Shot of Silence

Chapter 6: Fresh Lane

'I can't believe this shit...'

That brunet is actually starting to grow weary with all of the surprises today 

He had seen his family's corpses for the last time before he himself died, he found himself transported into a parallel universe, where he was nothing more than a civilian—a teacher, to be precise, suddenly, he was transferred to another class situated in a secluded island in the middle of a man-made lake. And now, this...

Heath inwardly sighed, realizing that with his luck, these kinds of things would always happen no matter where he ended up. 

Shaking his head, he chuckled and said, "Right, where are my manners?" Disregarding the fact that he had just witnessed a "man" stretching from one corner of the room to stand in front of him, seemingly responsible for the sudden space explosion in the past month.

He couldn't help but feel a mix of bewilderment and amusement. The bizarre occurrences continued to unfold before his eyes, defying all logical explanations. Yet, amidst the chaos, he maintained a sense of humor, refusing to let the extraordinary become overwhelming. Life had certainly taken unexpected turns for him several times in the past, including this second life he was living. So, one more oddity wouldn't scare him enough, even though the peculiar "man" himself admitted to being the true reason behind the undetected supernova that occurred a month ago.

Heath didn't know many details about the supernova, but Henko was passionate about informing him as they made their way to the main building. It was clear to Heath that this wasn't something that commonly happened, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation.

[The government, along with space agencies, had categorically stated that it was simply an unexpected event, akin to the renowned Supernova 1987A. This awe-inspiring phenomenon represented nothing more than a colossal release of energy during the culmination of a massive star's existence. While undeniably captivating, it remained within the boundaries of known astronomical occurrences. Scientists, astrophysicists, and experts reassured the public that there was no cause for alarm, attributing the event to natural cosmic processes rather than any ominous or extraterrestrial forces. Nonetheless, the public's fascination and curiosity surrounding the event continued to grow, fueling a collective desire to understand the vast mysteries of the universe.]

Allegedly.

Yet, here he was, discovering that the news was nothing but the government's propaganda.

‘It’s truly amusing,’ he nearly scoffed.

While the concept of propaganda has historically been used in negative contexts, it seemed like this time they had a valid excuse to deceive the public.

‘Though it appears they're not going to provide any explanations to me, except for the fact that this guy's existence is a secret and I mustn't share this to anyone—’

All in all, it is obvious that the Chairman is aware of this guy's existence. However, he remains uncertain as to why the Chairman would allow someone who is clearly not human to teach this group of children, let alone appoint him as their homeroom teacher.

"Well, hey there! My name is Sagara Heath. It's a pleasure to meet you, Perry-sensei. I hope we can get along well," he grinned.

"Guffawfufufu~ You're surprisingly taking it well, Sagara-sensei~" the creature said as one of its stretchy tentacles shook the brunet's hand.

"Maa~ Heath is fine. And, well, you could say that I've been surviving some questionable situations myself. Might as well create great memories with another one," he chuckled.

"I see, I see~ That's so open-minded of you!"

Then again, it's hard not to, considering he had seen and experienced more irrational things in his past life. Magic itself doesn't always go hand in hand with the laws of nature, after all—not that he could explain that to anyone here. Heath simply grinned, quickly accepting the situation, before continuing his introduction.

“With that in mind, it has been a while since I’ve been in a class. Also, I was actually assigned as a History teacher despite having a bachelor's degree in math and science— I suppose there was a miscommunication when I was initially hired as a staff member.” He says a bit sarcastically.

Heath also learned about this from Henko, who encouraged him to speak up more about his expertise, something he had actually studied extensively, unlike history. The blond man sympathized with Heath and still resented how everyone would laugh at his cousin when he explained that teaching history wasn't his forte from the start.

However, due to his timid nature, Heath's counterpart couldn't clearly voice his complaint. His concerns went unheard, resulting in him being labeled as a poor and uneducated history teacher instead.

“Ah, is that so, well, you can teach science and math here, the chairman wouldn’t know, we can work things up over here” The rubber man, who had introduced himself as Perry, said to him.

While trying to hold himself back from displaying a bitter smile upon the thought of how his parallel counterpart would react to finally hear someone standing up for him, Heath smiled gratefully although, given that he’s not the original owner of this body, he doesn’t have the same likeness as his counterpart. He, personally doesn’t like to have to relearn math or science enough to teach.

"That would be great, although I wouldn't mind filling an empty spot first, you know, to balance the ongoing system here," he mentioned, secretly hoping to get a class that emphasized physical activity rather than solely relying on intellectual prowess. 

Lillian hummed thoughtfully before responding, "The target pretty much teaches all academic subjects, while I handle the gym class."

"I see. That is quite admirable, managing all of that while being a target. Are there any subjects you want me to take over, sensei? I'm good with anything," Heath offered with a smile.

Neither of them said a word until Lillian finally spoke up, "Well, this rubber man here once cooked takoyaki with a missile and brought in a whole bucket of lava just to make a steak."

"Guffwaaah! But the students said they enjoyed it!" Perry argued, flailing all four of his boneless arms.

"I wouldn't have minded if you hadn't used a MISSILE and a BUCKET OF LAVA in this old building," Lillian stressed, giving Perry a stern look.

"So, using them outside is alright?"

The ravenette glared even harder at the homeroom teacher.

"I... don't think that's the only problem here, Perry-sensei," Heath sweatdropped, hearing that. 'Though, that's actually quite magnificent in a way,' he commented inwardly.

"...So, how about Home Economics then?"