章 20: Chapter 20: Dangerous Plans

"Riley Ross belongs to the Potential Villain list!"

"Woah, calm down."

Inside the teacher's lounge, a group of instructors was currently chatting with each other, letting their bodies be absorbed by the seemingly luxurious sofa that the Academy has provided for them. There was one instructor, however, whose red hair was currently bobbing up and down as she slammed her palm numerous times on the table in front of her; almost spilling the coffee of the other instructors.

"What has gotten into you, Scarlet Mage?"

"Put Riley Ross in the Potential Villain list!" Scarlet Mage once again repeated her words as she once again slammed her palm on the table; if it wasn't for her holding her mask, it would have probably already fallen off.

"Did something happen? You were the one that was adamant that he doesn't belong there," Spectacular Mustache Man squinted his eyes, his mustache slightly fidgeting as he stared inquisitively towards Scarlet Mage.

Riley Ross is Darkday-- words that Scarlet Mage so wanted to say utter. But alas, the only thing that came out of her mouth was a stutter, "N… no, I think I was just wrong in my assessment!"

Scarlet Mage was careful not to slip; if it was any other villain, then Scarlet Mage would have probably already exposed his true identity. But this was Darkday-- add the fact that he had a clone outside of the Academy ready to do his bidding, she truly was in a very… delicate situation.

"I have already told you, he belongs in the Potential Villain list and should be given priority," Nightwalker slightly adjusted his blindfold as he joined in on the conversation.

"R… right; I let my emotions get ahead of me," Scarlet Mage nodded her head, "Riley Ross should have--"

"Care to share your assessment, then?"

Before Scarlet Mage could finish her words, small gasps could be heard whispering through the lounge as a muscular man clad in full white armor suddenly approached Scarlet Mage and the others.

"You are talking about my son, correct?" And without even being invited, Whiteking sat beside Nightwalker, placing his cup of coffee on the table as well.

"That's…" Scarlet Mage could not help but take in a gulp as Whiteking suddenly joined in on them. Riley had already told her that Whiteking didn't know his true identity; but could she really believe the words of Darkday?

Riley Ross can lie, that much was evident. For all they know, Riley Ross might not even be autistic-- just a psychopath that completely lacks social awareness. But whatever the case may be, she should still tread lightly in dealing with anything that involved Riley Ross, especially Whiteking, as he was part of the Hope Guild.

"Whiteking," Spectacular Mustache Man carefully stroked his mustache as he looked Whiteking straight in his goggles, "I believe you joining us is inappropriate, as we are currently discussing Riley as a student."

"I think your mustache is inappropriate," Whiteking quickly replied, "And I am not here as Riley's father. As long as we are inside the Academy, he is but another student and will receive no special treatment of any kind-- I believe you have the same opinion, considering you also have your son enrolled here?"

"..." Spectacular Mustache Man did not really answer as he just let out a small sigh.

"I am not here to cause trouble," Whiteking also let out a sigh of his own as the mouth part of his white full-face mask suddenly opened up; allowing him to take a sip of his coffee, "I am truly curious as to why you think Riley belongs to the Potential Villain list."

And then suddenly, not only Whiteking, but Spectacular Mustache Man and Nightwalker also had their eyes on Scarlet Mage.

"W… well--"

"Did something happen between the two of you?" Whiteking then followed, "I heard you gave him a ride in your car yesterday-- and also dragged him to your car before that."

"W… what!?" Spectacular Mustache Man's mustache stretched almost a meter as soon as he heard Whiteking's words, "Student-teacher relationship on the first day of school!?"

"Hm," Nightwalker only covered his mouth in shock.

"What!? No!" Scarlet Mage quickly waved her hands, "It's not that! Riley Ross did something--"

[Instructors, please head to your designated classroom.]

But before Scarlet Mage could explain, a loud announcement reverberated throughout the teacher's lounge.

"...Did my son do something inappropriate to you?" Whiteking's voice lowered.

"What… no, it's not that!" Scarlet Mage once again waved her hand, "Nothing sexual happened!"

"Let's continue talking about this later," Spectacular Mustache Man let out a long and deep sigh before walking away. As for Nightwalker, he was already nowhere to be found.

"I will talk to Riley about this, you do not have to worry," Whiteking said before standing up, "And if you feel like he belongs to the Potential Villain list, then you can put him there-- as I said, no special treatments."

"Wait, please don--"

Once again, Scarlet Mage was interrupted as a pair of wheels suddenly emerged from Whiteking's ankles, wheeling him away at an incredible speed.

"..." Scarlet Mage could only blink her eyes a couple of times as she was left all alone by her colleagues. The others were on their way to nurture the future superheroes that would one day save the world; she, on the other hand, was on her way to a room that contained the most diabolical thing in the world.

How was she even going to teach the students if all she had in her mind was that Darkday was sitting amongst the other young students?

"...I want to retire."

***

"Bro, okay. Legit, why did the instructor call for you yesterday?"

