She gave a cold smile, "It's been safe since the moment I stepped in. However, I cannot say the same for this place in the next couple days."
"This place?" Rollo frowned.
"Hm..." She sighed, "You will see. For now, I've had the mayor prepare the next round of evacuations ready. Tomorrow... Everything will begin tomorrow night."
"During the masquerade ball?" Rollo was stunned.
She sighed, "No... During... A trial..."
"A trial?" Azul looked to her in confusion.
"So..." Rollo shook his head in defeat.
"If you think this trial is regarding today's incident, you can forget the notion." Peony stated bluntly, "This trial is for another topic."
She turned to Azul, "When you return, please inform the headmage that Lotus shall remain here with me for a few more days. I will explain the details tomorrow before the trial to Rollo."
"What is this trial for, if not what just happened?" Rollo hesitated.
She huffed, "If you're really guilty, come with me after the trial is over. Don't worry about the other details. I'm more curious how you managed to slap some sense into him."
"All of the flowers are wilting!" Rollo screamed in horror as the bell tolled.
"Yes, and look outside. You can see them disappearing from the cityscape." Malleus nodded with a sense of relief and success, "We've managed to nip them in the bud before they could spread beyond the city limits. Now we can eradicate them."
"Yup, the Bell of Solace is one OP artifact." Idia nodded in agreement.
"The firelotuses... My flowers, my salvation, they're all withering away..." Rollo cried before screaming at them, "You VILLAINS. What have you done?!"
"There's clearly only one villain here, and that's you." Azul pointed out without remorse.
"Not so from Flamme's perspective. He seems to truly believe he's in the right." Malleus shook his head seemingly at a loss in confusion.
"I'm sure he does." Azul scoffed, "It's probably the only way he can sleep at night. What a pitiful man."
"You think I'm in the wrong...?" Rollo screeched, "No, YOU'RE wrong! It's magic! Magic is what took him away... That's the whole reason I'm trying to rid the world of mages and make it a peaceful place... I'm not the one in the wrong here...!"
Seeing how he was still unrepenting, Azul and Malleus was at a loss at what to do. Fed up, Idia sighed, "Yup, there it is. The exact defensive denial I expected. This is just embarrassing."
"What, so you believe that if magic goes away, everything'll be hunky-dory? Please, that's the LOL to end all LOLZ." Idia sneered without beating around the bush before glaring at him, "You talk about peace, but the only peace you actually care about is your own. You're over here yammering about how this is for "everyone" and "the world." Meanwhile, we're just doing the blank stare emoji."
"Grr..."
Malleus nodded his head in agreement, "Just so."
"And another thing—you say you're trying to get rid of magic for your brother... But did he ever ask you to do that?" Idia stepped up to him as he stared him down with disdain, "You can't just claim he would've wanted something to justify your own atonement."
"Atonement?" Rollo scowled, "I'm not—"
"Look, I'm not saying you're wrong to feel guilty." Idia cut him off bluntly, "And I definitely don't think it's wrong to remember the person you lost... But let's be real—you're not doing this for him. You're doing it for YOU. You're just calling it noble when it's actually selfish. You're not trying to save your brother or the world. You want to save yourself."
"Myself...?" Rollo muttered in surprise.
"Oh look, he's having a belated realization. How can you just have ZERO self-awareness like that? Geez, talk about hopeless." Idia huffed and rolled his eyes, "I guess I can't judge you for that, though... If you were a genius like me it'd be one thing, but alas, some problems are too complicated for plebes."
"That last dig was uncalled-for..." Azul grumbled in disappointment.
"...No more of this. I've heard quite enough." Rollo sighed in defeat as he was already quite tired and had no strength left to fight back, "Punish me yourselves or turn me over to the authorities. Do what you will."
"Very well, we shall." Malleus wore a wicked smile across his face, "But first, I'd like to check something. Let's go back downstairs."
"Hm..." Peony nodded as she pieced the small puzzle together, "So, that's why you decided to grant him such a punishment. Quite creative. Giving him the treatment of a hero while, in truth, being the mastermind."
"What do you plan to do?" Malleus raised a brow.
"I remember you were going to torture him..." Sebek muttered hesitantly.
Peony glared at him, "Do you associate punishment with torture every time?"
"With all due respect, you mentioned 'picking at his flesh and bone'." Silver pointed out with worry and perhaps a bit more defensive too.
She teased with a smirk, "And it seems you have a really, really good memory. However, that was simply a metaphor. Do you really believe violence is the only way to make someone repent for their sins? For some, it would simply motivate them more. But, no. I'm going to take him out to help me with some work."
She said this before turning around and heading up the bell tower.
Malleus huffed with disdain before turning around, "Let's go."
Seeing him turn around to leave, Azul noted in surprise, "Looks like there is someone who he really hates after all..."
Idia grumbled, "Obviously. She's like this idiot here. No idea of privacy!"
Hearing this, Malleus shook his head and called out to them, "Shall we leave?"
"Ah, we're coming!" Azul responded in surprise, "Let's go..."
Malleus grumbled quietly, "If you wish to gossip, don't do it out in the open."
The three were surprised as Malleus explained, "There is a common saying 'The walls have ears'. During the construction of the fairy gala, Peony had already had her eyes and ears everywhere throughout the school. She likes to do this every time."
