The Academy's Terminally Ill Side Character
Chapter 36 - 36: Serena Claudia [1]

"Hello, Cadet Rin Evans."

Seriously—who could've predicted this would happen just a day before the official quests were set to begin?

Definitely not me.

I hadn't seen this coming at all.

"It's nice to meet you, ma'am," I replied politely.

"Haha, you're way too stiff. Relax a little—I'm not going to eat you. I'm vegetarian, you know?"

"Haha… Thanks, I guess?"

The woman sitting across from me was none other than the chairman of Velcrest Academy.

And right now, I was in her office.

Not by choice, obviously.

Dragged here first thing in the morning, half-awake and half-aware—calling it "kidnapping" might be a stretch, but "forcibly escorted" didn't sound much better.

Where were the human rights in this world?

Anyway, what's done is done. I had known we'd meet eventually, just not this soon—or in this kind of setup.

Letting out a quiet sigh, I took a moment to really look at her again.

Long platinum-silver hair. Deep, forest-green eyes. And a beauty so ethereal it felt unfair.

No one even came close to her.

"That's better," she said, smiling as she noticed the tension leave my shoulders.

"You're looking much more at ease these days. I have to say, I'm genuinely impressed—enrolling earlier than the rest of the cadets, and training so diligently from the start."

She smiled, a subtle curve to her lips, but her presence alone was enough to keep me tense.

There was a reason she stood out so much—why she felt different.

Because she wasn't human.

She was an elf.

A High Elf, to be exact.

That explained a lot.

Sure, she had used magic to mask her features, blending in well enough to pass as a human at first glance. But if you looked closely—really looked—you could still spot the faint taper of her ears, just a little longer than human ones.

She wasn't originally from Earth.

She came here after the dungeons appeared, one of the first non-human beings to cross over from another dimension.

And unlike many of her kind, she didn't keep her distance.

As a High Elf, her natural curiosity got the better of her. She was fascinated by human culture—our messiness, our contradictions, our ambition. So she changed her appearance, took on a human identity, and even became a hero under that guise.

Only a handful of people knew her true identity.

Professor Lena was one of them.

And somehow… I was now on that very short list too.

She was supposed to retire, return to her world. That was the plan. But just before she left, she was offered the position of Chairman at Velcrest Academy.

True to her nature, curiosity won out and she decided to stay, becoming the bridge between worlds. But her position as chairman wasn't just a matter of prestige or curiosity—it was also about control, influence, and the strategic positioning of Velcrest Academy in a world that was increasingly influenced by powerful beings like her.

But why was I sitting here in her office?

I glanced up at her again, her serene face betraying none of the thoughts behind her eyes. It was like talking to a perfect mask, hiding a mind that could calculate hundreds of outcomes in seconds.

"You're wondering why you're here," she said, cutting through my thoughts.

I blinked, realizing I'd been staring.

"Uh… yes, ma'am."

She chuckled softly. "No need for the formalities. We both know you're not here to admire my office decor, Rin. There's something else going on, and it's not just because you impressed me with your diligence in training."

My stomach turned. What had I done to get called in this early? Why was she making it sound so… ominous?

She leaned forward slightly, folding her hands in front of her.

"We both know that the entrance ceremony was a mess. A tragic mess," she began, her voice becoming more serious. "What you don't know, however, is the aftermath of that mess. It's… far-reaching. And I fear that the problem is closer than you think."

I frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she regarded me.

"Rin, you may not have realized it, but you're at the center of a very delicate situation."

I froze.

What did she mean by delicate situation?

Is something happened that I'm not aware of yet?

...And why I'm center?

Too many questions but I know she will reveal answer to me.

"Your father wants to see you."

"…What?"

Just one sentence—simple, direct—but it hit me like a sledgehammer.

"Of course, if you don't want to, you don't have to meet him."

"Really?"

Wait, were the gods finally on my side?

"Haha, no. You absolutely have to meet him."

Ah, there it is. Should've known. She was just messing with me. Classic.

"Haha…"

I let out a hollow laugh, the kind an underpaid office worker gives when their boss cracks a painfully unfunny joke. That's what I'd become—someone who had to play along.

Still, there was a silver lining.

At least none of my earlier predictions had come true. That was… something.

"Jokes aside," she continued, folding her arms, "in principle, all students accepted into the academy are treated as adults. We assume you're responsible for your own choices and actions. However—there are always exceptions."

I got what she was hinting at.

"Your father's threatening to cut off all support to the academy—money, equipment, everything. He's using the terrorist attack as leverage, saying he won't let it slide unless he sees you in person."

My breath caught in my throat.

So that was it.

It wasn't just about me anymore—it never had been. This wasn't a family reunion or some dramatic, emotional plea. It was politics. Influence. Control.

"He's putting pressure on the board," she went on, her voice calm but laced with steel. "And not subtly, either. He's demanding classified access to the investigation, threatening to recall cadets he's personally sponsored, and he's started pulling strings in Parliament."

I stayed quiet, my fists clenched on my lap.

Of course he would.

My father—Rin father never did anything without strings attached.

"I know this is difficult," she said, her tone softening. "But we need to buy time. Velcrest is holding together by threads right now, and if your father keeps pulling at them, the whole structure will collapse."

"So… what do you want me to do?" I asked flatly.

She leaned back in her chair, giving me a long, measured look.

"Meet him. Just once. No commitment, no long-term promises. Just… talk to him. Enough to keep him from snapping the backbone of this academy in half."

I looked down at the floor.

Now I know what card's should play next.

"It's fine. I'll meet him," I said calmly. "I don't want the academy's funding to take a hit just because of my father."

The chairman raised an eyebrow at that.

"Haa… I'm sorry you have to deal with this," she said with a sigh. "I looked into your family background and… I know your relationship with them isn't exactly great."

Wait—hold on a second.

Sure, it made sense that she'd dig into my background. She is the chairman, after all. But keeping that information to herself is one thing. Telling me straight to my face that she did it?

What happened to personal boundaries? Privacy? Ever heard of human rights?

I mean, come on—how do you just casually drop that?

And more importantly, why would she say it out loud?

She clearly had the brains to keep classified information under wraps, so why the sudden lapse?

Was this some kind of psychological tactic?

Either way, I kept my expression neutral and didn't react. No need to give her more than I already had.

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