Megumi had just emerged from the shadows when he saw the Research Institute personnel finally arriving at the battlefield.
How should he put it?
It felt like a déjà vu of the ‘police who always arrive last at the scene in anime.’
“Student Lynae, if I remember correctly, you should be in class right now.”
The researcher leading the group suddenly questioned Lynae in a booming voice.
Megumi was a bit displeased by the man’s tone, but he also noticed the look the Rover was giving Lynae.
It was a look of suspicion.
It seemed that things had reached a point where it wasn’t as simple as Lynae skipping class anymore.
Faced with the researcher’s questioning, a hesitant and conflicted expression appeared on Lynae’s face.
“Professor Weilun, they are just students…”
“Be quiet!”
The professor named Weilun immediately snapped at the researcher behind him who had tried to remind him.
Then, he looked at Lynae sternly once more.
“You, answer.”
The pressure he exerted was palpable.
Faced with this situation, Megumi didn’t know how to interject for a moment.
He still didn’t quite understand the situation, but…
His friend was being scolded, and he felt he shouldn’t stay silent at a time like this.
Furthermore, a high-end place like Star-Torch Academy shouldn’t lack things like surveillance equipment.
Yet these researchers didn’t seem to have complete information; otherwise, their style of doing things would likely be more decisive.
Megumi recalled the scene where Lynae had confronted that suspicious’student’ earlier.
An ordinary Star-Torch Academy student shouldn’t be able to open a portal at will, right?
So that person was definitely off.
And these researchers seemed completely unaware of that incident.
Were they missing the surveillance footage from that period?
“Wait, Professor… Professor Weilun, before you arrived here, Lynae was already confronting that robot.”
Megumi interjected at this point.
“Oh? You are that Megumi?”
Upon hearing Megumi speak, Weilun turned his gaze toward him.
Unlike the look he gave Lynae, his gaze was much softer when looking at Megumi.
“You and that Rover are both freshmen; you must have been terrified encountering such a situation. On behalf of the academy, I apologize for this matter.”
As he spoke, Weilun placed his hand over his chest and gave a slight apologetic bow.
“The academy has no record of the events you just mentioned, which is why we are being so strict with her. Please understand.”
Saying this, Weilun turned his stern gaze back to Lynae.
Faced with this, Megumi didn’t know how to explain things for Lynae for a moment.
His eloquence was truly lacking.
“Wait a moment, Professor Weilun.”
At this time, the Rover spoke up from the side.
“Lynae also helped me stop Hyvatia earlier. If she were the culprit behind this incident, she could have simply escaped amidst the chaos.” Read this novel at novelping.com for the best experience.
The Rover’s words made Weilun stroke his chin and frown, seemingly deep in thought.
Seeing this, Megumi felt a slight sense of relief.
Indeed, things requiring eloquence didn’t suit him at all; luckily, the Rover was there.
“Hoo, I understand. However, I am doing this to ensure no potential threat to the academy is overlooked. We will discuss this in detail with the academy’s cooperation later.”
Weilun finally sighed and made a compromise.
“The Sun-Replacement Ceremony is imminent… Rover, Megumi, as witnesses, please come along as well.”
Afterward, Megumi, the Rover, and Lynae followed Weilun and the other researchers back to the academy.
The purpose was to interrogate Lynae.
On the way, none of the three—the Rover and the others—spoke.
Megumi felt the atmosphere was exceptionally oppressive.
He didn’t like this kind of atmosphere.
If it were strangers, it would be one thing, as Megumi felt he wasn’t someone who would have much involvement with strangers anyway.
But friends were different.
He felt it was truly distressing for several people who were clearly friends to have to face each other in such an oppressive manner.
After returning to the academy, the teachers began their interrogation of Lynae.
“Student Lynae, what were you doing before Hyvatia went out of control, and why did you appear near the Research Institute during class hours?”
To be honest, Megumi wasn’t very interested in this process.
It was called an interrogation, but he could clearly see that many people in the classroom were carrying personal emotions.
There were students called by their mentors to observe and learn, whispering and watching the spectacle, and professors whose tones were aggressive and filled with personal bias.
It wasn’t fair at all.
What kind of interrogation was this?
