He was sleeping soundly.
Without greeting Rob and the others, Fu Qian silently commented on what he had found.
It was Professor A Kai, all right, and he even seemed to be in good shape.
His breathing was steady, his complexion rosy.
He looked as though he'd simply been so exhausted that he'd fallen asleep fully clothed in his office to regain his strength.
He was even waking up now, disturbed by the unexpected visitors.
"What's going on—"
"What is this?"
They spoke almost in unison. The next moment, A Kai opened his eyes and found himself staring at Boyd and the others. All of them looked utterly incredulous.
After taking in each other's confusion, the two groups once again turned toward Fu Qian in unison, their gazes converging on Professor Fu.
"It looks like you fell asleep."
Now the center of everyone's attention, Fu Qian remained calm as he explained that he'd come to wake A Kai.
He really had just come to wake him up.
Fu Qian felt that he now had a general understanding of what had happened to Professor A Kai.
As expected, it had ultimately proven to be connected to Meria. Logic had prevailed.
If he'd given up on that theory after the minor setback earlier, or spent the remaining time searching elsewhere in the academy, he clearly would have found nothing.
As for how exactly he'd woken A Kai—
While the others fell silent, Fu Qian lowered his head and looked at his hands.
The leaves and mushrooms were still there, though they'd undergone a bit of a transformation.
The leaves had regained their tender green hue, while the mushrooms looked so clean and sanitary that they seemed safe to eat raw.
He'd done a pretty good job controlling the force.
Fu Qian