The SSS-rank Guide Doesn't Need Saving

The ball sat heavy and cool in her palm.

The round ball, no bigger than a tennis ball, had a black sheen on it. Thin lines of glowing green light ran across three different angles.

For a brief second, Aisha felt something stir inside it. It was the same oily and cold malice that she’d felt in the hospital.

Miasma?

She narrowed her eyes, tightening her grip around the ball. Why would something like this be in a school for guides and sentinels? Before she could examine the object further, the young man jumped over his desk and snatched it from her hand.

"Sorry! Sorry, sorry!" he blurted, clutching the ball protectively away from her, as though he was afraid it might suddenly react and harm her. "I didn’t think anyone would be walking in right then... I mean, no one usually uses that door at this time. No, that’s not it. You must have been startled."

He rambled on in a flustered manner before seemingly remembering something.

"Wait—your hand. Let me see it."

He straightened up in alarm and grabbed her hand before Aisha could refuse.

"That was dangerous. The ball contains a suppressed sample of a corrupted monster. We got this assignment for this month. If whatever is inside, if it made contact with you, it could’ve—"

"It didn’t crack." Aisha withdrew her hand from his hold.

"You don’t know that." The young man wanted to grab her hand to get a thorough check, but before he could do anything else, two more students came from behind him.

A boy and girl hurried over with matching expressions of worry.

"We’re sorry about him," the girl said first. Her short, cropped brown hair swayed as she confessed. "It was our fault. If we hadn’t teased him about not completing his assignment, he wouldn’t have been frustrated. We didn’t think he’d actually get mad enough to throw it."

"I wasn’t mad," the young man retorted. "I threw it because it’s a stupid ball."

"Doesn’t matter how stupid it looks," the other boy cut in with a serious expression. "The point is, you almost got somebody hurt."

"She seemed not hurt—Ow!"

The young man exclaimed painfully while glaring at the woman. But the woman raised her clenched fist again, and he folded immediately, whimpering a protest.

"Are you alright? Were you hit anywhere?"

"I’m fine," Aisha replied.

She looked at the three people in front of her. Two of them wore the sentinel’s uniform—a black suit with a high collar embroidered in silver threads and dangling chains, and pointed, buckled boots. It also has the same crest on Aisha’s uniform. The third person wore the uniform for guides.

The two newcomers scolded the young man who threw the ball for a long time before they were finally satisfied. The young man, on the other hand, looked like he had lost his soul.

"Good reflexes. If you weren’t wearing that uniform, I would’ve mistaken you for a sentinel." The woman with short hair commented. "I’m Sabel, a D-rank sentinel."

"Hi~ I’m Kane, also a guide like you," The only guide among the three people in front of her. He had long dark green hair with a single spectacle of one of his grey eyes. "I’m a C-rank guide."

Sabel dragged the young man forward and introduced him to Aisha, "And this idiot here is Vesper. Don’t be deceived by his looks. He’s actually an A-rank sentinel."

Aisha looked at the young man named Vesper. An A-rank? What was he doing in this class?

"You must be wondering why he’s here?" Sabel seemed to understand her confusion. She shrugged and continued, "He’s not the only one. There are other high-ranked sentinels and guides here."

Aisha hadn’t expected that answer. She swept her gaze into the classroom. There were quite a lot of empty seats, some completely untouched while others had things on them, but the owners were missing. She counted at least 13 students inside this room.

"Speaking of which—what are you doing here?"

Suddenly, Vesper leapt to his feet, invigorated, and stared at Aisha. "Don’t tell me... you’re being bullied!"

Aisha: "..."

Hearing no reply from her, Vesper became even more certain of his idea. "The people who usually drifted here are those who were forced and bullied by those in the higher class. You’re so short and look so innocent, it’s no wonder they think they can mess with you!"

Aisha, who had been suddenly called short, stared at him.

"..."

It wasn’t that she was short. Sentinels are just born taller than normal humans and guides. They’ll get even taller when they start training and improving their psychic energy.

"I was assigned here," Aisha sighed.

What Vesper didn’t know was that he had just dodged a bullet. The people who had called her short in her past life now had fewer fingers to count.

The three of them exchanged a glance.

Before they could question what she had meant by that, the door behind Aisha opened once more. A woman dressed in a fitted grey coat entered.

Seeing four students blocking the door, she frowned. Especially when she noticed the lapel on Aisha’s uniform, a pin denoting the higher-ranked class.

"You’re not a student in this class."

"I was reassigned." Aisha showed the academy notice on her terminal to the professor.

The professor read it carefully before she gave a short nod and gestured for the three to go back to their seats. As for Aisha, she told her to come up to the platform and introduce herself.

Aisha nodded and followed behind the professor.

Once in front of the class, Aisha didn’t immediately say a word. Even though this wasn’t her first time going to school, it was still embarrassing and felt foreign to her.

From the other end of the classroom, Kane, Vesper, and Sabel waved their hands at her.

After taking a breath and calming herself, she said, "My name is Aisha Novalis. I’m a D-rank guide and will be reassigned to this class starting today."

Her introduction was met with stunned silence.

The students who heard her name were clearly surprised. They thought her name sounded familiar, but they didn’t know who she was.

Just then, someone jumped out of their seat and pointed at her.

"You’re that D-rank in class 1-S!"

In an instant, everyone had an idea of who she was.

Aisha had half-expected the commotion that her name alone could bring. With a reputation that was already so low and bad, students have already labeled her as a vile person with a malicious heart.

But the unfriendly and hateful attitude she expected to receive from them was nowhere to be found.

Rather, the students in the class looked excited and happy to see her, as though she was a legendary figure who had blessed them with her presence.

"Wow, she looks different from what I imagined."

"She’s that D-rank? Why does she look so soft and weak?"

"Do you think she’ll slap me if I touch her face?"

The student who commented last received collective strange looks from everyone in the class.

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