Chapter 20: Error?

< Fred's POV >

"Your previous mission ended up as a failure." a voice filled with fury barked at me.

"I apologize, sir."

"..."

Neither of us uttered a word, but his pissed off face, was a sight to see!

"Your insolence must not be repeated a second time, 3rd Darken Byloft commander-in-cheif, Fred Tempest Wildwood Windstorm. Am I clear?" Greggor demanded.

"Yes!" I was less than thrilled, but could only bow down to his commands.

"Has being the youngest ever unofficial Darken Byloft, muddled your memories? Perhaps your mannerisms..." his wicked gaze was filled with nothing short of arrogance.

"Pardon my foolishness, Lord Greggor. I was merely overwhelmed by your magnificence is all, my lord." I regretted every word I'd spoken in the last few seconds.

Yes, Lord Greggor. A fearsome and cruel human (?). Despite his hoarse and nerve wracking voice, he is said to be a man of unknown age. Standing at the very top of the pyramid system of the Dark Guild, second only to the King Of Darkness himself.

Oh, but still hateful. After all, 'Lord' Greggor, has an awful and twisted personality.

"Go. Your next mission will be filled in later."

He smirked.

"Ah. Of course he's happy." I couldn't help but think and hide a smile. "Just as we expected."

"Before you leave... Your punishment for failure shall be 'Strike By 10 Lightning Bolts,' to serve as a lesson." Greggor's cold voice matched perfectly in tune with his broad grin.

"Of course, as you wish, Lord Greggor." I remained calm and composed.

"Leave." Greggor announced. Clearly, he seemed a bit pissed off by my unemotionally stoic face.

I stood up, bowed and left.

The door behind me closed.

"Why does that weirdo even wear a skull of an Orthoditch anyway? Does he have a fetish, I wonder..." my mind trailed off into meaningless thoughts, "Come to think of it, I've never really seen how that old guy looks like, even in his young facade."

"...!"

"Watch where you-" somebody yelled and fell silent upon seeing me.

Their faces turned pale and almost immediately, he and his companion saluted me, "Excuse us, Chief!"

"Get Lost." I furrowed my eyes and glared at them.

White as a sheet, they scurried off.

"How boring." I thought and sighed, heading down the narrow dark and damp hall to reach my Unit's quarters.

As usual it was eerily quiet. The further I walked, the darker it got. The lamps ignited by sangria flames didn't help either.

"Can't be helped!" I thought to myself, a bit flustered, "Even though it's been a while since I joined the Dark Guild, it's not like I have dark magic within me. Thank goodness for these contacts... with just a little bit more effort they'll be perfect night vision goggles in the near future...!"

I decided to reward Izzaq for his earnest effort in helping me with these contacts.

Hahaha... I wonder what that little squirt, back home, is up to now.

My lips widened and my cheeks felt warm. Of course... it had indeed been sometime now, huh? Everytime I think about hi- no, her... I just can't help but smile.

... That's right.

Even though we might as well never meet again. I truly wanted to thank you, G... you were an irreplaceable friend in my last life... and a true sibling in this one. Too bad, happiness does not last long.

I sighed and felt that warmth disintegrating from my face and out my body.

A face full of void printed itself almost immediately as soon as I reached the door of S.Falcon, My Unit.

"Welcome back, Master."

"Hmm. Good work, Layla."

"Are you in a good mood?"

"Ah."

She definitely caught me off guard just now... no, I'm just overthinking things. Definitely.

"It's amusing, you see." I played it off, covering my voice in a playful sadistic tone, "I got a trip to the dungeon... Lightning whip."

"Master... that's..." Layla muttered something I couldn't quite catch.

"What?" I stopped the game.

"Nothing! Never mind!"

"Fine." I sighed, but couldn't help but wonder what she was mumbling about.

While casually flipping through some useless documents, my eyes strayed towards a fimiliar looking album. Carefully decorated, yet kept simple.

"I wonder if this is the so-called feminine touch." I couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Hang in there, G."

...

< Author's POV >

Layla was almost traumatized. Her master was zoning off into space and giggling to himself like some teenage girl. Had she not seen the album in his hands, which was indeed from his little sister, she would've already turned to stone from all that shock.

Layla couldn't help but wonder whether her praiseworthy beloved master had a sister complex or not... though she wanted to ask, she ended up refraining herself.

"He seems so happy right now. I'll ask him later." she thought to herself.

On the other hand, Fred was busy re-reading the innocent letters of his little sister, carefully glancing through them. From another perspective, if someone didn't know what was actually in Fred's hands... they would've obviously mistaken them for some kind of high level assignment or an important top secret document from the higher ups.

