Morning arrived quietly.

  Sunlight slipped across the courtyard.

  Students gathered for morning practice.

  Nothing looked unusual.

  At least on the surface.

  Near the vending machines, Miro leaned against the wall with a canned coffee in his hand.

  Cheap glasses.

  Messy hair.

  Wrinkled teacher clothes.

  The perfect disguise for someone who did not want attention.

  He took a slow sip.

  His eyes drifted toward the training field.

  Toward Nozu.

  The students were practicing basic mana exercises.

  Weak sparks.

  Small shields.

  Simple control drills.

  Most of it barely worked.

  Nozu stood among them.

  To everyone else he looked normal.

  But Miro’s eyes were not watching the drills.

  They were watching the air.

  After years of studying mana control, he had learned to notice things most people could not.

  Tiny movements.

  Subtle distortions.

  Mana floating through the courtyard like dust in sunlight.

  And around Nozu...

  Something had changed.

  Not dramatically.

  Not yet.

  But the air near him was denser.

  Mana drifting too close slowed down.

  Some of it vanished entirely.

  Quietly absorbed.

  Miro narrowed his eyes slightly.

  Still subtle.

  Good.

  Too subtle for most people.

  But Miro knew something else.

  If he could see it...

  Someone else eventually would.

  Right on cue, the sound of engines rolled through the front gate.

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  Three black sedans entered the courtyard.

  Students turned.

  The cars stopped.

  The doors opened.

  Three people stepped out.

  White suits.

  Perfectly pressed.

  Cold expressions.

  Not heroes.

  Heroes liked attention.

  These people looked like office workers sent to audit a company.

  Which, in a way, they were.

  Each of them wore thin metallic glasses with glowing lenses.

  Mana-Glasses.

  Students began whispering.

  "Who are they?"

  "Association people?"

  Miro sighed quietly.

  Accountants from the hero association.

  The most dangerous kind.

  The leader stepped forward.

  A woman with straight black hair and sharp eyes that looked like they were constantly calculating numbers.

  Sato Rika adjusted the glasses on her face.

  The lenses flickered as they scanned the mana in the air.

  One of the assistants checked a tablet.

  "Regional variance stable."

  Sato nodded once.

  "Begin inspection."

  They walked into the building calmly.

  Like they owned the place.

  Miro watched them go.

  "Right on time," he muttered.

  Across the field, Nozu walked over.

  "Professor."

  Miro glanced at him.

  "Yeah."

  "Those people look creepy."

  "They are."

  "Heroes?"

  "Worse."

  Nozu frowned.

  "What?"

  "Accountants."

  Nozu blinked.

  "That somehow sounds more dangerous."

  "It is."

  The bell rang.

  Students began heading to class.

  Miro pushed himself off the wall.

  "Come on."

  The classroom buzzed with quiet chatter.

  Miro stood at the front holding a stack of books.

  Teacher mode.

  Calm.

  Boring.

  Invisible.

  He began writing on the board.

  "Mana stability and early spell structure."

  Half the class groaned.

  Then the door opened.

  Silence.

  Three white suits stepped inside.

  Two assistants stayed near the door.

  Sato walked slowly through the classroom.

  Her glasses hummed softly as they scanned the room.

  Miro turned around.

  "Oh."

  He blinked casually.

  "You must be the inspection team."

  Sato looked at him like she had stepped in mud.

  Her eyes moved across his glasses.

  His messy hair.

  His clothes.

  Disgust appeared immediately.

  "You are Professor Miro?"

  "Unfortunately."

  Her gaze moved around the classroom again.

  The lenses of her glasses flickered.

  Scanning.

  Measuring.

  Calculating.

  Then she stopped.

  Right beside Nozu’s desk.

  Her glasses began to buzz softly.

  A faint distortion appeared in the light.

  The scanning beam was behaving strangely.

  Because Nozu’s aura was quietly absorbing it.

  Sato tilted her head slightly.

  "Interesting."

  Her assistant checked the tablet.

  "Sensor fluctuation detected."

  Miro moved instantly.

  Clumsy teacher mode.

  The books slipped from his hands.

  They slammed onto the floor.

  Paper scattered everywhere.

  At the same time his coffee tipped over.

  Liquid spilled across the desk.

  Students jumped.

  Miro groaned.

  "Ah... great."

  The sudden disturbance shifted the mana flow in the room.

  Just enough.

  The strange reading vanished.

  The buzzing stopped.

  Sato slowly turned toward him.

  Her expression was pure irritation.

  "You are incompetent."

  Miro scratched the back of his head.

  "That has been mentioned before."

  She stepped closer.

  Her eyes studied him carefully.

  "How did someone like you become a teacher."

  Miro shrugged.

  "Budget cuts."

  A few students almost laughed.

  Sato’s voice turned colder.

  "You look like a failed clerk."

  Her eyes examined his clothes again.

  "Cheap glasses."

  "Unkempt appearance."

  "No discipline."

  She leaned slightly closer.

  "You should feel honored that someone of my position even entered this room."

  The class stayed silent.

  Nozu frowned slightly.

  Miro only smiled lazily.

  But behind the glasses his eyes studied her.

  Carefully.

  He could see it clearly.

  Her mana control.

  Extremely refined.

  Tight.

  Efficient.

  Every movement precise.

  Not natural talent.

  Training.

  Years of it.

  Her power was not explosive like a hero’s.

  But it was controlled almost to perfection.

  Miro’s mind quietly evaluated her.

  Interesting.

  Very interesting.

  For someone like Nozu...

  This could be useful.

  If the boy fought someone like her...

  Someone precise and disciplined...

  It would force his body to adapt again.

  Maybe not a fight.

  But a spar.

  Soon.

  The thought stayed in the back of Miro’s mind.

  Sato continued speaking.

  "Professor Miro, your classroom shows the highest energy inconsistency in this district."

  Her tone sounded like she was reading numbers.

  "Either your students are cheating."

  Her gaze swept across the room.

  "Or there is a parasite in this building."

  The word hung in the air.

  "We will remain here for one week," she continued.

  "To determine which it really is."

  At that moment one of her assistants rushed toward her.

  He whispered something urgently.

  Sato froze.

  Her eyes slowly turned back toward Miro.

  The arrogance disappeared.

  Recognition replaced it.

  Miro noticed immediately.

  He pushed his glasses slightly higher.

  Then smiled.

  A small calm smile.

  "Do you want to say all that again?"