"Wow…" The assistant shuddered, "Those two are really amazing. If I end up having to find a spouse, I hope she's not terrifying as them."
The vice-president hummed, "A cup of coffee and two baguettes… Why does that sound like the President?"
"The President?"
Rollo flinched upon hearing this.
"Oh, yeah…" the assistant nodded, "The President always just have a cup of coffee, baguette and the exact number of grapes for lunch. I wonder if they're related."
"Huh…" Peony muttered with a teasing smile, "I wonder."
Hearing this, the wife gasped with a smile, "Why now… A-Ain't that a surprise!"
Rollo sighed in defeat, "Seriously?"
Peony ate the last of her food before turning to Rollo, "If the students want to return to the school in the afternoon, they can. However, if they want to stay and help, make sure they have one of the butterflies with them."
"What about you, headmage?"
She stretched, "I still got some stuff to work on."
As she left the cafe, Rollo frowned. He still wasn't certain what she was up to, but it made him feel more nervous than he was afraid of. He suddenly remembered the headmage from last night. Since he's on school grounds, perhaps he was still there? With that in mind, he decided to assist in bringing back the first batch of student... However, his plans was thwarted once again by his assistant who took charge instead and led the students who wanted to go back. With dismay, he led the others remaining students to help the adults secure the place down. Hours went by before he was able to return to school. He rang the bell on schedule before descending the staircase. Upon exiting the building, he came upon a surprising sight!
"Oh my! It's just as I thought. Rollo!"
The old man with the cane approached him with a big smile on his face. Rollo was shocked, "Former headmage! Are you certain you will be all right walking around by yourself?"
"Haha! Yes, yes. I can still walk." The old man chuckled, "Don't worry about me. The old president used a floating spell for me. Care to take a walk with me before you go with the other students?"
Feeling forced into another situation, Rollo reluctantly nodded his head with a forced smile, "Of course."
"There's no need to feel obligated to do things just because I request it." The old man smiled, "I'm guessing you just had your chance to find me taken by one of your peers and had to sit through the gargoyles' chattering before I arrived."
"That's..." He raised a handkerchief to his face, "Not true. I've met them countless times before."
The old man chuckled, "You still have the handkerchief, huh. In the past, whenever you disliked something, you always wore a handkerchief to cover it up..."
"Ahem." Rollo frowned, "May I ask what brings the former headmage to Nobel Bell College?"
"Peony called for me to assist in supervising the students." The old man replied, "I overheard that some 'unpleasant' fella from other schools have decided to play with the kids. I may not have the title anymore, but, if its this much, these old bones still have some tricks up their sleeves."
"What will you do?"
He huffed, "If we're lucky, you will have to wait and see."
"You sound like the headmage..." He grumbled in dismay.
"That's quite an interesting thing to hear you say." The old man smiled in amusement, "I remember back when she was little, she was a riot and hardly sat still. She would cause a ruckus but when asked what was wrong, she didn't say a single word."
"The headmage?" Rollo raised a brow upon hearing this and trying to match it with the girl.
"Of course. She refused to speak with those who she did not trust and, back then, that had been everyone in the castle. It was really no surprise. With her being a human, there was a lot of discrimination and most fairies struggled to trust her or listen to her. Even as a princess, they would not comply with her decisions and a lot of schemes was set against her. Some even life threatening."
"Faes are difficult beings." Rollo grumbled.
"Not all of them." The old man laughed, "Their rulers are one of the most open-minded people among them and really care for her. However, having to rule a kingdom can put a gap between family occasions. So, they've missed a lot of vital signs to what could have happened with the princess. By the time I was called over, their castle had already collapsed once, they've lost a tower, and they've caught her former tutors trying to harass her."
"What?!" He looked to the old man in part disbelief and horror.
"Despite everything, she did not talk about it." The old man sighed, "The first day we started lecture, she didn't appear but stood outside the window peeking in, like an animal figuring out whether it was safe or not to step in. I tried to get her to come in, but she just vanished right before my eyes. Had me on a wild goose chase, I dare say. She was the hardest child I've had taught yet. However, during that trouble of running around, I've learnt quite a few things about her. She's not quite what she seems. Even now, I don't know how much she has changed since then. She has certainly become far more talkative and open compared to back then."
"If she always skipped class, then how did you even taught her everything?" Rollo raised a brow in confusion.
"Well, that's the thing. I didn't teach her everything!" He laughed.
"What?! But I thought-"
"You thought I taught her government, magic and alchemy? No, no, no. The government, law, and literature, perhaps. But, I certainly did not teach her magic or alchemy. In fact, during my arrival, I was told her last alchemy tutor tried to sabotage her own lessons to endanger the princess. It was the princess herself who manipulated the formula before it could take her along with the tower that day."
"So, that's how the tower fell into pieces..." Rollo grumbled in disbelief.
"Yes, yes. As for magic and everything else, she's quite unique. I dare say, she learnt everything on her own and only needed the rules on what can be done and what can't be done. Philosophy and religion were taught by me, but her way of using magic is quite different from the other magicians."
"How so?" Rollo raised a brow in confusion.
"As you've heard, the princess is adopted." The old man sighed, "However, we've discovered that her way of using magic relies more heavily on mana. As in, she requires absorbing mana on a regular basis or she could simply starve."
Hearing this, Rollo paused in bewilderment. Starve? He frowned, "Starve? What do you mean?"
"Hm..." The old man muttered in deep thoughts, "It's actually what I said. The princess is a magician capable of manipulating magic with martial arts and energy. As long as she is born capable of using a certain element, she will master it easily while those, who do not have it, could not even utilize those elements. The princess was born with her magic sealed for health purpose. However, upon loosening the seal, she has regained her ability to use magic. Most of all, she is required to have mana in her body to stay alive. She can store them, but it's like have water in your body on a desert. You need water in your body to combat the heat and dry environment of the desert. However, after a certain amount of time, you will need to replenish yourself with more water. Her kind are capable of not using the water in her body when there is a lack of water. However, in place of that, she will require another energy source such as a cactus plant."
"However, during the flower incident." Rollo frowned in confusion.
"Another thing." He wore a dry smile, "She is capable of understanding plants and controlling them. However, on occassions, the plants themselves would end up being more eager to bloom for her than she wishes. No doubt she must have kept the flowers at bay that night. But, she did not seem quite pleased about that."
"I can see why..." Rollo grumbled as it dawned on him. If she lives off on mana and the flowers drains mana from the body, "This is going to be a headache."