Chapter 3
Probation Center to the left of the Central Plaza, Cornell Academy, City: Three Prongs Fork, Republic of Shantu, Continent: Barat, Year 2050, Planet: Grimoire
Within the barren walls of the probation office, Officer Brinton who held the senior rank of all the men and women working for him slumped against his chair. "Those rascals sure did a number on those gangster kids from the other academies." He shook his head wearily. "To think they weren't even the true instigators." He accepted a cup of coffee from one of the aides.
Bryant glanced at Brinton thoughtfully. "You going to report to the Flange Director about what happened?"
Brinton grimaced. "I have to," It wasn't something he enjoyed having to do. "Since it also involved Grifton Tinroy to a certain extent."
That poor man had lost everything he'd worked on in the past ten years all because of some jealous assholes from out of the country. The two of them exchanged exasperated glances.
"Is it just me or do those six individuals resemble Grifton?" Bryant ventured to speculate.
"Oh, you caught the resemblance too?" Brinton hadn't missed it. He'd also been grilled about the Payton and Harper siblings by none other than Commander Darmono who'd been somewhat shocked at their appearance.
None of the eight siblings were vicious in any capacity. It was more to say that they got on elite soldiers' nerves with their specialized skill sets. Not only that but they were already high-ranked adventurers and hunters that formed their own party while still in their teens.
They hadn't allowed any new people to join their party simply because they distrusted the motives of all who petitioned to do so. It turned out they had avoided much trouble and dissension when doing so not long afterward.
"I still think they're dragons somewhere in their background," Bryant said mildly. "Did you see the black horns decorating Daryl's features?"
Brinton had indeed seen them. While they were small and delicate, they peeked out from beneath his ears and formed small intricate loops that were lost in his black hair.
"I'll bet he doesn't like them at all because they probably make him appear feminine." Bryant shook his head in dismay. "Though I hadn't thought of them as such until some moron made a point of taunting him." He threw his hands into the air. "It just had to be Gordon, the son of an elite Justinian Martes an aristocrat who is on the board of directors of Cornell Academy."
Martes, huh? That was indeed a problem because that man was an old hunter as well as an adventurer even if he was retired. "Jealousy sucks." Brinton shrugged when Bryant blinked at him.
"Is that what you think is the root cause?"
"Yes," Brinton smirked. "Well, that and the fact that the Frost woman and Payne girls won't give him the time of day." He'd personally witnessed the females kicking the crap out of several men who'd made the mistake of thinking they were easy prey.
Bryant winced. "Oh right, I remember that very memorable confrontation."
It was a formal event and competition held every year. Every student's participation was mandatory.
Brinton nodded wryly. "So yeah, there is something to be concerned about now." He shook his head in bemusement. "I didn't think those brainless nobles would go this far."
Needless to say, there'd been a few times when bad blood rose between the common folk and the snobbish nobles that took elitism way too far. Even the typically neutral families would side with the higher blood status quo. That hadn't gone over well with anyone, not even the nobles who viewed them with haughty contempt afterward.
Bryant folded his arms and regarded Brinton with surprise. "So, you're saying that you think the buildings being burnt down is some kind of revenge tactic to ruin them?"
Brinton shrugged. "I'll be honest and say that I believe it is a high probability." He pointed out what he'd noticed in the testimonies. "Look at which gangs were involved and from what academies."
"Hmm, I see." Bryant nodded with some surprise. "Not only that but even the adventurers and hunters were involved this time too." That wasn't a good thing. Just the possibility of having them take sides when they should only be concerned about keeping the monster population down was an unwelcome distraction.
Brinton exhaled. "I think some of the issues rose because I heard an interesting piece of information regarding a connection between the eight mischief makers and Tremont Vocational Academy." He revealed with a faint smirk.
Bryant grunted. "Oh right, that one about them originally slated to attend Tremont until they heard all the nasty rumors and flat out rejected continuing the admission procedures?"
Brinton nodded. "Turns out it was true." He shrugged. "It seems that while it was arranged by their mother, she'd also made provisions just in case they changed their minds."
Bryant was surprised. "She was very insightful when it came to those crazy individuals." He folded his arms. "It doesn't surprise me though when I think about the controversy that came out in the open regarding their mother's history with Fang's Cliff."
They both shuddered.
That had been the other shocker that had rocked all of Three-Pronged Forks. That the eight were the offspring of none other than Davina Glasson who'd been an outstanding scholar and fighter. She'd held the reigning record to date.
That was until the mandatory competition took place.
No one had thought that anything would change as far as rankings were concerned.
Brinton laughed harshly. "Well, now, what happened showed many people not to make assumptions I think." He shook his head with a sigh. "At least, one would hope so." He shrugged in resignation. "Unfortunately, there are certain prevailing outcomes that have taken root even though we're supposed to be a republic, not a monarchist, type of government." That was something that had become quite a problem in this area of late. No one was quite certain of how to handle the changes occurring over the years.
The outcome surprised everyone though. None of the noble elites had won that competition. All of the commoners who'd worked together with the wild eight siblings had swept the categories with the highest honors. That had been a first in the history of Cornell Academy.