Chapter 17

"He was determined to have been unconscious for a week. Dean, as you know, the timing is too much of a coincidence. It's hard not to read into it."

"I suspect Qi Yue knows where Atas came from and what his purpose is. And Qi Yue doesn't want Atas to know the truth."

So Qi Yue had struck without mercy, using precisely the right amount of force.

Yu Kaicheng voiced his suspicion.

"Dean, what do you think?"

"That's right." Li Qin spoke with certainty. "Qi Yue did it on purpose. He handled it so ruthlessly and decisively. Clearly, he doesn't want Atas to know too much."

Li Qin bent over, his gaze sweeping across Atas's face.

Although this was his first time meeting the student, the signs of a pampered upbringing were unmistakable. From what Yu Kaicheng said, the arrogance ingrained in him had been impossible to conceal the moment he arrived. Although... he might have thought he'd hidden it well.

"Arrogant, conceited, and with a poor disguise he thought was convincing... Perhaps he didn't even realize it himself. If you could easily see through him as an investigator from the First Hunter Academy, how clever could he be? How could Qi Yue have failed to see it too?" He was just a child who thought highly of himself, used to being put on a pedestal.

Yu Kaicheng said, "...That's true."

Li Qin straightened up. "In any case, the arrogant one is Zong Qizheng."

"It's only the Seventh Hunter Academy. Sending an A-rank student to investigate was already showing us tremendous respect. Knowing him, that's certainly what he was thinking."

"In the past, there naturally would have been nothing wrong with thinking that. But now..."

Li Qin looked at Yu Kaicheng and adjusted his reading glasses. "A mysterious transfer student has joined Class F."

The situation was completely different now.

After all, this was a transfer student who had deposited an enormous transfer fee into the school's account in a single payment, resolving many of its difficulties. How could he be ordinary? Of course, at present, no one knew about that except him, the dean, and Qi Yue himself.

Qi Yue's relationship with the First Hunter Academy was far from harmonious; he was even resistant to it. That fact made Li Qin happy.

Both Zong Qizheng and Atas had paid the price for their conceit and arrogance.

"But... he ended up like this while he was with us. He looks like a noble, after all. What about the First Hunter Academy..."

Li Qin cut Yu Kaicheng off.

"What First Hunter Academy?" Li Qin looked at Yu Kaicheng in apparent confusion. "Director Yu, are you getting senile? This is clearly an exchange student from the Sixth Hunter Academy. What does he have to do with the First Hunter Academy? What right do they have to question us?"

"Besides," Li Qin muttered, hands clasped behind his back, "we're Esper Hunter Academy. Injuries during sparring happen all the time. What's there to make a fuss about?"

Yu Kaicheng said, "...Dean, that's just like you."

He had almost forgotten that playing shameless was one of Dean Li's best tricks. If Zong Qizheng found out he'd shot himself in the foot, he'd probably explode with anger. Oh well, it wouldn't be the first time their old man Li had made him explode.

"In any case, he only had to lie down for a week. Qi Yue was already very restrained and polite. We should stand up for our students. That's the duty of the teachers at the Seventh Hunter Academy," Li Qin concluded.

Yu Kaicheng said, "...You're right. But what if Atas goes back and starts talking nonsense..."

"Says what? Would anything he said be credible? Didn't he decide the Seventh Hunter Academy was boring as soon as he arrived and sleep through the whole thing? Ah, that's the nice thing about being young. You can fall asleep the moment you lie down. He slept so soundly that no one could wake him. This old man is truly envious."

"Oh, right. Keep all of Atas's belongings safe until he leaves. The weekly assessment trial is about to begin. Don't let our students waste time on these unimportant matters." Those were Li Qin's last words to Yu Kaicheng as he left.

Qi Yue had silenced the investigator who came without hesitation. Having chosen to do so, he surely didn't regard the First Hunter Academy as a threat. So what did Li Qin, as the dean, have to worry about? If the sky fell, Qi Yue would hold it up, wouldn't he? He was a transfer student who had slipped past the checkpoints and "entered the school" without a sound, after all.

"...Understood." Yu Kaicheng nodded. He would keep the news contained within Class F and make the red-haired twins keep quiet.

But... the First Hunter Academy would hold a grudge, wouldn't it? Was it really all right?

The exchange period ended.

The seven exchange students were sent onto a bus.

"Ugh... where am I? Damn it, it's so bumpy." On the winding road, Atas clutched his aching head and struggled to open his eyes.

Chapter 17

On the bus.

Before boarding, Atas had still been asleep. Security from the Seventh Hunter Academy had carried him to the back row. He lay across the entire back row by himself. Hearing Atas's voice, the other six exchange students on the bus looked back. Now that Atas was awake, the six could no longer contain the curiosity they had held in for a week. Questions came one after another.

