A Chemist's Interstellar Saga

Chapter 139: Punishment
Chapter 139: Punishment

The siblings stared at each other in silence until they heard a voice exclaim with joy.

”The president is here!” The remaining mentors shouted in excitement.

Both Arix and Drexel froze. Drexel reacted first and whispered urgently to Arix, ”Arix, pretend to faint, quick!”

”Oh, oh,” Arix wasn’t dumb. She immediately tilted her head and pretended to faint convincingly.

Seeing Arix’s performance, Drexel breathed a sigh of relief. Then, he loudly cried out, ”Arix, are you okay? If something happens to you, how can I live with that?”

”Waaah, my poor sister!” Drexel cried as he shook Arix gently, acting like he was trying to wake her up.

The sight of the unconscious cub, Drexel covered in blood, and his heartfelt crying was enough to tug at anyone’s heartstrings. It was a scene so tragic it could bring anyone who saw it to tears.

Derick, the president, had just arrived. He was bewildered by the sight of Kares unconscious on the ground and the Alliance exchange student crying miserably. He couldn’t quite tell who the real victim was.

Cassian, who had witnessed everything, silently raised his hand to cover his mouth, hiding a smirk.

...

In the IRMA president’s office, President Deric felt the tension crackling like a storm.

On his left, the Dragon clan leader wore a dark scowl.

To his right, the Tiger clan leader maintained a relentless smile.

Deric sighed, rubbing his temples to fend off the headache brewing.

”They can’t just hurt my son without bearing any consequence. Arix must be punished,” growled Ignathor, the Dragon clan leader, his eyes glinting dangerously.

Krylak, the Tiger clan leader, immediately fired back. ”Why should Arix be punished? If your son Kares hadn’t hit her so hard, Arix’s psychic powers wouldn’t have spiraled out of control.”

”Huh, so it’s my son’s fault he got injured?” Ignathor sneered, his anger bubbling over.

”That’s not what I meant. Kids fight, they get hurt—it’s normal. No need to blow this out of proportion,” Krylak said, though guilt tinged his voice.

”But did Arix get hurt? My son is the one who’s badly injured!” Ignathor’s glare was intense, cutting through Krylak’s bravado.

”Arix is hurt too! She’s at home, unconscious, probably with serious internal injuries. Just because you can’t see the damage doesn’t mean it’s not there,” Krylak shot back, his frustration mounting.

The heated argument dragged on, neither side backing down. Finally, they turned to President Deric for a decision.

”President Deric, what do you say? I expect a satisfactory answer,” Ignathor demanded, his tone cold and menacing.

”Mr. President, we need to handle this fairly. We can’t punish a nice kid,” Krylak added, his voice firm.

Caught in the crossfire, Deric took a deep breath and stood. Bowing slightly to Ignathor, he began, ”I’m very sorry your son was hurt at school. We will cover all medical expenses and provide compensation for mental distress. I hope this satisfies you.”

Ignathor, somewhat placated, pressed on, ”And what about Arix’s punishment?”

”Mr. Ignathor, I’m sorry, but since Arix isn’t a student here, we can’t punish her. However, we will terminate the exchange program,” Deric said, regret evident in his voice. Losing Arix was tough, but student safety came first.

”Just terminating the program? That’s it? My son’s injuries mean nothing?” Ignathor’s dissatisfaction was palpable, especially with his son still healing.

”I’m very sorry. With the program terminated, Arix is no longer our responsibility. You can take this matter up with her parents,” Deric replied, deftly shifting the burden.

Ignathor had no choice but to glare at Krylak.

”Don’t look at me like that. I’m not Arix’s custodian,” Krylak said, spreading his hands and shaking his head.

”Then who is her custodian?” Ignathor’s voice was cold, clearly showing he wasn’t planning to let this go easily.

”Her custodian? Well, it depends. Do you want the ones from the Empire or the Alliance?” Krylak’s tone was conflicted.

”The Empire,” Ignathor decided, thinking it was closer.

”Oh, then you need to go to the Moon Goddess Temple and find the Pontifex. He’s her grandfather,” Krylak said nonchalantly.

”Bang!”

Ignathor slammed the table in anger, thinking Krylak was messing with him. ”Krylak! Are you joking with me?”

The Pontifex? Even Alpha Leonidas wouldn’t easily offend him!

”Ignathor, you can check it out yourself. Arix really is the Pontifex’s granddaughter. I’m not making this up,” Krylak said, feeling wronged.

”I can confirm that Arix is indeed the Pontifex’s granddaughter,” President Deric quickly interjected, trying to prevent another argument.

Ignathor was momentarily stunned, not daring to offend the Pontifex. He shifted his approach, ”Then what about the Alliance?”

”The Fifth Legion Admiral Matis is her grandfather too, and I wouldn’t suggest you go to him. The big families in the Alliance are fiercely protective of their own,” Krylak said, kindly advising him.

This time, Ignathor didn’t immediately get angry. Instead, he looked at President Deric.

President Deric nodded in agreement. Then, he remembered something and hesitantly added, ”Also, Alpha Leonidas and Luna Amethyst have vouched for Arix.”

The implication was clear: pursuing this further would mean offending both Alpha Leonidas and Luna Amethyst.

Hearing these names, Ignathor’s expression finally changed. His face turned various shades of red and purple before he grudgingly said, ”In that case, the Dragon clan will not pursue this matter further.”

With that, he stood up and left the president’s office without another word.

Krylak couldn’t help but laugh but felt it would be impolite, so he coughed and said to President Deric, ”If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave.”

It wouldn’t be polite to laugh here; he’d save it for when he got home.

Deric, feeling exhausted, rubbed his temples and said dismissively, ”See you around then. Need me to walk you out?”

”No need, but thanks,” Krylak said cheerfully. He left the office humming a tune.

Finally, with the two troublemakers gone, President Deric could relax a bit. He thought for a moment and then decided to open the opticomputer. He posted a new announcement on the Imperial Royal Military Academy’s website.

IRMA OFFICIAL:Due to special circumstances, the school will not accept exchange students from the Alliance for the next four years.

After posting the announcement, Deric felt like the sky was bluer and the air was fresher. The reason for the four-year ban was simple: once Arix graduated from the military academy, she would no longer be eligible to become an exchange student.

Feeling pleased with himself, Deric gave himself a mental pat on the back.

Arix was an excellent student, no doubt about it. Any school lucky enough to have her would be truly blessed. But in the end, Arix wasn’t a student of IRMA. No matter how much IRMA did for her, it was ultimately taking care of someone else’s student.

And with her tendency to cause trouble, there was no guarantee IRMA would even have a future if she stayed. So, this ”blessing” was better off given to someone else; IRMA didn’t need it.

Deric, now more relaxed, let out a deep breath. The tension of the past few days seemed to lift as he settled back into his chair. He felt a rare moment of peace in his often chaotic role as president.