A moment ago.
“This is…” the student gasped, finding the log that Nathan asked earlier. There were a lot of words inscribed in it.
“I’m sorry, Rudeus. I can’t afford to do everything as you said. Even though I can burn the side of the island opposite to yours, I don’t want to burn the only water source on this island. Humans can live without food for two weeks, but they won’t survive longer than three days without water.
I’ve come to realize that I’m unable to do such cruel things, and I regret the fact I’ve promised you to burn that side of the island. You’ve truly forced me to become the villain of the class, Rudeus. I’m disappointed.”
“Rudeus? But the only one who can write this is… that guy, Nathan!” His friend gasped. They were scouting the area ahead, hoping to find Nathan.
The only thing they found was a small lake and this log.
Both of them exchanged looks.
“Don’t tell me, they have a secret agreement?”
“I don’t know. This might be a trap. Why would Rudeus ask him to burn the island? He might try to make us think Rudeus is the bad guy.”
“But what if this is true? Who will actually get the most benefit from all this?”
“That’s…”
Both of them looked each other in the eyes, knowing the answer too well.
Rudeus and August would be the winners. They had always been at the top in every competition.
“Don’t tell me. Rudeus is actually fooling those two to destroy the aliens so as to provoke us? He will then act like a good guy and rally us to crush both Nathan and Selena? This way, he will come on top while gaining our support.”
“That might also be another possibility. He is a prince, so gaining our support will be necessary for his influence in the Liaystian Kingdom.”
“If you take a look at it, Selena’s family is in a rather vague position. Nathan is just a commoner. Do you think Selena is insane enough to do this?”
“Right? Do you think a commoner like him can come up with such a plan?”
“You and I are both from noble families. We know commoners are mostly foolish and the only ones ruthless enough to do something like this are…”
Both of them didn’t say anything, but the answer was clear. It was the royal family.
“!!!” They shuddered in fear.
That was right. If Nathan was bold enough to do this, there was nothing to stop him from destroying the only water source on the island.
In fact, he should have just destroyed the water source, and no one could sustain themselves for longer than a week, even with the coconuts.
The fact that he burned the island first meant that was the first task.
In addition, it was only Nathan’s dragon that did all this. There was no sight of Selena, so Selena, who was supposed to be smarter, must not know about the plan.
In other words, Rudeus had manipulated Nathan this whole time.
They shuddered at the realization. This was a clever move from Rudeus not only to sabotage Nathan and Selena, but also to strengthen his position.
They had heard the rumor about the vice principal stopping other teachers from making Nathan their students. There was no way the Forest Queen would allow Nathan to destroy nature.
They couldn’t help but gnash their teeth and hurried back to their camp.
“Do you think being a prince can justify this action, Rudeus?”
Rudeus was flabbergasted. “What? I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t play dumb. I already know that you are manipulating everyone.”
“What? I didn’t manipulate anyone. Why are you accusing me all of a sudden?”
August frowned, noticing something was wrong.
The guy simply shouted to everyone, “Listen, everyone. Think about this. Why would the fire only engulf half of the island? If that dragon is trying to sabotage the event, shouldn’t it be better to burn the only water source on the island instead of destroying the island? This way, we won’t even know where the water source is, and we can’t even link them to such a crime.”
“That’s…” The people began to carefully recount their experience.
“This is ridiculous. How could I know what he is planning to do?” August frowned.
“Then why does the fire start on the opposite side of the island? And it’s perfectly the opposite of your position. Your cyclops is taller than a tree, so the dragon can definitely see your cyclops.
“You must have tricked him into burning the forest so that you can gain our support. This is too much, Rudeus. If we fall for your trick, you will win again and even receive our support. As a prince, you’re too shameless. Do you want to become the crown prince that much?”
“What?” Rudeus was baffled. How did he become the villain? It was Nathan who did it, and he just took advantage of the situation.
What manipulation? Everything was Nathan’s fault.
The people started to suspect him. This was the kind of action that those in power would take.
Rudeus might not know how this guy came to this conclusion, but he realized Nathan must have done something to shift the blame to him.
“This is quite exciting, isn’t it? To think that it would end up coming to this kind of fight,” said Vivian while munching.
“Did he think this far the whole time? Instead of offending the entire class, he would turn them against each other. And Flora would be there to protect him. Flora would definitely help him… unlike the previous scenario, where she had to forcefully use the royal family if she wanted to help him.” The principal gasped. “Do you teach him politics? Also, do you have popcorn?”
“No, but I have sweet potatoes.” Vivian grabbed another bag of sweet potatoes while saying, “Nathan is unlike any others. His thoughts elude even me. His train of thought is so unique that I’ve made major breakthroughs on several of my projects just by listening to his absurd ideas.”
The principal had a wry smile on his face. “He used Rudeus’ identity as a prince to actually turn the people against him. What a sly little devil.”