Livia dragged Noah with her through the university campus without telling him where they were going or why he, out of all people, had been chosen. A comfortable silence settled between them, enough that Noah spaced out a bit and forgot where he was. He snapped back to reality when he heard Livia finally speak.
"By the way, how are things between you and Luo Yan?" Livia asked, turning to Noah with a curious expression.
"What's wrong with the things between me and her?" Noah tilted his head in confusion. He thought this was another one of those jokes only socially aware people understood, unfortunately, he wasn't one of them.
"Huh? Aren't you two...?... Never mind, I just misunderstood," Livia replied, looking ahead as the curiosity and excitement faded from her face, which only deepened Noah's confusion.
"O-okay—"
"Tell me, do you have a girlfriend?" Livia asked again, her playful and curious expression returning.
"What's with your randomness?" Noah replied nervously, feeling uncomfortable about answering the question but knowing he didn't really have a choice.
"I'm asking a genuine question, so just answer," Livia pouted slightly, her cheeks puffing and turning red with frustration.
"N-No, I don't have a girlfriend... Why are you asking, anyway?" Noah asked, a mix of curiosity and anxiety in his voice.
"Just curious… So, you don't have one, huh?... Then what do you think of Luo Yan?" Livia asked, clearly suggesting something Noah didn't quite grasp.
"What do you mean?" Noah asked, growing more confused with each second Livia spoke.
"Why don't you date Luo Yan?" Livia proposed casually, which stunned Noah, not because of the suggestion itself, but because of how naturally Livia had said it without a hint of nervousness.
"No, thank you," Noah rejected Livia's offer. To him, it sounded like she was offering a pet for sale, not proposing something serious.
"Why? Don't you like her?" Livia asked, a bit shocked and slightly worried, as if she couldn't believe someone had just indirectly rejected her friend.
"I don't have those kinds of feelings for Luo Yan or anyone, really. It's more like… platonic love. We're just friends, I guess," Noah answered anxiously, trying to clarify his view, though unsure himself, not about his feelings, but about his relationship with Luo Yan.
"I see… So you're emotionally unavailable. You know that's a red flag, right?" Livia said, glancing at Noah with a mischievous expression.
"Red flag? I'm confused. Are we talking about flags like China's? I thought we were talking about feelings," Noah asked, clearly puzzled.
"H-Huh? N-No, red flag means... Ugh, never mind. This is hopeless," Livia said, exasperated by Noah's response, and decided to drop the subject.
"Is he innocent or just dumb?" Livia thought to herself, sighing in frustration and deciding to let it go.
"What's wrong with her? All I'm saying is I don't believe in those emotions. They're just obstacles of the human soul. How many emperors have fallen because of love? Love is a malfunction, an error in the human code. Love and lust are viruses, sins reborn in humanity to divide them. A flaw I've long overcome... Because of that, I doubt I'll ever love or be loved by many," Noah thought to himself. This wasn't the result of trauma or PTSD, but rather beliefs and self-control.
After a few minutes, Noah and Livia arrived at the spot she'd dragged him to: behind one of the university buildings, where Luo Yan stood alone with one of her companions. To Noah's surprise, it was someone he never expected to see, blond-haired with an irritating expression. Derek stood beside Luo Yan, the two of them chatting.
"Hey, Luo Yan! I'm here!" Livia shouted to her, even though they weren't far away, drawing both Luo Yan and Derek's attention.
"Oh, Livi—… What's Noah doing with you?" Luo Yan asked, surprised, glancing at Noah with a mix of concern and shyness.
Meanwhile, Noah stared at Derek and Derek stared back. Neither of them spoke, until a smug grin appeared on Derek's face.
"Hmm. Miss Recht, it seems you've brought a guest," Derek said with a smile clearly meant to provoke Noah.
"This is Noah Grace, the new student. You must've heard of him," Livia replied, sounding a bit excited.
"Noah, this is Derek Miller. Derek, this is Noah Grace," Livia introduced them, unaware of the tension and dark history between the two.
Derek extended his hand for a handshake, feigning innocence.
"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Grace," Derek said with a fake, friendly smile.
"Looks like I'm not the only one good at faking smiles," Noah thought, then extended his hand and shook Derek's.
"Pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Miller," Noah said, matching Derek's fake friendliness with his own.
"Great! Now that you've met, let's get going," Livia said, smiling cheerfully as she began walking but no one followed her.
"W-Wait, Livia. You told us to meet here out of nowhere without telling us why. What's going on?" Luo Yan asked anxiously, pressing her hands to her chest.
"Looks like I wasn't the only one dragged here against my will… But why the hell is he here?" Noah thought, eyeing Derek from the corner of his eye.
"Ah, right! I forgot to explain, haha, sorry, my bad," Livia laughed, rubbing the back of her neck in apology.
"Ahem, ahem. I brought you four here for several reasons. The first and second, I can't reveal yet. The third is because I looked into your backgrounds a little... and found some useful things for this case," she said, pulling a detective hat out of her pocket and putting it on.
"Where the hell did she get that from?!" both Noah and Derek thought at the same time.
"W-What do you mean by 'case'?" Luo Yan asked nervously, though strangely not at all surprised by the hat, she seemed used to this kind of behavior.
"Hehehe... We're going to the crime scene!"
