinctly unusual about that level of mental focus. Having governed countless worlds and observed young fledglings across hundreds of civilizations, Louis knew that a quiet child wasn’t necessarily an obedient one, just as a noisy child wasn’t always inherently malicious.

Still, maintaining such absolute focus in a room that had been devolving into anarchy seconds prior was no small feat.

Louis committed the observation to memory before turning toward the teacher’s podium. “Mrs. Smith?”

The young woman, who had only just recovered her breath, straightened her posture nervously. “Y-Yes?”

”I was sent here by Mrs. Seraphina.”

Mrs. Smith’s eyes widened slightly. She had received a quick call earlier informing her that someone would arrive to pick up one of her students, but she had assumed the visitor would be a parent, a relative, or perhaps a school administrator.

She had certainly not expected an elderly gentleman whose sheer presence could instantly tame a room full of hyperactive second-graders.

Still, the mention of Seraphina’s name immediately validated his purpose. “I see,” she nodded quickly. “Yes, I received her authorization message.”

Louis offered a polite nod. “Good. Then we can proceed without wasting any further time.”

His gaze swept over the silent class once more before locking back onto the teacher. “I want to know everything about the ward I have been tasked with overseeing.”

Mrs. Smith blinked.

Then, she slowly turned her head toward the quiet desk beside the window.

Ruby was still calmly reading her book, having not moved an inch.