Chapter 243: 243 | The Burden of being Untouchable

The east field sat empty at 6:55 AM except for Misato standing near the oak tree. Her lime green ponytail caught the early light, and her expression promised violence.

I approached cautiously. "Before you start yelling—"

"You’re idiots."

"Yeah."

"Complete idiots who almost destroyed everything we’ve built."

"Also yeah."

Misato’s jaw tightened. Her hands flexed like she wanted to punch something but couldn’t decide what.

"Vale covered for you. All of you. Do you understand what that means?"

I had some ideas but kept my mouth shut.

"It means he’s invested now. Personally invested in making sure you don’t waste his time by getting arrested for federal crimes." Misato started pacing. "It means if you screw up again, you won’t just embarrass yourselves. You’ll embarrass him."

"Got it. Don’t embarrass the terrifying S-rank teacher who can bend space."

"This isn’t a joke, Monroe." She rounded on me. "You’re first in Obsidian now. People are watching. Blair is watching. Her father is watching."

"Vale mentioned."

"Of course he did." Misato ran a hand over her face. "Did he also mention that Davenport Industries has private security that makes people disappear? That Blair’s father has senators on speed dial?"

My stomach dropped. "He implied it."

"Implication is Vale’s love language." Misato stopped pacing and looked at me dead-on. "You need to be smarter. All of you. No more stupid risks. No more late-night federal crimes. No more anything that gives Blair ammunition."

"Understood."

"Do you though?" Her eyes searched my face. "Because three weeks ago you were the fat lottery kid who couldn’t run a mile. Now you’re ranked 141, dating multiple girls, beating guild kids in physical benchmarks, and catching Vale’s attention."

"Your point?"

"My point is you’re accelerating too fast. People notice fast. And when people notice, they start asking questions you can’t answer."

Fair. Extremely fair.

"So what do I do?"

"You train smart instead of hard. You win gates without being flashy. You keep your head down and let your squad do the talking." Misato’s expression softened fractionally. "And you stop trying to solve everyone’s problems by yourself."

Belle and Naomi appeared on the path, both looking exhausted. Jordan stumbled behind them like a zombie.

Misato addressed the whole group. "Emergency meeting. Now."

We gathered in a circle while Misato explained the fallout from last night. The academy knew about the attempted theft. Security had reviewed camera footage and identified four suspicious figures dressed in black moving through restricted areas. However, Vale had personally vouched that he’d authorized a late-night training exercise and that any resemblance to criminal activity was coincidental.

The administration accepted his explanation because nobody questioned Dominic Vale.

"So we’re clear?" Belle asked carefully.

"You’re clear from expulsion. You’re not clear from being watched." Misato pulled up her tablet. "Security flagged your faces on six different cameras. They know exactly who was involved."

"But Vale said—" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"Vale gave you cover. That doesn’t make you invisible." Misato showed us the footage. Four grainy figures in black clothing. Faces covered but body types obvious.

My height and build. Belle’s distinctive walk. Naomi’s braid. Jordan’s slouch.

Anyone who cared to look would know.

"Blair’s going to find out," Naomi said quietly.

"Blair already knows." Misato closed the tablet. "She’s just waiting for proof."

Perfect. Because my life wasn’t complicated enough without my primary rival having blackmail material.

"What do we do?" Jordan looked genuinely scared now.

"You keep winning. You stay first in Obsidian. You make it impossible for anyone to claim you’re cheating or undeserving." Misato’s voice hardened. "And you stop giving them reasons to investigate."

The weight of her words settled over all of us. We’d won first place legitimately. Cleared gates with A-ranks. Built a squad that actually functioned.

But one stupid mistake could erase everything.

"Meeting adjourned. Get breakfast. Rest. We have another gate Wednesday and you need to be sharp." Misato started walking away, then paused. "And Monroe?"

"Yeah?"

"Vale wants to see you at eight. North field. Don’t be late."

She left us standing in the grass. The sun climbed higher, painting campus gold and beautiful and completely unforgiving.

Belle spoke first. "We almost died."

"We didn’t though," I replied.

"Only because Vale decided to be weird and cryptic instead of calling the cops."

Jordan groaned. "I need food. And sleep. And possibly therapy."

"Get in line," Belle muttered.

Naomi squeezed my hand. Her shell necklace caught the light, and her pink eyes held worry I couldn’t quite address yet.

"Are you okay?"

"I’m alive. That’s better than the alternative."

Not exactly reassuring but it was honest.

Aurora’s apartment in Summit House made my place look like a closet. High ceilings. Actual art on the walls. A kitchen with appliances that cost more than my monthly stipend.

She answered the door in an oversized shirt and sleep shorts, her orange hair a gorgeous disaster.

"You look terrible."

"Thanks. You look amazing."

"I know." She pulled me inside and kicked the door shut. "Pancakes are almost ready. Sit."

I collapsed onto her couch. The cushions felt like clouds compared to my dorm furniture.

Aurora moved through her kitchen with easy confidence, flipping pancakes and humming something off-key. Watching her felt good in a way I couldn’t quite articulate. Normal. Domestic. Like we were actual people instead of hunter academy students navigating death games and extraction networks.

"So," she said without turning around. "Want to tell me about your federal crime?"

"It was Belle’s idea."

"Was it though?"

Damn it. She knew me too well already.

"I went along with it because Belle would have tried alone and gotten caught."

"Noble. Stupid. Very you." Aurora plated pancakes and brought them over. "Addison said you looked stressed when she saw you last night."

"Your best friend needs to stop spying on me."

"She’s protective. Deal with it." Aurora sat beside me and stole a bite of my pancake. "Besides, she likes you. That’s rare."

"She threatened to murder me."

"That’s how she shows affection."

I ate in silence for a minute. The pancakes were perfect. Fluffy. Sweet. Actual maple syrup instead of the corn syrup garbage the dining hall served.

"Vale gave me a title," I said eventually.

Aurora’s fork paused halfway to her mouth. "What kind of title?"

"Heir Apparent. Means he’s officially claiming me as his protégé."

Her eyes widened. Then she grinned, bright and dangerous.

"Holy shit. Do you know what that means?"

"Enlighten me."

"It means you just became untouchable to everyone except Elite Ten and faculty. It means guild recruiters are going to throw money at you. It means Blair’s father can’t touch you without going through Vale first."

She set down her fork and climbed into my lap, straddling me with easy familiarity.

"It also means you’re officially interesting now. Not just lottery-kid-who-got-hot interesting. Legitimate threat interesting."

"Is that good?"

"It’s dangerous. Which makes it very good." She kissed me slow and deep, tasting like maple syrup and morning breath. "Congratulations, milk vampire. You just leveled up in the only game that actually matters."

I pulled back enough to breathe. "What game is that?"

"Survival." Her smile turned wicked. "And I intend to make sure you survive long enough to keep making me feel this good."