124: The Consequences of Drugs

Once Kaiser and the administrative department released an official statement about the situation—detailing what had happened, who had been involved, and about what the school planned to do moving forward—swarms of students began mobbing the medical center. By the time they arrived though, only curtains greeted their curiosity.

“‘This ward of the ICU has been closed off for visitors, thank you for understanding and respecting our patients’ privacy.’ Aw, come on...” A student read out from the flyer taped to the window. He held a wrapped package in his hand while leading a group of similar students. “This is such a good chance to build some good will with an S-Rank hunter and the teacher of Class Zero...”

“Why don’t we just leave our gifts here then? They have our names and class number on them anyway? They can just get it once they wake up!” A girl proposed while holding a box of chocolates in each hand.

“That’s... a really good idea! Yeah!” The first boy nodded while offering a high-five, only to lower his hand once more when he saw the boxes of chocolate. He, however, ended up starting the trend, placing his wrapped box on the floor. One-by-one, other students followed, and a pile formed, sprawling across the ground and rising to waist-height.

On the other side of the medical center though, in another closed ward, lay Nyssa, breathing with slow breaths as she laid in a coffin pose. With everyone else in Class Zero having been released from the hospital by now, her private ward had become the newest hangout spot. Celeste sat on a chair beside the bed, Electra and Ryker leaned against the window while Olivia sat on a chair facing them, and Conrad, Albion, and Titus, sat around a small table playing cards.

“I can’t believe they aren’t letting us see Angelica,” Ryker crossed his arms as a grumble left his mouth. “We’re her students! We’ve been with her for years!”

“Well, we didn’t get to see her last time right? When she had to save some Class One students...” Electra countered as Olivia tapped her lips with a raised eyebrow. “Yeah, when she saved some people in the year above yours. She ended up getting hospitalized and showed back up to class a couple weeks later in a wheelchair.”

“What about your classes in the meantime?” Olivia leaned back in her chair as Alecto appeared behind her, wrapping her arms around Olivia’s neck. “It always feels like you all just don’t have class for half the days we do.”

“Uh... well, yeah, we got a couple days of break before they found a replacement teacher,” Ryker coughed into his fist. “You’re not wrong though, we do get a lot of breaks... Like right now.”

“I’m on break too, the whole school is recovering from this attack,” Olivia shrugged. “So this one doesn’t count. It’s been decades since the actual campus had an attack after all.”

“... Yeah, it’s a weird time, apparently similar attacks happened to a bunch of the other top ranked hunters...” Titus pitched in from the side, taking a break from his card game. “One of Albion’s older siblings also got attacked recently. Something’s going on in the world, and it's hard to say what it is.”

“We might get mobilized to do some missions again,” Ryker warned his underclassmen with a sigh. “If things get bad enough and they start mobilizing students, Class Zero will always be the first. Even Nyssa will get called before anyone from Class One gets called.”

“Which is a little unfair...” Olivia’s gaze softened as she turned to look at Nyssa and Celeste. “Those two are still children after all.”

“It’ll be okay,” Celeste waved off Olivia’s worry with a slight smile. “I’m sure it’ll be within what she can handle. I’m more worried about who’s going to be the new teacher for Class Zero while Angelica heals. I’ve heard that past substitute teachers have often... been...”

“Horrendous, bad, disgusting, creepy. Take your pick,” Electra spat while shaking her head. “I don’t know how they do it, but the teachers are always miles worse than Angelica.”

Olivia chuckled, a faint amusement twinkled behind her eyes as Electra continued her rant. Once she finished a minute later, now out-of-breath and a little red-faced, Olivia could only shrug and with a slight smile. “Well, let me know who ends up being your substitute.”

“Don’t worry, we will,” Ryker nodded while looking out the window. A faint exhale left his mouth, fogging a small portion of the window up.

---

“IT’S KAISER, THE HEADMASTER!” Electra whisper-screamed into the air as she, Olivia, and Ryker sat at a coffee shop a couple days later. “Of course, how could I not realize? Now that his daughter’s in the class, of course he’s going to give us the best treatment. He even taught Class Zero a long time ago...”

---

A week had passed, and both Nyssa and Roxanne had woken up. Nyssa, unwounded, got released within a couple hours. Picked up by her friends, the nurses all smiled as they watched the girl they raised get carried off.

Roxanne, though also cleared, stayed in the locked ward. She sat beside Angelica’s bed, waving off the guild members who came to pick her up with a smile and a “I need a bit of time off, so leave things to our capable vice-guildmaster for now. Let everyone take a break, I anticipate a large wave of chaos coming soon.”

Once left alone though, her eyes softened, and her hands cupped Angelica’s. Angelica, by now, came in and out of fitful sleep. Two bandages wrapped around her chest, hiding the two bloody wounds from where her wings detached. The rest of her body, though appearing fine to the naked eye, had muscle tears and bone fractures from head to toe.

“Ah... it hurts so much...” Angelica whispered with a hoarse voice as she struggled back to the land of the living. Seconds later, she began shifting her body, trying to prop herself up. “I need to get back to my students...”

“Hey! Hey, hey! You dumbass! Why are you getting up?” Roxanne pushed Angelica back down. “My love, what are you doing?!”

“... I have a job...” Angelica sighed.

“Dad’s teaching them right now, you don’t need to worry,” Roxanne reached over, running her hand through Angelica’s black hair. “Just... rest okay? Why did you have to do this to yourself?”

“Because I love you...” Angelica mumbled. “I already said so... Did you forget?”

“I didn’t, I didn’t, don’t get pouty with me,” Roxanne sighed as she squeezed Angelica’s hand before pausing as she looked at Angelica’s eyes. “... What’s with your eyes? Are you hiding something?”

“... No, I’m fine, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Angelica closed her eyes and turned away.

“Spill.” Roxanne let go of Angelica’s hand and crossed her arms. “Otherwise I’m standing up and leaving right now.”

Silence filled the room for a couple seconds. Roxanne, raising her eyebrows, sighed while saying “Fine,” before pushing her chair back and beginning to stand up.

“Wait, I’ll tell you, don’t go...” Angelica turned back to face Roxanne, smiling in relief as Roxanne sat back down. “I... just can’t quite see well right now. My eyes won’t focus, though I can force them to if I devote some attention to it...”

“And?” Roxanne kept her arms crossed.

“And my right eye can’t see color... while my left eye is really blurry, both of these I can’t quite fix with focus...” Angelica confessed as she closed her eyes once more.

“... I really worry for you, my dearest love,” Roxanne grabbed Angelica’s hand, leaning down and pressing her forehead against it. “I really worry so much...”