Paldea Elite Four, Three of Them

"Ah?" De Shu let out a quiet gasp and turned his gaze to Geeta. After receiving her smiling confirmation, he felt thoroughly embarrassed. He stammered for a long while before managing to say, "Excuse me," to Luo Mu. Then, with his head lowered, De Shu sat down and said nothing more.

After sitting down, De Shu could only feel that he had been far too careless today. He had actually made a fool of himself in front of the chairwoman.

But he did not dare direct his resentment at Luo Mu. If it was true that the other man was a Champion-Level Trainer, then picking another fight with him would be like looking for trouble in the worst possible place.

Not every Trainer was as easygoing as Chairwoman Geeta.

"Excuse me, Teacher Luo Mu. I had planned to explain your identity to all the returning teachers and Faculty and Staff at the upcoming Teacher's Conference. I never expected the director of studies to be so impatient."

Although Mu Fei's tone carried an apology, he was not overly cautious. After all, the strongest Champion-Level Trainer was the academy's chairwoman, and Naranja Academy was also the World's oldest academy.

As the principal of this academy, he naturally did not act like a quail around Luo Mu the way the director of studies did.

Luo Mu shook his head. "It's fine. I haven't taken such trivial matters to heart."

Mu Fei's impression of Luo Mu improved further. He was capable without being arrogant; Chairwoman Geeta truly had a good eye. "Then let's discuss your future compensation and primary teaching duties, Teacher."

The discussion did not last long. Mu Fei did most of the talking, Luo Mu listened, and Geeta occasionally added a few remarks.

The director of studies, De Shu, remained silent throughout. Unless Mu Fei or Geeta mentioned him, he would only speak a few words.

In the end, the compensation and specific teaching responsibilities were all finalized.

Traditionally, teachers at Naranja Academy had a three-month probationary period. This time, however, Mu Fei made the decision to shorten it to one month, during which Luo Mu's salary would be 50,000 League currency.

After becoming a full-time teacher a month later, his salary would increase to 80,000 League currency.

As a Battle Studies teacher hired by Naranja Academy, Luo Mu's specific responsibility was to cultivate students' interest in Pokémon battles and guide them accordingly.

Another point worth mentioning was that, aside from the necessary courses for learning foundational knowledge, most courses offered by Naranja Academy were chosen freely based on the students' interests.

So two classes per week truly meant only two classes per week, with no additional teaching duties.

Moreover, Naranja Academy had four vacation periods every year: Spring Break, Summer Break, Autumn Break, and Winter Break. Each break lasted at least a month, and teachers continued receiving their salaries throughout.

Calling such conditions the ultimate dream of a corporate drone would not be an exaggeration.

Filling out the contract, stamping it, and completing the whole process went as smoothly as flowing water.

With the matter settled, Geeta stood up in satisfaction and smiled. "Since everything has been finalized, I'll be leaving first. There are still many matters at both the academy and the League waiting for me to handle."

After speaking, Geeta waved her hand and silently mouthed "Good luck" to Luo Mu before making a graceful exit.

After Geeta left, Mu Fei sighed. "The chairwoman has to manage the League from top to bottom, and occasionally she also needs to make time to assess Gym Leaders' strength. You could count the number of times she returns to the academy in a year on one hand."

"Even when I usually report academy matters, I mostly communicate with her over the phone."

Luo Mu nodded slightly. "That is precisely why the Paldea League has developed so vigorously, without losing out to the other Leagues."

Mu Fei stood up. "It's about time. Let's go—we still have a Faculty and Staff meeting to attend. We need to introduce you properly to everyone, so we don't have another misunderstanding like the one with the director of studies."

De Shu's mind was still full of the thought that he had messed up in front of the chairwoman. Hearing Mu Fei's pointed remark, he could not help but draw out a miserable, "Principal..."

By the time the Faculty and Staff meeting ended, it was already noon. Most of the students had returned to campus, and the entire School Field was packed with people.

Then, the classic scene from the game—the opening ceremony held on the School Field—slowly unfolded.

Mu Fei, dressed in Naranja Academy's distinctive uniform, stood atop the raised platform. Teachers from every subject stood in neat rows to his left and right, while a huge number of students gathered in the center of the School Field. From children under ten to men and women in their fifties and sixties, all wore Naranja Academy uniforms as they gathered here to await Principal Mu Fei's speech.

This was also one of Naranja Academy's defining traits: it accepted students of every age, believing that all of them had the right to pursue an education.

Luo Mu stood at the edge of the teachers' line beneath the platform. He could sense that, aside from a few colleagues sneaking glances at him because of Principal Mu Fei's introduction during the meeting earlier, many students below were also occasionally focusing their gazes on him.

To them, this new teacher was probably unfamiliar.

As Principal Mu Fei delivered an impassioned speech, Luo Mu—who was dedicated to earning money while putting in as little effort as possible—let his gaze drift across the crowd of students, intending to see whether he could spot any familiar faces.

The last row. That tall, pretty girl should be Pippa, the future member of Team Star, right?

And in Pippa's class, the dark-skinned girl not far from her should be Tanaka.

After meeting Pina before, Luo Mu no longer relied entirely on his impressions from the game to identify people. Instead, he made reasonable guesses based on their features. Although their appearances would change somewhat in the future, traces of their future selves could still be seen now.

Figures resembling Pina, Qiu Ming, Ortega, and Melo were also scattered among different classes.

Team Star had been born from the bullying incidents at this school, but Luo Mu still had no clear idea just how severe that bullying had been.

Thinking from a teacher's perspective, Luo Mu pondered for a moment and decided to pay a little attention to these matters later on.

Then there was the Scarlet/Violet protagonist group, all roughly the same age.

Following a somewhat heated gaze, Luo Mu quickly spotted Nemona.

She stood in the front row, wearing the standard Naranja Academy uniform. Her hair was tied into a beautiful high ponytail, and aside from her still-fair skin, she was practically a miniature version of the upperclassman Nemona from the game.

Then there was Arven. It had been over a week since they last met, and Luo Mu didn't know whether he had reconciled with his parents. He planned to sound him out after the ceremony ended.

As his gaze continued to wander, Luo Mu found Botan at the far right of the formation. Wearing thick round-framed glasses and carrying a cute Eevee backpack, she looked somewhat like a tomboy in Naranja Academy's gender-neutral uniform.

Aside from the protagonist, whose existence was uncertain, three of the Paldea Elite Four had gathered at Naranja Academy.