Chapter 119: We Don’t Know That

"Hildegard was cleared of the accusations, wasn’t she? Why didn’t they allow her to come back to school? It’s not fair."

Raya had been following the drama between Hildegard and the school for a while now, and at first she was one of the people who didn’t think Hildegard should be allowed to remain in the academy. But after the City Guard came out and cleared Hildegard’s name of all accusations, Raya realised that she had been wrong, and she felt very guilty about blaming Hildegard without any proof. Raya hoped that Hildegard would be able to come back to school once her name was cleared, but after hearing that Hildegard had dropped out, Raya only felt even more guilty!

James spoke up with a small frown.

"I don’t know if it was unfair. I think Mirio would have won even if Hildegard was still here."

"You don’t know that. Hildegard was really smart."

Harold spoke up in defence of Hildegard as well, and James pouted slightly before he turned to Percy and asked him what he thought. Percy hummed, and then he said:

"I don’t think dwelling in what-ifs is going to change anything. Hildegard isn’t here, and Mirio will win the competition. Maybe things would’ve been different if Hildegard was here, or maybe not. But she isn’t, and we have to accept that. Now tell me how your training is coming along."

Percy changed the topic back to more important matters so that the students wouldn’t get distracted! The reason why they had come here in the first place was to tell him how their training was going, and Percy could already feel that they had grown a lot since the last time he saw them!

Percy had given the three students a training regimen to follow, and they had been following it religiously. From what Percy could see, the students had all gained a lot of stamina. At this rate, it wouldn’t be too hard for them to follow the magic training without getting tired too quickly! Harold smiled as he spoke.

"We’ve been running five miles every day. Raya used to be really tired when we started, but she actually completed the course all throughout this week."

Raya blushed as Harold bumped her with his shoulder and James spoke up in a smug voice!

"I’ve been running with them as well. These slowpokes can’t even keep up with me for most of the run!"

Harold reached out and grabbed James’ head in a chokehold!

"Aren’t you the one that almost passed out the first day we ran? You’re really getting a big head just cause you ran past us once, eh?"

Harold started to ruffle James’ head roughly, and James cried out in shock and told Harold to let him go! Percy watched their interaction with a smile, and he analysed their magic cores using [Mana Sight]. Harold was already a third realm mage, so there was no doubt that he had the stamina to follow the training regimen that Percy had given him. Harold’s core had grown even larger, and Percy could tell that it would be really easy for him to go to the fourth realm. Raya was still a second realm, and James was a first realm mage, but they had also grown because of the exercises.

Raya, especially, had gained an insane boost to her stamina ever since she started running and working out. From what Percy had seen the last time, it didn’t seem like Raya would be able to handle casting magic for even an hour. But now, Percy could tell that Raya would be able to keep casting for about two to three hours as long as the spells weren’t too demanding. This was good. Percy planned to take their training to the next level after their winter break, so as long as they continued their training in their hometowns, Percy was sure they would come back ready.

"Hello, children."

A voice suddenly called out from behind the three children, and all three of them turned around in surprise to see Rita standing there! Rita had come out of literally nowhere, and even though they had all gotten used to Rita’s quiet movements, they still couldn’t help but be shocked whenever she showed up behind them!

Rita was holding a tray of cookies in her hand, and she leaned down and offered it to the kids.

"I made some snacks. Would you like some?"

James’ face brightened immediately, and he nodded to Rita happily! Rita laughed softly, and she told them to take a few. James took two while Harold and Raya took some as well and muttered quick thank-yous. Rita nodded as she walked over to Percy, and she leaned down and placed a kiss on his temple before she offered him the tray. Percy just took one of the cookies and had a bite.

"Mmh, that’s your best one yet."

Rita blushed as Percy said this, and the sight of the two lovers was so intimate that the children had to turn away with small blushes to give them some privacy! Percy turned to the kids and spoke:

"Alright, you three. You can get back to your dorms before it gets too late. Remember to continue your training even after you leave for the holiday. Harold, come see me later. I have something for you."

The children all nodded to Percy’s order seriously, and Harold was a little curious as he wondered what Percy wanted to give him, but Harold decided that he would see what it was later, and he just nodded as well before they all waved goodbye to Percy and left the room. Once they were gone, Rita spoke up while eating a cookie.

"Such nice kids. Are you planning to train them like the pillars?"

Percy hummed.

"Something like that. They all have potential, but they just need somewhere to channel it."

Percy got off the chair and began walking back into the library, and Rita followed behind him and spoke in a sarcastic tone.

"Let’s just hope none of them turn out like that perverted Saintess Diana."

Percy couldn’t help but laugh when he heard this! Rita and Diana had never seen eye to eye before, and after the whole incident where Diana stalked Percy for multiple days, Rita had grown to hate Diana even more! Percy knew that the only reason Rita hadn’t killed Diana yet was because Percy asked her not to!

"Don’t worry, Diana is just a special case. They won’t end up like that."

Rita huffed.

"Diana isn’t a special case. She’s just a pervert."

Percy huffed! Yeah, Rita was probably right.

....

[Hildegard’s Home]

Hildegard sat within her bedroom, and she watched the white snow falling over the landscape and covering all the houses around her in its thick blanket. It had been close to two months since she came back, and Hildegard had hated every second she spent in this house! Ever since she realised that her mother was not going to allow her to go back to school, Hildegard had done her best to stay inside her room as much as possible. The only times Hildegard had gone outside were when she was about to eat or use the toilet!

’They should be finished with finals by now.’

Hildegard had this thought as she pulled her thick jacket closer around her body, and she frowned in anger at the reflection in the mirror. Since Hildegard was a Lamia, she wasn’t very good at handling the cold, and the biting winter was one of her worst seasons of the year!