“Wei tends to exaggerate,” the Director smiled. “Especially when it comes to this particular student.”
“But he’s not completely wrong, is he?” Julius arched an eyebrow.
“Wei talks a lot but doesn’t lie when…”
“And just when Yino finds a way to use the abyss against us,” continued the prince, “such a student appears.”
“You suspect a boy with a mushroom too?” the Director smiled.
“Not necessarily…” Julius smiled too. “Rather, I’m intrigued. Zhao mentioned something specific about how he was too clever.”
They stopped in front of the dormitory door.
“Ready to speak directly with our mysterious student?” Julius smiled while raising his hand to knock.
♢♢♢♢
“So,” the prince observed the room with apparent casualness, “do you enjoy spending time in the mines?”
Min and Taro had withdrawn after a signal from the Director, leaving Ren alone with his important visitors.
“It’s… a good way to obtain resources, your highness,” Ren responded carefully, measuring each word.
“The guards say you’re quite successful at finding crystals,” Julius continued. “For someone with a spore, it’s… unusual.”
“I just follow basic patterns,” Ren maintained his neutral tone. “Anyone can learn them.”
The prince smiled slightly. “Like the patterns you followed during the exploration with Zhao?”
Ren felt a pang of nervousness, but kept his expression calm. “Professor Zhao guided us that day. I just followed his instructions.”
“Curious,” Julius tilted his head. “He remembers the situation… differently. Something about a boy escaping his famous vigilance.”
The Director remained silent, observing the exchange like he would a chess match.
“I think, pardon, y-your highness,” Ren chose his words carefully, “I think Professor Zhao is being too generous. He probably compares me to others because of my weak beast and assumed more than what really happened.”
“And auxiliary Lin?” the prince changed topics abruptly. “Why did she decide to train you personally?”
“Because I have a pathetic beast in combat and I’m a lost cause,” Ren smiled with feigned self-deprecation. “Or I was, at least. Master Lin has a weakness for lost causes…”
The Director coughed slightly to hide a smile. The answer was perfectly believable, Lin was known for adopting students with unrecognized potential.
“You were also in the infirmary for mana poisoning that day,” Julius continued. “How deep did you really go?”
“Not very deep,” Ren shrugged. “But my spore is so weak that even a little exposure affects me more than others.”
It was a perfectly reasonable explanation. The prince frowned slightly, each of Ren’s answers was logical, simple, almost too perfect in their normality.
But was it really that weak?
He didn’t have much to compare it to but it shouldn’t be so different in processing mana to others, maybe 50% less…
“And the cultivation method that bothers Wei so much?”
“Oh, that,” Ren seemed to genuinely animate. “It’s just an idea based on a lucky friend. Professor Wei believes it’s impossible, but…” he stopped, as if doubting whether to continue.
“But?” the prince encouraged.
“But I think sometimes we focus so much on what we believe impossible that we stop seeing what can be,” Ren concluded.
Julius studied the boy for a long moment. Each answer subtly diverted attention from any special ability, attributing everything to luck, help from others, or simple persistence.
It was the kind of humility that could be genuine… or a well-constructed facade.
But the prince was the one who had taught the girls to detect lies…
“You know,” the prince finally stood, “I need to investigate something in the mines tomorrow. The guards say you seem to be an expert in tunnels and very ‘lucky’.”
Ren blinked, surprised by the change of topic. “You want me to…?”
“Guide me,” Julius smiled. “Since you spend so much time there, you must be able to help me find an intruder’s trail.”
The Director carefully observed Ren’s reaction. For a moment, something seemed to gleam in the boy’s eyes, but it disappeared so quickly it could have been imagination.
“O-of course, y-your highness,” Ren nodded respectfully. “Though I don’t know how useful a spore can be as a guide…”
“Oh, don’t worry about that,” the prince headed toward the door. “Sometimes the simplest beasts surprise us, don’t they, Director?”
Ignatius nodded slightly, noticing how the mushrooms in Ren’s hair pulsed faster than ever.
♢♢♢♢
The prince observed Ren while they descended through the tunnels. The boy’s answers in the dormitory had been careful, measured… and several of them were definitely false.
There was something in the way his eyes moved when answering about the exploration, in how his voice subtly changed when talking about the depths. Small details others might overlook, but for someone who had trained Luna, Liora, and Larissa in the art of detecting lies were clear as day.
The mushrooms in Ren’s hair illuminated the way with a soft glow.
“Well,” the prince commented casually, “at least now I see one small advantage you have over your companions. That light must be useful down here… Do your mushrooms have any other interesting advantages?”
“It’s just light, your highness,” Ren responded while guiding the way. “Not really a big deal.”
The prince noticed the slight tension in his shoulders, the subtle change in his tone.
Another lie.
“Do you know anything about the intruder who attacked the academy?” he asked abruptly, watching Ren’s reaction.
“Just what I heard afterward,” Ren responded, and this time his voice carried the ring of truth. “That he was someone dangerous from Yino.”
‘Interesting,’ thought the prince. ‘So he didn’t see him personally then.’
“And can you repeat to me what you were doing that day in the mines?”
“Looking for crystals, as always,” the response was too quick, too rehearsed.
The prince studied the boy while they continued descending. He didn’t seem like a spy, his lies were too specific, too focused on hiding something particular instead of the kind of general deception an infiltrator would use.
“Tell me,” he stopped at a tunnel crossing, “do you notice anything unusual? Anything different from what you’re used to?”
Ren visibly hesitated. The mushrooms in his hair pulsed while his eyes scanned the walls.
“No… not really.”
The prince smiled. It was the most obvious lie yet.
“You know, my cousin told me something about you and how you understood her special ability, but…” his voice softened, “I was the one who taught Luna to detect lies. It’s a subtle art, the small changes in voice, the tension in certain muscles, the way the eyes move… And above all, the bodily flow of mana.”
Ren froze, the mushrooms in his hair pulsing erratically.
“And you, young Ren, have been lying quite a bit. Not about everything, but definitely about important things.”