Qwelin Academy was shaken, because for the first time ever, Shen Akira was absent—and there was no explanation at all for his absence.
When Yurin heard this news, she immediately knew that Death Raven had succeeded. Without wasting time, she decided to reveal the recording to the entire Qwelin Academy.
When the break time arrived, Yurin approached Nic's three girlfriends and asked them to come with her.
"Can you all accompany me to a place?" Yurin asked.
Olivia and Chloe were confused at first, but after receiving word from Nic that Yurin was also a member of Unity, they agreed to go with her.
"Fufufu, you two think too much. This girl is cute—of course I'm going with her!" Lily said confidently.
After that, the three of them followed Yurin, only to realize that she was heading toward the student council room, which was usually used for official announcements.
Coincidentally, the student council was in the middle of a meeting. Without hesitation, Yurin knocked on the door.
"May we come in?"
A student council member opened the door and asked what they needed.
Before Yurin could answer, Olivia spoke first.
"She seems to have something important to say. Please allow her to come in, let her speak, and listen to her," Olivia said, her elegant aura naturally flowing out.
At first, Yurin had seen Olivia—and all of Nic's girlfriends—as monsters. She even thought of them as "good monsters." But now, that image slowly faded. What she saw in front of her was no longer a monster, but a graceful and beautiful girl with long silver hair.
The student council member blushed at Olivia's elegance and allowed them to enter.
The student council president immediately told Yurin to speak quickly, as they were busy.
Yurin then took out a flash drive containing the recording made by Death Raven.
"Please, play this recording and let everyone in Qwelin Academy hear it. This is not a joke—I swear. These are facts you must hear. Please open your eyes," Yurin said.
The entire student council fell silent for a moment, hesitant and afraid that the recording might be fake or just a prank.
Seeing their hesitation, Lily grew irritated.
"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! PLAY THE RECORDING ALREADY AND CONNECT IT TO THE BIG SPEAKERS!"
Hearing Lily's loud voice, the student council president finally plugged in the flash drive and played the recording, connecting it to the speakers installed throughout Qwelin Academy.
Instantly, the entire academy fell silent.
Shen Akira's voice echoed everywhere—completely different from how people usually knew him. His voice was filled with pressure and rage. Everyone heard Yurin's story, and Shen Akira did not deny any of it. They also realized that, in the recording, Yurin was being detained by Shen Akira.
The principal of Qwelin Academy, who had been writing something down, froze.
"Is… is that recording really authentic?"
Suddenly, the door to the principal's office was knocked on hard. When permission was given, it was Teacher Shiori Han.
"Teacher Shiori? What is it?" the principal asked.
Shiori Han looked furious.
"This is all because you weren't firm enough, sir. My instincts were right about that child… HE IS THE SOURCE OF EVERYTHING! I TOLD YOU BEFORE TO INVESTIGATE HIM!"
"You know I already tried to investigate him, but there was no evidence at all. And he's the reason our school rose to its current status," the principal replied.
"Good grief… are you suffering from amnesia now, sir? Before that child even arrived, our school was already at the top! My students were exceptional—Aurelia, Ochana, and the others. After he came, I admit he was smart and brought many achievements. But what happened afterward?! So many problems appeared! Ochana even became strange—and you didn't want to investigate why she turned out that way?!" Shiori Han grew more and more frustrated.
"That's enough, Teacher Shiori Han. First, we must determine whether the recording is real or fake. After that, we will investigate further," the principal said.
But then, the principal's phone rang. His name had been tagged in a video. Teacher Shiori Han's name was tagged as well.
It was a clarification video from Ochana—revealing the truth and apologizing.
In the video, Ochana explained everything that had happened to her in the past and all the things Shen Akira had ordered her to do. All of Shen Akira's lies were exposed. She also stated that her face had been healed, and that all the animals were fine—meaning there was no longer any such thing as the "dangerous forest" in the Eastern region.
Ochana apologized to all Eastern residents who had once become victims in the dangerous forest.
Shiori Han was utterly shocked when she saw it. Ochana—whose face had been rumored to be completely ruined—had returned to her original appearance. She also saw Aurelia, Hinata, and Lingmei standing beside Ochana.
She knew Hinata had dropped out, and Lingmei had once been considered strange. But now, Lingmei looked normal again, just like when she first entered Qwelin Academy. Hinata's face no longer showed constant worry.
Without realizing it, Shiori Han began to cry as she looked at her students—and at the miracle that had also happened to her friend.
Meanwhile, the principal finally believed everything. He immediately knelt down and apologized to Shiori Han. He didn't stubbornly cling to pride—he openly admitted his mistake and declared Shen Akira guilty, even though he was still young.
Unfortunately, Shen Akira had already fled, making it impossible to put him on trial.
In the student council room, everyone felt chills. The person they had admired for so long turned out to be so rotten. When they looked at Yurin, guilt filled their hearts. They had always considered her strange, when in fact, Yurin's friend was a victim of Shen Akira—and she had changed because she lost that friend.
Qwelin Academy released an official clarification and apology, just like Ochana had done. They promised to be more firm in investigating future cases so that fatal misunderstandings would never happen again.
Meanwhile, Miko—the innocent girl in class—was crying because she had accused the botanist of being the cause of the dangerous forest. She felt like she wanted to disappear, but fortunately, her friends comforted her, understanding that Miko had simply been too naïve.
---
The scene shifted to Lingmei, who was heading home, accompanied by Nic.
