Under certain circumstances, it's possible for a world to acquire a consciousness of its own.
Different from human consciousness, a world's consciousness is formed by the subconscious thoughts of all the living beings of the planet.
Normally, the world did not care if one or two livings beings die, but when something or someone that threatens that safety of all the lives on the planet appears, the world executes self-protection mechanism.
This self-protection mechanism comes in the shape of Heroes.
People with incredible talent, born with heaven-defying luck and a growth speed incomparable to normal humans. They subconsciously follow the guidance of the world to eliminate the source of danger that threatens it.
Most of the time, the source of the danger is a catastrophe or an incredibly powerful individual. Sometimes it's the invasion of a foreign species, other times it's an interdimensional traveler that visits the world.
The world did not care if the source of the danger has good or bad intentions. After all, it did not have a concept of good or evil. Whenever it feels it's in danger, a hero will appear.
In fact, I've been chased by heroes on more than one occasion.
Believe me, heroes are very difficult to kill. Trying to kill someone that is protected by the world is like facing the entire world with the strength of a human.
Moreover, once the hero grows strong enough, it will be guided by the world to face the source of the danger. Even if the source of danger, aka demon king, did not wish to fight the hero, a series of coincidences will occur that will put the hero against the demon king.
Yeah, I also experienced it. Once, my son stole the fiancée of the hero and the hero swore revenge against my family. In the end, we fought and ended destroying half of the world.
Of course, I won.
So, why am I talking about this?
Well, if this girl is a hero, I'm probably the demon king.
I mean, I doubt that something more dangerous than an eternal soul filled with endless knowledge and power had appeared in this world. Of course, there is the possibility that I'm not the demon king, but it's pretty low.
Fortunately, I discovered her early.
I have plenty of experience dealing with heroes. Now that I know of her existence, she will not be of any danger.
… By the way, yes, there are some things even more dangerous than me. You see many things when you live for so long.
I observed the girl for a while and decided to leave a part of my consciousness on her. Different than the little trick I used last night, this time I left a permanent brand on her soul. This technique would hurt my soul a little bit, but it's necessary when facing a hero.
But at that moment, the hero looked towards me.
For an instant, our gazes met. The hero wrinkled her brows and put a suspicious expression. I smiled at her and moved my gaze away immediately.
How perceptive.
Once the hero, Rose, finished speaking, the speeches came to an end.
Daisy and I departed to our classroom. It was pretty close to the main hall, so we arrived in less than two minutes.
Soon, the classroom was filled with students. Most of the students were nobles, but there were a few commoners. Rose was one of the students in this class, but Andrea was assigned to another class.
The students began to chat between them. One of the main reasons why nobles come to this institute is to socialize with other nobles, so most of the talking in the classroom was done by nobles. Of course, some nobles tried to speak to the commoner, though mainly to Rose.
As for me, everybody acted as if I did not exist.
I felt a few fearful gazes directed toward me, but I ignored them. It looks like last night's events have been spread to the entire school.
At that moment, a woman entered the classroom.
The woman walked towards the podium and looked at the students with a frigid gaze. Her gaze was chilling, so chilling that some of the students shivered involuntarily. She narrowed her eyes with a sharp look and opened her mouth.
"Nice to meet you, my name is Tear Lagrisa, and I'll be your teacher during the next year."
Instantly, a commotion erupted in the classroom. Tear Lagrisa is a well-known magic genius. She proposed the theory of multiple magic casting, paving the way towards many of the most recent magic discoveries. Before her, most people could only cast two magic spells at the same time, some genius could cast four or five.
But now, casting ten magic spells simultaneously was something normal.
Louise was able to multiply the basic spell, [Force Arrow], and cast it tens of times at the same time, making it many times more deadly. However, such a technique is a result of Tear's achievements in magic.
In other words, Tear Lagrisa was a great celebrity in the circle of magic. But now, someone like her will be the teacher of our classes.
Many students felt amazed before the high standards of the Imperial Institute of Magic and Martial Arts.
Tear Lagrisa was a very beautiful woman. At around 30 years of age, she had a well-shaped body, with a big bust and a curvy waist. Her black hair fell until her waist, and her beautiful green eyes flashed with an ice-cold light.
Tear's expression was completely ice-cold. From the moment when she entered the classroom, she never smiled. Instead, she looked at the students as though they were her most hated enemies.
When she saw the commotion caused by her introduction, Tear's eyes flashed with a tinge of displeasure. A second later, she raised her hand and slammed it in the podium.
*Bam!*
Instantly, the class fell silent.
"Little kids, allow me to teach you some rules that you will have to follow if you want to be in my class. First, I hate the noise. If you are unable to keep your mouths shut when I'm in the middle of the class, then it's better if you stop coming to this class.
"Second, I like to see results. If any of you is unable to understand my teachings and lags behind, then it's better if you stop coming to the class… Of course, you can try to catch up with your classmates' progress, but until then, don't show me your face.
"Third, I don't care about nobles or commoners. For me, nobles are nothing more than normal people with a better title. A truly qualified mage doesn't care about nobles or commoners.
"If I learn that any of you bullied another student because you think you are superior to him, I'll teach you that I'm also superior to you."
Tear's gaze cut through the classroom. All the students shut their mouths facing her overwhelming presence. It was as if a top predator was facing a group of sheep.
She then looked at me and her eyes narrowed into slits.
"Do you understand, prince?"
I was slightly surprised. I don't remember having a feud with this woman.
But then, I remembered about last night's incident.
It looks like word of it reached even to the teachers, and due to it, Tear has a bad impression of me.
I smiled wryly inwardly, but on the outside, I put on a serious expression.
"I understand."