The Queen Who Fights Back (by Lily Hastings) novel Chapter 104

Chapter 104

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While they were all fast asleep, Nova had already wrapped up that SS–level mission like it was no big deal.

Everyone went dead silent.

A cool, tranquil stillness swept through the air.

For a few seconds, nobody uttered a sound.

Violet, Oliver, Leanne, and the selection officer just froze in place like wooden posts, completely spaced out.

By the third minute, the selection officer finally snapped back to reality, his voice shaking with disbelief as he blurted out,

“Wait–what did you just say? T–The mission… it’s done? Already?” the selection officer stammered, eyes wide.

They hadn’t even gotten around to drawing up a game plan yet, and Nova just stepped out for a casual walk and ended up knocking out the whole mission on her own?

“Impossible!” Violet screamed, nearly losing her cool.

She stomped over in a panic and snatched the paper from Nova’s hand like she was about to rip it in half.

“The research report was with Mihoon! How could you just wander off and somehow come back holding it?

“And if this really was the report, you’d be guarding it like some priceless treasure–not just shoving it in your pocket like it was a random scrap of paper…” Violet shot back, her eyes blazing with disbelief.

Violet’s voice cut off, words dying right then and there.

Her gaze locked onto the page–jam–packed with dense lines of research notes and experimental data.

Even if all those numbers and strange symbols looked like complete gibberish, anyone with eyes could tell this was the research report Dr. Hayes had left with Mihoon.

“How… how could this be possible…” Violet’s voice trembled, disbelief and panic etched across her face.

She gripped the paper tight and staggered back like she’d seen a ghost.

From her reaction alone, everyone could already tell what the answer was.

Right at that moment.

Everyone who’d just been giving Nova the cold shoulder felt like they’d been slapped hard by an invisible hand.

Stung by shame and humiliation.

They just gaped, eyes glued to Nova and Andrew, too shocked to say a single word.

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Just then, Andrew–standing there in nothing but his boxers–spoke up.

“Uh… could you guys not stare at me, please?

“Nova here did all the heavy lifting. I was basically the decoy the whole way through…”

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Nova barely spared the crowd a glance, arms crossed as she turned to the selection officer without missing a

beat.

“Mission’s finished. So, do I get to join the task force or what?” Nova asked, her voice level, not a hint of nerves.

As long as I can snag a gun license in Zoria, that’s all that matters. Nova thought to herself, tuning out everything else.

The selection officer could barely control the tremor in his voice as he finally managed to answer her.

“Y–Yes! You’re in–welcome to the task force!”

With the selection officer’s confirmation, Nova gave a quick nod, turned around, and said, “Mission’s over. Let’s head back.”

Watching Nova head down the stairs, the selection officer felt like none of this was even real.

‘We’ve only been here in the Triangle for a couple hours, and it’s already wrapped up?‘ he thought, still stunned.

I better let the higher–ups know about Nova’s achievement, he thought, urgency bubbling up inside.

Now that the mission was over, there was no reason to hang around–whether Mihoon’s squad showed up or not, it was time to bail.

The selection officer quickly arranged a transport plane, and soon enough, everyone was flying back to Zoria.

“Seeing as it was you two who handled the mission from start to finish, Congratulations! You’re both officially part of the task force!” the selection officer declared, his voice still buzzing with excitement.

Back at the U26 war zone base, the selection officer addressed Nova and Andrew.

“I didn’t do a thing, and I still got in? Nova, you’re seriously my lucky charm!” Andrew was so stunned by the news that he instinctively tried to hug Nova like they were battle buddies.

But Nova just sidestepped him with ease.

“Heh, sorry, sorry. Almost forgot–guys and girls aren’t supposed to get too close,” Andrew said, sticking out his tongue.

“So, when will my gun license come through?” Nova asked, locking eyes with the selection officer, her stare cool and direct.

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The selection officer answered, “It’ll take about a month, and you’ll get it together with your task force credentials.

“As for the rest, we’ll continue with the selection process for the task force until all the members are chosen.

“Once that’s done, the members of the task force will need to cooperate with us on upcoming assignments.”

For Nova, taking on these sorts of missions was just going with the flow–her only real goal was to get that gun

license.

“Okay,” she replied, her tone cool and unbothered.

Once they left the war zone, Nova and Andrew split up and went their own ways.

Before heading off, Andrew waved and said, “Catch you later, Nova!

“Too bad I’ve gotta rush back to my squad–otherwise I would’ve stopped by and seen your brother too.

“Guess that’ll have to wait until next time.”

It was high noon by the time they left the war zone–meaning from the moment Nova set out yesterday, hopped on a round–trip transport plane, and wrapped up her mission, barely a dozen hours had passed.

On the surface, it looked like nothing major had happened this time, but for Nova, that tiny mission was a wake–up call–she knew exactly what she was up against now.

The world was freaking huge, but with Ray and all of Devil’s Isle pulling out all the stops to track her down, it was just a matter of time before they closed in. No way they’d miss her forever.

