A loud shriek could be heard. The area was green and surrounded by a multitude of different crops. Some were similar to tomatoes, while others looked like corn. Then next to the corn there was a pig... who was currently shrieking as if it was getting gutted alive, well, which, it was.
A quick stab after another, the short kitchen knife impaled the pig's underbelly. The gore from the pig's insides landed on the small hands of the one slaughtering it.
"Hehehehe..." The boy giggled as he reveled in the blood. He even went so far as to spread the blood all over his face! Of course, without pausing his repetition of stabbings for even a second.
The pig, feeling his death nearing closer and closer, gave one last full exertion attempt to fight back against the boy. He cried out, whipping his head straight towards the child's hand while it was still getting gutted by the boy. Unfortunately for the pig, the boy slashed at his face before its maw could reach the arms of the vicious boy.
With one last outcry to life, the pig's movements stopped, forever. The boy did not stop there, though. He continued to grind the pig's insides similar to a blender, circling the knife in a motion similar to stirring a bowl. He then scraped the insides of the pig, which were now blended innards, into a large wooden bowl. Then the boy lifted the bowl atop his right shoulder, and he started heading deeper inside the forest. Before long he eventually reached an old ceramic bathtub. It was littered with spiderwebs and had cracks all over.
The boy then poured the gore inside of the bath, promptly took his clothes off... and then started bathing in the innards, with an expression as if all his worries were melting away. "Ahhh... this. This, this feels so right."
After a long... relaxing bath, for the boy at least. He then tipped over the bathtub in an attempt to empty it. Though it didn't quite work, there was still a large multitude of blood and guts sticking to it. Eventually he just gave up and walked up to a creek. As he stood next to the creek, he started stretching his arms and legs.
Then a high-pitched shriek was heard from across the river, "M-m-monster!" The young girl sprinted away in the opposite direction of the boy. The boy in response didn't exactly have much, well, response. He just walked right inside the creek, starting to bathe himself, washing off all the guts and blood off his body as if he was without a care in the world. After washing himself, his skin once again revealed his pale tone once more.
He thought of the girl, sighed, then put back on his clothes, walking off into the distance.
...
The scenery changed into a white marbled room, the walls littered with decorations befitting a nobleman's residence. Inside the room there was a nurse attending to a boy, who was currently checking his temperature. Suddenly the door burst open, and then a middle-aged woman with dark blue hair entered. "How is his condition?"
The nurse was caught off guard by the sudden intrusion but responded quickly. "His condition is still the same. All of his vitals are normal, but he is still in an unconscious state."
Principal Alicia curled her hands into fists, gripping with such intensity that her hands started turning red. "I see..."
Alicia then left the room, a dark expression covering her entire face. Lost in her thoughts as she walked in the hallways with no specific destination. {Ha... nothing goes right, ever.}
...
The scenery changed once more. Returning back to the room, Frenrin met the faculty. After he first entered the academy, there were currently six people seated inside. All five of them were seated at a long, rectangular marble table, each wearing a serious expression... well, besides Paul.
The first to speak was Principal Alicia. "So, do we know what happened yet?"
Everybody directed their eyes towards Revan, as he was the one in charge of protecting Frenrin. While also being the one who found him in his horrible state.
"No, I always had at least one person listening to the inside of the room, but despite this, there was clearly no sound that emphasized anything. Not even mentioning that Sven was keeping watch from outside. It's very likely he was poisoned with something that has a delay and strikes after a period of time."
Revan continued. "I've also had no luck investigating either. We 'interrogated' every lunch lady we currently have employed, but they did not say anything despite being under intense 'interrogation,' so the most likely scenario is that it was either one of the students or..."
Paul chimed in. With a devilish grin on his face, he spoke. "Or it's one of us, right?"
Revan, with a dark expression, had no choice but to agree. "...Yes."
Paul continued, staring straight at Don. "Hahaha! How about we kill that fucking fat lard over there, since he's the only one who has any experience with poison?"
"Huh? I didn't do it! I wasn't even at the academy that day. I was at the alchemy guild purchasing ingredients!"
"So what? It's pretty clear the poison wasn't instant, and even then it's suspicious your lard ass has no idea what the poison is, despite always bragging about your dumb fucking alchemy rank."
"You know very well that my specialization isn't poison!"
"Actually no, I don't. All I know is that you look like a pig waiting to get butchered."
"Enough!" Alicia finally stopped the quarrel between the two, clearly stressed beyond her breaking point.
Don looked as if he was about to get killed, while Paul was still equipped with his large smile.
"There's no proof that Don did it, nor is there for any other faculty. Not to mention we all know that Don wouldn't risk his life in any capacity."
Paul snickered while Don's face was still pale. Having to argue with Paul for Don is similar to having a large axe hanging above his neck, literally.
"So, Revan, there is basically no proof, no clues, and not even a single person knows what poison was used on him?"
"Yes... unfortunately."
Alicia's face darkened. "We will wait for one week longer. If nothing changes... then we'll have to relinquish control back to the workings of the government."
After Alicia dismissed everyone, all of the faculty left. Leaving only Sven and Alicia inside the room.
The reason Alicia is so hesitant to report to the government about Frenrin's current state is due to the fact that if it were known that Frenrin got poisoned despite being under Blue-Rose's supervision, it was all but a guarantee that Frenrin would get transferred to another academy.
"Watch over him. Don't let him leave your sight." Alicia then waved her hand, motioning for Sven to leave. Sven then suddenly vanished, leaving not even a trace.
Alicia collapsed onto her chair, with a heavy expression on her face. "Please wake up, Frenrin..."
...
Returning to the nurses' room, Charlie was currently visiting Frenrin. "Hey Frenrin, I brought you these sweets... although now that I think about it, it'll probably be melted by the time you wake up. So, I guess I'll just eat a few... and leave the ones that don't melt."
While Charlie was preoccupied with munching on the candy that he brought for Frenrin, which was similar to chocolate, Frenrin started convulsing slightly. Shortly after his eyes jolted open, prompting him to... well, actually, he just sat there. Lying silently, staring at Charlie, who was currently completely zoned in on the chocolates.
{My head hurts... but I'm alive... I think.}
Frenrin's first thought was to call out to the only person in the entire world he could completely trust. {Garmr? Hello, are you there?}
Suddenly, Frenrin felt something hit the bottom of his bed. It was Garmr jolting up in surprise, immediately laying back down beneath the bed.
{Kid! Is that you?}
The sudden shaking caused Charlie to look over at Frenrin. But before Charlie looked over, Frenrin already closed his eyes as he wanted to get information from Garmr before anything else. Charlie then went back to eating chocolates, assuming it was just his imagination.
{Yeah, it's me. What happened?}
{It's a long story...}
...