Chapter 158: Frustrations with punishments
Haaaah~!
A long, beleaguered sigh escaped the lips of a stunning woman as she exhaled a plume of smoke from her elegantly carved Lesepfeife.
Leilah Grace, the principal of the academy, had always carried herself with a sense of poise and grace, her youthful appearance betraying the centuries of wisdom she possessed.
Yet, as she sat in her office, her usual aura of calm control was nowhere to be found. Instead, she looked like a woman teetering on the edge of exhaustion.
The recent incident had been resolved swiftly, but the aftermath was already proving to be a monumental headache.
The damage control alone was enough to make her feel ancient—something she hadn’t experienced in ages, despite her mastery over time and age.
The once proud and graceful figure of Leilah was now slumped, as if the weight of the academy’s troubles had finally taken their toll.
She had seen much in her long life, had dealt with countless crises, but nothing could have prepared her for the chaos that seemed to envelop the academy as of late.
Month after month, day after day, the problems only seemed to escalate, leaving her no time to catch her breath.
The once prestigious institution was becoming a breeding ground for chaos, and she was the one left to pick up the pieces.
The situation with Professor Luke was still unresolved, his actions leaving a stain that even the swift intervention of the princess couldn’t completely erase.
With the emperor now involved, the pressure to provide answers was immense.
And just when she thought things couldn’t get worse, three extraordinarily powerful students had nearly torn the academy apart in their reckless display of power.
The sheer scale of their abilities was something she hadn’t anticipated, and the thought of what might have happened if they hadn’t been stopped sent a chill down her spine.
Leilah took another puff from her pipe, her thoughts swirling like the smoke around her.
She had once prided herself on her ability to manage the academy with ease, to guide and nurture the next generation of leaders.
But now, as she stared at the growing pile of problems on her desk, she couldn’t help but feel a deep, bone-weary fatigue.
The semester had just begun, and yet incident after incident seemed to occur, one problem after another.
The tension was palpable, and her mana flared up without her even realizing it.
Her light brown hair turned pitch black, and her once-blue eyes glowed with an intense purple hue, radiating power and frustration.
“How are the three of them doing?” she asked, her voice tinged with exhaustion as she scanned the room, noting how everyone flinched under her gaze. “Were they restrained properly?”
The scene was set in the principal’s meeting room, where all the academy heads and deans were present, seated around the round table.
Cold sweat dripped down their spines, each one of them acutely aware of the gravity of the situation.
The air was thick with unspoken concerns, the weight of responsibility pressing down on them.
Amelia Grace, the granddaughter and secretary of Leilah, was the first to speak up, her voice steady yet cautious, trying to ease the tension in the room.
“According to Dorothy’s report, the three of them have calmed down after attempting to escalate another fight. It seems they became compliant with the mana restriction bracelets after President Dorothy forcefully placed them on, and after student Riley convinced the three to stand down.”
A collective sigh of relief seemed to ripple through the room, though it was short-lived.
The situation was far from resolved, and the lingering unease was evident.
The principal’s gaze remained sharp, her patience clearly wearing thin.
This was supposed to be a place of learning and growth, yet chaos had taken root, and the responsibility of containing it fell squarely on their shoulders.
“They need to be kept under close watch,” she said, her voice low but commanding. “We cannot afford another incident, not with the eyes of the sponsors and donors on us. The integrity of this academy is at stake.”
“Understood….”
“Good….”
With the immediate crisis seemingly under control, her gaze shifted toward the heads of finance, domestic and internal affairs, and security.
Her expression remained composed, but there was an unmistakable intensity behind her eyes as she addressed them. “What is the estimated damage?”
The room fell into an uneasy silence as the department heads exchanged nervous glances.
The head of finance, sensing the weight of the moment, took a deep breath and stepped forward.
He hesitated for a brief moment, then began manipulating the holographic screen at the center of the table.
As the figures materialized in glowing digits, the enormity of the situation became painfully clear. Written on the screen was a number that left everyone in the room dumbfounded.
[27,680,000 Gold]
The sheer magnitude of the amount was staggering.
It wasn’t counted in gems, bronze, or even silver coins, but in gold—the highest currency in the world.
The heads of each department visibly recoiled, their faces drained of color.
It was a sum they could hardly comprehend, let alone justify.
The idea that such an enormous loss had occurred within their grand and prestigious academy, all because of a single duel between top students, left them speechless.
All the surplus money they had just earned from the grand festival was now practically useless.
