Chapter 98: Lana and Persephone
"I don’t know what the world would ever do without someone like you, Percival. I am an old man, and I have made many mistakes in my time. I have also lost touch with the current generation. But with you here, I know that the future will be bright. I hope you will continue to look after these children even after I am gone."
"Stop talking like you’re about to die, you idiot."
Percy frowned in annoyance, and Leonart grinned.
"We can’t all possess eternal youth like you, master. I have come to terms with my own mortality."
Percy huffed and turned away to leave.
"I told you not to call me master anymore, didn’t I? I don’t want to hear that from some old man. And stop talking like that. If you die anytime soon, I’ll go to the afterlife and kick your ass, so make sure you take care of yourself."
Leonart couldn’t stop himself from chuckling happily when he heard Percy’s sarcasm, and he bowed his head once more and thanked Percy for his help. Percy just waved back before leaving the office. Leonart knew that Percy didn’t see what he did here as anything serious. But what Percy just did had saved the future of one of the brightest students this academy had ever seen, and since Percy wasn’t interested in getting any praise or glory for his actions, Leonart would do his best to always remind Percy of how much good he was doing!
....
[Verati Academy]
[The Great Library]
After the meeting between Percy and Leonart, Hildegard and the others were finally called back into the office by the headmaster, and they were informed that Hildegard would receive a pardon for her actions in the student council room! They had all obviously been shocked!
Rosa stepped forward, and she asked her grandfather what he meant by pardoning Hildegard. Although Rosa was happy to hear about the pardon, it was still such a sudden change in the situation that Rosa needed to understand why it had happened!
’It couldn’t possibly be because of the librarian.’
This thought went through the minds of everyone there, and although everyone knew that this was likely because of Percival, they just couldn’t believe it until they had confirmation from the headmaster! But Leonart refused to give any sort of explanation for his decision, and he simply told Rosa that he made the choice after taking everything into proper consideration. Hildegard would be pardoned for what she did in the student council office, but in order to ensure that there was peace in the school and no one became uncomfortable, Hildegard would be serving the rest of her suspension in the school library.
"The library? But why?"
It was Hildegard who had asked this question with a frown on her face, and Leonart gave her a simple answer that left no room for argument!
"Because I said so."
And that was how Hildegard found herself standing in front of the great Verati Library the next day. It was already late in the evening, so most of the students had already returned to their dorms for the day, and as Hildegard looked up at the magnificent structure, she felt a nervous feeling coming over her. Hildegard was holding a large suitcase in front of her that held most of her belongings, and although Hildegard was still confused about why things had turned out like this, she was at least glad that she no longer had to spend time in the girls’ dorm again!
The girls in the dorms never directly bullied her, but it was common for them to take her things and ’accidentally’ pour water on her bed. And now that Hildegard had hurt the prince Mirio, Hildegard knew that the accidents would only increase in intensity since there were many girls who had a crush on the council president! Hildegard would rather never go back there!
But Hildegard didn’t know what to expect in the library either. Just yesterday, Hildegard thought she would be getting expelled from school, but now she was getting a pardon and another chance because of some mysterious conversation between the headmaster and the librarian. And since Hildegard had been so rude to Percival the last time she came here, she really didn’t know what to expect from them!
Hildegard let out a long breath as she steeled her resolve! There was no point in getting stressed out about anything! The headmaster promised that the librarian would take care of her, so she would just trust him!
Hildegard slithered forward and entered the library, and the first thing she noticed was a young dragon-girl in a maid’s outfit holding on tight to the neck of a horse as it galloped across the library! Hildegard blinked in surprise!
"Wait, Persephone! Slow down! You’ll break something!"
The dragon girl spoke up in a loud, excited voice, and the horse sped up!
Neigh~!
The horse, Persephone, let out a loud sound as it galloped in a tight circle around the statue of Verati, and the dragon girl laughed as she was swung about like a toy while holding on tight! Hildegard watched the strange scene with a look of disbelief on her face, and she couldn’t help but notice that the horse had a single horn growing from its forehead! Was that a unicorn!?
Persephone suddenly noticed Hildegard, and it changed direction and ran straight towards Hildegard! Hildegard’s eyes widened in shock as she began slithering back to try and get away, but she was too slow, and she dropped her bag and raised her hand up in fear as the unicorn almost slammed into her!
"Aaahhhh~!"
Hildegard cried out as she waited to be trampled over, but she was surprised when nothing happened! Hildegard opened her eyes slowly a few seconds later, and she saw that the unicorn had frozen in place right in front of her. Both the unicorn and the dragon girl were frozen stiff like statues, and Hildegard immediately knew that this was some sort of magic spell!
’Who in the world could do something like this?’
"Hello. You must be Hildegard."
Shiver~!
A sudden shiver travelled down Hildegard’s spine as someone spoke up from behind her, and she turned around sharply to see an unbelievably beautiful woman standing there! The woman was so beautiful that Hildegard was stunned into silence for a few seconds, but then Hildegard felt her face redden in embarrassment when she noticed that she was staring! Hildegard quickly moved back from the woman and lowered her head as she answered in a low voice.
"Yes, I-I am Hildegard. Hello, ma’am."
The woman smiled radiantly!
"Please, there’s no need for that. My name is Rita. Percy told me you would be coming today. He went to finish an order at the orphanage on the other side of the city, so I’ll help you settle in."
Hildegard forced herself to nod slowly, and for some reason, Hildegard found herself relaxing around Rita. This was the same sensation that Hildegard had felt when she spoke to Percy for the first time. It seemed like Rita already knew how dangerous Hildegard was, but Rita just didn’t give a damn! Hildegard could never get used to having people not care about her affinity this way, but it was a change that Hildegard welcomed with open arms!
Rita looked towards Lana and Persephone, who were still frozen in time, and she frowned at them for a moment before snapping her fingers and deactivating the [Petrification] spell.
Neigh~!
The unicorn released a loud sound as it continued to charge forward, but the moment it saw Rita, it immediately stopped its charge and rose up on its hind legs before it dropped back to the ground! Rita raised a brow towards Lana, and the dragon girl laughed nervously as she realised she was in so much trouble!
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A/N: Please Vote with GT!