My Seven Wives in One Body and Me, her Manager-Chapter 108: Origin of The Secret Passage

After being led to the faculty lounge, they sat on the sofa across from the teacher, whose face hadn’t shown even a hint of a smile since they first met.

"So, why are students from the central district playing around this far east?" Gerald asked.

Dennis, Daisy, Gary, Olivia, Jason, and Kimberly glanced at each other. Then, without holding back, they recounted everything that had happened, including the ordeal that had hit Daisy and Dennis and their reason for borrowing the showers at Willow School. Gerald listened intently with his arms folded across his chest.

Although his face remained stiff and expressionless—his mouth never turning up, always set in a permanent scowl—a flash of horror briefly crossed his face and flickered in his eyes. When the six of them finished their story, Gerald exhaled and looked at them with a slightly softer expression, particularly when his gaze fell on Dennis and Daisy.

"Thank goodness you’re all alright. In times like these, things often happen beyond our expectations, including what you went through. But I never imagined a criminal from the Aquamarine prison city could make it all the way to our town. Luckily, he’s been caught so he won’t be causing any more trouble. I understand now why you ended up in this area," Gerald said, looking somewhat relieved.

"Thank you for your understanding, sir," Dennis replied.

"But why did you use the secret path intended for security? Why didn’t you just come in through the front, even if you were over at Willow next door?" Gerald asked.

"Um... it was an accident, sir. After showering and while we were waiting, we went for a walk in the garden. we found that path and got curious. We’re sorry, sir," Daisy answered.

"That’s right, sir. We had no intention of coming here... I mean, it’s not that we didn’t want to... but just not through that way," Olivia added, trying to explain further without being offensive.

"Forgive us for being so bold, sir," Kimberly added, bowing her head.

"Alright, I understand, but I still have to report this incident. There won’t be any trouble. Once we’ve finished recharging our energy in Onyx City and the hunter transfers are settled, we’ll move away from the core of darkness. When communications are back up, I’ll speak with your teachers. For now, please wait here for a moment," Gerald said.

"Yes, sir," Dennis, Daisy, Gary, Olivia, Jason, and Kimberly replied in unison.

Then Gerald stood up and left the room, leaving the six of them behind. As soon as the door closed, they all let out a breath, the tension finally leaving their bodies.

"Hope this doesn’t turn into a whole thing," Jason said, exhaling.

"Not necessarily. Once we’re clear of the core of darkness, I guarantee Mr. Gerald is going to call Mr. Steve... that’s when we’ll find out if this becomes a real case or not," Gary replied.

"Don’t overthink it, dude. Just stay positive," Jason shot back at Gary.

"But we really were in the wrong this time. Our curiosity brought us here without permission, especially when we’re supposed to be guarding our own school," Dennis said.

"Ugh... stop it already, don’t talk about it anymore. I don’t want to think about the worst-case scenario," Olivia said.

"By the way, where did Mr. Gerald just go? It’s not like he can make a call since we have zero communication right now... I’m getting curious," Daisy muttered, looking toward the door.

"Stop... don’t be curious. Just wait. We don’t know what he’s doing. Curiosity is exactly what got us into this mess, so let’s learn our lesson here," Kimberly said.

"Yeah, you’re right," Daisy replied.

"But Mr. Gerald did say there wouldn’t be any trouble, right? I didn’t mishear him, did I?" Dennis asked.

"No, man, I heard it too. But still, it might not be a problem for him, but what about Mr. Steve and our school?" Gary asked.

"Uuuugh... now I’m starting to imagine all kinds of things. Drop it, bro," Jason said, sounding annoyed.

"Just keep quiet for now. Let’s just wait and stay calm," Gary said.

In the end, the six of them just sat in silence, waiting inside the hushed room where the only sound was the steady ticking of the clock’s second hand. Five minutes passed, and Gerald still hadn’t returned to see them. Fifteen minutes went by, and again, Gerald failed to show up.

