There were few men and women across Valhaur that held the prestigious title of 'top ranker,' a person who had climbed to the nearly unbelievable height of level fifteen or above, and the Dean of Te Academy erhaps unsurprisingly, one suan.

  Dean Pemcroft was a woman in middle age. She sat behind an ornate mahogany desk, brown hair done in a ponytail, seeming ahat alone was enough to make Natalie break into a sweat. An irritated top ranker. Much less the dean of the academy she attehis woman was the absolute st person on campus, maybe the world, that she wanted annoyed with her.

  A here the Dean was, gring at her like an impudent student who'd caused her a headache.

  Which, uh. Was exactly what had happened.

  Barowood was less annoyed, more red-faced. He seemed to be barely restraining an outburst—probably only due to the woman of incredible status in the room with him. The affable figure from earlier was o be seen, which was maybe fair, sidering the circumstances.

  Then again, not really. Aina was her own person, and what she decided to do with Natalie was her own business. The Baron had nht to be upset at her for what his daughter did, or what the two of them did together.

  Well. Besides maybe how it had happened in the middle of a public alleyway, which was teically illegal, and how they had been caught. It might be less about the dalliand more about the specifics. All the same, Natalie couldn't help but feel his anger was at least partially unreasonable.

  What followed, over the half-hour, was aremely unfortable enter. The Baron ranted and raved about Natalie's 'pletely uable behavior,' and 'was this how Teudents ported themselves on missions?' and so on and so on.

  Aina, bless her, seemed to have made it clear that Natalie wasn't fully to bme; the Baron didn't pretend that Natalie had seduced his daughter, or some nonsense of that sort. Just that her behavior, as a of Te, was uable.

  Throughout, Natalie gritted her teeth and bore the tirade. She defended herself the best she could, with the Dean pying an irritable moderator.

  This wasn't her first time dealing with an angry parent, though it was the highest-stake variation of the event she'd experienced, si had never happened with a woman of national reputation in the room. Natalie had eve with angrier parents than the Baron, and in situations where their anger hadn't o be moderated.

  That said, Natalie would have much preferred for the Dean to not have been there. As much as her preseed what the Baron could say, it also made things worse for Natalie. Because the woman trolled her life at the Academy—or whether she had a spot at all, quite frankly.

  The Dean was definitely on the Baron's side, which wasn't surprising. Natalie suffered through, trying to py trite and apologetic, which wasn't her strong suit. After her previous catastrophic ck of judgment, though, she forced herself to keep silent. Though maybe more than a renewed sense of good judgment, it was the Dean's withering gaze that kept her mouth sealed.

  One major mistake was enough, Natalie told herself. She bit her tongue on her real opinions oter. She had a pent for doubling down aing herself into deeper trouble, but she was already plenty deep enough. She couldn't afford to keep digging. Even she had some innate level of self preservation.

  When the Baron's e had sputtered out, and Natalie had provided her weak defenses, and the Dean had assured him that proper punishment would be forthing, he left in a huff, muttering to himself as he went. Natalie barely stopped herself fr at his back.

  With the door closed behind the Baron, it was just her and the Dean.

  Where Natalie had le to stay silent during her dressing-down, now that it was just her and the Dean, she found silence exceptionally easy. Owo, then three full minutes passed as she sat in front of the Dean's desk and squirmed, one of the most powerful women in the wring at her. Natalie didn't dare speak first. Only when a genuine fight-or-flight respoarted to bubble up, and she was sidering running away and starting a new life elsewhere, did the Dean speak.

  Two fingers on each ha up to rub at her temples.

  "I remember," she said ftly, "what it is like to be young. But doing such a thing, with the city baron's daughter, in the middle of an alleyway, and being caught?" Her fingers didn't stop rubbing, though the a didn't seem to provide much relief. "I would ask what you were thinking, but it's obvious you weren't. Not for a sed."

  Her gre dared Natalie to deny the accusation, but Natalie only returned red-faced mortification. That didn't mollify the Dean—she wasn't sure if anything would—but at least she didn't get angrier.

