Chapter 31: Meg, Headmaster

This was the second day after Haina made headlines, and it happened to be the weekend.

Haena went to the Royal Law University after a long absence.

Even though it was a holiday, there were still quite a few people at school. After all, the final exams were only a month away, so it was time to prepare, even if it meant cramming.

Haina was not nervous at all.

She even put on her own armor and equipped herself with the inspector's exclusive dagger, standing downstairs of the girls' dormitory, watching the younger students coming and going with a smile.

"Hello, Senior!"

"Haina-senpai."

"Good morning, Senior Haina."

"The Silver Crown Dragon is above... I wish you good health, Miss Haena."

The younger students, even those in her grade, who came and went, came over to greet her politely when they saw her. The busy students looked at Haina, who seemed to be so relaxed, with envy.

They were still working hard on their final exams, but Haena had already graduated early!

But they would never have thought that Haina did it on purpose.

She didn't come back for anything.

She simply wanted to see her younger classmates busy with exams while she could leisurely stroll around the school.

So cool. Ah, so cool.

It was as if all the fatigue and stress accumulated from staying up all night preparing for the early graduation exams had been cleansed away...

The Royal Law University is not a school purely for extraordinary people.

It has 140 teaching buildings and six departments. Only two of them teach students how to become extraordinary people, while the other two departments give priority to teaching the mysterious skills of other paths.

The school had only been established twenty years ago, with the Queen's special permission, to teach "forbidden arts" for the prosperity of the kingdom - such as alchemy, art, and preservation.

The remaining two departments are used to produce high-quality civil servants for Avalon. The majority of them are ordinary people.

The crisscrossing network of teaching buildings could almost be called a small town. The crisscrossing streets divided it into six major districts, each home to a variety of vendors and residents. You could buy most anything you wanted without even leaving the "university" grounds.

The Royal Law University occupies a considerable portion of Red Queen District, which is why it is also known as the "University District."

The housing prices here were extremely high, so high that Haina couldn't even imagine it.

The core areas of the Red and White Queen glass islands are so noble because one can directly see the "lake in the island" from here - from the top floor of the teaching building, one can even see with the naked eye the silver and tin palaces glittering in the sun.

Here, you can meet the Knight almost every day when you go out.

The academy Haina attends is affiliated with the Department of Individual Tactics. Although they are extraordinary people, they also need to learn cultural knowledge.

——This is the policy proposed by Her Majesty the Queen to improve the quality of extraordinary talents.

Let the extraordinary people become talents who govern the country with extraordinary powers, rather than the source of chaos - there is no need to worry about how much benefits should be given to the extraordinary people to appease them, because they are the pillars of the kingdom.

Because of this, the academic pressure at Royal Law University is very high.

Iris, Star Antimony, Elvish, Advanced Mathematics, Basic Theology, Modern History, and Document Writing are general education courses that all departments must master.

Specifically for Haina, she also has seven professional courses: "Law", "Legal Tactics", "Swordsmanship", "Aerial Riding", "Battlefield Command", "Road Identification", and "Equipment Maintenance and Battlefield Treatment".

In addition, she has to take four more elective courses.

She chose four courses: "Applied Jade Gemology", "Anesthesiology", "Wine Brewing Production Management" and "Prevention and Control of Common Animal Diseases".

It seems that she has learned a lot of different things... but in fact, her motives are very clear and there are traces to follow.

——This is because Haina flexibly utilized the powerful teaching resources of the Royal Law University and the large number of professional books that were freely available in the library. Taking into account the fact that she might be seriously injured or even disabled and unemployed in the future, she learned four courses in advance that would be easier for her to support herself.

But she didn't know how to make money in the future, so she haphazardly studied four unrelated fields.

Once you have the basics, it will be much easier to make up for it.

At this moment, Haina suddenly shuddered.

She instinctively sensed that someone had appeared silently behind her.

An extremely intense fear gripped her heart, and her eyes widened. As if looking into a fierce wind, she took deep breaths, but couldn't get any air.

With her nerves tense, she subconsciously grasped the dagger in the sheath——

"—Good morning, Haena."

A resounding female voice rang out, "Hey, don't be afraid. Put it back."

With a clang, the short sword she had pulled out a fraction slipped out of her hand and fell back on its own, as if her weapon refused to be drawn in front of this person.

When she heard her voice, Haina breathed a sigh of relief and slowly let go of her hand.

"Headmaster Meg..."

How could such a big shot suddenly appear without making any noise? I was really shocked...

She grumbled in her heart, turned around, put her right hand on her chest, bowed her head, and saluted her respectfully: "Good morning, Headmaster Meg."

In front of Haina was a middle-aged woman with silver hair, high cheekbones and clear wrinkles on her face.

Judging from her skin and features alone, she looked to be at least 40 or 50 years old, perhaps even over 60. However, her sparkling eyes, muscular body, and resonant voice made her look at least 20 years younger.

