Pure Rage

The doors shook and rattled as smoke billowed out from behind it. Headmaster Marin, the secretary and Aayla quietly sat outside as Ramona's fury was heard for miles around.

"You just gave her a f***ing military uniform?! With her only other support an emotionally unbalanced boy barely older than her?! On an operation to infiltrate a base of the True Order?! D**n you, you stingy b***ard!"

Shouts of pain could be heard from inside the room. Headmaster Marin held back the guards and shook his head. There was nothing that they could do but wait until Ramona tired herself out.

"She has a medical condition! There's no way that Aayla could properly defend herself. Even your dog eyes should be able to see that! You still dragged her along."

BAM! SMACK! CRASH!

"You thought that she was a corpse?! Bah! Do you think I'm an idiot? Who would believe that when you saw her condition earlier! Someone at your level should be able to sense event the smallest amounts of mana in a person!"

To be fair, the New Moon bracelet's effect could have still been activated at the time. Stallesso might not deserve part of this beating. However, no one was going to help him.

"You just left her there in the middle of that battle. Now you have the audacity to gloss over the situation with money?! Is this how the Forolan family works now, huh? Do you think that you can just bully whomever you please?!"

POW! BOOM!

"Why on Tellus did you apply for those awards and announce what she to the public?! Are you trying to put my goddaughter on the top of the True Order's hit list?! Do you know how hard I've been working to keep her away from their sights?!"

SMACK! THUMP! KABOOM!

"You idiot! This entire time I've been trying to keep her out of the spotlight! To keep her safe! Do you know how many times she's nearly died up until now?! Do you have any idea what sort of danger you could have put her in?!"

The screams and banging continued as Ramona continued to rage inside the headmaster's office. Several patrols came and went, but they quickly left when they realized who was raging and why. They weren't getting into that mess. Besides, Deputy Heston definitely wouldn't kill a former City Lord, right?

Ramona must have been taking out all of her pent-up frustration on the target of her rage. One hour later, her rampage still hadn't stopped. Headmaster Marin was actually getting nervous and called for Nurse Rouse. Daren came with her. The rampage slowly began to fizzle out soon after she entered the warzone.

For once, Daren had dark circles underneath his eyes. He deeply bowed towards Aayla and Headmaster Marin.

"I'm pleased that I'm still alive to see you again, teacher. I cannot express my gratitude enough for your help saving me, Miss Glowery. Please excuse my grandfather's actions. He can be a bit… overprotective."

Headmaster Marin chuckled. "And overbearing, often forgetting about others' difficulties when he gets riled up, stubborn, and… what else should I say?"

"… I am truly sorry for my grandfather forcing you into this mess. Jacki and the others told me about what happened. Thank you for joining Chris in coming to my aid. I will do my best to repay you."

"Don't worry about it. The whole day was just crazy. Besides, I think my godmother is using up all of that goodwill right about now."

The secretary gave up their seat for Daren and left to give the group some privacy. Daren gingerly sat down. He rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes. Hours had passed since he last got some decent sleep.

"Stupid grandfather, doing stupid things." He muttered. "Can't he just let Deputy Heston release her anger for a little bit? It shouldn't be hard for him to take."

"Don't be so impatient, Daren. There are plenty of other skilled medical officers around. Chris will be fine."

"Whoa, you got him back?! What exactly happened while I was out?!" (Aayla)

"Barely. His injuries are serious. The first twenty-four hours were precarious, but the doctors are hopeful that he'll survive. Only time can tell if Chris can recover right now."

Daren briefly told her what happened. The True Order went crazy and tried to blow everyone up. The combined military and university forces stopped them. A barely breathing Chris was rescued from the rubble of the base and is currently in a coma.

The university had already started rebuilding, but hundreds were still missing. That included many alleged traitors. Those alleged traitors included Jerome Foryl and several educators from the substitute faculty. Marc Lupton had disappeared, but Corrine Bilton was miraculously rescued from the portal.

"Unfortunately, Foryl's office and room were completely destroyed. The evidence on him is circumstantial. There's no way that he'll be convicted, so the prosecutors are dropping the case against him for now."

"At least Marc won't bother you for the time being."

Daren grimaced. "Please don't remind me about him. But it's so strange. Chris was muttering something in his sleep. I thought that I could make out the words 'Lupton' and 'Professor', but maybe I'm just too tired."

The banging against the door finally stopped as it opened a few minutes later. Aayla and Daren didn't even notice until Nurse Rouse stepped out of the room.

"My work is done here. You can return to your office, headmaster. I'll be back at the main clinic if you need me."

The medical officer patted Daren's head before she left. A grumpy wizard hastily left the office while a bruised nobleman followed behind her.

"Grandfather!"

Stallesso smiled softly and hugged his cute grandson.

"Oho, have you come to see your grandfather before he leaves?"

"Not really. I just wanted to tag along with Nurse Rouse… but I did miss you while I was away."

"Well, you don't have to miss me for the next couple of months. I'll be staying here with you~!"

Daren's face lit up in surprise but quickly returned to his normal calm façade. A trace of suspicion flashed in his eyes. Was this guy trying to play around again? He just keeps getting more impulsive in his old age.

"You're not skipping work, are you?"

"Ack! No no no! Aye, how could my cute grandson have such a bad view of his dear grandpa?"

Aayla puffed up her cheeks in annoyance. Maybe it was because a certain grandfather kept acting stupid? Ramona frowned and glared at Headmaster Marin. He held up his hands in surrender.

"Don't look at me like that, Deputy Heston. The decision was made just this morning. The Senate has decided to hold a preliminary hearing in less than a week. All high-ranking faculty need to head out immediately. The former City Lord has volunteered to stay and watch over the university in our absence."

"See? I'm working. I can teach you plenty of ways to keep yourself safe while I'm here. Chris needs some retraining as well so let's do that all at once!"

Ramona cut off the overly cheerful grandfather before he began rambling on about some nonsense again.

"Then what about the investigation?"

"I've handed everything over the Lord Forolan. Oh, and you should know that Miss Glowery can't come with us."

"Why not?! I'm not just going to leave her when the a certain idiot probably put her name on some True Order kill list."

"With the investigation ongoing, everyone involved is supposed to stay on or near campus. The investigators are concerned about traitors slipping away. They'll be confined to their rooms until they are released."

Ramona's frowned deepened. With the current situation, she did not want to be too far away from Aayla. This world was filled with opportunists. Daren looked at Aayla and had an idea. He cheekily smiled at his grandfather and cheered.

"That sounds like fun! Thank you, Grandpa! Miss Glowery can join in too, right? I mean, all of the others from Halcyon and Miss Glowery can join. It'd be really great if I could spend time with my friends. Surely looking over a few extra students wouldn't be too difficult for a former City Lord."

Stallesso struggled to keep the smile on his face. He just wanted to spend time with his grandson! Letting that Chris brat join in was only to make sure that his skills were up to par! Daren pouted and pressed his grandfather further.

"Miss Glowery helped in my rescue, so the least that we could do is keep an eye on her for Deputy Heston, right? And give her training to better protect herself?"

The deputy headmaster thought for a moment and nodded her head. That would put her at ease. Her sharp glare and Daren's pleading easily toppled over the doting grandfather.

"Fine. All of your friends and Miss Glowery can join. But no one else!"

The former City Lord cried internally. There goes his quality time with his grandson!

"Thank you, Grandpa!"

Daren beamed. Instantly, Stallesso didn't feel so sad anymore.