Chapter 151: Chapter 149

3 A.M. | 3 Hours Before Exam Ends

The entire Porita Class had gathered few meters outside Blanca’s tent silently.

Or at least as silently as several dozen teenagers plotting something incredibly stupid could manage.

Fredrinn stood at the center of the operation like a military commander preparing for war.

Except instead of invading enemy territory, they were trying to make sure Blanca would sleep and wake up very late.

"Did everyone see Blanca enter her tent?"

Everyone nodded.

"Are you sure this will work?"

"It has to."

"Did you fill her tent with milk?" Fredrinn pointed at the first student.

A student proudly gave a thumbs up.

"Yeah."

"Different flavors?"

"Chocolate."

"Strawberry."

"Cookies and cream."

"Melon."

"Vanilla."

"Caramel."

"Even limited edition flavors."

Fredrinn nodded approvingly. "Did you remove the banana flavor?"

The student immediately looked offended. "Of course."

"Good."

"Nobody deserves banana milk."

Several students nodded solemnly.

Fredrinn turned toward another group. "What about the music?"

"The speaker’s hidden."

"Yeah but the music that’s been playing..."

"Volume?"

"Low enough to be relaxing."

"Playlist?"

The student hesitated.

Fredrinn narrowed his eyes. "What?"

The student scratched his cheek nervously. "About that..."

"What?"

"Are you absolutely sure you know what Blanca listens to?"

Fredrinn looked offended. "Of course."

"Then explain the music."

"What about it?"

The student visibly shivered.

"Her music choices are terrifying."

Several nearby students immediately nodded.

"Seriously."

"I got goosebumps."

"It’s three in the morning."

"It’s foggy."

"It’s dark."

"And then that song starts playing."

A student hugged himself.

"I nearly cried."

Fredrinn rolled his eyes.

"Her taste in music is exceptional."

The others stared at him.

He sighed dreamily.

"When she’s in the carving studio, humming while working..."

"Oh no."

"Here he goes again."

"The sunlight softly bathing her..."

"Please stop."

"The wind gently swaying her hair..."

"I’m begging you."

"She looks like a fairy."

A girl immediately corrected him. "You mean devil."

"Fairy."

"Devil."

"Fairy."

The argument might have continued all night if the girls hadn’t suddenly started whispering among themselves.

"Stalker."

"Shameless."

"Creep."

"Does he watch her twenty-four seven?"

"I think he does."

"I’m standing right here."

"That doesn’t make it less creepy."

Fredrinn immediately pointed at them. "I’m not a stalker!"

The entire class lunged at him.

"SHHHHH!"

"ARE YOU INSANE?!"

"DO YOU WANT TO WAKE HER UP?!"

"LOWER YOUR VOICE!"

One student physically covered Fredrinn’s mouth, another checked the tent in panic, and a third started praying.

Fredrinn finally managed to pull the hand away, his voice dropping into an aggressive whisper. "I’m not a stalker."

"Sure."

"I’m not a creep."

"Sure."

"And I certainly don’t watch her twenty-four seven."

The class stared.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Fredrinn crossed his arms triumphantly.

"I only watch her when Gawain is beside her since that’s the time I can’t approach her."

The silence somehow became even worse.

"I think that’s... actually worse."

"It is worse."

"Much worse."

The girls immediately nodded.

"Congratulations."

"You somehow made it creepier."

"That’s impressive."

Before Fredrinn could defend himself, a faint sound drifted through the darkness.

shschhh...

The entire class went silent.

"...Did you hear that?"

Nobody answered.

shschhh...

It sounds like metal scraping against stone.

shschhh...

The students finally looked around but they were scared to move so they could only move their heads and found nothing.

shschhh...

Fredrinn finally frowned in annoyance. "Who the hell is making that noise?"

No one answered as several students suddenly turned pale then one by one, they slowly pointed behind him.

Fredrinn raised a brow. "What?"

A student swallowed. "B-behind..."

"Speak clearly."

Another student looked seconds away from crying. "B-Behind you..."

All of them started pointing something behind him.

Fredrinn looked even more annoyed.

All of them were staring at the exact same spot, directly behind him.

"If you’re trying to scare me, that won’t wo—"

"Boo..."

The whisper came right beside his ear that it was so close that he could actually feel the breath.

Fredrinn froze, every hair on his body stood up, the color drained from his face as he slowly turned around

shschhh...

Moonlight reflected off twin daggers as he saw Gawain sitting casually on a tree stump, one leg crossed over the other, holding a whetstone moving lazily across the blade.

shschhh...

shschhh...

shschhh...

It was the exact same sound everyone had been hearing for the last several minutes.

Technically, the students should have felt relieved and that the mysterious noise wasn’t a ghost, monster, or some ancient creature lurking in the fog.

It was just Gawain.

Unfortunately, that realization somehow made everything worse.

It felt like they had accidentally wandered into a very low-budget horror movie where every victim made terrible decisions.

The only difference was that the killer was real and he was currently smiling.

"What a nice time to commit murder, am I right, dear childrens?"

Nobody dared to move.

Fredrinn opened his mouth but nothing came out, his brain had completely shut down.

Meanwhile, Gawain continued sharpening his daggers.

shschhh...

shschhh...

shschhh...

"Would you like to repeat," he said pleasantly, "what you said about watching My Lady?"

Fredrinn’s survival instincts activated. Sadly for him, they activated all at once.

