Team villains except me

Chapter 535 The truth about death

Awkward people use their stories to release kindness.

Alita told her story without reservation, looking at Nolvia with calm and determined eyes. Alita was a reliable adult like Teacher Matija.

"Ms. Aelita, I don't think it was a wasted effort."

Nolvia spoke softly.

Alita looked at Norvia and thought the child's eyes resembled the blue margarita she had drunk before. Valerio's student had eyes like blue curaçao syrup.

Aelita found this very amusing and she laughed out loud.

"Of course not. That's just a meaningless lament. No matter how many times I tell my own story, it still stirs up emotions. My original intention was to distract you from comforting me, so I used my own story to distract you, but as I continued, my emotions gradually rose. I can't do anything about Valerio, and I can't do anything about myself like this.

In this disaster, our reasons for grief are different, but the Beast Warrior and Valerio who died were both important to you, and you bear double the pain. Under these circumstances, you're still able to spare some time to care for me. That's very thoughtful, but it's very hard on you. A young person under twenty shouldn't have such patience. At twenty, Valerio couldn't stand the slightest injustice. When I was in Abersgar, I was often punished for breaking school rules. No one in our team was this considerate. The only one who might have been was Raphael, but he disappeared long ago.

…Anyway, none of this involves you. I’m an adult and I’m in charge of my own emotions. What you should do is vent your overwhelming emotions to me.”

Nolvia stared at Alita in amazement. After a moment, she softly responded.

"Thank you, but I'm fine."

"Experienced with death?"

"……what?"

"The first time you face the death of someone close to you, your reaction won't be so calm. A numb reaction means you've experienced it many times, and each time it was someone as important as that Beast Warrior and Valerio.

Nolvia Laili, you don't need to comfort me. Instead, I hope you can make some demands on me."

Alita didn't think Nolvia would make any requests, but to her slight surprise, Nolvia spoke.

"...If possible, I would like copies of the documents on divine knowledge that you have sent to Mr. Valerio over the years."

"Yes. Valerio has carefully kept the letters we sent him. You can go to Dade later and take the originals. They are not confidential."

"Thank you."

Alita said nothing.

She leaned against the wall, as if listening to someone's heartbeat.

There was no sound in the room. Alita's expression became a little worse. She asked Nolvia.

"Suha said you were working for Julia. What do you know about Julia?"

Norvia didn't know Julia very well. Julia was very busy, so her interactions with her had to be brief and effective.

Alita soon realized this as well.

She considered it for a moment, then spoke quickly.

"If little Valle doesn't wake up, I don't think we can continue to stay in Abersig as his agent. Julia is a very good elder. When we were studying in Abersig, she was very kind to us and helped us a lot.

But Julia is definitely not the weak puppet that people say she is. She is even more powerful than Valerio. This is why Julia is the dean instead of the chairman. As a leader, she is more strict in selecting and disciplining her subordinates than Valerio. If Valerio cannot wake up, she will not use the power left by Valerio.

The Smith family believed in Deus, the god of life. Abersgard was the Smith family's property, but in the past, the Smiths had not been obsessed with controlling it. Most of them served in management, but few would become deans.

Julia and Valerio stayed in Abesgar because of the Dieus Oracle. Dieus's pointer eventually pointed to Julia, who was holding little Valerio. Most people believed that Valerio was responsible. Julia was a bard and had no aggressive nature. Becoming the dean of one of the world's three major magic academies was like going straight to death.

But Julia and Valerio initially misunderstood the oracle. Changes occurred in the Smith family, and Valerio's parents died. However, after many twists and turns, Julia and Valerio finally returned to Abersgard.

Valerio's methods were tough, but behind him, Julia was even more decisive. Julia had written poetry in her early years, and Valerio showed us a few of hers.

Aelita paused.

“I remember a poem.

[I wish all the ugly malice in the world would die under my sharp sword/

The backlash of the flames washes my soul with pain/

I will find joy in the grave to relieve my itch/

The dusk turns into the cry of swans circling in the wilderness

I will look for a sharp sword/

The gushing blood is my hymn.

Did you hear that? Julia isn't as harmless as she appears. I'm not saying anything bad about Julia, but she might just end up wiping us out. Julia and Valerio are family, but Julia won't trust us the way she trusts Valerio. The chairmanship won't remain vacant, and Julia won't let us use Valerio's power any longer.

Norvia was well aware of this.

Julia Smith has been watching the development of Abersgård from behind Valerio. As the dean, she is absolutely cautious and objective. She will not allow Valerio to hand over all his responsibilities and power to his teammates.

The agreement between Norvia and Julia served as a safeguard against such changes.

The door clicked open.

Julia opened the door, revealing a tired face. She hugged Alita first.

"I can't find out why he's unconscious. Alita, I'm leaving Valerio in your hands. Protect Valerio and leave everything else to me."

Alita rested her chin on Julia's shoulder and her voice was low.

"Before Valerio left, we all applied to become temporary lecturers at Abersgar. Suha, as the interim president, stamped the academy's official seal. Aunt Julia, when little Valerio wakes up, he will still be the president."

Julia said nothing.

Perhaps she should be happy that someone loved her little Valais, but at the moment, she felt it was more of a nuisance. In the current of time, the mistakes made by personal choices seemed minor. And kinship couldn't sustain this, which involved personnel changes at the academy.

