Viva had gone to inspect the region outside the city of Radcliff where they suspected Beelzebub had been defeated, and what Viva saw there nearly took her breath away! The landscape had been reshaped by that battle! Mountains had been evaporated to dust, and there was a massive crater left in the center of the plains like some great god had simply scooped out an entire city! Even now, days after the battle ended, there was still an intense pressure from the residual mana around the region, and Viva couldn’t help but compare what she saw on that battlefield to the things she had read about the Hero Verati in all the stories! The way the entire landscape had been reshaped was almost identical to the things Viva had heard about Verati’s power!

A part of Viva wanted to come right out and just ask Percival if she was right about her suspicion, but another part of her knew that if she was right, then it would be awkward to find out about it! The fact that Percival was willing to hide his identity and settle into common life as a librarian meant he did not want the hero worship, and since Percy was her saviour, Viva had a responsibility to protect that secret with her life!

Viva made a mental resolution to never allow anyone find out about Percy’s true identity! Even when the other officers had asked if she remembered what happened in the cave, Viva told them that she had passed out as well, so there was no way she would know! Viva felt like this was her own way of repaying Percy for what he had done for her!

Percy blinked as he noticed Viva was just staring at him and smiling like some sort of weirdo, and Percy snapped his fingers in front of her face to bring her back to the present.

"Are you alright in the head, Viva?"

"!"

Viva suddenly jolted in surprise, and her cheeks heated up in embarrassment as she realized she had been staring all this time! Viva quickly apologized, and Percy just asked her what the hell was going on. The two guards were still guiding students out of the library, and Viva suddenly turned serious again as she spoke up.

"We have an announcement we want to make, and we wanted to make sure none of the students could hear us. There’s been a message from the royal palace that an important personality will be visiting Aquinas City in the next few days. We got a list of all the places they wished to see during their visit, and the Verati Academy was on the list as well. City guards have been dispatched to all the important areas to ensure their safety when they eventually arrive."

Once Viva was done talking, Rita came from behind and spoke.

"I don’t suppose you could tell us who this important personality is?"

Viva shook her head and said she couldn’t.

"For their own safety, we were told not to reveal their identity."

Percy hummed, and he decided that it didn’t matter.

"Alright, then. If that’s all, then you can leave. Tell the students they can come back in on your way out."

Percy was about to go back down to his research lab, but he was surprised when Viva cleared her throat and spoke up again.

"Uhm... I don’t think you understand what I was trying to say. When I said the guards were dispatched to the areas where the personality will be visiting, I meant we were told to blend into those areas to make sure there is nothing dangerous around."

Percy turned back around, and he narrowed his eyes as he listened to Viva. For some reason, Percy didn’t like where this was going at all!

Viva could already see the annoyance growing on Percy’s face, and she decided to just come out and say it!

"My colleagues and I were sent to Verati Academy, and we spoke to the headmaster about how to best blend in. My colleagues were put into various departments that would allow them to keep an eye on things inside the school, and I was told to stay here in the library... as a temporary staff."

Viva smiled at Percy, and Percy’s eye twitched in annoyance. Percy knew without a doubt that this entire madness had been orchestrated by Leonart on purpose! That old bastard!

’The next time I see him, I’m going to shove that cane up his ass.’

Up in the headmaster’s office, Leonart felt a shiver go through his body, and he wondered where all that killing intent was coming from!

Percy scratched the back of his head and spoke up while eyeing Viva calmly.

"Look, we don’t really need any guards here to keep us safe. You can find some other department to blend into."

"Hey, are you trying to defy the orders from the city guard? You should be grateful that we’re using your library for our mission!"

One of the guards from the back suddenly spoke up in annoyance when he heard Percy’s tone. This man was a large fox-human hybrid with orange hair, sharp teeth, and a tail! The fox walked forward to try and confront Percy, but the man suddenly stopped as he felt killing intent flowing off Rita’s body! Rita was glaring at him with piercing red eyes, and the man actually took a half-step back in fear! It felt like he would die if he dared get any closer!

Viva immediately spoke up, and she told her colleagues that she could handle this!

"You two can go finish your patrols. I’ll be okay. When you’re done with the patrols, you can go to your assigned departments."

The two officers were obviously still hesitant, but Viva gave them a look to show that she was not asking, and they eventually decided to do as they were told! After Viva’s excellent performance while solving the previous murder cases, she had gained a lot more respect among her peers in the City Guard, so even though she wasn’t a lieutenant yet, most of the regular officers listened to her orders like she was! Once the officers left, Viva turned back to Percy and Rita, and she apologized to them.

"I’m sorry about them."

Percy waved the apology away calmly.

"It’s fine. But I still don’t think you need to stay here. We have enough staff already, and you’ll just be taking up space. If there’s any danger, then we can take care of it ourselves."

Percy was about to leave, but Viva spoke up loudly!

"Wait! I don’t plan to be a burden at all! I’m willing to work if you need me to! I’ll do anything you want around the library, and I’ll stay out of your way. This mission is really important to me because I could get a promotion if it goes well! I really need this!"

Viva put her hands together and pleaded with Percy, and Percy rubbed the back of his head with an annoyed sigh. Percy still didn’t want to allow Viva to stay. Not only did Percy think she was annoying, but Percy and his girls had already formed a good system that worked for them. Adding someone new to the mix was only going to disrupt their system!

Rita hummed as she eyed Viva calmly before she leaned into Percy and whispered to him.

"I think it’ll be okay."

Percy raised a brow at her in surprise.

"Really?"

Percy did not think Rita would agree to this at all. After all, Rita was even more protective of this library than Percy was! Percy asked Rita if she was really okay with it, and Rita just smiled and nodded. Percy huffed calmly and decided that it would be alright.