Chapter 88: The Academic Rivals
Mirio suddenly cut Rosa off before she could finish what she was saying, and after giving a short bow to Percy, he left to greet another random person! Rosa was left standing there in surprise, and she wondered what the hell had just happened! Rosa knew that Hildegard and Mirio had always been the top two students of their year, and there was a lot of tension between them because of that, but Rosa didn’t think Mirio would just shrug her off like that the moment she brought up the rivalry!
Percy huffed in amusement when he saw Rosa’s expression, and he spoke to her calmly.
"Mirio and Hildegard are academic rivals?"
Rosa frowned slightly before nodding.
"Yes, they’ve been rivals since their first year. Mirio used to be the top student for the first three years, but in their fourth and fifth year, Hildegard has been at the top. She’s really settled into her studies, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she earns the highest honor at the end of the semester."
Percy hummed.
"Not bad."
Percy hadn’t really been keeping up with the academic rankings of the students, so he had no idea that Hildegard was that brilliant, but it was obvious that this topic was a very sore spot for Mirio. Someone who had always been at the top of the ranking for three years would obviously not like being reminded that he had fallen in the past few years! Percy could only blame Rosa for how things had gone!
Percy turned to look at Rosa, and he saw her frowning while staring at the ground in deep thought. It was obvious that Rosa was thinking of what to do next to try and help Hildegard, and Percy couldn’t stop himself from asking.
"Do you really believe in Hildegard that much?"
Rosa looked up at Percival once she heard that question, and her expression hardened into a cold determination as she nodded confidently! Rosa believed in Hildegard completely, and Percival just didn’t understand where all of Rosa’s confidence was coming from. Percy knew that Rosa only started teaching at this school around the same time he did – one year ago, so she should’ve only known Hildegard for that amount of time. Was it because Rosa was Hildegard’s staff advisor? Or maybe Rosa was just the sort of person who couldn’t bear to see someone getting ganged up on like this.
Rosa spoke up seriously:
"You don’t know Hildegard like I do, Mr. Percival. She seems cold and dismissive on the outside, but all of that is just a front she developed to make sure the hatred and scorn don’t get to her. She is a good girl. Someone who works hard and does her best to succeed. She wouldn’t throw everything we’ve worked for away like this. It just doesn’t make any sense for her to kill those students. You have to believe me, Mr. Percival. Hildegard is innocent."
Rosa looked up at Percival with a hard gaze, and Percival frowned in curiosity. At that moment, even though Percival was still on the fence about Hildegard’s innocence, Rosa’s belief in her student made Percy change his stance. If Rosa believed this much, then Percy would also give Hildegard the benefit of the doubt! Percy smiled at Rosa and spoke.
"Alright then. If you are that certain of her innocence, then I’m willing to help you in whatever way I can. I’ll always be available at the library. Come over if you have any questions, and I’ll happily answer them."
Rosa’s eyes lit up in a way that Percy had never seen them do before, and Percy blinked in surprise as the grown woman jumped towards him and wrapped her hands around his neck in a tight hug!
"Thank you so much."
Rosa spoke with such heartfelt sincerity that Percy couldn’t help but smile as well, and he pat her on the back a few times and told her that it was alright.
Percy separated from Rosa, and he turned to leave while giving her a few last words.
"When the city guards come around again, tell Lieutenant Viva to come see me."
Rosa was a bit surprised to hear Percy giving such an order. Would a lieutenant of the City Guard really listen to the words of some librarian? But Rosa decided that the two of them must have a close relationship for Percy to be able to order the lieutenant around like that, and Rosa just voiced her agreement as Percy finally left!
....
[Verati Magic Academy]
[The Great Library]
[Two Days Later]
Over the next few days, Percy noticed that most of the students who visited the library were all talking about the [Hellfire] incident! It had become common knowledge now that Hildegard was somehow involved in the incident, and there wasn’t a single student in the entire academy that believed she was innocent! Even the three young students that Percy had taken under his wings were also skeptical about Hildegard’s innocence, and when Percy asked Harold why he thought Hildegard was guilty, the answer Harold gave had been very simple.
"She’s a Dark Mage, isn’t she?"
No, she wasn’t.
Percy had no idea why people were still categorizing dark mages using only their affinity. During the war, it was reasonable to think someone with a dark affinity was a dark mage since they usually were. Demihumans with Dark Affinities were some of the most common enemies the humans had to face! But now that the war was over, it wasn’t reasonable to automatically classify someone with a Dark Affinity as a Dark Mage! Percy made a mental note to send a message to the King about this matter later.
Percy gave Harold instructions to help him keep an eye on Hildegard. Since the two of them were in the same year, Harold had a closer proximity to her, and it would be easier for him to get information on what she was up to.
"Just let me know if you hear anything from the other kids in your class."
Harold was a bit surprised by the new mission, but he could tell that Percy was serious about it, and he decided to simply do as he was told! Besides, getting information about what was happening with Hildegard wouldn’t be that difficult. Even though Hildegard was no longer coming to class since she was suspended, she was still staying in the girls’ dormitory, so most of the girls in class were constantly talking about her!
The students had all been given black ribbons to attach to their uniforms as a way to honor the dead students, and there were some students who also put the name tags of their friends who had died on their chests! The aura in the entire school was one of mourning and despair, and Percy couldn’t help but feel like all of that emotion would eventually explode if the staff didn’t handle things properly! The students were far too tense right now, and there was only one person that they could direct all that tension towards!
But thankfully, Hildegard was still being guarded by the Hall Monitors for most of the day. The only time she could be alone was when she was in the shared dorm room, but there hadn’t been any reports of an incident there yet, so things looked okay for now.
Percy fell back into a routine in the library with Rita and Lana. Today was a Friday, so there were barely any students in the library since they were already looking forward to the weekend, and Percy was simply sitting behind the librarian’s desk and writing in his runecrafting journal.
"Hey baby, are you hungry? Lunch is ready."
Rita came up to Percy from behind, and she leaned down to kiss his cheek with a smile.