Chapter 55

"Whoever thinks that I cheated should go and file an official complaint, as per school regulations. Saying that I cheated is not only an affront to my name but to the teacher's as well. You all are implying the teacher couldn't do his job properly and didn't monitor me by saying that I cheated. So, you should be ready to take responsibility for it. Once somebody files an official complaint, I'll be more than willing to prove that I didn't cheat."

'Let's see if they still have the courage now. I dragged the teacher in. If they keep on accusing me now, they'll be accusing the teacher as well.'

Everyone immediately quieted down. But it's not as if everyone understood the hidden meaning in his words. It's just that nobody was willing to file an official complaint. As for the trap he had laid by borrowing the teacher's prestige… maybe only one or two noticed it.

As Vince was about to sit back down, someone else stood up.

"I'll be the one to do it. I hereby declare I'm filing an official complaint. As for proof, there are multiple witnesses. He seemed to do nothing that for multiple minutes, to then just write down all the answers in one go. It looks suspicious no matter how you see it!"

'Idiots are the hardest to deal with… At least now there's an accuser. I can make an example out of him. This is an acceptable outcome.'

The teacher now had an evident frown on his face. Not only did someone use his name to protect himself without his consent, but now they were even challenging his prestige!

'Let's throw the bait.'

"You do know that if it turns out I didn't cheat, you'll be the one to face punishment, yes? Official complaints are meant to be used when you are sure about your accusations and can back it up with solid evidence."

Hearing him say this, the guy who had stood up became even more confident of the fact that Vince cheated. It was apparent that Vince was trying to scare him away.

"Don't worry about me. You should worry about yourself!"

"Fine, fine. The teacher shall be the official judge for this trial then. How do you intend to proceed?"

"I shall ask the teacher to test you in front of everyone!"

"If the teacher is willing, I have no qualms with proceeding this way."

Even though this wasn't a proper way to conduct an investigation, the teacher had nothing more to say if the accused was okay with it.

The teacher proceeded to ask questions similar to the ones in the exam. And Vince replied to all of them as well as it was possible. Though many would argue that it wasn't humanly possible.

Being history questions, he gave answers based on different sources, comparing them and judging how reliable those were.

While everyone was jaw-dropping, it wasn't the case for the teacher. He had long known about Vince's capabilities.

The guy who filed the official complaint had the worse looking face out of everyone. He messed up big time!

'My original plan was to avoid getting in a trial… but whatever, this works too. I probably overestimated the kids here. They are still kids, after all.'

As for the punishment that went with falsely accusing someone… Just this once, the teacher decided to simply give out a warning. He was aware that the kid had merely fallen victim to a scheme due to his naivety. But he still had to make sure that this wouldn't happen again, so he gave out some threats as well, were this to happen again.

"Official complaints aren't something you can make use of so lightheartedly! They are meant to be used only for serious matters, mainly if you were wronged. You cannot simply go accusing someone without certainty. And, since you accused Vince Von Sideria without proof, you ought to give him an apology! But only for this once will it end with a simple apology!"

'Well, there's no value in pursuing this matter. He was not the first one to accuse me in the first place. I laid the trap hoping he would be the one to step on it, but he didn't.'

After the rewards were given, the class was dismissed. This time too, Vince gave his Mana Stone to Nicole.

***

Things all went well until, two months later, something happened.

One day, out of the blue, the headmaster visited them during a lesson. It was very unusual as usually, the headmaster showed himself only for crucial matters. Thus, everyone guessed it was related to the upcoming final exam in a few months. But they were dead wrong.

Estelle, too was puzzled at the event. She intently stared at the headmaster, who started speaking after gazing at the students for a little.

"This week's competition will be cancelled. The reason is simple, we have guests!"

'What kind of guests can warrant the suspension of the competitions?'

"I'll be brief. There's a High Priestess from the Temple of Light coming. And she specifically requested to meet the students! She will be staying for a few days. As you all know, the Temple of Light is a continental power whose influence extends to the whole Human Domain. Even the King would have to kneel in front of a High Priestess!

We don't know why she's coming, but she specifically requested to visit the Academy. So, I came here to tell you all beforehand. Also, I'll give you some tips.

First, always refer to the High Priestess as 'Her Holiness'. Always show the most respect, and upon meeting her, kneel.

Second of all, you have to stare at the ground until you are given permission to stand up. Even looking at the High Priestess can be considered a lack of respect if done without consent.

And finally, you are to do whatever it's asked. If the High Priestess wants you to jump on one leg while spinning, you'll jump on one leg while spinning and also thank her for asking you to.

That said, we don't know what's the reason that brought her here. I highly doubt any of you will have to interact with her directly, so don't worry about it."

The headmaster then left and proceeded to go to the next class to tell them the same thing.

The class immediately burst out in chatter. And the teacher didn't even stop them, as he was too shocked to open his mouth.

"A High Priestess is coming! I never thought I would get to see one in my lifetime."

"Even the King has to kneel in front of one? How powerful is she?"

