Aeren stood at the principal's door and knocked. He heard a voice from inside.
"You can come in," Principal Valerius called from within his office.
Aeren looked around the office—it was simple and bright with natural lighting effects.
He observed the Principal, who remained seated at his desk, working on some paperwork.
"Sir, you called for me?" Aeren asked in a polite tone.
Valerius looked at Aeren for a few seconds.
"Which organization are you affiliated with, Aeren?"
Aeren looked at the principal and asked, "What are you talking about, sir?"
Valerius stood up in rage, slamming his hand on the table. Mana pressure erupted from him to intimidate Aeren, but Aeren didn't flinch even slightly. Seeing this, Valerius withdrew his mana and asked more calmly.
"Why did you kill Amara Calvess, Aeren?"
Aeren stared at the Principal for a few seconds and said, "It was a coincidence."
Valerius felt rage building inside him and wanted to attack Aeren, but he knew something wasn't right about the boy. Aeren might endanger other students, and Valerius didn't know how many pupils were under Aeren's influence or had been infiltrated by his organization.
"Aren't you scared that I could kill you or tell Duke Calvess?" Valerius said, trying to control his rage. He knew he could kill Aeren instantly, but the boy was still one of his students, and he wanted to guide him toward the right path.
"..." Aeren didn't answer Valerius's question.
Seeing Aeren's silence, Valerius said, "If you think I won't harm you, you're overestimating yourself."
Aeren continued looking at Valerius and said nothing.
Valerius tried to make him feel some fear about the situation, but this approach didn't work on Aeren, so he gave up and said, "Duke Calvess will kill you if he learns about you, and he'll find everything about the organization you're affiliated with and kill them too."
"Affiliated?" Aeren asked.
Valerius looked at Aeren and said again, "If you tell me about the organization you're working with, I won't pursue you."
Aeren didn't understand his meaning and remained silent.
Valerius stared at him and asked, "Were you involved in the capital accident?"
Aeren looked at the Principal and said, "I was on the moon."
Valerius looked at Aeren and said, "You said the same thing last time."
Valerius spoke with sarcasm, though he actually trusted Aeren's words because of Tanmya's testimony. A thought emerged in Valerius's mind as he continued staring at Aeren. He didn't even try to hide his crime, and I thought he would. He hasn't told us a single thing about his affiliations—maybe he's not affiliated with anyone at all. Hmm, what should I tell Duke Calvess?
Valerius's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.
Knock, knock
Valerius looked toward the door with a smile and said, "Come in."
Four people entered the office. When they saw Aeren, they were startled for a moment. Elenya hid behind Lira, and Isolde hid behind Renn. Lira and Renn didn't react much to Aeren's presence, but Valerius noticed this behavior and connected the dots. Aeren is dangerous, Valerius thought as he glanced at the boy, but he needed manpower for future disasters.
Lira looked at the principal and asked, "Why did you call us here, sir?"
Aeren glanced at them briefly and then ignored them.
"Oh, good work on your quest," Valerius said.
"Thank you, sir," Renn replied, still watching Aeren.
Seeing this, Valerius said, "I asked him to come here. You don't need to worry about him."
Renn nodded, but Isolde and Elenya didn't let their guard down because they had witnessed a massacre at his hands.
Lira looked at Elenya and said, "Can we leave?"
Valerius saw this and looked at Aeren. "Aeren, you can go. Be Good. I'll support you if you're not infiltrating with any organization."
Aeren stared back at the principal and said, "Okay."
Aeren left the office. Elenya and Isolde watched his retreating figure and sighed with relief.
The Principal looked at his students and asked, "Do you think Aeren is affiliated with any organization?"
Lira said confidently, "No."
Valerius looked at Lira with shock. Lira was the academy's best student and possibly the strongest in the institution. She was trusted by everyone and famous among the students.
"Why are you so sure?" Valerius asked curiously.
"Hmm, I've been with him for two years," Lira said flatly.
Valerius looked at Lira and sighed. "Then it's good that Aeren isn't affiliated with any organization."
Renn's eyebrow twitched.
"What did you discover during your quest?" Valerius asked with curiosity.
"Hmm, there's a cult called 'Monster Worshiper.' They manipulate monsters and cause destruction as sacrifice rituals to summon their god through devastation," Lira said.
Renn, Isolde, and Elenya looked at Lira with shock—they hadn't known about this information.
"Hmm, 'Monster Worshiper,' you say," Valerius looked at Lira. He had never seen anyone like her. She was the academy's most precious gift. "Anything else?"
"Hmm, there are intelligent monsters. They can speak human language and are hard to kill," Lira said flatly.
"What? How can monsters be intelligent?" Valerius was shocked by this information. He had only read about such creatures and thought they were fairy tales.
"Hmm?" Lira looked at Valerius with confusion.
"What do they look like?" Valerius asked.
"I met the weakest intelligent monster, and it looked child-sized with a violet color. The monster's face resembled a human's but was strong with pure physical strength," Lira recalled the creature as she spoke.
"Anything else?" Valerius asked, his eyes lighting up.
"I don't know more, but the monster was purely poisonous, though it didn't affect me. There are many more, but I didn't encounter them," Lira said.
Meanwhile, Renn, Isolde, and Elenya knew nothing about these monsters.
Valerius absorbed all this information and went silent for a few minutes.
"Excellent, Student Lira. If you need anything now or in the future, you can ask the academy for whatever you require," Valerius said.
"Hmm, okay."
"Alright, you can all leave, or if you want to share anything else, you can do so now."
All of them nodded their heads. As they were about to leave, Valerius remembered something and spoke up.
"Ah, one more thing."
They all looked at Valerius again.
"We're organizing an event for S-class students from every year as a welcome for our kingdom's king. He's been away meeting with other kingdoms, so if you're interested in the competition, you can register through the system to let us know you're joining."
Everyone looked at Valerius, nodded, and left—except Renn, who stayed behind.