(Rose Carlos' POV)
The winter night wind in the capital usually brought the scent of fresh snow and soothing firewood. However, tonight, on the path to the Academy Central Tower, the air smelled of... trouble.
I took a position two steps behind the strangest circus troupe in the history of Lion Academy.
In front, Arin walked with a relaxed stride, both hands stuffed in his pockets, as if he had just returned from a casual picnic and not just escaped death. Beside him, Elena Rhyms, the usually cold and arrogant best friend, was now clinging to him like a possessive noble leech. And on the other side, there was Erika, walking while staring blankly at the streetlights, perhaps her brain still processing the dinner menu we ate ten minutes ago.
"So..." Arin broke the silence, his voice sounding lazy. "Are you sure this isn't execution part two? The last time I was summoned to your grandmother's office, I was almost forced to sign a lifetime slave contract."
"Do not be dramatic," Elena replied while flipping her silver hair gracefully. "Grandmother summoned you at this hour not to punish. This is a negotiation. And in negotiations, the party feeling guilty is usually the most generous."
"Guilty?"
Erika's steps stopped suddenly. Her eyes blinked slowly.
One... two... three...
"Who... is... guilty?" she asked slowly. Her loading time was terrible.
I exhaled a long breath. Quickened my pace to catch up with them.
"The Headmistress, Erika. She feels guilty because her security system was breached and you almost became earthworm food."
"Oh..." Erika nodded slowly, then continued walking casually. "...Good."
I stared at the backs of the three of them while shaking my head. How could a Rose Carlos, a respected and sane Marquis's daughter, end up being the babysitter for these three lunatics?
One lunatic because he had no fear of death, one lunatic because of blind love, and one literally lunatic because her brain was empty.
"Why are you coming along, Rose?" asked Arin without turning, as if he had eyes in the back of his head.
"Someone has to be the sane witness in that room," I answered curtly. "Besides, I am curious. How a Class C student could make an entire academy uproar, kill a Silver Golem, and still have time to eat two portions of noodles afterward."
Arin just chuckled softly. A dry and hollow laugh.
We arrived in front of the giant double doors made of black mahogany. The Headmistress's Office.
The doors opened on their own with a heavy creak, revealing a spacious, luxurious, and intimidating interior. Thousands of ancient books lined shelves reaching up to the ceiling. At the end of the room, behind a desk where stacks of documents resembled a defensive fortress, sat the most powerful woman in this academy.
Selena Rhyms.
She did not look like a terrifying archmage tonight. She looked like a tired grandmother. She was massaging her temples with eyes closed, while Alfin, her trusted Elf servant, stood tall behind her like a shadow.
On the side sofa, Instructor Karim sat with a stiff face, holding various report documents.
"Enter," ordered Selena without opening her eyes.
The four of us stepped inside. Once the door closed behind us, the noise of the outside world vanished instantly, replaced by a thin mana pressure that made goosebumps rise.
Selena opened her eyes. Those golden irises, inherited by Elena, stared sharply. Or more accurately, stared at Arin.
"I summoned Arin," said Selena flatly. Her gaze shifted to me, Elena, and Erika. "Not a circus troupe. Why are you all here?"
"Solidarity, Grandmother," answered Elena quickly, stepping forward and standing beside Arin. Her chin lifted, a challenging gesture very typical of the Rhyms Family. "Arin is my partner. What happens to him is my business."
"I... am also... a victim..." added Erika, her voice five seconds late but firm enough.
I shrugged when Selena looked in my direction. "I am just ensuring no one kills each other, Your Excellency. Someone has to maintain ethics here."
Selena snorted, then leaned her back against the soft chair. Her face, usually full of authority, now showed cracks of fatigue. She looked at Elena with a gaze mixed between annoyance because her authority was challenged, and pride because her granddaughter had guts.
"Fine," sighed Selena resignedly. "Sit down. Except you, Arin. You stand."
Arin obeyed without protest. He stood in the center of the room, looking small before these giants of power. Yet strangely, he did not look intimidated. His posture was relaxed, too relaxed for someone standing before a Sixth Circle mage.
"Explain to me," ordered Selena, her voice heavy. "Starting from when you entered that cliff crevice. Hide nothing. Alfin will know if you lie."
Arin nodded. Then he began to tell the story.
And by God, the way he told it was horrifying.
He did not tell it with a heroic or dramatic tone. He told it like a housewife reading a daily shopping list.
"We were cornered in a dead end. A Silver Golem led the herd. I counted about seventy-three monsters," said Arin calmly. "The badges did not function. But suddenly the magical barrier disappeared, I had no choice but to run outside the safe zone to seek a chance of survival."
Silence.
All eyes now turned to Selena.
The Headmistress sighed deeply, then picked up her teacup. Her hand trembled slightly.
"That was me," confessed Selena softly.
Elena gasped. "Grandmother? Grandmother disabled the academy's main barrier? But... that violates level one security protocol! The Council could impeach Grandmother!"
"They already tried this afternoon," answered Selena bitterly. She put down her cup roughly until it clinked. "The Vice Principal and the Benzzi faction used that as a weapon to attack me in the council meeting. They accused me of endangering school security to save 'Class C trash'."
Selena looked at Arin, her gaze sharp yet weary.
"I risked my position to give you that gap, Kid. You owe me your life. Not to Elena, but to me."
Arin did not look down. He returned the gaze straight on. "I am aware, Your Excellency. And I paid for it by returning alive and not letting my corpse become a trophy for your enemies."
