The Punishment of Sin

By the end of the second week, the students were quite adapted to the school environment and to getting up early, a problem that many students still had trouble with.

The classes had gone smoothly and the official fights were becoming more and more typical. Unwarranted harm was not sought, but it was true that experience was needed to be able to improve and to know that improvement was needed, and the official bouts helped with that.

Hanks would watch the students in his Friday class trying to get a feel for what they were like. He could see innocence, curiosity, friendship, and a slight amount of love and passion among them. He saw them as a good group striving to improve, and what made them improve the most was their sense of pride.

Pride is a double-edged sword, and depending on the connotation pride can be bad or good. We have the negative pride, that which forces you to feel above the rest, a pride that shares meaning with arrogance and pride, a pride from which many sins such as lust, anger, or laziness come.

What Hanks called positive pride has a meaning closer to personal satisfaction, although some may mistakenly understand this as a minor feeling, a source of personal pride cannot be underestimated. It is dangerous, though, because this pride can lead to the former.

Hanks watched his students with curiosity, watched them strive and struggle to improve. He wasn't clear if it was because of this feeling of personal pride or if there was something else he was unaware of, but he was happy to see an applied class. He knew it was better this way than a class full of sinners.

When the morning class was over the group consisting of Arlen, Caleb, Laia, Olivia, and Kevin ate quietly. Over the past two weeks, their relationships had become clearer and they felt more comfortable with each other. It wasn't that they were antisocial and didn't talk to anyone else, it was just that they felt more comfortable with each other.

In fact, in these two weeks, Caleb and Olivia were approached by people of all kinds, some just wanted to talk to them for a while, they were two people closer than they expected from heirs. Others had intentions behind their words, some showed it quickly, for example, it took Olivia no more than 5 minutes for a guy to ask her out, a record that Olivia quickly politely declined.

But Hanks noticed a big difference between the behavior of the heirs, and it wasn't just Professor Hanks, the rest of the IOH teachers and soldiers noticed the difference clearly. While Caleb and Olivia behaved like two kids their age, maybe even more mature, Scarlett and Schrott liked to get sidetracked by their desires and feelings.

In a room of the Academy, the 5 teachers of the combat department were meeting in the afternoon together with Krist, who took the floor.

—How do you see the students these first two weeks?

—Surprisingly well —said Lewa in a tone of disbelief—. They're more motivated than I expected, but let's see how long it lasts.

—We have to set goals for them so that motivation doesn't stop, when you see rewards for your effort, motivation increases.

Mary said in a serious tone, not that she was saying anything new, but it was true that every year they tried to find ways to keep the motivation of the first-year students.

—That's for another meeting —Krist said curtly—. I know we'll have to discuss it, but right now we need to focus on the main issue. What are we going to do these two days? Kei, please.

Kei stood up and activated a screen in the room. On the screen there was a map of the combat district and the 5 existing training camps were marked in green.

—We count with us 6, the 5 second-year teachers, and 5 more teachers from other departments, a total of 16 teachers to maintain the security of this event, 21 if we add the 5 guards that will also be there. —Kei took a break while looking at some notes he had on his watch. —There are two important notes to make, to prevent the heirs from killing each other, and that the drug does not spread to first-year students, and if possible to avoid using it on second-year students.

The teachers nodded.

—What are the pills like?

After Lewa's question, Kei tapped a couple of things on his watch and an image of a red, lion-faced pill appeared.

—These are it —Kei said with so much—. The science department has said it's a stimulant with addictive components.

—Any negative effects other than being addictive? —Brand asked curiously.

—Well, we can't test it on humans, but being a stimulant if not taken carefully it causes arrhythmias, heart failure, and seizures. —Kei paused before continuing. —Specifically, this drug has not yet been proven, but we believe that, because of its effects of raising your bloodline momentarily, it is possible that it will eventually consume your bloodline and leave you as a normal human, although I doubt that the King's make such a drug.

A momentary silence formed where everyone thought about the King's true intentions, especially Brand knew that they would not use a drug that would do them harm in the long run.

