Meanwhile, inside the Magic Academy Student Council Room.
The Crystal Ball let out a series of sounds that echoed through the Student Council Room, drawing the attention of Wei’erna, who was in the middle of reviewing documents.
“…Huh?”
Wei’erna glanced to the side.
The Crystal Ball on the desk was flickering with an unsteady blue-white light. Fog churned within, and interference from Magus made the image unclear.
He furrowed his brow and pressed his palm against it.
The next second, the image of the Field Trial Grounds surfaced within the sphere.
The location displayed was the northwest section of the examination area.
That region originally belonged to the relatively low-risk outer forest. In theory, as long as Physics Department freshmen didn’t get hot-headed and provoke large Demon Beasts, even if they couldn’t win, they could still use the Academy’s Emblem to send out a distress signal.
But these people had died strangely. There were no signs of combat anywhere around them, yet they were dead.
Wei’erna stared at the image for a few seconds, his expression sinking little by little. He realized these people had been killed by attacks to the spine and throat.
The knife wounds on their necks were neither deep nor shallow, and they deliberately avoided areas that would cause large-scale collapse of the Magic Circuit.
‘Their Magic Circuits were deliberately preserved…? Why would someone do that…’
Wei’erna pressed his brow.
‘Tch… This doesn’t look like something a student could do.’
He continued to shift the image.
The Crystal Ball’s perspective moved along the Trial Grounds, soon shifting near the Lake.
The footage in that area was quite chaotic, with large amounts of purple-red dust floating around.
Especially the Old Camp by the Lake—part of the trees and buildings there had been sliced away by some kind of force.
Wei’erna was silent for a moment.
Then, his stomach made a very poorly timed grumble.
“…”
He looked up at the clock on the wall.
“It’s almost noon… I’m a little hungry.”
While keeping his eyes on the Crystal Ball, Wei’erna stood up and began searching the Student Council Room for something to eat.
His gaze swept over his own drawer. He reached out, opened it, and found it empty.
Then he considered Sailafei’s workstation drawer.
It most likely only contained tools for maintaining swords and guns, or at most shift schedules and things like that.
Finally, he looked toward Ailuwei’s desk.
Her desk had always been kept tidy, with documents neatly organized in the Archive Room.
‘Let’s see if you’ve secretly hidden something tasty~’
He crouched down and gently pulled open the lower drawer.
Inside was a Pudding, complete with a small silver spoon.
Wei’erna’s eyes lit up.
A long-lost, genuine smile spread across his face.
‘As expected, Xiao Ai’s been secretly hiding goodies again~’
He quickly grabbed one, closed the drawer, sat back in his seat, tore open the packaging, picked up the spoon, and scooped a bite into his mouth.
With that first bite, Wei’erna felt himself revived at full HP.
“See, eating is what makes the brain work properly.”
He continued staring at the Crystal Ball while eating.
Just then, the communication Magic lit up.
Lu Xien’s voice came from the other end of the Crystal Ball, as lazy as ever.
“Did you see the footage just now?”
Wei’erna, with a mouthful of Pudding, answered vaguely:
“Saw it. What’s up?”
“Oh, nothing. Just that those kids are all dead.”
Lu Xien’s voice remained light and airy.
“Don’t know how many are left now, and there might be other races making moves from behind.”
Wei’erna swallowed his Pudding.
“So?”
“Sooo…”
“In all these years, the little brats never had something like this happen, let alone an entire area wiped out. Could something weird have snuck into the grounds? This seriously hurts my quality of slacking off.”
Wei’erna was silent for a second.
“Then what about my quality of slacking off?”
He scooped up another spoonful of Pudding.
“Besides, I’m also wounded. The physical injuries have healed, but the mental ones haven’t recovered yet.”
“Go investigate.”
Lu Xien said.
“Get a general picture, then come back and report.”
“Why don’t you go?”
“Because I need to focus on my—teaching research on student Wilderness Survival Training capability assessment.”
“That’s just watching others take exams while you slack off.”
“Also, field research on how far scents spread in outdoor environments.”
“And also—is that barbecue?! Save me some…! Where are you?!”
“Good luck~”
The communication cut off.
Wei’erna stared at the now-silent Crystal Ball and let out a very slow sigh.
He scraped up the last bit of Pudding from the bottom of the cup, then stared at the empty container, falling into a brief silence.
He realized something very serious.
When Ailuwei came back and discovered her Pudding was gone, there would be a lot of trouble.
