As soon as Anika told me whose condition had gotten worse, I walked a couple of tents down and opened the flap.

A thin, cute girl stared at me. She had sweat running down her face and was breathing heavily. She wore an oxygen mask and several IV drips connected to her. It seemed like she was barely keeping her eyes open.

It was Miku, the girl Mr Fort encouraged before he died. We were in the same class, and she had changed from the chubby girl she was during the training camp.

"Why were you in the vents?" I got straight to the point. The noises of pain around the other tents should stop anyone from listening in.

"Huh? What vents?" She looked confused and took deeper breaths.

She looked like she had one foot in the grave already. Were the medical staff here trying to stop her from falling asleep? Maybe they didn't know what kind of poison she was affected by?

She might also be telling the truth, and it was just a coincidence that her condition worsened. But I didn't believe in lucky coincidences and wouldn't take chances.

I took out a vial and showed it to her. "This is the antidote to the poison. There's no other antidote like it in the world, and you can be certain there isn't one on the ship."

Her eyes widened, she bit her lip, and panic overwhelmed her face. "Fuck, okay, I was in the vents. I know this looks suspicious as hell, but I wasn't there for the reasons you might think."

I also didn't think Miku had it in her to kill people for no reason. But I wouldn't judge a book by its cover. "Then why were you there?"

"The reward money. There is reward money for anyone who gives information about the killers. I was going to spy on you and try to find the killer on my own, or at least find out their identity." She had a weary gaze and looked vulnerable. "Can I get the antidote now?"

"Sure," I handed over the small vial to her.

She took off her oxygen mask and gulped down the antidote in one fellow swoop. Color returned to her face almost immediately, and she breathed a sigh of relief. "You have grown a lot colder since the training camp. I used to think of you as a cool guy."

She smiled and clenched her fist. "Where's that heroic figure saving everyone? Saving his classmates even if he had to fight against one of the strongest exorcists to ever live. Now you're out here poisoning people."

Life was already complicated enough without worrying about what others thought of me. So I didn't care about what others thought of me, as long as it wouldn't lead to them attacking or harming me.

At the end of the day, I didn't want to build some bad blood between us. "Well, heroes always have tragic deaths. So I would rather not be one. Also, it was just paralysis poison that would have worn out in a couple days. You would have failed the exam but wouldn't have died."

"Heh, you're a pretty good liar," she chuckled and laid back in bed. She rolled her head around and took deep breaths. "Also, the antidote was quite fast-acting."

Whatever she said, she was still a major suspect in my books. If she wanted to attack me here, I had Agon, Sei, and maybe Anika as a backup.

I was trying to figure out what was going on behind the scenes. That was why I didn't notify Paris about Miku and who was in the vents. Also, she hid some things from me, and I didn’t like not knowing something that could endanger my life.

That was why I kept everyone a bit in the dark. Actually, the poison Miku had been injected with would have lasted a couple of weeks. But no one needed to know the specifics of the poison I used in the exam.

"As long as you don't tell anyone about what happened here, I will consider us even. You don't need to repay the favor for healing you," I walked out of the medical tent.

"You were the one who poisoned me, to begin with," she muttered.

“Just don’t act so reckless next time. I won’t be there to save you every time.” I knew Miku wouldn't say anything because if she sold me out, I would tell everyone she was in the vents. Unlike me, Miku didn't have a sketchy clan backing her up.

As soon as I walked into the hallways, I caught sight of Paris walking toward the infirmary with papers in her hands.

Fuck!

My heart beat like a motorboat. I immediately went back into the infirmary.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

I told her that I would be in my room. If Paris saw me here, she would question my motives.

But when I entered the infirmary room, I scanned all around and tried to find a place to hide. Entering any of the tents would have me yelled out by their owners.

I could go to where Agon and his team played cards. But Agon was horrible at keeping secrets.

Since Anika and Sei were with Agon, at least two empty beds were here. But every bed was covered with sheets around it, hiding if anyone was inside. So I couldn't find it that way.

My brain operated a thousand miles a second to try and find a solution to this.

