I can't, Professor

In the morning, or more precisely, as morning turned to noon, I managed to leave the police station.

The officer had brought up the fact that I had been training in a public space. Although it sounded like a weak excuse, I could only respond that I didn't know my training session could reach that level. As for why I could move in such a way, I explained that I was training by visualizing opponents in my mind, an imaginary fight.

All their questions revolved around that. I was also warned to rent a training ground in the future to avoid further issues. Fortunately, no citizens were near my training area this time. If there had been, and I had injured anyone, the problem would have been more severe and would not have ended with just me paying for park repairs.

And so, here I am now, standing outside the police station and stretching my body. My body feels sore as if injured internally, but I know it's just severe muscle pain. Because my Arkium is still depleted after the simulation battle with Anetta, the pain lasts longer.

"It will take all day for me to recover fully."

I paused and pondered.

"I hope they don't contact the academy or my family."

Well, that's unlikely. I'm sure the police have already reported the issue to the academy, even though it could be considered a minor problem.

"Now it's time to decide whether to go home or just go to the academy."

Before I left the police station, I checked the wall clock there since I didn't have a watch. With about 10 minutes passed since I looked at the clock, it should be around 11 AM now. It's already late to go to the academy.

'My reputation will be affected later, whether I arrive late or decide not to come at all, so... I guess I'll still go.'

Meh, not that I care about a bad reputation. But, it's actually more beneficial for me to improve my reputation.

Ignoring my thoughts, I walked through the city streets. As usual, the city was always busy. The surrounding roads were still neat since I was still in the upper district. I intended to buy some food and such. But, unfortunately, I didn't bring any money. So I walked towards the tram station to head to the station near my dorm.

If you think my statement is contradictory about money and taking the tram, I can tell you that thought is wrong. I can ride the tram for free as a student of Sveitmann Academy.

Upon arriving at the dormitory building, I couldn't open my room door because it was locked. If Alfred hasn't returned, there's only one woman inside. So I guess it's understandable for Mia to lock it. I reached into my pants pocket, intending to take out the key. However, after searching all my pockets, I couldn't find the key anywhere.

'Great, I didn't bring the key.'

I tried to activate Quantumorph Artisan to duplicate the door key. But like most people, who would remember the exact shape of their key? Of course, some might, but that's not me.

'Anetta, are you online?'

Of course, Anetta would store everything from my memory for easy access, but she didn't respond.

'Cooldown after the simulation battle?' I thought.

With no other alternative, I knocked on my room door three times.

*Tok *Tok *Tok*

"Mia? Are you inside?"

As I said that, I could hear Mia's cute squeak from outside. It sounded like she was in the living room. I also heard the sound of her shoes as she hurried to the door. Then I heard the sound of locks being opened.

*Click... *Click *Click *Clack *Clack*

But it wasn't just one sound. The sound of the locks was numerous.

'Eh? Since when did my room have so many locks?'

When the door opened, I saw Mia standing in front of me with a long black bar in her hands.

"W-Welcome back, Young Master!" Mia greeted with a stammer.

I just stood there, still puzzled by the numerous lock sounds on my door. Then, I checked the inside of the door, there were not that many keyholes. Then, I directed my gaze to the long black bar Mia was holding.

"What is that?" I asked.

Mia looked at me briefly and explained, "This, this is a device to lock the door, Young Master."

"Eh, how does it work? Attach it between the door and the door frame, and voila! It's locked?" I asked, pointing to the door with my left thumb.

"Y-Yes, Young Master." Mia replied.

I stayed silent and entered, then closed the door.

"Where did you get it?" I asked.

"I got it from Mr. Alfred," she replied.

I didn't respond and remained silent.

"M-Mr. Alfred said to use it if no one else was in the room and only I was inside. A-And coincidentally, besides Mr. Alfred not being back yet, you didn't come home last night either, so... I used it." Mia continued.

From her answer, it seems Mia didn't know why I didn't come home last night. Did the police not contact anyone related to me?

...

