As they grabbed each other's hands underwater, they waited for one of the other girls to count down.
"If your elbow lifts off of the hot spring ground, it's your loss. Are you ready?" Julianne looked at her eyes, glimmering with determination.
"Ready as I'll ever be," Xenia responded with a serious expression.
"He, alright then. Raxo, count us down," Julliane commanded, continuing to stare her opponent in the eyes, smiling at her all the same.
"Fine… Start on go. 3, 2, 1, go!"
As soon as the two began, the rest of the girls who sat on the other side of the hot spring to spectate could feel the ground under them trembling, making large ripples in the water that spread throughout the entire spring. The buckets and sponges along the floor also shook, flopping on the ground like a fish out of water. The two were evenly matched, none of them visibly winning.
"The hell's happenin' over there?!" Quint said, standing up from the vibrating ground, feeling it come from the girl's bathroom.
"Look's like they're doing something interesting. We'll have to ask them about it after," Rein expressed.
The entire building felt the tremors that emanated from the principal and Xenia, as complaints could be heard outside the windows of the other rooms. Yet, they still continued, the girls unable to imagine the tremors that it would cause if they did this out of water.
"Impressive! You're the first student to last this long against me," Julianne complemented.
"Haha, I'm not a student yet," Xenia remarked, getting fired up.
"Oh? Confident aren't we? Let's see how long that lasts," Julianne was equally pumped.
"Hey, is principal Julianne even using her Spring yet?" Emria asked.
"It does not seem like it…" Saprhilla responded.
"Yeah… I think that's just her sheer strength…" Chloe spoke in amazement.
"Tch, damn that ogre woman," Raxo spoke, not taking her eyes off the match.
They continued to struggle under the water, eventually, Xenia loosened up on her strength, still tired from her endeavors with Clyde. Julianne was able to capitalize on that and push downwards, Xenia surviving by just a thread.
"Rgh," she struggled to fight back, Julianne continuing to gaze at her with a smile on her face.
"Hahaha, shall I activate my Spring now? I'll cut you a deal, if you can discern what my Spring is, I'll count this as your win," she proposed, making the struggling Xenia react in determination.
"Here I go!" She said, activating her Spring.
Julianne grew a surprised expression as she activated her Spring, splashing the water to the ceiling as a hand was furiously slammed onto the bathroom floor, winning the match, causing one last large tremor before the match ended.
There was a moment of silence after, everyone gaping their mouths open in awe, followed by a loud cheer from the girls, all running to hug the winner. After the cheering died down, Julianne spoke.
"Haha, impressive, my Spring did the opposite of what it should have. That ring on your hand is Rein's creation I presume?"
"Oh, ahaha I forgot about it. It's probably why you instantly lost after activating your Spring," she said, laughing as she looked at the ring.
"Interesting… So that's how you were cured. Well? Did you figure out what my Spring was?"
"Hmm… No, I can't say I did. I'm trying to think back to your adventuring days, but even then you kept it hidden," Xenia spoke in a thinking position. Julianne laughed.
"That is a common misconception. I never hid my Spring, in fact, I used to use it excessively. Only a handful of people figured out what it was though," she informed, making xenia even more curious.
"Well then, a deal's a deal. I, Julianne Starsage, 12th prestige Ranger and principal of Ranger academy, formally welcome you to Ranger academy,"
"Thank you… So much…" She began crying out of joy, everyone in the bath ecstatic about her enrollment.
"Now on to the main event!" Julianne exclaimed, making the girls turn around in confusion. "We've already established that Raxo is the smallest out of the students here, but I've been looking at Xenia and Chloe and I just can't tell who's bigger. I may need to get some hands-on experimentation…" Julianne smiled, pouncing on the girls who began running away, screaming playfully, Raxo angrily attacking her for her comment. Their screams were heard by the boys.
"Man they're loud as ever. Did I hear the principal in there too?" Core inquired in a tired tone.
"Don't you guys want a bit more than just hearing their voices..?" Reggie asked sleazily.
"No."
"No."
"I would rather not."
Rein, Quint, and Clyde all answered at once.
"Aw come on!! This is a staple rule in bath scenes! The boys go to peep on the girls, then get buckets thrown at them!" Reggie pleaded.
"If any of you try to peep on my sis, you're getting your ass whooped," Quint declared.
"And don't you dare try and peep on my little sisters. I'll invert your dicks, you hear?" Rein threatened.
"It would be dishonorable to do such a deplorable act. Count me out," Clyde expressed.
"Well, I expected that reaction from Clyde, but the rest of you have got to lighten up! You're with me, right Core?" Reggie expectantly turned his head to Core.
"Ahaha, sorry dude. Despite my looks, I'm actually 26 years old. It would be weird for me to peep at high school girls. Though, I am interested in principal Starsage," he said as he smiled to himself.
Reggie sighed then faced down. "Man, you guys are no fun," he said jokingly.
After a bit, they finished up their baths, changing back into their now clean clothes. They all gathered in the living room, the boys greeting the principal as she sat down, awaiting their reports. The girls told them what happened in the bath with Xenia, who seemed to be missing changing into the new clothes that Julianne brought for her. Quint bowed down to the principal, thanking her for allowing his sister to have this opportunity. Clyde smiled to himself, happy that she had joined them in Ranger academy.
"Sorry I took so long. How do I look?" Xenia asked as she emerged from the changeroom.
She wore an orange cropped coat with a black and white shirt underneath. On her bottom half, black skin-tight shorts under an orange skirt, with black thigh-high stockings on a green pair of sneakers.
"Wow! You look amazing!" Emria exclaimed, running to her in excitement.
"I love the skirt!" Raxo gushed, her personality taking a 180 degree turn when Xenia is involved.
All of the girls gushed around her, as the boys stared, Quint getting angry and walking in front of them to block their views.
"Those clothes fit you like a charm if I do say so myself," Julianne gave herself a pat on the back.
"I believe we should start the meeting now. Everyone take a seat," Clyde spoke, getting straight to the point without complimenting Xenia on her outfit, which disappointed her. She seemed to be looking forward to hearing his thoughts, so she just sat there in a sad mood for the entire time.
"Alright, first and foremost, your quest money… Sorry! I can't award it to you just yet!" Julianne laughed, not shying away from the fact that she lied to them.
"What?!" They all exclaimed simultaneously, recoiling in the couch as they heard the principal's hardy laugh.
"Your quest money will be awarded to you when the term starts. There are some logistical reasons that even I couldn't bypass," she turned her face from laughing to a stern expression, giving everyone the impression that it was a very serious matter.
"Yeah yeah, we all know that it's because you gave them that quest un-officially, and you don't have enough money to pay them out of pocket," Raxo said, exposing Julianne's ruse, making her laugh in acceptance.
"Haha, you know me so well," she laughed happily, which Raxo lost her cool over, getting angry that she was so wishy-washy about everything.
"Anyways, I believe it's time to give your reports. I want to know all of the details about this mission. Rein, care to begin the explanation?" Julianne's voice regained its commanding, serious tone as if she had flipped a switch in her mind.
"I will do my best, principal Starsage."