Chapter 110: Finding The Culprit 2
"I saw him with the Nigerian lady. After dinner, when I went to the h—cough, cough. Yeah... I saw him with the black lady." Julie said scratching her head nervously as she glanced at Nicholas, who only stared back at her blankly.
’I almost gave myself away, and he didn’t even help! And I’m sure the brat would’ve still requested his money.’
Selena paused, "Hmmm, that’s useful information, but she might not be the only person he’d interacted with so it won’t be nice to just suddenly pin the blame on her"
"She was also in the pool with us today," Julie added, "But she was really nice and friendly with everyone"
"Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go meet her." Nicholas said.
"We can’t just drag her along. We’ll need her to admit it."
"Don’t worry about that. She’ll tell us everything soon." Nicholas said calmly.
The three continued their way to the cafeteria and in no time they got there.
The cafeteria buzzed with chatter as heroes from the different countries gathered around tables, enjoying lunch after the morning’s events.
The aroma of grilled meat, baked pastries, and freshly brewed coffee filled the spacious hall, blending with the occasional bursts of laughter from the crowd.
Julie scanned the room for a moment before suddenly pointing towards one of the tables.
"There! That’s her."
Nicholas followed the direction of her finger.
A caramel-skinned woman sat quietly by the window, elegantly dressed in a swimsuit woven from tiny golden beads that shimmered beneath the sunlight pouring through the glass ceiling. She calmly lifted a cup of tea to her lips, completely unaware that Nicholas had already begun walking towards her.
"So that’s her..." Selena muttered.
"I’ll go question her" Nicholas said coldly.
His eyes never left the woman as he calmly made his way across the cafeteria.
A waitress suddenly rushed around the corner and slammed straight into him.
BAM!
"A-Ah! I’m so sorry!" she cried as the tray in her hands tilted forward.
Hot tea splashed across Nicholas’ shirt.
Nicholas frowned.
"..."
Just as he turned to continue walking—
Riiip!
The hem of his shirt hooked onto the edge of a nearby tablecloth.
"Hm?"
Before he could react, the entire table lurched forward.
Plates.
Bowls.
Drinks.
Everything slid off at once.
"Watch out!"
The heroes seated around the table instinctively jumped back to avoid the falling food.
One of them swung his arm out for balance—
SMACK!
His palm slammed squarely into Nicholas’ face.
Fried rice.
Sauce.
Egg.
A chicken drumstick.
Everything rained down onto him.
Silence.
The entire cafeteria froze.
Nicholas stood there without moving.
Tea dripped from his soaked shirt.
A piece of fried egg slowly slid down the side of his face before dropping onto the floor with a soft plop.
Not too far away—
Selena covered her mouth.
"...Pfft."
Julie trembled.
"..."
"...Pfffft—"
"I-I can’t—"
The two finally burst into laughter.
"I know it’s serious..." Selena said between laughs, wiping tears from her eyes.
"...but... pfft..."
Julie was already clutching her stomach.
"I’m sorry! Phantom! I really am! But you look so ridiculous right now!"
Nicholas ignored both of them.
Slowly...
He raised his head.
His cold gaze locked onto the caramel-skinned woman sitting across the cafeteria.
She had long since lowered her teacup.
Her calm expression had disappeared completely.
’...Why is he looking at me like that?’ A chill ran down her spine. ’Does he know...? No. That’s impossible.’
’There’s no way he could know.’
Yet...
The way Nicholas stared at her made her breathing unconsciously slow.
It wasn’t the look of someone embarrassed after making a fool of himself.
It was the look of someone who had just confirmed a suspicion.
She swallowed hard.
Nicholas’ figure vanished.
Gasps echoed through the cafeteria.
In the next instant—
He reappeared right in front of the caramel-skinned lady.
Amara’s eyes widened.
"So fast—"
Just as Nicholas reached out—
Crunch!
His foot landed squarely on the piece of fried egg that had fallen beside him.
"..."
His legs slipped out from under him.
WHAM!
Nicholas landed flat on his back before rolling onto his butt, completely disoriented.
Silence.
...
"Pfft..."
Julie quickly covered her mouth.
Selena lowered her head, her shoulders trembling violently.
"I-I’m sorry..."
"..."
"I know this is serious..."
"..."
"What’s with him? Is he always this clumsy?"
The cafeteria erupted into muffled laughter.
Even some of the foreign heroes couldn’t help letting out small chuckles.
Nicholas remained seated on the floor for a brief second.
"..."
’Forget it.’
Without another thought—
{Void}
A faint ripple spread through his body.
The dark horseshoe hovering above him instantly shattered into countless black fragments before disappearing completely.
Nicholas slowly exhaled.
’What an annoying ability.’
Amara’s pupils shrank.
’...It disappeared?’ Her heartbeat skipped, ’How...? That’s impossible.’
She had watched the curse vanish with her own eyes.
It was as though something had erased it entirely.
Nicholas slowly got back to his feet.
He dusted the food from his clothes before raising his eyes to meet hers.
His expression remained as calm as ever.
"Do you want to tell everyone what you did..."
"...or would you rather I get the information from you myself?"
The cafeteria instantly fell silent.
Everyone’s attention shifted between the two.
Some still looked amused from Nicholas’ spectacular series of accidents.
Others frowned, sensing the atmosphere had suddenly become much heavier.
Amara forced herself to remain composed.
"What are you talking about?"
Her voice remained steady.
But inside—
Her thoughts were anything but.
’He knows.’
’...No.’
’He can’t.’
’There’s no proof.’
She had already prepared herself for the possibility of being suspected.
But she had never prepared for someone who could somehow erase her curse.
That...
Wasn’t supposed to be possible.
The crowd watched in stunned silence at the two of them, some wondering what had suddenly gotten into Phantom to make him embarrass himself in such a manner others interested in what he was talking about.
But at this moment in time, everyone gathered in the room all had their eyes fixed on the two of them.
Amara looked at Nicholas, her eyes shook for a moment, filled with uncertainty but then her gaze steeled as she said.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about."
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