Vol. 1 - Ch. 14 - Shadow of Something (1)

Machina looked to the side; she was stroking her chin like she found this situation amusing.

I decided to use this force to strengthen my argument a bit more.

"I repeat, it will take a lot of effort and luck for me to harm the cadets of the Aegis Academy. Unless there was an accomplice."

"Senior----"

When the cadet's suspicions in the jury box started to fade, the possibility of an accomplice was mentioned, and Shirley mumbled, embarrassed.

'Hmm, right. You need to look stupid now.'

But this applied for Theodore too, who had suddenly gotten involved in the incident for the sake of helping me.

I summoned Arthur Usher, who was still in the box, to the altar.

"Arthur."

The sound of the footsteps came from the jury box, where opinions had begun to diverge on whether Arma Cruz was the culprit or not.

Arthur had a calm expression, as if he wasn't surprised at my call.

And he walked to me, who was lying on the altar with my hands on my stomach, and raised his eyebrows as if asking what I was doing.

"If you are taking the Sword Master course, would murder be possible in this situation? And how?"

After my words, Arthur immediately pulled out a long sword, which probably wasn't a real one, from his belt.

The long sword, which was drawn out, came out with a sound of 'kik' rather than a 'Srrng', and shone with an odd light.

"Wait-"

"It is fine."

Just when the student council felt that it was not appropriate and tried to intervene, Machina raised her hand to stop them.

"A person trying to kill another wouldn't swing the sword while lying down in a state like this, where all the vital parts are open."

Arthur swung the long sword with a gentle hand, held it again, and pointed to my lying body.

"But if you really need to make a choice...."

Arthur relaxed the grip on his sword and laid it down at an angle, with the tip pointing at my legs.

Although he was holding the sword, when I saw him from a lower angle while lying down, he looked like a statue of a knight standing on the ground with a sword in place.

"It would be effective to hold the sword like this and then raise the arm and stab it as if skewering a person. If the suspect has blood all over the body like this at a crime scene, well."

Arthur, who was controlling the sword so that it wouldn't touch my body, came out at once, adjusted the grip so that it was horizontal, and swung the arm in a fan shape.

-Ching!

A light like lightning flashed.

Arthur was showing a trick where he quickly cut through the air and made a sound like a bell.

"If the culprit is a swordsman from Aegis Academy, it would be possible to do something like that without increasing the cutting power with magic."

Arthur made two large cuts without slowing down and then stopped his sword as he said,"It would be difficult for senior Arma Cruz, who isn't a swordsman, if he was drugged with Angel's Mischief."

Arthur looked at me with his golden eyes. Arthur, who had interrupted as if on purpose, continued speaking with an intimidating expression on his face.

"For your information, if the sword master was an accomplice, then the crime scene wouldn't be this rough at all."

Clack!

Arthur thrust the blade in at once without even checking the position of the sheath and took a step back.

I stood up and looked into his golden eyes. The uncomfortable feeling on my back felt like fresh blood was pouring down from my body.

Arthur persistently looked at me and then went to his place.

'Right, think about it.'

To be honest, in a situation like before, it would be natural to call Judith, who is closer to me than Arthur.

But Arthur needed to think about why I chose him.

This had to be unspoken pressure.

"Then, we carefully listened to what cadet Arthur Usher had to say about the swordsman known as Supernova, Theodore. What about you?"

It was a remark that seemed like a hit to Theodore, who had been insisting on my innocence till now, but Theodore spoke with the same expression without looking flustered.

"Reptile sea snake, blue-lined octopus, forsythia clown mushroom, flowering mushroom, hemlock pit viper, wasp..."

The creatures Theodore mentioned now were all the poisonous animals and plants that could be easily collected on this land or were stored inside the academy for some purpose.

From then on, Theodore continued to name things like cyanide, arsenic, and mercury.

"... These are the toxic substances covered in the Crown of Thorn class."

From names one heard for the first time to familiar ones, although it didn't match with his calm face, Theodore's mind was filled with combinations and instructions for using those deadly substances.

"In other words, a mage would use poison?"

Theodore nodded at my question.

"Mages generally have an eccentric nature, but even so, they will not choose a difficult path."

In other words, the explanation is, is there any need to use a knife in a difficult manner when he could handle so many poisons to kill a person?

I opened my mouth quickly before Machina got involved and broke the flow.

