Convections

"Should we proceed?" I asked Marydhel.

Seeing the blood up ahead, my body began shaking. How can such a gruesome liquid be allowed and considered as part of a test?!

I ignored the feeling and looked at Marydhel. She looked at me as well and said, "This is just a test. Maybe it's not real blood."

I reckon that might be the case. If my guess is correct, this area might have a ribbon. "I think this is it. Red, right?" I said. Marydhel nodded to my statement and started to walk closer to the bottom of the cell tower. There was a facility under it, and we entered carefully.

"Oh my—" I heard Marydhel say something. I hurriedly ran towards her, and she pointed to a body.

A dead body. There were no flies and no odor, so it may just be some sort of decor to enhance the atmosphere of the test.

"Hey, Ais. This looks like a replication of a murder crime scene."

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"We're heading to the cell tower," Acheron said to Jhudiel. With no hesitation, Jhudiel nodded and kept following her partner.

They were walking peacefully, but suddenly Acheron bumped into something. He fell on the ground, and Jhudiel laughed at him.

"Pfft, weak..."

Jhudiel was about to tease Acheron, but then she suddenly noticed something strange. "A barrier?..." Jhudiel muttered. Acheron stood up and touched the barrier, "This school might be more financially rich than we thought. Compressed gas, or let's just say its modern term, 'Barrier', is a very known phenomenon in human history. They don't typically exist in reality. Although, in 2025, a man discovered a way to produce air barriers. It was imperfect, yet it worked. It underwent many changes, especially in 2026 where the first perfect model of the barrier for commercial use was released. Now, barriers are used for many things. But they may be a bit costly. The cheapest barrier on the market is currently $2,000,000. And its size is only capable of holding a Taxi or a small car inside..."

Jhudiel nodded in accordance with Acheron's point. She deeply thought for a while and eventually made a statement, "Let's proceed for now. Maybe a ribbon is in there, and someone is currently getting it, that's why we can't go near."

Acheron nodded and walked away along with Jhudiel. He looked at the tower again and took a gaze at the facility below it. "Something's strange..." he said inside his head while still walking.

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Marydhel and I were paying close attention to the podium. After a while, the podium started talking again, "Once upon a chilling night under a cell tower, the lifeless body of Shiro lay among scattered cake crumbs and a blood-stained hammer. The clock on the wall had stopped at 11:55 PM, marking the haunting time of the grim discovery. Three suspects found themselves under the sharp gaze of the investigators, Pair 197.

Dylan the Carpenter, famed for his precision in woodworking and recently entangled in a turbulent business dispute with the victim. Iora the Baker, a skilled pastry chef with a contentious history of rivalry in a heated baking competition. Elysi the Librarian, enigmatic and reserved, holding a concealed grudge stemming from a past family incident.

As the case unfolded, puzzling clues emerged. Cake crumbs and a blood-stained hammer, ominously left at the scene of the crime. A torn piece of fabric, resembling the librarian's attire, discovered in close proximity to the victim. An anonymous note pointing fingers at Dylan as the orchestrator behind the sinister act. What should be done next?"

Marydhel and I stood silent for a moment and looked around. I still can't remove the feeling that this dead body is very real. I kept ignoring the will to press it to see how realistic the school made it.

"May we talk to the suspects?" I said. The podium displayed three boxes on its side and a name inside them. After a while, the first block with the name, Dylan, started vibrating and talking angrily, "I was at my workshop, working on a custom furniture order! How dare you accuse me of such a heinous act? I have an alibi, and I demand to be cleared of these false accusations!"

Not long after the other one underneath Dylan started talking. Dylan's box stopped vibrating, implying that it stopped talking. "I was indeed at the cooking contest, showcasing my baking skills. While I have a competitive spirit, I would never resort to such a gruesome act. Let the evidence speak for itself," Iora said with a sassy tone.