"Atas, where did you go these past few days? The Seventh Hunter Academy is all mountains and forests. What was there to see?"

"Speaking of which, which dorm were you assigned to? How come we never saw you in the Class A dorm?"

"Atas, you're really brave. I wouldn't have dared do that."

"Teacher Yu said you drank too much last night. How did you get alcohol at the school? They don't have any in the cafeteria."

The Seventh Hunter Academy had five classes over five days. Atas had skipped all five. They couldn't help being surprised.

Before the exchange period, Atas had transferred into Class A at the Sixth Hunter Academy through a special channel. The exchange students on this trip weren't very familiar with him. Yu Kaicheng had made good use of that.

The truth was in the hands of whoever controlled the narrative; the facts didn't matter. Someone who was unconscious had neither the opportunity nor the right to argue.

Yu Kaicheng told the other exchange students that Atas apparently didn't like the Seventh Hunter Academy and had refused to attend class, spending his time having fun around the academy instead. The exchange students hadn't been assigned to the same dorm during the exchange period, so they hadn't paid much attention to Atas's absence. Given how proud he was, he wouldn't have had much to do with the exchange students from the Sixth Hunter Academy anyway. They were little different from strangers.

To make the story more convincing, Yu Kaicheng had sprinkled a few drops of fragrant liquor on Atas's collar before he was carried onto the bus. Atas had no way to explain himself.

"Ah..." Once the long string of questions ended, one of the exchange students finally remembered that they apparently still hadn't answered the question Atas had asked when he woke up. "The week-long exchange is over."

"That's right. We're on the bus back now."

How much had Atas drunk to forget even that? He'd probably get scolded by their homeroom teacher when they got back. If it was serious, he might receive a public reprimand. Surely he wouldn't be expelled? In any case, they hoped they wouldn't get dragged into it. The exchange students glanced at each other, glad they hadn't gone off fooling around with Atas.

"..."

All Atas heard was their chattering; no one helped him up. He took a moment to recover, then propped himself up and sat down. His mood was terrible.

His body felt as though it had been reassembled, limp and weak yet stiff. Atas couldn't even feel the nerves in his limbs. His consciousness hadn't fully returned either; his head was buzzing, his mind a complete mess. From his body to his brain, everything was in chaos.

The exchange students received no response from Atas. They only saw him sit up, lean back against the seat, and close his eyes, ignoring everyone with a gloomy expression.

"..."

Forget it. He was as arrogant as ever.

Disappointed that their curiosity hadn't been satisfied, the exchange students looked away and turned back to their conversation.

After an unknown amount of time, Atas, leaning back in his seat, gradually came to his senses.

The scenery sped past outside the window, and the six exchange students sat neatly in the bus. The facts before him and what the exchange students had said all proved that they really were on their way back.

He had actually been unconscious for six whole days?!

Atas said, "..."

After piecing the information together, Atas recalled the exchange students' words and lowered his head to sniff. He detected a faint smell of alcohol on himself. Realizing that arrangements had been made for him, he looked furious. He distinctly remembered that he hadn't drunk any...

Ugh... no, damn it, that wasn't the point.

The point was...

Recalling everything that had happened in the Class F cafeteria on the exchange day, Atas's expression grew even uglier than when he had first woken up.

Atas couldn't forget it. When he had made his move, the youth, whose bearing was as otherworldly and aloof as ice and snow, had remained perfectly composed, chin slightly raised as he looked down at him, instinctively moving to protect the drab human figure.

Beixing, this has nothing to do with you.

That was right. Those were the words.

The drab figure was Beixing? The supposedly useless person who was a pity to discard. Looking so drab, he certainly fit the description of someone Dean Li would pick up and bring back.

"..."

The trash in his eyes was being carefully protected by the youth who didn't even regard him as worth noticing... as a friend? For a moment, Atas couldn't tell which of them was more lowly, him or Beixing. Atas withdrew even further into himself.

Beixing's ability was similar to something that caused Esper Ability Users' bodies and minds to mutate. He had never gotten close to Beixing before, only heard rumors about him from S-rank Esper Ability Users, and those rumors described the same thing he had felt at the time. Had Beixing acted against him...

No.

Atas quickly rejected the conclusion he had reached a second ago.

Damn it, his wretched brain was complete mush. He had almost forgotten again that the white-haired youth had clearly said, "This has nothing to do with Beixing."

Then...

The white-haired youth's ability was similar to Beixing's...

No, that wasn't right either.

Atas slapped his forehead irritably.

It wasn't similar.

Past incidents showed that only... S-rank Esper Ability Users could maintain normal thought and bodily function after getting close to Beixing. Even they could only barely resist the effects of Beixing's "contamination" thanks to mental strength greater than that of the vast majority of Esper Ability Users.