Chapter 4

The student named Shanon immediately wiped her tears when she heard my offer at that time. Her face, which still had traces of her crying, now looked so enthusiastic, as if she had just found a chest filled with gold in an inn that was no longer inhabited. It's a bit exaggerated for me to say that, but that's the impression I got when I saw the look on her face when she heard my offer earlier.

"Really? Is Teacher Marleen really serious about what Teacher Marleen said to me before?"

I answered with a nod of my head. "Of course, I'm really serious about that. That is, as long as you can pay the extra fee. How about my offer? Do you still want to take the private class I offered earlier?"

"I want it. I really want your private class!!!" She cried in a voice that was loud enough that I started to question where the crying Shanon had been before. "But since my allowance for this month has run out, how about I offer to be Teacher Marleen's assistant for a month?"

This kid... I have to admit that she is very good at negotiating because I didn't find any problems with her offer earlier. So I decided to extend my hand toward her, as a sign that I agreed with what she had offered earlier.

"I agree with that. Then it is our deal now."

She then replied by shaking my hand, and I immediately invited her to pack her things and go to my house, which is conveniently located next to my cooking school. As soon as we arrived in the kitchen of my house, Shanon froze while looking at my house before I, who was already impatient and didn't want to waste my time starting my first private class, which I hadn't done in a long time, pulled her tiny hands into the kitchen where I was going to be; to teach her extra lessons until she mastered it.

To be honest, I feel very nervous, especially since this time I will be doing it together with my ideal type of girl, who will unfortunately never be able to become my girlfriend due to our status as teacher and student. Apart from, of course, other things that make me feel insecure if there is a chance to be her boyfriend; this huge age difference between us will definitely make it difficult for Shanon if we become lovers in the future.

"Actually, it is my dream since I have always wanted to study at Teacher Marleen's place. Even though my parents didn't agree with my decision at first, I still insisted on studying at Teacher Marleen's place, and they finally let me study at your place after I begged both of them for a long time."

"Well, I think what your parents told you wasn't wrong either. They definitely want the best for their children. So it's only natural that they don't agree when you ask them to go to school at my place and not anywhere else."

"But Teacher Marleen's school is different. It's not like other schools that highlight their prestige. I see that Teacher Marleen is not the type of person who is selfish and arrogant like them. Even though Teacher Marleen's magical abilities are as great as those who have famous cooking lessons, why is everyone studying with them and not with Teacher Marleen?"

I rubbed the head of this kid, who looked annoyed when she said what was on her mind earlier. "Listen. Being a teacher isn't just about showing off your great cooking skills or pursuing prestige. It's more about how a teacher can make the students they teach have the same fun as they do when cooking. As for me, when I see my students succeed in making new dishes with a feeling of joy, for me it is more than enough to make me feel happy."

"See! That is the main reason why I like Teacher Marleen even more!"

Before I could stop her from doing so, Shanon quickly pointed her wide-open arms toward me and embraced me with her arms still full of leftovers. While returning her hug by patting her back, I held back my tears that were about to come out on the ground that I imagined myself having to wash my favorite white shirt that I was wearing today as soon as the class was over if I didn't want my favorite clothes to end up with stains and dirt that would never leave my favorite clothes that are still attached to my body right now.

And gosh, this kid was really outspoken when she uttered a sentence that managed to make both of my cheeks turn red. I don't know if she was really serious when she made that statement that she liked me earlier, but I could clearly feel my heart beating fast. While Shanon tightened her embrace, I tried to calm the sound of my heart, which was getting louder while half hoping that she would not listen to or feel my heartbeat, which didn't seem to want to stop even though I had asked my heart not to beat as fast as I was feeling right now.

Marleen, calm down and don't misunderstand what she said to you earlier. Aren't there a lot of ways to show love or affection? For example, the love when you see a kitten in a very adorable pose or the love that comes when you succeed in creating his or her favorite treat with newly learned magic. And in my case, what Shanon told me earlier was, perhaps, what this child meant by her words was that she wanted to express the love of a student who admires her teacher's figure and is willing to let her teacher assist her in learning until she masters it.

Yes, that must be what she meant when she said she liked me earlier, I mumbled to myself as I continued to convince myself with the conclusion I made after hearing Shanon's statement earlier, which almost made me jump to the wrong conclusion.

