Chapter: 63. Betrayal of Childhood Friends
The fluctuations that expanded from the Azure Realm centered around Noah’s Pavilion, spreading across the entire artificial school island.
In the student dormitory, slightly distant from Noah’s Pavilion, Tianyu Bai, who was sleeping with her head on the desk, suddenly opened her eyes and looked out the window.
“This magical response is—Student Council President?”
“Miss.” At the moment Tianyu woke up, her personal servant, Xiaochun, stepped out from the shadows.
“What happened?” Tianyu lifted the blanket covering her and revealed the campus uniform she was wearing underneath.
This uniform, designed by Ark Academy, not only allowed for ease of movement but also provided a certain degree of protection against physical and magical attacks.
To be able to respond promptly to emergencies, Tianyu had recently been sleeping in her school uniform while leaning on her desk every night.
“This is a transmission from Noah’s Pavilion.”
“Noah’s Pavilion? Did the Azure Dragon find the black box… No, that’s not right, the Azure Dragon couldn’t possibly know what’s inside. Could it be that my brother was discovered sneaking in by the Azure Dragon?”
“No, regarding Miss Xinggong, it seems she has been kidnapped.”
“…Huh?” Tianyu doubted her ears.
Was it her brother who was kidnapped, or was her brother the one kidnapping someone?
“Why do you say that?”
“Recently, we received footage from a surveillance camera in a warehouse rented by the Heavenly Institute, showing Miss Xinggong entering it with another boy, and he tied her up with ropes. Unless they have some sort of special playfulness—”
“—Okay, okay, no need to explain in such detail…” Tianyu shyly covered her face.
Even if her brother had some special preferences, she, as his sister, didn’t need to know!
“Who was the other person?”
“Based on the images from the footage, that boy is a classmate named ‘Ototori Gakuya’ who resides in Shikigikan. Combined with the earlier investigation results you requested regarding all students in Shikigikan, it turns out that his background is quite strange.”
“And then?” Tianyu nodded, indicating for Xiaochun to continue.
“Yes, Miss. According to the investigation report, Ototori Gakuya grew up in an orphanage and was adopted by five different families; however, each family encountered extraordinary disasters, and all met untimely deaths.”
“What’s strange is that although the traces left at each disaster scene are different, the residual magical responses are very similar.”
“According to Ark Academy’s internal records, he has been preliminarily identified as a target being hunted by some kind of fantasy monster, and he possesses a strong aura of misfortune. Therefore, depending on the circumstances, he has been placed under protection and observation in Noah’s Pavilion.”
After hearing Xiaochun’s introduction, Tianyu couldn’t help but frown.
“Hunted by monsters…?” If that were the reason, it could indeed explain why he, as an ordinary student, was arranged to stay in Noah’s Pavilion.
—Something is definitely off.
“Miss, if you’re worried, do you want to go take a look?” Xiaochun suggested.
“Ah, no… I promised my brother that I wouldn’t get involved in this matter anymore… Wait…”
Tianyu seemed to have thought of something.
“Xiaochun, where did you say you saw Ototori Gakuya and my brother?”
“It was in a warehouse rented by our Heavenly Institute not long ago.”
“Okay, send me the address; I’ll go check it out.”
“Understood, but didn’t you just say you promised Miss Xinggong not to get involved—”
“Don’t misunderstand; I’m just worried that the Heavenly Institute’s warehouse has been targeted by thieves. After seeing the ‘very unclear’ footage from the surveillance camera, I’ve decided to go check it out personally.”
“Miss… Are you being tsundere?”
“I’m not! I’m just concerned about the family business, and it has nothing to do with my brother.”
“Hmm, I never expected to see this tsundere side of you one day.” Xiaochun chuckled lightly. “Ever since you met Miss Xinggong, you’ve become the Tianyu I knew, the one who always wanted to play with me when we were children.”
“Xiaochun… about those past days—”
“—Don’t misunderstand, Miss.” Xiaochun interrupted Tianyu. “I’m not worried about you.”
“Tsundere!? Xiaochun, are you also tsundere?”
Tianyu’s response caused both of them to break into knowing smiles.
Then Tianyu was the first to withdraw her smile, “I’m sorry; back then, I only had eyes for Father…”
“I understand the mindset you had back then, but please don’t apologize. Since I was born, I’ve had one purpose in life, and that is to be your sword and shield.” Xiaochun bowed respectfully to Tianyu.
