After passing through a familiar tunnel and making way towards a separate floating island, Emery eventually arrived at his destination. He had finally returned to the headmaster's place once again, escorted by a group of magus in gray uniform who left immediately after doing their duty.
Entering the office, this time, Emery saw that there was no one else beside him and Headmaster Delbrand who was currently standing by the window with his eyes staring out of the window and doing what he usually did, smoking.
Emery knew that the man's demeanor had always been cold, with hardly a smile visible on his stiff looking face. But this time, in particular, Emery was somewhat expecting one from the other party.
After all, he was certain that he had done his job well. He even managed to return safely after being missing for more than 4 months.
While waiting for the headmaster to finish his smoke, Emery stared at the gray-haired grand magus and couldn't help but remember how he was told that the other party was the one behind the missions that led to the banishment of the wolves clan, the death of many, and subsequently responsible for their detainment.
After a while, the headmaster seemed to have finally finished his smoke. He turned from the window and returned to his seat casually before looking at Emery with a serious expression on his face.
"First of all, I'm sorry for what you have been through over the past few months… I would of course like to congratulate you, but sadly it was a mission that I couldn't really congratulate you on."
It didn't take long for Emery to realize what the headmaster meant, and he couldn't help but agree with the sentiment.
After all, with Magus Leon and nearly all of his team members killed and the large number of people from Kulturmak Planet implicated as they inevitably got involved because of the elf invasion, they couldn't truly celebrate the success of the mission.
This line of thought quickly made Emery think of a figure, and so he asked the man sitting in front of him.
"Headmaster, I can't help but wonder about Magister Kadek's safety. Is there any news about her?"
Emery saw how the headmaster's face slightly changed when the latter heard his words.
The headmaster said; "Unfortunately, the magister didn't make it. Her body was found among dozens of elven magus corpses on what was left of the battlefield."
It was certainly heart-breaking news. Emery suddenly remembered the sight of such a great grand magus who flew by herself fighting against an elven cruise ship. One person against so many, and to hear that she actually didn't make him think if things could have been done differently.
Seeing Emery's reaction, Headmaster Delbrand quickly spoke again.
"We are at war, so this kind of thing is inevitable. It will be easier to remember her for what she already did to the alliance."
Emery was silent for a moment and asked another question he had in mind.
"Then Headmaster, can you please tell me what the situation regarding Zodiac City is?"
The headmaster Delbrand confirmed what the Silva and the Ouroboros Queen told him, that because of what had happened in Kulturmak, the culprit had finally been revealed and both the Wolves and Serpent bloodline had been cleared of any suspicion and those being detained had been released.
Hearing this confirmation naturally relieved Emery a little, but something was still bothering him. It was a question that he shouldn't ask considering his position, but he bravely asked the question anyway.
"Headmaster, what about the culprit? Who was actually behind this all? Is it really the Zodiac city ruler, King Alduin himself?"
Headmaster Delbrand was silent for a moment, this matter was supposed to be a secret, but knowing that Emery was directly involved and even contributed greatly to the mission, the man decided to just spill the information.
"It was the head of the Bloodline Institute, Lord Esbern. He was the one who sided with the elves."
Emery was surprised as he always thought the old goat bloodline elders seemed to be the wise and caring type and apparently Headmaster Delbrand said that it actually was not a pretense. The elder was loved by many; He just cared too much about half-bloods while hating humans more than the elves.
Headmaster Delbrand explained to Emery the fact that racial hatred had run deep between the humans and the half-bloods throughout generations, and that such an incident was bound to happen at some point.
Currently, the elders and dozens of its followers were being imprisoned and were waiting for trial and the headmaster said, it's probably not a good idea for Emery to visit Zodiac City for a while.
"In any case, I have to tell you that you have done more than expected, Emery. And for that, I represent the alliance to thank you for your contribution. Of course, apart from thanks, the Magus Alliance has prepared something for you as a token of gratitude."
After saying those words, Principal Delbrand took out a small wooden box from his desk and placed it on the table before gesturing for Emery to come forward and pick it up.
"Open it."
Emery reached for the box after seeing the encouraging look on the headmaster's face and when he opened it, lying on a piece of silk, he saw there was a small golden badge with two stars engraved on its surface.
It was a medal, and the writing engraved on it said:
[Medal of Distinguished Valor]
Seeing Emery's confused reaction, Principal Delbrand quickly gave an explanation. "The medal may be just an ornament, but this award will be permanently inscribed in your records within the Magus Alliance."
Hearing that, Emery still wasn't sure how to react as he really didn't know what the award entailed. Even so, the medal was still a reward and therefore he didn't forget to give a sign of gratitude to the headmaster.
"There's more actually." Headmaster Delbrand said as his hand reached for the cube on his table and fiddled with it. While doing so, the man spoke again. "This is the reward the Magus Academy decided to give you for your contribution to the Magus Alliance"
Immediately after, a notification appeared on the symbol in his hand.
[You are being rewarded with 500,000 contribution points]
[Contribution points: 755,550]
This time, Emery showed a visible reaction on his face, to which Headmaster Delbrand simply nodded. One had to remember that winning the Magus Game of his third-year gave Emery 400,000 contribution points, so this reward was certainly a much-appreciated sum of points.
Once again, Emery nodded and said his gratitude. However, he still didn't leave the office because he was still hoping for something else to ask.
Seeing how Headmaster Delbrand seemed to have nothing else to say and knowing how important that certain reward was, Emery, gritted his teeth and forced himself to ask.
"Headmaster, I was wondering about the situation of the caretaker of my world..."
Hearing that, the headmaster heaved a deep sigh before saying,
"About this matter, it was actually the late magister Kadek who planned to seek this matter, as it was not my place to say. However, I had taken the liberty to check your world's current situation and inquire about it at the Magus Alliance. Unfortunately, I discovered that your world is under special interest by its caretaker."
For this matter, Headmaster Delbrand suggested setting up a meeting with the Nephilim. That is, the man was willing to become a mediator between him and the Nephilim faction.
Hearing this actually made Emery remember what Lord Izta had told him, about not causing trouble with the Nephilim.
For that reason, Headmaster Delbrand's suggestion succeeded in moving Emery, as he also thought that opening open communication with the Nephilim should be a good step towards that progress.
He therefore agreed to the offer and also thanked the headmaster for his willingness to help.
"It's settled then." Headmaster Delbrand said, "As for the date, as everyone is currently busy with the mid-test, I will arrange a meeting sometime after the test."
As he walked out of the headmaster's office, Emery finally felt his body lighten as if part of the burden that had been weighing on his shoulders had been lifted. Now, he could stop worrying about mission, bloodline matters, and focus on completing his academic year.
As he left the headmaster's place and returned to the area belonging to the academy, Emery saw the back of someone who seemed to be waiting for him, the figure wearing black clothes and black hair turned its body around, and immediately jumped at him.
"Emery you're finally back!"
The figure was his Asian friend, Chumo. It wasn't that he wasn't glad that Chumo came looking for him, but Emery looked left and right wondering if anyone else came with him.
"Chumo, are the others coming with you?"
The question quickly made Chumo's face turn pale.
"What happened?"