Chapter 103: Headmaster’s Office

In the headmaster’s office, Mary worked steadily through stacks of reports spread across the polished desk while Williams sat behind it, fingers laced together in quiet thought. His expression suggested he was fully absorbed in consideration, faint creases forming along his forehead as he weighed the steadily growing pile of administrative problems demanding his attention.

A mug of coffee sat near the edge of the desk, its dark surface catching the soft morning light pouring through the broad window. The office itself carried a spacious, orderly feel, shelves of neatly arranged documents lining the walls, several framed certificates hanging behind the headmaster’s chair, and a modest stack of folders tucked into the corner. Despite that overall sense of order, the sheer volume of paperwork currently covering the desk made it painfully clear Williams had more than enough work ahead of him to fill the entire morning.

Silence hung over the room, broken only by his slow, measured breathing and the quiet shuffle of paper as Mary worked through the stacks with near mechanical efficiency. She examined each file in turn, sorting relevant reports into separate piles, stacking the organized documents across her lap before returning the rest to their proper drawers. Her movements carried the kind of practiced precision that came from long familiarity with the headmaster’s administrative routine.

Williams stayed quiet for a while, gaze fixed firmly on the papers spread before him. Eventually, he exhaled slowly and leaned back in his chair, allowing himself a brief moment to ease the tension gathered across his shoulders.

"Just run through all the news and open cases for today. I don’t have much time left to prepare properly for the headmasters’ conference with the other city schools."

Mary paused briefly, glancing up toward him before returning her attention to the documents in hand.

Important events and occasions involving students across the city’s various schools came up regularly each semester. Headmasters typically bore responsibility for organizing a good portion of these arrangements, coordinating closely with one another to establish shared procedures, finalize important decisions, and work out the finer details of upcoming events. Their conferences offered valuable space to discuss broader educational policy, student activities, disciplinary standards, and other matters requiring genuine cooperation across institutions.

Still, Williams had always found it genuinely difficult to devote his full attention to those formal responsibilities, largely because of the sheer volume of cases constantly cropping up within his own school. That pressure only intensified during assignment and test periods, when students tended to lean more heavily toward various school vices. Theft, bullying, harassment, and other forms of misconduct typically spiked during these stretches, forcing the administration to divide its limited attention between academic oversight and broader student welfare.

Competition periods could certainly grow intense too, students pushing hard against rivals and opponents alike, but the test period presented an entirely different kind of challenge altogether. It ranked among the most critical stretches for properly monitoring student well being and development, especially among the freshman class. As newcomers still finding their footing within the institution, freshmen remained in the process of adjusting to its rules, expectations, and overall social environment.

Their experiences during this particular stretch could shape how they ultimately behaved going forward, how they treated classmates, and where exactly they eventually settled within the classroom’s social hierarchy. Some adapted well, building genuinely healthy relationships along the way, while others found themselves pulled into conflict or picked up habits likely to fuel further disciplinary trouble down the line.

The overall situation had grown considerably more concerning lately, given how many reports had already piled up since the period began. Several students had mysteriously vanished without any clear explanation, while others had steadily racked up growing numbers of detention sessions. The sheer volume of accumulated reports strongly suggested the administration was dealing with something well beyond the usual disputes and misbehavior typically expected during a demanding academic stretch.

For that reason, Williams had made the deliberate choice to prioritize these issues ahead of his formal preparations for the upcoming conference. He needed a clearer, more complete picture of exactly what was unfolding throughout his school before he could speak confidently with his fellow headmasters about student welfare and broader academic management.

Mary finally pulled one document free from the pile resting across her lap, beginning her report.

"There’s an opening event scheduled for a dungeon programme, organized through the Mineral Guild, set at the largest dungeon site located right in the city center. The programme involves students pulled from schools across the entire city, offering them a chance to experience genuine dungeon environments under properly organized supervision."

She adjusted the paper in her hands before continuing.

"The stated intent is exposing participating students to real, hands on situations, dangerous encounters and near death experiences included, so they can build genuine practical experience and develop into more seasoned summoners over time. The programme could also help position our own students favorably with top guilds down the line, which would reflect well on our school’s overall prestige too."

Williams lifted his gaze toward her, signaling he was listening closely.

Mary glanced back over the document once more.

"As things currently stand, none of our freshmen have registered, understandable enough given their age and limited experience level. We’ve got four sophomores signed up, and only a single junior so far. Registration’s still in its early stage, though, so those numbers will likely climb further as word spreads. We should probably notify the wider student body about the programme and let anyone genuinely interested apply on their own terms."

Williams considered the information for a moment, picking up his coffee mug and taking a slow, measured sip before setting it back down on the desk.

"Alright, let’s get the announcement posted along the corridor notice boards. Anyone willing to take on that kind of risk for their own personal growth can make that call for themselves."

He leaned back slightly, expression shifting into something more thoughtful.

"Honestly, those four sophomores deserve real credit, choosing something this genuinely challenging, especially given how suddenly the opportunity came up. Kudos to them. As for the juniors, well, plenty of them already seem convinced they’ve got everything figured out by now. Typical, really."

Mary gave a small, acknowledging nod, mentally noting his decision. The announcement would be prepared and posted promptly, letting interested students learn about the opportunity directly, without needing to approach the headmaster’s office personally.

Just then, a raven fluttered in toward the open section of the window, landing lightly on the frame beside the glass, dark feathers catching the morning light as it steadied itself. A tightly rolled strip of paper sat secured beneath one of its sharp talons.

Williams and Mary both glanced toward it, caught momentarily off guard. Neither spoke for a beat. Then the raven hopped along the frame, let out a short, playful caw, and fluttered fully into the office.

