Chapter Ninety-Two: Are You Really a Mage?

By the next morning, before Han Shuo had even risen, the talk of stolen undergarments had already spread from the window and, with the eager help of those who wished to stir trouble, had been uncovered in an instant and blown through every corner of the necromancy department.

That morning, Gene and Vannie were both frantic, worn to the bone with worry over the matter. The students were quickly assembled in the trial grounds. The girls’ faces were flushed with anger and panic, while the boys looked astonished; some even wore expressions of gleeful schadenfreude.

Han Shuo was also gathered in the trial grounds. As he listened to the hubbub of voices all around him, his gaze kept drifting toward Fitch’s face. Fitch appeared outwardly calm, yet his eyes flickered incessantly, and from time to time he would cast glances in Han Shuo’s direction.

"This matter has had an extremely vile impact. Our necromancy department has never had any serious incident, yet now such a thing has suddenly happened. We must investigate it thoroughly," Gene declared loudly, his face likewise filled with indignation.

"Lisa, you girls have been far too careless. How could you let a thief succeed so easily, and without noticing a single thing?" Vannie asked with a frown, reproaching Lisa.

"This is Babylon Academy of Magic and Martial Arts. We never imagined the thief would be so brazen. For all this time, nothing has ever happened in our necromancy department, and besides, some of those discarded clothes weren’t even valuable. Who could have expected there’d be such a perverted lecher around?" Lisa said bitterly, sounding aggrieved.

Amy, Asina, and Bella were all equally indignant, chattering without end, shouting that if the thief were found, he must be punished without mercy.

"This has happened in our necromancy department and has already caused a terrible impact. The school authorities have also begun taking over the investigation. I don’t know which shameless, reckless person would do something so outrageous and infuriating," Vannie said, troubled but even more furious.

The trial grounds were in uproar. The girls whose undergarments had been stolen could not suppress their rage, and Han Shuo watched coldly, silently waiting for what would come next.

"Who do you think did it?" Lisa unknowingly came to Han Shuo’s side and asked him.

Han Shuo shrugged and said with a smile, "How would I know? But whoever did this must be very familiar with our place, otherwise it would never have gone so smoothly. Even if the rest of you are a little weaker, if some ordinary outsider unfamiliar with the area had tried something like this, you ought to have noticed at least something. Heh. Yet none of you found a thing, which makes me rather admire the fellow’s methods."

"At a time like this, and you’re still making sarcastic remarks. My, my undergarments were stolen too. Whoever did this is truly a shameless, monstrous pervert. If I find out who it is, I will never let him off," Lisa said, clenching her fist in anger.

"Then you’d better catch him first," Han Shuo replied casually, though his eyes were still searching Fitch’s face.

At that moment, a middle-aged swordsman entered the grounds. He was Veda, the man responsible for all the academy’s miscellaneous affairs, and Han Shuo had seen him once before. He had long been known for his sternness; if students fought privately or any unusual situation arose, he was the one who came to handle it.

"I already know roughly what happened. I just took a look around the girls’ dormitory building, and hmph, I have already guessed who did this," Veda said flatly after arriving. His eyes immediately swept toward the area where Han Shuo and the others stood.

"Uncle Veda, who did it? Hurry up and tell us!" Amy urged sweetly from beside him.

Veda’s expression was rigid as he looked toward Han Shuo and said, "Whoever did it knows best in his own heart. I hope he will take the initiative and admit his mistake. So long as he confesses on his own, I can at least guarantee he won’t be handed over to the judicial empire for prosecution. But if he stubbornly refuses to plead guilty, then don’t blame me for being impolite."

"Mr. Veda, what do you mean by this? Why are you shouting at our students? Do you really think one of them could have done such a thing? That is simply absurd!" Vannie said unhappily when she saw Veda’s cold expression and the way his gaze kept sweeping across the faces of the male students.

"Teacher Vannie, it isn’t absurd at all. It is surely one of your fine students who did it. Just now I observed the girls’ dormitory and discovered a very faint trail of footprints leading from the girls’ windowsill, skirting around the shrubs and all the way to the boys’ dormitory. Heh. I’ve dealt with many such matters. Don’t think you can hide it from me. What does that indicate, Teacher Vannie? I’m sure you understand," Veda said with self-righteous confidence, laughing as he delivered his judgment.

