"I swear by the Mother Goddess."
He paused.
"That Administrator Carrington and his son deliberately created a situation to exclude me from the Academy, that the enrollment crystal was forced upon me as part of a contest designed for me to fail, and that I have been defending myself from attackers ever since."
The church members looked surprised.
Not at his words, but that he had spoken them without hesitation or any concern of their presence.
Brother Simon narrowed his eyes.
"That was a very specific oath that doesn't address all accusations. Swear that you are innocent of all charges."
This guy is such a pain in the ass.
Max gave him a slight smile.
"No one is perfect. We all slip up now and then. But I can swear on my name that I do not deserve the treatment I've received, and that these people have pursued me with excessive force far beyond what any of my actions deserve."
"…"
Max's cleverly worded oath didn't go unnoticed.
Audrey continued to stare at him intently.
Hey, if you keep gazing me intently like that, passerbys are going to misunderstand you know?
She moved her eyes away for a moment.
"The oath supports his claim of unjust treatment. But I cannot directly interfere with Academy authority."
Her amber-gold eyes returned to Max's blue ones with an unspoken message.
"You would be within your rights to formally request Church intervention. This would stay this order until a proper investigat—"
"Enough delays. The boy comes with us now."
Before Audrey could finish her words, the scarred woman closed in and interrupted her words.
Her patience was wearing thin.
The rest of her people followed.
They were now at an uncomfortably close distance to each other.
Audrey and the scarred woman were at the forefront. The others of each respective group were a little behind, squaring off as though sparks were being lit in the air.
Audrey was not intimidated.
Rather, she seemed to be busy hesitating, caught between her sense of justice and respect for legitimate authority. The administrative order, despite its suspicious circumstances, tied her hands.
No good, huh?
Without letting anyone notice, Max scanned his surroundings.
With how much time has passed, the place had become deserted. The ceremony must be well under way. This meant there would likely not be any more helping hands to get out of this mess.
Then, Max noticed something unusual.
Why is that open? Ah well, at least I found another escape route. Looks like another crime will be added to the list.
Max continued to ponder.
The enforcers were growing impatient, the church members were divided, and Audrey, while well-intentioned, couldn't protect him indefinitely against a legal order.
Audrey stepped forward, placing herself between Max and the enforcers once more.
"This young man remains under my care. His injuries are still severe, and I've taken responsibility for his well-being."
The scarred woman's eyes narrowed.
"Your healing magic has done its work, Lady Whitcross. He's on his feet and conscious. Our authority supersedes your charitable concern."
"A soul in distress is always the Church's concern."
She left her chin lifting stubbornly.
"And I'm not convinced proper procedure has been followed here."
Brother Aaron and Brother Simon exchanged weary glances behind her back.
They'd clearly seen this behavior from her before…
"Lady Whitcross, the document does bear the official seal..."
"Seals can be forged," Audrey replied without looking at Brother Aaron. "Intentions cannot."
The scarred woman's smile was cold.
"How very principled. Yet you harbor a young man who, by your own observation, carefully worded his oath to avoid denying his guilt. Isn't that somewhat... contradictory?"
"The Mother Goddess rewards those who show mercy,"
Audrey replied firmly.
"Something you and your employer seem to have forgotten. These injuries tell their own truth."
The scarred woman sighed with exaggerated patience.
"While this theological debate is a pleasure, we have a job to do."
She gestured to her team.
"Take him."
Just before Audrey could add another piece of controversy to her reputation...
"I appreciate your help, Audrey," Max said quickly, squeezing her hand.
"But I believe that's my cue."
Before anyone could react, he channeled his newly replenished mana into the emerald cloak still draped around his shoulders. The fabric was filled with magical energy, and with a sudden burst of speed, Max broke away and sprinted toward one of the Academy's most famous structures—the Chronokos's Clock Tower.
Two enforcers instinctively moved to pursue, but half-way through the chase the scarred woman barked:
"Hold!"
They froze mid-step, looking back at her in confusion.
"Let him go."
Her eyes were gleaming as she watched Max disappear into the tower.
"He's trapped himself now."
The enforcers exchanged glances, some not understanding her reasoning. To them, Max was escaping.
But the scarred woman seemed to consider the tower itself a prison
—a cornered rat with nowhere else to run.
