Dreambreaker : The extra from 2393

Chapter 45: Revealing Freya's Secret [3]

Freya's Point View(POV)

A boy, with a complexion as pure as freshly fallen snow, gestured towards the charred remnants of the pried-open food

containers.

"All the containers are opened, which means that whoever burned the food did so in a hurry", Noah remarked, his gaze fixed upon Aeravat.

I couldn't contain my laughter at Noah's foolishness.

'This is so stupid', I thought to myself, struggling to stifle the amusement bubbling within me.

The scene unfolding before me brought a sense of enjoyment.

There was no evidence to link me to this act, and it was highly unlikely that a simpleton like Noah could ever deduce the truth.

Noah Grey, I knew him well enough.

We had attended the same preschool, but I certainly wouldn't call us friends. The idea of being friends with that loser was nothing short of preposterous.

As far as I remembered, there was nothing remarkable about him in the slightest.

Noah had often been the target of bullying, easily overpowered by those around him. A stark contrast to myself, as I had always excelled both in academics and magic since a young age.

There was nothing special about him.

'No, there was one thing strange about him', a peculiar thought suddenly crossed my mind.

Unspoken but believed by many, there was a mysterious aspect to Noah's upbringing. Nobody had ever seen his parents, rumors painted him as an orphan.

This perception fueled the other's taunts, inflicting nicknames like 'Whoreson' upon him.

Well whatever, it doesn't matter.

Emily, carefully analyzing the situation, voiced her perspective, probing further, "So you believe that the culprit intended to escape before anyone arrived."

She put her hand in her chin in a thoughtful manner," And to achieve this,... he chose to opened the containers rather than taking the time to remove the food from each container individually?"

"But why would he do that if he can simply just destroy the containers before setting them ablaze?"

Aurora, who stood beside Emily, captivated by the unfolding conversation,as she observed the burnt remains.

Noah paced back and forth as he continued his stupid explanation —"The containers, as you know, posesses magical enchantments for protection against fire magic."

"Whoever the culprit was, could have used a weapon—like a sword?a mace?... to break them"

He stopped in his tracks, "Break them and then use fire to obliterate the food?But did he do that?"

Surprisingly, Noah's words began to align the puzzle pieces, giving his explanation a glimmer of sense.

'Huh? He's never been this smart before?' I thought, my brow furrowing in confusion.

Indeed I didn't use a weapon because I am a mage, but how did he draw that conclusion?

A hushed collective gasp rippled through the once-mocking crowd as they realized the validity in Noah's words. The students who had previously taunted him now listened attentively.

"If I were the culprit, I would make certain that not even a trace of food could be salvaged.", he spoke as he rubbed the tips of his index finger and thumb together, emphasizing his point.

With each step, Noah continued his unexpected flow of insight, now making his way towards our group - a gathering predominantly composed of fire magic users.

"It is clear, then", Noah confidently declared, his words resonating with certainty. "The culprit, in their haste, failed to break the containers before setting them ablaze. This resulted in some of the food being spared from the flames. This only means one thing, the culprit was a pure mage, not a warrior"

After a moment of pause, a machete materialized in Noah's right hand.

Without hesitation, he raised it high, slashing through the charred remains of the containers. "If the culprit was a warrior, why wouldn't he destroy the food containers using a weapon?!"

Noah looked at Aeravat,"before burning them"—Noah's voice thundered, as understanding hit others.

Suddenly a surge of disbelief washed over me.

How could Noah..

Unintelligent Noah...flawlessly piece together the puzzle?

My heart quickened its pace as panic threatened to consume me.

How did he come to such conclusions?

But I forced myself to remain composed.

Rationally analyzing the situation, I realized that Noah lacked any solid evidence to link this act to me.

There was no way he could figure out that it was me.

It simply wasn't possible.

Understanding hit Aeravat—our group of seventy students was then subdivided into two smaller factions: one comprising fifty students and the other with twenty.

As the groups were divided, I found myself among the twenty students who were exclusively mages, not the warrior class.

I took a moment to steady my breathing, trying to dismiss any rising panic.

'No, they can't possibly figure out that it was me', I reassured myself, recalling the precautions I had taken.

I had meticulously deleted any incriminating chat history and call logs.

There was no solid evidence that could frame me as the spy.

***

Noah's Point of View(POV):

I observed Freya's composed demeanor, her indifference evident as she stood motionless, seemingly unbothered by the unfolding events.

With no concrete evidence, there was indeed no reason for her to fear. She had already taken the precaution of deleting her call logs and chat history.

Carefully scrutinizing the group, I feigned an investigative demeanor, appearing to examine the surroundings as I walked around aimlessly.

Then, approaching the group, I meticulously inspected their attire and belongings, as though searching for any telltale signs.

Next, I inquired if anyone had witnessed someone approaching the cooking tent in the moments before the explosion occurred.

I anticipated Luke Armstone's response, I already instructed him to keep a close eye on Freya and create mud near the tent for her to 'unknowingly' step on upon exiting.

Mud wasn't common in the type of forest we were in. It was artificially constructed and it never rained.

Although perplexed by my unusual request, Luke complied, perhaps motivated by the incident where Nano had given him a thorough beating.

His compliance was a testament to his increased leniency towards me.

Anyway

Luke stepped forward, confirming my suspicions with his testimony.

"Yes!" he declared, pointing towards a specific group of boys and Freya. "I saw them near the tent just before the incident occurred."

Taking advantage of Luke's statement, I pointed directly at him. "Since Luke witnessed the group, I have a theory about who the spy might be",I confidently stated, shifting my gaze towards Freya.

"Why are you looking at me, rascal?!" Freya angrily demanded.

Ignoring her outburst, I approached the main cast. "Hey, rascal Noah, I'm talking to you!"

