Chapter 43: Revealing Freya's Secret [3]
Freya's POV:
A guy, skin pale enough to contest the first snowfall in Frostfall province, his digit pointed at the food containers—or at least what was left of them. The charred remnants, that is.
"All the containers are open, which means that whoever burned the ration, did so in a hurry," brainless Noah exhaled his speculation, his gaze fixed on Aeravat.
I couldn't contain my mirth at the fool.
'He is so stupid!' feelings reciprocated into thoughts, I was struggling to stifle the amusement bubbling within.
The scene infront of me brought joy.
There was no evidence to link me to this act, and it was highly unlikely that a retard, like Noah, could ever deduce that much.
Noah Grey, I knew the donkey well enough.
We was in the same preschool as me, but I certainly wouldn't call us friends.
Even just the idea of being friends with that loser? Outrageous!
As far as I remember, there was nothing special about him in the slightest. An average Joe, if you will.
He was often the target of bullying, easily overwhelmed by those around. A stark contrast to a genius like myself; I always excelled, both in academics and magic since childhood.
There was nothing special about Noah- no... wait...
'No,... now that I think about it, there was one strange thing about him,' my eyes squinted as the bygone past suddenly crashed in like an uninvited guest.
Unspoken, but believed by many, there was a dark past to Noah's childhood.
Nobody had ever seen his parents, and by nobody, I mean no-fucking-body. Not even the teachers, or even the officials of hero program. It was strange, very strange.
Rumors painted him as an orphan but some said he has a family.
This notion fueled the others to taunt him, nicknaming him with curses like whoreson. Only deserving.
Well whatever, it didn't matter. It was the past and he was no one important in this world.
"So the culprit hastened to escape before anyone arrived? He was in a hurry..." Emily asked.
"Or a she?" Noah added.
Emily put her hand in her chin in a thoughtful motion,"And since this culprit was in a hurry, they decided to open the containers rather than taking the time to remove the food one by one?"
With a frown, Emily added, "But why would the spy do that if he could simply destroy the containers before setting them on fire?"
Noah paced back and forth as he continued his nonsense, "The containers, as you know, have magic enchantments for protection against fire magic. Whoever the spy was, could have used a weapon to break the contrainers."
He stopped in his tracks, "Break them and then use fire to obliterate the food, but didn't..."
Surprisingly, Noah's words began to align with what I actually did.
'Huh? Wasn't he supposed to be dumb?'
Indeed I didn't use a weapon because I am a mage, but how did he draw that conclusion?
Hushed collective gasps rippled through the once-mocking crowd. The realization of validity in Noah's words.
The students who previously taunted him now listened attentively.
"If I was the spy, I would make sure that not even a trace of food could be salvaged," Noah spoke as he rubbed the tips of his index and thumb finger, emphasizing his point.
With each step, Noah continued his clever flow of insight, now making his way towards our group—a gathering of people with fire affinity.
"It is clear," Noah declared. "The spy, in their hurry, failed to break the containers. This resulted in some ration being spared from the flames. It only means one thing: the culprit was of pure mage class, not a warrior!"
In that very moment, my pupils dilated. It felt like he read my status window...
After a short pause, a machete was in Noah's hand.
Without hesitation, he raised it high, slashing through the charred remnants of the containers. "If the culprit was a warrior, why not just destroy the food containers using a weapon?" Noah directed his gaze at Aeravat,"Before burning them!" His voice thundered, and understanding slapped everyone in the face.
Suddenly, a surge of disbelief washed over me.
How could that fool...
Unintelligent Noah...flawlessly solving the puzzle?
My heart quickened its pace as panic suddenly entered me.
'How did he come to such conclusions?'
But I forced myself to remain composed.
Rationally thinking, there was no solid evidence to link this act to me.
There was no way Noah could figure out that it was me.
It simply wasn't possible.
Understanding hit Aeravat and our group of seventy was further divided into two: one with fifty students and the other with twenty.
As the groups were divided, I found myself among the twenty students who were exclusively mages, not warrior.
I took a moment to steady my breathing, trying to dismiss any rising panic.
'No, they can't possibly figure out that it was me,' I reassured myself, recalling the precautions I had taken.
I deleted all chat history and call logs.
There was no solid evidence that could frame me as the spy! I was safe!
'I'm safe!'
***
Noah's POV:
I saw Freya's composed face, her indifference evident as she stood motionless, seemingly unbothered by the unfolding events.
With no concrete evidence, there was indeed no reason for her to fear.
I mean she already deleted her chat history.
Carefully scrutinizing the mages, I feigned Sherlock, examining the scene of incidence, as I walked around aimlessly.
My bullshiting was so on point that even I was surprised by my acting.
Then, approaching the group, I 'inspected' their attire and belongings.
Next, I asked if anybody witnessed someone near the cooking tent moments prior the explosion.
I anticipated Luke Armstone. I instructed him to keep an eye on Freya and create a mud pool near the tent for her to 'unknowingly' step on.
Mud wasn't common in the type of forest we were in. It was artificially designed and it never rained.
Although confused by my request, Luke complied, perhaps motivated by the incident where Nano test ran the battle mode.
Anyway, Luke testified supporting my suspicions.
"Yes!" he declared, pointing towards a specific group of boys and Freya. "I saw them near the area just before the explosion!"
Taking advantage of the situation, I pointed directly at him. "Since Luke witnessed them, I have a theory about who the spy is," I confidently stated, shifting my gaze towards Freya with a disdainful scowl—the same one she had been presenting me in the class since my enrollment.
"Why are you looking at me, rascal?!" Freya demanded in anger.
An anger, or a protective mechanism for the fear inside? I wanted to chuckle.
