Interrogation

Whoosh—

At dusk, a breeze drifted into a classroom at the Academy.

It eased the oppressive atmosphere a little.

But only a little.

The classroom was packed.

Many of Star Torch Academy's teachers and researchers sat with solemn expressions along the west, east, and north sides of the room.

Even the Academy's principal sat in the central seat facing the person under interrogation.

Star Torch Academy's principal, Losera.

With so many important figures gathered here, the person they were questioning had to be someone extraordinary.

And that person was...

Mo Bai.

"Mo Bai, you caused serious damage to the Academy's Sonoro today. We have reason to question why you came here."

Professor Verlaine, seated to Mo Bai's left, opened the questioning.

Mo Bai remembered him.

After all, Verlaine had questioned Lynae too, and the face he had shown at the end had left Mo Bai deeply uncomfortable.

Normally, Mo Bai would not have given a man like that the time of day.

But this incident had caused such a commotion that it had drawn attention from several factions within the Academy.

He had heard Star Torch Academy was full of people with competing interests. Someone probably wanted to use him to stir things up and profit from the confusion.

Still, he did not think he had done anything terribly wrong.

The students caught in the incident were fine, and he had pulled Moqu out of that Sonoro in the end.

Tch. This was why he hated complicated relationships. People always turned small matters into huge ones.

After grumbling to himself, Mo Bai glanced at the Rover, who sat to his right.

She was here too.

When she learned that Mo Bai had rescued a student named Moqu, she had quickly begun negotiating with the professors beside her, hoping to give Mo Bai a chance.

She believed she knew Mo Bai well enough. He could not be a spy.

Apart from his past, which he had never told her about, she knew nearly everything there was to know about him.

That was why she had concluded he was no spy.

But her judgment alone meant nothing. Mo Bai needed to defend himself and convince the people around him.

After glancing at the Rover, Mo Bai turned back to Verlaine.

"Professor, I'm just an ordinary student. The damage in the Sonoro happened because something went wrong with my Resonance Ability," Mo Bai explained.

"Nonsense!" Verlaine roared.

Honestly, Mo Bai found all this troublesome.

Getting jolted by a sudden shout in the middle of a discussion served no purpose that he could see, beyond proving how loud and obnoxious Verlaine was.

And with Verlaine glaring so fiercely, Mo Bai even found him a little ridiculous.

The same expression could have different effects on different faces.

When someone was furious enough to glare at another person, that glare could feel oppressive.

But what if the anger was an act? What if the person was only borrowing the atmosphere to make himself look intimidating?

To Mo Bai, Verlaine was doing exactly that.

Mo Bai was more sensitive to negative emotions than most people.

And he could see no anger at all in Professor Verlaine's eyes.

"Teachers, professors, Principal Losera, please forgive my outburst and the way I spoke to a student."

Verlaine lightly touched his forehead as he spoke. Then he frowned and fixed Mo Bai with another hard stare.

"But this incident is far too serious! We found traces of the Remnant Star Society inside the Academy!"

As soon as Verlaine finished speaking, footage appeared on the tablets held by the teachers, professors, and Losera.

It showed Moqu being contaminated by the Remnant Star Society's frequency inside the Sonoro.

"Everyone, look! Nothing like this had ever happened in the Sonoro before Mo Bai entered it!"

Beside Mo Bai, the Rover frowned as she listened.

Verlaine was deliberately leaving something out.

"Professor Verlaine, didn't Mo Bai rescue Moqu afterward?"

The Rover defended Mo Bai like a lawyer representing a client.

"He may have staged the whole thing to win our trust. Mo Bai needs to prove himself, and I propose that he demonstrate his Resonance Ability right here."

While Verlaine and the Rover argued, Mo Bai sat in silence.

He was watching Verlaine.

Just as he had thought, most of the man's expressions were an act.

That last sentence, though, had made his goal obvious.

Very few people knew that Mo Bai was a Jujutsu Sorcerer rather than a Resonator. Even counting Lu, the doctor who had examined him, only three people knew.

Lu was clearly on the Rover's side, and the two seemed to go way back, so Mo Bai was not worried about him.

The organization behind Verlaine had probably sensed something unusual about Mo Bai and wanted to use this opportunity to learn exactly what he could do.

They had not managed to record his earlier fight with Mo Hei. The Sonoro had been too unstable under the influence of Cursed Energy.

Had the Academy been infiltrated this thoroughly? Were even the professors undercover agents?

Maybe he should just leave...

Unlike Lynae, Mo Bai felt little attachment to this place.

The Rover seemed to notice his lack of determination.

That side of him gave her a bit of a headache.

Mo Bai cared deeply about his own affairs and those of his friends. As for everything else...

Most of the time, he ignored anything he found boring or repulsive.

For someone who could slip into shadows, most troubles were no trouble at all.

"Mo Bai."

So the Rover said nothing more. She merely looked him in the eye and called his name.

Mo Bai instinctively turned toward his friend and met her golden eyes.

Unlike his own pitch-black pupils, which seemed devoid of life, the Rover's eyes shone with light and emotion.

Often, she did not need to say a word. One look was enough for him to understand what she meant.

And now, as he looked into her golden eyes, Mo Bai knew exactly why she had called to him.

She wanted him to stay at the Academy.

More precisely, she wanted him to stop thinking about running away.

"Haah."

Since it was a request from a friend, Mo Bai could only sigh helplessly.

But just as he was about to speak up, Principal Losera, who had remained silent until now, spoke first.

"Professor Verlaine, Rover, please calm down."

At her words, Verlaine immediately fell quiet. For now, he had no choice but to yield.

Mo Bai could see the emotion Verlaine was hiding.

Frustration.

"Star Torch Academy was founded by the Deep Space Union to study Tunnelers and the stars. But above all, it is an academy."

Losera's voice grew firm on those last words.

Unlike most of the Academy's professors, who seemed to care more about their research reports, she cared about how the students felt.

"Humanity's future lies not only among those distant stars, but also with the students right here before us."

Bzzz—

As Principal Losera finished speaking, the classroom's automatic door opened.

Lu Hess stood there, with a group of students behind him.

"Principal Losera, the students from the Infirmary insisted on seeing the person who saved them. I couldn't stop them."

Lu Hess gave a helpless, wry smile and spread his hands.

At the sight, Verlaine gritted his teeth.

He was good at using his position to pressure others. But if this many students stood with Mo Bai, he would have no chance this time...