The carriage rolled to a stop at the outskirts of the academy, near the teleportation checkpoint. Jax stepped out and immediately spotted Seris pacing near the portal entrance, biting her nails anxiously.

Astrid stood beside her, arms crossed, clearly planning something.

Jax walked up, his expression cold. "Everything's set up?"

"Yes," Seris said. "But you're going to have a problem leaving."

"Tssk. What new problem now?"

"Professors can't leave the academy grounds without proper authorization. A letter from the administrative office," Seris explained. "Professor Roxana told us—"

As if summoned, Roxana appeared in the distance, practically running toward them with a piece of paper clutched in her hand.

She added "We students have leaves to depart from here and for royals like us its easy but for you--"

Jax ignored her approach and focused on Seris. "Stop with the descriptive bullshit."

He reached into his coat and pulled out his termination letter, slapping it into Seris's palm. "Don't waste time talking. Go do the procedures. Get us out of here. Fast."

He paused, his brain catching up to his mouth. "Wait. Get us out?"

Roxana finally reached them, breathing hard.

Jax's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by leave applications for Roxana and yourself? Don't tell me you two are coming."

"It's my mother—" Seris started.

"Damn it, what the fuck is going on?!" Jax cut her off, his patience gone. "Forget it. We'll discuss this later. I don't care about any of you. Just drop me at the kingdom and we go our separate ways. Clear?"

Seris looked like she wanted to argue, but one look at his face made her swallow the words.

She turned to Roxana, who handed over her leave authorization. Then Seris marched toward the checkpoint guards.

The guards checked the documents carefully. Scanned the identities. Then started the physical inspection process.

First Seris. Then Astrid.

'Wait. ASTRID too?!' Jax's eye twitched. 'These kids think this is some kind of field trip? A fucking adventure? I don't have time for babysitting duty!'

Then Roxana was checked. She passed through without issue.

Finally, the guards gestured for Jax.

As soon as the guard's hand touched his coat, he froze. His eyes widened. "Sir... what's inside your coat?"

Jax sighed and unbuttoned his coat, pulling it open like a flasher.

Except instead of indecent exposure, he revealed rows and rows of potion bottles strapped to the inside lining. Small vials filled with glowing liquids in blues, reds, greens, and purples.

Twenty. Fucking. Bottles.

All three girls' mouths dropped open.

The guards panicked immediately, surrounding him. "EXPLAIN! Now!"

"What's to explain?" Jax said casually. "They're parting gifts from the academy."

The lead guard's face turned red. "Do you think I'm a fucking idiot? A rusticated professor with academy vault items? You know even royalty can't take a single item from academy grounds even from a simple stall without proper authorization! And you expect me to believe you just got these?"

The girls went rigid at the word "rusticated."

Roxana stepped forward. "Wait. What do you mean, rusticated?"

"This man," the guard pointed at Jax, "has been exiled from the academy with immediate effect. Banned from the grounds permanently."

Roxana's head whipped toward Jax, her eyes demanding answers.

He said nothing.

"There must be some misunderstanding," Roxana said, turning back to the guard. "But forget that for now. Do you know the academy vault security? Taking a single potion would trigger lockdowns across the entire campus. And he's walking around with TWENTY? That's impossible."

"I know," the guard agreed. "But protocol doesn't allow me to let him pass with these items. Not without proper documentation."

Roxana turned back to Jax, her expression almost pleading. "Professor... just leave them here. We have no other choice."

"I'm not doing that," Jax said flatly. "These things are the most valuable assets for what's coming next. And I earned them."

'Earned. Right. Is that what we're calling grand theft now?'

He thought back to earlier that day, before his fight with Lysandra. How he'd used Soul Thief to possess one of the vault keepers not one but one after another, walked right in, and cleaned house. Genius-level thievery.

Astrid, who'd been silent this whole time, suddenly stepped forward. Her voice was ice.

"Don't test my patience, you morons." She glared at the guards. "If you don't let him through, I'll be pissed. And pissing me off means pissing off my father. Do you understand what that means?"

The guards shifted nervously.

"I don't know anything about this professor being exiled," Astrid continued, her voice getting sharper. "But I'll make sure the very next citizens exiled from this region are YOU." She pointed at each guard in turn. "Then you. Then you. Then every single one of you standing here."

The lead guard's face went pale. Fear flickered across his features as he realized she was serious.

Royal consequences were no joke.

"I... we..." The guard looked at his colleagues, saw the same fear reflected in their eyes. "Fine. But this goes on record. Any problems, and—"

"Yeah, yeah," Jax said, already moving toward the portal. "File your reports. I'll be long gone."

The guards activated the teleportation array, and in a flash of light, the group vanished.

They reappeared in the underground city, the same small settlement where Jax had first arrived when he'd come to the academy.

"Follow me," Seris said immediately, heading toward the carriage station. "Our transport is waiting."

They all followed, walking through the crowded streets.

After a few minutes, Roxana cleared her throat. "Did you... really get exiled? Or rusticated? Whatever they called it?"

Silence.

No answer from Jax. He just kept walking, eyes forward.

'Oh. Oh, I see.' Roxana's mind clicked. 'This is the same childish bullshit from yesterday. He's ignoring me. Pretending I don't exist because I eavesdropped or create a small mess.'

She caught Astrid's eye and gestured frantically, signaling her to ask instead.

Astrid shook her head at first, but curiosity got the better of her. She kept her voice cold and detached.

"Professor. Is what the guard said true? Or is it some fake story you came up with, like those potions being 'gifts'? And don't ask how I know it's fake. It's painfully obvious."

Jax stopped walking.

He turned slightly, just enough for them to see his profile.

"You can call me Jax," he said simply. "I'm not your professor anymore."

All three girls froze mid-step.

Their heads swiveled toward him in perfect sync.

"WHAT?!"

The word came out in unison, three voices blending into one shocked exclamation that echoed off the underground cavern walls.

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