"…Is it really okay, Nic? I'm afraid my father will be angry after all this," Lingmei thought.
Nic gently patted Lingmei's head.
"Relax. Your father has probably realized his mistakes."
And indeed, when Lingmei appeared at the gate, the maids and guards of the Lingmei family—whom Nic had already restored—were overjoyed to see her return and immediately informed Lingfeng.
Lingfeng ran out, and the moment he saw Lingmei, he hugged her tightly and apologized. His memories of the past had returned after being cleansed by Nic.
Lingfeng also confessed honestly that Lingmei's mother was actually still alive—she had simply left. Her death had been a lie he once told.
Lingmei didn't know exactly how badly her father had treated her before, but seeing his reaction now, she realized it must have been terrible. She looked at Nic, as if silently asking whether she should forgive her father.
"Forgive him. No matter how terrible he was… he's still the father who raised you," Nic said.
After that, Nic prepared to leave.
"Mr. Lingfeng, there's one thing I want to tell you," Nic said. "Never restrain your child for your own sake again. Let her be free—or that raven will come for you again."
Lingfeng immediately bowed his head and nodded, promising to protect Lingmei properly.
The maids and guards smiled. This was the family they were supposed to protect from the beginning—not a family obsessed with wealth and dirty ambitions.
---
Nic stood in front of Qwelin Academy.
"There's one last task I need to do here."
Nic wore his botanist outfit. The academy was empty, as all students had been sent home by the principal.
There, he saw Teacher Shiori Han, who was about to leave with a tired expression. When she noticed Nic in his botanist attire, she was shocked.
"Y-you… came back here…?" Shiori asked.
Nic shook his head.
"I didn't come back. I came to pick you up, Teacher Shiori Han—and to help you."
Teacher Shiori Han immediately grabbed Nic's hand and begged him to heal her friend.
Nic gently covered her mouth.
"Shhh… there's no need to beg, Teacher Shiori. I'll help even without being asked—and I'll also heal what Ochana caused. Consider it her apology."
Shiori Han nodded and immediately guided Nic to the place—an asylum.
There, Nic was taken straight to a special isolation room, because his friend's condition had become severe and uncontrollable.
The doctor in charge, who recognized Shiori, asked what was going on.
"Well, doctor… we want to directly check on the patient. The person beside me is an expert," Shiori Han said, gesturing toward Nic.
The doctor looked skeptical.
"Are you sure? The patient is still aggressive."
"Leave it to me," Nic said, activating all his Fusion Psychology skills.
Nic barged in and locked the door.
The room was extremely cramped. Shiori's friend was crouching in the corner, staring sharply at Nic and preparing to attack.
She attacked him.
Nic let her.
Claw marks covered his face and body. Nic even removed his shirt.
He spread his arms and hugged her tightly—but she screamed.
"DON'T TOUCH ME! GO AWAY, YOU BASTARD!!"
She could still scream like a human, but her behavior was that of a wild beast, continuing to claw at Nic.
Nic activated his Fusion Healing skill and poured his energy into her, gradually calming her down, aided by the God of Psychology.
Even though she became calm, her reflexes remained—her body still moved on instinct. Only her soul was at peace.
Nic realized this was very different. It seemed Shiori's friend had truly been damaged at the core—possibly a victim of Shiori's own research in the past.
Since this was his final task, Nic decided to try something different.
"Zeta, analyze her profile," Nic said.
[Name: Shena. Occupation: Biology teacher at Qwelin Academy. Height: 179 cm. Would you like more details?]
"…Ugh, Zeta, what's her hobby?" Nic asked.
[Her hobby is teasing Shiori Han.]
"Huh?"
Confused, Nic decided to go along with it. A moment later, he opened the door and pulled Teacher Shiori Han inside.
"Eh—why am I being dragged in?! Huh?! Nic, what happened to your body?!" Shiori Han cried in shock.
"Listen to me. Let's prank your friend. She likes pranking you, so let's prank her back," Nic said.
"What do you mean?! I don't understand!!"
Nic then created a potion—just like the one he had given Ochana—and poured it onto Shena's body.
"Now say it's a prank!!" Nic said, pushing Shiori Han forward.
"W-wait! W-what?!" Shiori stammered, then finally shouted,
"IT'S A PRANK, SHENA!!"
Shena froze—then burst into loud laughter in front of Shiori.
"AHAHAHA! YOUR FACE IS REALLY HILARIOUS!"
Shiori Han stood there, completely confused.
"What is this supposed to mean?!"
In reality, Nic had already healed Shena earlier and explained everything to her. Shena had calmed down, understood everything, and agreed to Nic's crazy idea to prank Shiori Han.
"NIC!! HOW COULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!" Shiori shouted angrily.
But Shena approached her and hugged her tightly.
"You should thank him. Honestly, I was devastated when I realized I had been stuck here for so long—and that I could actually be healed. Thanks to his idea, I can tease you again, Shiori," Shena said with a bright smile.
Shiori cried and hugged Shena, then thanked Nic sincerely.
"We don't know how to repay you," Shiori said.
"Don't worry. You can repay me by joining Unity. You'll have a place to rest—the Unity Temple, where the Guardians of the Natural Tree of Heaven gather. It can be your place now too. What do you think?" Nic said.
They both nodded in agreement and hugged Nic.
Nic smiled and left.
Nic walked back to his lodging and looked up at the darkening sky.
"…Looks like tomorrow will be my last day here," Nic thought.
To be continued…