Meanwhile, in Class 1-V, Gary was currently right in front of Riley, staring at him straight in the face as he leaned over Riley's part of the table, "I also saw the two of you alone together here yesterday, spit it out, boy."

"Don't spit!"

Silvie, who was sitting beside Riley, quickly moved away as soon as she heard Gary's words. With how Riley acts, she wouldn't be surprised if he did suddenly spit out, literally. However, she quickly returned to her seat afterward, as she too was quite curious as to why Riley was suddenly called by Scarlet Mage yesterday.

"We were just talking about her mother," Riley then said as he tried pushing Gary away, "She's a common acquaintance."

"You… know Scarlet Mage's mother?" Gary squinted his eyes, "Wait… so you know Scarlet Mage's true identity!?"

"Gary!"

Silvie quickly covered Gary's mouth, almost crushing his head, "Please keep quiet!"

"Who… who is she?" But still, Gary was able to let out a word.

"I can't say," Riley shook his head, "It's illegal to reveal the identity of the staff or any other individual that is wearing their superhero costume-- according to the handbook."

"We can't know the teachers' identities but they know ours?" Gary furrowed his eyebrows, "Well, not surprising considering our government," Gary then burst out in laughter as he tapped the table several times, once again garnering the attention of the other students.

Daniel Espinoza, the one who Riley fought yesterday, could not help but click his tongue as he looked at Riley and the others having fun. Although most have already forgotten about it because of Silvie and Hannah's fight, the humiliation was still fresh in his mind.

"Let it go, man." And it would seem that his group of friends notice his frustration as well, as they all let out sighs as they noticed the look on Danny's face.

"He is friends with Silvie, you should have seen her fight at the mall; she almost obliterated her opponent."

"Tch, why are you guys so scared?" Daniel crossed his arms, "Watch me, I will become the best--"

"Please return to your seats."

Before Daniel could finish his words, Scarlet Mage entered the room. And seeing the somewhat strict look on her face, the only thing the students could do was follow her instructions.

Gary, however, raised his eyebrows a couple of times at Riley before proceeding to sit beside him, gesturing all sorts of obscenities with his finger. This did not escape Scarlet Mage's eye, but the only thing she could do was hold in her frustration.

It would seem that a weird rumour was traveling the Academy. But perhaps… this could be a good thing?

If it was found out that they have some sort of romantic relationship, wouldn't the two of them be kicked out of the Academy? With that thought suddenly circling in her mind, she could not help but look towards Riley.

That was a good plan, was it not? Riley would also not be able to blame her, as it would be the school that would decide their expulsion. She could do that, she could certainly do that.

"Holy shit, she's staring at you, man," Gary whispered, "Is there really something going on between the two of you? You even know her mother."

"Yes," Riley nodded his head as he whispered back, "There is something going on between us."

"!!!" Even Silvie, who was trying hard not to listen in on the two's conversation, could not help but take in a short but deep breath. She had heard of stories between student and teacher, but to think one of her new friends in the Academy is experiencing such an act… truly, it made her somewhat excited.

Scarlet Mage was completely oblivious of the conversation going on between the three; however, it would seem one way or the other, all of their thoughts were not that far from each other, but at the same time, completely different.

Scarlet Mage was still deliberating on whether or not she should enact her plan. But for now, it didn't matter-- she still had students to teach, she was already here, so she might as well do the job the government hired her to do.

And so, after letting out a long and deep sigh, she scanned each of her students-- trying her best not to falter from Darkday's presence.

"We had a mock battle yesterday to show you your place as a superhero," Scarlet Mage said as she started walking around the platform, "And in relation to that, one must also know the extent of one's capabilities-- the limit and control of your powers."

Scarlet Mage then pressed something on the tablet she was holding, turning on the gigantic screen in front of the class.

"Your names are listed in groups," Scarlet Mage said, "And each member of your group will have a similar ability to what you have, so please familiarize yourself with their names… They are your competition, but at the same time, you can learn from each other. So I want all of you to group up according to the list on the screen."

"Ah, I guess we're together, Silvie!" Gary had a wide smile on his face as he quickly approached Silvie, who had a somewhat shocked expression on her face as she saw Gary's name besides her. Granted, she had not seen Gary using his powers yet, but she never imagined he would have a similar power. Well, seeing as there were 4 other names on the group, her powers weren't really that rare.

"..." As the students were starting to find their group, Riley remained stagnant on his seat. Although his name was listed with 10 other people, he had no idea who they were-- and no one was really approaching him. Considering he was one of the few people who fought in the mock battle, then it was given that they should know what his power was.

But alas, no one was calling him.

Scarlet Mage, who quickly noticed this, could not help but let out a scoff. Serves him right, she thought. Someone like Darkday should be left all alone; he deserves to die alone with no one by his side.

"..." However, for some reason, the longer Scarlet Mage stares at Riley, the more the smile faded from her face-- instead, a feeling she couldn't explain was starting to build up inside her as she saw Riley sitting alone. She just concocted up a plan to pretend having a relationship with Riley to have them both kicked out of the Academy-- but at this point, is she…

...actually starting to truly feel concerned about him?