As I got ready to head to the school—or should I say, my new "home"—I hesitated. Was it really my home anymore? Technically, it was still a school, but whatever. I'd deal with that existential crisis later.
On my way, I took the opportunity to check my status window again. This time, a new notification caught my eye.
[System Notification!]
====================
New Quest(s) Assigned!
[Main Quest: First Step as Headmistress] (Mandatory) Objective: Officially take control of the academy by setting up basic facilities. (Cleaning, setting up dorms, or opening administrative access.)
Details:
The academy has been abandoned for years. As the new Headmistress, you must restore it to a functional state.
Certain areas may be locked or unstable. Proceed with caution.
The system will assist in basic setup, but manual effort is required.
Completion Reward:
Unlocks [Academy Management] feature.
Small increase in Authority.
Bonus Reward (???).
[Side Quest: Customize the Academy] (Optional) Objective: Modify at least one part of the academy using the system's customization function.
Details:
Use the system's Academy Management feature to design or enhance any part of the school.
Changes can include structural repairs, room modifications, or adding new facilities.
Some features may require additional system upgrades.
Completion Reward:
Unlocks [School Customization] menu.
+1 to Headmistress Authority.
Special Bonus (???). ====================
Huh. The rewards seemed pretty decent, and the tasks didn't sound too difficult. Still, I shouldn't get overconfident. If someone found out I was an unregistered Hunter, I could get arrested.
For now, I decided to survey the school before tackling the first quest. I was also a little worried about my stats. Strength was important, and mine was ridiculously low. Intelligence, though? High. At least that was a small win. But what truly disappointed me was my charm.
A pitifully low charm stat. The system was straight-up insulting me at this point.
"Am I really that ugly, or am I just that unnoticeable?" I muttered to myself, staring at my reflection in my phone's screen. "Ugh, whatever! Focus, Elaine! We have way more important things to do than worrying about looks."
___
Shaking off my ridiculous self-doubt, I finally arrived at the school. The same quest notification popped up again as if the system thought I was forgetful. (It wasn't wrong, but still, rude.)
I took my time walking through the abandoned building. The place was covered in dust, but surprisingly, the structure itself was solid. The floors and walls were still intact, and even some furniture had been left behind—desks, chairs, and even a whiteboard.
The school had two floors. The first floor had five classrooms, each big enough for about 20 students. There was also a boys' and girls' bathroom. The second floor only had two classrooms, but they were much bigger, fitting about 40 to 35 students each.
At the end of the second-floor hallway, I found a teachers' office with around 10 to 15 workstations. And then, at the farthest end—
"Oh wow, the principal's office is huge," I whispered in awe, stepping inside.
Not only was it massive compared to the classrooms, but it even had its own private bathroom.
"This place is actually pretty nice..." I mumbled, tapping my chin. "Not bad for an abandoned school."
Originally, I had bought this place to turn it into my home-slash-restaurant, but that plan had obviously changed. Not that I had much of a choice.
As I continued exploring, I noticed something strange—there was no cafeteria. Instead, outside the school, there were stone picnic tables, the kind you'd find in parks.
"Huh. I guess students used to eat outside."
The school was enclosed by tall, solid brick walls. Vines sprawled over them, giving the place an almost mystical, abandoned-temple vibe. If I squinted, I could almost imagine some ancient guardian spirit watching over it.
I sighed. "Alright, enough sightseeing. Time to tackle that quest."
The first task seemed simple enough, but cleaning would be a nightmare. Dust, cobwebs, and who knew what else had taken over the place. And the worst part? I'd have to do it myself.
"…Maybe I should hire a cleaning crew?" I considered. "Nope. Too expensive. Welp, looks like I'm on janitor duty."
Another concern popped into my mind. The bathrooms.
I hadn't checked them thoroughly yet, but what if the pipes were busted? What if the toilets didn't work? What if—
"Okay, let's not spiral. One thing at a time. Cleaning first, plumbing nightmare later."
The quest didn't seem to have a time limit, but I didn't want to risk it suddenly dropping a deadline on me. Better to get things done sooner rather than later.
___
A whole week passed. And by "a whole week," I mean I spent about three days actually cleaning and the rest of the time wandering around the village, taking in the sights, and chatting with the locals.
The school was far from most houses, but there were still some neighbors nearby. Out of curiosity, I asked some of the elders about the place. Most of them either had no idea about it or swore it was haunted.
"Oh, that place?" One old man scratched his beard. "They say ghosts live there, or worse… monsters."
"Oh great," I deadpanned. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear."
Another elder, an old woman with a cane, shook her head. "Nonsense. My son worked there as a security guard. Back when the school was abandoned, kids from other villages would sneak in and vandalize the place. That's why they hired guards to keep it in good shape."
That actually explained why the school was so well-maintained. I thanked them for the information and headed back to my new home
___
Standing in the middle of the dusty hallway, broom in hand, I let out a long, theatrical sigh.
After some deep thinking, I realized I'd never heard of a job title like School Headmistress before.
I mean—what even was that? Most people got straightforward roles. Knight. Assassin. Healer. Even the strange ones like Detection Locator still made sense. But me? I sounded like a fashionable janitor from a magical circus.
Titles that were totally one-of-a-kind did exist... but they were ridiculously rare. So rare they only popped up once every few decades—sometimes even once in a hundred years. The kind of titles wrapped in rumors and barely-believed stories, stored away in dusty archives, or whispered about by old Hunters over drinks.
And the only people who ever really knew about them? The high-up folks in the Hunter Associations. Maybe a few dungeon researchers. Or… people like Uncle Rod.
A memory popped into my head—blurry, but persistent. I was still a kid back then, hiding behind the hallway corner, pretending not to listen while Uncle Rod argued with some old guy in a dusty cloak.
He said something like, "There hasn't been an Overview in over fifty years."
I didn't understand it at the time. But now… now it was ringing a little too loud in my head.
Overview. That wasn't even the official title—more like a nickname, a placeholder for something nobody really understood.
Was School Headmistress actually one of those? Some mutated version of that legendary role?
I stared at the system window again.
"Great," I muttered. "So I'm not just a school janitor, I'm possibly a once-in-a-century system glitch."
I adjusted the broom like it was a mighty sword.
"Well, Elaine… this is your life now. School Headmistress. Possible Overviewer. Part-time ghostbuster. What could possibly go wrong?"