Paldea Big Four, Third of Four

"Huh?" Taro let out a quiet gasp and looked over at Poppy. When she smiled and confirmed it, he suddenly felt mortified. After stammering for a while, all he could manage was, "My apologies," to Luo Mu. Then he lowered his head and sat down, saying nothing more.

Once seated, Taro could only think how careless he'd been today. He'd managed to embarrass himself in front of the Chairperson.

But he didn't dare direct his resentment at Luo Mu. If the other man really was a Champion-level Trainer, stirring up more trouble would be asking for it.

Not every Trainer was as easygoing as Chairperson Poppy.

"Sorry about that, Teacher Luo Mu. I'd planned to wait until the upcoming teachers' meeting to explain who you were to the teachers and staff returning to campus. I didn't expect the Dean of Students to be so impatient."

Though Mui's tone held an apology, he wasn't particularly deferential. After all, the strongest Champion-level Trainer was the Academy's Chairperson, and Naranja Academy was the oldest academy in the world.

As the principal of this academy, he naturally didn't have to act like a quail around Luo Mu the way the Dean of Students had.

Luo Mu shook his head. "It's all right. I haven't given these little things a second thought."

Mui's impression of Luo Mu improved further. He was capable but not arrogant. Chairperson Poppy certainly had a good eye.

"Then let's discuss your future compensation and your main teaching responsibilities."

The discussion didn't take long. For the most part, Mui spoke while Luo Mu listened, with Poppy occasionally adding a few words.

The Dean of Students, Taro, remained silent throughout. He only spoke when Mui or Poppy brought him into the conversation.

In the end, they settled on all the details of Luo Mu's compensation and specific teaching duties.

Teachers at Naranja Academy had always served a three-month probationary period, but this time Mui decided to shorten it to one month. During that period, Luo Mu would earn 50,000 League currency.

After he became a full-time employee, his salary would rise to 80,000 League currency.

As the Academy's newly hired battle studies teacher, Luo Mu's specific responsibilities would be to foster students' interest in Pokémon battles and guide them in that pursuit.

One other thing worth mentioning was that, aside from the required courses for learning the basics, most classes at Naranja Academy were chosen by students according to their own interests.

So two classes a week really meant just two classes, with no extra teaching duties.

On top of that, Naranja Academy had four breaks each year: spring break, summer break, autumn break, and winter break. Each lasted at least a month, and teachers continued to receive their salaries during the holidays.

These conditions were nothing short of the ultimate dream for an overworked wage slave.

They filled out the contract and stamped it. The whole process went smoothly.

The matter was settled. Poppy stood up, pleased, and smiled. "Now that everything's taken care of, I'll be off. There are still plenty of Academy and League matters that need my attention."

With that, Poppy waved and silently mouthed "Good luck" to Luo Mu before making a graceful exit.

After Poppy left, Mui sighed. "The Chairperson has to manage every level of the League, and she occasionally has to make time to assess Gym Leaders' abilities. You can count on one hand how many times she returns to the Academy in a year."

"Even when I give her my regular reports on Academy matters, most of the time I have to speak with her over the phone."

Luo Mu gave a slight nod. "That's why the Paldea League is thriving, and keeping pace with the other Leagues."

Mui rose to his feet. "It's about time. Let's go. We still have a staff meeting to attend, and I need to introduce you properly so we don't have another misunderstanding like the one with the Dean of Students."

Taro was still dwelling on how he'd messed up in front of the Chairperson. Hearing the pointed remark from Mui, he couldn't help but drawl out miserably, "Principal."

By the time the staff meeting ended, it was already noon. Most of the students had returned to campus, and the entire sports field was packed.

Then came a classic scene from the game: the opening ceremony on the sports field slowly got underway.

Mui stood on the raised platform in Naranja Academy's distinctive uniform, with teachers from every subject lined up neatly on either side of him. A large crowd of students gathered in the center of the field. They ranged from children not yet ten years old to men and women in their fifties and sixties, all wearing the Academy uniform as they waited for Principal Mui's speech.

That was another distinctive feature of Naranja Academy: it accepted students of every age, believing that everyone deserved the chance to learn.

Luo Mu stood at the edge of the teachers' line beneath the platform. He could feel his colleagues stealing glances at him after Mui's introduction at the meeting. Many of the students below were also turning their eyes toward him from time to time.

To them, he was probably a complete stranger—a new teacher.

As Principal Mui delivered an impassioned speech, Luo Mu, who believed that money earned while slacking off was the only money worth earning, let his gaze wander over the students, intending to see if he recognized any familiar faces.

In the last row stood a tall, beautiful girl. She had to be Pepper, the future leader of Team Star, right?

In the same class as Pepper, not far from her, was a dark-skinned girl who was probably Tanaka.

After meeting Pina earlier, Luo Mu had stopped relying entirely on his impressions from the game to recognize people. Instead, he made reasonable guesses based on their features. They would all look somewhat different as they grew up, but he could still make out traces of what they'd become.

Pina, Arven, Cassiopeia, and Mela were scattered among different classes as well.

Team Star had been born out of bullying at the school, but Luo Mu still had no clear idea how serious the bullying had been.

Now thinking like a teacher, Luo Mu considered the matter for a moment and decided he'd keep an eye on it.

Then there was the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet protagonist group, all around the same age.

Following the slightly heated gazes, Luo Mu soon spotted Nemo.

She stood in the front row in the standard Naranja Academy uniform, her hair tied up in a lovely high ponytail. Aside from her still-fair skin, she was practically a shrunken version of the upperclassman Nemo from the game.

Then there was Pepper. They hadn't seen each other for over a week, and Luo Mu had no idea whether he and his parents had made up. He planned to find him after the ceremony and subtly sound him out.

Luo Mu's gaze continued to roam. At the far right of the rows, he spotted Peony wearing thick, round glasses and carrying a cute Eevee backpack. Combined with Naranja Academy's gender-neutral uniform, she looked a little like a tomboy.

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