—Let's get on with the meeting —said Krist breaking the silence—, then we'll have time to think and guess.

With the director's permission, Kei turned to the screen and pointed to the training grounds.

—In the morning there will be a small gymkhana, we will have a barbecue and then in the afternoon, the idea was to go to the lake to rest, although we are thinking of eliminating this last part.

Kei threw that last sentence into the air, waiting for one of the other teachers to say something.

But the headmaster of the Academy jumped up and ran outside without saying a word.

—I think we should follow him. —Said Brand as he stood up.

A short time later all the teachers found themselves in the infirmary with Krist giving off a rather menacing aura. Then, Brand, approached a nurse instead of the principal to ask what was going on.

—A first-year student has died.

After that sentence, the five teachers asked her a lot of questions regarding the who, when, and where. To avoid problems the nurse simply showed them the report.

The report gave information that was known at the time. The teachers read in disbelief.

—Is this true? —Lewa asked in disbelief.

—Yes, unfortunately, it is. And if you'll excuse me, I have things to do.

The nurse left to go into another room, leaving the teachers in a state of shock.

—She said it had been an accident...

—How do we tell the students?

Lewa and Hanks, but they fell silent and watched as Brand approached Krist and stood beside her. Keeping silent.

—Maybe he was a bit of a dick, but he doesn't deserve to die, no one deserves to die.

Krist finally said in a tone that implied she was not in a good mood.

—What do we do? We have to make a decision.

Then the doors of the infirmary opened, giving way to the long, skinny headmaster of the Academy, Luca.

—We're going to keep tomorrow's act. Just the morning one. Today we will gather the first-year students, and we will tell them what is known and whether they are the ones who will make the decision to participate or not.

—I don't agree Luca. —Said Brand with a serious tone. —Those kids are barely 17 years old or not even 17 years old, I don't think they are qualified to decide what to do.

—I understand Brand, but many of them have already seen and know about death, it's not a mystery to anyone. And besides, this will help them mature.

Brand wanted to complain, he really thought this is wrong, but decided to keep quiet. He thought it had to be said somehow, and he didn't think there was any way to say that a colleague had died. Perhaps laziness also played a part in that decision, but he preferred silence.

—This is going to be bad for tomorrow —said, Mary—. There are three possibilities, that it was really an accident — Mary held up a finger—, that it was the King family to hush up loose ends — Mary held up another finger—, or that it was an attack on the King family by some family —Mary held up a third finger.

—We'll investigate, but then tomorrow could be dangerous. —Hanks confirmed.

—I doubt that tomorrow some kids will make a move in public —said Kei as he shook his head—. I think it was honestly just an accident.

—In any case, let's move —said, Luca—. This is not the place to talk about these things.

And everyone agreed with him.

When the news broke, the students reacted differently. None of them took it very badly, since the boy had no friends and later he was almost isolated from his first-year classmates. Some of them actually knew about the boy for the first time.

Arlen sat in a training field with the rest. They were all silent, watching the sunset, thinking.

—How are you?

Laia said in a soft tone of voice.

—The news was shocking —said, Kevin—. Charles Foix may have been a proud and bad person, but I don't think anyone deserves to die. How are you, Arlen?

When he heard his name Arlen stopped looking at the ground, looked at Kevin, and looked ahead, but it seemed that he was seeing something that was not in front of him, in fact, Arlen was remembering all his moments with Charles.

—It's sad. —He said in a serious tone and to everyone's surprise. —It's true that he wasn't a good person, but I'm no one to decide who should die and live. I don't feel a shred of happiness for his death even remembering all the moments when he humiliated me. Besides, the way he died, choking...

Arlen left the sentence hanging and Caleb finished it for him.

—It's strange, indeed. It looks like an attack on the Kings.

When Caleb said that everyone tensed.

—It's not possible that the family war is affecting the school now, is it?

Laia said that instigating someone to confirm what she was saying. But the truth is that it made sense if it was the first time that the five heirs of the five great families coincided in the Academy, who knew what could happen?