Arriving at his house just in time for dinner, Blake slowly unlocked the door and tiptoed his way inside.
To his surprise, the house was silent, giving him the feeling that Ivy did a good job holding down the house.
Smirking to himself, he dropped off the banh mi's that he picked up for the kids on the dining table, knocked a few times on the door to let them know he was back, and holed himself up in his office.
With the infiltration a success, Blake now had to figure out what exactly the Woodeurf corporation was doing.
[Genetic synthesis, circuit extraction, core integration. Another one of these huh.] Blake thought to himself as he read through the documents. [Instead of trying to figure out a new method or synergy, these dumbasses are still trying to force their way into a triple synergy.]
Throughout the night, silent curses could be heard coming from his office, causing the kids to drop their plans of barging in and silently returning to their room to continue their studies.
"Uwaaahhh…" Blake yawned as he swiped away yet another document on his display.
Realizing that he lost track of time, he left his office and walked down to the bathroom to wash up a little before hitting the sack.
"Hi dad." "Hey dad." "Daddy!"
Coming across the kids brushing their teeth, a tired smile appeared on his face as he roughed up everyone's hair before starting to brush his teeth as well.
"You guys want anything?" Blake asked when he noticed the kids behind him, waiting for him to finish.
"Sleep?" Noa asked, with the other two absentmindedly nodding and fighting their sleepiness.
Chuckling, Blake nodded as he herded them into his old room and tucked them in.
As he was leaving, he noticed all the books laying about along with numerous trinkets and tools.
[Looks like home schooling isn't going to last forever.] Blake noted as he thought back to his plan to infiltrate the academy.
[Welp, time to see if the academy is hiring for now.] Blake decided.
Entering through the front door would suffice for now. It's a waiting game, for when the academy got sloppy and started letting things slip by. Then, Blake would unleash his wrath, determined to finish what he thought he accomplished during his active duty career.
—
[That was faster than I thought.] Blake stared at the acceptance letter in his email. [Don't they have background checks and stuff before they even consider a new professor?]
Reading through the mail, Blake's question was soon answered, as the academy had an unexpected opening that they needed to fill as fast as possible, and there were no suitable replacements until he applied.
[Is being a combat instructor and advisor really that unpopular?] Blake had a new question in his head as he replied to the email.
Checking on the information that was being compiled by his AI from the documents he took from the underground lab, he left his office only to be tackled by the kids.
"Oof." He grunted as he caught the kids. "What are you guys up to?"
He made a mental note to also hit the gym, the kids are growing way too fast now that they have sufficient nutrition.
"We want to play!" Solan shouted from the bottom of the pile.
"Finally tired of being holed up inside huh?" Blake smiled as he ruffled everyone's head. "Let's go outside then, a change of pace and some sun for you little brats."
Helping the kids change into outdoor clothes and getting their shoes on, Blake left the house with the kids for the first time in what feels like forever.
With all the food Blake has been feeding the kids, they have all entered a mega growth spurt.
No longer were they scrawny little brats, they have grown several inches, built some muscle, and were now looking like proper 7 year old's.
Blake also confirmed their age after taking them one by one to an underground clinic when they didn't have the identity cards yet.
Expecting both Ivy and Noa to outgrow Solan, he was surprised that their growth was similar across the board.
Same height, weight, and strength.
Blake chalked it up to another result from whatever experiments the kids went through.
Catching a public transport into the more refurbished section of the city, Blake took them to a park to have them experience some greenery, along with their much needed sun.
He was starting to get concerned about some aspects of nutrition given how pale they were, but seeing their liveliness, he removed that concern and happily followed along from the back as they ran around.
Happily observing the flora around him, Blake felt a sudden shift coming from the kids, and as soon as he turned his head, he noticed Noa and Ivy floating through the air being chased by Solan.
Or rather, the girls were taunting Solan and laughing gleefully as he chased after them.
Letting out a tired sigh, Blake snuck behind the girls before scaring them, causing them to fall out of the air, then picking them up from the back of their neck like a cat would do to its kittens.
He motioned for Solan to follow behind as he gave a wry smile to the stunned park goers that were staring at them.
Fleeing from the park, Blake chanted a quick transport spell, before pushing Solan through and following behind, still carrying the two girls.
Right as the spell dissipated, a few people in suits burst around the corner, looking wildly all over the place.
"Tsk, no sign of them, tell B team to pick up the slack." One of them transmitted to another party before signaling to his team to continue the search.
