Minerva occasionally gazed at the empty seat a few rows in front to her right, her face worn with concern.
It had been two days since the disappearance of Percival. As far as she knew, his squad let him venture a tunnel system on his own, and he never came back. The mere thought of it sent shivers down her spine as if the room temperature dropped so low.
She glanced to her left, beside her were her permanent seatmates: Sévir and Sanguinex.
"Sévir, aren't you close to Percival? You don't seem too worried about his disappearance." she said from analysis. She raised her brows in surprise as a slightly disgusted look formed in his face.
"We aren't close. As far as I know, and as far as I care, he's already dead."
The coldness in his voice was impossible not to notice, as much as how impossible it was to ignore as it rang in her ears. How could he say such a thing? As far as she'd seen the past months, they were on good terms, and Percival treated him far better than any students around would, who'd just ignored him on the get-go.
"Are you planning to search for him or something?' he asked, though the curiosity didn't reach his eyes, and vice versa.
She paused, tapping her chin in thought. It wasn't impossible to do that, though there was the possibility of squad missions popping up which would obviously hinder her search.
She glanced at Sévir again, her eyes slightly widening as an idea surfaced, "You'll help me search for your best friend."
A "ha?" sound formed in Sévir's exasperated voice as if he didn't want to do anything related to the matter. A self-satisfied smile grew in her face as she leaned close to his ear and whispered.
"I know your identity.. Would everyone here fail to believe it, given your reputation as the [Pariah Prince]?" The sly tone didn't betray the same look at her face. She had utilised what she had, and it was a huge bomb. It dawned on her that he had nothing against her—after all, she didn't have an ominous reputation like him, nor has she involved herself in something illegal. In fact, if word spread about her discovery of the underground Magiaville, she would easily be praised.. Would it be the same for Sévir?
She watched him gulp, the simple act of swallowing his saliva spoke volumes—she pinned him down.
"..I'll do what I can." he said, his tone low and defeated.
"Splendid!" She clasped her hands together, her sly smile turning to one of joy.
"Don't leave me out of this." said the voice of a girl behind him, catching both their attention—it was Sévir's polymorph, Sanguinex, who seemed to have been listening all this time.
"I don't know what you have against Sévir that easily made him agree, but you best not leave all the work to him—count me in."
The more the merrier, she supposed.
"If you two are free today, then start searching. I will as well."
Both of them nodded. Sévir was choiceless in the matter, while Sanguinex had, and she chose to join in without a second thought.
Just where in the world was Percival? Was he captured or killed? The possibility of him turning heels was impossible—the years of exposure around him spoke for itself.
.
Come the ring of the bell that signalled the beginning of lunch, Minerva walked forward, tailing a group of three.
Given the time, her stomach silently grumbled. Even so, she marched closer towards them without a hint of embarrassment.
"Lena, Mason, Axel." she calmly called out their names, catching their attention.
"Ms. Grosvenor? Do you need something?" Lena calmly replied. Minerva set aside the slight surprise she felt, given every normie she'd talk to would tremble.
"Do you mind if I join you guys for lunch?" she asked politely, concealing her true intentions. Lena glanced back at the guys and nodded, not like they had any reason to refuse.
A little later, they all settled in a common table. She briefly observed their meals—Axel had bread and some appetising creamy white pasta, Mason had bread and two pieces of roasted chicken legs, its texture a blend of brown and black. Lena and herself shared the same choice—a blend of bread, parsley and pink substances similar to the former: Magiabread, the bread from the town she loved a big deal. Due to the huge demand from the students after visiting Magiaville for the tournament, the academy had no choice but to add it to their menu.
The taste sent painful sensations to her cheeks as she nommed on them. The sweet and savoury taste was like garlic bread, which is what it was based on. Given the gung-ho-ness of the Magiavillians in their baking industry, leading to the endless aroma of sweets around the town, the magiabread was sweeter.
The bread was stuffed not just with butter, but chocolate—magiabread had the deluxe of various choices, chocolate and strawberry were the most popular, and Minerva bought four loaves. What more could indicate her love for chocolate magiabread?
Alas, the enthusiasm evident in her joyful face didn't reach the three who ate in silence, most likely pressured by her presence.
"You three won't enjoy your food with this atmosphere," she said, "liven up, I won't bite."
Lena swallowed her food, her eyes glued to Minerva. "Why did you join us for lunch, Ms. Grosvenor?"
"I just wanted to ask some questions." Her tone played between nonchalance and seriousness.
"..Go on."
Minerva smirked to Lena suddenly furrowing her brows. "Hey, don't be so tense. Do you guys have any plans after classes?"
Lena glanced at the guys, nodding to Minerva. "We plan to find Percival."
All of them glanced towards Axel, who clicked his tongue with even deeper furrowed brows. "Seriously? I didn't even agree to that!"
"Axel, Percival's our teammate!" Lena shot back, her pleading voice trying to break through. "We have to find him, it's our responsibility."
