The Hero is An Academy Librarian

The girl standing in the shadows felt her breath shorten when she saw Mirio’s handsome face against the silver light, and if she didn’t know just how twisted Mirio truly was, then she would’ve thought he was a true Angel from heaven.

The girl’s cat ears twitched as she spoke up in a worried tone:

"Is this going to affect our plans, Mirio? From what I heard, Hildegard is still in school, but she’s staying in the library now. We can’t carry out any more plans to try and expel her."

Mirio huffed, and he stayed silent for a few seconds before he finally spoke up.

"No, there’s no need to do anything else. At the end of the day, the suspension alone should be more than enough to remove her from our way. The only reason I was trying to get her expelled was to make sure there would be no surprises."

The girl nodded, and she asked about the murder investigation.

"Will that also help us in the long run?"

Mirio frowned at this before he shook his head.

"I’m not placing any hope on that. Hellfire isn’t an affinity that can be deciphered so easily. The investigation might take a very long time, and there’s a chance Hildegard will be absolved of her crime since people don’t understand how Hellfire works."

"...So, what will you do if the suspension is not enough?"

The girl asked this curiously, and Mirio waved her concerns away.

"You do not need to worry about that. I have already done enough to make sure that doesn’t happen. Just keep an eye on Hildegard and ensure she isn’t doing anything that can put our plan in jeopardy. I’ll be expecting news tomorrow."

The girl nodded obediently to Mirio and spoke in a low voice while stepping back.

"For the dawn of Ragnarok."

Mirio smiled and repeated the words back to her.

"For the dawn of Ragnarok."

Once their conversation was over, the girl melted into the shadows behind her and vanished. As someone with the [Darkness] affinity, the girl had one of the highest-ranked [Shadow Walker] spells in the entire school, so it was easy for her to travel from one side of the dorms to the other while avoiding detection from all the staff and magical restrictions around!

Once she was gone, Mirio glared up at the moon as he thought about how things would play out in the next few days. Hildegard being pardoned was not a part of his plan at all, but he would make sure that it didn’t affect anything. By the time this semester was over, Mirio would be at the top of the school ranking no matter what.

....

[The Great Verati Library]

[The Next Day]

Today was just like any other day in the Academy library. A large influx of students moved into and out of the library as they borrowed multiple books for their classes. There were people standing around on the balconies and talking in hushed voices as they tried to look for certain texts, and at the front of the library, Percival was busy looking through one of his research textbooks, and he would only look up with a smile whenever there was a student who needed his help with something!

But down on the lower floors of the library, away from the curious gazes of the other students, the Lamia, Hildegard, was having her first magic lesson from her new teacher, Rita.

The two women were seated in a massive meadow that looked like it belonged out in the countryside! There was a chill breeze flowing through the region, and as Hildegard looked around at the sunny meadow, she couldn’t help but wonder if they were really still indoors!

Hildegard had woken up this morning with a feeling of freedom that she hadn’t felt in days. For the past few days since Hildegard went through the murder incident, she had been walking on eggshells in the female dorm to make sure she didn’t get on the bad side of anyone! The Hall Monitors always watched Hildegard for nearly the entire day, and the looks of scorn and disgust from the girls in the dorm followed her everywhere she went!

But waking up here in the library made her feel like she was a free girl again. There were no Hall Monitors, and once she got up and freshened up, she was met downstairs by Rita, who led her through a magical door that opened into a massive meadow that stretched all the way to the horizon with warm sunlight shining down on them!

Rita called the door a [Wayfinder], and apparently, it allowed people to travel across massive distances using just a door. So right now, they weren’t really inside the library anymore. Instead, they were in a meadow on the outskirts of the kingdom far from any civilization.

Neigh~!

The sound of galloping echoed from the distance, and Hildegard turned to look at the herd of unicorns running across the meadow in the distance. This was where the unicorns all lived as a family, and the unicorns had come up to Rita and Hildegard when they first arrived, but Rita told them not to bother their class, so the unicorns had gone towards the other side of the meadow to play.

"Hildegard. Pay attention."

Hildegard was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts as Rita spoke to her, and Hildegard blushed slightly when she saw the disappointed look on Rita’s face! Rita was currently explaining the Algorithm of Second Grade Runes to Hildegard, and although the explanation was very easy to understand, Hildegard was easily distracted by the unicorns in the distance.

Rita noticed Hildegard’s attention being pulled away again, and she simply closed the book she was holding and spoke.

"I can see you don’t really care for runes. How about we talk about something different instead."

Hildegard smiled apologetically once Rita said this! It wasn’t that Hildegard didn’t care for runes. It was just that Hildegard was far more interested in the unicorns than the runes! Hildegard might be at the top of the ranking academically, but that doesn’t mean she loves all the subjects she was reading! Hildegard simply read as much as she could to pass properly, and the only subjects that she really pays attention to are Care of Magical Beasts and Magical Terrain Guide.

Hildegard said that last part to Rita, and Rita hummed curiously while crossing her legs and folding her hands over them.

"So you wish to become a travelling magic beast researcher? That’s a unique dream for someone so gifted. Why did you choose that path?"

Hildegard’s face reddened once more, and she scratched her cheek in embarrassment while looking away.

"It’s a silly reason."

"There are no such things as silly reasons. Trust me."

Rita smiled at the younger girl, and Hildegard finally let out a sigh before she answered.

"When I was young... I had a pet. It was a Marsh Falcon that my father bought me. I loved looking after it. But you see, the Marsh Falcon migrates twice a year towards the Eastern Marsh Valley in Tiran, so I would have to wait for him to come back whenever he went there with the other Marsh Falcons. It was sad to see him leave for so long, but whenever he came back, I could always see just how excited he was! It felt like travelling across the kingdoms was an extraordinary experience, and that made me a little jealous..."

"...I couldn’t go outside because of the war, and after the war ended, I couldn’t go outside because of my affinity. I was a danger to those around me. But I want to be free. I want to go outside and see the Marsh Valley. I want to swim in the Verati River and travel across the silver desert. I... I want to see the world."

There was an intense depth of emotion present in Hildegard’s voice at that moment, and Rita felt a tremor in her heart! It felt like Rita was looking at her younger self once again! Although Rita’s situation had been a little different, Rita had also dreamt of seeing the world and escaping from the confines of her prison. In a way, Rita was sure that Hildegard was feeling the same right now!

But it was a little surprising for Rita to hear that Hildegard’s father had gotten her a pet. Rita remembered that Hildegard’s father was one of the generals in the demihuman army. A mage who used Hellfire to raze entire human settlements to the ground. Knowing that a man like that was also a loving father was a little difficult for Rita to understand, but Rita knew that the hearts of mortals were complicated, so there was no way she could fully understand it!

Rita spoke up.

"What about your bird? Where is he now?"

Hildegard smiled sadly.

"I let him go two years ago."

....

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