The funds, initially intended to enhance the academy’s reputation and improve facilities, were now allocated to fix the extensive damages caused by the clash between those three.
Some roads caught in the clash were reduced to rubble, buildings cracked and almost cumbled, restaurants were obliterated, and even the city square itself bore the scars of the intense battle.
The sheer force of the mana exchange between those three students was enough to shake the academy to its core, despite their status as mere students.
Although Alice’s familiar did bring the overall damage down by teleporting them to a metaphysical dimension the initial damage had been done.
The physical destruction was just the beginning; the emotional and mental toll was far more challenging to address.
Students who had been caught in the crossfire were traumatized, and the reports flooding in painted a grim picture.
Leilah’s desk was piled high with papers detailing the rising number of students seeking transfers or outright withdrawal from the academy, driven by fear and the perceived negligence of the administration.
The once lively and vibrant campus now felt shadowed by uncertainty and anxiety.
As Leilah reviewed the reports, she couldn’t help but sigh in frustration.
The academy was in a delicate position.
While punishing the three with misconduct charges and demerit points seemed like the logical course of action, it was far from straightforward.
These students weren’t just ordinary individuals—they were backed by powerful families and influential factions.
Any disciplinary action could strain or even sever the relationships the academy had carefully cultivated over the years.
The three girls—Rose, Seo, and Alice—were not just students; they were the pride and prodigies of the academy.
Their talents and backgrounds placed them far beyond the reach of ordinary punishment.
If word got out that the academy decided to discipline them, it might seem reasonable on the surface, appeasing some concerns about fairness and order.
However, the repercussions would ripple far beyond the classroom walls.
Each of these girls was backed by immense power and influence.
Rose was the daughter of the illustrious Brilliance family, known for their unmatched intellect and political clout.
Seo was the direct descendant of the legendary cultivator who had mastered the Hidden Blade technique, a legacy that commanded respect and fear.
Alice, on the other hand, was practically a walking investment, sponsored by nearly all the mage towers in the world.
These were not just students; they were future leaders, sword master, and archmages—individuals who, even now, could outmatch many of the academy’s own staff.
To punish them could strain the academy’s relationship with these exceptional students, potentially driving them away.
And if they chose to leave, it wouldn’t just be a loss of talent; it would signify a breakdown in trust, a fracture in the academy’s reputation.
More importantly, the financial stability of the academy hung in the balance.
The sponsors who supported these girls—families, organizations, and entire mage towers—would not take kindly to seeing their protégés mistreated.
The headaches of dealing with such powerful backers could soon escalate into a crisis, threatening the very foundation of the academy.
In truth, these girls didn’t need the academy’s guidance anymore.
They had already surpassed most of the staff in skill and knowledge.
What they needed was the freedom to continue growing, to walk their own paths, and to gain the wisdom and strength that could only come from experience.
Punishing them could push them to abandon the academy altogether, seeking opportunities elsewhere where their talents would be better appreciated and where they wouldn’t be held back by outdated rules and regulations.
The situation had escalated beyond what anyone could have imagined.
Not only was the emperor now involved, but Riley Hell—someone closely connected to Duke Luther Heavens and one of the academy’s top investors—was also entangled in the mess.
The weight of the scandal had grown exponentially, and the implications were far-reaching, especially with such powerful figures now in the mix.
Principal Leilah felt the pressure mounting, her head throbbing with the stress of it all.
She leaned back in her chair, a deep sigh escaping her lips as she tried to find a moment of peace amidst the chaos.
The smoke from her cigarette curled lazily into the air, a brief respite from the storm brewing around her.
“That’s it, I’m retiring… I QUIT!!!” she suddenly shouted in frustration, the pent-up tension bursting forth.
“YOU CAN’T!!!!”
The cry was unanimous, a desperate plea from her staff and colleagues who knew the academy’s management would be doomed without her.
Panic and disbelief echoed through the room, their collective voices a testament to how irreplaceable Principal Leilah had become.
She rubbed her temples, the urge to just walk away from it all almost overwhelming, but she knew deep down that quitting wasn’t an option.
Not with everything at stake, and certainly not when so many depended on her to steer the academy through this crisis.
…..
“They sure were quite the hassle, weren’t they?”
Dorothy’s calm and amused voice sliced through my thoughts as I ignored the persistent system messages notifying me of a certain evil god’s peculiar fondness for me.
Glancing to my side, I saw Dorothy Gale, now technically the ex-student council president, her light flaxen hair shimmering subtly beneath the twilight’s haze.
