Inside a luxurious office with a massive blackwood desk, a plush professional chair, and a banner of the Neo-Earth World Government hung on the gray walls, the light from a lamppost reflected in the eyes of a bald old man staring out the tall windows.

"Ai Ai Ai I'm your little dragonfly~."

Hearing the ringtone of one of his phones meant for official business with the government, Principal Jebroham's brows furrowed, the serene expression on his face that he fought for the entire day replaced by the usual sternness.

He had two phones allocated to the government, and the one he needed to pick up was the one he very seldom used.

Only the higher-ups knew of its contact number.

The old academic leader couldn't help but speculate about who was calling.

He soon arrived in front of his desk, pulling the drawer open.

He then picked up the phone, brows furrowing further at the sight of the unknown, unregistered number.

Principal Jebroham stared at it for a while before answering.

"Yes, this is Jebroham Jackson, principal of Noravia Southern Bladeborn Academy. How may I help you?" he greeted customarily.

He was certain that the caller at least knew his identity, even if the bastard turned out to be someone accessing the backchannels.

But then his old heart skipped a beat in surprise and puzzlement as he heard a young feminine voice respond:

"Hello, Principal Jebroham. Sorry for calling you so late."

Based on the professional tone of the young lady on the other side, he knew this call was official business.

The question was: who was he talking to?

He would be dumb to disrespect her just because she's younger.

As if able to read his mind, the caller continued and introduced herself:

"I'm Hailey Krauss, and I have reached out to you for an important matter."

Principal Jebroham's eyes widened, and his heart almost stopped after hearing the woman's name.

While academy principals had fairly high authority, they only ranked around the upper-middle in the Neo-Earth World Government's hierarchy.

There were a decent number of people more important than him.

However, only a few had more authority than the young head of the Inter-cluster Special Intel Division Four, and these people would still have to get permission from the one person who could order her directly.

Jebroham was momentarily petrified, finding it difficult to believe that he had been contacted by such an individual.

Whatever the hell could the important matter be?

The old principal gulped, forcefully suppressing his emotions. He must remain professional.

Only after two moments did he respond:

"Ah, Division Head Hailey. I apologize for not recognizing you immediately. I shall register this number after our call. How can these old bones be of help?"

"Yes, please do save this number, as we might be contacting you often."

Principal Jebroham fell silent for a moment. It seemed that there was something in his academy that even he didn't know.

The young division head's next words were only more mysterious than the last, slightly unsettling the academy leader's elderly heart:

"I'm about to give you Restricted Information, so please give your confirmation that none of your subordinates will hear of what I'm about to tell you. You and only you, Principal Jebroham Jackson, are allowed to hear this information. Should you tell this to another person, you will be punished according to the law. Do you understand?"

The old principal pressed the mute button for a moment, gulping and taking one deep breath before unmuting and responding:

"I understand, Division Head Hailey. This call shall serve as solid proof that I swore to keep this information to myself."

"Thank you, Principal Jebroham. Now, I'm sure you've long learned that one of your students, Iris Snowcrest, knows who Onimaru Kunitsuna is, correct?"

"Yes, I am aware."

"If so, then you've probably speculated whether Onimaru Kunitsuna is a student in your academy, and I confirm this, so you don't need to continue guessing. The mysterious novice is a student in your academy, and we have a few candidates in our list."

Hailey then paused before continuing: "But this is not the reason why I contacted you tonight."

Principal Jebroham's brows furrowed in puzzlement.

Unfortunately, he could only wait for the young division leader to continue.

It didn't take long for her to drop another bomb. A series of bombs, in fact.

"His Excellency Aurelius plans to keep Onimaru Kunitsuna's identity from the Seven Sword Guilds and recruit him. Since the mysterious novice is coming early tomorrow to challenge the SS-ranker Aetherborn in the Crystal Hollows, you must ensure that no one except Iris Snowcrest will see him. Can I entrust this to you?"

The elderly principal felt weak in the knees at what he had just heard.

However, what could he do except agree?

"P-Please leave this to me, Division Leader Hailey."

***

The morning of the next day…

Daru yawned as he walked along the red brick pathways to his lecture building.

The rewards he obtained yesterday night weighed on his chest, and he couldn't sleep too well.

Of course, he was delighted with leveling up three times, obtaining 25 Demon Essences, and gaining 10 Will, whatever benefit the hidden attribute brought him.

But the curse he was afflicted with and his secondary title somewhat unsettled him.

==

Curse: Tainted Soul (Pride)

Description: You have consumed a prideful soul, tainting yours.

Effects: Possible sudden behavioral inconsistencies.

It can be cured by consuming an appropriate number of pure souls.

==

Daru had always abided by what he believed was right. To him, not being in full control of his behavior was a cause for unease.

While he believed that this only applied in the Myriad Sword Realm, it was where the battles mattered, not Neo-Earth.

He only hoped that the curse wouldn't affect him that much.

Aside from this, the [Soul Eater] secondary title, which granted him nothing else but an innate ability to now sense and consume [Weak] souls, also added to the weight in his heart.

Daru had consumed one soul and now knew that doing so brought some benefits.

He just couldn't help but repeatedly remind himself to learn more about this innate ability and use it carefully.

Although there was a way to cure a Tainted Soul, he didn't want this to be a regular occurrence.

Only when he remembered that he would be challenging the Aetherborn today did his mood improve.

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