The scale of the incident involved the entirety of the Seven Stars Academies and even had ties to the world's largest terrorist organization.
An incident of this level was already beyond the degree to which he could simply interfere on his own without causing an international incident.
"Stella, you go back to the dorm first. I have some things to take care of," Noah said, finding an excuse, preparing to go find the Chairwoman.
But Stella, uncharacteristically, wasn't so easily fooled today.
Puffing up her cheeks, she asked, "Hmph. What things?"
"Ah?"
Not expecting to be pressed on the matter, Noah froze for a moment.
His brain worked rapidly, and he finally decided to just tell the truth. It wasn't like his destination was some shameful secret anyway.
"I have some things I want to ask the Chairwoman, so I plan to go to her office."
"Then why didn't you just say so?!"
"...Stella?" Noah was puzzled as to why her reaction was so intense.
"Ahem! I-I am just a little bit curious!" The young girl turned her flushed face away, her fingers unnaturally twirling the ends of the crimson hair by her ear.
Because, who told him to suddenly call out another girl's name when he was sick in bed?!
What if he and that mysterious "Haruhime" he hadn't seen in a long time suddenly reunited here at Hagun Academy?!
Such romantic plots weren't exactly non-existent in the manga of this country...
The "childhood friend" attribute itself was already very strong!
If you added the "destined encounter" attribute on top of that, it would be an instant kill!
When that time came, her chances of winning would be even lower!
Gulp.
Before, she had been holding back because she considered that Noah wasn't a legal adult in her country yet.
But her possessiveness was already starting to run wild!
She heard that a "Noah Fan Club" had recently popped up in the school.
She sneaked into the group chat using a burner account, only to find out that over 90% of the members were upperclassmen girls!
'Damn it! So many hidden enemies right under my nose!'
'If this continues, it will be really bad! It will definitely turn out terrible!'
'Who cares if he is technically underage, i'm a royal princess! What does it matter if i changes a law or two back home? Besides, as long as this kind of thing isn't discovered, its fine!'
'Might as well just go all the way and forcefully claim Noah right here and now!'
"I say, Stella... are you listening to me?"
Smack!
Noah was startled by the girl's sudden action.
From his perspective, the girl had been spacing out, and then suddenly raised both hands and slapped them fiercely against her own face, turning both of her cheeks bright red.
Looking at the force she used, it was going to swell up later.
"What are you doing?!"
Noah paused for a second, then reached out and placed his hands gently on her face, using water magic to heal her reddened cheeks.
At this moment, Stella suddenly grabbed his wrists.
"Noah!"
"Wh-What's wrong?"
"Noah, you cannot run away with another woman!"
"Huh?"
"Hiks hiks.."
Stella suddenly threw her arms around the boy.
Noah felt a pair of powerful cushions pressing tightly against his chest, causing an extreme mental stimulation.
'Wait.'
He pushed the girl twice, but couldn't push her A-Rank strength away at all.
Watching her crying and making a fuss without letting go, and seeing students slowly starting to gather around in the courtyard to watch the spectacle, he felt a wave of foreboding.
"Hey, Stella, stop making a scene."
Click!
A bright camera flash went off.
Noah looked helplessly at Kagami Kusakabe, the student journalist, who had appeared out of nowhere not far away and was frantically pressing the shutter at the two of them.
'Oh fuck.'
'The most troublesome person has appeared...'
There was no other choice!
Noah hoisted Stella onto his shoulder and sprinted back to the dormitory with all his might.
After locking the door, he tossed the girl onto the bed, eliciting an adorable squeak from her.
The commotion had calmed him down somewhat.
Even if he rushed to the Chairwoman and accused Nagi Arisuin of being a member of Rebellion, he wouldn't be able to provide any conclusive evidence.
So far, Alice's actions had been flawless.
Without solid proof or recordings, if Alice denied the accusations, Noah would be powerless.
While truth serums and confession drugs existed in this modern world, they were banned substances that could damage the user's nervous system and cause irreversible harm.
Kurono Shinguuji would never resort to such methods on a student.
If he could completely incapacitate Alice in a secluded area, he might attempt to use the Soul Anchor to read or even modify the man's memories.
But that would be difficult.
