The office was cluttered with paperwork as Benjamin went through each of them meticulously. Each stack of paper represented a different type of trial that Dirin would be allowed to do after all of the paperwork was filled out by both of them. Most of them were simply trials that didn't involve any form of killing and were mainly riddles.
All of the answers for the trials were on the papers. Everything that was needed for Dirin to complete the trials was listed and organized well. Benjamin was looking for things that wouldn't be in high demand. He needed a trial that would be approved quickly so Dirin could become a Rank 1 as soon as possible.
"So many choices." His mumblings filled the quiet room. He flipped through each paper as he set the others aside in various piles, with them either being acceptable or not. "It is safe to say that we don't have to worry about it not happening now."
A knock sounded on the door, and Mrs. Burk walked in with a couple of other people. All of them had grave faces on. Benjamin couldn't help but groan as he saw them. Every time people came to his office lately, they only brought bad news. What a school year, huh?
They exchanged a few more glances until Benjamin interrupted them, "If you have something to say, then say it! No point in wasting time on something that is so obviously serious." The people froze a bit.
Clearing her throat, Mrs. Burk looked at him with slightly weary eyes from all of the hunting and fighting she had been doing over the past couple of days. "We figured out how the cult has been getting all the information about our defenses and attacks." Benjamin raised an eyebrow as he heard this and set aside the papers, and leaned in. "We have a mole."
Anger surged up in him quicker than he expected. He was about to lash out at her for suggesting something, but she was his most trusted employee, with Mr. Till as the second. He calmed himself and smoothed his face before looking back at her. All of them were trembling a bit, and he realized that their glances were because of him and not the cultists. They were worried about me lashing out? I'll need to work on that. "May... I have some reason you suspect this?"
They all quickly nodded. One of them stepped forward. He was a shorter man, but he had himself afloat a couple of feet off the ground and was above all of them by a head at least. He was a psychic, from what he knew. "I invaded the minds of multiple cultists, and I found out that they said something about having insider information."
"Maybe they fed that information to their employees to make us suspect them. Maybe they knew you could do that." Benjamin was still in a little bit of denial and wanted to say whatever he could to prevent the idea of a mole in his academy.
"Mr. Ceil's information isn't recorded publicly or even privately." Mrs. Burk interjected, and Benjamin's face darkened a bit. That threw his whole argument out the window. "It has to be someone who has some form of access to this information. They need to know more than students, but they need to be not important enough to be teachers."
"Staff then. Could be guidance." Said someone else, but they all stopped talking once Benjamin shook his head.
"What were the screenings for the students?" He looked at all of them and saw confusion on some of their faces, while some of them seemed to grasp the idea instantly. "If we hadn't checked the students to see if they were already Rank 1 or whatever before they came in, then we would need to check every student. Even if we have checked them, we still can't rule out the possibility that they had an artifact or something else that concealed it from us."
Everyone started to nod. Benjamin's eyes went towards the paperwork, and he started to suspect Dirin. He needed Anima to progress further, which was something that had only been found for going to Rank 3. Of course, he had been keeping an eye on him before this already, but now he would have to pay a bit more attention. Students' lives were at stake, so he couldn't let any stone unturned. "Feel free to investigate within your power. If you investigate each other, make sure to cooperate and be forthright. It'll be the only way we can find anything out."
Everyone nodded and started to leave the room. Not too long after, the room was empty with even Benjamin gone. He was now outside with his figure now blending in with the sky as light bent around him, causing him to leave almost no signs. He watched multiple people of interest. Vale, Ritchard, Dirin, and a couple more people. He looked over and saw Markus and Rose together. His eyes narrowed, but a smile appeared on his face as he blocked his view from over there.
I know I told her to go find someone, but I didn't mean a student! She probably put up some boundaries and failed to keep them as well. Markus, right? A very bright young man. Clueless at times, but that might make it more enjoyable for her. Should I tell her to keep it off campus, so the older teachers don't get the same idea? Thankfully, most of them are already married.
He watched the students for a couple of more hours until the sun started to set. Dirin was now sleeping and had already been taken off the suspect list. He had done everything a teenager would do in their situation, and a couple of others were cleared by smaller details as well. Vale was safe because she was too immersed in her own newfound abilities to find anything else.
They'll come out soon enough. I just need to float back and wait until they slip up. He settled into the space as he started to play the biggest game of cat and mouse Falem would ever participate in.