15 Chapter 14 - Before Departure

"Class 1-A, please go to the Academy's gymnasium to get debriefed," informed one of the staff. "Follow me," the staff said while holding a pile of papers. When the rest of my classmates and I arrived at the gym, we found teacher Stephanie standing on the gym's podium. Beside her stood a familiar young woman with raven black hair and dark eyes with her hands on her waist. A sword sheathed in an iconic silver-colored scabbard was tied on her right waist. "Good morning, class. How is your morning? It's good, right? It better be since we have our dear 'Sword Maiden,' Renata Arundel, to accompany us in our first-ever field study of the Charles Military Academy Branch Campus," Stephanie spoke with excitement.

"Thank you for introducing me, Miss Stephanie," Renata said with a smile. She stepped forward and looked at the students. "Hello, kids. Well, I guess I shouldn't call you kids since we're only a few years apart. Tee hee," Renata chuckled. Her face turned serious as she placed her hands on her waist, "I'm here to accompany you and supervise you on this trip. As you can imagine, this will not be an ordinary field trip. As the principal said, the destination for the first field trip of Charles Military Academy Branch Campus will be Darug Village. I'm sure you're all wondering what you will do in Darug Village, right? I'm supposed to brief you now, but where is the fun in that?" Renata grinned from ear to ear.

Renata's words caused commotion among my classmates. "W-wait, miss Renata—" Stephanie nervously called out. "Don't worry, Miss Stephanie. You won't get into trouble. Principal Gerard gave me full authority in this field trip, so trust me, okay?" Renata winked at Stephanie. "Instead, I'm giving you all a chance to ask me anything. Isn't that great? A chance to ask the famous 'Sword Maiden' anything you want," Renata puffed out her ample chest. "Hah, she hasn't changed a bit," I facepalmed silently. The gymnasium was in an uproar as my classmates frantically raised their hands to ask Renata a question each. While Renata answered all of my classmate's questions, I retreated a little toward a nearby window. I plopped my body on the wall, looking outside the window but slightly glancing at Renata from time to time.

"Any more questions?" Renata asked with a wide grin. Then, a certain female student with long, braided brown hair raised her hand. "Yes?" Renata slightly tilted her head. "Why here? Why do you choose here? What's the reason you came down here? Is there a specific reason for that?" Dorothy squinted her eyes, scrutinizing the beautiful woman before her. "Huh, good question," Renata smirked. The other classmates stared at Dorothy in disbelief. I also stared at Dorothy, and I could somehow detect a hint of hostility in Dorothy's eyes. "Can I know what's your name, miss?" Renata's smirk got even wider. "Dorothy," Dorothy replied, "But I'm sure you knew already," Dorothy sternly said. "Of course. The little baby back then has grown up, I see," Renata crossed her arms, raising her already ample chest.

My eyes darted between my sister and Dorothy. 'They knew each other?' I thought to myself. "Are you going to answer my question or not?" Dorothy glared at Renata. I wasn't sure, but I saw sparks flying between Dorothy and Renata. "Hmm, if you want to know the reason, just ask him," I saw Renata point her finger at me. Sweats dripped from my back, and I could feel a chill up on my spine. Renata's mouth slightly curled up into a sly grin. "Isn't that right, little brother?" she said with a teasing tone while her head slightly tilted to the side. As soon as words left Renata's mouth, I could feel my classmate's eyes staring daggers at me. However, Dorothy just looked at Renata while gritting her teeth. "Tch," Dorothy clicked her tongue. Meanwhile, my classmates changed their attention from Renata to surrounding me.

"Dude, you're an Arundel?" Wortel grabbed my shoulders as his eyes sparkled. The rest of my classmates looked at me with admiration while Gilbert nodded his head. "Now I see why he's so strong," I could hear Gilbert mumbling to himself. "Haha," I scratched the back of my head, laughing awkwardly. Then, I glared at Renata, who had a smug smile on her face, giving her 'you did this on purpose' looks. Renata's lips curled even upwards as I knew she was enjoying my awkwardness around my classmates.