"I have decided! I will make Teacher Marleen proud of my cooking! Then, when that time comes, I will ask Teacher Marleen to be my boyfriend!"

"Shanon... It looks like you're exaggerating..."

She turned to me with a super serious look that honestly started to make me anxious without even trying to get out of her grip. All right, it looks like she was not joking about what she said to me just now, and my conclusion was totally wrong. In my heart, I really feel happy that there are students who admire me to this extent. But I had no idea how to take care of this feeling, and to be honest, I really don't know what to say in this current situation.

"Teacher Marleen, about what I said earlier, I really mean it. I like you as a man, Teacher Marleen. And don't think I'm joking just on the grounds that I'm quite a bit younger than Teacher Marleen, although it is true that we have a problem with different age."

"But Shanon..." I said as I let go of her hands that hugged me earlier and sighed softly. "There are lots of people out there that you will meet after you graduate from my class. Maybe your feelings will change later, don't you think? That's why I don't think you should say things that you will regret later."

"Rest assured, Teacher Marleen, since I will not allow it to happen. I am a person who never regrets what I said at all. I'm not the type to give up and back off when I make a decision, so Teacher Marleen, you don't have to worry about me changing my decision later. And Teacher Marleen?"

"Yes?"

"About the festival later... Do you mind if I ask Teacher Marleen to go there with me?"

I was silent for a moment when I heard her offer before I answered her offer by shaking my head in disagreement and moving away from her a little. "I am sorry, but I don't think I can go to the festival with you."

"Oh..."

I could feel her tone of disappointment when I heard my refusal earlier, which made me feel guilty for refusing her invitation to go with her to the festival that was about to start. But on the other hand, I couldn't possibly accept the invitation of one of my students to go with her to the festival just like that, since I'm not the type to like crowds. It wouldn't be fair if I forced myself to accept Shanon's invitation to go with me to a place that gave me bad memories and ended up with someone like me who would trouble Shanon with my situation later.

"I'm sorry..."

"It's okay. I really wanted to go there with you, but since you don't want to go there, then I have to respect your decision by not forcing you to go along with my request earlier."

"Thanks for your understanding, Shannon..."

"Both of you... have you finished talking? When you're done, you better take care of that one. Look, I'm pretty sure it's going to explode any minute now unless you take care of it."

Beth, who emerged from the entrance of my classroom, pointed at one of Shanon's creations that looked enlarged. Even though the shape is okay, it still has the potential to trigger an explosion. What was this kid really thinking when she made the recipe I taught her earlier?

Without wasting any time, I immediately cast my magic and created a shield that surrounded the food before it exploded. And sure enough, a few seconds later, the dish turned into a bomb. It's just that the explosive power is not as great as when she showed the results of her cooking in class earlier.

"It seems like one lesson isn't enough, huh?" I muttered to myself as I watched my student's food turn into colorful shards of light that reminded me of the rainbows I used to see in the garden when I was little.

"It seems so. But that's okay! Tomorrow I will fight again! Then, I will see you tomorrow, Teacher Marleen! And please consider my invitation earlier."

She ran to get her bag and ran towards my door in a flash before her presence disappeared from my sight, as well as Beth, who suddenly was beside me, folding her arms and nodding her head, which made me start to wonder what she was thinking at that moment when I saw Shanon, one of my students whom I offered my special class, leave.

"This way, my work will increase. Ah, what a troublesome child..."

"Let me help you with this mess." Beth offered to help me tidy up the kitchen, to which I nodded and let her do what was supposed to be my job. "It is a good thing that tidying up the kitchen doesn't have to use magic."

"Thanks, Beth. I was really helped today."

"No problem. Think of it as payment for allowing you to stay at your place for a week."

"Fair enough. Do you mind if I ask you to help me tidy up my classroom kitchen after this?"

"Of course, I don't mind your request."

We cleaned up the leftovers and cleaned my kitchen and my classroom. Once finished, we returned to my house and rested our sore bodies after tidying up my kitchen and my classroom earlier in one of my sofa chairs that felt so comfortable.

"What do you want to drink?"

"Anything is fine, as long as it tastes good and it's cold. Gosh, today's weather is pretty hot, don't you think?"

I nod my head in agreement and head to the kitchen before returning with a pitcher of our favorite cold chocolate milk. We then enjoyed the chocolate milk I brought earlier while we chatted with each other about our daily lives that day.