Wei’erna looked at the empty Pudding cup in his hand. After a brief moment of thought, he made a choice that a Student Council President shouldn’t make, but human instinct would.
Scapegoating.
He walked over to Sailafei’s workstation and placed the empty cup there.
Then, imitating Sailafei’s handwriting, he wrote a small note.
-Thanks for the treat.
Wei’erna looked at the note.
“Perfect.”
He tucked the note under the empty cup, threw on his coat, and quickly left the Student Council Room.
Hopefully Xiao Ai wouldn’t know it was him.
Of course, that kind of hope was usually meaningless.
But after committing a crime, a person always needs a little psychological comfort.
After running for a while, he arrived outside the Archive Room.
Knock knock knock.
No response.
Then he started pounding harder on the door.
“Old man, come out!”
Wei’erna called out in a lowered voice.
“I’m not telling you anything until I get some barbecue!”
Inside the room, Lu Xien indeed heard his knocking.
‘Sigh, isn’t that the Student Council President? I won’t open the door. Mad? Too bad, I can’t hear you~’
He casually cast Silence Magic behind him.
In a good mood, he took out a tin of red tea from the cabinet beside him.
It was a gift the Demon King had given him long ago.
The seal on the tin was extremely precise, said to keep the Tea Leaves fresh for twenty-five years.
Lu Xien opened the lid, and the tea’s fragrance immediately wafted out—rich, with a hint of unique fruitiness.
“This tea.”
He cheerfully poured the leaves into the Tea Set.
“Is absolutely delicious!”
Outside the door.
Wei’erna was still knocking.
Eventually, he started to panic.
‘Don’t tell me I actually have to fly dozens of miles to the Trial Grounds… This is so unfair!!’
“Old man! If you don’t open this door, I’m breaking it down!”
Not a single sound came from inside.
Wei’erna stepped back two paces, took a running start, and launched a kick.
A thunderous flying kick, beautiful enough to be written into the Physics Department textbooks as a cautionary example, slammed into the Archive Room’s thunderous door—and gave himself a thunderous muscle strain.
BANG!
The door didn’t open.
Wei’erna landed, clutching his foot.
“Ow!”
Inside the door, Lu Xien was whistling while brewing his tea.
“Requires masterful craftsmanship.”
Wei’erna’s face turned pale. He realized just how hard this door was.
He drew his Ring Blade and immediately infused the edge with Mana.
“Say goodbye to your door!”
BOOM!
The Archive Room’s door was split open. The sheer force sent wooden splinters flying everywhere.
Rune fragments and residual light particles from the soundproof Barrier scattered together.
Lu Xien, holding his teacup, slowly turned his head.
He looked at the split door, then took a sip of his tea.
Wei’erna walked in with his Ring Blade in hand.
“Playing deaf, are we?”
Lu Xien looked at the door, then at him.
“Repair costs. Charged to your tuition.”
“That’s not important!!”
Wei’erna’s gaze swept past Lu Xien and landed on the Tea Set on the table.
He immediately grew suspicious.
“Where’s the barbecue? Did you already eat it all?!”
Lu Xien looked at his own tea set, then back at Wei’erna.
“What do you mean ‘eat it all’? And… why aren’t you out doing your job yet?”
Wei’erna put away his weapon and sat down in a chair.
“How am I supposed to do the job without you sending me over? That place is far!”
Then Wei’erna said seriously:
“And also… that tea you opened smells amazing. Give me a sip!”
Lu Xien made a disgusted face.
‘Tch, no way I’m having indirect kissing with a man…’
“What’s with that look?”
Wei’erna stared at him suspiciously, not understanding the disgust.
Lu Xien thought for a moment, then took out a new cup from the side and poured some tea into it.
‘Fine, he’s paying for the door anyway. What’s one cup of red tea?’
“Take it. When you get there, find some water to brew it yourself.”
But Wei’erna wasn’t about to play by those rules. He immediately reached out, snatched the entire Tea Set, and turned to run.
“????”
Wei’erna moved with exceptional speed. In the blink of an eye, he was already at the doorway.
“Hm?”
The next second, Lu Xien raised his hand.
Spatial ripples flared.
Wei’erna felt his wrist tighten, and his entire body was grabbed and pulled back by a hand that emerged from a Spatial Rift.
Lu Xien stared at him with a face full of dark lines.
Wei’erna was equally displeased.
“I touched it first!!”
He hadn’t even managed to steal such good tea.
But Lu Xien gave him a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“Safe travels.”
Wei’erna heard a snap of the fingers and looked down to find a Teleportation Magic Circle beneath his feet.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.