158: Witness

Witness

After Professor Stella said those words, she shifted her attention to Vale's group and continued calmly.2

"You three, you don't have to answer their questions for now. As Professors, we'll have to investigate the authenticity of their claims first before we even start questioning you. You can't just meet with another Arcane Arts Practitioner in these types of cases… You have to be careful as they might have the ability to control the mind or your voice or even the opinion of people by using some sort of beguiling artifact or something similar."

Vale couldn't help but smile after hearing Professor Stella's lecture…

If there was an attribute for affection, his affection points for Professor Stella would certainly rise by a point or two.

Instead of speaking with them in a commanding tone, she explained what they have to do calmly and even faced the old professor without any hesitation.

It must be remembered that Professor Russel Ravinie wasn't just an old professor but someone who had come from a great background while Professor Stella Harrison did not!

Disagreeing with him might not be a good idea if Professor Stella doesn't want to be troubled by a big family.

Vale looked at Philip and Priscilla for a moment as they were obviously a bit shocked by what Professor Russel just said.

First of all, there is indeed something wrong with the claims of the Rakmiths Academy's professors.

They had not attacked anyone aside from Brylle and Terrence's group. It was surely a lie that they strangled a bunch of first-year and second-year students.

'Did Terrence and Brylle think that making this case bigger would cause trouble for us?' Vale inwardly sighed as he nodded to Professor Stella.

"We understand, Professor Stella. We're going to return to our rooms. We'll let you handle this matter… and thank you for trusting us."

"Thank you for trusting us." Philip and Priscilla added in unison.

Actually, Philip was already thinking of revealing the Recording Crystal to them but Vale gestured to him to hide it first.

"Let's see what would happen first. I'm a bit curious about Professor Russel's actions."

Vale muttered as he stood up first to leave the dining area.

"Professor Russel? Do you think he's helping those guys?" Priscilla asked.

"I think so… That person doesn't like me for some reason so he must be so happy after hearing that the Professors from Rakmiths were looking for us." Vale replied.

"Very well… We'll listen to you and wait for Professor Stella's actions."

As they went upstairs, they met a few students who looking at them…

To Vale's surprise, he noticed someone looking at him with hostility…

He barely knows anyone here so he was clueless why someone would look at him with such malice.

Vale swept his eyes as he tried to get a better look at the person who was giving him such a cold gaze. He did it naturally so he was sure that he wasn't noticed at all.

'Hmm? Do I know that person?' Vale paused for a moment as he tried to recall the person. Unfortunately, nothing was coming out of his memory.

After entering their shared room, Vale asked Philip and Priscilla about the person.

"Do you guys know of that senior student seated close to the counter? He has thick eyebrows and short hair… It's a bit dark where he was seated but he should have a tinge of purple hair."

Priscilla visualized the image of the man as she immediately had an idea.

"The one wearing a dirty gray overcoat? I think he went to the mines a while ago but forgot to clean himself."

"That's right… Now that you said it, I think his coat was quite dirty." Vale replied with a nod.

"If that's the case, it must be Dale… If I'm not mistaken, he was previously Professor Russel's student assistant for about 2 Academic Years. He should be a fifth-year student by now under the Essential Corruption Department."

Priscilla replied as Philip acknowledged it with a nod.

"You know him that well? I'm impressed. Is he someone special?" Vale asked in surprise. He didn't expect that Priscilla and Philip would know about the person he was talking about so he felt that this Dale might be someone important.

Philip and Priscilla looked at each other with smiles on their faces before they answered.

"The Mystical Artifacts that we both have were products we obtained from the Essential Corruption Department of the Academy. My item was called Lesser Corruption Whistle while my brother's bracelet that could summon that dark sword was called Lesser Corruption Sword Armlet… I've seen Dale a few times before." Priscilla explained.

"Why are you asking about him?" It is now Philip's turn to ask.

Vale wryly smiled at this and explained what he just felt from him... He also mentioned how he suspects the guy to be one of Professor Russel's accomplices so they have to be careful around him.

"I think that the Professor has already made an agreement with the people from Rakmiths Academy… If Professor Stella failed to straighten the matter. I'll be needing your help." Vale said.

"Of course! We're all in this together! Isn't that right, brother?"

"There's no doubt about that." Philip replied without any hesitation.

***

After about an hour, Vale had a quick and refreshing nap...

While Priscilla and Philip were filling nervous, he actually had the nerve to take a nap which baffled the two.

Anyway, as Vale was washing his face, he and the other two heard a knock on their door followed by the familiar gentle voice of their professor.

"Vale, Priscilla, Philip... I need to talk with the three of you." Her voice was tired as if she had gone through a long battle.

Philip immediately let her in and gave a stool for her to sit on.

Professor Stella didn't wait for them to ask and explained what had happened.

"It seems that the professors of the Rakmiths Academy had come prepared. I confirmed just now that the first-year and second-year students were indeed attacked by some sort of Dark Spell. It appears to be a Ghost Hand at an intermediate realm or higher."

"That's impossible! We didn't attack any first-year students at all!" Priscilla said while raising her voice as could no longer stay silent.

"We didn't do it, professor. It could be anyone… Why are they targeting our group?" Philip asked.

At this time, Professor Stella shook her head as she explained. "They have a witness and it's a student in our Academy. He said that he didn't stop you guys since he also has an important mission and he can tell that you were not planning to kill them and just teach them a lesson. His name is Dale Morvell."

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