"Fair enough," mumbled Selena, the corner of her lips lifting slightly. "Continue!"
"Then I broke a Kobold's neck to open a path. We were chased to a cave," Arin continued his story. "Erika fainted after defeating the Silver Golem. Then I carried her to hide inside the cave."
Erika jolted, then was silent for a moment to process the information Arin had just told. After realizing it, Erika adopted the most arrogant attitude she could show, puffing out her chest as if wanting to show off the achievement of defeating a Silver Golem to Elena.
Elena just stared at her coldly, though a sigh of 'Tch' was heard from her mouth, as if annoyed at being beaten by this stupid girl.
Only a sigh escaped my lips seeing their behavior. Better focus on listening to Arin's story.
"Kobolds intercepted the cave exit. I drank..." Arin paused for a moment, "...The potion we brought earlier to fight the Alpha Kobold and go to the Academy Forest Border."
There was a slight pause at the potion part. What was that? Was Arin hiding something?
Alfin's eyes twitched slightly hearing Arin's pause. As if the Elf knew something was skipped or hidden.
Karim on the sofa shifted restlessly, flipping through his report pages roughly as if wanting to cover up suspicion regarding that pause.
"After that?" asked Karim quickly, trying to divert attention.
"After that we reached the border. But the magic barrier wall was still active. We were trapped. But then..." Arin stopped for a moment, looking straight at Selena. "Then after I walked taking a detour, I met a Heretic."
The room went cold instantly. The temperature dropped drastically.
"Heretic?" repeated Selena sharply. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. A Professional Aura User. He targeted Erika as a vessel," continued Arin, his tone still as flat as if discussing the weather. "He tried to kill me. So I broke his ribs, used my helmet to crush his skull, and squeezed his heart until it burst."
Bitter saliva was swallowed with difficulty. Eyes glanced at Elena. The best friend's face was pale, her hands gripping her Academy skirt tightly.
Arin talked about killing a human as if it were a routine surgical procedure. There was no tremor of fear or trauma in his voice. Only... pure logic.
This kid is broken, I thought. He is truly broken inside.
Karim suddenly stood up. His face was dark. "Your Excellency, from Arin's story and the field investigation report... this pattern is too neat. Herded monsters, sabotaged badges, and the appearance of the Sect in a blind spot. This is not mere coincidence."
"Of course not," Elena's voice sounded cold, cutting off the conversation. Her eyes flashed angrily. "It is Karl. Who else has the funds to buy a Silver Golem summoning magic scroll and bribe supervisors? Who else has a strong motive besides him?"
"Karl Benzzi..." I mumbled softly. The name tasted like poison on the tongue.
Everyone in the room knew. The elephant in the room. The mastermind was clear and the motive was also clear.
"We must arrest him!" exclaimed Elena, standing from her chair with exploding emotion. "We have Arin's testimony! We have proof of the broken badges! We can drag him to court!"
"Sit down, Elena," ordered Selena firmly.
"But Grandma—! He tried to kill Arin!"
"I SAID SIT DOWN!"
Selena's shout was accompanied by a mana wave that made the window glass vibrate violently. Elena fell silent, her courage shrinking, then sat back down with a face flushed red suppressing anger.
Selena massaged the bridge of her nose again, looking ten years older. "You think I do not know? I know it was Karl and Elian's doing. But we have no physical evidence linking them directly."
Selena pointed at the stack of papers on her desk with disgust.
"Those broken badges? Robert, their homeroom teacher, admitted to 'accidentally' dropping them before distribution. Technical error, he said. The dead Sect member? No identity, no warrant from Benzzi. The rampaging monsters? They blamed it on Sect terrorism. They have an alibi for every hole."
"They washed their hands..." I whispered in horror. "They got away just like that?"
"Yes. Very clean," continued Karim with a heavy voice full of frustration. "Karl Benzzi walks free in this academy laughing, while Arin had to bet his life. The law cannot touch him because his father is the second-largest funder of this academy."
The room was shrouded in a suffocating atmosphere of helplessness. We knew who the villain was, but we could do nothing. Justice was merely sweet words in a fairy tale book.
"So..." Erika's voice broke the heavy silence. She stared at the ceiling with a blank gaze. "...we can only be silent?"
"Not silent," corrected Selena. She looked at Arin again, a thin smile starting to form. "We play chess. They just took my small pawns, but their King is exposed. The fact that Arin survived and won the duel... that is a hard slap to the Benzzi faction. Their reputation is tarnished and their investment failed completely."
Selena smiled thinly, a terrifying and vengeful smile.
"You humiliated them, Arin. You made them look incompetent. That is a political victory more painful than death for a noble crazy for respect."
Arin was just silent. His face showed no expression of victory or pride. He looked... bored?
No, not bored. He looked like he was waiting for something.
I noticed his fingers tapping his thigh in a regular rhythm. He did not care about politics. He did not care about Karl or noble factions. He was just waiting for one thing.
"So," Arin's voice was finally heard, cutting off Selena's complex political analysis. "Is this interrogation over? I am tired."
Selena raised an eyebrow. "You do not want to know our revenge plan?"
"No," answered Arin quickly. "I leave adult matters to you. What is more important to me now..."
Arin lifted his face. His blue eyes sparkled with greed not hidden in the slightest.
"...where is my compensation? You promised 'justice', right? I prefer justice in the form of gold or magic items."