Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest novel Chapter 168

Chapter 168 Chapter 37.3 - Small talk in the train

"Irina. It is fine, don't worry."

A small landscape and a familiar scene.

Sunlight entering the confines of the room….

"B-but….I-it is broken…."

A shaky voice of a young child.

The boy kneeling beside the broken vase, his hands gentle yet skilled. With a meticulous touch, he began the process of piecing the fragments back together.

"Don't worry, I will fix it," he reassured her, his voice a soothing balm to the young Irina's distress.

With a serene focus, the young child skillfully manipulated his mana, creating a phenomenon that was out of the norm.

Irina's eyes widened in awe as she witnessed the magical threads weaving through the air. The fragments of the broken vase levitated, drawn together by an unseen force.

It was a delicate symphony of mana, a manifestation of the boy's innate talent.

Just as the enchanting display reached its peak, the room's atmosphere shifted. The warm sunlight streaming through the windows seemed to waver as a woman entered, her gaze cold and piercing. Fiery red hair framed her stern face, and her eyes, a cold shade of yellow, locked onto the boy and the magically restored vase.

"What happened here?" the woman inquired, her tone cutting through the residual magic in the air.

The boy hesitated for a moment, his eyes flickering nervously. "It's nothing, Madam Emberheart. We were just playing."

However, the woman's sharp perception didn't miss the lingering traces of magic that had just unfolded in the room. Her cold gaze intensified as she scrutinized the scene. "Just playing, you say?" Her voice held an undertone of suspicion.

She approached the restored vase with measured steps, her eyes narrowing as she scrutinized the magical reconstruction. Without uttering a word, she extended her hand toward the vase.

With a wave of her hand, the atmosphere in the room seemed to shift. A strange force enveloped the restored vase, and, to Young Irina's astonishment, the intricate magic that had pieced it together began to unravel.

The vase returned to its shattered state, fragments scattered once more across the room.

Fear immediately enveloped her heart as she lowered her gaze. Even as a younger child, she knew what it meant to lie to her mother.

Madam Emberheart's eyes bore into the shattered vase, her silence amplifying the tension in the room. The air grew heavy with an unspoken weight as she finally broke the silence, her voice cold and measured.

"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded, her gaze shifting from the vase to the young boy.

The young boy, seemingly aware of the gravity of the situation, met Madam Emberheart's gaze without flinching. "I'm sorry, Madam. It was my fault. We were playing, and I accidentally knocked the vase over."

Madam Emberheart's gaze remained unwavering as she heard the confession. "Is that so?" she replied, her tone betraying no emotion.

"Yes," came the simple affirmation.

"Good. Bring me your hand," Madam Emberheart commanded with an air of authority.

Without hesitation, the person extended their hand toward her.

WOOSH!

Madam Emberheart's palm glowed with an ominous flame, and with a swift motion, she placed her fiery hand on theirs, leaving a searing mark on their palm.

"Argh-!"

A subdued groan of pain escaped the unnamed person's lips as he bit them hard. Slight tears enveloped the corners of his eyes as he tried to bear the pain he felt.

Madam Emberheart then turned her attention to young Irina, her expression unyielding. "This is what happens when one doesn't obey."

-?- - -

At that second, a jolt shook through Irina's body, and her eyes snapped open.

"Haaah…"

She found herself back in the present, the gentle rocking of the train replacing the vivid yet haunting dream.

"Haaaah…"

Her breaths gradually steadied as she scanned her surroundings, the remnants of the dream still lingering in her mind.

'It is the same dream again.'

When she looked up, she noticed Astron's eyes fixed on her, his usual impassive expression not giving away any indication of what he might have observed.

"Did you have a nightmare or something?" Astron asked, his tone neutral yet with a faint hint of curiosity.

'Was it about him?'

As a player who played the game, of course, he knew about the things related to him since he was the most important factor in Irina's route.

"No, just a weird dream," Irina replied, avoiding eye contact as she tried to shake off the residual unease from the dream. "It's nothing to worry about."

Astron continued to regard her with an unreadable expression. "Dreams can reveal more than we think. They're a reflection of our subconscious thoughts."

Irina sighed, still feeling the echoes of the unsettling dream. "Well, it was just a memory. Nothing important."

"Memories…." At the mention of that word, his eyes turned slightly different, something that she couldn't quite point out. "I guess they shape who we are?"

Irina shot him a skeptical look. "You sound like one of those philosophers."

Astron shrugged. "Maybe I am. I just like to think a lot. If that makes me a philosopher, why should I complain?"

"I didn't say it, so you can complain."

"It surely sounded like you wanted, though."