News of a fake teacher who had been killed in front of Class S1 spread quickly throughout the Academy.
But even faster than the news of the intruder was the information he had tried to reveal.
Somehow, within less than an hour, almost the entire school had heard about it.
Discussions about the incident could be heard everywhere, if you paid enough attention.
"How could an intruder even enter this school? Even on this planet, this place is supposed to be impenetrable."
"I don't know, but this could have been an action carried out by that group of fanatics. I heard that guy mentioned gods and blamed the Council for upsetting them."
"Gods? For real? That's surprising. But have those fanatics really gained that much power now?"
"Probably. I don't remember exactly what my father told me in the past, but I'm sure there are powerful people who simply believe in gods for no reason."
Elsewhere, some students were questioning the death itself.
"Do you really believe that guy was murdered?"
"That's what they say. I wasn't there, so how would I know?"
"From what I heard, he was stabbed in the chest, right where the heart is supposed to be."
"Now that I think about it... that's actually a strange place to stab someone."
"Why?"
"Depending on the race and their abilities, a wound there might not even be fatal. Some races have more than one heart, while others have organs strong enough to survive damage like that."
"Exactly. So I was thinking... what if those three men weren't his enemies or people from the Academy, but his allies? What if they faked his death in front of everyone and simply saved their friend?"
"That's a possibility. But do you really think this school would be that foolish? Even if your guess is true, they wouldn't make it out alive. This is the Academy."
"Maybe..."
Others ignored the teacher and the assassination entirely. They discussed only the information the director had declared to be false and manipulative.
"Those are definitely the words of a fanatic. I think we should ignore them and move on."
"That's what I thought too. But slowly, my mind started making connections, and I began to believe some of what he said."
"What? The information that our universe has ten energies instead of what we were taught? Or the idea that every energy and every form of magic is necessary and that none of them are inherently good or evil? Or the information about our grown-ups angering the gods and now the entire universe being punished?"
"You can make fun of me all you want, but everything that guy said had at least a seed of truth in it. Despite how much I love my family and my race, I know they're a little too obsessed with our history."
He lowered his voice.
"I've also met people with Dark Energy powers, and they weren't evil or dangerous like everyone says."
"I know that, but our parents say they will become evil. Their powers will turn them into that."
"You haven't seen them use their powers yet."
"I saw one once..."
The student shuddered.
"It was terrifying. They can't fool me by pretending to be nice."
"You really saw one using their power? What did they do?"
"I can't tell..."
He suddenly became uncomfortable.
"Uh... I... I don't know. But I know it was terrifying!"
Other students simply ignored the conversation and continued studying.
Not every student cared about the incident. Not even all the students from Class S1 cared.
They had better things to do.
But the information remained somewhere in their minds, waiting for the right moment to surface again.
All of Class S seemed calm and indifferent. So calm that many believed they hadn't bought into anything the teacher had said.
That wasn't true.
They knew something bigger was moving beneath the surface.
Their minds were already sorting through the new information.
Among them were students who believed the assassination had been faked. Others thought it had been an internal battle. Some believed the Academy was now watching them more closely than ever.
In short, none of them had completely thrown away what the teacher had said.
Even if it eventually turned out to be fake or manipulated, it was still a possibility.
And playing it safe meant taking every possibility seriously.
Their next lesson would be History.They couldn't wait to see what it might bring.
Who knew?Maybe another surprise. Maybe another unimaginable situation.
All of that was also somewhere in Csendez's mind, but for her, everything that had happened today felt like an old film playing in slow motion.
At the end of the day, she would think about everything again.
For now, she was in the library with Uituba.
Every part of her mind was focused on figuring out how to ask about the things she didn't know—the event, her classmates, and what had happened during the week.
Look. This is a reason why I need to change.
I don't know anything because I've been too closed off.
I can't continue like this.
The elf girl was captivated by a book and didn't seem to notice Csendez's internal struggle.
Or perhaps she had noticed and simply chosen not to say anything.
The image of the two girls sitting together had remained almost unchanged for a long time. It was almost night, yet they were still in the library.
After gathering enough courage—or perhaps simply enough determination—Csendez finally broke the silence.
"Uituba, why was our class so weird this morning?"
The elf looked up.
"In your meeting, everyone was so... vivacious and stubborn. And today it was like someone stole their thoughts."
Uituba closed the book and placed it on the table. Then she smiled mysteriously.
"I've been waiting for you to ask me that the entire time!" Her eyes lit up. "You won't believe what I'm going to tell you! Hahaha..."
Csendez was taken aback by her reaction At the same time, she wasn't.
This was a possibility. It was exactly the kind of reaction that logically fit Uituba's personality. Still, she hadn't expected it.
She really... is like this?
So it really wasn't an act?
I'll try harder to... be normal. But it's still difficult.
She took a small breath.
I'll try to be honest as well. With myself and with others.
"I wasn't sure if you knew, or if you would even want to tell me. Was it really such a big deal that the entire class behaved like that?"
Uituba shook her head.
"You can't imagine!" She leaned forward excitedly.
"If I were an author, I could use this story to write a book, and it would make me famous!"
She paused dramatically.
"Ah... but how am I supposed to explain it to you?"
"Tell me in whatever way feels natural to you. I'm curious. That's all."
"Okay!"
Uituba smiled.
"Remember that siren? And also that classmate who wanted to tell his relatives about our class meeting?"
Csendez nodded once.
"Yes, I remember them. It wasn't that long ago. Is something related to them?"
Uituba smiled proudly.
"Not only that. I'm going to tell you everything in detail now, because everything started with them."
She leaned closer.
"Almost the entire class became involved, but all of it happened in so many... complicated ways."
She laughed.
"I told you, our class is amazing in so many ways!"
Csendez looked at the elf, who seemed genuinely happy about all the complicated events that had somehow led their class toward such a strange relationship and superficial peace.
She really isn't like the elf I read about.
Csendez lowered her eyes for a moment.
Or is it because she's still a teenager like me? Because of our age, can we really be this free? At least during this period of our lives?