As he walked toward the canteen, Max could feel that the students had already come to know of the assassination news. Everyone talked about an incomplete story. A few who knew more than the others gave him looks of doubt or other meanings. Max directly ignored them as he walked to the canteen.
However, before he could step into the doorway, someone called out to him.
Turning around to see who it was, Max saw Moon walking toward him in big strides.
"Hi, Moon. Good morning," Max said.
"Is it true, what I heard?" she urgently asked, ignoring the greetings.
"What is it that you heard?" Max asked as if he were unaware of what she was asking, even though he knew.
"You know what it is. Did someone try to poison you yesterday?" she said in a firm tone following Max's mocking explanation.
"The incident did happen, but we have yet to see if it targeted me or someone else," Max said as both of them walked inside.
"What does that mean?" she asked.
"I was with some people from the Academy, so we were not sure whose food was poisoned. Until they find that out, no one knows who the target was," Max said.
"So, you went out with your friends from the Academy?" she asked with side eyes.
"No, I went alone... Hey, it is a big story, and I am hungry. I will tell you the whole picture later. First, let's eat."
Max was exhausted from his unpeaceful sleep and the other things on his mind, so he was not in the mood to explain everything right now.
They soon picked up their food and sat at the table Max usually occupied. Midway through the meal, Anne joined them. She also asked the same question, to which Max repeated his previous answer and refused to explain everything.
Max could predict the story he would have to tell everyone, at least until the whole picture came out and everyone knew the truth. This was definitely a drag on his part. It would place an impediment on his training for at least a week.
After breakfast, they walked to their class. However, as soon as he entered the classroom, a staff member informed him that he had to report to the Academy Head Teacher's office.
After putting down his backpack at his seat, he went to meet the Academy Head Teacher, an outcome he had fully expected.
The Academy Head Teacher's office was located in the main building of the staff compound. Upon arriving, Max knocked on the door, opened it, and stepped inside.
As soon as he entered, he saw a lot of people present, along with the individuals he had met yesterday at the shop. Everyone’s parents had come after hearing of the incident. Meanwhile, his grandfather sat there nonchalantly.
Max gave a silent bow to the Academy Head Teacher. The Head Teacher was an old man with a long beard and gray hair, wearing a robe made of silk. He sat upon a large chair that featured intricate carvings. After giving a quick bow, Max silently walked over to his grandfather and stood behind him.
Once he settled down, he cast a quick glance toward the other students. They also stood silently behind their parents or guardians. When their eyes met, he simply gave a nod before turning his head back toward the Head Teacher.
The room stood still for a short while. Until, the door parted once more, and a large figure walked into the room.
The person who entered wore a Capital Guard uniform. Judging by this, Max guessed that this must be the officer investigating the situation. He looked experienced just from his appearance alone. With his gray hair and wrinkled forehead, he seemed to have been in the Capital Guard for a very long time.
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He walked directly into the room, stopping a few feet away from the Academy Head Teacher's main desk.
"Greetings, Head Teacher. I have brought the reports regarding last evening's incident," the Guard said, giving a light bow to the Head Teacher. Being the Head Teacher of the Capital's number one academy came with a privilege where even the Kingdom's higher officials had to bow their heads.
"Mr. Simon, thank you for the hard work. Please take a seat and provide a short version of the report to the parents of the students involved in this incident." The Head Teacher signaled for the Guard to sit down.
The Guard took the separate seat near the large desk that directly faced Max.
"We investigated everyone present at the food shop, especially the cooks, servants, and manager. We utilized a veteran Truth Seeker on everyone. Unfortunately, everyone was innocent. No one knows how the food was poisoned. We could not find any clues about the culprit from the investigation." Simon delivered the core of the investigation without beating around the bush.
"That was to be expected. The culprit would not be so naive, especially when his targets were students. Who was the target? Whose food was poisoned? Was it Max Bransford? Or Gina Gosejohann? Or the others?" The Head Teacher swept his hand toward every student.
"We checked every food item and ingredient in the shop for the poison. We found only two plates, and both of them were ordered by the student, Maximus Bransford," the Guard said.
Immediately, gasps were heard throughout the hall. This shock was expected. Previously, there had been a lot of speculation regarding whether the assassination attempt targeted Max or Gina. Now, it turned out that it was indeed Max.
At that moment, Max fell into deep thought.
In his mind, he needed to find out the main reason for the assassination. If this first attempt had happened a week ago, he could have guessed that a certain family was trying to assassinate him simply because he lacked talent, a fact that would put them on the line once his father retired.
However, this had happened after the Dungeon Expedition results. Seeing his results provided another reason for his assassination. His performance was truly a surprise to anyone, even the other students. After all, everyone thought Max was a degenerate person who had joined through the backdoor without any talent.
"Because of you, my granddaughter was about to die. I want you to never come near her hereafter."
Max, who was in deep thought, suddenly heard a voice. Snapping his head up, Max saw an old lady sat in front of Gina. Currently, her eyes were scrutinizing Max, her face displaying disgust. However, Max had fully expected this outcome and conversation beforehand.
"Yes, somehow the other kids escaped without any danger. I suggest the Head Teacher expel this kid from the Academy. With danger tailing him wherever he goes, the other students will become collateral damage sooner or later," a middle-aged man, who sat in front of Gina’s friend that had initially insisted on Max joining, said.
Well, I did not expect this suggestion from anyone.
Max was a little surprised after hearing the middle-aged man’s suggestion. Of course, there was truth to that statement. As a parent, even Max's own mother would not let anyone who attracted assassins near him. Operating on that same sentiment, the other students' parents were demanding to expel him from the Academy.
However, it did not matter to him. He could simply join some other academy using his father’s influence. The only reason Max had chosen this Academy was to increase his status as a hard worker and a genius. Now, that status was no longer needed since he had activated his Inborn Skills. He would shine wherever he went.
"Please, everyone calm down. Let us not do things in haste," the Head Teacher said after seeing the other students' parents also voice the idea of expelling Max from the Academy.
Meanwhile, Max’s grandfather simply sat elegantly, his legs crossed over one another. He was lost in his own thoughts regarding the issue.
"Head Teacher, this is not a simple issue that can be settled with simple talk. My granddaughter was poisoned, not just with a simple poison, but with a [Laigaran] parasite-type poison," Gina’s grandmother voiced the issue even more vigorously.
The other families also started to join in with the same ferocity.
Seeing such intense demands, Max suddenly felt that something was wrong with this. Even though he was the reason Gina had been poisoned, was he not also the reason she had been saved and stood alive today? Why did these people not consider the good thing he had done?
Hearing the word "expel" from every parent, Max could not understand why they were so insistent upon him being expelled from the academy. There were no other suggestions of punishment.
"Expelling him from the academy..."
Thinking of this, he once again felt that something was wrong with the statements of these people.
While he was having these strange thoughts, his grandfather suddenly stood up. That action placed everyone on their toes, stopping their demands and forcing them to sit in their chairs.
He stood there for a short while without taking any further action.
"Max, describe the whole thing that happened yesterday," he demanded.
All the eyes in the room focused on Max’s grandfather, confused by his actions.
Without any hesitation or question, Max started to reiterate everything that had happened after leaving the Academy's main gate. He described how he had walked alone on the crowded street, entered the fish food shop, waited in the waiting area, and the things that had happened after that.