"I-I just thought you'd require help knocking." The man hesitated as soon as he realized the strength of her grip was unusually strong and it did not leave him any room to break free.
"That won't be necessary." She stated coldly, "Stand down."
The guy hesitated. Peony glanced over to the mayor with a glower, "Mayor, is this how you have your assistant treat all their peers?"
"I-I apologize!" The mayor stammered before pulling the man back with a quiet hiss, "What do you think you're doing?!"
"S-sorry."
She shook her head before speaking, "Unless I say so, none can approach the residents."
"Understood."
She knocked on the door before it opened. The familiar woman looked to her in relief, "Oh my! You're the healer! And that badge! I heard a foreigner became the new headmage, but I didn't think it'd be you- Ah…"
She turned and noticed the others behind her as she frowned, "We cannot leave our home. So don't try to force us out again!"
"What?! We were being nice-!"
"Hm…" Peony turned her head and frowned. This time, the mayor yanked the speaker back.
She frowned and shook her head before looking back to the woman, "I apologize. Looks like it wasn't so easy for you. Could it because of the situation? Not any better?"
Finally relaxed, She sighed, "He's gotten better. However, walking around is still out of the question."
"I see. I'm not here to force you out. But I still owe you an apology. As the headmage, we should have not had to make you experience such unease especially not after yesterday's incident. Instead, not only did we have to make such a request but have to make you feel you are being evicted from your home. If your child is still too weak to move around tonight, please waste no time to setting these off."
The workers were shocked upon seeing the small device! This was a device used to protect the people from blot attacks! Peony explained, "Tonight, the bell requires a little more time before it can be rung. It's a problem with the mana. I ask that you use this to provide your home protection from the blot tonight. With this, you won't be forced to leave your homes for the shelter."
"Will it really be enough?"
She nodded, "There's not a lot of them, so we're handing them out to those who absolutely cannot leave their homes tonight. We'll come by in the morning to pick them up again."
"I see… Thank you once again." She smiled wide, "Thanks to you my son also doesn't have to rely of magic artifact to supply him with mana!"
Peony shook her head, "It's quite all right. This is what a physician is suppose to do. And don't worry about the blot. The council of magic has already dispatched magicians to arrive this afternoon. They will act as a first layer of protection tonight."
"All right. All right. I'll make sure to let my son know this. Ever since you've treated him, he's started to get a better appetite! Please do come back for a visit. He said he's been eager to learn magic from you!"
Peony nodded, "Of course. Stay safe tonight!"
They waved and left the house to which one of the workers looked to her in disbelief, "Didn't you just bribed the poor mother?"
She frowned and stared at him before turning to the mayor, "Who is this person?"
"He's a newcomer. Just arrived today." The mayor replied, "We did a background check. He is the son of the black smith from yesterday's hearing."
"And the other?"
"The second son."
Peony frowned and stated coldly to a couple of workers, "You two, check on the blacksmith and his wife!"
"Huh?"
With a swift wave, the two were pinned to the ground in ice as Peony scowled, "Well?"
"U-understood!"
Rollo jumped up, "I'll go-"
"You stay here!" She stated calmly, "I did not tell you to go with them."
"Y-yes…"
She snapped her fingers as a fog dissipated from them revealing a bulky man in a light suit while the other was a malnourished looking young boy. Both had tattoos of a snake on the back of their neck as she huffed in disgust, "As expected…"
The mayor looked to her in bewilderment, " How did you- No. I'll have the authorities come and-"
"We'll take them back ourselves." She frowned, "It won't be good to create a scene before a child."
The mayor nodded, "I understand. But… How are we going to move them?"
"Like this." She pulled up the boy by the neck and carried the other easily in the other hand before swinging them both over her shoulders like a sack, "Let's go."
Stunned, they looked to her in disbelief before hurriedly following after her. Upon return to the tent, she plopped the two down on a chair and tied them up with magic. The mayor looked to her in confusion as she had Rollo wait outside. She sighed and knocked them asleep before going into their mouth and yanked out the furthest molar in the back. She stuffed their mouth with cotton then left the room to her attendant. Upon leaving the room, she turned to the mayor, "How are they?"
"The blacksmith and his wife are safe." He replied, "But how did you know they were frauds?"
"When I had the authority conduct authenticity check on the evidences, that also includes a background check. From there, I learnt that the blacksmith actually has two daughters. One left for the city while the other is studying abroad and will inherit the family business." She continued.
"You remember all that?!" The volunteer looked to her in disbelief.
