CHAPTER 212: THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT’S EMERGENCY MEETING

At the Music Staff Room of the Academy...

A staring contest was taking place, and the contestants were Professor Arienna, her teaching assistant, and the Fairies in charge of the challenges in the Seventh Training Room.

"I’m sure all of you already know why I have called you here to the staff room," Professor Arienna said.

"Of course, we do!" Doh replied with a smile. "You’re going to give us all a raise, right?!"

""Yay!""

All the fairies cheered and clapped their hands, making the corner of the Music Professor’s lips twitch.

"That’s not what I called you for. There’s no raise," Professor Arienna clarified. "I’m here to ask you—were your heads kicked by a donkey? Otherwise, why is Alex Stratos the top ranker in all the challenges?"

The Professor then tapped the table, and soon, magical projections of all the challenges appeared in front of everyone.

"You chose him as a Singing King?" Professor Arienna looked at Doh, Reh, Mii, Fah, and Sue in disbelief. "What were you girls thinking? I’ve personally heard Alex sing, and that kind of singing should be buried from the face of this world!"

Sue chuckled because she had the same opinion as Professor Arienna. However, what was done was done.

"You think this is funny?" Professor Arienna glared at Sue. "You already know that the top Ranker in the Seventh Training Room will represent us in the inter-academy singing competition. Do you know what kind of calamity will happen if you send Alex there to sing?!"

The five fairies glanced at each other before they all giggled at the same time.

"I am looking forward to seeing that happen," Doh replied.

"Imagine seeing tens of thousands of people foaming at the mouth at the same time!" Reh sighed. "Priceless."

Mii giggled. "I’m sure Alex will get a standing ovation. He might even get hit by eggs and tomatoes. I’d love to see that!"

"Girls, take this seriously," Fah said calmly. "I mean, sending Alex there to sing is definitely a bad idea. But there is one thing that you are forgetting, Professor Arienna."

"And that is?" Professor Arienna arched an eyebrow.

"There is just a thin line between being tone deaf and a singing genius," Fah stated. "Right now, Alex is an unpolished gem. But if he is taught properly, just imagine how destructive his singing talent will be. I’m not talking about a talent that can wake up the dead. No, it will be akin to the deities descending upon the world to sing for all mortals."

The fairies wondered what kind of weed Fah had smoked since it couldn’t have been the words of anyone sober. But for some reason, they were half-convinced that there might be some logic to what she was saying.

"The only time Alex will be permitted to participate in a singing competition is when he doesn’t sing!" Professor Arienna insisted.

"You should all fix the rankings and make sure this doesn’t happen again! I can tell the Headmaster that the magical database experienced a system error, which caused Alex’s Ranking to beat the other records."

The fairies glanced at each other before shaking their heads firmly.

"We won’t ever let that happen," Doh said as if her life depended on it. "The moment Alex’s rank changes, he will come back to challenge it once again."

"Sis, we don’t want to undergo therapy," Reh commented. "Also, it’s not only us who have bent their rules for Alex. Are you forgetting something, Professor? You also experienced Alex’s singing talent."

Mii sneered. "We heard that you forcefully kicked him out of the Trial of Music because you didn’t want to hear him sing again. Tell me, if you were one of the judges of the training room, and you know Alex wouldn’t stop to challenge you until he gets the top spot, what would you do?"

Professor Arienna and her teaching assistant shuddered uncontrollably. They couldn’t find any words to refute—that painted image was simply a tragedy.

Anyone could take the challenges in the Seventh Training Room.

Students were permitted to challenge them over and over and over again if they wanted to.

If the fairies were to face Alex, heavens know how many times, wouldn’t they suffer PTSD and never recover?

If Professor Arienna were to face Alex every day, wouldn’t she start hating music for the rest of her life?

"Oh, I know!" Melodina chuckled. "How about we let Professor Arienna fight Alex in the Battle Choir at least once? If you agree, then we will do as you say and remove his name from the Rankings."

"Hahahaha!" Mii laughed. "That’s a good idea!"

The other Fairies, whom Alex had challenged, were Lah, Tee, Dew, Lyra, Cello, Zithra, Harpa, Clarina, Fluta, and Picca. At that moment, they unanimously voiced their agreement.

Professor Arienna hesitated for a bit if she should take up their offer.

"If I win against him in the Battle Choir, will you agree to fix the rankings?" Professor Arienna asked to confirm that the fairies were serious.

