“And so, heredity is passed on through DNA, which slowly mutants through time. Successive mutations are passed on while failed mutations are lost to natural selection…”

There was a teacher in the front of the classroom who was droning on. It felt less to me like he was trying to teach something, and more like he was desperately finding a way to pass the time. I could confirm this by the bored expressions on all of the other students. I had put Ivy sitting next to me, despite her reluctance, and she looked to be half asleep. I enjoyed this kind of material, and even I found it to be somewhat boring. At least it was quiet, and I could tone out his voice to think about other things, like my next goals. I would need to save up money for a while though. For my next plans, I needed a lot more magic. 

It was at that moment that something the teacher said caught my ear. “There is no such thing as natural selection.”

The class was interrupted, and various eyes turned to me as I spoke up in defiance to what the teacher had stated.

“Natural selection is the predominant method in which evolution occurs.” The teacher responded, frowning.

“Except that natural selection doesn’t exist.”

The teacher in the front of the classroom sighed. “Some students have likely heard of the idea of creationism. People with a religious belief tend to pretend that natural selection doesn’t occur, even though it can be identified everywhere!”

A few of my classmates laughed, but I only shook my head. “I don’t disagree with your assessment that there is such a thing as evolution. I merely disagree with your assumption that selection is natural. The very connectivity of complex ecosystems makes natural selection a pipedream. Few things are allowed to evolve in a vacuum, and thus everything is pressured by the things around it. It would be more accurate to call it artificial selection.”

“Artificial selection is when a human specifically picks the traits to change an organism. Currently, no artificial selection is as shown in a species evolving into another species. Such things have only occurred without human intervention.”

“Without human intervention?” I sneered. “What makes humans so special? Every species forces its will on every other species. Why does a human cultivating corn count as an artificial selection while an ant cultivating mold becomes natural? Do you think humans are in some way special? We’re just meat and bone like any other living creature, so I don’t understand why we try to act superior to others. Either all selection is natural, since human beings are natural, or all selection is artificial, as all beings exude pressure on others.”

“Aiko…” Ivy had woken up and hissed a warning my way.

“And another thing… natural selection would be a self-defeating process. If we truly believed that it was all left up to nature, then any feature that encouraged predation would be pressured into nonexistence. What incentive would any creature have to be fat or tasty if that was only going to earn it death? Every creature would be lean and tasteless.”

“Well, it’s like an arms race. Even if a species evolved to taste bad, another species would evolve to enjoy said taste.” He responded.

“I think that’s an apt metaphor… because it is an arms race. Its deliberate changes are designed by beings with conscious thought. If you negate the will of a wolf or a cat in its evolutionary process, then you must also deny our will when we artificially select something. We’re agreeing with predeterminism versus personal autonomy. If things make their own decisions, then everything is artificial, but if the world is predetermined, then everything is natural.”

“Aiko.” The teacher spoke up. “Enough. This is what is being taught, so you need to accept it.”

“If you didn’t want your ideas challenged, then maybe you shouldn’t be in academia,” I responded.

His face turned to thunderheads. “You’re interrupting class. Go to the office.”

I opened my mouth, but as I looked around the other students, some were grinning like it was a fascinating show while others were intentionally avoiding me. When I glanced at Ivy, she was one of those who quickly diverted her eyes, like she feared she’d be dragged into it as well.

“Very well. If this is how you conduct a class, then I want no part of it.” I responded irritably.

“Out!” He pointed his finger at the door while glaring at me.

It wasn’t like I was intimidated by him. He was more irritating than anything. I was simply explaining why he was wrong, and he got defensive. There was no shame in being wrong. Even the book had it wrong. It didn’t seem like knowledge he had perfectly tested before. Unless you had created a species on your own, it didn’t seem to me like you had much room to talk about them.

That wasn’t to say the class was useless. While reading the book, I had found their descriptions of the hereditary particulates they called DNA to be very informative. I had never known they existed within a double helix. However, the teacher was only regurgitated what was already available in the book, so I saw no reason for this class to even exist. The point of instructors was to explain the nuances that couldn’t be conveyed in words. Well, I was never a particularly good teacher, but at least I knew what teachers were there for.

After leaving the classroom, I no longer had Ivy to guide my way. I supposed I shouldn’t blame her. If she got up and followed me, it’d only have created more of a commotion. With a sigh, I tried my best to find my way to this so-called office. I ended up getting snapped at by a teacher patrolling the hall before they directed me in the right direction. She wasn’t that bad. Compared to a demon, these people were downright respectful.

I walked into the office. A secretary who was taking a call gestured for me to sit down and wait, so I did so. Quite a bit of time passed as I sat there, but it wasn’t any more boring than the class, so I didn’t mind too much. I saw with my hands on my knees and my eyes closed. It was somewhat soothing. The only thing to ruin it was that once she was done with her phone call, the secretary turned up a radio. It wasn’t even music, but a broadcast about the arrest of some criminal. They had come up with some fancy name for him, and were acting like his capture was a big deal. I often found the biggest criminals tended to be those in power. I wondered if it was true in this world as well. The teacher’s actions already weren’t reassuring.