With unwavering confidence, I pointed at Freya and voiced my theory. "It's just a small theory, but I think she could be the spy."

Curiosity piqued, Aeravat queried, "What makes you so sure?"

I immediately replied, "Her leg. It's covered in mud, and I observed that there is mud near the tent. None of the other nineteen have fresh mud stains on them?...Only her"

There were mixed reactions among the group:

- "Oh, that could be true."

- "Sounds logical."

- "I think he might be onto something."

Inwardly, I scoffed at their acceptance. My theory was baseless, a mere fabrication.

Takahashi, surprising me, spoke up. Leaning against a tall tree, he remarked, "Well, everything you've presented so far only adds more possibility to your 'theory.' But remember, it remains just that—a theory."

His words struck a chord, reminding me to stay cautious and consider all possibilities, even as the attention seemed to shift toward Freya.

Freya's frustration boiled over as she stomped towards me, her tone aggressive. She pointed her finger at my chest and threatened, "Show us the proof you have against me, or I'll beatyou right here!"

Unfazed by her aggression, I smirked and replied, "I do have proof. Your smart bracelet."—I pointed my finger at her wrist.

"Why should I?!" Freya protested.

"Freya, that's an order" Aeravat intervened, approaching us. Reluctantly, Freya stepped back.

"Fine, here. See? There's no proof"—She said confidently, extending her arm towards Aeravat.

Watching her, I inwardly chuckled.

Indeed, there was no evidence on that smart bracelet.

How could there be? she had deleted it all.

"See, I told you there's no proof!" Freya exclaimed, as the main cast surrounded her, examining the smart bracelet in her hand.

Before she could continue boasting, Aeravat cut her off with a chilling tone, asking, "Then what are these?"

Freya's expression shifted from confidence to confusion, her face paling as her eyes fell upon something incriminating on her smart bracelet.

Soon, a long list of calls and chat messages between Freya and Myung Joon appeared on the screen.

"H-How? I deleted all of these?!" Freya stammered, her voice filled with shock.

I smirked , looking at her bewildered face.

'Indeed, you did delete them',I thought, 'but unfortunately for you, I have Nano.'

Nano had hacked into Freya's smart bracelet and implanted fake call logs and chat messages between her and Myung Joon.

"It's game over", I declared, turning to walk away. "Just give up, Freya. It's over."

As I began to leave, I could hear Freya's furious murmurs from behind me. "This can't be! No!"

"Bitch!" she screamed, overwhelmed by anger and frustration.

***

Emily's POV:

Noah Grey, that's the name of the machete guy.

A peculiar student.

From the beginning of the academy, he didn't stand out much. There was nothing particularly special about him.

He always seemed distant from our class, and even when other students would bully him, he simply ignored them.

The only reason why he had gained some form of notoriety was because of his odd routine of doing strange machete jumps in the training hall and his habit of falling asleep during class.

If you ask me, he was what you would call a "failure."

At least, that's what I thought.

However, over time, I started to notice something strange about him.

He didn't blend in with others.

I couldn't quite explain it, but his gait, the way he carried himself, made it seem like he viewed others as children.

Yet, he himself behaved like an adult, even though he didn't appear to be one.

It was just this peculiar feeling that there was something off about him. Yet, I didn't pay much attention to it.

Today, as our entire class struggled to understand what had just happened, Noah deducted every little detail with ease through mere observation.

'If anything, he is smart. I'll give him that', I thought, impressed by his sharpness.

"It's game over", Noah spoke with a smirk before turning his back to walk away. He waved his hand dismissively, saying "Just give up, Freya. Hasta la vista."

"Huh?" I looked towards Freya, who suddenly shifted from calm and collected to showing clear hostility and vexation in her tone.

"You are nothing but a pathetic loser, Noah! Fucking bitch!" Freya screamed, her frustration pouring out. However, Noah didn't pay her any attention. His focus was already elsewhere, detached from her desperate outburst.

"Remember when I beat your ass during the pre-school tournament? You are still that same pathetic worm. You lied to all these people, just like you did back then! Tell them! This is all just a mistake!" Freya's voice echoed, but Noah was already far away, unfazed by her words.

"You despicable piece of shit! Your parents must have been so disgusted by a loser like you that they left you! You whore's son!" Freya finally screamed, unleashing all her pent-up vexation.

As soon as the word "whore's son" escaped her lips, Noah abruptly halted in his tracks.

"Say that once again?" His voice turned into an icy chill, and an unsettling aura of killing intent emanated from him.

Alarmed, I quickly realized that I should intervene before the situation escalated. However, before I could act, something unexpected happened.

"Huh, fuck!" I instinctively took a step back from Freya as the atmosphere suddenly grew more intense.

To my astonishment, the killing intent radiating from Noah tripled, striking me with disbelief.

"What in the world?! This much killing intent?!"

But before I could process what was happening, Noah vanished from his position right in front of my eyes.

"Huh? Where did he go?!"

"What-" Takahashi's voice resounded, indicating his confusion as well.

And then I saw it— Noah reappeared in an instant, his hand gripping Freya's throat as he effortlessly lifted her up.

I couldn't process what had just happened. When did he move? Why is he acting this way? There was no time to think.

His once ordinary black eyes transformed into a haunting shade of grey, and the air around us became thick with a chilling killing intent.

This was no ordinary display of mana pressure. It was an eerie aura that belonged to something far beyond the realm of sanity.

"S a y t hat once again, I dare YOU. Say anything about my parents", Noah's voice laced with menace, demanding an answer.

Freya, struggling to breathe, her eyes filling with tears, managed to let out a rough breath, "S-sorry."

Her attempts to move were feeble, as if she was trapped in the formidable grip of some unseen force.