CHAPTER 839: A BACKGROUND NOISE ALIBI

Before he could read the previous pages, a knock drew his attention to the door. He glanced at his body, which had completely recovered by now, then closed and planned to hide the grimoire under his bed.

However, Quintella gasped when he passed beside her. "What a beautiful book! It sparkles so much. Can I have it?"

Without waiting for an answer, she opened the window to let natural light illuminate the grimoire, exclaiming that the cover looked like a twilight sky filled with shimmering stars.

He opened it for her, only for her to stutter as she read, "The Incredible Adventures of Cordelia. A heroine! You definitely have to give me this book."

"I’ll keep it safe until your reading skills improve." He patted her head, realising that the grimoire shared the same feature as Kwame’s—the contents changed depending on who opened it. Unless Haldris held it personally, he should be safe from suspicion, and that made his smile broaden.

With no need to hide it, he placed the grimoire on the table before opening the door.

As soon as the opening grew broad enough for an arm to pass through, Desmond thrust a new uniform against Adam’s chest, whispering, "Teacher Magna’s keeping an eye on me. Change fast, and let’s leave."

Adam nodded, but before he could close the door, a firm hand gripped its side and forced it open.

"Ah! You can’t do that, Teacher Magna!" Desmond yelped, shaking his head hurriedly as Magna’s short brown hair poked through the opening.

"I didn’t know you made the rules, Desmond." The dorm co-manager snickered, his blue eyes locking onto Adam’s bare torso. A questioning frown creased his brow as he took in the room, gaze lingering for a heartbeat on the pool of ink beside Quintella’s desk, who waved at him.

He nodded at her warm greetings before glaring at the open window. A thoughtful finger found his cheek, tapping rhythmically. "Hmm." His eyes returned to Adam. "You didn’t enter the dorms through the lounge, right?" It wasn’t a question. "How many uniforms will you destroy?" He strolled past in front of Adam’s narrowed eyes to sit on his sofa, a leg crossed over his knee, and his arms spread wide on the backrest. "I’m sure you’ll recount the great story of how you’ve ruined this one."

Adam shrugged, his voice echoing with fake confidence. "I burnt it with my own spell. End of the story."

Magna supported his chin with the backs of his hands, leaning forward. "Where and why?"

"Working for Teacher Louis in the Reward Hall. We should have carried boxes from his storage to his office over ten minutes ago, but, well..." He gestured at his torso, and the shimmering mana threads forming makeshift trousers around his legs. "I doubt anyone would want to see a student like this."

He put his new uniform on, then walked toward the door. "Anyway, you can ask him. We often fool around in the corridor until he reprimands us. Oh, he might actually ask you where we were later, too."

Magna scrutinised Adam as he stepped out, his frown deepening. Thousands of students had tried to lie to him over centuries. By now, he could differentiate a lie from the truth in a heartbeat. Yet, Adam’s words felt strangely out of place. No lies, but the truth was vague, as if the teenager was inviting him to fill the gaps by verifying his own deduction with Teacher Louis.

This left only two options: either Adam burnt his uniform while playing, as he claimed, or was sure no deduction would ever come remotely close to the truth he tried to hide.

His lips curled as Adam and Desmond’s footsteps faded in the background noise of the dormitory. "Truly fascinating." He gazed at Quintella. "You were right."

"Hehehe. I told you that my brother never lies." She chuckled behind her desk, then tilted her head innocently. "And before you ask, I don’t know what. Do you believe me?"

"Not one word." Magna slapped his leg in amusement. "Do I care is the correct question. Honestly, I was more interested in your ridiculous claim." He rose from the sofa, his gaze lingering on the grimoire’s cover for a moment—a knight facing up against a red dragon. But after flipping it open and seeing the golden title on the first page, "Vortigern’s legend," he waved on his way out, uninterested in bedtime stories. "Since it was true, let me give you a tip: you should stop hanging out with Sarah."

"Why?" she asked, but he vanished into the corridor without answering. "She’s nice, though..." she muttered, lips twisting. After a moment of pondering, she clicked her tongue as someone would after hearing a good friend being bad-mouthed. "Magna’s just trying to scare me."

Bao nodded in front of her, then pointed at the parchment with her ink-stained paws. As she returned to her study, Adam and Desmond entered the Reward Hall.

Magi lined the counters, their focused gaze on rare materials undisturbed by their approach. Even the rare few who lifted their faces quickly lowered them back upon seeing the two troublemakers.

Adam led the way toward the corridor of the treasury, his steps measured and his features relaxed. After all, he already knew how to solve Louis’ issue flawlessly.

However, Louis emerged before he could reach the door, dragging a crying Elliot by an ear so swollen that Adam expected it to burst at any moment.

The teacher’s cheeks twitched as he exhaled through his clenched jaw, and his green eyes erupted with barely contained mana. "I’ll only ask once: where have you two been?" Then, he spoke each word separately with the tone of a man who had reached the absolute limits of his patience. "What did you discover—where does the door of my storage lead to?"

Adam cast an apologetic look at Elliot, mouthing "thank you." Then, he focused on Louis. "First answer: in my room."

Louis interrupted, his voice like grinding stones. "Lies. No one saw you leave the Hall."

Desmond crossed his arms over his chest, snorting, "They wouldn’t have seen us enter either if not for your outburst. We’ve been coming and going for two weeks. We’re barely background noise to them at this point."

Louis glared at the magi, who all shifted their gazes away in silent confirmation—they had seen the duo walk in and out so many times that their presence couldn’t distract them from work anymore.

Adam raised his palm to cut Desmond off, continuing. "Look, Teacher Louis. I’m not lying to you. You can ask Teacher Magna or any student in the dorm." He pointed at Desmond. "They all want to pummel him after his scream. You know? The usual, annoying one. This poor joke swelled way beyond our predictions."

He pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing as he walked past Louis to enter the treasury corridor. "I’ll show you there is nothing wrong with your storage."

Louis’ gaze sharpened. So did his voice. "Enter first and keep the door wide open. I’ll come a minute later. But remember—this is your last chance to confess."

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AN: Was Desmond’s YAHOOO really useful for once?