The members of the research branch were formed by a diverse set of people with a wide span of age group. From ages twenty to even sixty, the members of the research branch were divided not according to their age but their area of interest.
As this branch was actually called a school, it was more accurate to say that it was a research facility. The faculty members were actually not teachers but the appointed head of each research group.
To date, there were six research teams, each supervised by a faculty member. All in all there were only forty five people belonging to the research branch, excluding Eli and Zeke.
These people were now meekly standing in front of Eli and the nervous Zeke. Their backs running cold from the drops of perspiration from the unexplainable pressure emitted by Eli's figure.
They couldn't comprehend how the young lady was able to emit such bone chilling pressure with just a few remarks and a silent stare.
Is it because of her renowned achievement? Is it because of her words earlier?
They didn't know.
The only thing they knew right now is the feeling of being exposed out in the open, as if they were forced to stand on the campus quadrangle wearing only their underwear.
Eli was just simply standing tall with her heels, crossing her arms like a boss, scrutinizing her workers.
"Do you recognize who this man was?" Finally breaking the scary silence, Eli asked the team with the same scary tone while she gestured her thumb pointing towards the speechless Zeke beside her.
No one was able to answer.
To be precise, no one dared to answer!
Because they knew that the moment they answered Eli's question, they were doomed!
"Do not think that you can escape doom for choosing not to answer the question! The moment you tied this man in that chair, all of you were already doomed!" Eli declared, perfectly reading what was on their minds.
Eli felt stressed.
They looked like children caught red handed from making trouble. Is it really true that extremely intelligent people would somehow be lacking in social and emotional skills? Is that why they were this brazen?
"Zeke, what's the punishment for assaulting a faculty member or an official in the institute?" Eli purposely asked for them to hear.
Immediately, she could see their bodies stiffen in nervousness. Guessing from their reaction, Eli knew that the people were already aware of the corresponding punishment for their offense.
"Spiking my drink, although only sleeping pills, is still a major offense. They will be immediately kicked out in the institute, their entire scholastic records will be revoked and be punished under the laws of the Seirende Empire."
"Is this the first time they did this to you?" Eli asked without any emotion. She looked at Zeke sternly, clearly saying, 'If you dare to sugar coat it, I'll roast you too!'
Getting the hint, Zeke gulped and honestly answered, "This was the second time, the first time was back when it was my first day as the deputy dean."
Eli then casted a meaningful glance to the people in front of her. As they were sneaking glances to check Zeke's and her reaction, Eli managed to catch them looking.
Like startled animals, their bodies stood straight and stared blankly at a distance as if they didn't notice Eli's stare.
"If it is no longer their first offense… Then why are they still here at the academy??" Eli's words went down like a cruel verdict from the judge.
"This… Because, I think it is a shame to expel them at that time only for a... little prank." As Zeke was explaining, his voice became softer and softer as he slowly realized what was wrong in his statement.
"Is it a shame to expel them? Are they so brilliant that it would be a great loss to discipline them?" Eli again asked sarcastically, "From the moment you became the deputy dean to this date, how many successful projects were they able to release without you directly supervising them?"
"This.. they were able to release two. Within five years they were able to successfully release two new inventions." Zeke answered.
"Oh, if they were that brilliant, then what about me? I was able to release three new technologies in less than a year. So what am I, a genius?" Eli asked in a haughty tone.
She was someone who would never boast her achievement. But in this situation, she needed to use what she had to straighten up the mindset of the research branch. They needed a little slap of reality to clear their muddle headedness and pride.
"Zeke, I was able to carry the four of you, who didn't have any background on the principles I introduced during the water system project. I do think that I could do that again by picking a few hard working yet sensible students from the Magic and Academic schools. Oh, I am also confident that I could even find someone that bright on the streets!"
"But I would never waste my time on people who think they know everything on the onset. Who challenges anyone who is able to go ahead of them. I would never offer what I have to them. Because I know that they will never see its value!!!" Eli declared righteously.
By this time, the members of the research team were completely defeated. They bowed their heads low in shame and guilt.
Although they were admittedly prideful people, nothing torments them more than losing the opportunity to learn new knowledge and apply it on their research.
When Eli expressed that she was unwilling to help them, they immediately panicked. They also saw how Eli viewed them, and they were finally reminded who she was, who Zeke was and who they really are.
Zeke was able to stand in front of them because he was capable enough to lead the entire branch produce multiple and successful projects.
Eli was even more formidable, as everyone knew that she was able to lead their school's dean and the entire institute's vice chairman as her subordinate in the legendary water system project.
Whether it was Zeke or Eli, both have the achievements and qualifications higher than them. The two had more to offer to the institute and to the branch, yet they dared to play a prank on them and treat them with disrespect!
How foolish!
How shameful!
"Dean, Counselor! We know our mistakes! Please have mercy on us!" One by one they started to plead for leniency.
"We only did this because the Dean said that you would only be here for four hours a week. That is not enough time for us to learn from you at all! But the dean stayed firm with his decision, he wouldn't budge!" A researcher finally explained.
"Yes! How could he deprive us of interacting with you! We finally had someone who could help us achieve more valuable results, yet we can only see you for four hours a week!"
"Yeah! Yeah!" The others joined the protest.
"But we now know our mistakes, We won't do it again." They pleaded.
"Yeah, yeah!" The rest seconded.
Eli felt her temples throb in pain. These people were really childish! How could they do that just because of her 4-hour service?
Zeke also felt helpless, a tinge of embarrassment appeared on his face as he apologetically glanced at Eli. "I didn't know they were this childish, believe me."
"Sigh, you people. It was my condition with the headmaster to report only for a minimum of 4 hours. But that does not mean that I would really just render that little amount of time every week!" Eli explained helplessly.
"Besides, if you feel deprived, then how about the household I am managing? Will I have to starve them just to stay with you until you are satisfied?" Eli dared not to divulge Little Han's existence so she could only tell it in a roundabout way.
"Eh? This… Ah.. Noo!! We didn't know about the counselor's situation!"
The faculty members and the research fellows were flustered as they realized that they tried to compete with the counselor's family. They actually forgot that the counselor still had a family to manage.
However, they were not to be blamed because most of them totally never went back to their families and stayed here to research until they were satisfied. It had long slipped their minds about the word family.
From Eli's words they assumed that she came from a family with a great background bearing high responsibilities to keep their house going. They immediately assumed that Eli was this brilliant because of her extraordinary background.
Of course, they were not exactly wrong to assume this, because in the months to come, Eli will announce her official identity in the Capital!
The moment Eli announces that she is a member of the Farauld and Forgeworn Family, they will be nodding their heads in deep intensity and say, "True enough! With her brilliance, it is only her who has the ability to rightfully belong to the two great families!"
