HSBA Delta Branch: Where Paths Cross Again - CHAPTER 9

[HSBA Delta Training Camp Branch — Main Instructor Office | 8:43 A.M.]

The office doors finally closed.

CLICK.

Silence settled immediately.

For several long seconds—

Nobody moved.

Nobody spoke.

The eight chosen main instructors simply remained where they were.

Instructor Faye.

Instructor Mark.

Instructor Landrieu.

Instructor Azhette.

Instructor Syndie.

Instructor Arch Jude.

Instructor Monique.

Instructor Jonathan.

All staring toward the closed doors.

Processing.

Trying to process.

Then—

Instructor Mark slowly pointed toward the doorway.

“…Did that just happen?”

Instructor Landrieu looked spiritually exhausted.

“…I genuinely don’t know.”

Instructor Monique quietly rubbed her forehead.

“…I have more questions now than before.”

Instructor Jonathan adjusted his glasses.

“…Many more.”

The brown confidential envelope rested atop the meeting table.

Instructor Faye had already placed one hand over it protectively.

Because after seeing the contents—

She wasn’t leaving it unattended.

Not even briefly.

Instructor Azhette slowly leaned back in her chair.

“…Can we discuss the fact that Headmaster Gaius personally escorted her here?”

The room immediately fell silent again.

Because that alone—

Was abnormal.

Extremely abnormal.

Instructor Syndie nodded slowly.

“…Not just escorted.”

“…Personally escorted.”

Instructor Arch Jude crossed his arms.

“…With Zachary carrying her records.”

That made several heads turn.

Because now that they thought about it—

That part was somehow even stranger.

Instructor Jonathan spoke quietly.

“…Those records were not handed to administration.”

“…Not handed to branch security.”

“…Not handed to branch archives.”

“…They were kept by Zachary himself.”

Silence.

Instructor Mark swallowed slightly.

“…Headmaster Gaius’s personal bodyguard.”

Instructor Monique nodded.

“…Exactly.”

The room became quiet again.

Because everyone knew what that implied.

Zachary didn’t carry ordinary documents.

Especially not personally.

Not unless they were important.

Very important.

Instructor Landrieu sighed.

“…And then Headmaster Gaius personally handed the records to Faye.”

“…Personally.”

Instructor Faye slowly nodded.

“…Which means he didn’t trust anyone else handling them first.”

Nobody disagreed.

Because that interpretation felt painfully accurate.

Meanwhile—

Instructor Azhette continued thinking aloud.

“…And then there’s the seven.”

Everyone immediately knew who she meant.

Instructor Britney.

Instructor Sapphire.

Instructor Skyrish.

Instructor Amethyst.

Instructor Bailey.

Instructor Raphael.

Instructor Nexcialine.

The seven most dangerous grandchildren of Headmaster Gaius.

Instructor Mark frowned.

“…That was weird.”

Instructor Syndie immediately nodded.

“…Very weird.”

Instructor Jonathan looked toward the closed doors.

“…Did anyone notice what happened after the meeting ended?”

Instructor Monique blinked.

“…Which part?”

“…The formation.”

Silence.

Then realization slowly spread.

Instructor Azhette sat forward slightly.

“…The formation.”

Instructor Jonathan nodded.

“…They placed Instructor Ravielle in the center.”

The room immediately grew thoughtful.

Because now that he mentioned it—

It was true.

Instructor Britney had walked on one side.

Instructor Raphael on the other.

The remaining five surrounding nearby.

Almost naturally.

Almost automatically.

Like people protecting someone important.

Instructor Arch Jude narrowed his eyes.

“…Not protecting.”

“…Guarding.”

That distinction immediately made everyone uncomfortable.

Because it fit better.

Much better.

Instructor Mark slowly rubbed his chin.

“…It looked practiced.”

“…Like they’d done it before.”

Instructor Monique quietly nodded.

“…A lot before.”

Meanwhile—

Instructor Faye stared toward the confidential file.

“…And they weren’t acting like normal colleagues.”

The others looked toward her.

Instructor Faye continued.

“…They weren’t treating her like a new instructor .”

“…Or a transfer.”

“…Or even a senior instructor.”

A pause.

“…They were treating her like someone they deeply respected.”

Silence.

Instructor Landrieu immediately answered.

“…That.”

“…Exactly that.”

Because that was what had bothered him.

The respect.

The instinctive obedience.

The subtle reactions.

It wasn’t admiration.

It wasn’t friendliness.

It wasn’t simple professionalism.

It felt deeper.

Older.

More ingrained.

Instructor Jonathan slowly adjusted his glasses again.

“…Did anyone else notice something else?”

“…Her presence.”

Several heads immediately nodded.

Instructor Monique exhaled.

“…I thought it was only me.”

Instructor Azhette shook her head.

“…Definitely not only you.”

Instructor Syndie quietly crossed her arms.

“…The moment she stood up…”

“…The entire room straightened.”

