Chapter 19 (continued)

"Atas, what was the name of the person who knocked you unconscious?" Zong Qizheng suppressed his anger. Old Man Li had evidently guessed that Atas was the student he had sent over and had deliberately set a trap for him.

Even at the First Hunter Academy, Atas's Esper Ability was considered fairly strong in Class A. At the Seventh Hunter Academy, he would have been among the best.

"His name was..." Atas's open mouth froze.

Right, what was his name again? Atas froze.

He couldn't very well tell the dean that his name was "the white-haired, red-eyed boy," could he? The dean would surely send him to a psychiatric hospital.

He didn't even know the name of the person who had reduced him to this state?!

"Hmm?" Zong Qizheng was close to losing patience.

Atas pressed his dry lips together. "...I-I don't know."

Having given his answer, Atas withdrew into himself even more. His dignity had been thoroughly trampled.

"You don't know anything I ask. What exactly did you do at the Seventh Hunter Academy?! Atas, that's enough. I don't have much patience left." Zong Qizheng's face twisted involuntarily.

Sleep... Judging by the dean's tone, Atas clearly didn't dare say that again. He could only remain silent.

Zong Qizheng didn't expect Atas to provide any useful information either.

"In any case, it was probably the result of Beixing working with that boy," Zong Qizheng said, his expression gloomy as he analyzed the situation. "Your unconsciousness was probably caused by Beixing's Esper Ability. That... white-haired, red-eyed boy you mentioned was nothing more than a means Dean Li used to distract you."

"But he said, 'Beixing, this has nothing to do with you'..."

"Such a clumsy act, and you believed it?" Zong Qizheng interrupted Atas darkly.

"Whether it was 'the incident happened in Class F' or 'he belongs to Class F,' those claims were definitely false." The boy Atas had mentioned probably belonged to the Seventh Hunter Academy's A rank. After all, no dean would trust a Class F student.

Atas: "..."

He disagreed. Anyone who had seen that boy would never doubt his strength. But having failed to complete his task, he had no say in the matter now.

Although the vast majority of outstanding Esper Ability Users were recruited into academies, some were bound to slip through the net. Zong Qizheng wasn't surprised.

What he couldn't stand was that Atas had been toyed with. How was that any different from Old Man Li making a fool of him? Old Man Li was surely gloating again right now. Just as he had when he scolded him last time, Zong Qizheng thought of Beixing, who was still alive, and felt a rare unease in his heart.

Beixing was a pollution monster whose presence required even S-rank Esper Ability Users to have powerful mental strength to withstand without being corrupted. He posed a danger to the vast majority of Esper Ability Users and had to be eliminated. How could Old Man Li not understand? He was utterly obstinate.

He had better deal with him as soon as possible, during the Monthly Assessment. There were still two weeks left. The thought that the threat would soon disappear improved Zong Qizheng's terrible mood slightly.

"Get out." Zong Qizheng looked at the dejected Atas, his voice suppressing the anger of having been fooled.

"A-all right, Dean." Atas breathed a sigh of relief and quickly left.

He had failed to complete the task he was supposed to complete. From now on, the dean would no longer favor him because of the Flint Family.

"Hey!" Xiao Yiyuan was still waiting at the same place as last time. As soon as Atas arrived, Xiao Yiyuan opened his arms for a hug.

But Atas didn't hug him. He paused before slowly walking toward him.

"Did the task not go smoothly?" Xiao Yiyuan lowered his arms and walked toward Atas.

"...I fell asleep." Atas's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz. It was far worse than not going smoothly. He was a joke.

"Huh?"

Xiao Yiyuan blinked, suddenly finding himself unable to understand what he was hearing.

"It's nothing." Atas's lips twitched, and he said the words he hadn't dared say in front of the dean. "I was just thinking, as expected of..."

Atas, who didn't know the other party's name, stopped, his expression awkward. "Anyway, I'm sure of it. He really does have the strength to back up that attitude."

Sooner or later, the dean would realize it.

"Huh?" Xiao Yiyuan was even more bewildered. "Atas, don't tell me you caught the Seventh Hunter Academy's inexplicable atmosphere?" Atas had gone there once and come back acting strange.

"Atmosphere?" Hearing those words, Atas recalled the scene of the boy protecting the gray, grubby Beixing. The atmosphere between them then had been a little... enviable.

Until then, the education he had received had always made him firmly believe that there could be no pure friendship between nobles and ordinary people.

"Xiao." Atas's bewildered gaze cleared, and he looked at Xiao Yiyuan. "If—and I mean if—I weren't the Flint Family's second son, would you still be waiting here for me?"

Every moment since his return, he had found himself recalling how the white-haired, red-eyed boy had protected Beixing, and how he himself had seemed like an ant under the boy's gaze. He also couldn't stop thinking about the boy's cold, calm manner, as though he had planned everything and had it all under control.

