"Hahaha... Is it not?" The old man sighed, "I remember when I tried over and over again to have her memorize the bible. When that didn't work, I was ready to go fetch another scripture for her. However, it was difficult considering I was already of a different religion."
"I take it you are a religious person, former headmage?"
"I am. Though it does not solve all of my problems, I find myself more relaxed and secure with something I believe in." He sighed, "However, times are changing and not everyone strictly follows the practices now. Yet, I find it quite relieved that those people now have a choice on what they believe in... You know, the righteous judge was once a strict believer of religion."
"He was?" Rollo raised a brow in surprise.
He nodded, "In his diary, it was revealed that he had noble parents and a younger brother. However, they lost their parents and fell from nobility. To survive, he studied diligently day and night to reach where he was."
"That sounds quite amazing." Rollo looked to him in confusion, "But why was it never revealed?"
The headmage shook his head, "Because in his diary, it revealed his own flaws and innermost desires. He lost a lot of people who was once close to him and, with his belief in his own judgement, he had hurt others but could not come to terms that he might have made a mistake. Nothing is absolutely right in this world. He was a righteous judge, for certain. However, perhaps he kept the law too closely to his heart. For example, did you know that the destruction the bell ringer saved the people from was sparked by the righteous judge?"
"Wha-?! Th-That's impossible!" Rollo shook his head in disbelief.
"Hmm..." The man sighed, "When he realized his own mistake, he wrote that he did it to save the city from foreigners who tried to smuggle illegal products into the city. He lost his heart to one of those people who took no part in it and, when rejected, he lost only string of sanity. In the end, he was just a lonely old man who lost sight of the things he still had with him and didn't realize it till he lost them. His brother fell to alcoholism and died. He accidentally took the life of an innocent mother mistaking her bundle for illegal products. One by one, he recounted each incident and labeled them as his own sin until he finally drowned in his own regret. Within that destruction, only the bellringer, who's mother fell victim in that accident, still still treated his as a parent."
"The bell ringer?" Rollo raised a brow in confusion.
The old man nodded, "When the mother lost her life, it was done so on the footsteps of a church. The church was not pleased with his actions, even if it had been an accident, and told him that he could only repent for his sin by taking in the child he had orphaned. So, that was what he did. He never liked that infant. Yet, before he had lost his sanity, the righteous judge personally educated and treated the bell ringer as his son and even dined with him. To the bell ringer, that man was his father. From that unfortunate incident, the bell brought solace to the land, when the bell ringer rang that bell, and summoned the rain that would quell the fire. However, in that fire, the righteous judge had already thrown himself off the bell tower and died before he could even hear the sound of the bell. That day, the bell of solace was born and how the fire began was covered up by the only person who ever looked up to him. Now the bell tower has remained after all these years, but the one person the bell ringer wanted to hear the bell is long gone."
"So, the bell ringer was the one who covered up the truth." Rollo muttered in surprise, "However, how did you know all of this?"
The former headmage smiled and replied, "When you come of age, perhaps, I'll let you have a read. That diary was a dark recollection, after all. Though the diary of the bell ringer was better, it would not make any sense if you did not read the righteous judge's diary first."
He sighed before looking up to the sky that was growing darker, "However, as generous as the bell ringer was, there are some individuals who are far beyond being able to be saved."
Rollo scowled, "Are you speaking of those with the snake tattoo?"
"Yes." The old man frowned, "If my guess is right, the leader was someone your grandfather was chasing after. When your old man was rising in fame for his botany, he continued to push aside any publicity because all he wanted was to continue his studies and spend time with his family. However, one of those who he rejected was someone with such a tattoo. I recall he told me how that man gave off an omnious vibe that he couldn't easily shake off. The next day, he found his wife poisoned and his son was struggling on the ground. When the headmage and I went to the hospital, there was a strange fiery in his eyes that I never seen before. On the trial, he was relentless in his approach. However, he never displayed such raw emotions before. The next morning, we discovered his son had forgotten everything that had happened due to a trauma."
"A trauma?" Rollo frowned.
"Sounds familiar?" The old man frowned, "When they came for you, you also lost a good portion of your memories from trauma. However, even if they fooled this old man once, they won't be able to fool me twice. I believe your trauma was not so simple. However, when I had Peony recheck the site, she found old traces of magic and then found the same old bakery we used to visit. Then, she had to do a full investigation of the situation for all three of us. Yet, the place where your grandfather used to live was sold off to one of their people. She connected the dots and asked me to help her hatch this plan using the trial as bait."
"And sure enough, those people already began putting things on the dark web and even enticed the students." Rollo frowned.
The old man nodded, "I don't know how powerful these people are. They were so stealthy that not even our previous headmage realized they even existed. I had to call in the princess because cultivators, like her, can both see and feel traces of mana. She is even able to feel who the mana belongs to which individual magician."
"So, she must've already known about the flowers." Rollo was shocked, "She knew all this time?"
He nodded, "The moment she stepped in, she felt it all underground. Then, she detected you had the same mana radiating from the flowers and deduced you were the one who had something to do with it. She only came to me for confirmation. She, however, never expected that you would be the second candidate."
"Was she originally one of the candidates to begin with?" He frowned in confusion.
