Headmaster Julius, or more accurately Magister Julius in this case, was overseeing the reconstruction of his school.
Mysterious figures in crimson armor destroyed his entire academy. They battered and tried to kill anyone in their view. Fortunately, the professors managed to hold them off long enough for the Arcane Knights to arrive.
Without them, he might have lost more than just his school. He would have lost the students and teachers who made it what it was.
Now he was a headmaster without a school. It's far more appropriate to address him as Magister for the moment, at least until the school was fixed.
With a little help from the Arcane Knights. It shouldn't take them more than a week to finish rebuilding.
Provided it was the only thing destroyed.
But the Knights have far more work than just rebuilding the school. Apparently, their academy wasn't the only place struck with misfortune. The entire capital had suffered under the foot of those crimson-armoured soldiers. It's now a place of ruin and chaos.
For the past week or so, the Arcane Knights have stopped countless thieves, trying to steal food just to survive. Some of these thieves were nobles. That is just how dire the situation is.
Damage aside, nearly a quarter of the entire capital had lost their life to the crimson-armoured figures. But about half were severely injured, just barely holding on to their lives.
The Sanctuary of the Arcane Order has sent their best Saints to heal the injured, but even that hasn't made much of a difference.
Yet through all that, the Arcane Knights have still managed to make time and rebuild their school. At the rate they're going. They should be finished by the end of the month.
The least he could do was provide them with food and drinks, but even those weren't accepted, saying that they should give the food to the people struggling right now.
It's enough to make the Magister tear up. These people are the symbol and hope of their world. He hopes that his students will one day join their ranks, being as faithful and true as they are.
Right now, the students and other teachers have been moved to the Aether Ark, the mobile base of the Arcane Knight. There's a separate area for guests, in case of situations like this. There's more than enough room to house everyone.
He couldn't be any more grateful for their service. But there was another problem on his hands.
His student, Claudia Morningstar, had gone missing during this incident. She's one of the best students she ever had, and now she was just gone.
Asking them to divert their resources to find her just felt selfish.
He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.
"Please," he whispered under his breath, too quietly for anyone to hear. "Be alive."
In the distance, the Aether Ark floated above the ruined capital like a silent guardian, its resonance halo glowing faintly against the smoke-stained sky.
Julius turned away from the construction and began walking back toward the temporary transport that would return him to the Ark.
If Claudia was still out there, he could only pray she had found safety on her own.
And if she hadn't…
He forced the thought down and kept walking.
---
Inside the Ark, he entered his room. Each room came with a bunk bed, and a small desk and a night light they could use for studying.
Julius sat on the chair. Awaiting him was a bunch of documents and forms.
While the reconstruction itself was free, getting the material was a whole other case on its own. The school was made up of Anemite. A metal known for its resistance to magic. How the Crimson-armoured figures managed to destroy it was beyond him. The cost for a single piece was three thousand gold coins, and they needed three thousand pieces just to patch the central core. For a full reconstruction, the total sat at a whopping five million gold coins.
Magister Julius stared at the figure written at the bottom of the document. Even with the school's deep reservoir, the cost was equivalent to purchasing a whole country.
And while building with normal bricks and stones was an option, he downright refused it. If the school could be attacked with Anemite, what good would regular bricks and stones do?
It might have been costly, but it provided a significant amount of defense compared to regular materials.
He grabbed the pen sitting at the edge of the table and quickly signed off the documents, giving the Knights full authority to purchase Anemite.
After signing, he placed them on a magic circle inscribed onto a cupboard in the bottom of his desk. As soon as he placed them there, the documents vanished in a blue light, sending the paper to the Knight in charge of material cost.
Now that that was done, he continued to sign documents for a different situation.
The MorningStar territory had been destroyed. It was located on the Ash Continent. While the probability of Claudia being alive was low, if there was still a chance, that would be the first place they should check.
He had given a few of the Professors permission to go there, but it would take them three days on the train.
Julius rubbed his eyes.
Three days was already too long. If Claudia had been caught in whatever destroyed her family's territory, every hour mattered. Yet he had no faster way to send anyone. The Arcane Knights were stretched thin across the capital, and he refused to pull them away from the wounded and the rebuilding for a search that might already be hopeless.
He pulled another document from the pile. This one was a formal request to the Senate of Nobles for emergency funds and information regarding the MorningStar incident.
He stared at it for a long moment before signing his name.
Even if the Senate responded, their help would come with conditions. It always did.
A knock sounded at the door.
"Enter," he said.
One of the younger Arcane Knights stepped inside and saluted. The white mask hid any expression.
"Magister Julius. Commander Reinhardt requests your presence on the Command Bridge. There has been a development regarding the crimson-armored attackers."
Julius straightened at once.
"What kind of development?"
"I was only told to bring you, sir."
He stood, straightened his coat, and followed the Knight out of the room. As they walked to the elevator to the bridge, Julius allowed himself one final thought.
I promise, I'll get you back. So please hold on, Claudia.
With his head held high, Julius entered the elevator and made his way to the command bridge.