But damn, Frey was cute... and I would have loved to simp for her, if it wasn't for her attitude. Now, I will have to break her.
Ignoring the npcs rage, I approached the main cast.
"Hey, rascal Noah, I'm talking to you!" Frey shouted from behind.
With a 'shaking' hand, I pointed at Freya and voiced my bullshit, "It's j-just a small theory which I came up with, but I think she could be the s-s-spy!"
Curiosity piqued, Aeravat quierd, "What makes you so sure?"
"Her foot. It's covered in mud, and I saw a small pool of mud near the tent. None of the others have mud stains on them...o-only her. An-and, it looks fresh too!" I downcast my gaze in 'fear', not wanting to look at Freya.
There were mixed reactions in the crowd:
- "Oh, that could be true."
- "Sounds logical."
- "I think he might be onto something."
-"Let him cook!"
Inwardly, I scoffed. My theory was baseless, a mere fabrication. A pure bullshit.
Takahashi, surprising me, spoke up. Leaning against a tree, he remarked, "Well, everything you've presented so far only adds more possibility to your theory. But remember, it remains just that—a theory."
His words struck a chord, reminding me to stay cautious and consider all possibilities, even as the attention seemed to shift toward Freya.
Freya's frustration boiled over as she stomped towards me, her tone aggressive. She pointed her finger at my chest and threatened, "Show me the proof, or I'll beat you right here!"
I tried my best not to smirk and replied in a fearful tone, "I-I d-d-do have proof! Your sm-smart bracelet!" I pointed my finger at her wrist.
"Why should I?!" Freya protested.
"Freya, that's an order!" Aeravat intervened, approaching us.
Reluctantly, Freya stepped back. "Fine, here. See? There's no proof!" Freya confidently extened her arm to Aeravat.
Watching her, I inwardly chuckled.
Indeed, there was no evidence on that smart bracelet. How could there be? She deleted it all!
"See, I told you there's no proof!" Freya declared, as the main cast surrounded her, examining her smart bracelet.
Before she could continue boasting, Aeravat cut her off with a chilling tone, asking, "Then what are these?"
Freya's expression twisted from confidence to confusion, her face paling as her eyes fell on her smart bracelet.
Soon, a long list of calls and chat messages between Freya and Myung Joon appeared on the screen.
"H-How? I deleted all of these?!" Freya stammered, her voice filled with shock.
I smirked, looking at her face. 'Indeed, you did delete them. But I retrieved the deleted call log and chat history, hacking with Nano.'
"It's game over," I declared, turning to walk away. "Just give up, Freya. It's over."
As I began to leave, Freya went raving mad. "This can't be! No!"
"Bitch!" she screamed, enraged.
***
Emily's POV:
Noah Grey, that's the name of the machete guy.
A peculiar student.
From the beginning of the academy, he didn't stand out much...or should I say he stood out the most?
There was nothing particularly special about him.
He always seemed distant from the class, and even when others would bully him, he simply ignored them.
The only reason why he even gained some form of notoriety was because of his odd routine of doing strange machete jumps in the training hall and his habit of falling asleep during the class.
If you ask me, he was what you would call a failure.
At least, that's what I thought.
But, over time, I started to notice something strange about him. Very subtle, but it was there.
'He didn't blend in with others.'
I couldn't explain it, but his gait, the way he carried himself, made it seem like he viewed others as...children?
Often times he would behave like an adult, does that makes any sense?
It was just this weird feeling that there was something off about him.
Something that was not there.
But, I didn't pay much attention to it.
Today, as our class struggled to understand what happened, Noah deducted every little detail with ease through mere observation. Almost like a detetective.
'If anything, he is smart. I'll give him that. Very smart infact.' I thought, impressed by his sharpness.
Maybe, it wouldn't hurt to be casual acquaintances?...meh, as if!
"It's game over," Noah began to retreat.
He waved his hand dismissively, "Just give up, Freya. No need to scream."
"Huh?" I looked towards Freya, who suddenly shifted from calm and composed to showing clear hostility and vexation.
"You are nothing but a pathetic loser, Noah! Fucking bitch!" Freya screamed, raving mad.
But, Noah didn't pay her any attention.
His focus was already elsewhere, detached from her outburst.
"Remember when I beat your ass during the pre-school tournament? You are still that same pathetic worm. You lied to all these people, just like you did back then! Tell them! This is all just a mistake!" Freya's voice echoed, but Noah was already far away, unfazed by her words.
"You despicable piece of shit! Your parents must have been so disgusted by a loser like you that they left you! You whore's son!"
Just that, that was all.
But the moment the word whore's son escaped her, Noah abruptly halted in his tracks.
"Say that again?" His voice turned into an icy chill, and a very disgusting amount of killing intent emanated from him.
Alarmed, I quickly realized that I should intervene before the situation escalates. But, before I could act, something happened.
"Huh, fuck!" I instinctively took a step back from Freya as the atmosphere suddenly grew intense.
The killing intent radiating from Noah tripled!
"What in the world?! This much killing intent?!"
Was he planning to kill her?!
Before I could process what was happening, Noah vanished from his position right in front of my eyes.
"Huh? Where did he go?!"
"What the?" Takahashi's voice echoed his confusion.
And then I saw it— Noah reappeared in an instant, his hand gripping Freya by the throat, her body lifted up from the ground like some lifeless doll.
I couldn't process what just happened.
When did he move? Why is he acting this way? There was no time to think.
His once ordinary black eyes turned into a haunting shade of grey, and the air around us became thick with killing intent.
This was not a display of mana pressure. It was an eerie pressure that belonged to something far beyond the realm of sanity.
"S a y t hat once again, I dare y o u. Say anything about our family!"
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