It seemed Fitch was indeed very meticulous, even leaving footprints behind to guide Veda’s investigation. However, Veda did not seem especially sharp, which made Han Shuo somewhat dismissive of him and lowered his opinion of the man.

With those words, an uproar immediately broke out. On the boys’ side, each of them hastened to say it was not their doing. On the girls’ side, led by Bella, a group of girls glared angrily in this direction, their eyes on every boy full of suspicion, as though each and every one of them were guilty of such an act.

"Lisa, don’t look at me like that. It makes me very uncomfortable!" Lisa was also wearing a strange expression, staring hard at Han Shuo’s face. Though he had done nothing, being fixed with such a gaze made him feel a chill all over, as if he truly had become that shameless, perverted lecher.

"Heehee, I’m only teasing you. I believe you definitely wouldn’t do something like that," Lisa said with a bright laugh when she saw Han Shuo beginning to feel uneasy.

At that point, Veda had grown somewhat impatient and said with a cold face, "One among you should have confessed by now. So long as someone is willing to admit fault, we can settle this privately within the academy. But if you cling to luck and refuse to repent, then don’t blame me for being rude."

As the thief, Fitch had already hidden the items safely in Han Shuo’s room. Feeling triumphant in his heart, he naturally could not wish for anything more than for Veda to investigate further. The other students had done nothing, so they had nothing to fear either. Thus everyone’s expressions were more or less upright and self-assured, especially Fitch, who even said with righteous indignation, "This must be investigated strictly. Such a thing absolutely cannot be tolerated."

Buck and the others echoed him repeatedly, showing an attitude of determined severity toward the thief, as though the firmer their stance, the more it proved their innocence.

"Brian, why aren’t you saying anything?" Amy, seeing Han Shuo standing there with a faint smile on his lips and saying nothing, looked at him in surprise amid the contrast of the others’ righteous fury.

"Could it be that he feels guilty? Heehee, come to think of it, how strange. During these days when he wasn’t in the necromancy department, nothing happened at all. Then yesterday, just after he moved back into the dormitory, this sort of thing happened. That does seem quite a coincidence," Bella, who had some old resentment toward Han Shuo, suddenly cried out as if she had discovered a new world.

Her exclamation, combined with what she said, did sound somewhat plausible. The crowd’s eyes all fell upon Han Shuo, each gaze filled with suspicion, and some even wore expressions of disgust, as though Han Shuo were that very perverted lecher.

"Declaring your position serves no purpose. As for who did this, I’m sure Mr. Veda will be able to investigate it clearly. I am very much looking forward to it," Han Shuo said with a shrug.

Seeing that no one was admitting guilt, Veda snorted coldly and said, "Very well. Since that is the case, don’t blame me for being rude. Not much time has passed since this happened, so I think the thief can only have hidden the items on his person or in his room. Teacher Vannie, Teacher Gene, let us search their persons first. Once that is done, we’ll search their dormitories. I don’t suppose they would have buried the things somewhere."

At Veda’s command, the male students all stripped down until they wore nothing but their shorts, and Veda and Gene began searching their clothing and belongings.

When Han Shuo also removed his clothes, Veda’s expression turned to one of surprise. His eyes shone as he looked over Han Shuo’s bare body, then he suddenly asked, "Are you really a mage?"

Once Veda said this, everyone’s attention shifted to Han Shuo. His exposed body had evenly balanced, solid muscles, full of masculine tension and strength. His physique looked even stronger and more perfect than that of an ordinary warrior, in stark contrast to some of the students inside who were either thin as reeds or fat as pigs. No wonder Veda was so astonished.

"When did your figure become so good? I remember you used to be so skinny and small," Lisa said with bright eyes, staring fixedly at Han Shuo’s exposed body and praising him with great interest.