An hour passed, and the six of them began to get restless as Gerald remained missing, each of them starting to wonder what was going on in their own heads. An hour and fifteen minutes dragged by; Dennis and Gary stood up and started pacing back and forth in the room while Jason appeared to be nodding off, with no sign of Gerald coming back.

An hour and a half passed, and Daisy eventually fell asleep on the lap of Olivia, who was also leaning against Kimberly next to her. Suddenly, "click," the sound of the doorknob turning downward echoed through the room. Daisy immediately sat up straight, as did Olivia and Kimberly, while Dennis and Gary quickly sat down on either side of the sleeping Jason to wake him up.

The door opened, and Gerald walked in. But he wasn’t alone. Kamala, Rachel, Brigitte, Natasha, Harumi, Sofia, and Margaret all followed him inside, making the small meeting room feel incredibly cramped. Dennis, Daisy, Gary, Olivia, Jason, and Kimberly could see that the faces of Gerald and Kamala looked tense, while Rachel and the others just smiled and gave a small wave. Then, Gerald and Kamala sat on the sofa across from the six of them.

"Alright, I’ve discussed the matter with Ms. Kamala from Willow. Since you are students from a school outside of our two institutions, we aren’t going to make an issue of this. However, I need to tell you that the secret path connecting the two schools—which was originally for security—was actually closed off a long time ago. When the students of our two schools weren’t yet at odds, that secret path was used as a spot for their clandestine meetings, which clearly violated the disciplinary codes of both schools. Do you understand?" Gerald asked.

Hearing Gerald’s explanation, the six of them flinched in surprise. Without realizing it, they had uncovered something that was supposed to be sealed, closed off, and even forgotten. Finally, they bowed their heads and replied,

"We understand, sir," the six of them answered.

"Mr. Gerald and I discussed it earlier. Once we are clear of the core of darkness, both schools will hold talks to close that security route forever. That way, there will be no more misunderstandings or students using that path for secret rendezvous," Kamala added seriously.

"We... we’re so sorry, ma’am. Because of us, that secret path was exposed," Gary said, bowing his head.

"There’s no need to apologize. In fact, because you rediscovered that path—whether by accident or not—and ended up here, we can finally take action and handle this issue once and for all. Perhaps someone created a mechanism in the monument so it would open if you pressed something there, eventually turning that path into a secret meeting spot again. Both schools will be investigating it," Gerald replied.

"That’s true. And since we just checked and found the lights in the tunnel were still on, it’s clear someone is still using that route. Don’t worry; you won’t be in any trouble. However, I’m sorry to say that Mr. Gerald and I must inform your teacher, Mr. Steve, about this incident because your instructor needs to be aware," Kamala added.

"Alright, we understand, Ms. Kamala, Mr. Gerald," the six of them said in unison, sounding defeated.

Then they turned to see Rachel, who was silently moving her lips to say, "Plenty of students date in secret using that path—some even spend the night there," before she flashed a smile. When they looked over, Brigitte, Natasha, Harumi, Sofia, and Margaret were all saying the same thing. Sofia even mouthed that she and her husband, who attended Red Wind, used that route back when they were still dating.

They also mentioned that Red Wind and Willow were actually just pretending to be enemies; in reality, they did plenty of things together and conducted secret transactions behind their schools’ official rules. Rachel and the others seemed to be smiling, but Dennis, Daisy, Gary, Olivia, Jason, and Kimberly understood perfectly well that they were actually protesting. They knew exactly who was using that path, and now it was a problem for everyone because they couldn’t hide anymore and would be in trouble once the investigation started.

It was crystal clear that Rachel and the others blamed them for exposing the school’s secrets. Finally, following their wives’ lead, Dennis, Gary, and Jason all offered their apologies to Rachel and the rest of the group. Rachel and the others smiled, their mouths moving to say it was fine since they weren’t the ones doing it anymore—and since Sofia didn’t use the route anyway, it wasn’t a problem for them. Seeing that, Dennis, Daisy, Gary, Olivia, Jason, and Kimberly were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.