The most obvious feature of Headmaster Meg was her high, muscular shoulders. These were the kind of muscles that even young men dedicated to fitness rarely possessed, and they held up even loose clothing with a noticeable bulge.

“Ahahahahahaha!”

Meg laughed heartily.

Her laughter was bright and resonant, and her voice could be heard clearly even from dozens of meters away: “I knew it—you’re shocked, right?

"But you did well, Haina! A few months ago, you couldn't even sense my presence when I put my arm around your shoulder. Now, you can feel me just by getting close to your back—this proves that you've made progress after these few months of training!"

This incident can be regarded as a shame for Haena.

A few months ago, she applied for early graduation—due to her exceptionally good grades, she was brimming with confidence. Her early graduation also alerted Dean Meg, who personally came to witness Haina's graduation examination.

At that time, she appeared silently behind Haena, just like now. But Haena was completely unaware.

She didn't even notice when Headmistress Meg slowly untied her bow tie.

It wasn't that Meg went into stealth, but that she made Hae-na's brain "dared not be aware of her existence."

Just like calling a horse a deer, it is the authoritarian power that forcibly modifies cognition.

And now, at least Haina can sense the danger——

Although Headmaster Meg certainly didn't take it seriously, it also shows that she has indeed grown.

After Headmaster Meg appeared, the number of students around her decreased at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Originally, there were quite a lot of people around Haina, but now there is a huge open space around her.

This is more than just awe for school leaders.

Furthermore, the aura of authority emanating from Headmaster Meg was so strong and obvious that those of lower rank in the same path dared not approach her.

This old man who looks very energetic is one of the strongest people in the world today.

—Grand Arbitrator, Meg. Deputy Director of the Arbitration Chamber.

He has the supreme privilege of being able to execute direct descendants of the royal family.

The reason why he is called "Deputy" Director...is because in Avalon, the deputy position is in a sense stronger than the principal position - because the principal position has the longest tenure, but the deputy position does not.

Meg had been the deputy director of the Arbitration Chamber for twenty years. The three-year term of director had changed seven times, and each one had been her student.

Even when the throne is passed, Meg needs to be present to witness it.

After the new king ascends the throne, she will be the third person to swear allegiance to the new king - the first is the Minister of War who controls the army and foreign spy agencies, the second is the Knight Commander of the Round Table and the Privy Councilor. And the third one is her.

The rest of the royal family members have to wait until sixth in line.

Just standing next to old Meg made Haina feel her heart palpitating.

It was as if the person standing in front of him was not a kind and generous old lady, but an adult lion right at his fingertips.

If I turn around and run, I'm afraid I'll fall because my legs will become stiff with fear.

She had once intervened in a war solely on her own.

Twenty years ago, the Kingdom of Avalon fought a brief war with the Kingdom of Iris due to border friction, the "Ten Days' War".

When Meg arrived at the battlefield, she only needed one sentence to make the soldiers on both sides sheath their swords and point their guns at the ground.

She carved a "peace line" at the border—one that could not be crossed by anyone who considered themselves a "soldier." Approaching the line would cause intense fear, and one would be paralyzed and unable to move.

The boundary existed for four years before gradually fading. Now that relations between the two countries have improved, it has become a well-known tourist attraction to commemorate the brief war that lasted only ten days.

Of course, Haina is not her teacher's student because she is not qualified yet.

Sherlock was once invited to become her last disciple - but he refused.

The old lady did not force him to do so, but she stopped accepting new students after that.

It was said that she had recently begun preparing to step down from her position as Vice-President of the Arbitration Court. This was a secret known to everyone at the Royal Law University, as the new Vice-President would be their young president.

This principal was once a student of Dean Meg.

"It was in the papers, wasn't it?"

Old Meg looked at her, raised her eyes and asked in an ambiguous tone.

Haina was extremely nervous and lowered her head, not daring to raise it. "Yes, I'm lucky... I didn't do anything, it was mainly Mr. Aiwass..."

"—Oh, 'Sir.'"

The old lady repeated with a smile: "You respect him very much."

Haena was startled and held her breath, not knowing how to respond.

"Don't be ashamed. You did the right thing. I heard Janice talk about him."

Meg's voice was as strong as clenched steel. "'The right of the stronger is more right.' Regardless of whether you're his senior or a senior, you're not as good as him in this matter. So you obey his command—this is in line with the philosophy of the authoritarian path."

Hearing this, she finally relaxed.

Being recognized and encouraged by a teacher whom she deeply respected was very inspiring to Haina. It was as if the whole world before her eyes had brightened up, and her body seemed to have become much lighter.

This even gave her the courage to ask, "Excuse me, Headmaster Meg...are you here to see me?"

"yes."

Meg laughed heartily and said, "Isn't it obvious?

