Chapter 4532: Internal Error (Part 2)
Chapter 4532: Internal Error (Part 2)
’If Val didn’t notice our hybrid status until now, it means our condition is beyond him. Maybe it’s not even a condition. After all, Byt and I are artificial beings.’
"Yes." Lith replied. "Please, see what you can do for her, son."
Valeron nodded, and when Zoreth took him into her arms, he hugged her with all his strength. The young boy closed his eyes, focusing to reach deep into the Shadow Dragon’s life force.
"She seems...fine?" He said in honest confusion. "No, wait. There is something wrong with her, but I don’t know what. It’s strong. Too strong for me, Auntie. I’m sorry."
Valeron’s eyes were misted with tears of shame for his inability to help her.
"It’s not your fault, sweetie." She caressed his hair and kissed his head to reassure him. "You said it yourself, Auntie is fine. I’m getting better anyway, so you don’t have to worry about me.
"If I’m still not okay once you become a strong, handsome man, I expect you to give it another shot, okay?" Zoreth didn’t mean it. She only wanted to show the young boy how much she trusted him and that she didn’t blame him.
"I will, Auntie." Valeron clung to her. "I promise."
"Thank you, sweetie. Can you check on Auntie Byt too?" The Shadow Dragon asked, and Valeron nodded.
The prognosis was the same. Valeron couldn’t feel anything wrong with the hybrids unless he focused hard, and when he did, he perceived a force beyond his abilities.
"Feel free to share the developments of my condition with Baba Yaga." Zoreth said. "I owe her that much."
"Thanks, Zor." Solus nodded. "Do you want to stay for lunch? The kids missed you a lot, and once we’re done, you can come with us to visit Althika and Erkin."
"Thanks, Solus." Bytra replied. "We’d love to."
***
White Griffon Academy, at the same time.
Winter was over, and only a handful of days remained before the White Griffon reopened its gates, welcoming a new batch of students and the return of the graduates of the previous year.
Amid the chaos and mountains of paperwork required to start the new academic year, something always slipped through the cracks of the administration office, and several unforeseen complications always arose.
"Number One, where are we with the new textbooks for the Light Department classes?" Zogar Vastor, head of the Light Department, chief of staff, and senior Professor of the White Griffon, asked.
"Number Two, where the hell are the background checks of the last-minute student applicants? Number Three, I need the schedule of my appointments for the day before tomorrow! Number Four, if I don’t get my tea in five minutes, I’ll boil you alive!"
The Master’s assistants were ranked by competence and entrusted with duties based on their proven skill sets.
"I’ve finished reviewing the changes, Professor." Number One was the same girl who helped Vastor deal with his biological children the previous year. She had earned a permanent assignment, but Vastor still didn’t bother remembering her name.
"I’ve highlighted them in yellow for you. Once you examine them and give me your approval, I’ll have them delivered to the students’ amulets through the Web of Knowledge."
"Also have at least fifty copies of every textbook printed on paper, Number One." The Master nodded. "Some people can’t focus on holographic text, and old fossils like me prefer something they can touch."
"Here are the background checks, Professor." Number Two, a tall young man with red hair, carried a pile of folders half his size. "These are the files of the problematic candidates that might interest the Light Department."
"That many?" Vastor’s eyes widened in surprise. "Tell those morons at the secretariat they won’t find the next Verhen in juvie! They can stop bringing up all these gods-damn magically gifted delinquents.
"Lith pissed off a lot of nobles in his youth, but that’s no crime! Anything else he might have done, he was smart enough not to get caught. That’s the kind of student we want in the Light Department."
"Here’s your schedule for the day, Professor." Number Three, a plain-looking girl with braided hair, handed Vastor a piece of paper with the details of his appointments for the day arranged in two orderly columns.
"There’s something wrong with this, Number Three." He furrowed his brows. "I see names and hours. I told you I don’t want to see anyone! You had to clear my schedule, not set one for me."
"But what was I supposed to tell the Headmaster and the Queen when they asked to speak with you?" The girl asked, her eyes tearing up.
"To fuck themselves!" The Master snarled. "In a roundabout, polite way, of course. I don’t have time to waste babbling about budgets and ceremonies. They are not a priority. If they don’t like it, tell them they are free to fire me."
Number Three nodded and rushed to cancel the appointments.
"Here’s your tea, Professor. No milk, no lemon, three sugars." Number Four, a young man with brown hair and eyes, said. "I’ve also prepared you a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich since you haven’t eaten anything since your arrival."
"Thanks, Number Four. I needed it." Vastor wolfed down the food before sipping his tea slowly.
’He’s a great cook. If only he were that skilled as a mage.’ The Master inwardly sighed.
"Hi, Zogar, sorry for bothering you. Do you have a minute?" Ryssa the Dryad, Marth’s wife and Lady of the White Griffon Academy, knocked on the doorframe leading into Vastor’s office before peeking inside with Dhiral.
"For you, Ryssa, I have an hour." Vastor’s reply horrified his assistants. "Just give me a literal minute."
The Master flipped through the textbooks, checking the parts Number One had highlighted and finding no mistake. Then, he sifted through the background checks and threw them in the fire as soon as he found the slightest hint of aberrant behavior.
’The last thing we need is to give psychopaths the power to kill more efficiently.’ He thought after leaving only three potential candidate students.
"Forty-five seconds. I still got it." Vastor nodded. "Everyone, I’m off. Disturb me for anything less than a civil war, and you’re fired. See you in one hour."
Dhiral Manohar the Second Marth looked at the old professor with admiration. He spoke like the young boy wished he could speak to others and dealt with things his own way.
The assistants whined in desperation, but no one dared to talk back to Vastor. Depending on a member of Vastor’s staff’s incompetence level, being fired could mean being just sacked, kicked to the curb with terrible references, or defenestrated after being set ablaze.
The latter was just a rumor. Vastor had never done such a thing, but he liked the story so much and told it to his assistants so often that only people like Khavos Rudd knew the truth, and they played along with the rumor anyway for the fun of it.
"Can we go?" Ryssa asked, and when the Master nodded, she Warped them back to the Headmaster’s apartments.
It was a small palace worthy of the Royals, with plenty of rooms, free space, and an extensive inner garden. Ryssa needed it so Dhiral could play with Shargein and conduct his experiments without destroying the house.