Punishment?

After all those tumultuous events, Nathan and Rex were quickly taken to the hospital to receive the necessary treatment and recover from their critical conditions. At the same time, Axel was instead placed in a detention room to await a decision on his punishment. The morning after the incident, the academy's teachers gathered for a meeting with representatives of the clans. 

"This is absolutely unacceptable! He should be locked up until the day of the transport!" shouted the Drakon clan's representative furiously, causing a collective headache among those present. 

"I understand your frustration, but student Rex Drakon was the first to act with clear murderous intent. If student Nathan Blackwood hadn't defended himself quickly, he would have ended up with far worse than broken bones," Marcus replied coldly. 

"Are you seriously comparing one of our descendants to someone insignificant?!" protested the Drakon clan's representative. 

"How amusing. Isn't that insignificant student the same one who took the spot from one of you?" 

"Looks like the Drakon clan is in decline." 

"How disappointing." 

The various clan representatives didn't hesitate to point out the Drakon clan's weakness without any mercy. 

"Let's move on to the main issue," said Yuna, realizing that if she didn't stop the discussion immediately, it would spiral into an endless string of insults. 

"I've made our position clear. We can overlook student Nathan's rudeness, but not Axel's actions. He attacked someone from behind and laughed about it! As I've already said, he must be locked up until the summoning," the Drakon clan's representative declared sternly. 

"This—" 

SLAM! 

"There you are! This place is stupidly huge," said Samantha bluntly, sitting down with her feet on the table. 

The teachers were used to Samantha's eccentric character, and even Yuna found it hard to handle her at that moment. 

"Who is this bitch?" asked the Drakon clan's representative in a vulgar tone. 

"Your mother, asshole. Which makes you a son of a bitch," Samantha replied with a laugh, while the others rolled their eyes in exasperation. 

"What did you just—" 

"Back to the facts, student Axel will only be banned for one week," Samantha announced firmly. 

"No! He nearly killed one of our descendants!" the Drakon clan's representative protested. 

Everyone looked at him in silence, outraged, considering that the very heir they were trying so hard to protect had also nearly killed someone. 

"Let's make it a month, then. As you know, he's from a confinement zone and possesses a practically useless spiritual weapon. Even if he trained properly, his chances of survival would still be low. Denying him a month of training is equivalent to a death sentence." 

"That doesn't seem like a bad proposal," said the representative of the Aether clan, and the others seemed to agree as well. 

"...Fine. But during that month, he will be forbidden from any training or participation in lessons, and I'll make sure that happens," declared the Drakon clan's representative. 

"Of course. I swear on my name that none of this academy's teachers will allow him to train or study," promised Samantha, earning puzzled looks from the others due to her unusual tone. 

"Excellent." 

"As for Rex Drakon's punishment—" 

"We'll take care of that." 

With those words, both the Drakon representative and the others ended the call, leaving everyone furious. 

"They really are bastards, huh? Anyway, Marcus, I'm done being a teacher from today on." 

"Hah?" Marcus and the others looked at her, confused. 

"I promised that none of the 'teachers' would teach him, not someone from outside, right?" With a sly smile, Samantha made it clear that she had planned her promise from the start. 

The others returned her smile. None of them really wanted to punish Axel, since in the end, he had avenged a fellow student from the Government who had shown remarkable results. Unfortunately, they couldn't go directly against the clans, so accepting this outcome was more than enough for them. Axel would still be able to train and study, and the Government wouldn't receive any warnings, as the established terms had been respected. 

After receiving approval for her proposal, Samantha stood up with a satisfied expression and left. The remaining teachers, along with Marcus, stayed behind to discuss the practical details of the decision and plan the next steps. Yuna, however, quickly followed Samantha. 

"Sam, wait a minute." 

"I knew my favorite poisonous flower would follow me," Samantha smiled stupidly. 

"I swear to God, call me that again and I'll smash your face in," threatened Yuna, exhausted but with a tone that hinted at a certain fondness. 

"You know I'd see that more as a reward than a punishment, hahaha!" Watching her laugh so idiotically, Yuna felt the urge to hit her rise again. 