  A long, exhausted sigh left the woman. Her hands dropped down onto her desk.

  "It's not often I know the names of first-year students, Natalie," Dean Pemcroft said. "Not ones who reach my attention solely from their activities at the Academy. A I knew your name before today. I 't say I'm surprised. It's rare for a o pass my desk and gotten. One implies two implies a pattern."

  Natalie thought it smart to stay quiet, but an arched eyebrow indicated she was supposed to speak.

  Maybe she should have apologized first, but she found herself asking: "You knew my name? Why?" That revetion had caught her by surprise, enough so that she couldn't help but blurt the question out.

  "Do you know how on it is for unknown students from the southern tryside to qualify for Te?" Dean Pemcroft asked dryly. "Much less, within weeks, to bee a leading team among the student base? And not just one of you, but three, from the same tiny town."

  "… rare?" Natalie hedged.

  "Rare? Unheard of. bined with the ats from your instructors describing your unusually quick growth, of course the upper faculty have taken note—including me. Did you think we wouldn't?"

  "I guess I hadn't thought about it."

  The Dean's gaze turned withering once again. "Yes, I assume not thinking is a trend with you."

  Natalie's face burned, but she mao bite down a retort.

  "There's the matter of the quest report your team submitted as well," the Dean said. "That reached my desk just this m. Impressive, the results you achieved, sidering the aberrant forces you were met with. Your team would've been due a gratutions until this popped up." She sighed. "Still are due a gratutions, but any benevolent attitudes of mine have been temporarily spoiled. In short, yes, Natalie, I knew your name before today."

  Having the attention of a top-ranker would normally be desirable, but in this case, Natalie really wished she'd remained a nobody.

  "Teudents are expected to carry themselves in a dignified manner," the Dean said, sighing. "The only saving grace is that despite the brazenness of your as, the sequences of your indiscretioo be tained, and thus minor. Had the Crestwood family suffered a genuiational crisis, this versation would be very different. And please make no mistake—your judgment has been called into question heh."

  The Dean drummed her fingers across her desk.

  "High-rank delvers are important to society," she said, "and that seems to be the path you and your team are heading for. But your value es only partially from your ability to kill monsters, or even act as a powerful warrior for a nation. When a person rampage through a city with the power to tear down buildings with singur swipes of their on, their judgment and stability bees everything. High-rankers, much less top-rankers, are scrutinized very, very carefully, Natalie, by a rge number of people you do not want to get on the wrong side of."

  The Dean delivered the words with a calm threat that turned Natalie's embarrassment to . A trickle of cold went down her spine.

  "Fortunately, you are young," the Dean said, her iy fading, leaning ba her chair with a wave of a hand. "Gratuitous punishments and some mentorship will hopefully straighten you out—before your reputation with the powers that be is ruined in ear. As such, you've been indefinitely assig duties."

  Natalie paled. Indefinitely? That didn't mean the rest of the year, did it?

  "Along with mentorship sessions with your primary bat lead, Instructor Robin," the Dean finished. "She volunteered."

  At that, Natalie blinked. Instructor Robihoughts veered in a whole different dire, because her st meaningful iion with Instructor Robin had been a distinctly fusing one, with Natalie thinking the older woman had been flirting with her uhe guise of telling Natalie that she 'o trol herself, or she'd be punished.'

  And now she'd volunteered to take over Natalie's 'mentorship sessions'?

  "This is where you say, 'thank you, Dean,'" the Dean said. "And 'I promise o cause you problems again.' Please realize, I show merly once.'"

  The words were delivered with enough iess that Natalie instantly repeated them verbatim.

  As daunting as indefinite m duties were, alongside whatever these mentorship sessions would be, she couldn't help but feel she'd gotten off light. A part of her had irrationally expected to be marched off to the brig once she'd heard that the Dean herself would be speaking with her.

  "Now, go," the Dean said, waving. "I have paperwork to deal with, not least of it thanks to you."

  With all haste, Natalie fled the Dean's office.