After the sassy lady finished talking, the last one, Elysi, started to talk. "I-I was at the library organizing the archives. I-I swear, I had nothing to do with this. P-please, you have to believe me. It's all a misunderstanding..." Elysi stated in a nervous tone.

Marydhel nodded, probably getting a hint of something from their statements. I looked at her and let her decide what to do next. She nodded and whispered at me, "This is what I noticed. I have a hunch that it's Elysi. Can you avoid asking Elysi a question? I have a plan."

"Okay, but what do you think about the note saying Dylan planned it? He probably placed that note, so he can say that he's just being framed," I whispered to Marydhel. Marydhel grinned and asked a question, "Where were you on the night of the crime, Dylan?"

The podium let out an angry groan, and Dylan started talking, "I was busy creating furniture for one of my clients! How can you be so sure that I killed Shiro?! It doesn't mean that I have a grudge on him, doesn't mean that I killed him!"

Marydhel looked at me with a grin on her face. "I know how to unravel this," she said and smiled. I noticed how intuitive this girl can be and decided to let her handle this part for now.

After 10 more minutes of interrogation, we figured out that Elysi was the culprit.

The cake crumbs and hammer were all left on purpose. Elysi used them to frame Dylan and Iora who had a grudge on Shiro. Although, the fabric wasn't left intentionally because we can see that it got stuck on a nail coming out of the wall. Additionally, Marydhel kept asking Elysi if she knows how to stop a clock from ticking, and Elysi gave a professional answer that surprised me as well. She was also seen on the night of the crime. Dylan and Iora were proven to be innocent as they indeed have errands to make about their own profession. We managed to figure out the culprit.

On the podium inside the room, a red ribbon appeared. I took it, and a loud announcement resonated throughout the school, "Pair 197 has found a red ribbon."

All of a sudden, Marydhel and I got a notification on a phone, "Your popularity points had increased. 'Red ribbon's perk: 'Hazardous Detective' has been acquired."

With no more hesitation, Marydhel and I ran outside the dim room. "Aah... It feels good to breathe fresh air," I said while inhaling deeply and exhaling afterward.

"Ais, let's head to the orange ribbon!" Marydhel excitedly told me. I nodded and followed her happily.

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"Eron, are you okay?!" a beautiful girl with brown hair asked her partner who was injured. "I'm okay, Hanna," the guy, Eron, responded.

"Weak! Now, be my girlfriend or that puny idiot will get hurt," a guy threatened Hanna and Eron. Hanna was powerless in the current situation and was about to surrender. She can't bear her friend getting beat up just because she wants to protect her own choice. "I-I su—," Hanna was about to utter something, but then, the guy's own partner stood in front of them and blocked them from Jaegen's sight.

"Enough of this! I won't let you lay a finger on them anymore," the guy protecting Hanna stated. He clenched his fists and threw a punch at his own teammate. The guy fell to the ground and shouted, "What the heck is wrong with you, Denver?!"

"Run," Denver, the guy protecting Hanna and Eron, said to the two and gave them a Rabustin's Apple. Hanna and Eron dared not to utter anything and just distanced themselves from the scene.

They got away and sat down under a tree. "Who was that..." Eron asked. Hanna sighed and responded, "I don't know, but the abusive guy called him 'Denver'."

"We have to thank him," Eron said. Hanna smiled and said, "We will... But for now, eat this Rabustin's Apple."

Eron ate the apple, and he immediately felt less pain than before. "Why would he give us something so expensive? Rabustin's Apple is an expensive modern apple breed," Hanna questioned why Denver showed them sympathy even with the risk of losing points from the lack of team cooperation.

After gathering back all her thoughts and looking at Eron finally relieved from pain, she said in her mind, "I'll thank you soon, Denver."

"Now, let's find a ribbon! We only have one hour and 30 minutes left—" Hanna was interrupted.

"Pair 197 has found a red ribbon," an announcement was heard throughout the school.

"We really have to move fast, Eron," Hanna said. Eron smiled and responded, "I'm well now. Vamonos!"