The interrogation room was buried deep beneath the academy's floors, a place shielded by lead-lined walls and anti-mana enchantments. Mr. Kradia sat across from Yui, his massive frame casting a shadow that seemed to swallow the small chair she was sitting in.
He didn't look at her like a teacher anymore. He looked at her like a man who had finally found the missing piece of a world-ending puzzle.
"Why are you hiding it, Zenith?" Kradia asked, his voice low and vibrating with a dangerous curiosity. "A power that can reduce a Level 4 Droid to atoms with a single touch... that's not something you just 'accidentally' have. Why play the role of a pathetic Null?"
Yui fumbled with the hem of her oversized hoodie, her eyes darting around the room looking for an exit. "I-I'm not hiding anything! I just... I don't like breaking things! It's noisy, and messy, and everyone starts looking at me!"
"You don't understand, do you?" Kradia leaned forward, slamming his tablet onto the table. The screen showed a complex wave-graph of her 'senggolan' earlier. "What you did wasn't just a punch. According to the sensors, your physical impact carries the properties of every known magic type. Fire, ice, gravity, light—it's as if every law of magic is compressed into a single point on your knuckles. It's the ultimate destruction."
Yui tilted her head, looking genuinely confused. "Huh? Magic types? I don't know anything about that. I just... I just hit things. My fist is just strong, that's all."
Kradia let out a dry, disbelieving laugh. "Just strong? Kid, you're not just strong. You're a walking natural disaster. If the Central Union finds out—"
BAM.
The heavy steel door of the interrogation room didn't just open; it was distorted. The very gravity in the room shifted, making the pens on the table float for a second before crashing back down.
Standing in the doorway was Ms. Raty. Her usual gentle smile was gone, replaced by a cold, sharp gaze that made even the 'Fearless' Mr. Kradia stiffen.
"That is quite enough, Kradia," she said, her voice echoing with a hidden power. "Take your hands off my student."
Yui's eyes lit up. "Ms. Raty!"
Ms. Raty walked into the room, the heels of her shoes clicking sharply against the floor. She stood between Yui and the veteran Hunter, her presence creating a calm bubble in the middle of Kradia's aggressive aura.
"You're overstepping," Ms. Raty said, looking Kradia dead in the eye. "Yui is under my guardianship. Whatever 'theories' you have about Sector 7, they stay in this room. If you try to hand her over to the military, I will personally ensure your 'Fearless' buff is tested against the full weight of a collapsing star."
Kradia stood up, towering over her, but he didn't attack. He knew better than to underestimate the woman who could control the very fabric of weight and space. "You knew," he breathed, his eyes widening. "You've been masking her this whole time. Why, Raty? A weapon like this could end the war against the Abyssal Mutants in a week!"
"She is not a weapon!" Ms. Raty snapped. "She is a thirdteen-year-old girl who wants to eat strawberry ice cream and live in peace! The world doesn't deserve her strength, Kradia. They would only use her until she breaks—or until she breaks the world."
"Thirteen?" Kradia whispered, his eyes flickering with a mix of shock and realization. "She's practically a primary student. And you're hiding a Level 100 power in a body that small?"
"She is a person, not a project," Ms. Raty snapped. "The world doesn't deserve her strength, Kradia. They would only use her until she breaks—or until she breaks the world."
Yui looked up at Ms. Raty, clutching the hem of her hoodie. The thick soles of her shoes felt heavy on the floor. "I just want to go home, Ms. Raty... I don't like it here. It's too loud."
Kradia exhaled, his aggressive aura slowly fading as he leaned back against the wall. He looked at the small girl, then at the Master of Gravity. He knew that if he pushed any further, Raty wouldn't hesitate to flatten this entire sector to protect Yui's peace.
"Fine," Kradia said, raising his hands in a gesture of temporary truce. "I won't report her to the Central Union. For now. But Raty, you can't hide a sun behind a curtain forever. Other people will start noticing. The 'Zenith' signature is already all over the news."
He turned his gaze back to Yui, his expression softening just a fraction, though his eyes remained sharp. "If you don't want to be a weapon, kid, that's fine. But this world will not let you rest in peace if you don't know how to control the 'disaster' in your hands."
Ms. Raty placed a gentle hand on Yui's shoulder. "I will teach her control. You stay out of it."
"I'll stay out of the military's way," Kradia countered,But I'll still be watching this class. And Yui... starting tomorrow, don't ever think you can sit quietly in the back again."
Ms. Raty waited until the heavy steel door hissed shut, leaving them in the sterile silence of the interrogation room. The moment they were alone, her stern, commanding aura vanished. She knelt down, her eyes filled with genuine worry as she pulled Yui into a tight, warm embrace.
"Oh, Yui... are you okay?" Raty whispered, her voice trembling slightly. She pulled back just enough to look at Yui's small face, her hands resting gently on the girl's shoulders. "How did this happen? Did you lose control? I thought the Gravity Shroud was enough to mask you."
Yui looked down at her 5-cm platform shoes, feeling smaller than ever. "I... I tried to be careful, Ms. Raty. But the robot moved so fast, and I only meant to push it away. I didn't even use a fist! I just... I just touched it with my finger, and then it turned into sand. I'm sorry. I messed up again."
Raty sighed, a long, weary sound that echoed against the lead-lined walls. She reached out to straighten Yui's messy hair, her expression softening. "It's not your fault, honey. Your power is just growing faster than we can hide it. It's like trying to hold a storm inside a glass jar."
She looked toward the door where Kradia had just exited. "You have to understand, Kradia is not an easy man to deal with. He's a veteran who has seen too much blood and too many monsters. To him, strength is the only thing that matters. But..." Raty paused, giving Yui a small, reassuring smile. "Luckily, he is a man of his word. If Kradia promises to keep a secret, he will take it to his grave. He's stubborn, but he's honorable."
Yui clutched her Teddy bear, Reno, which was still clipped to her waist. "Is he going to make me fight more robots?"
"I won't let him push you too far," Raty promised, standing up and taking Yui's small hand in hers. "But he was right about one thing. We can't keep you in the back row forever. People are starting to ask questions. We need to find a way to make your 'accidents' look like something else."
She led Yui toward the exit, her mind already spinning with new spells and covers. "For now, let's get you out of here. I think you've had enough 'excitement' for one day. How about we stop for some strawberry snacks on the way home?"
Yui's eyes brightened instantly, the shadow of the interrogation room fading from her face. "With extra sprinkles?"
Raty chuckled, the tension finally leaving her shoulders. "Yes, Yui. With extra sprinkles."