Nobody argued.

Because it had happened.

All of them had felt it.

Instructor Ravielle hadn’t raised her voice.

Hadn’t issued a command.

Hadn’t done anything.

Yet somehow—

Everyone unconsciously corrected their posture.

Instructor Mark looked mildly disturbed.

“…And the strange part is…”

“…It felt restrained.”

That earned immediate agreement.

Instructor Arch Jude nodded once.

“…Very restrained.”

Instructor Jonathan spoke thoughtfully.

“…If that’s her restrained presence…”

Nobody finished the sentence.

Because none of them particularly wanted to imagine the alternative.

Meanwhile—

Instructor Azhette suddenly frowned.

Then looked toward Jonathan.

“…You know…”

“…I have a theory.”

The room turned toward her.

Instructor Jonathan immediately looked amused.

“…I suspect I know which theory.”

Instructor Mark looked between them.

“…What theory?”

Instructor Azhette hesitated briefly.

Then finally spoke.

“…What if she’s part of the Gaius family?”

Silence.

Complete silence.

Then—

Instructor Landrieu blinked.

“…What?”

Instructor Azhette shrugged.

“…Think about it.”

“…Headmaster personally escorts her.”

“…Zachary personally carries her records.”

“…The records are classified.”

“…The seven grandchildren are unusually protective.”

“…And Headmaster Gaius seems genuinely invested in her.”

Instructor Jonathan nodded slowly.

“…It’s not impossible.”

Instructor Mark looked stunned.

“…You think she’s his daughter?”

Instructor Azhette immediately shook her head.

“…Not necessarily.”

“…Maybe daughter.”

“…Maybe daughter-in-law.”

“…Maybe a relative.”

“…Something.”

Instructor Monique considered it.

“…Honestly…”

“…That would explain some things.”

Instructor Syndie slowly nodded.

“…Actually…”

“…It would explain a lot.”

Instructor Landrieu looked horrified.

“…Please tell me we didn’t accidentally offend Headmaster Gaius’s secret daughter.”

Instructor Mark immediately looked concerned too.

“…Did we offend her?”

Instructor Faye sighed.

“…No.”

“…Nobody offended her.”

“…Relax.”

That calmed everyone slightly.

Only slightly.

Then—

Instructor Jonathan quietly looked toward the confidential file again.

“…Still.”

“…I’ve seen classified records before.”

“…But not like this.”

The room turned silent once more.

Because they all remembered.

Every section sealed.

Every detail hidden.

Every accomplishment restricted.

Nothing visible.

Nothing accessible.

Nothing traceable.

Almost identical—

To certain records belonging to some members of the Gaius family.

Instructor Monique finally broke the silence.

“…Who exactly is she?”

Nobody had an answer.

Not one.

And unfortunately—

Before anyone could continue speculating—

Instructor Faye suddenly froze.

Then looked at the wall clock.

Silence.

Then horror.

“…No.”

Everyone looked toward her.

Instructor Faye immediately stood.

“…Day Zero Test.”

The entire room froze.

Then collectively paled.

Instructor Mark’s soul visibly left his body.

“…Day Zero Test.”

Instructor Landrieu looked traumatized again.

“…I forgot.”

Instructor Azhette immediately stood.

“…How did we forget Day Zero Test?”

Instructor Jonathan looked horrified.

“…Because we were busy trying to solve the mystery of Instructor Ravielle.”

Instructor Monique immediately gathered nearby documents.

“…Focus.”

“…Day Zero Test first.”

Reality crashed back into the room instantly.

Today wasn’t an ordinary day.

Today was the final evaluation stage.

The remaining trainees would soon begin their assessments.

Every department needed reports.

Every station needed evaluators.

Every performance file needed preparation.

Instructor Faye immediately secured Ravielle’s confidential envelope.

CLICK.

The document lockbox closed.

Then she handed it to a trusted administrative security case.

“…This stays protected.”

“…Nobody touches it without authorization.”

“…Understood?”

“…Understood.”

The others immediately nodded.

Moments later—

The eight main instructors began collecting stacks of evaluation reports.

Performance assessments.

Observation records.

Day Zero Test schedules.

Final ranking sheets.

Medical clearances.

Field assessment packets.

Within seconds—

The mystery of Instructor Ravielle was reluctantly pushed aside.

Not forgotten.

Just postponed.

Because unfortunately—

Hundreds of trainees awaited evaluation today.

And HSBA Delta Branch couldn’t stop functioning just because a mysterious instructor with classified records, terrifying presence, Headmaster-level escort privileges, and suspiciously protective Gaius grandchildren had suddenly appeared.

As the eight instructors finally exited the meeting office—

One question still lingered in every mind.

Who exactly was Instructor Ravielle?

Nobody knew.

And somehow—

They all had the uncomfortable feeling that the answer would be far bigger than any of them expected.

Unfortunately—

Day Zero Test came first.

And the mystery of Instructor Ravielle would have to wait.

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