So, you know that feeling when you’re face to face with the principal of your school? Like feeling anxious and scared about what could happen to you?

While also just feeling terrified of the Principal’s presence as they glare you down while in their office? Well, that’s what I’m currently dealing with, but it was dialed up a couple of notches, making this situation even more terrifying.

The Headmaster of Agoge Academy is pretty much the Principal of a school; they are the ones in charge of running the place. They’re the teachers’ boss along with anyone else employed at Agoge.

However, this Headmaster was more than just a Principal. She was one of the strongest Saviors in the world that took down a lot of dangerous monsters as she made a name for herself.

Her very presence was practically a symbol of power that should not be trifled with. When you are in her presence or speak to her, you must do so with the utmost respect.

Even The Haughty and Authoritative Naomi wouldn’t have the gall to act out against this woman. Doing so would cause many issues not just with her but with her whole family Clan and business.

And…I was currently in that person’s office…having some sort of meeting with her.

Yeah, this wasn’t going to end well…

Once again, [Absolute Misfortune] continues making my life harder than it already was. At this point, I would rather trip and fall continuously than deal with this...

“Are you alright, Mr. Monroe?” Headmaster Sonare asked, looking curious while sitting in her chair.

“Uh, yeah, I’m fine…” I lied.

“I hope I didn’t bother you while you were doing something else.”

“I wasn’t really doing anything. I just got done at the Shooting Range and was heading back to my dorm…”

This was really stressful right now. I have no idea why this person of all people called me here.

There were a few moments with Sonare Melody in the novel…but she usually only appeared when Luke was involved. Of course, she only ever interacted with Luke because he was the successor of her long-time friend, Scathach, the Spear Maiden.

Not only that but just like Sonare, Scathach was also one of the strongest saviors. They were living idols that everyone knew and respected.

Not a lot of people know this, aside from me, but both saviors were good friends. They both got accepted to Agoge Academy around the same year and soon became close to one another.

Due to their relationship, Sonare decided to watch over Luke for her old friend. And yet, this person was now getting involved with me…I can only assume that I did something wrong.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” The Headmaster asked, looking a bit concerned. “You’re heartbeat is racing quite a bit.”

“Well…I am talking to one of the most famous Saviors in the world, so yeah, I-I’m a bit nervous.”

Crap, I need to calm down before things get too hectic for me. Just take a breath and stay calm…

Upon hearing one of my sub-talents being activated, I was starting to become a lot calmer. Thanks to that, I could collect my thoughts better.

“Oh, your heart rate is slowing down a lot compared to before…that’s a neat trick.”

Crap…I forgot that Sonare was hearing my heartbeat. Thanks to her Talent [Sound Bend], she is able to manipulate sounds to her well.

She can make sound waves that blow people away, drain all the sound in an area, making it practically silent, or even generate a loud noise, strong enough to kill people. And unfortunately, thanks to her mastery over this Talent, she’s able to do even more like amplifying her sense of hearing so she could listen to my heartbeat.

This woman was way too strong. No, not just strong, she was practically overpowered!

She was even worse than the Manticore. If anything, she could've easily destroyed it despite only being one rank below her...

“U-um…is there a reason why you called me here, H-Headmaster Sonare?” I tried to play it off and get down to business.

The faster I get this over with, the better.

“I simply have a few questions for you,” she smiled. “And please, call me Miss Melody. The Headmaster title is a bit stuffy, even with students.”

…Hang on. D-did she just tell me to call her Miss Melody?

That can’t be right…she’s only ever told this to one person. The same person that she only ever gets involved with, Luke! Calling her Miss Melody was a sign that she wishes to get close to a person. To be friendly with them. And she’s only done this with Luke…no one else.

The hell is going on here…?

“So, Mr. Monroe,” Miss Sonare began. “I’d like you to tell me something…”

Please tell me she didn’t find out about me working with the Black Veil…in fact, it'd be really bad if this person of all people found out about that!

“How were you able to defeat the Manticore during the Group Training Session?”

…Oh thank god she doesn’t know! If she knew about my relationship with them, I’d be screwed in more ways than one.

