"Teacher, this must be the work of the Emperor, he wants to sully your name since you're leaving in such a way," Blake said in an annoyed tone.
"I know, but what's the use of fighting with them? That is exactly what they want. I think they're trying to see if Chris is around. Given his temperament, he would've killed a few people by now, heh!" Oliver chuckled at the end of his statement.
"Hmph! Underhanded tactics." Blake snorted coldly.
After finding out what the Emperor was trying to do some time ago, he hated them strongly, especially because he would most likely lose Delia because of this. Since she left the Academy the last time, she hadn't returned, even till now. He had even headed to her family's compound but she wasn't there.
"You still haven't seen your little girlfriend?" Oliver chuckled when he saw Blake's expression, it was like he could see through him.
"No, I've searched every possible place I can think of." Blake shook his head with a sad face.
"She's fine, don't worry too much. I believe she will show up before we leave." Oliver consoled him.
Blake nodded but didn't say anything else, just as he was about to leave, he asked, "When are we leaving?"
"Two days from now. Tell that little nuisance to be prepared." Oliver said.
"Yes, Teacher." Blake bowed before leaving the office.
Alice and Klaus could be seen sitting outside with serious expressions.
"Why isn't Grey here yet?" Alice asked while looking at Void who was lying leisurely on a chair.
"Void confirmed he asked him to come, right Void?" Klaus asked, looking at Void.
Void nodded when he saw them looking at him, he had told Grey to come over, it had been almost thirty minutes now, but he still wasn't here.
Alice and Klaus were just about to continue when Void looked in the direction of the small gate that led into the compound. Grey's figure could be seen walking towards them. He looked a little exhausted from working too much.
"Hey, what's up?" Grey asked as he walked into the compound.
"Haven't you been hearing about the rumors around the Academy?" Alice asked with a raised brow.
"I have, but why are you guys bothering about it? You should know this is the plan of some people to spoil the name of the Principal." Grey replied nonchalantly.
Although he wasn't close to the Principal, he knew he wasn't the type to shirk away from a fight. This must be a plot by some people.
"Why aren't you bothered?" Klaus asked.
"Because given what the Principal had done for the Academy and the City, the people wouldn't believe it. Of course, there would be people who would believe it nonetheless, but it doesn't really matter." Grey explained with a shrug.
The fact that all the Head Instructors and almost all the high ranked Instructors willingly resigned along with the Principal showed how united they were. How could someone who could build such a great Academy be someone who would run away because of a war? Grey didn't believe any word the people were saying.
"You're more relaxed than I am," Klaus said.
"I'm not, I'm exhausted. Worrying about the stupidity of people is not something I usually do. You and Rey are more than enough for me to think about, if I have to add every other person out there, I might die." Grey chuckled before taking a seat.
Alice burst out laughing when she heard Grey's comment , Klaus on the other hand snorted.
"How are things with your research?" asked Alice.
"Going well…" Grey paused mid-sentence before adding, "I think,"
"You must have blown up the place, right?" Klaus asked with a smirk.
Grey called him stupid a few moments ago, now that he had the chance to get back at him, of course he would!
Grey hesitated before replying, "No, no I did not,"
"Haha! You're lying. How many times did it blow up?" Klaus laughed when he saw Grey hesitating.
"Okay fine, they blew up, maybe once, or twice. But I'm increasingly getting closer to successfully making it." Grey replied truthfully.
After the last time the two wooden objects exploded, he made sure not to replicate any more arrays, but to his surprise, after he made his own set of arrays in the wooden object, it exploded. There was one time when it exploded while he was still working on it. If not for his quick reaction and his strong physical defense, he would've been injured.
Luckily for him, his Teacher's house was still intact. Apparently, his Teacher created a defensive array around his house, so even when the explosion goes close to it, it doesn't cause any damages. Grey still hasn't been able to find out the cause of the explosions, but he had been making improvements on it. His only concern was that he was running out of wood.
"Haha! Did you almost die?" Klaus asked in the middle of his laughter.
Grey glared at him, which made Alice giggle. She always enjoyed being with the boys, they are always fun to be with. They stayed in her place for a little while before heading to the city, Klaus took them to the underground fight club they visited before they left for the competition. Alice felt a little downcast because she couldn't fight due to her strength. This was the only thing she hated about being in the Origin Plane, not being able to fight like she usually does. Other than sparing with the boys, she doesn't fight as she previously did.
When they got back to the Academy, Alice told them she would be leaving the next day. Her father sent someone to come get her, she would've left if not for wanting to hang out with the boys one more time. She didn't know when next they would be able to hang out again.
Grey felt more pressure on his work, but the truth was, he was already trying his best, but he still hasn't been able to make it till now.