Starting With an SSS-Rank Goddess Summon!

Chapter 159: Registering Lia

The Secretary led them across the sprawling campus.

The morning bells had just rung, and the wide courtyards were currently flooded with hundreds of students transitioning between the early weekend remedial classes and the combat-theory halls.

’Right... Classes are on Saturday too.’ Silas thought, he was thankful he was doing with this whole thing.

As Silas walked down the center of the path, the entire campus practically ground to a halt.

The students stopped dead in their tracks and they looked at him.

They weren’t just looking; they were outright staring.

The transformation from the invisible young man they used to ignore in the hallways to the ridiculously handsome broad-shouldered beast of a man walking past them now was completely irreconcilable.

They didn’t even know they were staring at Silas and the whispers erupted like a tidal wave across the courtyards.

Groups of girls clustered together, their faces flushing brilliant red as they practically swooned over his sharp jawline and massive shoulders, whispering frantically behind their textbooks.

Even the arrogant high-tier male students took one look at his cold expression and immediately stepped backward off the cobblestones, instinctively yielding the right of way to a predator.

Lia, holding his hand, looked around at the hundreds of wealthy and infatuated students parting like the Red Sea for them.

She looked up at her brother and her chest puffed out with pride.

Her Big Brother was the coolest person on the planet!

They finally reached the towering central administrative spire.

The Secretary led them inside with her heels clicking against the polished marble floors.

They took an elevator up to the top floor, stepping out into a quiet, opulent hallway lined with expensive ancient terrestrial artwork and plush velvet carpets.

The Secretary stopped directly outside the heavy, dark oak doors of the Principal’s office.

She turned around to face Silas.

The professional facade she had maintained across the courtyard completely dropped as she took a half-step closer to him, completely invading his personal space.

Her gray eyes looked up at him through her dark lashes and they looked quite infatuated.

"I have to say, Silas," the Secretary murmured with her voice turning into an intimate whisper as she deliberately used his first name. "I am really proud of how much you have grown. You used to be so quiet in the halls but looking at you now... you’re absolutely breathtaking."

She reached out, her manicured fingers gently brushing against the lapel of his dark trench coat.

"If you perhaps wanted to meet up later," the Secretary offered, biting her lip suggestively. "Maybe get a drink in the upper wards to celebrate your successful awakening... I am more than down for it."

She smoothly slipped a small, folded piece of thick expensive cardstock paper directly into his hand.

It was her private comm-slate number.

Silas looked down at the piece of paper in his palm as he looked back at her beautiful flushed face.

"Thanks," Silas said flatly.

He took the paper.

The Secretary offered him a final suggestive smile, completely convinced she had just secured a date with a Blue core Lord.

She turned gracefully on her heel and walked back down the plush hallway toward the elevator banks with her hips swaying deliberately.

’It’s just disappointing to see some girl you actually loved for their personality turn out like this.’ Silas thought as he watched her turn the corner.

The exact microsecond she was out of sight, Silas didn’t even hesitate.

He turned his head, spotted a polished brass dustbin resting against the hallway wall, and casually tossed the slip of paper directly into the trash.

Swish!

Lia, who had watched the entire interaction with narrowed eyes, let out a loud approving snort.

Silas let out a heavy, exhausted sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

’Ah, for fuck’s sake,’ Silas groaned internally. ’All these women... It’s exactly like those trashy novels. They either love me solely for the fact that I’m a Lord with a Blue core who probably has an excellent territory, or they want to jump my bones because of this physique. Are there literally any women left in this miserable city who want anything else from me at least? Is genuine human connection completely extinct?’

He shook the bitter thought away. He didn’t have time to psychoanalyze the gold-digging habits of the Valoria elite as he had a sister to enroll.

Silas raised his hand and knocked firmly on the heavy oak door.

"Come in!" a warm authoritative voice called out from inside.

Silas pushed the door open, leading Lia inside.

The Principal’s office was massive, impeccable, and incredibly well-organized.

The walls were lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves filled with magical theory tomes and framed glowing certifications.

A massive mahogany desk dominated the center of the room, lacking any form of paper as it only had a single runic terminal resting on the polished wood.

Sitting behind the desk was the Principal.

He was an older man with distinguished graying temples, wearing a dark three-piece suit.

’I’m sure the Principal is a Lord who lost his territory.’ Silas thought, when one was a Lord and lost their territory land...

They could still enter the Sovereign Realm though they would never be able to form territories again. These people were Adventurers... a Lord that lost his or her territory and was only destined to Adventure..

The Principal immediately stood up from his leather chair as they entered.

He didn’t scowl at Silas’s casual trench coat, and he didn’t look down at Lia’s small frame.

He offered a wide genuine smile, waving them forward.

"Lord Graves!" the Principal greeted warmly, gesturing toward the two plush leather guest chairs positioned in front of his desk. "Please, take a seat! It is an honor to welcome one of our own alumni back into these halls, especially under such... unprecedented circumstances."

"Thank you, Principal," Silas replied smoothly, taking the right chair and gesturing for Lia to sit in the left.

The old man settled back into his seat, folding his hands over his desk.

"I was thrilled to receive your call this morning," the Principal began. "You mentioned you wished to enroll your sister into the Academy’s primary foundational sector. Given your status as a registered Blue Core Lord, we are more than happy to bypass the standard six-month waiting lists and lotteries..."