"This is what I will be implementing into the new laws. If there are any benefits or loopholes, why should I be oblivious to them? For some, bouncing such ideas around also proves useful as it will give you more ideas on what sort of law you are implementing and who will benefit from it. However, I had to be certain. Sons would usually inherit their father's earlobe shape. Not just the earlobe, but their behavior was too sloppy to indicate they were raised in a blacksmith. Blacksmith are often portrayed as messy, but they often handle fire, water, oil and a hammer. They require a clean and tidy workplace or they would be exposed to risks of life-threatening accidents." She frowned, "It seems we have more cleaning up to do than I thought."
"What will happen to them now?" Rollo hesitated.
"Interrogation." She stated, "However, until we finish cleaning, my assistant will help me with that."
"Is that why you left those butterflies with the students?" Mayor raised a brow.
"We've only met one volunteer leader. It made me wonder where the others were and where the students would be heading to." She huffed in dismay.
"Then, why let them go?" Rollo raised a brow.
"A huge incident happened. What do you think would be the first place they'd want to visit first?"
"It would be their home." Rollo tilted his head in confusion.
Peony nodded, "That's right. It would also give us an idea on their situation back home. Today we managed to explain the dangers to a family and they reacted calmly. However, everyone is diverse. Will the others really react so calmly as that family today? Some may even want to move the moment they learn the bell will be going through a change. Some may not like change either. Some will refute you calmly. Some ignore you. Rare occasions would they act violently. I want everyone to remain calm and don't alarm the residents."
A worker frowned, "But what if they are just lying and wanna be lazy?"
"If they cannot move, no matter if its just them being lazy. Provide them the device."
"Why?" Rollo frowned, "They would be holding up a space others could have needed!"
Peony smirked, "You'll see by tomorrow. I also need everyone to record what number of device was lend to who and record the condition they are in. You two, go double check if they are in working condition. Don't hand them out if they even release one spark or jolt. Some residents are not magicians, so they don't understand the function of these device properly. However, some may still try to get them working, but they might damage it in the process of doing so. If they fail during the night, they will be in trouble. Number each of them and don't let one pass by. The machine should allow even those who can't use magic to turn them on."
"Oh! This will ensure that we don't get blamed if the machine does fail-"
Peony glared at them, "This will ensure the people stay safe during the night. If those machine fail, the people will get hurt. As for the goats, Sage is on the case."
"The goat from yesterday?" Rollo looked to her in confusion.
"He's a smart goat." She chuckled, "Now... I believe its almost lunch time. Take the students to the bakery and I'll be there later."
Rollo looked confused but left just as he was told. Once gone, the mayor hummed, "That child will be just fine now. But, the evacuation order..."
"Everyone is still recovering from yesterday's shock. Some may not feel secure after what had happened. It's not a surprise they don't want to leave. Some may even be making preparations to leave town. Right now is not just the time to ensure their safety but make sure they feel secure in their own city. If we evacuate everyone, they may feel that this city is not safe anymore. That's why everyone must be prepared to enter the shelter. Leave the school's safety and the bell to me. As for the gang..."
.....
The students were busy munching on a croissant sandwich as Rollo walked to his table with his own lunch.
"What do you think, President?"
Suddenly his assistant approached him much to his confusion, "What is it?"
"What do you think of the new headmage? Isn't she just a little girl?"
Rollo paused before shaking her head, "I had a talk with the former headmage prior. She is already a qualified magician and used to work under the president of council of magic."
"Seriously?!"
The kids looked to one another in disbelief.
"Pa told me she's a princess."
They looked down to see a little boy looking over from behind the counter. Rollo realized this was that little boy from the security camera the night before. His mouth too full to sigh. He could only respond in the end, "She is. However, that is her own personal matter. Even during preparations, she's only asked the fairies as a headmage and even prepared the appropriate payment with the help of the former headmage."
"Why's that? Can't she just tell them to keep the school safe as the princess?"
Rollo shook his head, "She will pass down her position when her time comes, so it's better to have as little involvement of her title with the matter of the school because there's no guarantee the next headmage will have as much influence with them as she did. Thus, it would be better if the school has a stronger connection to them instead of the other way around."
"That's true." Vice-president nodded, "She looks younger than us, but she acts and thinks like an adult. But, aside from financial fraud and identity fraud, how did he get involved with the government?"
"The headmage has duties involved with this city. It's role has more duties than other headmages. The last headmage took on the role without learning about this and the city hall was in trouble so he didn't realize its other role till now." Rollo explained.
"But why did the ask for the president?"
"I was sent to deliver financial documents from the student council." Rollo explained readily, "The real headmage then chose her as the next headmage instead."
"Despite all that, she's not even a little nervous." The assistant muttered in awe, "Despite being a little girl, she thinks like an adult."