“Yes…”
The situation had escalated quickly.
The moment the three girls regained consciousness, a new argument erupted among them, one that seemed poised to spiral into another confrontation.
Cheshire had been left to handle them as a form of punishment, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that relying on that cat was a mistake.
“In the end, all of this boiled down to you, huh… fufu. I can’t say I didn’t expect that, though, junior. To think even Alice got involved~”
“Please give me a break.”
“NO can do. This was basically your fault.”
“That’s…” I struggled to find the right words.
Dorothy wasn’t entirely wrong.
While I wanted to shift the blame solely onto the girls for their reckless behavior, it wouldn’t be fair or accurate.
They had acted on their own, but the root of the chaos seemed to trace back to me.
Denying responsibility felt selfish and arrogant, even if the situation was more complex than a simple attribution of fault.
“Fufu, please don’t feel too bad about it. I’m just teasing you. Cheshire said that you finished everything willy-nilly right at the end, though~ Why didn’t you do it from the start?”
“I couldn’t,” I replied, my voice steady but carrying the weight of the truth. If Cheshire hadn’t released me back then, the situation would have ended far differently.
“Hm? I find that hard to believe… But I suppose everyone has their limits. Even a hidden master like you can struggle at times, huh?”
“I’m not a master…”
“Surely you jest~” Dorothy said, her tone light and disbelieving.
She turned her gaze upward to the sky where the moon was beginning to rise.
Two moons, identical yet distinct, floated in the darkening expanse, casting an ethereal glow across the landscape.
“Anyways, I know you’re worried about the three of them, but Alice will probably just get a slap on the wrist, and Seo might receive some sort of corporal punishment. Likely, she’ll be assigned to clean toilets or help with the reconstruction process to address the damage they caused. As for Rose, well, she’s a bit of a special case. Perhaps a mix of both?”
Dorothy’s voice was calm and measured as she spoke, though there was a playful undertone to her words.
Despite her light-hearted demeanor, the gravity of the situation was not lost on me. Her assessment was practical, if not somewhat dismissive of the deeper implications of each person’s actions.
The consequences, though necessary, seemed like a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things.
‘But I guess the benefits of their presence outweighs the entire academy’s student body as a whole huh…’
I watched as Dorothy’s gaze remained fixed on the moons, her thoughts clearly elsewhere.
Her calm observation contrasted sharply with the turmoil I felt inside.
The way Dorothy looked at the sky above was a blend of longing, sadness, and acceptance, all entwined in a complex tapestry of emotions.
Her eyes, once bright and full of life, now seemed to carry a depth of weariness that contrasted sharply with her usual demeanor.
I knew this wasn’t the right time to probe, but understanding the truth behind the person I was striving so hard to save was crucial.
I needed context to make sense of why she had changed so drastically from the person I knew in the game to the way she was now.
If things continued on their current trajectory, her path was clear—it would lead to her doom.
“President…” I began cautiously.
“Please don’t call me president anymore,” Dorothy said with a soft laugh. “I don’t hold that title anymore.”
“Well, technically you’re still in office until the new one is elected,” I pointed out.
“You really can’t let things go, can you, junior?” she replied, a faint smile touching her lips. “So, what’s on your mind?”
“Why do you look so sad?”
“….”
Dorothy’s eyes widened with surprise for a brief moment before she quickly masked her emotions with her usual businesslike smile.
She tilted her head slightly, a gesture that conveyed both curiosity and a touch of weariness.
“What are you talking about, junior Riley? I’m not sad, you know~”
“Is that so…” I said, unconvinced by her attempt at nonchalance.
Her gaze lingered on me, and for a moment, I thought I saw the shadow of her true feelings—a sadness that she was struggling to keep hidden behind her practiced facade.
Looking at her face, it was clear she wasn’t about to open up anytime soon.
The moment I asked her that question, her expression hardened, a wall of ice forming between us.
[Item: Tears of Chronos (Unique)]
[Auto Activated]
[Effects: Time Dilation (Movement Slow: 50%)]
The skill triggered itself, and suddenly, time seemed to stretch around me back then.
Every second dragging out longer than it should have for a few moments against her surprised face.
That was why i saw it clearly despite her facade….
I couldn’t pinpoint what had triggered the skill, but the cold sweat trickling down my spine told me it was something significant.
The unsettling realization that I almost didn’t make it through this situation set in, as the activation of the skill suggested I had barely avoided something fatal.
‘I guess she’s more sensitive than I thought…’
