Academy Traitor? Lynae?

Mo Bai had barely stepped out of the shadows when he saw the research institute staff finally arrive at the battlefield.

How to put it? They looked like the cops in an anime who always showed up last.

"Lynae, if I'm not mistaken, you should be in class right now."

The researcher at the head of the group suddenly called out to Lynae in a commanding voice.

Mo Bai disliked his tone, but he also noticed the way the Rover was looking at Lynae.

It was a look of suspicion.

It seemed this was no longer just about Lynae skipping class.

Faced with the researcher's question, Lynae looked conflicted.

"Professor Verlaine, they're only students..."

"Quiet!"

Professor Verlaine snapped at the researcher who had tried to remind him.

Then he turned a stern gaze back on Lynae.

"You. Answer me."

He was intimidating.

Mo Bai didn't know how to cut in.

He still didn't fully understand what was going on, but...

His friend was being scolded. He didn't think he should stay silent.

Besides, a place as advanced as Star Torch Academy surely had surveillance cameras.

Yet these researchers didn't seem to have the full picture. Otherwise, they would probably be acting more decisively.

Mo Bai remembered seeing Lynae confront that suspicious "student" earlier.

An ordinary Star Torch Academy student probably couldn't open a portal at will, could they? Something was definitely wrong with that person.

And these researchers seemed to know nothing about it.

Were they missing the surveillance footage from that period?

"Wait, Professor Verlaine... Lynae was already confronting that robot before you arrived."

Mo Bai spoke up.

"Hmm? You must be Mo Bai."

Hearing him, Verlaine turned toward Mo Bai.

Unlike the way he looked at Lynae, his gaze softened when it fell on Mo Bai.

"You and the Rover are both new students. This must have been frightening. On behalf of the academy, I apologize."

Verlaine placed a hand over his chest and dipped his head slightly.

"The academy has no record of what you just described. That's why we've been so stern with her. I hope you understand."

With that, Verlaine's stern gaze returned to Lynae.

Mo Bai couldn't think of anything else to say in her defense.

He had never been good with words.

"Wait a moment, Professor Verlaine."

The Rover spoke up.

"Lynae helped me stop Haiveisha earlier. If she'd caused this incident, she could have slipped away in the chaos."

Verlaine frowned and stroked his chin, seemingly deep in thought.

Mo Bai felt a little relieved.

Arguments really aren't my strong suit. Good thing the Rover's here.

"Very well, I understand. But I can't overlook a potential threat to the academy. We'll discuss this in detail later, with the academy involved."

Verlaine sighed and relented somewhat.

"The Day-Switching Ceremony is fast approaching... Rover, Mo Bai, please come with us as witnesses."

Mo Bai, the Rover, and Lynae followed Verlaine and the researchers back into the academy.

They were there to question Lynae.

None of the three spoke on the way.

Mo Bai found the atmosphere stifling.

He hated it.

With strangers, it would have been fine. He wasn't the sort of person who got deeply involved with strangers anyway.

But friends were different. Having to face one another under such a cloud felt awful.

After they returned to the academy, the teachers began questioning Lynae.

"Lynae, what were you doing before Haiveisha went out of control? And why were you near the research institute during class?"

To be honest, Mo Bai wasn't very interested in the proceedings.

They called it questioning, but he could clearly see how many people in the room had let their feelings get involved.

Students summoned by their mentors to observe, learn, and gossip; professors speaking with personal animosity.

There was nothing fair about it. This wasn't questioning. It was throwing their authority around.

"I was guiding the new students to the Recording Tapes. On my way back, I noticed unusual frequencies coming from Falling Sword Lake," Lynae explained.

"When I got there, I found a Rover Swarm contaminated by the Voidmatter Magnetic Storm. The storm also kept me from contacting the academy right away."

Afterward, Lynae suggested that Professor Verlaine check the surveillance footage.

She seemed to have a perfect alibi.

Beep, beep.

Verlaine worked on the tablet beside him, apparently reviewing the footage.

"No contaminated Rover Swarm remains were found at the scene. Lynae, making things up won't help you."

"Tch. They work fast."

Lynae bit her lip in frustration at Verlaine's rebuttal.

Mo Bai didn't know what Lynae had been doing earlier, but he knew she hadn't given a full account of her movements.

At the very least, she hadn't told Professor Verlaine about the "student" she'd spoken to.

Mo Bai glanced at the Rover beside him.

Honestly, at this point, he no longer believed Lynae was entirely innocent either.

But should he stand up and accuse her now?

He didn't know. That was why he looked to the Rover.

Noticing his gaze, the Rover said nothing, merely smiling.

Mo Bai couldn't help smiling a little in return.

So confident...

Put the Rover in a novel, comic, or film, and they'd definitely be a main character.

As for someone like me...

I'd probably just be a background character.

Lynae and Verlaine continued their discussion, now focusing on the surveillance footage.

Lynae argued that even if the real culprit had cleared away the Rover Swarm's remains, the specially protected cameras should still have recorded them.

But the footage showed nothing. It didn't even show Lynae arriving.

In other words, Verlaine strongly suspected Lynae was lying about clearing out the contaminated Rover Swarm.

"What if there's a problem with the footage? Someone could have deleted the recordings of Lynae arriving and destroying the Rover Swarm."

The Rover raised the possibility.

"But that assumes she isn't deliberately lying about clearing out the Rover Swarm."

Verlaine did not seem convinced by the Rover's suggestion.

"If both sides are speculating, why don't we first check whether the footage shows signs of tampering?"

A female teacher who had been listening for some time offered the suggestion.

Since neither side would budge, she thought they should focus on something they could verify.

"Then widen the scope of the investigation. What if today's footage isn't the only recording with a problem?" Verlaine gave Lynae a pointed look.

He apparently suspected she had been involved in earlier incidents where the academy's surveillance recordings had been altered.

The teachers went on to discuss many other things.

Mostly old incidents involving intruders at the academy, along with reassurances that Lynae shouldn't be nervous and notices that she would remain under school observation.

In short, it had little to do with this incident anymore.

Footsteps sounded through the room...

When the discussion ended, the teachers and observing students filed out. In the end, only the Rover, Mo Bai, and...

Professor Verlaine, who had approached Lynae, remained.

"By the way, you're from the New Federation, aren't you, Lynae?"

He had suddenly brought up something entirely unrelated to the incident.

"So what if I am?" Lynae gave him a cold look.

Anyone could see that Verlaine had singled her out again and again.

"Nothing. I just recall that you've always lived on campus. Haven't you thought about going back for a visit?"

As he said it, Verlaine looked no different from a caring teacher.

"Thank you for your concern, Professor. But if you're implying that I've stayed at the academy for some ulterior motive, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed." Lynae looked up at him angrily.

"Hahaha. No, I was just wondering whether you don't want to go back."

With that, Verlaine left the classroom.

From where he stood, Mo Bai caught a final glimpse of the man's mouth.

Now that everyone else was gone, the professor looked especially...

Smug.

He looked nothing like a professor. He looked like a sly old fox.