Especially when there’s someone within the Black Veil that Miss Sonare despises…

But, if she’s asking about the Manticore…then she called me here to see if me defeating the beast was true.

“I summoned a lot of magic blades and just took it down while I could…” I knew I couldn’t lie to Miss Sonare, so I needed to stay as close to the truth as possible.

“Yes, that’s what the other students that were there said as well,” She said calmly before looking directly into my eyes. “But what I want to know is how. Compared to the other students like Ms. Matsumoto or Mr. Jones, the fact that you killed it is a bit…strange, don’t you think?”

I see what she’s doing…she’s trying to figure out if I’m hiding anything. I can’t really blame her, though, since this was suspicious.

Although my rank was last, I have shown that this assessment was more or less false. If I really was the weakest, then during the training session, Naomi and Tyra would’ve been the ones to pull my weight, but they didn’t because I did.

Then there’s the Manticore. Miss Sonare and the other instructors must know by now that the monster was an A-Rank or at least close to that, considering how the Prodigy of Prodigies was having such a hard time with it.

While they couldn’t appraise its stats like I could, they can at least deduce its strength to be that rank based on their experience when fighting monsters. With that in mind, they already know how strong the Manticore was…and they obviously knew that someone like me shouldn’t have been able to defeat it. And yet, that happened regardless.

I need to play my cards right…I obviously can’t tell her that I used [Indomitable Will] to win, so I needed to come up with something believable and not technically a lie. And if I have to lie, I’ll have to use a Sub-Talent I haven’t tried yet in this kind of situation…

“Mr. Monroe,” Miss Sonare said with a stern tone. “How exactly did you defeat the Manticore? Your Talent [Arsenal] shouldn’t have been strong enough to kill the beast like it did. Not only is it F-Rank, but the mana used to summon all those blades should’ve been impossible as well since your Mana Attribute was below the minimum requirement of a student. With all of these factors…I find it extremely hard to believe that you defeated that monster. Unless you’re hiding something.”

After hearing Miss Sonare say this, I soon felt a slight pressure weighing down on me. It was like when Isaac and Naomi used their Talents on me that felt like I was being pushed down.

But this…felt different. The amount of pressure I was feeling right now dwarfed both of their Talents. And the worst thing is I don’t think Sonare was using her Talent…this was just the energy she was emitting right now. Damn, S-Rank saviors were something else…

“Are you hiding something, Mr. Monroe?” Miss Sonare asked once again, adding more pressure on me.

Thanks to [Fear Resistance] though, I wasn’t being overwhelmed by her mana, so I could think clearly.

Time to give it a shot. It was now or never.

“…I am hiding something,” I confessed.

As soon as I said this, I could tell that Miss Sonare was a bit surprised, but she kept a calm expression while looking at me. Waiting for me to continue.

“Go on…” She said.

“The reason how I was able to defeat the Manticore…is because of a technique I learned regarding my Talent.”

“A technique…? I’m assuming this involves how you were able to summon all those magic swords?”

It looks like she's interested. That means I have a chance...

“Yes. You see, with my Talent, there’s a method where I can expand my Mana pool for a certain period of time.”

Miss Sonare’s eyes widen as she continued to listen intently. She was clearly invested as she carefully listened to my words.

“Interesting…” She pondered. “I’m surprised your [Arsenal] Talent had such a feature. It's an extremely difficult ability to use, or so I’ve heard.”

“Yes, but using this technique is extremely dangerous and I only used it as a last resort, which is why I used it on the Manticore.”

“That was the only way to defeat it…” She concluded. “You said that this technique was extremely dangerous. The Nurse stated that when she was treating you, not only were you suffering from the Manticore’s venom, but your mana inside your body was running rampant, practically damaging your body.”

Yeah, that sounds about right. Using The Sub-Talent [Mana Boost] forcibly expanded my Mana Pool, and caused some major backlash. I was barely able to stay conscious when I used it. I’m lucky I didn’t completely destroy my mana pool from doing that, because that could’ve happened if I wasn’t careful.

“Like I said, using this move is very risky, which is why I only use it if I have no other choice.”