Each heir of the prominent families is raised with a servant of similar age by their side, a tradition that has been passed down since ancient times.
“However, if it’s now, I’d like to be your… childhood friend. Is that okay?” Xiaochun said lightly with a smile as she raised her head.
“What silly thing are you saying? Growing up together, we are already an undeniable childhood friend relationship, right?” Tianyu replied with a wry smile.
“Then I really did ask an impolite question. As an apology, I’ve sent the address to your phone.”
—————–
“Student Council President, why would you—” Following closely behind Kanade, Mana looked up at the azure sky.
The blue barrier resembled a semi-transparent dome, enveloping the entire Noah’s Pavilion.
Within it, electric arcs flickered continuously, making the current Noah’s Pavilion look like a cage.
No one could escape from inside.
“Mana-kun, are you involved too?” The Azure Dragon, changing from his usual friendly demeanor, coldly looked down at Kanade and Mana.
“I know everything looks suspicious, but I can explain everything later; now isn’t the time for us to fight.” Mana had no intention of getting entangled with the Student Council President, who had already assumed a combat posture, so she went straight to the point:
“Nagi-chan has been kidnapped; she could be in danger at any moment. We must—”
“—retrieve what you have in hand to exchange for Nagi-kun’s life, right?” The Azure Dragon coldly finished Mana’s sentence.
This sign made Mana’s heart freeze for a moment.
“How do you know—” It was Kanade who first reacted, shouting towards the Azure Dragon.
“Is that really the excuse? If I hadn’t investigated beforehand, I might have been deceived by your lies—” The Azure Dragon raised his right hand, and the flickering electric arcs from the sky shot toward his palm, infusing a vast amount of magical power and compressing it into a dazzling white ball.
“You all plan to use this excuse to transport that item out of Ark Academy, right?” The Azure Dragon’s eyes widened in anger, and the white ball in his hand inflated further, raising the dust on the floor of Noah’s Pavilion.
“To think of using Nagi-kun like this, don’t think it will be that simple.”
“What? What are you saying—” Kanade looked up at the Azure Dragon with a puzzled expression.
And Mana quickly understood what was happening:
“Student Council President, someone is trying to sow discord between us. Although I don’t know his intent, if we fight here, we will fall into his trap—” Mana quickly stepped in front of Kanade, her crimson eyes shining with the light of magical fluctuation.
“Mana-kun, you can’t possibly think that just because you’re babbling a few words in this situation, I would believe you over her, right?”
“Her? Who told you—” Mana gathered her magical power, creating a gust of wind in front of her.
But this was merely a feint.
While Mana used her words to draw the Azure Dragon’s attention, she concentrated another force behind him.
Although she didn’t believe the Azure Dragon would be her opponent, if they fought here, it would undoubtedly waste a large amount of time and magical power.
In the end, it would only benefit the one who orchestrated this discord.
So Mana planned to temporarily suppress the Azure Dragon with a sneak attack, then quickly explain the circumstances to him.
Although Mana didn’t know who was manipulating this battle, she believed that based on her performance, she should be able to win a degree of trust from the Azure Dragon.
Dark shadows transformed from behind the Azure Dragon into ribbon-like streams, silently shooting toward him—
In the next moment.
Silver wings slicing through the night sky cleaved the dark shadows in two.
“What—!?”
Under Mana’s astonished gaze.
A delicate figure spread its silver wings, descending beside the Azure Dragon, backlit by the moonlight.
“Why… Tsukiumi, you…”
The figure was Tsukiumi Yako.
“Long time no see, Mana.” Yako, with a face devoid of her usual lively demeanor, said coldly: “I need to correct something; Tsukiumi is not my original surname.”
“My name is Higashijo Yako, and I am the personal servant of the young master.”
“Tsukiumi, you’re the Student Council President’s… Could it be you were the one who just—”
“That’s right. If Yako-san hadn’t informed me about your scheme in advance, I might have been trapped by your deception.” The Azure Dragon said, the magical power contained in the white ball in his hand had reached its maximum limit.
“Since Mana-kun has already initiated a sneak attack, it means this is not a misunderstanding, right?”
“No, I was just trying to—”
“Are you asking me to choose to believe a vice president who would sneak attack me instead of a childhood friend who has been by my side since childhood?”
After saying that.
The white light ball, infused with endless thunder, descended upon Noah’s Pavilion.
