Classroom for Heroes

Cu Chulainn

Blade and the rest of the training crew relish lunch while the four recruits join them on their first day as episode 3 of Classroom for Heroes begins. During the meal, Earnest brings up the news that his majesty plans on bringing a magical beast to the academy. While Blade seems unfazed, the other recruits are terrified of the thought.

Suddenly, a tremendous rumbling shakes the room and the beast comes crashing down, leaving a hole in the ceiling. Everyone steps back in fear, except for Blade.

Blade takes a massive leap in the air and knocks down the dragon with one slam on the head.

The dragon falls to the ground and everyone is amazed by Blade’s power. Blade’s cover of being an ordinary boy is blown. He tosses the plate of delicious food to the dragon and she relishes it.

The dragon transforms into a little girl, calling him ‘Parent’, and springs onto him, not letting go. Blade names the little girl Cu and accepts the role of parent.

Later that day, while bathing Cu, Earnest takes the initiative to research dragons transforming into humans and enlightens Blade. According to the information, when a dragon is defeated, the flesh perishes and the soul takes the form of the entity which defeated it.

During lunchtime, Blade and his friends relish lunch with Cu in his lap as he feeds her. She makes tons of demands for love and affection. All his friends decide to boycott him when she claims that he spends most of his time staring at mature female bodies.

Later that day, Blade sees Cu wandering around the academy, observing the activities the students are doing.

At night Earnest stops by his room as he puts Cu to sleep. Earnest and Sophie were concerned if he understood the full extent of the responsibility on his shoulders. She explains that from birth, a dragon’s parent constantly hurts them because of which once they grow, they only acknowledge someone stronger than themselves. He assures them that he understands it and is serious about parenting Cu.

On returning to the room, Blade realizes the window is left open while Cu has gone to the roof to look at the stars. She assures him that she doesn’t need any friends other than him.

The next day Blade drops Cu with His Majesty for daycare, but upon returning, she has already left to go elsewhere. Blade finds her in his room playing with her toys, busy mimicking his friends. She starts with Earnest and Sophie, before taking the names of almost every student in the academy.

Blade figures out she needs a friend. However, dragons can only acknowledge someone more powerful than themselves. Blade feels low that Cu might not be able to find any friends around and walks down the corridor, banging his head on the wall.

Earnest happens to be passing by and stops Blade at once, letting him vent his thoughts. Blade tells her that only a human who can defeat the dragon can be Cu’s friend. Earnest understands the situation and encourages him to approach her and the students.

The next day they visit the training arena and plead with the students to fight the Dragon. The students are initially scared, but as the higher ranks step in, we prepare for the big battle.

This episode introduces an interesting new character, Cu the Dragon. It also establishes some interesting facts about the dragon’s emotional bonding system which has real-world implications. The Dragon can only acknowledge people who can defeat her in combat.

The dynamic of parent-child bonding is partially rooted in the psychological concept of Trauma bonding, where a child looks for a relationship where it can feel overpowered due to a past traumatic bond. However, the storyline explores the complexity with a distinct difference as Blade doesn’t hurt Cu despite being much stronger.