The Unit's room was huge. The walls were as high as they were wide... why wouldn't it be? Everything was imbued with Fred's own magic. Just in case of any suspicious activities or rebellion.

"Ah," Fred exclaimed all of a sudden, "Layla, would you mind keeping a watch?"

"Hmm? Oh, not all all, Master." Layla reassured him hurriedly.

Fred's face lit up with a sneaky grin. Still wary though, he ordered Layla, "While I chat, make sure there are no nuisances here. The higher ups must never find out."

"Of course. Have a safe trip, Master." Layla replied, her heart aching with worry despite it not showing on her face.

__________

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< Gloria's POV >

This world is full of tragedies. Right now, I feel like I'm being dragged by policemen to see the judge in court. Even the evidences are against me! How will I even be able to glide through all this?

"Ok, think G. Think." I exclaimed to myself, standing nervously in front of the principal's office. "What's the positive side here?"

"Well, things could've been much worse had that nosy secretary been here..." I sighed.

After the orb had shattered to pieces, the measurer of the measure meter malfunctioned and began behaving weirdly. On one hand, I am pleased to say that my real powers remained a mystery, but on the other hand, I have no idea as to how I am supposed to explain anything!

A few teachers took me away as soon as they could and left me to stand here outside the principal's office, while they're in there having some kind of serious discussion.

I sighed in monotone, once again.

"My day just keeps getting better and better." sarcasm ran through my mind, unintentionally. "Ah! I can't think anymo-"

The door flung open.

"...!"

"Uh oh." My mind was still blank, followed by more ridiculous thoughts. "Give me a break. Am I some kind of undying victim people like to torture?! How is it that it's always me?"

I gulped in fear as I stepped into the principal's office and the door closed behind me.

"..."

The room fell silent for a few seconds. My nerves were at its peak, but I tried to keep my emotions under control and off my face.

"The one who's emotions run to their face, is the one who loses first." - is what Vel once told me.

My mouth opened with only air coming out. Not even a squeaky voice.

"I suppose you must be wondering why you were called here, yes?" the principal spoke in a rather calm tone.

"Please do not be alarmed, student Gloria." a rather kind teacher reassured me.

"Very true." another teacher agreed.

From all the previous incidents that had taken place ever since entering this school, I've been to the principals office countless times. I was used to it, so I'm not really shocked, to say the least.

I just don't feel at ease, right now. I have no explanation (excuse) to present (display).

Whether what I say is the truth or not, is not my main concern at the moment. It's just that whatever I say has to be logical and believable enough. After all, if the school ever tries to investigate me in depth, a lot of things might just come to light.

Right now, that's the most dangerous thing for me. I really don't want to live the life of a rogue in this world as well.

Now, how should I move next? What to say...

"Miss Gloria Gale Windstorm," she called my name, "first of all, I would like to apologize to you, on behalf of the school staff. You must have experienced quite a trauma due to this accident. Especially being so much younger than most of the other students."

"Huh?" I stared pop-eyed at the principal for a moment, before regaining composure, "Uh, umm..."

"What is this person even saying?!" I thought to myself.

"With sufficient evidence, we have uncovered the real reason the orb exploded. Despite its size and how long it takes for a single orb to be made... they can often be very fragile and must be handled carefully." the principal continued, "You see, there was already a crack on the orb you touched. Therefore, it exploded when it came into contact with mana."

"So much for my excuse." I mumbled as I sighed in relief. "Thank you Miss Principal."

"What about her mana test?" a teacher asked.

"Well, if she had blue mana then the orb could not have burst the way it did. The measure meter reacted only after the orb shattered, so we cannot really determine much, however, from my experience..." the principal paused and looked toward me.

"Now what? Is she going to give me another orb and measure thingy to destroy?" I wondered.

"Perhaps Miss Gloria's mana color is green." she stated.

"Excuse me," I opened my big mouth, "How is it possible that I have green mana? I'm not even close to being an Emerald Class yet...!"

"The orb's magic is different. Since you are still a 1st year student, you do not know yet. Once you reach your 3rd Year, you will be learning how orb magic works. Besides, both your parents are Emerald class mages. So it is possible that you already have a mana core, but that possibility is unlikely. Learning about mana is a complicated matter. I'm sure once you're older, you'll understand." Miss principal smiled at me.

"I see..." I pretended to think like a child, acting all confused.

"That will be all. I'm sure you were frightened. Please take some rest. You have nothing to feel scared of." she kept on saying that.

I walked out of the office and closed the door behind me.

"I really should stop that brat Analise before she spreads some new ridiculous rumours about me." I thought to myself.

Another sigh of relief and I was off towards the Dorm building. The principal did suggest that I take some rest. I'm sure the other teachers won't mind if I skipped classes for the rest of the day.