NOVEL NEXT Chapter 5.1
A dark room with no windows.
A man and a woman, surrounded by achromatic walls on all sides, are sitting on angled chairs facing each other.
The woman’s worn, grey-toned clothes are full of dust.
Dust covers her white face.
There are many minor scars on both of her hands.
It appears to have come from rolling around on the ground.
However, her eyes remain clear and keep an eye on the person sitting across the table.
The condition of the man who took that gaze squarely is the exact opposite of hers.
The high-quality fabrics and the flawless, crisp uniform he wears show his status and wealth.
The silver insignia on the left of his chest proves that he is a professor belonging to the Empire’s leading National Academy, and the blue ring on the index finger of his right hand indicates that he is from the Griff family.
‘·······.’
At the end of the battle of nerves carried out in silence, where only the coffee on the table was cooling off as a consequence, the man stared at the woman fiercely and did not hide his annoyance.
“My name is Ferrad Griff, and I am a professor in the Academy’s Department for Peacekeeping.”
Contrary to his luxurious garbs, his skinny arms and narrow shoulders are shabby, unbefitting of his title.
And his tired voice echoes around the room.
However, he is not a knight, but a wizard, and because the woman in front of him had her ‘attribute’ and ‘magical power’ restrained, his distorted facial expression gave off an oppressive force.
“I’m not in a good mood right now. Right before I leave work, I am called to work overtime because of you guys, okay? You don’t want to see this old man’s face all night long either, right? So, let’s get this over with quickly.”
“... What happened to the friends I was with?”
“When my questions are over, you’ll meet up with them even if we don’t like it. In prison.”
“I like that.”
Her pupils did not shake at what he said nor did her voice quiver.
Cold sweat did not flow down her back.
Her expressionless expression, the same as when he first entered the room, was plain and casual.
‘This has not been an easy girl. She is very good at hiding her thoughts and feelings... Shit, I guess I won’t be going home anytime soon today.’
“Your name is?”
“Jeon Ji-hye.”
“Your age?”
“19 years old.”
Ferrad’s eyebrows twitched at the answer.
But the question and answer session continues on anyway.
“Choose a number between 1 and 10 in your head. Don’t tell me the number.”
No matter how good a poker face she has, no lies hold substance in front of him.
He is a magician with the [Star cluster] attribute that is rare in the empire.
There was no way a strong person who could defy his attributes and powers would be caught so helplessly as she had...
“From now on, you will answer ‘no’ to all my questions.”
He activated the [Star group] Attribute inherent in his mana and manifested the authority [True falsehood].
“Is your number 1?”
“No.”
“Is it two?”
“No.”
The bizarre question and answer session continued to 10.
The woman’s poker face and the man’s ferocious expression did not change throughout.
Jihye urged the man to move on to the next thing with placid eyes, without showing any sign of movement as if it were sculpted still.
“...Let’s do it one more time. Do not change the number you are thinking of.”
It was already the third time.
Of the 4 people caught a while ago and the 2 people caught today, no “Stars” were seen, so the authority was useless.
All human beings who walk under the vast expanse of the skies are given their own stars and destiny upon birth.
This is a law of nature that has been established since the gods appeared in the world, albeit in myths.
Even the transcendentalists of the continent, such as the ‘sword gods’ and ‘magical rulers’, cannot go against it since they were born in this world.
The [Star Cluster] Attribute enables its owner to see the origin and essence of the one they look into.
Even if she is too strong for his attributes to penetrate, her star itself should be visible.
‘It’s as if they weren’t born in this world... Are they really from another world...’
Unfortunately, the Authority did not work, but his seasoned eye from his plentiful experience remains the same.
Ferrad glares at her as if drilling a hole through her skull until his eyes become bloodshot.
“... 4... 5... 6...”
‘At 5, her eyelashes trembled subtly. But that’s a trick. When one lies, you have to look for the involuntary reaction that they can never control with their will.’
“7... 8... 9... 10. You may tell the truth now. Is it number 7?”
“···! That’s right···.”
Jihye’s eyes widened and her mouth parted slightly.
Her gaze lost the composure she had up until a moment ago.
“Okay. I’ll start investigating the details of the intrusion of the ‘Academy’s Forest’ from now on.”
The night is long, and the time would drone on longer.
Ferrad prepared for his overtime.
Jihye thought while ‘pretending’ to honestly answer the questions he asked.
‘Nice! It was 4.’
Her acting skills shone in another world as well.
‘Apparently, this is an interrogation room, and the forest we’ve been in for a few days seems to be off-limits. I fell into the forest without rhyme or reason, and I was brought here without being able to comprehend anything.’
There’s no way she would tell the interrogator what he wanted to know.
Conversely, she gathers knowledge about this new world by analyzing his questions.
What he doesn’t know about and what is most important to him.
The content and order of the questions he asks.
Any key terms in the questions.
His intonation and facial expressions when asking questions.
Jihye’s keen eyes and ears were seeking answers from the questioner with all their might.
** *
*Tak – Tak*
Ferrad neatly arranged the documents containing the interrogation results.
The final interrogation, which lasted for five hours, ended when the last intruder, Lee Hyeon-woo, left the room.
For a long time, his stamina was being drained from having to concentrate so as not to miss even one of the minor details of his opponents.
It would have been very difficult if he hadn’t consumed caffeine throughout the interrogation.
“Now…”
Ferrad clicked his stiff joints from sitting still in the chair and straightened his slightly wrinkled shirt.
After that, he got up and left the interrogation room to share the results of the interrogation.
‘This wasn’t without its value.’
All of them, without exception, replied that they were 19 years old and came from another world where magic and attributes did not exist. He also mentioned that in that world he was a student at an academy where he was acquiring knowledge before becoming an adult.
This was exactly the same confession as the original intruder.
‘How far should I go to believe this?’
It was an absurd claim, but Ferrard personally thought they were telling the truth.
For once, his experience and intuition whispered to him that they were not lying.
But, of course, that is not the only reason.
It is a fact that he could not determine their stars with his properties.
And above all, it is said that this year is the ‘year of cataclysm’ that cycles every 300 years.
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