"The fairy gala?" Rollo raised a brow.
"There was one time when the fairies chose our school's green house as their venue for the fairy gala." Silver explained, "And they took the magic orb that regulates the school's temperatures."
"She provided the school with some fairy dust, but had us be the one to bring it back." Sebek grumbled.
"We had to make two rounds because the fairies were just too obssessed with it." Azul sighed in disappointment, "In both errands, she didn't even lend a hand for us."
Hearing this, Rollo began to feel a little nervous. Just who is she and what did he get himself into?!
…..
Going up the tower, she suddenly heard footsteps and quickly utilized her ability. Hiding in the shadows, she watched as a dark robe man hurried down the steps. His blond color hair shone under the hat but what really caught her attention was the same blue color eyes of her master and the shape of his ears. As expected…
She waited for him to pass by before returning up the stairs to her master's room. She saw the second old man quietly reappear from the corner of the room and tapped waved his magic pen, "You can wake up now, you fool."
Her master, who had been sleeping on his bed slowly opened his eyes, blinked a couple of times before slowly sitting up. She hurried to his side and helped him sit up properly. With her eyes, she could see the magic in his body regaining the former vitality he once had. He was getting better.
He sighed with guilt, "Must we hide my awakening from him?"
Peony looked to the president and realized that he had put her master into a slumber against his will! Talk about bold!
The president looked back to her as she shook her head in defeat, "I found the data. However, the city hall is in disarray."
Surprised, they looked to her in confusion. She frowned as she casted a sound proof barrier and explained, "The 'nomads' got to them. With the mayor and lower officials as the only survivors, it would be difficult to rebuild this city hall."
"Out of all places?!" The president roared, "No wonder the data sent to us were not fixed properly…"
"How is the mayor?" Her master looked to her calmly with a gaze that reminded her of when he presented himself as a tutor or worked on his papers.
However deep down, she could feel it. She frowned, "My people found him in terrible shape. Physically, he's well albeit a little bruised and small cuts. But, mentally, he was in shock. I had my subordinate immediately take him to another pocket dimension and had him recover there. He's recovered well. Still, I had my sources keep watch over him to be sure. If something goes wrong, my people will alert us right away. Right now, he's gathering all the data he can find on the case."
"We should have let him rest some more." Her master shook his head with a worry look.
Peony shook her head, "He may look brave and calm now, but I know he has an unquenchable drive to bring down the culprits who killed his colleagues. I'm more impressed he did not show any hostility towards me despite revealing that I am of the same race as those people."
Her master nodded, "He should be well aware of those people. But he never had the chance to meet you before. When the nomads first appeared, I immediately warned him of their arrival in case they appear in this city. It would seem it was the right call. Otherwise, he might not have the gall to trust the nomads."
She huffed a weary smile, "For once, the old coot's bragging came to use."
"However," she frowned, "The situation is not looking too hot in the city hall. There is a lack of workers which is no doubt pressuring the mayor. Then there is the teachers of this school. During the incident, not one teacher appeared to evacuate the school. Instead, students ran around like headless chickens without a solid plan and got caught by the flowers. Though the case can be settled, the major problem is…"
"The city." Trill sighed as he glanced out the window.
"There's even more news." She continued, "I have both good and bad news."
"Tell me the bad news." The president grumbled with a hand to his head as he could feel a headache coming along. He didn't even need to wait to hear her ask for which options.
"Now, now. So much terrible news and the good news of people surviving. Why not ask for the good news?" The old coot suggested.
She muttered with her arms folded in dismay, "I didn't even ask which one you want to hear. They're both coming out anyway."
They looked to her wearily. Then don't talk like you are going to ask!
She ignored their looks and continued, "I've found out the reason why those nomads made such a mess bigger than they usually would. The biggest problem is the the city."
"What?"
They looked to her dumbfounded. She brought up, "Do you remember when I told you about that earlier?"
They nodded their head as she continued, "This city has the protection and blessing from the Bell. However, not many decided to sit down and understand how the bell really worked. While outside, I noticed how each goats had a bell attached to their necks. Yet, they never thought to leave the city ground even once. You'd think, with a bell and tag, they would be returned regardless how far they went. However, that wasn't the case. In fact, one of the goats would rather go back and step in some trash than go outside. So I had my sources go outside to check and what I discovered was nothing at first until it became dark. There are overblot phantoms outside of the city."
"That can't be!" Her master gasped in horror, "Someone would have notified the police had they seen it."
Peony shook her head, "You forgot. At night, the city closes their gates and bells are decorated inside and outside of the city. The artifact of this school has the ability to push out blot when it manifests out of the caster. Thanks to this troubled people, such as Rollo's case, never overblotted despite what they went through and the accumulated trauma. Because being around the bell calmed him, he even began to develop an attachment for the bell as the most precious being. Once outside the city, the blot accumulates until it becomes a monstrous entity seeking for something they don't even know. To make matters worse, the bell is scheduled to lower its mana output by the third night."
The two were stunned! Her master looked to her in disbelief, "Did you say something?"
"Since you're telling us this, you must have a plan." The president looked to her calmly.
She smiled, "Who do you take me for? I just need you to prepare a couple pardons for me!"
His eyes widen in disbelief as he could only manage a groan following a growling stomach. Looks like he needs stomach medicine… again.