The Bizarre Detective Agency

Chapter 986: Secret Revenge

Kingard reaped the bitter fruits of his arrogance while Kiruet savored the spoils of victory.

This outcome was neither good nor bad.

The Church of the Son of God wouldn't hold a grudge against Kiruet for a defeat in a Secret Cult Duel, and the Spider God Church would only punish Kingard for losing out of sheer arrogance.

Kiruet's victory had undoubtedly been a fluke, but it had forced the middle courses to acknowledge the Holy Light Squad's claim to Lu Li. More importantly, they watched with envy at Lu Li's "loyalty" to the team—or rather, his acknowledgment of it.

He had been willing to provide Kiruet with two Sequence Potions, number 9 and number 19. Number 9, in particular—potions from the top ten sequences were the stuff of legends. Even the middle-course professors had never seen one, yet Lu Li had simply allowed Kiruet to use it in the duel.

They didn't know that Lu Li had paid no price for those two Sequence Potions, unless a favor could be considered payment.

The Secret Cult Duel was over, but its repercussions had yet to fade, rippling throughout the entire Academy of Giant Trees.

The next morning.

Back in the common room, Nasi spoke conspiratorially to Kiruet and the others, who were applying salves to their wounds.

"You know what I heard in the dining hall? Kingard, that bastard, got punished by the Spider God Church! Ha-ha-ha-ha!"He had lost a battle he should have won, and on behalf of the Spider God Church, no less. More importantly, even summoning a divine guardian hadn't been enough to change the outcome. If it weren't for the family backing Kingard, the Spider God Church might have excommunicated him, branding him a traitor.

That wasn't the only thing that excited Nasi; he was delighted to find that the old hostility had vanished. When he had appeared in the dining hall, the other students' gazes had mostly been along the lines of, "Look, it's that lucky guy," rather than the previous, disheartening "You're not worthy of Lu Li."

Though some prejudice still remained, things were looking up.

Then Nasi noticed that the others weren't reacting as strongly. Fudot sat elegantly on the sofa, occasionally glancing over at Lu Li. Lu Li and Yeger were helping Kiruet, who had her eyes closed, fighting off tremor syndrome as they changed her bandages and gave her a recovery potion.

Kiruet's wounds weren't serious, but they were severe enough—shrouded in dreams, Kiruet, who had maintained a running posture, had fallen flat on her face, suffering scrapes and bruises on her cheeks and hands.

Furthermore, the rapid use of a large quantity of high-ranking Sequence Potions had left Kiruet in a state of "tremor syndrome"—a feeling of spatial disorientation, of being rejected by the world, that rattled her very soul. She would need a few days of rest before the aftereffects of the duel faded completely... or sank deep into her soul.

Nasi lowered his voice and asked cautiously, "Is it very serious?"

"Not serious, but she needs to rest for a bit."

Kiruet opened her eyes, revealing bloodshot veins and her own weakness. "Lu Li, Fudot's adaptation assignment... you'll take the lead. Yeger, you'll take my combat position."

"You can't fight?" Yeger asked.

"Tremor syndrome is like a hangover... or being jostled in a carriage for several days. I can't concentrate..."

Lu Li nodded in agreement and noticed Yeger winking at him from across the room.

"Is there something wrong with your eye?" Lu Li asked.

Yeger's eyes suddenly flew wide open, and Fudot, who had been watching him, said with a helpless sigh, "Lu Li, I need to tell you something."

Lu Li and Fudot left the fireside common room. Yeger asked Nasi to look after Kiruet and followed them out.

"What do you want to say?"

In the corridor behind the common room, Fudot turned and questioned Yeger, who had followed them out.

"Are you really going to let it end like this?" Yeger said bluntly.

"Just let Kingard, who hurt the captain, get away with it?"

"But the Secret Cult Duel is already over," Fudot said.

She truly disliked Kingard. Besides his personality, it was also because of the Mars family behind him—people considered snakes and insects equal, but Fudot felt that snakes could never compare to cute insects.

Yeger whispered coldly, "Don't forget what that bastard did at the end... The duel was already over, and he still tried to harm the captain. If the gatekeeper-elder hadn't intervened, the captain would have definitely been maliciously injured, afflicted by a vicious curse..."

"What do you want to do?" Fudot asked with interest.

"Don't forget, the Academy of Giant Trees forbids students from fighting amongst themselves."

"We can beat him up if we don't get caught," Yeger's calm exterior concealed a burning fire of vengeance.

Kingard would definitely not dare to report it. Even if he guessed who the attackers were, he wouldn't dare retaliate.

"Nasi is too timid, so I can't tell him."

"If you decide to do it, count me in," Fudot said, lightly tossing her hair, unwilling to miss out.

"I'll go too."

The calm words that followed surprised both Fudot and Yeger.

...

"You have shamed the family, Kingard."

Midnicht, inner city.

An elder of the Mars family coldly reprimanded the silent Kingard.

"The family will handle the pressure from the Spider God Church, but we don't want this to happen again."

After a brief conversation, the middle-aged man picked up his round felt hat, placed it on his head, and stood up. His figure blocked the doorway, cutting off the light from outside.

"Don't make enemies among the exorcists."

The shadows disappeared, and light once again illuminated Kingard's cold, pale face. In the long shadow stretching behind him, his fists were clenched tightly.

A single mistake had rendered all his efforts in the middle courses meaningless.

"Kiruet..."

Returning from the Academy's encampment to the Giant Tree, Kingard headed for his common room.

As he passed a winding, deserted corner of the corridor, darkness suddenly enveloped him.

Startled, Kingard unleashed his power, but it was blocked—an alchemical rug was restraining him.

As he kept his composure, trying to escape his predicament, the world suddenly turned upside down, and a sharp pain shot through his eye sockets—

Yeger threw himself on top of Kingard, pinning him down and pummeling him. Fudot, lifting the hem of her skirt, was eager to join the fray, but since Lu Li was doing nothing, she had to remain standing demurely to the side.

After several dozen seconds, a breathless Yeger stopped, and he, Lu Li, and Fudot quickly left the corridor.

Left behind was Kingard, the upper half of his body still covered by the alchemical rug.

...

"We did it!" On the way back to the common room, the usually calm Yeger let out a rare, excited roar.

"We gave that bastard the punishment he deserved! Thank you... Lu Li, and Fudot."

He couldn't wait to announce the result to Kiruet and Nasi.

But when they returned to the common room, Yeger was stunned by the scene before them: two gatekeepers were waiting by the fireside sofa. A weak Kiruet looked at them helplessly, while Nasi was dumbfounded.

The announcement was made not by Nasi, but by the gatekeepers.

"Lu Li, Fudot Lince, Yeger, for assaulting a fellow student, one month in the confinement cells."

Yeger's lips tightened; he had thought their little operation would go unnoticed.

"Sorry... I let you down."

"I just got out of the confinement cells!"

Fudot stomped her foot in frustration.

She had arrived at the middle courses the day after being released, and now, on her second day, she was being sent back.

"Perhaps the confinement cells for the junior and middle courses are different," Lu Li said calmly.

Fudot snorted. Was this Lu Li's idea of dark humor?