It landed squarely on the desk in a light flutter of wings.

Before either of them could react further, Carlo stepped into the office with his usual warm smile, carrying himself as though arriving at a perfectly ordinary scheduled meeting rather than walking straight into a room already full of paperwork and an unexpected feathered visitor.

"Hey there, Williams. Heard you could use a hand with all this paperwork."

Williams glanced toward him, expression equal parts tired and genuinely appreciative.

"Like you read my mind."

He reached toward the raven, carefully easing the rolled note free from its talon. Loosening the small fastening, he unfolded the paper and began reading through its contents.

"And that pet summon of yours came in pretty handy running my errands too. Nice bird you’ve got there."

Carlo’s smile widened as he watched the raven hop lightly across the desk’s surface.

"Glad to hear it worked out, though Cookie’s no errand bird, strictly speaking. He’s basically royalty among birds of prey. Only remembers what he actually feels like remembering, and only really serves the mighty among us."

Mary let out a quiet chuckle, writing the comment off as another one of Carlo’s usual playful exaggerations. The raven tilted its head slightly, almost as though actively listening in on the conversation, before letting out another short caw and fluttering over toward Carlo instead.

Williams shook his head with a faint, amused smile.

"Well, whatever you want to call him, he got the message delivered just fine. And honestly, I could use a hand with something else too, if you’re willing."

Carlo nodded easily.

"Of course. Always happy to help out."

He walked over, settling in beside Williams, positioning himself for a clear view of the documents spread across the desk. The raven hopped briefly onto his shoulder, balancing there a moment, before taking off back toward the window and disappearing out into the bright morning beyond.

Mary returned her attention to the stack of reports.

"We’ve got fifty nine cases already stacked up with the records department since this period began," she reported. "Twenty percent of those involve freshmen tied up in bullying or harassment incidents. Another five percent cover students gone missing under genuinely unclear circumstances. Student affairs has also flagged a growing crisis building among both freshmen and sophomores, directly tied to pressure from the current test period."

She flipped to another page.

"The student council’s also been unusually strict lately with its recent decisions surrounding the students’ broader crisis. That includes formally allowing a king to serve without a queen acting as assistant. Meanwhile, we’re also seeing a genuinely dramatic shift in attitude and character among the sophomores, specifically regarding how they’re engaging with school rules lately."

Mary delivered all of it in the same calm, even tone she might have used discussing the weather outside. Her expression barely shifted as she worked steadily through the figures and administrative concerns, even though the substance of what she was reporting was anything but ordinary.

She set the report down on the desk, reaching for the next document.

"There’s also the matter of that missing staff report book still unresolved. The whole situation only grows more serious the longer it stays missing, especially given how many open cases have already piled up in the meantime."

Williams’s expression shifted sharply.

He straightened in his chair, the relaxed posture he’d been holding only moments earlier vanishing entirely.

"That’s new information. The circumstances around this don’t add up naturally. If a thorough search has genuinely failed to turn it up by now, we need to seriously consider the possibility it was actually stolen, not simply misplaced somewhere."

He tapped one finger absently against the desk, working through the implications.

That missing report book represented far more than just an ordinary stack of papers. Depending on exactly what information it held, its disappearance risked exposing confidential academic records, assessment arrangements, and other sensitive details meant to remain strictly under the school’s control. If someone had taken it deliberately, the resulting consequences could reach well beyond the simple inconvenience of replacing a handful of documents.

Williams glanced back over the reports again before pulling one particular file closer.

"And regarding that shift in attitude and character you mentioned earlier, Olivia’s already flagged one specific case directly to me. It concerns Mark Moulow."

He opened the file, studying its contents carefully.

"Honestly, some of what’s being said about him sounds genuinely scandalous, but people do change over time. He started out as nothing more than an ordinary, innocent mundane, a victim of harassment and bullying himself, if memory serves. Yet apparently, word is he’s started directing similar behavior toward people he personally dislikes now."

Carlo listened closely, expression staying carefully neutral as Williams continued.

"He shouldn’t lose sight of the other reports already on file either, the incidents involving Lionel and Derek, along with that unforgettable chaos he triggered at the Great Hall. Stack all of that together, and it paints a picture that could easily spiral into something considerably more troublesome down the line."

Williams set a second document aside, carefully reviewing the information attached to Mark’s file. His tone stayed measured throughout, though the underlying concern in his expression grew steadily harder to miss. As headmaster, he couldn’t simply brush aside a student’s shifting behavior purely because that same student had previously suffered real mistreatment himself.

At the same time, he needed to clearly distinguish between genuine misconduct, honest misunderstanding, and accusations potentially inflated by personal grudges. A student who’d once been bullied could still absolutely become a genuine source of trouble later on, but the administration still needed solid facts established before deciding on any real course of action.

Carlo’s expression paused the moment Williams mentioned Mark’s name in connection with the reported incidents.

He shifted position slightly, angling for a clearer view of the document. The photograph clipped to the file showed a student with auburn hair and striking green eyes. Carlo recognized him instantly as Mark Moulow.

For several quiet seconds, Carlo studied the photo without saying a word. His gaze lingered just a beat too long, enough to suggest the information had caught his genuine interest far more deeply than he cared to let on openly.

Then he glanced back toward the headmaster, offering a mild, easy smile.

"Need any help handling this particular file?"

Williams turned toward him.

The question sounded simple enough on the surface, though Carlo’s clear interest in Mark’s case was difficult to overlook entirely. Williams glanced between Carlo and the photograph briefly before returning his attention to the documents still spread across his desk, entirely unaware of whatever had prompted his visitor’s sudden willingness to get personally involved.