"...Since we're at school, we can give you a thorough, careful examination this time."
Professor Monteria casually picked up a small knife and twirled it between his fingers in several elegant flourishes. His manner was gentle, his tone cordial. "In theory, an intruder with its own 'behavioral logic' won't easily reveal its traces, so don't expect to flush out that bean after just one or two examinations... But like that saying by Alfred White I quoted before—an inferior bloodline clashes with the body, an excellent bloodline helps the body purge impurities, while a great bloodline ignites the fire of potential and refines every principle in the world—I still believe there is a great power within your body that even you yourself do not understand, one that has truly assimilated that bean into a part of you..."
Looking at Professor Monteria, whose eyes were shining as he spoke without pause, Zheng Qing finally remembered why he had come.
"Ah... Sorry, Professor, I didn't come to see you because of that!"
The young teaching assistant took a frightened step back, waving his hands repeatedly. He spoke at lightning speed, terrified that if he slowed down even a little, he would be dissected. He even forgot to use honorifics:
"I came because of the teaching plan! I'm a teaching assistant for Edge Academy's Talisman Class! I don't know how to write a teaching plan, and I don't have any teaching experience either! So... Professor Yao told me to come talk to you about it before class on thursday... It isn't about that Copper Bean... It has absolutely nothing to do with the Copper Bean!"
He did his utmost to explain why he had come, forcing himself not to look at those gleaming little knives.
The professor's hand, raised in midair, paused slightly.
"Ah,