His fight instinct told him to attack.

His flight instinct told him to run.

His freeze instinct told him to stand still.

As a result, he simply vibrated in place.

"I-I-I-I-I—"

shschhh...

"Take your time."

"I CAN EXPLAIN!"

"Can you?"

"No!"

"Good."

Several students immediately took three steps backward as nobody wanted to be accidentally included in whatever happened next.

"What did you say exactly?"

Fredrinn swallowed. "I..."

Gawain tilted his head. "You?"

"I only watch her when you’re around."

Silence

Gawain finally rose from the tree stump.

The moment he did, Fredrinn produced a sound no human throat should have been capable of making.

It was an impressive combination of a scream, a sob, and what everyone unanimously agreed sounded like a dying goat.

For a few seconds, nobody knew whether they should laugh, cry, or start praying for Fredrinn’s soul.

As Gawain calmly took one step forward, Fredrinn’s eyes immediately rolled to the back of his head.

He took a another step and Fredrinn started wobbling unsteadily as he finally collapsed face-first into the dirt.

Everyone simply stared at his motionless body for a few minutes but he never moved an inch.

Finally, one brave student cautiously approached him.

She stared at him for a moment before nudging his shoulder with the tip of her shoe.

"...Did he just faint?"

Gawain let out a disappointed sigh as his soul weapon slowly dissolved into particles of light. "I haven’t even started threatening him yet."

A heavy silence hung in the air.

Every single student had the exact same thought.

’He hasn’t even started?’

’Then what exactly was everything we just witnessed?’

’Casual conversation?’

’Friendly criticism?’

’Constructive feedback?’

One student quietly decided he would never complain about his parents’ scoldings ever again.

Another silently crossed Gawain’s name off the list of people he wanted to interact with for the rest of his life.

The class was still processing the revelation when Gawain slowly shifted his gaze toward them.

Almost instinctively, everyone took one synchronized step backward.

Gawain cleared his throat before speaking in his usual calm tone, as if he hadn’t just frightened someone into unconsciousness.

"Anyways..."

He looked around the camp.

"Who’s the leader of this class again?"

Without the slightest hesitation, every student pointed at Fredrinn’s unconscious body.

Someone even helpfully added, "Usually."

"I see," Gawain nodded thoughtfully before walking over to Fredrinn.

"Well, when he wakes up, kindly inform your leader that your flag has already been captured."

He turned around casually as if he had just reminded them to drink enough water and began walking away.

The students exchanged confused looks.

"...Well..."

"I guess that’s not too bad."

"We still have Blanca."

"Yeah."

"As long as Blanca’s here, we’re still fine."

They collectively nodded, instantly feeling better.

At the same time, Gawain stopped walking.

"Oh."

He slowly turned his head over his shoulder.

"I almost forgot."

The students smiled politely.

"If you’re planning on finding My Lady..."

He gave them the same pleasant smile that had caused Fredrinn to lose consciousness.

"...I suggest you start running."

The smiles slowly disappeared.

"...Why?"

"Because," Gawain said matter-of-factly, "she’s already been kidnapped."

He paused for just a second.

"Again."

The entire camp froze.

"...What?"

One student blinked. "Again?"

Another grabbed both sides of his head. "HOW DID SOMEONE EVEN FOUND OUR CAMP?!"

"I THOUGHT THE FOG MADE US IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND!"

"It did..." Gawain replied.

The students collectively sighed in relief.

Then he casually added, "But thanks to me...."

"...What?"

"I gave them the map to find this place."

He smiled politely.

"You’re welcome."

Before anyone could process what they had just heard, Gawain calmly disappeared into the fog like a ghost.

One student slowly turned to another, eyes twitching in frustration and annoyance.

"...Did..."

"...Did he just betray us?"

"No."

"He didn’t betray us."

"He committed terrorism."

Another buried his face in his hands. "After all the fun they had after coming here, they just casually handed out our address."

"To be fair," one student muttered, "he was never on our side."

"...Good point."

This really bad.

If Porita was the only class without its flag when the exam ended, they would finish dead last.

Someone pointed dramatically toward the forest.

"WE HAVE TO FIND HER!"

The entire class took off running.

Unfortunately, about five minutes later, they screeched to a halt because they had run straight into three other classes charging through the forest.

Everyone stared at one another.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

Then a Voltes student pointed at the Porita students.

"BLANCA’S NOT HERE!"

"RETREAT!"

"SOMEONE ELSE ALREADY KIDNAPPED HER!"

The Porita students immediately shouted back. "WHO HAS HER?!"

"We’ve been looking for her too!"

A Ralites student shoved his way to the front. "SHE STILL HASN’T FINISHED OUR DEAL!"

A Voltes student scoffed. "Get in line! She owes us first!"

A Soltaire student nudged his finger at them. "Our deal is more important!"

"No, ours is!"

Just as the four classes were seconds away from throwing hands, frantic footsteps echoed through the forest.

"I FOUND HER!"

Every head snapped toward him.

"WHERE?!"

He pointed toward the center of the forest with trembling hands.

"THE CENTER!"

Everyone’s faces lit up.

Then the student took another deep breath.

"...She..."

He swallowed.

"...captured all our flags."

"..."

"..."

"..."

One Porita student frowned.

"...What do you mean all?"

"I mean..." the Soltaire student looked like he was about to cry. "...all."

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