Some of the other girls, seeing Han Shuo’s alluring masculine body and comparing it with the heaps of flabby flesh and scrawny frames around the room, immediately felt that Han Shuo’s already outstanding physique could truly be called perfect. They were all greatly amazed. Shy Amy blushed slightly and whispered something to Asina, making Asina blush as well, her gaze toward Han Shuo’s body turning somewhat strange.

Vannie’s face had also gone faintly red, as though she did not dare meet Han Shuo’s body directly. She first turned her head away, then, while no one was paying attention, secretly shot a few fierce glances at Han Shuo’s body.

"I was malnourished before and hadn’t developed properly. Now that I’m eating well, of course I’ve developed just like you," Han Shuo said, his gaze lingering ambiguously on Lisa’s chest as he implied something else.

"You’re horrible!" Lisa panicked when she saw Han Shuo staring at her chest, and she complained to him in a bashful, resentful tone.

After that little interlude, everyone’s clothing was searched one by one by Veda, and nothing was found. Veda then said, "It looks like the things were hidden inside the dormitory. Let’s begin searching the dorms now!"

"Brian seems to have a spatial ring too," Bella suddenly said just as everyone was preparing to leave.

Once Bella said this, Veda, who had already been about to depart, stopped in his tracks. He looked in surprise at the spatial ring on Han Shuo’s hand and exclaimed, "So that was a spatial ring. I nearly overlooked it. But a spatial ring is not easy to search, so that makes things a little troublesome. How about this: hand the spatial ring over to me first. I’ll look for the dean. Since the dean is a grand magus of spatial magic, he should have a way to open your spatial ring. I hope you will cooperate with my work."

Han Shuo first cast a cold glance toward Bella in the distance, then said directly to her, "You ugly woman, you are truly despicable."

Bella’s face was at first full of anger, but when she saw the coldness in Han Shuo’s eyes and remembered his mad display in the Dark Forest, she involuntarily retreated a step in fear. Her lips moved, yet in the end she did not dare say another word.

At that moment, Han Shuo’s heart sank, and he suddenly felt troubled. His spatial ring contained some things that could not see the light of day, and if the dean discovered them, he would be in great trouble.

"What is it? Could it be that there is something unspeakable in your spatial ring?" Veda asked when he saw Han Shuo hesitating and refusing to cooperate.

"I believe he would not do such a thing. I think we should first investigate the dormitory building, and then discuss his spatial ring afterward," Vannie said after thinking for a moment when she saw Han Shuo looking embarrassed.

Veda looked at Vannie in surprise, then nodded woodenly and said, "Then keep an eye on him during this time. Do not let him leave your sight and do anything suspicious. If anything goes wrong, you will bear the responsibility."

"Let’s go. We’ll take a look at the dormitory building," Gene suggested to smooth things over, and so the entire group left and headed for the boys’ dormitory.

All the students remained below under Vannie’s watch. Gene and Veda went into the dormitory, from within which came the sounds of things being turned over. Fitch, wearing a malicious and pleased expression, looked at Han Shuo standing with Vannie, already imagining with relish the punishment Han Shuo would soon face, feeling an unprecedented sense of satisfaction in his heart.

"Thank you, Teacher Vannie," Han Shuo said sincerely, glancing at Vannie beside him.

Vannie rolled her eyes at him and said softly in a reproachful tone, "What kind of unspeakable thing could there be in your spatial ring? Even if the dean sees it, he won’t take it from you. What are you afraid of?"

"The weapons and some medicine I got last time in Dolo Town. I kept only the better ones. If the dean checks my spatial ring, he’ll definitely find that batch of stolen goods. Those things were privately divided up by our department, and even the coins were already shared out. If the dean sees that our whole department is in trouble, do you think Bella doesn’t have a screw loose?" Han Shuo said.

Hearing this, Vannie suddenly went blank, then looked troubled as her brows knit tightly in thought.

Suddenly, Gene and Veda came out from inside. Just as Fitch was wearing a triumphant smile, they walked toward him, and Veda said coldly, "You think I wouldn’t discover it just because you hung the things under the bed with a hook?"

In an instant, every contemptuous and disgusted gaze fell upon Fitch’s still-proud face. And while Fitch was still stunned, the sharp, furious curses from the girls had already surged over him like a tide and drowned him completely.