Axel stood up, his hands weakly slamming on the table. "You..—it's always Percival that escapes your mouth." he pointed at her. "You got a thing for Percival, don't 'ya!?"
Despite the anger, he suppressed his volume, definitely so they wouldn't catch the crowd's attention. Minerva caught on quickly.
Lena recoiled back, her words stuck in her throat. "N—"
His attempts rendered futile as Minerva stood up, a hand shamelessly slamming the table—That caught the attention of everyone nearby.
"What's with you, Axel!? Why do you seem to be so pissed by the idea of searching for your missing teammate?" she pointed back at him. "You got something to do with his disappearance, perhaps?"
She intentionally raised her stern tone, waging psychological warfare against the already self-conscious Axel, who felt everyones' stares. "What does your silence mean?" she asked, pouring a whole tablespoon of salt in the wound.
Before the suspicion could dig deeper, he frantically shook his head. "I just don't want to risk my life for someone I barely know. If you guys want to find him, then go!" He abruptly grabbed his tray and marched away. His shoulder tensed up on the way, perhaps from Minerva, whose sharp gaze intended to pierce through his thick skin.
A sigh escaped her mouth as she decided to sit down, ignoring the stares of people no matter the intention; something she had already gotten used to. "Mason, are you with him, or with Lena?"
Mason devoured a piece of the chicken. "I'm with Lena." He licked his lips. "Percival's a cool guy, I don't want anything bad to happen to him." he replied as though decided from the beginning.
"Very well. Tell me where was the place you last saw Percival."
Mason covered his burp, followed by a low and polite "excuse me". "We were near a flagpole in northern Nursia."
Lena nodded. "The house we stormed was near the bridge between Gran Summa and Nursia. We can lead you to the place since it had been captured by the Trystan Knights already."
Minerva nodded back. "That would be great. Where did he go specifically before he went missing?"
A sigh escaped Lena's mouth as she looked down, a regretful look in her face. "He went to an underground tunnel his clone discovered in the backyard. He argued it would be more dangerous if we all went in. At the time and even until now, it made sense, and I trusted his ability to fight, but.." Her grip on the table tightened, her mouth shut tight. She couldn't speak further.
Minerva took the hint, resolving not to press her further. "Just lead the way after class."
She stood up with her tray that carried three loaves in hand. The sight of Lena's guilt tightened a screw in Minerva's heart, prompting her to speak. "Don't beat yourself up."
Lena tilted her head up, conflicted.
"You probably made the right call. You can't attack unknown grounds with a disturbed mind and heart."
Having said what she needed to say, she walked away, headed elsewhere to peacefully eat.
.
She pushed the wooden double door open, stretching her arms up as she brought about her grand entrance.. To Sévir, Zephyr, and Sanguinex, who looked dumbfounded. "You guys missed me?" she asked with a smirk, confident of their confirmation.
"Not at the slightest." said Sévir and Sanguinex.
"Ms. Minerva!" Zephyr exclaimed, her face perked up to the sight of her mentor, who she had not seen in days. She was kind of like a puppy who hadn't seen their owner in a short while.
"Here, my gift for you." She tossed the bag of magiabread to Zephyr, who nervously scrambled to catch it in the nick of time.
Immediately, she shut the doors behind her and walked to the round table. "I got some information. Care to listen?"
She caught Sévir and Sanguinex's gaze, ready to listen. Zephyr on the other hand devoured the three loaves of magiabread, she couldn't be bothered to listen when the blush in her cheeks said it all. Not like she was involved anyway.
"So, what's the information you've got?" asked Sévir, who seemed to want to get this over with quickly.
"Percival's team will be leading me to the place they last saw him. I'll do my best to find some traces leading to him when I get there. You two know what that means, right?"
They nodded in understanding. "We'll scout nearby. Which district will you be going to?"
Minerva smirked at his response. "It's rare to see you agree so easily. We'll be going to Nursia, near the [Unus Bridge]."
"Unus Bridge?" he raised a brow, "The bridge linking Gran Summa and Nursia, right?"
She nodded. "I mean, that's the only bridge linking them."
"..Let me help." Zephyr's faint voice spoke up. They all glanced at her.
"No." said Sévir, his stern voice forcing a tense air to brush against Minerva's skin.
"Why not?" Zephyr asked, the confusion reaching Minerva, who raised a brow as well.
"Why do you want to help anyways?" He crossed his arms.
"Obviously because Mr. Percival is my friend! I'll help my friends when they need it." This—a soft smile grew in Minerva's face, her heart soaring in awe and likeness from Zephyr's answer, who stood straight, her determined face inline with her determined voice. She inched closer and rested a hand on her shoulder, her eyes meeting Sévir's.
"Let your sister join us, I'm sure she won't be deadweight."
He slumped his shoulders, sighing in resignation. "That's not what I'm worried about.. Whatever. We'll be operating after school, right?"
Minerva nodded.
"Zephyr, you go with Minerva." he commanded without compromise. Zephyr nodded, who seemed to have no problems with it.