"Master Owen, you're finally awake!"
Fiona entered the room and noticed Owen sitting up in bed, dazed. Tears immediately welled up in her eyes as she rushed into his arms, her tears soaking into the sheets.
"Fiona... How long was I asleep?"
"Two days! Ever since Catalina brought you back, you've been sleeping non-stop. Master Owen, where have you been? You disappeared without a trace for a whole month. Even the Headmaster... had to announce that you were dead."
"Explaining it is a bit complicated. Could you get me a glass of water?"
Owen was startled by his own hoarse voice. His mind was flooded with countless thoughts, making it difficult for him to organize them.
"Of course, just a moment."
Fiona calmed herself down and quickly left the room to fetch a glass of warm water for Owen. As she watched him gulp it down, she felt even more concerned.
"Master Owen, how did you suddenly disappear for an entire month? What exactly happened?"
"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. Let me sort out my thoughts first, and then I'll explain."
Owen himself had no idea why a whole month had passed.
No one had ever mentioned that time flowed differently while traveling in the Beyond Dimension. To Owen, it felt like only ten minutes had passed, but in the outside world, he had been declared dead.
What had happened during that month?
Owen pulled back the covers, intending to get out of bed, only to find that the staff had mysteriously reappeared in his hand. His face turned pale.
"Fi... Fiona, did you put this in my hand?"
"What? Master Owen, what are you talking about?"
"This staff in my hand! Can't you see it?"
"But... Master Owen, there's nothing in your hand."
Seeing Fiona's puzzled expression, Owen looked down, and just as she said, the staff had disappeared.
Owen felt a cold shiver run down his spine, an eerie chill creeping up on him.
The first time, he could have dismissed it as a hallucination. But what about this time?
Owen had seen every detail of that staff clearly, and he could still recall the disgusting sensation of holding it!
"Wait... Let me calm down. Just a minute, just one minute..."
Owen was on the verge of breaking down.
The staff seemed to be everywhere, yet no one but Owen had seen it. This realization gave him a splitting headache.
After finally calming himself down, Owen forced himself to temporarily forget about the staff. When he stepped out of his room, Fiona had already prepared lunch for him.
"Master Owen, please eat something to regain your strength."
"Thank you, Fiona."
"It's my duty."
"Sit down and eat with me. I have some things I want to ask you."
Owen pulled out a chair and gestured for Fiona to sit.
After a moment's hesitation, she obediently complied, taking small bites of her food.
Owen, however, had no appetite. The mere thought of that eye made him feel nauseous, unable to eat anything.
He could only sip some tea before asking in a deep tone, "During the time I was missing, did anything happen at the academy?"
"For the most part, Headmistress Catalina and the other branch headmasters have been investigating near the Tower, trying to find out what happened to you. However, there were some incidents among the students."
"Tell me more."
"First, there's the student council. After a new batch of students joined, someone suggested that the Chief should be re-elected. This caused quite a stir.
Although my brother and a few close friends quickly suppressed the issue, the idea of re-electing the Chief was inevitably brought up for discussion.
However, the Headmaster made it clear that unless there was absolute proof of your death, there would be no re-election for the Chief.
It was obvious that someone was deliberately pushing this agenda.
So, I investigated and found that the person behind it was actually the Vice Headmaster."
"If it's him, then that's not surprising. Anything else?"
Fiona paused for a moment, then shook her head. "The other incidents are trivial, if you'd like to hear about them."
"What were the students saying about my supposed death?"
"Many students didn't believe it, thinking you had only disappeared for a while and would return soon.
But there were also some who, influenced by certain individuals, believed it was your comeuppance. I'm still investigating who is behind that group, but I haven't figured it out yet."
"It seems some people are quite pleased with the news of my death."
Owen nodded thoughtfully, then after a moment of contemplation, he stood up and said in a deep voice, "I need to leave for a while. There are some things I want to discuss with the mentor."
Hearing this, Fiona stood up anxiously, asking, "Aren't you going to eat something first?"
"Sorry, I just don't have much of an appetite."
Owen reached out and gently ruffled Fiona's hair as a gesture of comfort, then put on his Chief's uniform and left.
Owen's reappearance in the academy caused quite a stir.
Although the Headmistress had announced two days ago that Chief Owen was safe and sound and had returned, Owen hadn't shown himself, leaving people uncertain.
Some had even sent people from other academies to sneak into Crossbridge Academy to investigate, only to be discovered and dealt with by Catalina.
Now, with Owen showing up again, it was a relief for his supporters.
"Look! It's really Chief Owen! I knew Chief Owen would be fine!"
"Really? Chief Owen is really back!"
"Could it be an impersonator?"
"Absolutely not! That refined aura is impossible for anyone else to imitate!"
Hearing the murmurs of his admiring fans, Owen couldn't help but chuckle.
Seeing more and more people gathering, Owen decided to make a statement to silence certain rumors.
"Everyone, there's no need to speculate. I am Owen, the real deal. No one else is impersonating me. The reason I disappeared for a month was because the Headmaster sent me on a secret investigation. I can't disclose the details, but rest assured, I'm safe."
"Chief, we're just glad you're back!"
"I knew all those rumors were just lies! Where are those who wanted to re-elect a Chief now?"
"In any case, don't let yourselves be swayed by outside rumors. I have some matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave."
After a brief statement, Owen squeezed through the crowd and finally arrived at the Headmistress's office.
Knocking on the door, Owen found his mentor seemingly just finishing up some paperwork. She set down her quill and spoke softly, "You've woken up so soon. How are you feeling?"
"Not bad, mentor. Do you have time to talk?"
"Of course, I always have time for you."
Catalina waved her hand, and a chair appeared out of thin air. Owen sat down, took a deep breath, and after organizing his thoughts, he began.
"Mentor, a month ago... Honestly, I still find it hard to believe that I was missing for an entire month."
"What exactly happened?"
"It was Claire. He told me he had a key that could open the seventh floor of the Tower and fabricated a lie to invite me there. I believed him and agreed, but he ended up taking me to the Beyond Dimension."
"Beyond Dimension? Owen, are you sure? You came back from the Beyond Dimension?"
Owen nodded confidently. "I'm sure it was the Beyond Dimension. But to me, it felt like I was only there for about ten minutes before being forcibly sent back to the dimension. Mentor, do you have any idea what happened?"
Catalina furrowed her brows, closing her eyes in thought. After a long moment of contemplation, she sighed and shook her head.
"I'm sorry, but I've never heard of such a situation. Without reaching sage-tier, it's impossible to traverse spatial currents, so I don't know what happened to you. But don't worry, I'll look into it."