NOVEL NEXT Chapter 87
<87 - April's Investigation 2>
While Oknodie was diligently attending lectures and making strides, April, the spy of the Foundation infiltrating the academy, received new orders.
“Follow Oknodie and fill in all the blanks of the 50-question questionnaire.”
This mission was different from the last time and sent through a different channel.
April immediately sensed something.
The command was to verify the identity of New Student Dormitory woman’s room 111.1 and report any hazards.
This was a mission to investigate the dangers surrounding Oknodie.
Follow Oknodie.
The mission was to treat Oknodie as a potential risk and conduct an investigation.
‘Oknodie. Is the Foundation’s upper management engaged in a battle hidden from view because of this child?’
The child caught up in the adults’ sordid struggle looked pitiful.
“Bark! April is still quick on her feet!”
“Just average.”
“Bark! Happy hasn’t even finished half yet!”
“Just average.”
“Grumble. April, you’re so annoying.”
Happy, another cleaning maid, had completed her work while April finished hers, even before Happy could finish half of her area.
She didn’t even spare a glance at Happy’s unfortunate fate, who must endlessly sweep up fur that she can’t contain.
In her ignorant newbie days, April had helped Happy with her sweeping, but the result was an endless war against fur that never seemed to end.
‘If work assignments are this mismanaged, it’s almost impressive. Isn’t that just bullying from the head maid?’
Such thoughts were all April’s poor partner could ponder.
Entering an empty room where no one was watching, she quickly skimmed through the questionnaire.
A 50-question form about Oknodie.
Filling in a few blanks was simple.
Q13: What does Oknodie like to eat?
A: 1st choice: Poison Candy. 2nd choice: Food never tasted before. 3rd choice: Stones smaller than her fist.
Q14: What does Oknodie dislike to eat?
A: Any health food that tasted bad after one try.
What on earth is she planning to use this for?
Is she trying to poison her favorite food as a gift?
The thought makes her feel all the more pity.
While others think Oknodie is a lucky child who entered the world’s best educational institution chosen by the Foundation, the reality is that she must worry about possibly being poisoned in her favorite food, entangled in adult faction wars.
Unless she’s undergone poison resistance training, a day will surely come when she throws up blood and meets her end.
‘Don’t get too invested. That child is just one of the Foundation’s scholarship students.’
The Foundation’s management objective isn’t that kind-hearted; it aims to scout talents who have the ability to enter the academy but lack the means, with a far less innocent purpose than it appears.
Using talented children as weapons to threaten professors at the academy, wielding their power, knowledge, and influence is a dreadfully sinister aim.
Even if she feels pity for the child’s plight, intervening rashly would attract the Foundation’s attention.
And after that?
Swish.
Vanishing without a trace, only adding one more prospective scholarship student to next semester’s roster.
Jonnas Wahyhiemhai, a graduate of Gift Academy and famous within the Foundation for his outstanding skills.
Even he became embroiled in hasty sympathy and is now “referred to as a butler, which is basically an errand boy” still nurturing prospective scholarship students.
An insignificant spy like April wouldn’t even get the chance for such a lenient ‘next opportunity.’ If she’s unlucky, it’s instant execution; no matter how lucky she is, she’ll just be reassigned.
And where would she be reassigned? Some remote investigation camp, perhaps.
With a survival possibility of 0%, she’d have to die and become a corpse to get out.
Scholarship students share similar fates, just slightly better off than the Foundation’s spies.
‘That’s why most scholarship students enter lower classes, hiding their identities while quietly focusing on their studies.’
If their identities are revealed, the academy will initiate moves to expel the child or pressure them to withdraw the Foundation’s influence.
Compared to this, Oknodie, whose identity has been revealed since the entrance ceremony, was truly different from ordinary scholarship students.
Her emotional expressions were clear.
Her personality didn’t seem like an act at all.
She does whatever she wants.
Whatever comes to her mind, she does it all.
Basically, what the Foundation requires from scholarship students is grades.
Outstanding performance.
They must become students whose talents and achievements are too remarkable to be discarded, even if their identities are revealed.
In that respect, Oknodie was the ideal candidate the Foundation desired.
‘Being a child assigned to Jonnas, however, works against Oknodie.’
Some scholarship students betray others to survive through treachery.
Or those who know each other might cooperate and backstab one another for points or grades.
So it’s best for scholarship students to conceal their identities as much as possible.
Cooperation.
Collaboration.
Such things are only sought by the weak, and the fates of the weak inevitably boil down to betray or be betrayed—one or the other.
From the perspective of those weaker, those who manage those weaklings, and their superiors, Jonnas becomes a thorn in their side.