"I appreciate it," Silas nodded. "Lia is eleven. I need her placed in a curriculum that fits her age, focusing on terrestrial history, mathematics, and baseline mana theory with no advanced combat-theory yet though Basic isn’t bad."

The Principal nodded in firm agreement.

"A very sensible approach, Lord Graves. At eleven years old, she will be placed in the Second Year Foundational Cohort... The classes are rigorous, but they provide the bedrock in case of a successful awakening."

The Principal paused, reaching into his desk drawer. He pulled out a single sheet of printed parchment and a sleek silver runic ink-pen.

"However," the Principal added gently, sliding the paper and the pen across the mahogany desk toward Lia. "Before I can officially assign her to a specific classroom tier, I must administer a small baseline assessment... It is merely a formality to gauge her current educational retention. If she performs well, she will be placed in the advanced track. If she struggles, we will provide her with the necessary remedial tutors."

Lia stared at the piece of paper as she looked at the silver pen.

She didn’t move.

She just froze with her small hands gripping the armrests of the leather chair.

Silas felt a terrifying spike of dread hit his chest.

’Fuck,’ Silas thought with his eyes widening slightly as true panic set in. ’I should have made her study... I should have bought her a textbook last night instead of sugar cookies. She hasn’t been in a classroom in two years! She spent her time picking pockets and learning how to dodge gang enforcers in alleyways! She doesn’t know anything about standard mathematics!’

He watched in agonizing slow motion as Lia slowly reached out and picked up the silver pen.

She looked down at the first question.

There was a tortuous pause.

The silence in the office was deafening.

Silas practically held his breath, fully preparing himself to swallow his pride and ask the Principal for an intensive remedial tutor program to fix the massive gap in her education.

Then, Lia blinked.

She leaned forward, pressed the nib of the silver pen against the paper, and started writing.

She didn’t just write... she blazed through the paper as though she was a scholar!

Her hand flew across the page with shocking precision.

Lia didn’t hesitate on the arithmetic and she didn’t pause on the reading comprehension.

She practically attacked the test.

Silas stared at her, completely bewildered.

’Well, she did like reading a lot so maybe she stole some books? Regardless, I’m glad it turned out alright.

Less than three minutes later, Lia slammed the silver pen down onto the desk with a triumphant satisfying click.

She slid the paper back across the desk toward the Principal, crossing her arms over her chest with a smug confident smirk that looked exactly like Morwenna’s.

"Finished..." Lia declared.

The Principal raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by her speed. He picked up the paper, pulling a pair of reading glasses from his breast pocket, and scanned the answers.

As he read, the Principal’s eyes widened. He looked from the paper to Lia, and then over to Silas, his smile growing into an expression of genuine, absolute delight.

"Astounding," the Principal praised her warmly, setting the paper down. "Flawless arithmetic, excellent reading comprehension, and surprisingly sharp spatial reasoning. Lord Graves, your sister is exceptionally bright... She passes this test with flying colors."

Silas let out a suppressed sigh of relief, silently thanking the criminal underworld for teaching his sister basic math.

"I’m glad to hear it," Silas replied smoothly, acting as if he hadn’t just been having an internal heart attack.

"Indeed," the Principal smiled, stamping the bottom of the paper with a glowing blue approval rune. "Since today is Saturday, we have ample time to process her registry. Lia, you will officially resume your studies here on Monday morning. You will be placed in the Advanced Foundational Cohort..."

Lia beamed, practically vibrating in her leather chair.

She was going to school! An actual prestigious school!

The Principal reached for the intercom crystal sitting on the corner of his desk.

"I will call the Secretary back up," the Principal announced. "She will escort you both down to the uniform reservoir on the ground floor to ensure Lia is properly outfitted before Monday."

He tapped the crystal. Before he could even speak the command, three sharp, aggressive knocks echoed against the heavy oak door.

"Oh?" the Principal muttered, glancing at the ancient grandfather clock ticking in the corner of his office. "They’re here already?"

He raised his voice.

"Come in!"

The heavy oak doors clicked and swung open.

Silas didn’t even need to turn around.

The exact microsecond the door opened, a familiar wave of perfume flooded into the room.

Harper stepped into the Principal’s office.

The purple-haired woman was dressed in an immaculately tailored dark corporate blazer and a high-end pencil skirt, wearing a pair of sleek wire-rimmed glasses that gave her the cold look of a ruthless CEO.

Standing right beside her, holding her hand, was a smaller, ten-year-old version of her.

It was her little sister, Penelope.

Penelope had the exact same vibrant purple hair as Harper, though hers was tied up in twin pigtails.

She was wearing an expensive ruffled designer dress that looked completely impractical for a school setting.

A crisp, white medical bandage was taped neatly over the right side of her cheek, hinting at some recent undisclosed attack? Silas couldn’t bring himself to care that much

The Principal immediately stood up from his leather chair, practically falling over himself in his eagerness to welcome the heirs of a major guild.

"Ah! Lady Harper!" the Principal greeted enthusiastically, bowing respectfully. "And little Miss Penelope! Welcome, welcome! Please, come in!"

Harper offered a cool smile, completely ignoring Silas sitting in the chair as she stepped fully into the room.

"Principal," Harper replied smoothly. "I am glad that we aren’t late. Penelope’s morning combat-tutor ran slightly over schedule today."

Silas remained seated, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked at Harper, then looked at the little sister with the bandage on her face.

’Fuck me... why am I even surprised? She’s stalking me.’