It was more like using power to suppress someone.
“I was previously taking the freshmen to record tapes in my capacity as a guide. On my way back, I noticed the frequency toward Fallen Sword Lake was off,” Lynae explained.
“After rushing there, I also discovered Exoswarm contaminated by a Void Magnetic Storm. Because of the storm’s influence, I wasn’t able to contact the academy immediately.”
After Lynae finished speaking, she gestured for Professor Weilun to investigate the surveillance footage.
It seemed she had a perfect alibi.
Beep beep.
Afterward, Weilun began fiddling with the tablet beside him, seemingly checking the surveillance.
“No remains of contaminated Exoswarm were found at the scene. Student Lynae, fabricating information will not benefit you in any way.”
“Tch, they moved fast.”
In response to Weilun’s rebuttal, Lynae bit her lip in frustration.
Megumi didn’t know exactly what Lynae had been doing earlier, but he knew very well that she hadn’t fully reported her movements.
At the very least, she hadn’t told Professor Weilun about the’student’ she had spoken with.
Thinking of this, Megumi looked at the Rover beside him.
To be honest, at this stage, he didn’t think Lynae was entirely innocent either.
But should he stand up and accuse Lynae now?
He didn’t know, which was why he looked at the Rover.
Noticing Megumi’s gaze, the Rover didn’t speak, but simply gave a smile. The source of this chapter is g.com.
Seeing this, Megumi couldn’t help but smile slightly in return.
So confident…
If placed in a novel, manga, or film, the other person would definitely be a protagonist-level character.
As for someone like himself…
He was probably what people called a background character.
Afterward, Lynae and Weilun continued their discussion based on the surveillance.
Lynae felt that even if the remains of the Exoswarm at the scene were cleared by the real culprit, the specially protected surveillance should be intact, right?
But the result was that the surveillance had no record of it, and it hadn’t even recorded Lynae’s movements when she arrived.
In other words, Weilun seriously suspected that Lynae was lying about clearing the contaminated Exoswarm.
“What if something is wrong with the surveillance? It’s possible that the footage of Lynae’s arrival and her elimination of the Exoswarm was manually deleted.”
The Rover suddenly proposed a possibility.
“But all of that is built on the assumption that she isn’t deliberately lying about clearing the Exoswarm.”
Weilun didn’t seem to agree much with the Rover’s suggestion.
“Since both sides are speculating, why don’t we first determine if there are any signs of the surveillance being tampered with?”
At this point, a female teacher who had been listening for a long time suddenly made a suggestion.
She felt that since both sides were at a stalemate, it would be better to focus on a clearer issue first.
“Then let’s expand the scope of the inspection. What if today’s surveillance isn’t the only one with issues?” As he spoke, Weilun gave Lynae a meaningful look.
It seemed he suspected that her involvement was also behind previous incidents where the academy’s surveillance had been modified.
Afterward, the teachers discussed many other things.
However, they were all old matters regarding past intrusions into the academy, along with words to comfort and inform Lynae, telling her not to be nervous, and mentioning things like academic probation.
In short, it no longer had much to do with the current incident.
Tramp, tramp, tramp…
After the discussion ended, the teachers and the observing students left one after another, until only the Rover, Megumi, and…
Professor Weilun, who finally walked over to Lynae’s side, remained.
“By the way, Student Lynae, you’re from the New Federation, right?”
He suddenly said something to Lynae that was completely unrelated to the incident.
“So what if I am?” Lynae didn’t give him a friendly look.
Anyone could see that this Weilun was targeting her time and again.
“Nothing, I just remember that Student Lynae has always been a boarding student. Haven’t you thought about going back to visit?”
When Weilun said this, he looked no different from a kind teacher concerned about his student.
“Thank you for your concern, Professor. But if you’re trying to imply that I have some ulterior motive for staying at the academy, I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.” Lynae looked up and glared at Weilun.
“Hahaha, no, I just feel… perhaps you don’t want to go back?”
After saying this, Weilun left the classroom.
Megumi caught a glimpse of the corner of the man’s mouth at the end.
Now that everyone else had dispersed, this professor appeared exceptionally…
Arrogant.
He didn’t look like a professor at all, but rather like an old fox.