“That was nerve-racking…” Vale softly said as he headed straight to his dormitory.

His room was no longer in the Seven Pillars Garden but in the Five Gourds Garden. Again, it wasn’t a shared dormitory but private rooms for top students in their first year.

As soon as he entered his room, he jumped on his bed to relax and release the tension in his body. He didn’t expect that there was someone else in the Headmaster’s Office, and it was quite uncomfortable staying there. Furthermore, he could tell that the person hiding in the room was incredibly strong.

He didn’t dare to probe the man since the latter was hiding… It means that he didn’t want to be noticed, and perhaps, he was actually interrupting the meeting between the two when he arrived.

Vale shook his head as he decided not to overthink this matter.

Instead, he checked the paper that was given to him by the Headmaster to find out more information about the enemies.

The information he got wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to roughly know about Philip’s situation..

“Murton Castle in the eastern region… It’s Viscount Coulston’s castle. They’re believers of the Chuch of the Three Paragons, and his territory is known for rich orchards and timberland. They also started as practitioners of the Combat Arts, but they branched out, and their younger generation shifted to other Arcane Paths.” Vale muttered as he summarized the information they currently have. 𝑖𝑟𝘦.𝒸𝘰𝑚

No wonder they issued a mission to gather more information. They only know superficial information about the place where Philip was being held.

Perhaps, some peddlers in the streets would know more about the Couldston Family than the informants of the Academy.

Vale could only shake his head as he decided to gather information himself.

“Where is the Murton Castle in the first place?” Vale sighed as he decided to get a map later and asked Ashe if there were will an Airship heading near this place.

***

In the meantime, while Vale was making his preparations to go on a mission to save Philip, Neil’s sudden sickness spread throughout the Second-Year Class…

After all, they heard that Neil’s Spell Model was destroyed due to unknown reasons, and he had also weakened a lot, as if a demon drained his energy.

“No, Professor Shirley! I did not perform any forbidden ritual or summon mysterious existences.” Neil exclaimed as he attempted to sit up from the bed.

“Stop overexerting your body. Just lie down and answer me calmly. You don’t have to be so agitated.”

Professor Shirley said as she looked at her student. To be honest, Neil’s performance in his first year was impressive. With his abilities, she could tell that Neil would become a great Necromancer in the future. The only problem was his attitude which he should be able to fix easily since he was still young. 𝑖𝘳𝑎.𝒸ℴ𝘮

His hot-bloodedness and his competitive spirit should be natural, so she wasn’t too worried about it. In a few years or more, she knew that Neil’s attitude would eventually change since this is the Dark Arts Academy.

However, the physician who had checked Neil’s condition informed her about her student’s weakened state. It was as if Neil performed a forbidden ritual, which took his life force and power… In short, his youthfulness had somehow decreased because of this!

‘You would become strong even if you don’t perform a forbidden ritual… What made you do that?’ Professor Shirley silently thought as she looked at Neil with a complicated gaze.

“I… I’m telling you the truth, Professor. I’ve never thought of performing a forbidden ritual.” Neil repeated as he closed his eyes to recall what he had experienced a while ago.

“You passed out while reading in the library. Many students noticed how you just slumped on your chair. The physician thinks that it’s an aftereffect of getting your life drained. If you didn’t do something that would weaken your body, then someone else might’ve done it…” Shirley said as she considered that Neil might be telling the truth.

After all, nothing would happen if she just kept doubting the young man.

“R-right! I remember now! It must’ve been Vale who had done this to me! I was secretly following him, and he probably noticed me!” Neil exclaimed.

“You’re secretly following your classmate?” Shirley repeated.

“Yes, but that’s not important… I didn’t harm Vale! However, he must’ve attacked me while I wasn’t paying attention!”

Professor Shirley sighed at this before she answered calmly.

“Neil… Did you forget you accused him of using a forbidden ritual to increase his Strands? You also suggested sending him to the Association to be investigated… However, all of it was nonsense since Vale didn’t have to perform such a dangerous task to reach his level. Now, you’re accusing him again for attacking you? Do you think he has the ability to drain your life and even destroy your Spell Model without being noticed by the students that were near you?”

Neil sucked his breath as he wanted to reason with the Professor but couldn’t find the words he wanted to say.

He knew that Professor Shirley was right, but he couldn’t just ignore his gut feeling. He could swear that Vale had something to do with it, but he couldn’t prove anything aside from Vale being on the same floor as him.

‘If he used a spell, there was no way it would go unnoticed—Wait, perhaps it’s through his Dark Spirit?!’ As he thought of this idea, Professor Shirley suddenly interrupted.

“If you think he used a Dark Spirit to attack you, just give up. Dark Spirits aren’t that powerful. Furthermore, they suck at hiding their presence. Once a Dark Spirit appeared, they could make everyone in that room feel a chill in their bodies.”

Realizing that Professor Shirley had no plans to believe him, Neil could only give up as he thought of contacting the seniors with whom he was acquainted.

Professor Shirley soon left the room after promising that she’ll investigate what happened.

Neil only nodded as he watched her leave. He wasn’t hoping this biased Professor would really care about him.

‘What should I do? Can my seniors even help me with this problem?’ Neil frowned.

As he was considering what he should do to make Vale admit his crime, someone opened the door of his room without knocking. He thought it was the physician, but what greeted him was a beautiful young girl with short red hair who seemed quite familiar.

“Oh? I didn’t know you were awake, Senior Neil. I heard what happened to you, and I want to ask a few things about your condition–Ah, I’m sorry. I was so excited I didn’t introduce myself.”

The young girl said as she curtsied to him like a real noble.

“I’m Celina Vermont, the student representative of the first-year batch.”

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