Their failures only become more glaring, and the fact that he’s a graduate of the Gift Academy is likely to cause them discomfort.
Crisp.
Black letters filled various parts of the questionnaire.
This was as much as she could fill in on her own.
The rest required watching Oknodie closely or following her to gather information.
“Scrub! Scrub the window! Scrub the window!”
“Done.”
“Swipe! Water clean! Water clean!”
“Done.”
“Scrub! Scrub the window! Scrub the window!”
“I said I’m done, you brat.”
After finishing the verbal sparring with the foolish cleaning maid Dermar in the afternoon, April followed Oknodie’s lecture schedule to ensure she was always one step behind.
Once official lecture activities were over, it would lead to free time for the students.
A great opportunity to learn what Oknodie normally thinks and does.
‘If I go this way, I’ll hit the Student Council Building. The new students probably haven’t even gotten their orientation yet, so where did she get this information?’
While most first-year students exhausted and dragging their feet around as if they were zombies, moaning “Ugh,” seeking the infirmary or lounge, a few tough ones were hunting classrooms or training areas; Oknodie had her eyes set on finding clubs.
“Wow. There’s such a small kid at our school?”
“Never seen that kid before. She must be a new student, right?”
Students struggling within their grade levels couldn’t even recognize the top student of the grade below.
“At this time, the 2nd-year Production Department’s [Metal Craft for Dimwits] class should be ending, right?”
“Could be a senior coming back from [Pando Studies] in the 3rd-year Administration Department.”
“Does that height even make sense for a 3rd grader?”
“Well, maybe a 1st grader wouldn’t know.”
“1st graders don’t even know where the Student Council Building is yet. How could they get here?”
“True? Then she must be a 2nd grader.”
Students wandering around the Student Council Building reached this conclusion.
What a poor kid, attending a class only lowly inferior students would take!
“Hey, kid, want to join the [West Union] club with me? We only have kind and good people from the West! Your hair is so Western-looking, I thought I’d ask—are you from the West?”
“Forget that, let’s go to the [Board Game] club with your big brother. Lots of guys will have fun with you here. I’ve heard there are loads of fun games? Hehehe.”
Oknodie’s eyes turned sharp with annoyance.
She quickly sensed the motives behind their approaching actions.
What if she got mad and just murdered them?
The children of the Foundation have a boiling point different from the average person.
They have at least one psycho-like tendency where they could go off at any moment.
While considering whether to increase the distance, Oknodie displayed an unexpected reaction.
“I don’t want to! No! Please don’t!”
The doors of the club rooms, filling the Student Council Building, burst open as the students poked their heads out.
“What’s happening?”
“Is the kid in trouble or something?”
“Just how insane do you have to be to try to kidnap someone in broad daylight just to fill your club members?”
“Scum of the earth.”
“Isn’t that a crime?”
“They look perverted too.”
“I heard that guy laughing weirdly.”
“Ugh, disgusting.”
“Repulsive.”
“Get lost, you idiots.”
“Which department are those guys from?”
In an instant, the students showered the two men with insults and criticisms, leaving them teary-eyed.
“It’s not like that! We just kindly suggested joining a club! We didn’t say we wouldn’t let her out before signing anything!”
“Me too! I thought we could charm her and get her to sign, but we’ve done nothing wrong! Kid, say something…”
“Huh? Where’d she go?”
“Did she run away leaving us behind?!”
As the remaining students’ gazes grew colder, Oknodie was weaving through the Student Council Building without restraint, seizing the moment of chaos.
With the skill of knowing how to avoid attention and raise a ruckus, she moved as if she were fully aware of her surroundings.
‘Did Jonnas find a way to bypass the prohibition on disclosing matters about the academy?’
Upon entering the internal garden of the Student Council Building, Oknodie’s eyes lit up upon discovering something.
“Hehe. Found it.”
‘How cute.’
April was enchanted as she saw Oknodie pull out a cup filled with cultivation liquid from the cultivation room near the garden.
Cultivation liquid?
April couldn’t hide her confusion.
‘Could it be that she’s trying to drink cultivation liquid to grow taller, aiming for 230cm as she often habitually mentions?’
Unless she’s a vegetable, I doubt drinking cultivation liquid meant for plants would help her grow.
But it would be enough to report.
Q33: What is Oknodie’s recent goal and the effort to achieve it?
A: She seems to think that drinking plant cultivation liquid will help her grow taller in her efforts to become 230cm tall.
I must also acquire the ingredient analysis sheet to check if there are harmful components in the liquid.
‘What a demanding young lady.’
Now I understand why Jonnas seems to take such good care of her.