"Wait!" called Brother Aaron.
"The tower is forbidden ground! No student may enter!"
"…Huh? Sister Audrey!! Where are you going?!" Sister Meris cried out.
"Lady Whitcross!" Brother Simon called after her. "You cannot—"
Unfortunately, the Saintess Candidate's attention was focused entirely to her front.
"You can't just run in there!"
She pursued him, apparently more concerned with the tower violation than with the enforcers.
"That is forbidden grounds! You can't go in there!"
Max glanced back as he reached the entrance of the tower.
He laughed when he saw Audrey follow behind him while seeing her companions become flustered shouting at her to stop.
Nope.
When she becomes like that, you can't stop her.
Even the protagonist Cyrus struggled to change her.
Seeing that he had some time, he gave the people behind a farewell salute before stepping foot inside.
Max's action caused the youngest in the group to shout in an aggrieved manner. Her waist was held back by an older colleague who helplessly shook his head. All of them were clearly willing to enter the forbidden structure but were restrained back by their leader's orders.
Eventually, Audrey also trespassed in without a hint of hesitation.
The massive doors remained slightly open, but no one else dared to enter.
Once Audrey was deep inside, she quickly met face to face Max who leaned against a marble pillar, waiting for her.
"Welcome Audrey~"
"Are you out of your mind?!"
Audrey's voice echoed through the Chronokos's Tower's entrance hall, her eyes flashing with righteous indignation.
"Do you have any idea what you've just done?"
Max watched her heave up and down with an amused expression. His body still ached from the enforcers' assault, but Audrey's healing had worked wonders. Despite the lingering pain, he couldn't help but find her outrage entertaining.
"Well, putting the fate of my life on other hands isn't my style."
He offered her a cheeky grin.
"Relax. You're just sneaking into a place you're not supposed to. No big deal. But I gotta say… I'm surprised. The future Saintess, breaking into a forbidden tower without a second thought?"
"I—" Audrey stammered, suddenly realizing the gravity of her own actions.
She blushed.
"That's different. I was trying to stop you!"
"And how's that working out for you so far?"
He pushed himself off the pillar and took a deep look at their surroundings.
The entrance hall was one might expect from a mysterious, ancient, magical clock tower.
Massive stone columns lined the circular space, each inscribed with magical inscriptions that pulsed with a faint blue light. In their ears they could hear a perpetual, rhythmic ticking that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.
Tick... Tick... Tick...
"The Chronokos's Tower. I've only read about it. The Clock Tower that governs the Academy's mystical calendar and temporal stability."
Even Max was awed by the scenery before him. He had his head tilted right up to the soaring ceiling, watching the constellations that floated slowly across the stonework.
Audrey sighed. Her righteous anger deflated slightly as she too began to fall in the sense of grandeur around them.
"We need to leave. Now. This place is forbidden for a reason."
"I can't. Those bastards out there won't stop until they've either captured or killed me. This tower was my only option."
Max turned to her, revealing his suddenly serious expression.
"But you can go. You should go. There's no reason for you to be trapped in here with me. Don't worry, I doubt they would bother punishing you if you leave right now."
He gestured toward the massive door they'd come through, which remained slightly open. A sliver of daylight from the outside world streamed in, stretching across the marble floor.
Audrey crossed her arms.
"And leave you to desecrate one of the Academy's most sacred spaces? I think not."
"I don't plan to do anything bad here. I just need somewhere to hide until this blows over or I can think of a better plan."
Or until I can figure out how to complete this damn quest before the System abandons me.
The System notification for his urgent quest still hovered at the edge of his vision, the timer ticking down mercilessly.
Barely 30 minutes remained.
The welcoming ceremony would be underway by now, even if only the preliminaries. His chances of arriving in time for the first-years' event were rock bottom, now that he was trapped in a forbidden tower with a saintess candidate and a team of enforcers likely staking it out.
"Listen to me, do you even know what this place is?"
Her voice lowering as she stepped further into the hall. She carefully scanned the ancient architecture with a mixture of reverence and apprehension.
"The Chronokos's Tower isn't just forbidden because of some arbitrary rule. It's dangerous."
"Dangerous how?"
Audrey hesitated, clearly debating how much to reveal.
"There are... protective measures… Magical safeguards that could appear if the tower's mechanisms are threatened..."