After that, Livia refused to say more and led the group silently through the campus to one of the lecture hall . As they neared it, Noah picked up a strange scent, metallic and foul, like rusted blood. Then Livia opened the door.
"Go ahead in, and please don't tamper with the crime scene," said Livia. Her statement sounded vague and meaningless, but the moment they entered the room, they understood what she meant.
Inside the hall lay a corpse on the floor, turned face-down. Its arms were stretched out toward the window, as if trying to escape and cling to life. Behind it was a trail of blood, confirming that the victim had tried to flee but had failed. The body belonged to a dark-skinned girl with her hair in a ponytail, that was all they could make out from that angle.
The witnesses' eyes widened. Luo Yan felt a tightness in her chest and let out a gasp that showed her shock, bringing her hands to her mouth to cover it in horror. Derek also stood stunned, eyes wide, breathing shallow, though he managed to keep calm despite the scene. As for Noah, he felt turmoil within. This was the second corpse he had seen in two days, and he definitely hadn't gotten used to it. Something was rising in him, he was about to vomit again, so he quickly shut his mouth and covered it with his hand. He grew so tense and sweaty that beads of perspiration rolled from his forehead to his cheeks, dripping onto the floor.
[The host's calm is maintained by the passive effect "Frozen Mind."]
Noah's shock and anxiety began to subside due to the effect. Without it, he would have completely broken down. As the sensation passed, his urge to vomit and recoil faded. He took a deep breath and exhaled everything inside him, as though cleansing his soul. At last, his mind calmed.
Unlike the others, Livia seemed fine. Her smile had disappeared, as expected, but she didn't appear affected, either because she had already seen the body, or because she had a strong mind.
"As you can see, the killer has made a second move already and attacked an innocent student who was alone. It seems he doesn't intend to give us any rest," said Livia, approaching the body and kneeling next to it.
"There are cameras in every hall, so we might be able to find out who did this. Other than that, there's no weapon or other traces left in this room. It seems the killer didn't leave anything behind," she added. Then she stood and turned to the group, her warm, broad smile returning.
"Shall we begin the investigation?" Livia asked, her gentle smile calming and reassuring them.
"W-Wait, hold on! This is too much. Did you inform the teachers that there's a corpse in this hall? And what's with this sudden investigation?" Lou yan asked nervously. She had many questions she wanted answered.
Noah and Derek both nodded in agreement with her, not intending to interrupt but clearly supporting Luo Yan.
"Alright, I suppose each of you has questions you want answered, and you deserve to know. So here's the deal... First of all, yes, the professors are aware of the body. They informed me of it, given my popularity among the students, and tasked me with choosing a group of students to help investigate the case. Naturally, they figured that if I personally asked someone, they'd agree. As you know I'm beautiful. Who could turn me down?" Livia said as she flipped her blue hair with pride and elegance.
"Beautiful, my ass," both Noah and Derek thought simultaneously. Apparently, their minds had started syncing more lately despite their dark history.
"A-Are you really going to investigate this? What if the killer targets you when you get too close to the truth? Isn't this far too dangerous for students? Are the professors really that lazy that they'd refuse to act themselves?" Luo Yan expressed her anger and frustration, mainly out of concern for Livia.
As usual, Noah and Derek nodded in agreement with every word Luo Yan said.
"Calm down. Since you're the group I chose and given how close we are, we'll protect each other if anything happens. And if you're worried about the funeral if one of us dies, well, you've got the money to cover it, right?" Livia said calmly. She looked serious despite the silly smile on her face.
"The funeral isn't the problem!" Derek thought to himself, now worried about this group and his own mental health if he stayed with them another minute.
"She has a point," Noah thought. Livia's view on funerals actually aligned with his beliefs, but more importantly, his thinking had finally diverged from Derek's for once.
"Funerals?... That's not what I meant. And why us? I can understand you choosing me and maybe a little bit choosing Mr. Miller...but Noah…" Luo Yan said, clearly concerned for Noah since he was a new student.
"That's racist!" Noah said, a little flustered. It seemed the racism disease had reached Luo Yan too.
"Yes, he's right, Luo Yan. That is racist," Livia agreed, nodding and frowning slightly.
"N-No! That's not what I meant. It's just that Noah is a new student, it hasn't even been a week since he joined, and he's already witnessed two deaths. And now you've chosen him to help investigate the killer? That's too dangerous for him," Luo Yan said, looking down and clutching her chest tightly in anxiety.
"Oh, I see… Don't worry, he won't be in danger… Besides, I included him for you… and for another reasons," said Livia. She whispered the last part so quietly that Luo Yan, standing farther away, couldn't hear her.
"F-For....me?" Luo Yan whispered to herself, her cheeks flushing red with embarrassment.
"You hit the jackpot in this one," Derek whispered to Noah so Livia and Luo Yan wouldn't hear.
"I don't recall us being friends for you to talk to me that casually," Noah replied coldly.
"Oh, right," Derek said, realizing his mistake. The group's atmosphere had become so warm and strange that someone like him adapted too well and got a bit too friendly.
"Can we begin the investigation now, Luo Yan?" Livia asked, smiling gently to reassure her.
Luo Yan stayed silent for a moment, then turned to look at Noah, whose expression showed confusion and disorientation. She then looked at Livia.
"Alright… Let's begin."