“Aiko?” A voice called me after about fifteen minutes of waiting.

The bell had already rung and the students were on their way to the next class. I didn’t know where my next class was, but I had looked up the classrooms in advance, and when Ivy showed me the way, I made sure to note the room numbers. There appeared to be a method to the labeling, so I was confident I could find the next classroom. However, a rather young and pretty woman in a dress suit was standing in the doorway, and she made a gesture crooking her finger to have me join her in her office.

I stood up and followed her into her room. I made sure to note the label on the room. The name on the label said Vice-principal Alma. Labeling rooms was rather convenient. I used to misplace things all the time in my tower. I felt a bit foolish for never thinking of such a simple method. She gestured for me to walk past her and sit down before she closed the door, cutting us off from the noises from the hallway as the last remaining students found their appropriate spot.

She walked around the desk, but instead of sitting in the chair across from me, she sat on the corner of the desk instead, crossing her legs as she did. At first, her legs had seemed oddly dark to me, but I quickly realized there was some kind of cloth over them. She was using the cloth to give her legs the impression of being perfect and flawless. It was an intriguing concept.

“Aiko, you were out for quite some time. I received notice that you came down with a bad fever and was hospitalized.”

“This is true,” I responded, realizing I was staring at her legs too long, and quickly broke my eyesight to look at her legs.

I had learned from my research the previous night that women in high school could be particularly touchy if they thought you were glancing at various parts of them. These were the same parts they seemed to go to a great extent to show off, so I didn’t understand it. For example, she was proud of her legs, or she wouldn’t be attempting to beautify them. If that was her intention, then why would she be angry? Thankfully, it didn’t become an issue as she didn’t seem to notice. She was busy looking down at a manilla folder in her hand. My name was written on the tag on the side of the folder, so this was probably my record with the school.

“Do you want to explain to me what you did wrong?” She asked, finally quirking an eyebrow my way.

“I believe that the teacher took offense to my argument. He likely thought I was questioning his intellect.”

“Oh? How so?”

“I was merely arguing that attempting to separate selection is merely a function of hubris.”

She looked at me blankly for a second and then frowned. “Would you say that you find the content of the class a bit easy?”

“Yes, the material was interesting, but I’m already well versed in all matters of the flesh.”

“I see… and…” She stopped, looking back at me. “What did you say? Did you say flesh?”

“Yes, I’ve had a lot of practice. You could call me a master.”

She jerked up, her cheeks turning pink. “I mean, you are a young boy. I’m sure you are curious, but saying you’re a master…”

“I am. I can do things that most men couldn’t even dream of.”

Her mouth was slightly open, and she quickly closed it and gulped. “You mean, you know a lot about yourself… male anatomy.”

“I’ve known the flesh of women as well. I’ve had a lot of experience.”

“Y-you’re only… how old?” She flipped open my file again, almost frantically.

I didn’t feel a need to lie. I knew most of my words would be ignored, but at least my story would be consistent as long as I told the truth.

“The file will say that I’m seventeen, but I’m an adult on the inside.”

“This…” She stood up, turning away from me as she walked around her desk. “You may think you’re an adult now. I’m sure every kid here thinks they are an adult. Why it wasn’t so long ago when I was your age, and I thought I knew everything. Can you guess how old I am?”

“23.”

It wasn’t difficult to guess. She had a college graduate photo on her desk labeled for the previous year.

“Ah! Th-that’s right! Ahem… I’m only 23, and I’m already the vice-principal of this school. Do you know how I achieved this?”

“You forgone sex in college to focus on your studies?”

“Wh-what are saying?”

“It was your leggings that tipped me off.”

“M-my leggings?” She took a step back.

“You want to show off your body, but you’re afraid it won’t look good enough, so you’re wearing something to both accentuate and hide it. You believe it is your best trait, but since you’ve never had a man compliment you, you’re worried that you’re wrong. This is why you wear a dress that stops above your knees but then cover your legs. It’s the classic sign of a virgin.”

I should know, I was the oldest virgin alive. It was the virgin men looking for a prospective woman who was the ones most likely to wear a codpiece. Men who had already bed a woman were usually comfortable enough that they didn’t need to embellish it. At least, that was my experience in my village. I wasn’t one of those men, by the way. Codpieces didn’t show up through robes. As for what I did instead, that’s a secret that will die in another world.

When I finished my explanation, her face was bright red, and she was trying to pull down her dress past her knees, but no matter how she pulled, a short dress was a short dress.

“G-g-go to the office!” She cried out.

“I am in the office.”

“O-oh… go to your classroom!”

I let out another sigh. Who said that high school would be easy? I got up and left the room.