After talking with the teacher on duty, Kala and the others were finally allowed to enter the school infirmary to check on Gantha's condition.
Kala took a brief glance at his friend, who had not yet woken up, but he quickly noticed that the infirmary felt a little suspicious. Earlier, he had also seen a student pacing back and forth outside.
"Gan hasn't woken up yet, but the water in the glass isn't full. There's also spilled water on the floor, and the tissue drawer isn't properly closed," Yoan pointed out the oddities. However, no one responded. They were far more concerned about Gantha's condition.
The room was completely silent. No one spoke as everyone worried about Gantha—until, after a while, their friend finally opened his eyes.
"You guys," Gantha muttered.
"You okay, Gan?" Hasta asked.
"No need to worry. It was just a minor incident," Gantha replied flatly.
"Minor, but enough to make us panic," Dion said.
"You're all just overreacting," Gantha replied.
"No one's overreacting. We're friends—it's normal to worry," Melvin said.
"So what actually happened? How did you end up passed out?" Yoga asked.
"You don't need to know. It's none of your business," Gantha replied.
"Man, I must be insanely patient," Yoan said. "You lied to us, and now you don't even want to explain what happened."
"I'm still processing what happened. I don't want there to be any misunderstandings," Gantha said. "But what do you mean by saying I lied to you?"
"You woke up before we got here, didn't you?" Yoan asked bluntly.
"How do you know I woke up already?" Gantha replied.
"You drank from the glass and accidentally spilled the water because you were still weak or dizzy. You grabbed some tissues in a hurry, so the drawer wasn't closed properly," Yoan explained.
"If that were the case, the glass would've fallen and broken. There's a straw here for students who are too weak to lift the glass," Gantha said, picking up the straw inside the cup.
"But a straw that's been used usually leaves water droplets," Gantha added, twirling the straw to prove it was clean—no signs of use at all.
"Oh… yeah, you're right," Yoan said, scratching his head awkwardly.
"Good observation, Yon," Gantha praised him—even though the conclusion was wrong.
"Gan, actually—"
"Leave me alone with Kala."
Dion paused when Gantha cut him off. He wanted to protest, but it felt like Gantha had something serious to discuss with Kala.
"Okay. Let's go," Dion said, signaling the others to leave the infirmary and give them space.
Once they were alone, Kala spoke first.
"What do you want to talk to me about?"
"I'm sure you made observations too—just like Yoan," Gantha said, wanting to confirm whether Kala matched what he suspected.
Kala nodded.
"The water in the glass was used to rinse something. Both dry and wet tissues were taken, but only wet tissues were thrown away. That means there's a possibility the dry tissue was used to wrap whatever you rinsed."
Gantha chuckled softly after hearing Kala's deduction. Kala really was sharp—and reliable—even without using his esper abilities.
"Do whatever you've planned," Gantha said, pulling out a pen wrapped in tissue from his school blazer pocket.
"Our conversation isn't recorded. I already turned this device off. I'm sure you noticed—this pen is connected to your phone, right?"
Gantha's casual tone sent a chill down Kala's spine. Just how much did his friend know about him?
"You should act quickly," Gantha continued. "I'm heading to the police now to explain what happened."
Gantha stepped down from the bed and hurried to leave, but Kala grabbed his arm.
"What do you know about me?!" Kala demanded.
"You're an esper. You went to the rooftop to place that pen, met Hadi there, and I also saw you coming down from the upper floor—even though our classroom is on the first floor," Gantha said calmly.
Kala was left speechless. His secret had been exposed. He knew Dion and Yoga were easily scared, even though they loved horror novels, and he believed the others would see him as strange if they knew he was an esper. That was why he had kept his abilities hidden.
"We can talk again later," Gantha said.
"Looks like the teachers are starting to get suspicious of us whispering."
He gently removed Kala's hand from his arm.
"Lia took your name tag and cigarettes," Kala said.
Gantha checked his uniform—and sure enough, Kala was right. He understood that Kala was warning him, since those items could be used to frame him at the crime scene.
"I'm not scared. I didn't do anything wrong," Gantha replied.
Kala patted Gantha's shoulder before he left.
"I'll help you as soon as I can."
"You've got evidence for this case, and you're planning to spread it like usual? The Kaze account only exists on Asta's tablet. Are you going to explain this case to them right away?" Gantha asked.
"Not that fast," Kala replied. "I'm not ready to tell them about espers yet."
"Then?"
Kala answered only with an awkward grin.
~~~~~~~~
The hallway was quiet since all students had been ordered to stay in their classrooms. However, Kala noticed Yoan wandering around for some reason. Kala decided to hide for a moment to avoid him.
"What is he even doing?"
Once he felt safe, Kala continued toward the locker area, which was now empty—but then he saw someone passing by in the distance.
"That's the guy who was pacing in front of the infirmary earlier."
~~~~~~~~
The rooftop was crowded with police officers conducting a crime scene investigation. Some officers were questioning teachers when one of them approached Gantha, who had just arrived.
"Agantha Gheovano—are these items yours?" the officer asked, holding up a name tag and a pack of cigarettes.
"Yes, sir. Those are mine," Gantha replied.
"Can you explain why you were here earlier?" the officer asked.
"I often relax on the rooftop. It's usually empty, but this morning I saw Hadi here holding a piece of paper that looked like a letter. When I was about to sit down, someone hit me on the back of the head," Gantha said, pointing at a pipe nearby.
"I think I was struck with that."
The officer picked up the pipe and noticed a small crack on it.
"Did you speak with Hadi?" the officer asked.
"Not much. He just said he was here because he had an appointment with someone," Gantha answered.
"I'm sorry, son. Your alibi is strong, but we still need to take you to the station for further questioning," the officer said.
Gantha complied calmly. He was confident that Kala would clear his name later. However, a teacher stopped the police just as they were escorting him toward the rooftop exit.
"Sorry to interrupt, sir," the teacher said, "but Kaze has just posted a letter on their account. It seems to be the same letter Agantha mentioned earlier."
"Who is Kaze?" the officer asked.
"Kaze is the school's detective group. They usually resolve problems around the school," the teacher explained.
"May we meet them?" the officer asked.
"Unfortunately, their identities are unknown. They always work in secret," the teacher replied.
Before they could finish discussing the letter, everyone was shocked again when a recording played through the school's speakers—a conversation that had taken place on the rooftop before someone fell.
The recording began with Agantha and Hadi talking, followed by Lia's arrival. It turned out Lia had asked Hadi to meet her to demand an explanation after discovering his affair.
"It's actually convenient that you're here. I can use you as a scapegoat with this name tag and your cigarettes."
The recording ended with the sound of Lia's footsteps as she left the rooftop.
"That kid's got some nerve," Gantha chuckled inwardly.
An unexpected change in plans had made the situation even more interesting—but it would definitely raise suspicion among the members of Kaze. He pulled out his phone and sent a message to Kala.
The police officer beside him continued questioning.
"Hadi mentioned seeing one of your friends on the rooftop. If that person left shortly after, you must have seen them too."
"I don't know. I didn't see any of my friends going down the stairs," Gantha lied calmly.
The police eventually left to search for the person mentioned in the recording, and Gantha was allowed to return to class. He headed back—unaware that someone had been secretly watching the rooftop and knew everything that had happened.
"This case got resolved way too fast by Kaze… but why didn't I know about it? There wasn't even any discussion."