Could I sneak into one of the tents? No, while the barrier surrounding the tents was weak, it had many arm systems. They were probably connected to the patients, and with one thought, they could call the doctors with the communication talismans.

It was bad luck that I couldn't find any way out of this.

But then I realized something.

With so many injured people here, where do they shit?

There were only rows of medical tents.

Should I go ask Agon and his team? Maybe Miku? No, they were both out of the question. I didn't know what kind of person Miku was, so I had to keep my leverage on her close to my chest.

I ran through the road with medical tents on both sides, and even then, I didn't see any exit. But almost at the end of the room, there were two doors. There was a toilet sign on each of the doors.

Finally! A bathroom!

I went into the men's bathroom without a second thought. Carpy also floated just behind me and shuffled around my back.

But as soon as I entered, my legs shook when I saw someone leaning on the bathroom walls.

He had his eyes closed and a coffin next to him.

Was he sleeping?

As soon as I thought that, the guy opened his eyes.

Why the hell was he here?! Encountering him here was the worst possible outcome! Meeting Paris would be way safer!

But instead of attacking, Mino stared at me for a few seconds and sighed. "So, it's you."

He knew me? I had no memory of meeting him.

Mino seemed to be awaiting my response, but when he got none, he shrugged. "Don't worry, I'm not going to attack you."

Only a special kind of stupid would trust his words. This guy was as bloodthirsty as they come. "I'm here to go to the bathroom, so I hoped you wouldn't. Though I must say, sleeping in here must be hard."

"I’m not sleeping. I’m just closing my eyes," Mino insisted.

Why was he in the bathroom? That was the main question here. But I wasn't sure I wanted to know. There was already way too much happening, and the one thing I wanted to ensure was my safety until we reached the next part of the exam.

I should attack him. We were in an enclosed space; he was sleepy and hadn’t seen Carpy as the fish floated right behind me. This was the perfect chance to attack!

But as soon as such thoughts came to mind, I abandoned them. Mino was too dangerous of an opponent, even with Carpy around. “I can’t even go to the bathroom with you here.”

He raised a questioning brow. “I’m not going to kill you. Just make sure the Judgment bitch doesn't get her hands on any evidence.”

Wait, what? Why was he addressing me as if I was a part of something?

Oh, fuck me! The Dark Sword Clan was involved with these psychos! He thought I was on their side?!

I had to use every ounce of my willpower to stop the panic from showing on my face. “Yes, I know the plan. But why the hell are you in the bathroom?”

Whatever the plan he was talking about was, the chances of it involving waiting in the bathroom were slim to none.

“This is more of a personal escapade. I just need to draw attention while the others clean up,” Mino stared me in the eyes. “Don’t worry, I will do my job. I just need to wait until the Semei bastard comes here.”

Was he waiting for Sei to come to take a shit, corner him, and fight him here?

I didn’t want to imagine such a nasty fight. Also, what did Mino mean by doing his job?

This was some political bullshit! I hate this shit!

I wanted to dig into what the situation was. Mino might be a murderous psychopath, but he was smart.

At least I learned something from what he said, there was more than one killer, and Mino knew who the killers were.

“Whatever, this part isn’t mine to play,” I said some vague words. If Mino went crazy, there was plenty of toilet water around us, so I had a terrain advantage.

..

Half an hour passed, and it felt like an eternity.

Neither of us said anything; we just stared at each other. Mino slowly grew cautious of my presence here, especially since I didn’t explain anything to him.

Deciding I had been here long enough, I walked out of the bathroom, and Carpy floated beside me in his water ball.

“Carpy, this situation has become complicated as hell,” I was more comfortable with a straightforward adventure where the enemy was before me, and I just had to defeat him. Now it felt like an enemy could come out of nowhere.

As if reading my thoughts, a tendril of water rubbed my back. This was Carpy’s way of comforting me.

“Yeah, yeah, I know no matter what, I still have you by my side,” I smiled at my fish. “Also, the water you touched me with was cold as hell.”

Now I could only hope that Paris hadn’t gone to my room. Otherwise, everything would fall down.