Nothing happened. Cleo furrowed her brow and knocked on the gate again, but this time, she used a metal rod to bang on it, causing ringing noises to echo through the neighborhood. The gate rumbled, and Cleo stored away the rod right before it swung open. A young angel with bags underneath his eyes poked his head out and looked left and right. “What the hell?” he mumbled as he retracted his head.
“Down here!” Cleo said and stuck her foot into the path of the gate, preventing it from closing.
“Huh?” The angel scratched his head and looked down. His eyes widened as he yelped and jumped a foot into the air. Cleo stared blankly at the angel as he scrambled to his feet, dusted himself off, and cleared his throat. He crossed his arms over his chest and asked, “W-what business do you have here?”
“Did I scare you?” Cleo asked and tilted her head.
“N-nonsense!” the angel said and shook his head. His knees knocked together as he pointed at Cleo. “Who are you calling a coward? I’m not a coward! Y-you’re just a lizardman. I command you to state your business, s-slave!”
Cleo fluttered her eyes and inched towards the angel. For every step she took, the angel took two steps back until he tripped and fell into a fountain of water. Cleo scratched her head and wondered if she was really that scary. “Alright, Shiloh,” a voice said from behind the fountain. “Who’s bullying you now? Is it Jeremy again?”
An angel wearing a dress, high heels, and a pair of glasses walked into view and pulled the soaked student out of the fountain. “T-thank you, Professor,” Shiloh said while shivering. He sneezed while hugging his shoulders. The professor wiped her hands on her dress and adjusted her glasses before turning her attention towards the offender who bullied her student.
“You are?” she asked and raised an eyebrow.
Cleo cleared her throat. “I’m a servant of the Ingel family,” she said and nodded. “I’m here to deliver a very important message to an angel here.”
“I wasn’t aware the Ingel family deployed children,” the professor said and crossed her arms.
Cleo’s hand opened, revealing the necklace she stole from Miriam last night. “My master said people wouldn’t believe me unless I showed them this,” she said. The professor frowned and leaned forward, snatching the necklace out of Cleo’s hand. Her fingers traced the golden eagle as her brow wrinkled.
“Very well,” the professor said and placed the necklace back into Cleo’s hand. She tapped Shiloh on the shoulder. “You should continue watching over the gate. Interacting with people will increase your bravery, but try not to be terrified of children next time around.” Shiloh’s red face turned even redder as he nodded and half-walked, half-ran away, returning to his post. The professor watched him leave before meeting Cleo’s gaze. “Were you looking for Mia or James?”
“A who and a what?” Cleo asked.
The professor nodded. “I see,” she said and sighed. “Then you really were looking for one of those.” Cleo blinked and decided to keep her mouth shut. The professor rubbed her chin as her brow wrinkled. “This is quite problematic. I don’t have the authority to bring you to that area, but the headmaster went away for business. How urgent is this message?”
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Cleo’s tail curled and uncurled as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Very urgent?” she said while biting her lower lip. “There are lives and happiness at stake.”
“I see,” the professor said again and nodded. “Follow me.”
The professor’s heels clacked against the ground. It was only when she was twenty feet away that Cleo reacted. She sprinted after the angel wondering how in the world that just worked out. Somehow, the professor had come to her own conclusions using the sparse details Cleo provided. Whether she was right or not was another question. Cleo glanced around as she tailed the angel. There were a few tents in the garden with angels lounging about. The professor noticed her staring.
“The dormitories were temporarily damaged,” the professor said. It wouldn’t be good if one of the seven families thought their facilities were lacking. What other school had to make their students sleep in makeshift tents? “Of course, the situation is under control. These students found that they enjoyed sleeping outside and decided to stay even after their rooms were fixed.”
“Oh,” Cleo said, unsure of what else to say.
The professor nodded as she entered the largest building on campus. Scorch marks lined the walls and ceiling. Only half the floor was still carpeted. “Like I said,” the professor said, “temporarily damaged. An archdemon of wrath from the rebel army invaded the school, but our staff managed to repel her and contained the damage. No other academy can say they’ve done the same. That is why we’re the best.”
“That archdemon,” Cleo said and furrowed her brow. “What happened to her?”
“She escaped from the first sector,” the professor said and nodded. “The damage outside is caused by her. You’ve seen the roads, I’m sure.”
“Do you know which way she went?” Cleo asked.
“I never knew a slave to be so wordy,” the professor said and frowned. The two walked in silence, ascending stairs and traversing through winding halls.
Cleo coughed and shut her mouth. That archdemon was definitely Raea. There was no point in her staying here any longer. Right when she was about to slip away, the professor stopped in front of a door. “We’re here,” she said and opened it, gesturing for Cleo to enter. A thumping noise and strangled cry escaped from the room, causing both Cleo and the professor to jump. The professor was the first to react. “H-headmaster?”
The headmaster was kneeling in the center of the room, a suitcase in front of him with all kinds of shiny objects inside of it. “Professor Lazlow,” the headmaster said and cleared his throat. “What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here? What are you doing here? Were you not away for business?”
“This is business,” the headmaster said and slammed the suitcase shut when he realized it was still open. “What did you need?”
“Headmaster…. Were you planning on running away?”
“Yes!” the headmaster said. He stood up and lifted the suitcase before putting on a large hat, sunglasses, and a scarf.
“Pardon?” Professor Lazlow asked as her mouth dropped open.
“Pretend you never saw me,” the headmaster said and clapped his hand on the professor’s shoulder. “You’ll get a raise when I come back when the war is over. So speak quickly, what did you need?”
“This lizardman”—she gestured towards the empty space beside her—“needed to visit our correctional facilities to deliver a message to one of the Ingel family members.”
“What lizardman? And there aren’t any Ingel’s being reconditioned right now.”
Professor Lazlow’s brow furrowed as she turned her head. “Eh? She was here just a moment ago,” she muttered. “Was I tricked?”
“I say, Professor Lazlow, have you had enough sleep recently?” the headmaster asked. “You’re even imagining the noble headmaster of Hailing Academy sneaking away in broad daylight. Would he really do something like that? Perhaps you should close your eyes and count to one hundred. I’m sure you’ll wake up from your dream then.”
The professor frowned before closing her eyes. The headmaster exhaled and slipped around her before dashing down the hallway. He didn’t like using his powers of chastity on his own staff, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Right when he rounded a corner, he tripped on something that yelped. Cleo cursed at the heavy angel who fell on top of her, but that didn’t stop her hands from slipping into the suitcase that opened from the impact.