Observing from a roof, Blake let out a snort as he watched them run all over the place.
"That was close..."
Not too far from him were the kids, kneeling in a line as punishment from earlier.
Solan silently complaining why he was included when he didn't even do anything.
As if reading his thoughts, Blake reprimanded him.
"If you didn't fall into their antics, they wouldn't have started goofing off with their abilities." Blake then turned to the girls. "While it's fine to use your powers for everyday use, keep in mind that your talents far eclipse others, even some adults. So until you all enroll into the academy, you can only use your powers in private, that is at home or when I permit you to. Got it?"
Facing the stern scolding from Blake, they could only nod in agreement with tears forming in their eyes.
"For now, we go home." Blake decided after 10 minutes of observing from the roof. "Everyone can stop now."
Released from their punishment, the kids sprawled out across the roof, nursing their aching legs.
Chuckling at the sight, Blake conjured a portal to their house.
"Porta Reditus in Domum Suam."
A round blue gate appeared next to him. Gesturing to the kids, Blake pushed them through the portal and followed behind.
Once again, as the portal dissipates, people in suits barge through the roof access door and catch a last minute glimpse of the portal.
"Found traces of a portal, checking if we can trace it." The man spoke into a talisman before ordering his team to investigate the whole roof.
Hidden from sight, a grey eyeball floated above, watching the search team scramble all over the roof with strange instruments and cameras.
They even took photos of the place where Blake had the kids kneel in punishment.
"..." Observing the uniforms, Blake furrowed his brows as he tried to discern who they belonged to.
So far, all he could deduce was that the uniforms were made in bulk, altered to match the size of whoever wore them. Other than that detail, they bore no other designation.
Only when he altered the eye to detect mana was when he discovered that they were all enhanced.
A general protection spell, along with a dust repellent engraving. Things that were readily available to the public with countless variations collecting dust in libraries and catalogs.
[Tsk, should've used mana sight when I was still there.] Blake complained as he tried to figure out any specific details to identify the mana signature.
After a little more time, Blake dispersed the grey eye after failing to discover any other detail.
He then switched his attention to the kids lazing around him on the couch, absentmindedly conjuring their abilities as he watched the news.
Noa sat below him, using his legs as a back rest, playing with several balls of elemental magic.
Ivy leaned against him as she circulated qi through her body and condensed some in her hands.
Solan claimed the other side, tinkering with a disassembled smart device.
Observing the kids lounging around him, Blake was at a loss for words, thinking that they would've been in a rebellious state after reprimanding them.
He then threw the matter to the back of his head, deciding to enjoy the moment cause he knew it wouldn't last long.
—
A month has passed since Blake got the acceptance letter from the academy.
He was starting to get suspicious after not receiving a start date from them, he even thought that he had somehow gotten scammed when his own smart device rang.
Accepting the call, the person on the other side was a representative of the academy.
Letting him know that all the accommodation and paperwork has been handled, they asked when he would be able to come in.
Blake paused for a moment, looking at the kids, before answering that he could arrive within the week.
After covering a few more compulsory items, Blake ended the call with a strange look on his face.
[I think the academy is facing some issues. The guy didn't even give me his name, just referred to himself as the academy representative.] Blake tried to think of anything that the academy couldn't handle, but nothing really came to mind.
[I'll just get there and lay low, see how academy life is before concocting any big plans.] Blake decided as he left his office. Only to be surprised when he encountered the kids huddled outside his door.
He already told them that he picked up a job that would require him to be out of the house. But seeing their action told him that they weren't quite comfortable being away from him for so long.
"Relax kids, it's not like I'm leaving you all here alone." Blake chuckled as they followed him to the living room. "Just going to be gone for 8 hours a day, Monday through Friday. At most 10 hours."
Seeing the looks on their faces told him that they still couldn't deal with the fact that he would be gone.
"Alright, I have a deal to make with you guys." Blake decided. "Be good, no issues or accidents for five months okay? If you can do that, I'll get you guys enrolled into the academy. Deal?"
Hearing that they would be enrolling into the academy within the year brought life to their faces.
[These little brats.] Blake scoffed inwardly as he watched them get comfortable around him. [Is the academy such an aspiring place to go?]
Thinking this, Blake started looking into why the kids were so invested in attending the academy.
"Holy hell, if I didn't know any better, I would think the same thing." Blake's eyes widen at the information he read.