Chapter 117: 117. What the hell are the children doing?

The academy’s mission hall had turned into a place of confusion and irritation, because every person who entered or exited the hall kept looking toward one noisy group standing in the centre and blocking almost every student’s path to their own mission screen.

Seniors passing by looked puzzled and annoyed at the same time, because they could not understand why a group of first-year students were crowding around the mission crystal when missions for first years were clearly prohibited at the moment.

“WTF!!” Katherine shouted loudly, her voice echoed through the hall before she could stop herself, but she was immediately nudged on the side by Seraphine, who quickly gestured for her to lower her voice.

Seraphine had already noticed the strange and uncomfortable stares coming from all directions, because Katherine’s loud cussing had drawn far too much attention in a place where silence was usually respected.

Seraphine let out a long sigh because she knew she could not stop Katherine even if she tried, and honestly, Katherine’s outburst was not without reason, since the situation in front of them was genuinely difficult to process.

At first, Maximus had come alone to the mission hall with the intention of going alone.

But when the rest of the group arrived later, they saw him standing in front of the crystal screen, sweating heavily while scrolling through the mission panel again and again as if his eyes were deceiving him.

When the group approached him and stood beside him, they finally understood why his expression had looked so strained.

The mission screen was filled with postings related to missing people, far more than any of them had ever seen before.

Heck, they had never seen a mission panel before, but they knew that this sight was not normal.

The sheer number of these missions was insane, enough to clearly indicate that something abnormal was happening somewhere, and the most ridiculous and frustrating part was that all of these missions had suddenly changed their status to blocked.

Even with approval letters in hand, they could not take these missions at all, as if an invisible wall had been placed in front of them by the academy deliberately.

Katherine kept scrolling through the mission list with increasing irritation, but no matter how much she scrolled, all she could find were blocked missions related to missing individuals, villagers, merchants, or travellers.

By now, every single one of them had reached the same conclusion without needing to say it out loud, because it was obvious that something was behind these missing reports, some organised activity.

After the eight freshers had spent several minutes arguing, cussing, reasoning, and thinking together, it was not strange that they came to the conclusion that Lia’s case and all these missing people were connected and that they were most likely taken to the same place somewhere in the southern regions.

After several more minutes of intense scrolling and frustrated muttering, finally, a few doable missions appeared on the screen, and the group immediately shifted their attention toward them.

Each of them selected the longest missions they could find, because longer missions would keep them outside the academy for extended periods without raising suspicion.

Some chose missions related to finding rare crystals in the dwarven territory, while others chose herb-gathering missions in the elven kingdoms, carefully avoiding escort missions or tasks that required frequent interaction with local authorities or civilians.

No one wanted unnecessary attention, and no one wanted to be tied down by obligations that could delay their real objective.

Suddenly, Seraphine spoke up with a hesitant tone and asked, “Can you check the ongoing mission panel to see which mission Will took?”

Her words made everyone freeze for a moment, and their ears perked up immediately as Katherine switched panels and opened the ongoing mission list.

There, right in front of them, they saw William’s mission entry, standing alone as the only mission taken by a first-year student before them.

“Holy moly,” Desmond whistled softly with intrigue. “That human took a missing person mission, but all those missions are blocked for us. At this point, I think he is the secret child of the principal.”

Ethan rolled his eyes in annoyance and spoke in a calm tone.

“I think the academy realised this pattern only recently, and William had already taken the mission before that happened.”

He said this quietly, but when he turned around, he was met with Kara’s completely unimpressed expression.

“I think Desmond’s inference is more logical,” Kara replied bluntly.

“Agreed,” Galeion and Leila nodded together, making Ethan’s face twitch with visible frustration at their stupidity.

“Guys,” Seraphine suddenly called out again, her voice filled with worry this time, “do you think Will noticed the pattern too?”

The group fell silent for a brief moment because none of them could confidently answer that question.

***

A few days later…

Riverdale empire…

Emperor Aurelius’s study…

A few days later, inside the Riverdale Empire, within Emperor Aurelius’s private study, the heavy doors opened suddenly as Klaus entered with hurried footsteps.

“What is it?” Klaus asked immediately. “What is the emergency?”

He entered with urgency, but his expression shifted the moment he saw Emperor Aurelius seated calmly on one couch, with another man sitting across from him.

Klaus’s posture straightened instantly, and his tone became formal as he greeted them properly.

“I greet the Fifth Sword Saint,” Lord Ravenclaw said with a subtle smile.

“Greetings to Lord Ravenclaw and the Emperor,” Klaus replied respectfully while nodding his head.

Aurelius looked at him and gestured for Klaus to sit on the couch opposite him, and Klaus complied without hesitation.

As Klaus settled into his seat, the tense atmosphere in the room only deepened, because Aurelius’s expression remained serious as he began explaining the situation.

“Alfred Draconis has gone missing,” Aurelius said in a heavy tone.

“Who?” Klaus asked instinctively, his brows furrowing in confusion.

“Tsk,” Aurelius clicked his tongue. “The son of Rizwell Draconis.”

“Oh,” Klaus replied after a pause. “Is it serious? How many days ago did this happen?”

“It is not that simple,” Lord Ravenclaw spoke in a grim tone, drawing Klaus’s attention.

Klaus turned his head toward him and asked, “Oh? What is it?”

“My daughter sent me a message from the academy,” Lord Ravenclaw explained slowly. “There has been a very sharp rise in missing reports across the continent, and all signs point toward involvement from the demonic cults.”

Klaus let out a slow sigh before picking up a cup of tea. “Sir Ravenclaw, even if that is the case, why is Leila involved in this, and why does it seem like she is the only one uncovering all of this?

Because I have some friends in the academy who usually send some news about such matters.”

Lord Ravenclaw shook his head. “She did not go into details. She only told me that the academy is aware of the situation, but the main reason she contacted me was to ask for help.”

He paused briefly before continuing, “She is leaving with Ethan and her friends to investigate this matter, and she needs assistance dealing with the cults.”

Hick!!

Klaus choked on his tea the moment Ethan’s name was mentioned, coughing harshly before he recovered.

“What the hell are the children doing in the academy?” Klaus demanded. “Why is the academy allowing them to leave? As far as i heard they were prohibited to take on any missions and there is no other way to leave for a student unless it’s holidays or their gaurdians come to pick them up”

Lord Ravenclaw sighed deeply. “This is why I intend to visit the academy myself and speak with the principal directly. I already know my daughter will ignore me for months if I do not do things her way, but as a father, I need to know what she is trying to do.”

“After all, she is young and does not know what’s right for her.”

Then he looked at Klaus with a piercing gaze and said, “I will need your company, Lord Klaus, since this concerns your disciple as well, and since the cults are involved.”

Klaus nodded with an annoyed expression. “That brat is biting off more than he can chew. It seems like he needs some fixing.”

Emperor Aurelius looked at both of them with a serious expression and spoke calmly, “I will visit the Ancestor and seek her guidance.”

Klaus’s eyes lit up instantly. “Let us go. I am coming along to meet Elder Sister.”

“Sister?” Lord Ravenclaw asked, his eyes widening in shock.

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