Cal racked his brain, trying to figure out if this was the dumbest situation he'd ever been put into. A clear answer did not jump to mind, which was a damning indictment of his life thus far.He settled on it being in the top five."Callum," the crazy administrator said. "It seems you're drifting."There was a reason for that. He kept thinking about how to get out of this and was, frankly, getting annoyed at how uncooperative his brain was being. It kept chiming in with things like how much easier it would be to investigate Evergreen's role in the Academy, the cover it would give him if he were caught snooping again, and what she'd do if he suddenly backtracked."There's a lot on my mind," Cal admitted, forcing himself to stay in the chair.How many times did he have to be given fake relatives until it stopped being weird? More than three, apparently."I'm certain there is," Evergreen said, nodding in a stern but oddly encouraging manner. "However, I'd ask you to stay focused. To put it bluntly, your development as a growth mage is a travesty."Maybe if Cal had known it was going to be measured, he would have put more effort into it. His only goal had been to tend to his small planter in the cabin.The room shifted—vines hanging from the ceiling writhing. The chair beneath him groaned as the wood grew agitated.Moments like these made her connection to Alice clear."No," she continued, her tone turning darker. "It's an affront to our ancestors. Those who passed on their legacy expect us to do so in turn. Your lack of tutelage is beyond the pale. Claire is fortunate that I have duties to attend to here. Otherwise, I would make my displeasure known to her personally. As it stands, I must satiate myself with a letter detailing her failings."If knowing eight fire manifestations was enough to prove his lack of affinity, then knowing one growth manifestation should have disproven his alleged affinity. (...)