"You're a good kid, hardworking and serious. But you're still a little stupid."

Meg described Haina, who graduated a year early and maintained full marks in all subjects, as "a bit stupid."

This made Haina a little discouraged.

She knew that she was far inferior to Sherlock...but she didn't know how talented Sherlock was in terms of overall talent.

Haina had no idea what kind of talents the seniors from Sherlock's level and above were. Because they had all become mid- to high-level officials, their past identities were kept confidential.

But looking at her expression, Meg raised the corners of her mouth slightly, and gave a rare affirmation: "However, we who walk on the path of authority don't have to be too smart.

"Let me ask you this—you know the Pelican Bar is closed, right?"

"……Yes."

It's normal to turn it off.

Haina thought to herself.

After all, that was the gathering place of the Noble Red Society, a group of illegal supernatural beings - they couldn't possibly get together to discuss iris literature and elven poetry, right?

"Did you know that your roommates often go to the Pelican Bar?"

Headmaster Meg saw Haena's sudden shock, raised her eyebrows, and added, "Tell the truth."

“—not often,” Haena blurted out, “but they did go there.”

She realized almost immediately that she had let the cat out of the bag.

But in front of the authoritarian superior, she has no secrets at all.

"Have you been invited?"

"They invited me once, but I turned it down. They haven't invited me since."

"oh."

Meg said meaningfully, "No wonder you didn't know."

Don’t know…what?

"Do you know what they went to the Pelican Bar to buy?"

"What to buy...?"

Haina was a little confused.

"They're going to buy cosmetics."

Meg gave the answer directly: "A powerful cosmetic created by the alchemists of the Star Antimony Kingdom. It can make the skin of people in their thirties and forties look as soft and smooth as that of teenagers—although if you ask me, they are far from the age to use such things. But it's normal for girls to be interested in this stuff."

"Xingti's anti-aging potion is also selling very well. Although the side effects of the anti-aging potion can cause physical weakness and obvious muscle atrophy - despite my repeated warnings, some of my students still use it."

……ah.

Haina suddenly realized.

——She said, something is wrong!

She had always thought the skin of the young ladies in the capital was so soft and fair, as if you could squeeze water out of it. They were clearly in the "Individual Tactics Department" and had practiced swordsmanship and horsemanship extensively, yet their hands were free of calluses and their thighs were completely unscathed. Their waists were slender and supple, with no trace of muscle at all.

Before, Haina thought they were talented and even felt inferior for a while - she felt she was too rustic, her body looked like someone who did farm work, and it was too easy for her to gain muscle.

Now she finally knows.

It turns out they took medicine!

"—Do you have anything to say?"

At this moment, Headmaster Meg looked over with a deep gaze, interrupting Haina's thoughts.

Her mind suddenly went blank.

I...what was I about to say?

But the next moment, she vaguely caught something.

"Alchemical products from the Star Antimony Kingdom should be illegal, right?"

She murmured, "That's contraband... I understand. That's why they didn't invite me again. Because they knew I had no money.

"...No, isn't the Pelican the gathering place of the Noble Red Society? Why can I buy smuggled alchemical products at the Pelican?"

She suddenly shuddered and realized, "The Noble Red Society is related to the smuggling case?

"No, that's not right—are they related to the Star Antimony officials?"

"Not too stupid."

Old Meg nodded in satisfaction.

Finally, she got down to business: "Our spies in Xingti have sent back important intelligence—"

"Wait, wait, am I qualified to know this..."

Haina keenly sensed a strong sense of crisis and hesitated to herself in a voice that only she could hear.

Meg completely ignored Haina's sudden fear and continued to talk to herself, "A batch of high-powered, small-sized portable alchemical bombs were delivered to Avalon. The target should be Glass Island.

"The power of this batch of bombs is enough to blow the entire Red Queen District to the sky. We had previously found no trace of these bombs entering the city. But starting the day before yesterday, when we were investigating the Pelican Bar... the Inspectorate discovered that these bombs were transported through the Pelican Bar.

"The merits you have accomplished are far greater than you can imagine."

Meg's eyes were as sharp as a hawk's.

She laughed heartily and patted Haina on the shoulder: “So, I’ll give you a chance.

"Both the Inspectorate and the Arbitration Office are investigating this matter. Originally, your Inspectorate wouldn't have access to this kind of thing. But whether it's you, Sherlock, or that Aiwass, they all interest me."

"I'll give you temporary authorization. Go ahead and investigate—if your director has anything to say, let him come to me. Bring any consultants you want. Give them whatever they want, and I'll reimburse them. If they can't find anything, don't worry, I'll cover it.

"I want to see if I was wrong a few months ago. If you guys managed to find out important information before we could resolve the matter..."

Meg said meaningfully, "I still have a position as a closed disciple... I can leave it to you."

(End of this chapter)