The Incubus System Chapter 1556. Private Tutoring I
The Incubus System Chapter 1556. Private Tutoring I
The conversation immediately died. One girl pretended to search through her bag. Another lowered her head toward her notebook. I frowned.
What the hell? Had someone posted an embarrassing picture of me online?
Just then, a familiar whistle drifted through the classroom. I didn't even need to look.
Larry Grandroar.
He approached our usual seats with his bag slung over one shoulder, looking remarkably cheerful for someone attending a morning lecture. “Morning, buddy!”
“Morning.”
He was about to drop into the chair beside me when his eyes landed on my face. He paused. Then grinned. “Oho.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What?”
“Looking good, bud.”
I blinked. “Looking good?”
“Yep.”
“What do you mean?”
Larry sat down and placed his bag on the desk. “You look different today.”
I stared at him. “Different how?”
He tilted his head, examining me with an expression of exaggerated concentration. I didn't like that expression. Whenever Larry looked that thoughtful, something profoundly stupid usually followed.
“Hmmm… I'm trying to find the right words.”
“Try faster.”
He snapped his fingers. “Your vibe!”
I frowned. “My what?”
“Your vibe, man. Your whole atmosphere.”
I looked down at myself. “I'm wearing the same kind of clothes I always wear.”
“It's not your clothes.”
“Then what?”
Larry leaned back. “How should I explain this? Usually, you have this friendly, harmless look. Like someone people can approach without worrying about anything.” He continued. “Basically, the usual Ethan is easy to bully.”
I slowly turned toward him. “Wait. I’m easy to bully?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
I stared. He stared back. Then apparently realized his mistake.
“I mean, you look easy to bully.”
“Oh, that makes it so much better.”
“Come on, man. You know what I mean.”
Unfortunately, I was beginning to understand exactly what he meant. And I didn't particularly appreciate it.
Larry scratched his cheek. “You've always had that nice-guy appearance. Like, if someone messed with you, you'd probably apologize even when it wasn't your fault.”
I felt my expression slowly flatten. Was that really how people had seen me? Before the system? Before I discovered my demonic heritage? A harmless guy who wouldn't retaliate? I remembered some of the people who had looked down on me in the past. The casual disrespect. The assumptions. The way certain individuals had treated my patience as weakness. So that was why… How enlightening. And deeply irritating.
Larry continued. “You also had that face that made people want to pat your head.”
I froze. “…What?”
“Yeah. Like, you're cute in a harmless way.”
My expression twisted.
Am I a pet? Was I supposed to wag my tail whenever someone offered me a compliment? Actually, considering my demonic form possessed an actual tail, that thought became considerably more disturbing.
I slowly covered my face.
“But today is different!” He leaned forward excitedly. “You still look like Ethan, obviously. Same face and everything. But there's something different about your expression.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Such as?”
Larry studied me for another moment. Then grinned. “You look like someone who'd say, ‘Don't piss me off, or I'll kill you.’” He raised a finger. “But in a cool way.”
I looked at him. “…That's supposed to be a compliment?”
“Absolutely!”
I sighed. Apparently, I'd graduated from adorable punching bag to handsome potential murderer. But as ridiculous as Larry's explanation sounded, something about it made sense.
Last night, while talking to Emma, I'd realized that Ethan and Damian weren't two separate people competing for control of my life. They were both me. The kindness I'd developed as Ethan didn't disappear whenever I became Damian. And Damian's confidence didn't have to vanish whenever I returned to my human form. Maybe that was what people were noticing. Not a physical transformation. Just the absence of hesitation. I wasn't trying to make myself smaller anymore.
Larry suddenly snapped his fingers again. “That's it!”
I glanced at him. “What now?”
“You've got that dangerous handsome-guy aura!”
I closed my eyes. “Please never say that again.”
He laughed. Then the bell rang.
The classroom gradually settled as students returned to their seats. A moment later, the door opened. And our professor entered.
Lysathiel. She walked toward the front desk with her usual composed expression, carrying several documents. Then her eyes found mine.
For the briefest moment, she paused.
Our gazes met. And I knew. She noticed it too. Not because my appearance had changed. Because something inside me had. Her eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly, studying me with a quiet intensity that reminded me she was far more perceptive than an ordinary human professor.
I held her gaze. No hostility. Just acknowledgment.
Lysathiel looked away first. She placed her documents on the desk, turned toward the class, and began speaking in her usual measured voice.
“Good morning, everyone. Please open your textbooks.”
The students obeyed. Larry immediately started searching through his bag. I opened mine to the appropriate page. Every now and then, I caught Lysathiel looking at me.
She continued explaining the material, writing important points on the board and answering questions with her usual professional composure. Yet whenever her gaze traveled across the classroom, it lingered on me a little longer than necessary.
I casually met her gaze. She didn't look away immediately. Instead, her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, as though she were examining something beneath my human appearance. I smiled. Just a little. Her expression remained unchanged, but she finally returned her attention to the board.
The lecture continued without incident. I took notes, answered a question when she called on me, and even managed to understand most of the material.
Eventually, the bell rang. Students began packing their belongings.
Larry stretched beside me. “Finally! I'm starving.”
“That's your natural condition.”
“Shut up.”
I chuckled and closed my textbook.
“Ethan.”
I stopped.
Lysathiel stood behind her desk, watching me. “Would you stay for a moment?”
Larry glanced between us. “Oho. Private tutoring?”
I gave him a warning look. “Go eat.”
He laughed and left with the others. Soon, the classroom emptied. I remained seated until the last student disappeared through the doorway. Then I stood, picked up my bag, and approached her desk.