"Alita, are you sure that Valerio will wake up one day?"

"Aunt Julia, can you really ask such a thing? Valerio has worked so hard over the years. He did it for you—"

"He's not doing this for me. He's doing it for revenge, for his ideals. I also have my beliefs and ideals, and we're all fighting for our respective goals in life. Alita, go in and see Valerio. Abersgar doesn't need temporary instructors for the time being, and we have plenty of teaching staff. I'll ask Norvia to see if there's a suitable position for you. If so, you'd be welcome to join Abersgar."

Julia let go of Aelita and turned to Nolvia.

"Go check on Valerio. I'll meet you in the next room. Time is short. Prepare your questions. You have a lot of work to do."

Julia's steps were steady, and she did not look back at Valerio, not even once.

Nolvia followed behind Alita. She could clearly feel Alita wavering, and then tears fell on her thick coat, making a very dull sound.

Norvia sees Valerio.

The chairman was rarely so quiet and obedient. He was arrogant, cunning, and calculating. He was always thinking about something, wearily hiding one secret after another, and repeatedly changing his conception of the new world.

Teacher Valerio, lying on the bed with his eyes closed, felt very strange to Norvia. She thought of the messages she had sent to Teacher Valerio, and she always looked for answers from him.

"...Go find Julia. He won't react to anything you do here. I originally thought Julia could find out why Valerio fell into a deep sleep. It doesn't matter. If she can't, there's always someone who can. Valerio can't lie here forever."

Alita's voice was flat.

"Nolvaya, it's good that Julia trusts you. Don't worry about us. There won't be any suitable positions for us."

……

“Don’t bother finding suitable positions for them.”

Julia's eyes were always on her communicator, and her mind was not at all on Nolvia sitting opposite her.

"The academy will be very busy during this period. I will be appointing a new chairman. You are Valerio's student and you have recently handled related work. I need your assistance to the new chairman."

"Dean Julia, can't a student temporarily serve as dean?"

Norvia's words were quite offensive.

Julia took the time to look up at her, then flatly refused.

"You can't. The college league will start soon. Your team is one of the main forces of Abersgar, and I need you to play seriously. Don't waste time. What's your problem? Tell me quickly. After you finish speaking, go and comfort Matija's family. I know you have a good relationship. You can preside over Matija's funeral—"

"Sorry, teacher, I can't."

Nolvia rarely refused a mission from Julia, but she couldn't do this.

Julia hadn't expected to be rejected. She put down the communicator and observed Norvia's expression.

"That's strange. You rejected me twice because of Mattia. Laili, control your emotions. I'm grieving too, and I'm not a robot, but I can't have emotions in this position. I raised Valerio. After my brother and sister-in-law passed away, I always protected Valerio. He's like my son. Seeing Valerio unconscious, I was heartbroken. But I still need to work.

"Nolvaya Leli, you can't be president while you're still a student. But you can after you graduate. I have high hopes for you. Even for Valerio, don't let me down."

"I won't preside over Teacher Mattia's funeral. Dean Julia, my emotions are part of who I am. If I lose them, I'll be nothing but a machine. A machine can't be president, can it?"

There was no emotion in Norvia's eyes, but Julia could feel that the mermaid opposite her was a little out of control emotionally.

Julia didn't dwell on the matter. She picked up her communicator and spoke in a normal tone.

"That job will be given to someone else. Now tell me your problem."

"I want to know the real cause of Teacher Mattia's death."

"Sometimes ignorance is bliss. Knowing too much does you no good."

"Is it because of the evil god?"

Julia flipped through the communicator and replied to the message. After a while, Julia spoke lightly.

"It has nothing to do with the evil god. It's a monster from the southern continent. Matija wasn't ambushed; she committed suicide. She was devoured by those faceless, humanoid beasts, and her body is incomplete.

Valerio's coma was caused by the wave of strange beasts in the northern continent. The wave of strange beasts in the northern continent coincided with the outbreak of monsters in the southern continent.

By the way, speaking of this, I should have announced something today. The Academy League's venue has been moved to the Northern Continent. It was originally scheduled for the Southern Continent, but it's now blocked off. There's something unusual about those humanoid beasts, so our academy has teamed up with professionals from various countries to investigate.

Before her death, Matija recorded her final words on the communicator, but they cannot be published yet. I also cannot tell you exactly what happened. Similarly, this information can only be circulated among your team, and the outside world cannot know it. Just like the monster in the pit, known to everyone in the southern continent, this is also a secret. Even so, I've revealed enough information to you. If you are as smart as I think you are, you should be able to piece together the truth.

I hope you're prepared. Knowing this gives you an advantage, but also a lot of responsibility. Any other questions?"

Nolvia was shocked to hear the news, but she quickly adjusted herself.

"Yes. Dean Julia, who is our instructor for 'Send You Home' this month?"

"Let me take a look. Magik Pal... I'm not familiar with this teacher, but it's him, no surprise. He applied very actively and with good reasons. It turns out that Valerio is in charge of these matters."

Nolvia frowned slightly.

"Teacher Julia, the college league is very important. I hope we can find a new instructor who is familiar with college affairs and the college league process."

Julia didn't think it was an unreasonable request. She wasn't familiar with Majik Pal either; she vaguely remembered that the teacher had just returned to the academy and had been recovering from an injury.

Julia flipped through the communicator.

"—Then let's change to Karen."