After speaking with the teacher on duty, Kala and his friends were finally allowed to enter the infirmary to check on Gantha's condition. The atmosphere felt quiet as they stepped inside. Gantha was still lying down, seemingly unconscious. However, Kala's attention was drawn to something else. Something felt suspicious in the room.
"Agan hasn't woken up yet, but why isn't the glass of water on the bedside table full? And there's water spilled on the floor, and the tissue drawer wasn't fully closed," Yoan said, voicing his concern. Even so, the others seemed more focused on Gantha's condition than noticing those small details.
Silence. No one spoke for several minutes. They all looked anxious, waiting for Gantha to open his eyes. Then, finally, the young man slowly regained consciousness. His eyes opened, looking at his friends.
"You guys," Gantha said weakly.
"You okay, Gan?" Hasta asked, full of worry.
Gantha nodded slightly. "Don't worry. Just a minor incident."
"Minor? It got all of us panicking," Dion responded.
"You're just overreacting," Gantha said flatly.
"Overreacting? We're your friends. Of course we're worried," Melvin said, trying to ease the tension.
"Gan, what actually happened? Why did you pass out like that?" Yoga asked curiously.
Gantha paused for a moment, then answered briefly, "No need to know. It's not your business."
Yoan let out a long sigh, looking impatient. "Man, I'm being real patient here. You lied to us, and now you don't even want to tell us what happened?"
Gantha stared at Yoan expressionlessly. "Lied to you? What do you mean?"
"You were awake before we came in, weren't you?" Yoan asked directly.
Gantha raised an eyebrow. "How do you know?"
"You already drank the water in the glass, then probably spilled some because you were still feeling dizzy or weak. You grabbed some tissues in a rush, which is why the drawer wasn't closed properly," Yoan explained confidently.
"If that's the case, wouldn't the glass have fallen and shattered? The straw here is for students too weak to lift the glass," Gantha replied, picking up the straw. "Besides, if a straw was used, there would be water droplets left. This one's completely dry."
Yoan scratched his head. "Ah, you're right. I guess I was jumping to conclusions."
Gantha gave a faint smile. "Your observation was good, even though you were wrong," he said, patting Yoan on the shoulder.
Dion, who had been silent all along, finally spoke. "Gan, actually—"
"Leave me alone with Kala," Gantha suddenly interrupted.
Dion paused, about to protest, but then understood that something serious might be going on. "Alright, we'll head out," he said, signaling the others.
Once the room was empty, Kala immediately spoke up. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
Gantha looked at him sharply. "I'm sure you noticed things too, like Yoan did."
Kala nodded. "The water in the glass was used to rinse something. Both dry and wet tissues were taken, but only the wet ones were thrown in the trash. That means the dry tissues were used to wrap something you rinsed."
Gantha chuckled at Kala's deduction—it confirmed his suspicion that Kala was smart even without his esper abilities.
"You're pretty sharp, Kal." He then pulled a pen wrapped in tissue from the pocket of his school blazer. "Go ahead with whatever you planned. This conversation wasn't recorded since I've disabled the pen. I'm guessing you noticed because it's connected to your phone, right?"
Kala stiffened, cold sweat starting to form. "How much do you know about me?" he asked cautiously.
Gantha gave a slight smile. "I know you're an esper. I saw you going down the stairs before the incident, and I also ran into Hadi earlier—he said he saw one of my friends leave after picking up a forgotten bracelet."
Kala fell silent. He had been keeping his abilities hidden from everyone. Only Gantha seemed capable of piecing everything together.
Gantha turned, about to leave. "We can talk again later. The teacher's probably already suspicious of us whispering like this."
Before Gantha could step out, Kala tapped his shoulder. "Lia took your name tag and cigarettes."
Gantha checked his blazer pocket and nodded in understanding. "I'm not worried. I didn't do anything wrong."
Kala patted Gantha's shoulder. "I can help you soon."
Gantha looked at him, a bit surprised. "What do you mean? The Kaze account is only accessible on Asta's tablet. Are you planning to reveal your esper identity?"
Kala shook his head. "Not yet. I'm not ready to tell anyone about my powers."
Gantha smiled faintly. "Then how will you help?"
Kala just grinned in response.
*******
The hallway was empty since all students had been ordered to stay in their classrooms. However, Kala saw Yoan wandering around for some reason. Kala decided to hide for a moment, avoiding his friend's gaze.
"What is he doing?" Kala murmured, a bit puzzled.
Once he felt safe, Kala continued toward the locker area, which was deserted. But from a distance, he saw someone pass by.
"That's the guy who was pacing in front of the infirmary."
Meanwhile, the rooftop was crowded with police conducting a crime scene investigation. Some officers were interrogating teachers, while one of them approached Aganta.
"Aganta Gheovano, is this your item?" the officer asked, showing a name tag.
"Yes, sir. That's mine," Gantha replied calmly.
"Can you explain why you were here earlier?" the officer pressed.
"I often come to relax here. Usually, the rooftop is empty, but this morning I saw Hadi holding a piece of paper that looked like a letter. As I was about to sit down, someone suddenly struck me from behind," Gantha explained, pointing to a pipe on the ground.
"Maybe I was hit with that," he added.
The officer picked up the pipe and noticed a small crack on its surface.
"Did you speak with Hadi?" the officer asked again.
"Not much. He just said he had an appointment with someone," Gantha answered briefly.
"Sorry, but your alibi needs further investigation. We'll need to take you to the station for more information," the officer said firmly.
Gantha complied without protest. He trusted Kala would help him later. But before the officer could leave, a teacher approached them at the rooftop door.
"Sorry, sir. I don't mean to interfere, but Kaze just posted a letter on their account. I think this is the same letter Aganta mentioned," the teacher said.
"Kaze? Who are they?" the officer asked, confused.
"They're the school's detective group. They've solved several problems here," the teacher explained.
"Can we meet them?" the officer asked again.
"Sorry, sir. No one knows their identities. They always solve problems anonymously," the teacher answered.
Before they could finish reading the letter, a recording began playing through the school's speakers. It was a conversation on the rooftop—between Aganta and Hadi, followed by Lia's appearance. The recording revealed that Lia had asked Hadi to meet her for an explanation after catching him cheating.
"Lucky for me you're here. I can use you as a scapegoat with this name tag and those cigarettes you brought," Lia's voice was heard clearly.
The recording ended with the sound of Lia's footsteps leaving the rooftop.
"Thats kind, kid," Gantha thought, chuckling inwardly. The plan had taken a sudden turn, making things even more interesting—even if it would attract suspicion from the Kaze members. Gantha pulled out his phone and sent a message to Kala.
The officer beside Gantha asked again, "Hadi said he saw your friend on the rooftop. If he went down not long after, you must have seen him, right?"
"I don't know, sir. I didn't see anyone go down the stairs," Gantha replied casually.
The officers then left to find the person in the recording. Gantha was allowed to return to class. He walked calmly, confident that the truth would soon be revealed. But what he didn't realize was that someone was watching from afar, observing everything happening on the rooftop.
"This case got wrapped up fast by Kaze. But how come I didn't know about it? There wasn't even a meeting," whispered someone hiding behind the wall.