"I once heard in ancient times an emperor refused to pay respect to one, and the day after his whole dynasty was six feet underground."

Estelle glanced to her side, interested in Vince's reaction. But his face was as calm as ever. It was as if this meant nothing to him.

'Does he ever show any sort of reaction? I think it's more likely I'll see a pebble have a reaction before I see him having one.'

The following nights were sleepless for everyone.

Then, the day of the arrival came. The Academy had already been prepared to welcome the High Priestess as well as it could, and everyone was woken up at dawn to get ready.

The students would still wear the academy uniform, but it didn't mean that there weren't special preparations. All of them had their servants neatly tidy up their hair, going for way more complicated hairstyles than usual.

Even though they were dressed as always, the atmosphere was still completely different from usual. The whole student body was lined up facing the road connecting the gates to the main building. They were all arranged by class and year.

Not long after they were done, a lot more people showed up. They were the King and all the major nobles. Following the King were also other men. Estelle could only recognise the Prime Minister. He was the right-hand man of the King and the one who made sure the King's orders would be carried out.

Being in the first year, Estelle was, together with the others, very near the gates. As one got closer to the Academy, they would see the kids from the following years in order.

Of course, the closest to the Academy were the seniors who would graduate in just a few months. They were sixteen or seventeen years old. Once they graduated, they would be full-fledged adults.

Outside of the Academy, nobles had gathered all along the road that led to the gates. They came to pay their respects to the High Priestess, having caught wind of what was happening.

Further away, after the noble group, Estelle could see a big crowd. From their clothes, she could guess that they were the richer commoners. The mass extended as far as her eyes could see.

Thinking about how much people had come to pay their respects, Estelle felt shivers down her spine. If there had been enough space, she guessed the whole capital city would have gathered on the roads.

Not even their King warranted so much respect. Estelle could remember that all the streets would get clogged on the rare occasions the King paraded through the city. Yet, it was nowhere near what she could see right now.

The King and his entourage eventually gathered in front of the Academy and sat near the headmaster. The queen and the Prime Minister also sat. The queen to the left, and the Prime minister to the right. The headmaster was standing instead.

Last but not least, the nuns and friars from the local Temple of Light, together with the local priest, also came. They were placed in front of the gates to be the first to welcome the High Priestess' entourage.

And thus, the wait started. Being late spring, the temperature shot up in the sky once the sun was high up in the sky. Thus people soon started sweating.

As Estelle pondered what to do, she saw a brilliant light coming from the Academy. An azure light shone for a few seconds, and a fresh breeze invested them. Once the light died down, the headmaster turned back to where he was.

'The headmaster must have cast some magic to keep us fresh!'

And the wait continued. One would expect the number of people in the streets to dwindle due to the hot weather, but it only increased. By now, the whole Academy was surrounded by a large crowd.

Suddenly, some student from a nearby group pointed his index finger towards the sky.

"Look, what is that?"

"It seems like some sort of flying beast is approaching! Though it's too far away to tell."

Estelle, too gazed in that direction. She could see a white dot in the sky, but that was it. She wondered how someone could even manage to spot something so small in the vast blue sky.

Well, since there were few clouds today, the dot made some contrast, so it wasn't entirely impossible.

'It's probably just some flying monster.'

As time passed, the dot grew progressively bigger, and at some point, many smaller dots could also be seen.

"Is it a flock? How come there are so many?"

"What should we do?"

"Well, we shouldn't worry. There are some of the strongest fighters in the nation gathered here today. Even if it's really a flock of flying monsters, we shouldn't worry."

"Yeah, right. I wonder how strong our King is."

Eventually, Estelle could see something more than a dot. That being the case, she immediately spoke out loud.

"Hey! It's not a flock! It's a carriage towed by some flying beasts!"

"I still just see dots."

"Yup, me too."

But, just a few minutes later, the dot had become big enough for everyone to tell that it was something being towed by six flying beasts. Surrounding it were many more flying beasts, neatly arranged in a formation.

Even though no one spoke out loud, by now, everybody knew this was the High Priestess' entourage. The whole crowd was looking at the flying carriage, mouths agape. It was an extraordinary event. Not even their King possessed something as fancy as a flying carriage.

The carriage then lowered its altitude and overflew the main street that connected the Royal Palace to the outside, to then take a turn at the last second onto the road that led to the Academy.

It was the path that had been initially set up for it… but apparently, there was no need.

A beautiful white carriage as big as a two-storey house was towed by six Pegasi, and a golden Maltese Cross shined on its sides. Accompanying the carriage were twelve more Pegasi, all rode by knights in silver armour.

The carriage then beautifully landed, to stop only in front of the gates. All of the knights then demounted their Pegasi and lined up in front of the carriage door.

At this point, everyone kneeled and lowered their heads. No one dared to even glance at the High Priestess as she stepped down from the carriage.

Being so close to the gates, Estelle could only hear her breathing and the light steps made by the High Priestess. Sometimes some tinkling sounds would come from the knights' armours, but not even they dared as much as uttering a single word.