The old man shook his head, "No! In fact, that was the whole reason she prefer to work with the president rather than become one of the candidates. She determined the power struggles and deemed it would be better to work under the president. If she were successful, she would gain his protection until she was old enough to leave her hometown and live her own life. She is a girl with many talents and time. To gain an advantage, she decided to take the medical exam as her first test and received a full score. She became the first child healer at the age of six and and received a license for pharmaceutical license half a year later."
"Hold on! A... A healer license and a pharmaceutical at six years of age?" Rollo looked to him stunned, "Please tell me you're jesting."
"Hahaha! Oh, if only." He smiled, "She wanted nothing to do with government power, so she found the president through my connection instead. However, now that things have come to this, I've decided to entrust the headmage position to her until things become stable. Originally, she intended to remain working as the shadow of the council of magic with the specialized magic unit. However, it really isn't a suitable position for her to be in due to her age. However, it seems not even her both her family wants her to leave."
"Both of her family?"
The man hummed in deep thoughts before continuing, "After tonight, I'll explain things in more detail. It's almost time. You should hurry to the shelter."
"Actually..." Rollo hesitated, "I decided to stay behind and protect the bell."
"WHAT?!" The old man nearly fainted had Rollo not caught him. As he steadied himself on his cane, he looked to him in horror, "Boy, it's much too dangerous for you to be on the tower during the raid, especially if it's you!"
"What do you mean?" Rollo looked to him with a puzzled expression.
The old man sighed as he glanced up at the skies, "We don't have much time. So, I'll explain it now. Listen well!"
Hearing this, Rollo held back a grumble. Now, he has an idea where that girl's strict tone of voice came from...
"As you've heard me say, Peony has families who don't want her to leave. However, I was not just referring to her adoptive family. When she was an infant, her family had a feud with their other relatives. The feud was so terrible that her birth parents lost their lives to those people. They later discovered the magicians and decided to throw her into our society to finish her off. However, she didn't die and was adopted by the fairies. Yet, those people later discovered this and has sent people to go after her and study this world. They were the ones responsible for the attack on City Hall. That was why the president immediately came as soon as she arrived. A couple nights ago, they also faced the danger of those flowers and have felt threaten by you since that night! Peony have caught the majority of them, but a small handful escaped before she ambushed their base within City Hall. If they discovered you during the blot attack, they may come for you this time!"
Hearing this, Rollo was stunned. He hadn't thought there would be so many factors in society. He originally hoped to remain neutral and focus on that. However, now it seems impossible. Just how many factions were there in this world?
"The only reason the council agreed to let her come here in the first place is because they were worried that cultivators have came into the city by accident and began causing trouble. They weren't wrong. The only person able to combat against them are the magicians and her, another cultivator much more powerful than them."
"However, wasn't she just ten when she..." Rollo stopped as he realized the reason why the headmage claimed that working in the shadow was not suitable for her. It wasn't because of her power or character but because she was still young! Because she is still considered a minor!
He paused in deep thoughts before turning to the old man, "Former Headmage, do you trust the current headmage?"
The old man nodded, "Yes. However..."
"You said it yourself. The one who chose this path was the girl. If she agreed to this knowing what was going to happen, she would not have even looked for you for help. If she came to you herself, that means she was already prepared for everything she will encounter. Even now, she doesn't look worn out or depressed with everything. Instead, she still took the initiative and took matters into her own hands. If she was the one who handled the matter in the city hall, then she should know better than anyone that my decision would have placed me into danger. However, she still gave me her approval to protect the bell. If she can gauge my mana, then she should know how skilled I am with magic and she knows I am your student. She would not think of creating schemes against me or let me stand in front of danger. As the headmage, she also have this duty, doesn't she?"
The old man was stunned in surprise. Everything he said makes a lot of sense. Hearing this, the old man chuckled, "Hehehe... What you said is very true. It's starting to remind me of how the princess would always come back to class late and isn't afraid to be scolded."
She purposely missed his classes? Rollo raised a brow, "She was so bold and unfraid? What could have ran through her mind-"
"Well, that day I asked her the same question. 'What is going through your silly little head that you boldly skip class infront of me and dare to come back the next day as if nothing had happened?'" The old man nodded in nostalgia, "Then, she said something that surprised me. In her culture, she remembers, when a teacher takes on a student, then the teacher also acknowledges to take the student and treat them as their own child. The student will also acknowledge the teacher as they would to their own parent and a mother tiger will never harm their cubs no matter how much mischief they get themselves into.' Hehe. That day I was so mad, I dragged her back into class and scolded her. If she dared to skip my class, then what does that mean with how she treats her adoptive parents. But, I was also rather happy when she said this as it certainly has defined the relationship between all of my students and myself. It even defined the relationship between my teacher and his students."
Ugh.
Rollo sighed. It looks like his teacher and the headmage is also a romanticist...
The old man thought to himself quietly before taking a deep breath, "I would like to talk with you in private again. But, that can hold off until tomorrow. If she gave you permission, then it is my job to trust the two of you. You go protect the bell of solace. I'll go help the student council lead the students into the shelter. Leave everything to me and be careful out there."
Be careful? Rollo wouldn't miss this opportunity to give them quite a surprise.
The old man chuckled, "Ah, yes. I think you will definitely like the surprise I give them tonight."
Rollo sighed in defeat. It feels annoying to now have someone who can read his thoughts. Does he not know how to keep such private affairs to himself?!