Colin furrowed his brow upon hearing Ocasie's blunt inquiry.
Patiently, he explained in a low voice,
"I didn't flee; I followed orders and fully participated in the battle, but later..."
"Your companions at the time included Mayer of the Magic Ring, Sovoc of the Silver Ring, and Margaret of the Yista School.
Can you explain why all three of them died on the battlefield, yet you alone disappeared, only to return to the Siya Continent now, unscathed?"
Ocasie stared at Colin, her tone aggressive.
"What are you implying, Lady Ocasie?"
He was interrupted before he could finish, displeasure growing in his heart as he responded coldly.
Ocasie adjusted her glasses, her expression cooling as well, she said firmly,
"You are merely a First Rank Junior Wizard who had just advanced, the weakest among the four of you at that time!"
"And yet, you, the weakest, are the only one who survived?"
"How can I not suspect you?" Ocasie said with a faint sneer continuing,
"I know your original assignment was to attend the Alus Association, but you were suddenly called to fight in the war on Gubier Island, surely you were reluctant…
Indeed, like you, there are several other wizards who did not join the fight."
"I didn't..." Colin barely moved his lips when Ocasie cut him off again.
"My time is precious, admit the truth, Leonard," Ocasie picked up a crystal from the table and said indifferently,
"This isn't a big deal, the School won't impose any severe punishment; at most, you will be asked to complete some trivial penance tasks."
Growing more impatient, Colin's expression, however, became even more restrained, turning calm as he questioned,
"Why should I admit to something I never did?"
"..."
Seeing Colin's demeanor, Ocasie put down the crystal and said with a hint of puzzlement and calm,
"Then can you explain where exactly you were during your disappearance?"
Initially, she didn't want to waste time listening to Colin's explanations.
Wizards like Colin weren't uncommon, but invariably, in every war, if supervision was lax, there would always be some who behaved like this.
Colin was the third wizard she had encountered in this period who had disappeared only to suddenly return to the School unharmed.
The previous two had promptly confessed their wrongdoing, all deserters with various reasons.
Thus, she had preemptively assumed Colin was the same.
Yet, seeing Colin's appearance, it seemed there might be more to his story.
Colin's expression was stern; he didn't want to explain too much, but now he felt compelled to speak.
After all, whether it was Margaret, Mayer, or even Sovoc and Morin… they had all died on the battlefield.
It really wasn't easy to prove his innocence in a moment.
He exhaled deeply and began to recount gently,
"In the Red Soil Forest on Gubier Island, due to an accident, I fell into a different space..."
"A different space... There exists a different space on Gubier Island?"
Ocasie frowned, beginning to doubt what Colin was saying.
But this time, she finally didn't interrupt him and continued to listen patiently.
"After falling into the different space, I found myself again in a forest, but those forests were tainted..."
Ocasie's frown deepened.
Realizing his explanation was dragging, Colin paused and briefly explained,
"Later, I discovered that this different space was actually the legendary Elf Kingdom, and that forest was the territory of the Tree Elf Clan within the Elf Kingdom."
Colin finished his explanation, thinking Ocasie would be surprised, but her reaction was much more severe.
Her face turned dark as she asked coldly,
"You mean to say, you accidentally entered the legendary Elf Kingdom?"
Colin nodded affirmatively.
Ocasie, observing his demeanor, felt increasingly like she was being mocked.
So she retorted with a mocking laughter, "And why don't you also say you're the Heroic Wizard who passed critical information about the Elf Clan's betrayal to Councilman Nois during the battle on the Southern Seven Islands?"
Colin paused, taken aback.
He looked at Ocasie in front of him and nodded again.
The atmosphere in the office suddenly grew quiet.
Ocasie stared at Colin.
In her heart, she even found it somewhat amusing; Colin Leonard... Was he serious?
How could he dare to spew such nonsense?!
Feeling Ocasie's gaze, Colin's initial anger gradually dissipated, replaced by helplessness.
He furrowed his brow, pondering how he might prove the truthfulness of his words.
But quickly, he realized it was a dead-end situation.
Relying solely on his own words, without witness corroboration or tangible evidence, no matter how detailed his account, it was difficult to prove his assertions.
"Ocasie, has something troubled you?"
However, at that moment, the office door was suddenly opened, and an older wizard asked in a calm voice.
The incoming wizard had gray-white hair and wore round-frame glasses like Ocasie, only his were matte metallic silver.
Looking closer, one could see that the glasses this wizard wore were firmly attached to his ears.
"A Second Rank Wizard who has undergone mechanical transformation,"
Colin deduced, observing the visible mechanical modifications on the exposed skin of the elder wizard.