"I believe you have a good reason for thinking that Mr. Ben's proposal to check out the explosion was wrong," Orion said as he placed his hands on the table.
Riya's expression remained serious and unwavering as she nodded. "Yes, I do."
"If that's the case," Orion said, "we'd all like to hear your explanation."
"Understood," Riya said.
She glanced at everyone, including the Assistant Principal, who was sleeping, before speaking.
"As we all know, the main objective of the expedition was for the students to use their magic and defeat Beasts, but....."
She paused and looked around. "Most of these students have fought Beasts before, either with their parents before coming to the Academy or through missions they take in the Mission Hall."
Principal Orion and the teachers listened attentively as Riya spoke, though Ben was trying to hide his frown, but it was still noticeable.
"What I'm trying to say is, we underestimate these students too much," Riya said. "They are stronger than we actually think..... They didn't just get into this Academy through sheer luck."
Orion wasn't actually seeing how what Riya was saying now was related to the topic they were discussing, though he allowed her to continue.
Riya paused again before she continued. "There was no need to check that explosion because lots of students were in that forest. One of them must have used their strongest fire-element spell to kill a Beast."
Ben was about to say something, but Riya quickly continued, stopping him.
"I know some of you might be thinking that the explosion was too serious to be caused by one of the students," Riya said as she glanced at Ben, "but don't forget that Alex Whiteheart was also in that forest."
Orion raised a brow as soon as he heard what Riya said. "Alex, huh?"
"Yes," Riya replied. "And we also know how strong he is and what he's capable of doing."
"Or do you all think that Alex can't cause an explosion of that scale?" Riya added.
"He definitely can," Dan said as he folded his arms. "He might just be the only student in this Academy that can create an explosion of that scale."
"Exactly," Riya said.
Before she could continue, Ben suddenly interrupted her.
"Nobody is saying that Alex can't cause such an explosion," Ben said. "In fact, there's a very high chance that he caused that explosion."
He looked at Orion. "What I'm saying is, what would make Alex cause such an explosion? I mean, he can just use normal spells to kill common-rank Beasts, but to use such a spell that would cause that kind of explosion, he must have encountered something....."
"But why would that make you feel like checking it out is the right thing to do?" Riya instantly asked, startling Ben slightly.
"Let's say he was actually battling a Beast that made him use that spell, do you think going there would be the right thing to do?"
"I personally think going there would be a bad idea," she added. "By showing up, you would've caused problems or even distracted him."
"Or more like help him?" Ben snapped as he glared at Riya.
Riya chuckled lightly. "Help, huh? Just like I said, you're underestimating the students of this Academy, or specifically, Alex."
"Be honest, Mr. Ben," Riya said. "Do you see Alex as someone who would need help?"
Ben just continued glaring at Riya, not answering the question.
"No, right?" Riya said.
"Moreover," she added, "if he needed help, trust me, he would've called for help with the device we gave all the students."
Ben squinted his eyes. "I must say, you heavily overestimate the students of this Academy. Just because they receive the best training and are taught by the best teachers doesn't mean that they're untouchable."
All the other teachers could only watch in silence as Riya and Ben continued exchanging words.
The Assistant Principal was still sleeping while Orion just kept observing Ben and Riya.
He didn't even bother to stop them because he was getting what he wanted from them..... An explanation.
Even if the explanation came in the form of what seemed to be a quarrel, it wasn't a problem for him because this way, he would be able to hear the opinions of both sides before saying anything.
"And it seems you're also forgetting something else," Riya said as she stared at Ben. "All the students, including Alex, came out of the forest in perfect condition, though some of them had a few scratches."
"But talking about Alex specifically, he didn't have a single wound on his body, and he didn't even look tired in the slightest," Riya said. "So, if he actually fought a mighty battle like you're insinuating, don't you think his condition would have been different?"
Orion squinted his eyes. 'That's a solid point...'
Ben's eyes widened slightly, unable to come up with anything that could counter what Riya just said.
Some of the teachers were also nodding their heads in agreement.
Immediately Ben saw this, he decided to say something else.
"But..... The major thing here is the fact that you were so hellbent on stopping me from entering the forest," Ben said. "It was almost as if you were hiding something that you didn't want me and the other teachers to see."
Ben faced Orion as he continued. "She even said that I'll have to go through her before I can enter the forest, and that brings the question, why would she go to such an extent just to stop me from entering the forest?"
"Like I said before," Riya said, "entering the forest would have caused more instabilities than you think."
"Imagine a student fighting a Beast suddenly sees their teacher out of nowhere," Riya explained. "They would certainly get distracted, and that could cause a serious injury."
At this point, Riya was just betting on these few points of hers to get her out of this situation.
"I don't think that's a valid reason," a female teacher said.
She looked at Orion and continued. "And Mr. Ben is right, Principal Orion, you needed to see how fierce she was about not letting any of us enter the forest."
Orion furrowed his brows. "Was it that serious....?"
"Of course," Ben said, sensing hope that this matter was still in his favor. "She even fought me..... She went that far."
'Oh no..... This isn't going well anymore,' Riya thought.
She kept her calm expression, waiting for what Orion would say.
"Miss Riya," Orion said as he looked at her. "You have a few solid points, but....."
He squinted his eyes.
"You still haven't given a concrete reason as to why you went that far just to stop Mr. Ben from entering the forest."
Suddenly, he glared at Riya sharply.
"Was there perhaps something you were hiding...?"
Ben smirked. 'This is going well...'
Riya was yet to reply because she had run out of things to say, but just when she thought things weren't going well anymore, a certain someone suddenly spoke.
"I was the one who didn't let them enter the forest..."
Orion shifted his gaze towards the Assistant Principal, who was seated beside him. Her long black hair was fluttering slightly, with her arms folded. Her eyes were still closed, almost as if she was still sleeping.
"Hm.... Explain," Orion said.
Without shifting or opening her eyes, the Assistant Principal began speaking.
"Mr. Ben specifically asked me if he could enter the forest to check the source of the explosion," she began, "but I declined....."
"If I had agreed, there was nothing Miss Riya would have done about it," she added.
Orion nodded his head. "I see..."
Ben's eyes widened in shock as he tried to say something, but not even a single word could come out.
"So he didn't enter the forest due to your order, right?" Orion asked.
"That's right," she replied.
"That's valid," Orion said as he leaned back into his chair.
'Huh?..... W.... What just happened?' Ben thought, shock evident on his face.
Suddenly, the Assistant Principal leaned forward. Even though her eyes were closed, it was obvious that her attention was on Riya because she was looking in the direction where Riya was seated.
A smile formed on the Assistant Principal's face, but unexpectedly, she began opening her eyes.
At that point, it was almost as if time stopped as the gaze of all the teachers was fixated on her eyes that were opening.
Finally, it happened...
Riya gasped. "So beautiful..."
The Assistant Principal's breathtaking pink eyes were fixated on Riya as she smiled.
'What are those eyes.....? I feel strange.....' one of the male teachers thought, unable to look away from her eyes.
"Miss Riya," the Assistant Principal began, "thank you. Your action showed that you have the best interest of the students at heart."
Riya, startled, instantly replied. "Y... Yes. Thank you very much."
Orion sighed as he closed his eyes.
He leaned towards the Assistant Principal before whispering, "Calm down..... You seem to have lost control."
The Assistant Principal opened her mouth slightly as if shocked before she smiled again.
"Oh, that's my fault," she whispered back.
In an instant, she closed her eyes and folded her arms, back to her posture as if she was sleeping.
'What the hell are those eyes...?!'