"Of course, this can't be happening all the time, so don't make it a habit. This situation is special, so I will allow anyone to back down," explained Mavislin, facing Rina.
"I see... But I still want to see this through to the end. Thus, I will be by your side and perform as needed," answered the Flower Mage, bowing down.
"Good to see you overcoming your fears..."
Back to the poor Headmaster and his violent wife of four centuries...
"Ow... Ow! Stop it! I'm not forcing anyone to do anything! Let me go, woman! How can you be almost at bedrest when you've got this much strength left in you?! Didn't you complain that you were tired?!" screeched Gillian as his ears were nearly torn off his head.
"Are you calling me weak when I'm pregnant?!" yelled Ysabeau, twisting the ear.
"NO, NO! I didn't mean it- OUCH! Let go!" shouted the Headmaster as the Bahamut still held a firm grip on the poor man's ear.
"High Queen, I speak for the Headmaster when he says that it wasn't forcing anyone to do anything, nor is he telling you are weak... It so happens that I was comforting my Pillars, and you came into the wrong time without context. So please let go of him..." pleaded Mavislin.
The High Queen narrowed her eyes at the Headmaster before releasing him, causing the poor Aki to scurry behind the Valkyrie.
"Finally! Anyways, before we were rudely interrupted... Where were we?" asked the Headmaster, healing his ear.
"We are about to head out to the place?" asked Bryan, still very confused about what just conspired.
"Ah, yes! I should have enough Elemental Energy to help all of you to open a pathway to the area. Still, I can't pinpoint the exact location of the King's lair, so bear with it..." the Headmaster said, grabbing his book from the desk while the High Queen continued to eye his movements.
"Uhm... Before you lose something more than your ears, I think you'd better pay your wife the attention she needs. I'm guessing that the High Queen is here to tell you something important enough to barge into a meeting like this..." stated the Marksman, who was unafraid of Ysabeau.
The Headmaster felt daggers piercing his skin as he turned to see his annoyed wife waiting to talk to him.
"Ah! What brings you here, my lo-"
"Baldwin and Kyle have returned... They have successfully defeated the Mad Hound and kept the World Serpent at bay. Once Mavislin and her team have finished defeating the Black Knight, they will report at Teuton to help seal the Jörmungandr or something that can stop its advance."
"Wait, the thing is still going?! Then why did they come back?"
"The World Serpent has stopped its advance since Kyle's spell worked on it, but it won't hold for long. Probably a few days at best, and if it gets extra help, a day is all they need to break it out from its confinement," explained the High Queen.
"And the earlier reports about Vincent being alive are true; Baldwin mentioned that Vincent got away by using the World Serpent as cover. Kyle said the monster and Vincent were working together, but the reason remains unclear. So what is your next move?" reported Ysabeau.
The Headmaster was silent as he contemplated the next move. His eyes darted towards the Pillars and Mavislin, thinking if he should listen to his wife and place them on the next Mission right after their own... It wouldn't be fair for them, but the Arks had no choice; this was war.
"That's not very good for the children's sanity, so I'm hoping that you're not going to force the kids to continue fighting the war," warned Ashley as his eyes darkened.
"I understand, and I'm not forcing anyone to come along the next Mission if they aren't healed up for it. And it's up to Mavislin to permit me to use the Pillars for somewhere outside her Domain so I can't randomly force anyone to do my bidding..." elaborated the Headmaster.
"Is that not the case? Aren't you the most powerful person in the Arks?" asked the Flower Mage, confused.
"Yes, but the Arks does function like the Mafia or the Five Kings... Or any time of kingdom with a proper hierarchy. We've designed the Arks to be more versatile and prevent a power vacuum from ever happening by having all six Founders proper control of the organization."
"I've also made each Ark be independent with its leader and given free rein to my Founders to rule their group however they like. So I mostly juggle the more important affairs like creating Missions from the problems around the Five Domains. And the Founders are fine with the freedom."