"Do you mind if I finish speaking?"

"Please speak up."

"Because I hid in the Crown of Thorns dorms, I know very well what misunderstandings one will have."

At my words, both cadets who didn't know of my hideout and those who did nodded their heads.

As events didn't go as expected, the excitement seemed to have calmed down a bit. This is because they were simply excited about the unprecedented murder that had happened in the academy and didn't gather with a sense of justice to uncover the truth of the incident.

"But aren't there many things about this incident that don't make it plausible for two elites of the Crown of Thorns and me to commit a crime together?"

As the suspect in the murder case, who was emotionally being pushed to be the culprit, waved around, saying not guilty, the cadets on the jury began to get confused.

The adults who had to handle the confusing situations for these immature young cadets stayed silent and watched all this.

'I didn't even expect any help.'

They were all just paper tigers.

The student council and its arrogant nature, which reached the sky, made them useless and weak.

Since the opponent is very young and the professors have been preoccupied without even knowing that they are being pulled into a political conflict.

The student council, organized by the young, arrogant, and high-ranking elites of the society, had formed a small kingdom within this isolated academy.

Deprived of all authority as adults, the professors and even the seniors, just fill the position of job.

"I claim my innocence based on various unclear circumstantial evidence, such as the uncertainty of the testimony of the first person who discovered it, the fact that I, the suspect, was unconscious and under the influence of drugs, and the shape of the blood stains on me."

The atmosphere was now calmer than before.

Dissatisfied voices could be heard from time to time, but it would be difficult to change their opinion at once.

I raised my head and looked at Machina, who was standing in front of me.

Machina...

"Right."

As always, she had a saint-like smile.

The unwavering, calm attitude gave us a sense of internal energy.

Is there really no flaw or weakness in this person?

The complete flawlessness felt from her was a testament to more than just her experience as the student council for the past 10 years.

"It's only been half a day since the murder. I believe that the many speculative rumors and speculations around the school have left deep wounds in the hearts of many cadets."

A person like Machina shines even in the seat of judgement.

After glancing at dozens of eyes looking at her, Machina opened her mouth again.

"However, in order to determine right and wrong in the tough case of murder, it seems that the soul of Cadet Kale Ace, who really needs comfort now, is being forgotten."

The inside of the chapel had turned silent at her words which came.

"Everyone, the time of night has arrived since Aegis, the Creator God, saved us. It is a time for meditation. Let's pray for Cadet Kale Ace, who must be in sorrow now."

In an instant, the chapel, which had been a mess of anger, fear, and hate, changed into a sacred land.

This was the strength of Machina.

No one will be able to imitate the charisma that she has to control the crowd like this.

"-I believe that you will lead the wandering soul to peace"

"God will remember the faith!"

I slowly lowered my eyes while the prayer continued, and as soon as it ended, I looked at Machina.

Machina prayed in silence, much longer than the other cadets, and raised her head.

"Now all we have left is to find a way to comfort the soul of cadet Kale Ace who left us."

"...."

I broke into a cold sweat.

I gulped dryly as I waited for her next words.

"As the defendant claims, it seems difficult to prove causation that cadet Arma Cruz caused the death of another cadet."

'Done...!'

The circumstances were so suspicious that I worried about what would happen if Machina decided to push the punishment on me, but fortunately she didn't seem to care that much.

"Therefore, we acquit cadet Arma Cruz, the suspect of murder of cadet Kale Ace."

"You really had a hard time."

Judith;s voice could be heard from afar.

The cadets and faculty members all mumbled.

A murder occurred, but the person at the scene wasn't found guilty. This is how the case ended, with no body, no culprit.

I greeted four people who had gathered around me in turn and headed to the dorm at Wooden Cross after a full day.

-Swish....

When I turned the shower on, cold water poured out.

I lay down on clothes soaked in someone's blood and woke up, but there was more blood than I expected.

It was both unfortunate and fortunate that I had no recollection of that horrific scene from that day.

'Damn it....'

My head was pounding there.

I sat down with my head in the basin and thought about the day. Although I was acquitted, the identity of the person behind the attempt to involve me in this case wasn't revealed.

If this is the beginning of an event hinted at by Shirley in my dream, will I never be able to get back to my peaceful and lazy days of the past?

And why did this even happen to me?

 And it felt like someone was looking down at me from a place I couldn't see.

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