"""Yes!"""

The fairies all replied in unison and were even looking at the professor with devilish smiles on their faces.

Clearly, they wanted to see how the head of the Music Department, Professor Arienna would survive a Battle Choir against Alex.

The Professor’s teaching assistant looked anxiously at the beautiful lady, who had pursued music with a passion.

If she were to lose against Alex in Battle Choir, it might affect her views about her profession.

"P-Professor, I think this is a bad idea," the teaching assistant commented. "Just look at the fairies. They seem so confident that you have no chance of winning against Alex."

"Heather, sometimes, one must take risks in order to set things right," Professor Arienna replied. "Very well. I will personally send an invitation to Alex and challenge him in the Battle Choir."

"Do you want to make it public?" Melodina asked with sparkling eyes. "The more people, the better, right?"

"Yes! The more victims—errr, viewers the better!" Sue nodded in agreement. "This will also cement Alex’s legend in the academy."

"No." Professor Arienna shook her head. "It will just be you girls spectating the battle. No one else will be allowed to see."

""Boooo!""

The fairies who were now addicted to seeing the suffering of others complained, but Professor Arienna was firm and didn’t listen to their opposition.

She didn’t want Frieden Academy to be the laughing stock of the academy, so even if there was a risk, she would take it without fail.

Doh, Reh, Mii, Fah, Sue, and Melodina all laughed internally.

They hoped that Alex once again summoned a horde of geese, then trample on the pride and dignity of the Music Professor who thought that she had what it took to face the new Singing King of Frieden Academy.

’Am I really going to do this?’ Professor Arienna thought as she walked towards the Ironheart Academy. ’With the Inter-Class Battle Royale happening soon, Alex might decline my challenge.’

The Music Professor could still remember the sweet smiles that the fairies gave her before she left the Music Room in order to talk to Alex.

Those were the smiles of the survivors of Alex’s singing, and frankly, Professor Arienna was a little unnerved by their smug expressions.

Still, she had already declared that she would go and talk to Alex.

’Maybe I can convince him to step down by compensating him with academy points,’ Professor Arienna thought. ’That should be for the best.’

After pondering for a while, she also thought that it would be unfair for Alex if he didn’t get anything in return for having his ranks in the Seventh Training Room stripped away from him.

Just as she was nearing the Ironheart Dormitory he saw the Doom Cow, Daisy, patrolling the area, with Dim Dim perched on top of her head.

Seeing the little white bun, who was also a good singer, Professor Arienna smiled and greeted it.

"Hello, Dim Dim!" Professor Arienna said with a smile.

"Dim Dim!" Dim Dim also greeted the professor with a smile.

Daisy stopped walking and glanced at the direction of the Professor. Although this was her first time seeing Professor Arienna, Daisy didn’t do anything and simply remembered her name and face.

"Where is Alex?" Professor Arienna asked.

"Dim!" Dim Dim pointed at the Ironheart Dormitory.

"Thank you," Professor Arienna replied. "Were you with Alex when he went to the Seventh Training Room to do the challenges?"

Dim Dim blinked before it averted its gaze and started to whistle.

Seeing the little bun’s reaction, the beautiful lady couldn’t help but giggle due to how cute it was.

"Dim Dim, is Alex a good singer?" Professor Arienna asked.

Dim Dim continued to whistle. Clearly, it didn’t plan on answering this question.

In the end, Professor Arienna decided to cut the little bun some slack and bid it goodbye.

’Even Dim Dim doesn’t have any confidence in Alex’s singing voice.’ Professor Arienna smirked. ’But the problem is Alex. He really believes that he’s a good singer, which is the problem. Does he even hear his singing voice when he sings?’

This was the one thing that perplexed Professor Arienna.

Usually, when people sing, they might not be able to accurately hear what they sound like, but they would at least be able to tell if they sound good or bad.

But Alex was a special breed.

There were no signs that implied that he felt that his singing was bad.

It was either that he genuinely didn’t know how bad his singing voice was, or he really thought that he was a good singer.

’Well, it doesn’t matter,’ Professor Arienna thought. ’I just need to beat him in the Battle Choir and fix the mess he created.’

With the confidence of being the Music Professor of Frieden Academy for nearly a decade, Professor Arienna entered the Ironheart Dormitory to look for the young man who was currently taking a nap inside his room.

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A/N: Only one Chapter today. Sorry guys, I feel too sick to write.