Anastasia, Nero, and I approached Liz, who was meticulously stacking papers by tapping them on the table.
Once she finished, she settled back into her seat and glanced in our direction.
When her captivating amethyst eyes locked with mine, I had to hold my breath. They were profound, akin to an endless abyss capable of consuming one's very soul.
Feeling a sense of unease and even danger, I quickly averted my gaze, realising it was unwise to linger in her gaze for too long.
No, I wasn't simping, by the way! I didn't mean it in any romantic or perverted way, although, to be honest, she was VERY hot; I really felt something off by looking into her eyes.
Perhaps it was because she had an affinity for Darkness while I had an affinity for the Light element.
As I've mentioned before, people with opposing affinities often experience a certain disquietude in each other's presence.
Anyway, Liz shifted her attention to Anastasia, who was standing next to me, fixating her intense gaze on her before finally looking at Nero.
"I've heard you guys were the ones who took down that vampire?" Liz stated in a questioning tone.
In acknowledgement, we nodded our heads in confirmation. Liz then shifted her focus to me, her gaze filled with curiosity.
"And you were the one who delivered the final blows to that and the other one," she remarked.
"It was a team effort, but yes," I responded in a polite tone.
Liz looked at me for a few seconds without saying anything. I know what she must be thinking. It's what they all think whenever I do anything out of character.
'He is different from the rumours.'
Naturally, the rumours had painted me as a malevolent young master, which I am obviously not.
So after a few seconds of silence, Liz let out a sigh and said, "You guys did well. By successfully containing and eliminating those vampires before they could wreak havoc on the streets, you saved countless lives."
Her words carried a genuine appreciation for the gravity of our accomplishment.
However, her tone soon shifted as she continued speaking, her voice now tinged with concern and anger.
"However," she began, "What you all did was also risky. I know that you were left with no choice but to engage in combat, but perhaps the wiser course of action would have been to prioritise survival until the military police could intervene instead of winning by fighting head-on."
"I understand, Master. But–" Nero began to express his thoughts, but I interjected.
"Initially, my plan was exactly what you suggested," I explained. "But Cadet Chase Wood prioritised his personal matters with me over our survival and refused to follow my suggestion. Additionally, third-year Cadet Drake exerted his authority and also chose not to act on my plan. These acts of insubordination forced us into a situation where direct confrontation became our only option."
"Haaa," Liz responded with a sigh, her hand gently rubbing her forehead in exasperation.
"I see," she said. "Allowing personal matters to jeopardise everyone's safety was wrong on Chase's part. I will see to it that he gets punished appropriately. And as for Drake, I don't think he was in the wrong. As the highest-ranking cadet present there, it's understandable that he wanted to take on the leadership role. Plus, he has already lost his arm, so that's enough for him."
I nodded in agreement with my hands behind my back, a subtle smile playing at the corners of my lips.
Inside, a rush of satisfaction filled me.
Even if I couldn't get Drake punished, I could still screw over Chase! Ha! That's what you get for messing with me during the entirety of our trip, you bastard!
A side character like him should've known his place! Hahahaha!
"Anyway," Liz said, bringing us back to the point. "What I wanted to inform the three of you is that you will be receiving medals of honour. One of the twelve members of the Central Government will be visiting our academy to attend the King's Tournament and will present the medals to you."
"A member of the Central Government?" Anastasia exclaimed in surprise before stealing a glance at Nero.
Curiosity piqued, I did the same and turned my gaze toward Nero. But his face remained devoid of any expressions.
There is one in a twelve chance that the person who would come to present us with the medals of honour could be Nero's father.
Of course, I knew that would definitely be the case.
"Yes," Liz affirmed with a nod. "The three of you will be required to write comprehensive reports detailing the incident, providing a thorough account of the events that transpired in the banquet hall and how you handled the situation."
"Will the rest of the class also be tasked with writing reports?"Anastasia sought clarification.
Liz responded, "Indeed. However, the higher-ups are particularly interested in reviewing the reports from the three of you. So ensure your accounts are highly detailed to avoid further questioning."
"Understood!" We chimed in unison, acknowledging Liz's instructions. She nodded in approval.
She then let out a sigh before cautioning us, "Remember, you were able to defeat those vampires because they were not frontline warriors. Our intel claimed that one of them was an assassin while the other was a spy. We have reasons to believe that they were on some kind of a mission here. If you ever come across a vampire knight, soldier, or noble, your best course of action is to flee and avoid engaging them."
I knew Liz was right, and it was likely that Nero and Anastasia understood it too. Mercy and Magnus weren't seasoned soldiers.
Mercy, if her story was true, had some background as a former soldier, but she mentioned that she wasn't at her full strength after facing my father years ago.
And Magnus, well, he was an assassin, so he shouldn't have been accustomed to direct confrontations.
Yet, they proved to be formidable adversaries.
They claimed the lives of six of our fellow cadets and even almost killed us too.
If Magnus had chosen to prioritise escape rather than deciding to try and kill us after we had killed Mercy, we might not have been able to eliminate him either.
"Anyway, you all are dismissed. Proceed to your class," Liz declared.
""Yes, ma'am!""
In unison, we responded, hands respectfully placed behind our backs.
With synchronised movements, we turned around and made our way out of the classroom.
"Fuuu."
As I walked down the hallway, heading towards the stairs, I let out a sigh and activated my smart bracelet.
I wanted to search for guidance on how to write an event report, as I had never done so in either of my lives.
However, before I could even launch the search engine, Nero's voice reached my ears.
"That wasn't good, Lucas," he remarked.
"Hmm?" I turned around to face him and Anastasia, who were both walking closely behind me. "What do you mean?"
"The way you betrayed Chase," Anastasia replied on behalf of Nero, her tone tinged with reproach.
"Hey," I frowned in response. "You know very well that he had a personal vendetta against me throughout the entire trip, and he still does, right?!"
"...." Nero hesitated for a moment, seemingly at a loss for words.
He decided to change the subject instead. "Anyway, I have to admit; you displayed remarkable prowess during the battle."
"Hmm?" I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? The thick smoke and darkness made it difficult to see anything."
"And you still fought exceptionally well," Nero acknowledged. "It exceeded my expectations."
"Were you using a relic to see through the darkness and smoke?" Anastasia, already aware of the answer, inquired further.
"Yes," I confirmed. "I had a relic prepared, just in case. And it came in handy."
"I see," Anastasia stroked her chin before questioning. "By the way, Lucas, aren't you an archer?"
"...Yes, why do you ask?" I asked.
"What weapon did you use to kill the vampire? I saw a large amount of mana swirling around a weapon in your hand, which I could only make out to be a spea–" before Anastasia could finish, I cut her off.
"Wait, you 'saw' a large amount of mana? You're telling me that you can see mana?"
Anastasia hesitated for a moment. Her tone flustered as she tried to hide her slip-up. "I– No? When did I say that?"
"You didn't?" Nero frowned, thinking he too heard her wrong. What a gullible protagonist.
Anastasia quickly denied. "No, I never said anything like that."
"I see," I shrugged, accepting her denial without further questioning.
"By the way," Nero interjected. "Why aren't we taking the lift?"
I stopped and turned around to look at the protagonist with blank eyes. "....There's a lift?"
Why have I been running up and down so many flights of stairs every day if this academy had a lift?!
No, come to think of it, of course, it should have a lift?! It's one of the most high-tech academies in the world?!
So that's why every time I would turn up for class, I was the only one drowned in sweat and out of breath while everyone else would be perfectly fine!!
I thought only I was like that because I had weak stamina compared to everyone else!
Arghh, damn it!