Bloodblade Mercenary Corps? Still tied up for now. Snowfang’s people? Still a total mess. If anything went down, she’d be totally solo–nobody she could really count on.

‘Guess it’s up to me… Time to start laying the groundwork and build a brand–new crew! Nova thought, her eyes flashing with determination.

Nova walked back to Saint Laurel Royal Academy, her mind still wandering with thoughts.

It was after noon, and with no classes scheduled for the afternoon, students could move freely around the

classrooms.

Right now, Freshman Year Class A was almost deserted.

Sophia was absent.

“Nova, your discipline slip from skipping class came in–it’s sitting right there on your desk!” a girl called out across the room.

The students hanging around that afternoon had nothing better to do, so when Nova walked in, that girl, who was clearly bored and itching for some drama, yelled it out like she couldn’t wait to see the fireworks.

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Nova pulled out a sheet of paper from her desk and took a quick look at it.

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At the top, it said: Student Affairs Office: Nova Blake, female, Freshman Year Class A, Saint Laurel Royal Academy On November 2nd, Nova Blake was caught ditching class and breaking school rules. This is an official written warning.]

Nova glanced at the written warning for skipping class.

That same nosy girl piped up, practically itching for more drama.

Teacher said when you skipped class, you went out of your way to mess with the security guard–he was seriously fuming, all thanks to you.

“So now, get this, at the flag ceremony next Monday, they’re gonna put you on blast in front of the whole school!”

Teenagers cared a ton about their reputation–especially when the opposite sex was around.

Like, if a girl were to let out a fart in the middle of class and the whole class bursts out laughing, she’d probably want to just hide her face in her desk and bawl her eyes out.

Now, imagine being dragged onto the stage at the school–wide flag ceremony just to get roasted in front of the whole student body. That was a whole different kind of public humiliation.

Seriously, that was the kind of shame that made one want to disappear into the floor and never show face again.

The girl totally expected that just knowing she’d have to be publicly shamed on stage at next Monday’s flag ceremony would freak Nova out so much, she wouldn’t even be able to function for days.

But she couldn’t have been more wrong.

Monday rolled around, and the whole school packed into the flag ceremony, itching to see how Nova would take getting called out in front of everyone.

The gossip–loving girl, their entire class, all the students and teachers, and even Maxwell, Hannah, and Zane -everybody was there, all watching with bated breath to see what Nova would do up on that stage.

Most folks figured she’d end up standing there, head hanging, cheeks blazing with embarrassment, while the principal chewed her out for all to hear.

Turns out, things didn’t go down like that at all.

Here’s what actually happened….

The dean of Saint Laurel Royal Academy stood up in front of the entire school assembly, blustering and glaring, ready to tear into Nova right where everyone could see.

“Nova Blake, skipping class isn’t cool, and getting hauled up here–does that sound fun to you? Humiliated in

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front of the whole school?

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“As for you, Nova–let’s hear it! Step up and tell us yourself! Right now! You!” the dean barked, his voice full of heated annoyance.

The dean was practically seething, barely keeping his anger in check.

Truth was, the dean just wanted Nova to cat crow in public–stand up there, apologize in front of the whole school, and swear she’d never mess up like that again.

But he never saw this coming.

When the dean pushed the mic to her lips, Nova just curled up her lips in a cocky grin, not the slightest bit embarrassed.

“Yeah, I had a blast,” she said flatly, as if getting called out was no big deal at all.

And that was the straight–up truth.

‘Getting dragged up on stage in front of everyone just for ditching class? Honestly, that was a first–and surprisingly kind of entertaining.‘ Nova mused.

‘Guess stuff like this never happened to me before I returned to Zoria. Nova thought, a small smirk tugging at her lips.

To Nova, it was just an offhand reply, nothing special–but when the whole school and the dean heard it, it landed completely differently, leaving everyone totally stunned.

The whole place went dead silent.

The dean got so mad his belly wobbled like a giant jelly.

“Y–You… you…” he stammered, completely flabbergasted and seeing stars.

He’d never seen a student as outrageously bold as Nova before–ever.

The dean was so worked up he couldn’t even catch his breath–literally shaking with rage–until he almost passed out and had to be hauled off to the nurse’s office for some emergency oxygen.

On the other side, Nova just sauntered off the stage, totally relaxed, all eyes locked on her–whole school stunned into silence and disbelief.

As soon as she stepped off the stage, her academic advisor, Zoey Cole, called her over to a big tree nearby.

Zoey, with her curvy figure and killer hips, didn’t even mention how Nova had sent the dean to the nurse’s office–she just got straight to the point.

“Nova, we’ve got five exchange student slots. The school wants to send our top five to a prestigious academy in Fergus for a whole month.

“While you’re there, you’ll face off against exchange students from over a dozen other schools in everything

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from advanced math face–offs and language challenges to martial arts and self–defense showdowns.

“You crushed it in the dueling competition–so one of those spots is yours. What do you say, Nova? Ready to represent us?” Zoey asked, her eyes full of expectation.