Chapter 41: Undercurrents

“Miss Catherine has met with a mishap?”

Mel's eyes widened, then she was signaled by Vilnia with a look.

“We'll talk after class.”

“Mm.”

Mel nodded lightly, then refocused her attention on Ridel until the lunch break bell rang.

After Ridel left, Vilnia walked up to the lectern, her gaze falling on the textbook he had not taken with him.

The girl ignored the gazes of others, very naturally picking up the textbook, and then flipped through it.

There was nothing special about the textbook, the only thing that made Vilnia frown was the insignia of an endless codex printed on the title page.

That was the insignia of (Knowledge).

In reality, there was nothing special about this.

Most educators were followers of (Knowledge), and textbooks published by Saint Clement's Lyceum or the Ivory Tower all carried this insignia.

Vilnia put down the textbook in her hand and returned to Mel's side as if nothing had happened.

“There's nothing special about the textbook, it's not some evil scripture.”

The hallway during the lunch break was empty, with only the sounds of frolicking coming from a distance.

“Teacher Catherine has disappeared.”

Vilnia sat on a chair, her tone heavy.

“The last time I sensed her presence was yesterday evening, after that the connection was severed.”

Hearing this, Mel's brow furrowed tightly.

Catherine was one of Vilnia's flock, which meant her life and death were bound to Vilnia.

And now, this connection was severed, which could only mean one thing—Catherine had met with a mishap.

Mel had also experienced this feeling once yesterday, but considering her flock were the dead themselves, it was highly likely that Allen and the others had directly destroyed the bodies to eliminate traces.

“Although I can't be sure it was Ridel who did it, it must be related to the Omniscience Society.”

Vilnia said in a low voice.

“The Omniscience Society planted their people in the school, what are they preparing to do....”

Mel asked, puzzled.

“Shouldn't their most important matter right now be to hold the ritual?”

“How do you know?”

Vilnia raised an eyebrow.

“I saw it in the memory of that plague doctor mask.”

Mel explained, “After I shepherded him, I let him escape through the kitchen window and return to his companions. The Omniscience Society seems to have a tendency to split internally, a small group advocates for striking first, but more people, including that person called Allen, advocate for taking it step by step. Yesterday's attack seems to have been initiated by those radicals without authorization, and they were punished by Allen afterwards. Those radicals were all executed by Allen using a strange method, and at the end, I also heard Allen telling his companion to speed up the progress.”

Listening to Mel's description, Vilnia's brow furrowed even deeper.

“If that's really the case, then their attention should be on the ritual right now.... Why find someone to infiltrate the school? Even if they're coming for you, they shouldn't be using this method, this isn't the best way. Not to mention, I can think of simpler and more successful methods myself, what's wrong with that?”

Vilnia hadn't finished her words when she found Mel looking at her with a complex expression.

“What methods can you think of?”

Mel scooted towards the wall, looking at Vilnia warily.

“Ahem, it's nothing.”

Vilnia showed an awkward yet polite smile, “I was just making an analogy, don't mind it. In short, what I mean is, although the Omniscience Society has designs on you, at least Ridel's presence in the school shouldn't be for you. At least, not entirely for you.”

“In that case, the problem is even bigger, isn't it?”

Mel said softly.

“It would be fine if they were just coming for me, but if they have other intentions for coming to the school, then the problem is even more serious. What if—”

“Let's go, Mel, let's go eat first.”

Before Mel's voice had fallen, Vilnia suddenly pulled her by the hand, stood up, and walked towards the door.

Just as Mel was still trying to process why the other's train of thought had jumped so suddenly, she heard Vilnia speak with a smile:

“Good afternoon, Mr. Ridel.”

“Good afternoon, Randell, and Rossetti.”

Ridel, who had walked over at some unknown time, responded with a smile, “Are you going to the cafeteria?”

“Mm.”

“Then I wish you a good appetite.”

Ridel smiled, then turned and left.

Not until the man's figure disappeared at the end of the hallway did Vilnia finally let out a sigh of relief and turn to look at Mel.

“Let's go, Mel, we're going to eat.”

School Cafeteria

Amidst the noisy chatter, the two found a secluded corner to sit down.

The cafeteria was filled with the aroma of food, but at this moment, neither of them had much of an appetite.

“He was following us.”

Vilnia poked at the food in front of her with a fork.

“He's been nearby ever since we started talking.”

“I didn't notice at all.”

Mel frowned, “How did he do it?”

“Some kind of mystical art to block perception, or a mystical art to reduce his own presence, anyway, a Shepherd of Knowledge, is not lacking in mystical arts.”

Vilnia lowered her voice.

“If I hadn't happened to see his shadow, I'm afraid we'd still be in the dark right now.”

Mel recalled the content of their earlier conversation and her heart skipped a beat: “Doesn't that mean...”

“Don't worry, what we said was very cryptic.”

Vilnia comforted her, “And even if he found out, it wouldn't be a big deal. We've both dealt with the Omniscience Society, they've known about us for a long time. To dare to appear openly under these circumstances can only mean that they must have some kind of backing, or they don't take us seriously at all.”

A cold light flashed in Vilnia's eyes, “I think their target might be the entire school.”

“You mean...”

“They want to turn the school into a sacrifice.”

Vilnia looked directly into Mel's eyes.

“A school that teaches knowledge, hundreds of students thirsty for knowledge, plus a dozen or so devout teachers... What a perfect sacrifice.”

Hearing this, Mel gasped.

If Vilnia's guess was correct, then the situation was much more serious than she had imagined.

But for some reason, Mel felt that some things still didn't add up.

After the two finished their lunch, they prepared to return their utensils to the proper place.

Just then, Mel glanced around the cafeteria, then raised her eyebrows.

“Why does it feel like there are a lot of people from outside the school eating in the cafeteria today?”

“Seems like they're moving things.”

Vilnia also took a look, then said.

“When I came, I saw several carts placed by the small warehouse, maybe they're expanding. These people should have no connection to the Omniscience Society—at least no direct connection.”

“Why?”

“Because people who believe in (Knowledge) have a kind of arrogance in their bones.”

Vilnia said, “Let's not even talk about the Truth Poetry Society, which has high intelligence requirements for its members; even the Omniscience Society has a certain educational threshold. And they all have a common problem—that is, they all look down on manual laborers. Alright, let's go quickly.”

Vilnia said, placing her hands on Mel's shoulders and pushing her out of the cafeteria.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.