"There you are. You have all passed," Shim said without looking up from the book he was reading. He raised his gaze after a few moments, as if finishing a paragraph, and looked at Victoria.
"Bonus points to Miss Victoria for organizing the hunt of a third-stage monster. Very well done. I was worried I would need to step in, but you seemed to have it under control."
"Under control?! We almost died!" Maura burst out.
Shim raised an eyebrow and looked at her with contempt.
"Awfully noisy for someone who's still alive."
"Sir, what do you mean when you give Victoria the credit for hunting that snake?" Nia asked with a frown. Certainly, someone had taken charge and given orders. That wasn't Victoria.
"Don't worry, the rest of you also contributed, so you also deserve some bonus points."
"Wha—" Victoria put a hand on her shoulder before she could continue protesting. Nia glanced at her and then at Alec, who shook his head.