In any case, it had left a deep imprint on his heart.

But...

He didn't even know the boy's name. That made it even more ridiculous.

"Xiao, you still haven't answered my question." Atas pulled his wandering thoughts back and continued to stare at Xiao Yiyuan. For once, he stubbornly wanted an answer, though in the eyes of their circle, that was unbecoming.

"...Atas, you should go see Doctor Angelina Bell," Xiao Yiyuan suggested seriously. When a question was inconvenient to answer, silence conveyed their attitude. Everyone would share a knowing smile and move on.

That was the unspoken rule. Something seemed to be wrong with Atas's head.

"...I understand." Atas forced a smile. "It's for Ron, isn't it? You're gathering information about me for him, currying favor with him." Ron Flint. The eldest son, his older half-brother.

For the sake of appearances, he would never have asked that question, if he hadn't made this trip and come back.

"Atas, I don't understand what you're talking about." Xiao Yiyuan spread his hands with an awkward smile. Atas had suddenly become sharp-tongued; at the very least, that sharpness shouldn't have existed between the two of them.

"Oh." Atas spoke coldly. "Forget it if you don't understand. Goodbye, Xiao." Cheap. It was all too cheap. Xiao didn't have even the slightest genuine feeling for him. But he was no better. Hadn't he always been suspicious of Xiao's attempts to get close to him?

No wonder that person had looked at him with cold disdain when he put on an arrogant air and, posing as a savior, showed what he considered goodwill by lowering himself to socialize with and accommodate them.

Once Atas's figure had disappeared from sight, Xiao Yiyuan took out his phone and sent Atas's words over.

"He really is tight-lipped." After reading Xiao Yiyuan's message, Ron gave a contemptuous snort.

The Seventh Hunter Academy... He knew what to do.

He couldn't let Atas be the only one to impress Dean Zong. He had to remind Dean Zong that he was the Flint Family's heir.

The Seventh Hunter Academy dormitory.

"Achoo!"

Qi Yue closed the dissection records, frowning slightly. "Who's cursing me?"

After accepting the details and memories of this world, Qi Yue didn't think anyone would miss him in a world full of danger. If Beixing missed him, he would go straight to his dormitory door and linger there, not spend time thinking about him. So there was only one truth: someone was cursing him.

Knock, knock, knock—

"Qi Yue, it's Beixing."

Beixing's voice came with the knocking. After visiting repeatedly for some time, Beixing had grown increasingly practiced at announcing himself. Communicating in words had also become much smoother than before.

Qi Yue glanced at the book he had finished and smiled. He had come at just the right time.

Joy is better shared than enjoyed alone. It was far too "lonely" to grind away by himself. He needed someone to join him so he could feel a little more balanced. Whatever the purpose, Beixing was the best choice.

Click.

The dormitory door opened. Qi Yue stepped aside, his smile sincere. "Come in, Beixing."

Beixing was so unnerved by his smile that he shuddered. "Qi Yue, your smile is... a little creepy," he said quietly.

"Is that so?" Qi Yue's smile widened, and he didn't hesitate to praise him. "Not bad. You've become more perceptive."

As he spoke, Qi Yue put a hand on Beixing's shoulder and guided him into the dormitory.

Get in here and binge on knowledge.

The door clicked shut. Beixing turned his head and saw the closed door.

"Enjoy reading."

As Qi Yue's elegant voice sounded beside his ear, Beixing was pressed into the chair he usually sat in. He saw Qi Yue tap the book's cover lightly with his long fingers.

Yes, because he visited Qi Yue's dormitory so often, Beixing already had a regular spot there.

Beixing: "..."

Faced with the mountain of books of all kinds piled up before him, Beixing couldn't tell whether he was lucky or unlucky. Was this how his classmates spent time with their friends in private too?

Beixing couldn't come up with an answer. So far, only Qi Yue had genuinely accepted him. His other classmates didn't include him in their everyday interactions, much less in private. Beixing didn't know what the other students did together in private.

He opened the record on top, and bloody, brutal dissection photographs came into view. Beixing shuddered. No matter how many times he saw them, he was always frightened. Yet Qi Yue looked at them with relish every time.

"The other students, do they... spend time together like this in private too?" Beixing couldn't resist asking his only friend.

"Of course." With his back to Beixing, Qi Yue flipped through a second set of dissection records without a change in expression.

He seriously spun a story for Beixing. "Don't be fooled by how they look like they laze around all day and don't study anything. In private, they do it all." Qi Yue had said "they"; he hadn't specified the students of Class F.

Speaking generally... some top students really were like that. How could that count as lying?

Beixing was a rare source of relaxation in his exhausting life of grinding away day and night.

"...Okay, I understand." Beixing gave up and resigned himself to focusing on the book. As expected of the widely popular Qi Yue, he had seen how everyone spent time together in private.