"You are right, fifteen is the perfect age to start dating."
"According to our little Flower, Lith is a very promising Healer, Forgemaster and maybe even Necromancer." Jirni was back to being all smiles.
"You could bring him to your forge sometime, for some male bonding time. I was thinking we should meet his parents one of these days. Nothing formal, just to say hi and introduce ourselves."
Orion Ernas was inwardly weeping blood at the thought of losing his little Flower to a brute whose only perk was being so similar to his beloved wife, but he could only nod with a smile plastered on his face.
***
Sitting alone in his office, Linjos couldn't help but have an eerie feeling that something terrible was about to happen. Things were going smoothly, there had been no more accidents and he received only good news.
It was all too good to be true. Linjos was the White Griffon Headmaster for three years now, he knew the rules of the game all too well. He had spent the first two years learning the ropes before finally implementing the changes he had always dreamt about to the academy system.
Despite being the trial year, his academy had already achieved the highest number of promoted students per trimester and the lowest numbers of expelled or injured students per month.
The healthy environment had allowed many students that had appeared unremarkable at their arrival at the academy to develop their talents. They were popping out like mushrooms in all departments.
The random checks for slave items had been fruitless. Members of the Queen's corps would search and interrogate the staff, but thank the gods every time they would come up with nothing.
Yet Linjos couldn't help but worry. According to the reports he received from the Professors and the Queen, despite the internal strife having been quelled, all academies were still experiencing an all time low of the students' grades.
Linjos knew that sooner or later, the other Headmasters would try to sabotage his academy. With such poor results, they would be forced to implement Linjos's system, losing a lot of face and looking incompetent in the eyes of the magical community.
No matter what the Queen ordered, he was certain that they would put their prestige above everything. Many of them were too old to accept the changes and would never accept retirement.
To make things even worse, it was almost that time of the year again. Thinking about how much work he had to do with so little time at his disposal, Linjos sighed multiple times before summoning Nalear to his office.
***
The Magic Crystal lessons were the most appreciated among the compulsory courses of the third trimester. There were no winners or losers, all the students had become capable of cutting and refining low grade gemstones.
It had no homework, since handling mana blades and crystals was too dangerous without supervision, nor was there a rush to complete the task. The most important thing was the quality of the final product, so students would take their time, facing each crystal like a challenge to oneself rather than to the rest of the class.
At the end of the lesson, after checking the results of the students' work, Professor Nalear had an announcement to make.
"Excellent work everyone. Now I have good news and bad news. The good news is that since the whole class is making progress at such an outstanding rate, our trip to the forest's crystal mines has been brought forward.
"We'll depart tomorrow first thing in the morning, bring along anything you think you might need in the next few days." The trip was supposed to last only one morning, the sudden change of plans made the class burst with chattering.
Nalear raised her hand, silencing them with a quick spell.
"This leads to the bad news. For security reasons, students and Professors alike will move out of the academy until the eighteenth day of this month. Temporary lodgings have already been prepared.
You'll be split based on your household rather than on your gender or academy year. Beware of your seniors and be nice to your juniors. No misconduct will be tolerated, we will keep everyone under constant supervision."
Despite her smile, Lith could see it was all a façade. A deep rage was smoldering behind her soothing manners. Something terrible had probably happened to her during her student days.
"I am not at liberty to give you any explanation. Just know that this is for your own safety. Dismissed." Nalear abruptly left, clenching her hands so hard she was bleeding a little.
Lith was so focused on all those small details that he missed the several glances Phloria threw at him, sighing every time she did it. They had much to discuss.