I left for the academy immediately after eating at the dorm. Mia had made breakfast for me in the morning if I came home. But since I didn't come home, she made another meal at 10:30 AM. So when I got home, I ate it right away. Mia offered to make another one, but I declined. That made me eat cold food. But since it was Mia's cooking we're talking about, it still tasted amazing.

It took me about 30 minutes to get to the academy, and the lunch break had just ended. I went straight to class to attend Tactical Strategy Arts. Luckily, the class had just started, and the instructor had just arrived, so I wasn't punished or anything.

But many of my classmates stared at me. I ignored the stares and sat in my usual spot. As I looked at my usual seat, I could see a woman sitting next to it. Like yesterday, it was Ishma, I mean, Miss Bahraeel. I sat next to her but a bit far away. Then, without looking at me, she moved closer.

"You're late for two courses today." Miss Bahraeel whispered, glancing at me.

Her glance was like an empty stare. She whispered that with a flat tone and expression.

"Well, some troublesome things happened." I replied in a low tone while taking out my notebook from my bag without looking at her.

Miss Bahraeel stopped glancing at me and directed her gaze forward.

"I'm not very interested in rumors. But it seems today's rumor is true." She responded.

I stopped arranging my stuff from my bag and looked at her.

"Is it about me? Isn't that usual?" I replied casually and closed my bag.

Miss Bahraeel just stared at me briefly.

"Hmmm, a security officer came to the academy today. And it drew some attention because the officer said someone from our class caused trouble in Veiglen Peace Park last night. I figured it was you?" Miss Bahraeel said flatly.

Upon her answer, I just stayed silent and raised one of my eyebrows.

'The rumor has spread.' I thought.

"With your response, it seems true. Oh, by the way, Professor Geissler wants you to come to her office after class today." Miss Bahraeel continued flatly without looking at me and returned to her seat, which was still near me.

I don't know, it seems Miss Bahraeel doesn't view me negatively. Or maybe she just doesn't care. Yeah, I guess it's the latter.

"Okay, thanks."

...

After class ended and I packed up my desk, I walked out of the class after bidding goodbye to Miss Bahraeel like yesterday.

But just before I left the class, I could see the annoying tsundere, Giselle Rhiannon Schroder.

"Tch, troublemaker!" She said with a disgusted face.

She said that right in front of me, loud enough for the others around to hear, in the front part of the class. I just glanced at Giselle briefly, sighed, and walked past her.

'Move!' I thought.

"Y-You! Are you ignoring me?" Giselle's voice got louder.

The pink-haired tsundere quickly moved to block my way. Why does she want attention so much in this way? Is she doing it on purpose, or is it just her nature? And with her loud voice, everyone in the class could hear and focused on us. I glanced at them and sighed.

"Please, move aside." I said politely.

Giselle remained in place without responding to or fulfilling my request. Seeing that, I just walked past her, accidentally brushing her shoulder.

After passing her, I didn't look back, so I didn't know her reaction. What I knew after that was Giselle didn't say anything else. At least she's not the type of annoying troublemaker.

...

When I arrived at Professor Brigitte's office, the first thing I saw was her slightly annoyed face as she looked at me. She didn't ask me to sit or anything.

The professor immediately asked me about what happened last night. I assumed she might already know about my issue from the officer's report. She just asked me directly to make sure I was telling the truth. So I answered the same way I did at the police station, an imaginary fight.

With my answer, Professor Brigitte became more relaxed.

"When the report came in, I thought you were just someone who liked to make empty promises and sweet talk, Edward." She said casually while sitting in a challenging position.

Today, my Arkium is still very low due to the simulation battle last night. So I didn't look at Professor Brigitte to prevent any issues. You know what I mean.

"Of course, I am a person who keeps my promises." I replied to Professor Brigitte in a flat tone without looking at her.

Professor Brigitte just sat on the sofa, staring at me with her poker face.

"I've been ignoring it, but you should look at the person you're talking to during a conversation." Professor Brigitte said.

'I can't, Professor, not now.'