"What? What do you mean the student can't be found?!"
The deputy headmaster slammed his palms on his desk as he roared at one of his subordinates.
He had already handed over the future Magna of Flames to her appropriate master.
However, she left them with a rather concerning warning, saying she wouldn't be able to focus on training without knowing that her childhood friend was safe.
All they needed to do was locate a darned, recently enrolled apprentice.
Yet, despite steadily increasing their efforts and investing more manpower, devices, and mana into the search—even extending it to city-level—they still couldn't find the one-star student named Hal Fennec!
The academy didn't particularly care about the young man himself.
However, they couldn't allow him to impact Ennya Kasai's training negatively.
They had to find Hal immediately and confirm his safety to the talented Magna prospect.
Only then could they rest easy.
The problem was, the rather hilarious-to-most fact about Hal's one percent mana affinity and his so-called home decoration artifact now had the academy faculty on edge, as it could very well result in the young man taking his own life.
Such cases, although rare, do happen.
"Contact the Arcane Observatory and tell them to try agai–"
Before the deputy headmaster could finish his instructions, however, his Manatech Communicator vibrated, and the mana frequency seemed to be coming from the Arcane Observatory.
The old academy leader quickly grabbed the mana-powered device and answered the call.
"Lord Korvus, we've found the student! He's...in his dormitory room..."
Veins popped at the sides of Deputy Headmaster Korvus' head as anger and a bit of confusion swirled in his old heart.
"WHAT?! THEN HOW DID WE NOT FIND HIM IN THE ENTIRE ACADEMY?!" he exploded.
Thirty minutes of fruitless subordinate interrogation passed.
In the end, they decided to simply talk to the student himself, but only after sending a much-needed message to Ennya, allowing the concerned future Magna to breathe a sigh of relief and finally focus on her training.
...Hal stood nervously in front of the academy's bigshots.
He had just been pondering how to earn Chaos Points when someone knocked on his door, informing him that he was being summoned to the deputy headmaster's office.
Now, before him stood Deputy Headmaster Korvus, the headmaster's secretary, and the deputy's two assistants, all staring at him with mixed emotions.
On one hand, he was the unluckiest student in their eyes, having drawn a home decoration box and been confirmed to have the lowest mana affinity possible at one percent.
On the other, he was a cherished childhood friend of the brightest prospect in the Arcanum Imperium's history.
They couldn't help but scan Hal a few times, causing the youngster to shiver with unease.
"T-To what do I owe the honor of being summoned to the Deputy Headmaster's Office?" Hal asked, slightly stuttering in nervousness.
But Deputy Headmaster Korvus merely adjusted his glasses before responding with his own question:
"Hal Fennec...I take it you're Ennya Kasai's childhood friend from Poporo Village, correct?"
"Yes, deputy headmaster."
Korvus paused for a while, staring right at Hal's eyes as though peering through his very soul before continuing with narrowed eyes.
"Earlier, I brought Miss Kasai to your dormitory. She wanted to bid you a proper goodbye before leaving with her new master. But your room was empty, so unfortunately, she had to leave without seeing you.
Where did you go? I utilized the academy's full resources, but we simply couldn't locate you..."
Hal fell silent, saddened by the fact that he hadn't been able to say goodbye to Ennya, whom he likely wouldn't see for years, and nervous under the deputy headmaster's interrogating tone.
He was sure that the academy's tracking capabilities were very advanced, perhaps enough to locate even the most heinous and experienced criminals, so long as they remained within the city.
He had no idea how to explain his disappearance.
Luckily, Hal had always been a quick thinker—someone who performed surprisingly well under pressure.
He quickly decided to push his sadness to the back of his heart and reveal half the truth about the box: that the artifact wasn't merely a house decoration.
"Sigh... I couldn't even say goodbye to Ennya because of that stupid box, huh?" Hal muttered, beginning his performance.
"I do apologize for causing an unnecessary commotion, Deputy Headmaster. As you know..."
He paused, letting out a self-deprecating laugh before continuing.
"Sir, you remember that I drew an item called the Clown Box, correct?" he said, turning to one of the assistants.
"That box... isn't as normal as it seemed. It was a one-time-use trap box that sends whoever the user willed into a different dimension for a few minutes. And I... accidentally used it on myself..."
Hal clenched his fists in frustration.
"I could've used it as a life-saving item...but I blew even that..."
The Deputy Headmaster felt bad for Hal, his suspicions flying right out the window.
There was no other explanation for the young man's disappearance, was there?
It was a shame that the poor, untalented student couldn't even say goodbye to his childhood friend, all because of a simple mistake that also cost him a rather handy emergency item.
The headmaster's secretary and the other assistant, however, weren't as trusting.
They quickly scanned the young man's possessions using their mana and detection spells.
Only after confirming that he indeed had no active connection to a mana-bound artifact did they begin to believe Hal's claims, even going so far as to check his dormitory room for any anomalies.
The fact that the young man had managed to evade the academy's full-force search left a subtle unease in their hearts.
But since they found nothing, they had no choice but to believe.
What could a one-percent mana affinity brat possibly do, anyway?
At the very least, they could wholeheartedly trust the results of the affinity test, and his connection to Ennya more or less cleared his background.
He was a true resident of the Arcanum Imperium.
"I see... that's rather unfortunate," Deputy Headmaster Korvus said with a light sigh.
"But don't lose hope, young man. You can still pursue other crafts. Mana-tech development, for example. As long as you work your hardest, the gods will show you a way..."
Hal simply bowed in sincere gratitude, relieved that he had pulled through.
"The disciplinary offices are always open. Do submit a complaint if anyone dares make things too difficult for you.
That's all from me. You're dismissed, Hal Fennec."
Hal bowed once more before turning around and heading for the exit.
He couldn't wait to return to his dormitory room.
The reason? A sudden, unexpected notification panel:
[Congratulations! You've earned 10 Chaos Points!]