The next day, the matron woke, embarrassed by what she had done in front of a child. Jinn just chuckled it off. He left the place after making sure she was alright and returned to his dorm room.
Sally glared daggers at Jinn upon his return to the dorm.
"What?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Did you have good sleep at your 'sister's' place?" With a voice laced with sarcasm, the girl sneered.
"Why are you so snappy? Are you jealous?" Jinn rolled his eyes and picked out some fresh clothes from his chest, making the girl more furious.
"Of course, I am jealous that you can leave this place and visit her anytime you want while we are stuck here in this place." The proud girl did not even hide her dissatisfaction with him.
"Maybe next time ask your parents to drop you off in front of—Woah!" Jinn dodged a pillow that was thrown straight at his head and exclaimed. "Are you trying to kill me?"
"Next time ask your parents not to leave you in a place where I live." Sally looked at him in disgust and replied coldly.
Their argument silenced the entire room. The kids had backed away in fear; even Kyle looked between the two of them with doubt.
Before the situation could escalate, someone entered the room. Every eye turned toward that person, making him freeze.
"Ahem, what happened?" Mr. Huggins looked puzzled, feeling like he had entered the wrong place at the wrong time.
No one replied to him, so he just brushed it off. "Everyone, some very important people from the church are about to arrive, and so I want you to be at your best behavior in their presence if they come to check out your room."
"Our room? Why would they need to check out the room?" one of the kids asked doubtfully; the others looked puzzled as well.
"Did we do something wrong?" Kyle asked innocently, his eyes darting around in panic.
"No, no, no. You did nothing wrong." Mr. Huggins panicked. He patted Kyle on his back and assured him that he was not going to be punished, nor would they take him away from his big brother and big sister.
After leaving another warning, Mr. Huggins left the kids alone, moving on to the next dorm.
***
"We meet again, Mrs. Walker. Did you change your mind about my last offer?" Upon entering the matron's office, Officer Chen's eyes landed on the woman dressed in her dark outfit, matching her cold gaze.
"Mind your manners, Mr. Chen." Behind the officer, two other people walked in. From their attire one could tell they were the people affiliated with the church. The one who spoke was a middle-aged woman with sharp brown eyes and short black hair tied in a ponytail.
Accompanying the woman was a man who looked younger but carried an equally powerful presence.
"Ah, what a buzzkill you are." Officer Chen groaned in dejection, but her words seemed to have an effect, as he stopped to introduce the two of them: "Allow me to introduce these very serious-looking people."
He gestured towards the pale-looking man, who appeared to have just climbed out of his grave. "This is Mr. Acosta, a member of the church of the Goddess Of The Start." Then, pointing towards the woman who had the same expression as Mrs. Walker, he continued, "And this kind-looking lady here is Miss Angelia, a member of the church of the Deaf God. A little secret: she is not really deaf."
Both Mrs. Walker and Miss Angelia narrowed their eyes at the same time.
Officer Chen looked at the matron, who was still sitting on her chair with a calm look on her face, and added, "These two are sent by The Order of The Seven along with me to investigate the deaths. By the way, I also joined the Order, the Church of the One-Eyed Goddess, of course."
"I am really grateful for the services of the order. If you need anything, please let us know." The matron finally stood up and thanked the three of them. "Where would you like to start from? We have not allowed anyone, including the teachers, to go near the areas where the bodies were found."
"We appreciate your help." Miss Angelia said with a flat voice. "But we would first like to start with questioning one of the children."
"Our children? Why?" Mrs. Walker asked sharply. "They should have nothing to do with this."
"Someone made an allegation that one of the kids seems to be connected to the murders in some way."
"What?" Mrs. Walker gasped in disbelief. Her face turned pale like they had seen a ghost. Even the matron looked no different from her. "That is not possible. These are little kids you are talking about. How can they even harm an adult? Who would even say such a thing?"
"We don't know who it was; we are only doing what our superiors asked us to do. We also want to put this thing behind us as fast as we can." With a more serious look, Officer Chen tried to reassure both the women.
"Can you tell us, who is this child you want to question?" Sister Agnes asked with a frown. Despite their words, her expression did not ease up. Even her voice had turned a bit colder.
…
"It seems you cannot use your abilities here; those two have better control and power than you."
Sitting on a wooden chair, facing six people who looked at him with different expressions, Jinn heard the voice snickering by his ears. From its tone it was clear that the voice was enjoying the situation to the fullest.
"I still don't like this." Sister Agnes gritted her teeth and looked at Jinn worriedly. Mrs. Walker on the site patted her back silently.
Officer Chen sat on the chair opposite to Jinn with a table between them. Mr. Acosta was standing on the side leaning against the wall, his arms crossed before his chest.
"Do you understand why we are here, Jinn?" Officer Chen asked with a friendly smile. Seeing Jinn nod, he continued, "I was told that you were awakened some time ago. I would like to tell you that I am also blessed by the one-eyed goddess."
While speaking, his eyes glanced over Jinn, who was calmly sitting in his chair without any signs of dismay. 'He is handling himself well in such a situation for someone his age.'
"Can you tell what kind of power you awoke?" he asked.
Jinn maintained his smile and said, "You should know that what you are asking me is very sensitive information, something that one should not tell others easily."
Officer Chen went silent when he heard those words; he forced a smile while thinking of a comeback, but before he could do so, Jinn spoke again.
"But I guess I can tell you something about it. My blessing allows me to see through illusions and wield them to some extent." While speaking, his eyes darted towards the matron, who looked like she wanted to stop the whole thing at this moment.
"I am not entirely sure, as I am just discovering my abilities."
With a smile, he signaled to her that he was alright and she did not have to worry. But Sister Agnes could only force a wry smile in return.
"What an interesting ability." Officer Chen seemed genuinely surprised hearing his abilities. "I am sure you will have a bright future ahead."
"Since you shared the information about your abilities with me, it is only fair that I do the same with you." He added with a chuckle that did not sound as carefree as before. "My ability is somewhat similar to yours. But instead of illusions, my skill, 'The Eye Of Truth,' allows me to see what others cannot and tear through the falsehood."
Officer Chen paused and leaned forward, while at the same time, Miss Angelia, who was standing on the side, stepped forward and placed a very old wooden box on the table.
The box was open. Inside the box was a very old and creepy joker that stared at Jinn with its hollow eyes.
Jack In The Box!
"So... let me say this again. I Will ask you some questions about this thing and…" While speaking, Officer Chen's eyes glowed with a mystical energy. He looked at Jinn, who was still sitting calmly in his chair, and continued with a voice that sounded anything but friendly. "If you tell even the slightest lie, I would be able to see through it. This is the power of my abilities."
Then he leaned back and smiled innocently, imitating the child before him. "A very handy ability, right?"