It seemed strange that two people with such opposite personalities could be friends, but they were. Despite Yuna's coldness and rigidity and Samantha's crazy, rude nature, the bond between them was strong. They were both Sinners of the same generation, one year apart, Yuna was 29, and Samantha was 30. 

They had known each other for fourteen years. During their time at the academy, they'd never had much chance to talk, but fate had brought them together under particular circumstances. While they were in the Inverted World, they saved each other and worked together in tough situations, forming a friendship that lasted even after they returned to Earth. 

"I don't get it. You're not the kind of person to go out of your way for someone, especially not for a student. Why are you so fixated on him?" asked Yuna, puzzled. 

"I'd say personal satisfaction," said Samantha with a shrug. 

"Personal satisfaction?" 

"Exactly. We live in a world full of assholes who judge other people's lives based on how much they are worth to them. But now, imagine this: someone who's considered insignificant, someone everyone already sees as dead, comes back from the Inverted World with huge merit. Can you imagine how that would make them feel?" Samantha explained with a sly expression. 

"Hah..." Yuna looked at her friend with growing confusion. 

"But to be honest, I've started to like the guy. He's got just the right screws loose to survive in that other dimension. Anyway, there's something nice about all of this." 

"And what's that?" 

"If he comes back alive, it's because I'm just that amazing. But if he dies, it's simply because he was pathetic." 

"...You're seriously a psychopath," Yuna commented, speechless. 

"Thanks for the compliment," Samantha replied with a deep, exaggerated bow, making Yuna sigh once again. 

"On a more serious note, there's something odd about that boy," Yuna said, her tone serious. 

"Come on, Yuna, he comes from the worst confinement zone. What do you expect, for him to be fine?" she said, patting her. 

"That's exactly the problem. How did he end up there? There's no data about how he was transferred, and no records in the Government or clan databases." 

"He might have just been born there," Samantha suggested, but Yuna shook her head. 

"The earliest data about him starts nine years ago, in the confinement zone. Before that, there's nothing. He's basically a ghost, one with monstrous vitality, too." 

**** 

In the detention room, Axel seemed completely focused on his training, showing no sign of concern about his fate. Samantha's words, "train whenever you can," were stuck in his head. Besides, there wasn't much else to do in that small room. 

Suddenly, the door to his small room opened and Samantha walked in with a smile. 

"I see you're training," she said, satisfied. 

"My punishment?" Axel got straight to the point. 

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Samantha replied, sitting casually on the room's bed. 

"One month, during which no teacher is allowed to train you," she said. 

"I expected worse," Axel answered in a neutral tone. 

"Yeah, anyway, I'm not a teacher anymore." 

"??" 

Samantha's words puzzled Axel, wondering how it came to that. 

"Don't look at me like that. I quit. So I'm not a teacher anymore," she explained with a light tone. 

Axel began to understand what she meant. "So you can train me without restrictions?" 

"Exactly," Samantha confirmed. "But things will be different now. I won't train you as a teacher, but as a Sinner, and I expect you to meet all my standards. Otherwise, we're done." 

Samantha wasn't joking. If Axel didn't prove worthy of her time, she'd have no problem leaving him behind, but she doubted it would come to that, based on what she had seen. 

"Alright. I'll make sure I don't fail again," Axel said. 

"Again?" Samantha raised an eyebrow, confused. 

"I only managed to get half the hand in. It'll take more time for the whole arm," Axel said, discouraged. 

At first, Samantha didn't understand what he meant, but then she got it, and a wide smile spread across her face. 

"Hahahaha! I knew it, you're never boring," Samantha laughed heartily, ruffling his hair. 

"Haaa, I'll make sure you succeed. But try not to do something stupid like you did yesterday. Even if the clans are a pain, they shouldn't be underestimated. Next time, go for a lock, okay?" 

"But you still haven't taught me any," Axel defended himself. 

"...I forgot," she admitted with an embarrassed laugh. 

Now that Axel was finally free, the two of them left the room together. As they walked, Samantha glanced sideways at Axel, thinking about what Yuna had said. She could've asked him directly about his past, but she wasn't really interested in the details. For Samantha, what mattered was that Axel proved to be interesting and worth her attention. As long as he kept her intrigued, his past remained just a secondary mystery.