“And that Manticore left you no choice…?”

I nod my head, confirming her statement. I needed to make sure that she can't find out about [Indomitable Will]. That's why I've been calling it a technique from my talent. That way, I wouldn't lie about it.

“I see…”

For a moment, Miss Sonare continued staring at me, like she was trying to see if I was hiding anything else. I made sure to keep a firm poker face, so she couldn’t read my expressions. After a little bit, she closed her eyes and sighed.

“My, my, there’s certainly more to you than meets the eye, Mr. Monroe,” Miss Sonare chuckled. “Despite being the lowest rank, you’ve managed to show up your classmates every time.”

“…I’m just trying to prove myself. To show that I can be more.”

I don’t know why, but I felt the urge to say this. It was like I wanted to show the Headmaster that I could do more. Be more.

Hearing this, Miss Sonare smiled at me.

“Well, I’ve fed my curiosity enough for today,” She declared. “That will be all, Mr. Monroe. I hope you have a good day, and you can head back to your dorm for now.”

“Ah, yes…” I said while getting up. “It was nice to meet you, Hea…Miss Sonare.”

Miss Sonare nods her head while motioning her head for me to leave. Just as I turned around and went for the door, something crossed my mind and I soon turned to look at the Headmaster for a brief moment.

And then…

…Holy shit. So this…was what an S-rank Savior was.

The Novel never specified Miss Melody’s stats, but it was very obvious that they were definitely on the S-Rank scale…this was wild.

Not only that, but she’s still pretty young to have these stats. Then again, despite her age, she looked even younger than that, like she was in her mid-twenties.

That simply shows just how strong she was compared to other Saviors.

And if Miss Sonare was like this…that meant Scathach was also in that field. Not only that…but so was that person too.

Without wasting any time, I played off looking at her for a moment and quickly left Miss Sonare’s office.

That…was by far the craziest thing I’ve ever encountered.

…

“Ethan Monroe…that boy is definitely something.”

After her little meeting with the Student Ethan Monroe, Miss Sonare pondered over their conversation.

Although Ethan’s stats were weak, compared to most Students of Agoge Academy, he has been doing some extraordinary things. And, during their talk, Sonare noticed how he was able to calm himself down quickly despite being in her presence.

It was like he was forcing himself to calm down and remain cool. This just shows just how interesting the boy was to her.

Especially with the Manticore incident.

To be able to expand his mana so he could summon more blades is extremely impressive. If he continues to grow stronger, that technique would be even more devastating, considering he took down a low-level B-rank threat like the Manticore.

But, something was bothering her. It was like…something was missing.

“His Talent…he never said that it was [Arsenal]…”

Ethan Monroe kept talking about his Talent involving the Technique…but he never said one time that it was [Arsenal]. He only said, “My Talent”.

While it wasn't something that she thought would be important, she couldn't help but keep thinking about it. And that's when she came up with a new question.

“…Could that boy have a second Talent?”

Talents were extremely unique to each individual, and they were what defined a Savior. Due to this, Saviors only ever have one Talent that defines them.

But…there were cases of Saviors having two Talents…but they were extremely rare and practically legendary.

Although it was a stretch, Sonare couldn’t help but think about it. The way Ethan phrased his words regarding his Talent kept bothering her.

If Ethan Monroe did have a second Talent…then that could explain how he was able to win against the Manticore. It must be something that allowed him to use more Mana than he was able to.

No...it could be a talent related to his recent growth. Even if he could expand his mana like that, the way he took down that manticore showed that he was not some F-rank student in any regard.

Whatever his second talent was...it was allowing him to grow stronger at a much faster pace compared to other students. It was slowly starting to make sense now…

“Ethan Monroe…you are truly an interesting individual.” Miss Sonare smiled while thinking about the student.

It was clear that she was going to enjoy watching this student throughout his academy days. The more she watched the boy…the more she’ll learn about him.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Please consider supporting me on my Patreon where you can get fifteen extra chapters for $5 a month. I currently have four followers which means I only need sixteen more in order to do some character sheets of the characters. I'd really appreciate it if you guys can support me so I can give you more of my story.