The moment the nobles laid eyes on Alex, their expressions darkened. A chilling tension swept through the hall, all hatred locked onto one boy.
Emilia sensed this and thought, What happened inside the dimension that everyone here is clearly showing hatred toward Alex?
Instructor Lucius also noticed this and raised his eyebrows.
Alex didn't bother when he felt everyone's hatred directed toward him. He kneeled and started talking to the wolf cub.
"Hey Hati, this is the human world. It's not good, but we have to live here from now on."
Then one of the students near Riven Veylor raised his voice.
"We demand this student's disqualification!"
Then everyone echoed his voice.
"We want this student's disqualification!"
Instructor Lucius's authoritative voice came like thunder.
"QUIET!"
Pin-drop silence.
Instructor Lucius then nodded his head. "Now, one of you, can you explain to me why you are protesting against a student who passed the test?"
Riven Veylor came forward, with a smile and a proud look. He said, "My name is Riven Veylor, Heir to the Veylor Clan."
Riven paused, then continued with a smile.
"As we made camp in the dimension, we made barricades and lived together there. We let Mr. Alexander stay there too, under our protection. Then he raped the girl who came to give him food in his camp. That's why we all are against the enrollment of Mr. Alexander—a commoner—into EE Academy."
Instructor Lucius put his hand on his chin and started thinking, then asked, "Who did the investigation about it?"
Riven Veylor said with a sly smile, "Isn't it obvious? The girl told us herself. Why would a noble girl like Anna Greymoor ruin her life accusing a commoner?"
Riven extended his hand in a gesture.
Instructor Lucius asked, "Where is she?"
Riven replied, wiping the non-existent tears from his eyes, and said in a sad voice, "She is no longer with us. Like many of our brethren, she also died."
The atmosphere of the hall became solemn and sad.
Meika, at those words, clenched her fist and gnashed her teeth. She thought, Don't lose control of yourself. You're the only one who knows this bastard's true face. We have to wait for the proper time to take this bastard out.
Instructor Lucius thought, I know all the sly schemes of nobles.
He was also a noble, but he wouldn't tolerate this in front of himself.
Instructor Lucius's voice echoed in the hall like thunder.
"It means there was no proof, no eyewitness, and you all believed the words of one person. This will be my first and final warning for you all.
You're entering the EE Academy. You will not be considered above anyone else. Power is the only criteria we use, not lineage.
And to you, Mr. Veylor—remember this."
Instructor Lucius glared at Riven Veylor.
Emilia Aurelwyn came forward with flipping her hair backward, "Before we go to EE Academy, you all are free for one day to rest and meet your family members gathered here. You'll be assigned rooms separately. No one is allowed to leave the Academy Test Tower."
Both instructors left the stage through the backdoor. When they reached the monitor room, the principal was watching on the big screens, frowning and massaging his forehead.
A heavy voice came as footsteps approached from the back.
"It's good that no one from the ten clans got hurt, but only ten percent of students survived. This never happened during my leadership of a hundred years."
Instructor Lucius replied, "These students can be considered extraordinary. They survived the Chaos Forest."
The principal just nodded. Only a slight relief was visible on his face.
Emilia Aurelwyn said, "Can I be excused?"
The instructor tried to reply, but the principal beat him to it.
"Yes, you can go, Emilia."
Emilia slightly bowed and left.
Instructor Lucius sighed and said, "You do know where she is going."
The principal replied while looking at a particular young man sitting with a wolf cub,
"Yes, I know."
As the instructor left, Rina came toward Alex with a smile and said happily,
"Hi Alex, I'm really glad that you're fine."
Alex, sitting on the ground with Hati on his lap, brushing his soft fur and spear near him, replied without a smile and not even looking at Rina,
"Hi Rina."
Rina's smile faltered. With more effort to continue the conversation, she asked,
"Who is this?"—pointing toward Hati.
Alex replied this time with an innocent smile, looking at Rina,
"This is Hati, my one and only loyal friend."
"Woof!" Hati replied with an affirmative nod.
Rina's smile vanished, and sadness covered her face.
Then footsteps echoed on the marble floor near them.
Click—Clack.
Emilia came near them, saw the expression on Rina's face, and said in a neutral tone,
"What are you guys talking about?"
Rina replied, flustered,
"I—I'm just asking Alex how's he."
Emilia nodded and didn't say anything. She looked toward Alex and said,
"Come, let me guide you to your room."
Then she turned and looked at Rina.
"You come too, Rina."
On the second floor, they reached a room. Emilia turned toward Rina and said,
"This is your room. Get some rest."
Rina only nodded, understanding Emilia's cue.
Nobody has come.
Tears welled up in her eyes, and she rushed into her room and shut the door immediately.
Click.
Locking it.
Emilia sighed, sadness on her face, and looked at the clueless guy.
"Come, I'll escort you to your room too."
At the end of the second-floor corridor, Emilia opened a room and said after entering,
"Come."
Alex entered the room. What he saw was totally different from the rooms before.
The room was big enough to accommodate a dining table with three wooden-colored chairs. A bed was placed near a wide window, covered by golden-grey drapes. Carpets adorned the floor, warm lamps stood near the bedside, and there was a washroom in one corner. Outside it, a closet stood tall.
Emilia had already sat down on one of the chairs, letting Alex look around the room first—like a guy checking out a new car from all sides.
Hati also started running around the room, jumped on the bed, and lay down. Alex did the same.
"Ooh," Hati made a comfortable sound.
Alex replied,
"Yes, this really is better than sleeping on the ground and trees. It feels like you're in the clouds."
Emilia saw this and felt helpless. Before they went to sleep in front of her, she coughed.
"Ahem," she said, trying to get their attention.
Both Hati and Alex stood up, alert and ready to defend against an attack. Then Alex saw Emilia and relaxed.
"Oh! You're still here."
Emilia replied sharply with an annoyed tone,
"Yes, I am."
She sighed.
"I want to ask you something."
Alex gestured with his hand,
"Go ahead."
Emilia: "First, tell me what happened at the camp the students were talking about."
Alex:Explained his side of the story.
Emilia stood up, clenching her fists, and screamed,
"They did what!?"
Alex didn't say anything. He felt happy—at least someone got worried for his sake.
Emilia calmed herself and then said,
"What happened after?"
Alex told her everything—except for devouring the corruption and getting the dimensional key.
Emilia's mouth opened wide in shock. It remained like that for a little while before she came back to her senses. She coughed in embarrassment, a little blush on her cheeks.
Changing the subject immediately, she said,
"So, this is Hati? Did you name it after the mythical wolf?"
Alex replied with a warm smile, brushing Hati's fur,
"My father used to tell me about two brothers—sons of Fenrir. One was Hati, who kept chasing the moon. The other was Sköll, who kept chasing the sun. He is my brother, so I named him Hati."
Emilia clenched her fist on the chair. If she hadn't controlled her strength, she would have broken it.
She stood up and said to Alex,
"You should rest. I have brought you some clothes. They're in the closet. Change out of those rags."
She then walked out and came in front of a door in the same corridor.
Knock, knock.
She waited a little while.
Rina opened the door… in a bathrobe.