The strength of a Blazer's soul is directly proportional to their combat prowess.
For an A-Rank Blazer like Nagi Arisuin, violently accessing his soul through the Soul Anchor would be nearly impossible.
Though he hadn't experienced failure firsthand, Noah suspected it would place a tremendous strain on his own soul.
The consequences of failure were unbearable for ordinary people!
'If I reveal the full extent of my abilities, I might be able to convince the Chairwoman to trust me...'
But showing all your cards to others is the height of foolishness.
His only loyalty in this world lay with Stella herself and her beloved homeland.
Although they were currently studying in the island nation and appeared to be loyal members of Hagun Academy, they would eventually graduate.
If the Vermillion Empire were to clash with Japan in the future, they would inevitably stand against Hagun Academy and even the entire League of Mage-Knights.
Preserving himself seemed a more worthwhile consideration than protecting Hagun Academy's interests.
Without the ability to return to Orario to update his stats, all his base stats had been converted into latent potential, which could only be unlocked by a deity.
However, this didn't mean his magical strength hadn't grown.
Over the past two and a half years, his development of the Weaver magic had reached levels his past self couldn't have imagined.
This kind of progress required time to mature.
Even if physical stats could be rapidly increased by Falna, skill proficiency couldn't be achieved through sudden enlightenment.
Elements also had tiers of conceptual power.
The most basic were fire, water, earth, and wind.
Among the elements Spell-Weaver can manipulate, these are the fundamental building blocks. Simply commanding them sets them into motion.
Beyond this, complex elements like gravity, which he often manipulated, are actually derivatives of the Earth element.
Tier 2.
Currently, his operational limit is this second tier.
With his Level 2 Falna capability, Noah can only unleash the Spell-Weaver's Slaughter to this conceptual stage.
Once, under Haruhime's level-boost magic, he briefly achieved Level 3 capability.
At that time, he could manipulate all elemental variations within the third tier at will, even controlling pure vectors.
Controlling vectors meant freely manipulating the direction of all forms of energy—kinetic, thermal, electrical, and more.
Since he had only ever reached Level 3, Noah couldn't determine the true upper limit of Weaver's capabilities.
If each tier advancement significantly amplified his conceptual power, then the ultimate potential of this magic might truly touch the realm of "divine."
In truth, even his second-tier abilities were already considered "omnipotent" by many students here.
Whenever someone said that, he would earnestly emphasize that he was at most "versatile."
"Stella, you're acting strange today. What's wrong? Explain yourself."
The girl hugged her pillow, burying her flushed face in it as if she were asleep.
Noah watched her stubbornly refuse to answer, at a loss for what to do.
He turned to get a glass of water from the kitchen.
Hearing him move, the girl lifted her head and said, "Don't leave."
Noah turned back, his voice tinged with helplessness. "I'm just getting a glass of water. Do you want some too?"
The girl shook her head but continued to stare at him.
He had just taken a sip of water when she demanded, "Who is Haruhime?"
"Pfft!"
Noah spat out the water he had just swallowed, bewildered.
'Haruhime?'
'Is Stella really asking me who Haruhime is?'
'Strange.'
'Had I ever mentioned Haruhime's name even once before since arriving in this world? Why would Stella ask about Haruhime?'
Noah stared at her blankly, asking, "What did you just ask me?"
Seeing his surprised expression, Stella puffed up her cheeks and demanded, "I asked you who Haruhime is!"
"You... you just said Haruhime? Where did you hear that name?" Noah was still bewildered.
The name Stella had spoken was indeed that of the little fox by his side back in Orario.
But the problem was, that little fox shouldn't even exist in this world!
'Was I dreaming?'
No.... Because of his magic, he had long been stripped of the human ability to dream.
'Did I blurt it out when I was drunk?'
He had no memory of that.
"Hmph. You said it that time you were throwing up everywhere after your match," Stella accused.
"Huh?"
Noah recalled the moment when he had mistaken Stella, who was taking care of him, for Haruhime.
'Could it be that I actually called Stella by Haruhime's name back then?'
'So that is how it was...'
'Whew, that was a close call.'
After realizing what was happening, Noah looked at the pouting girl and realized she might be jealous.
Understanding Stella's jealous expression, Noah found it quite amusing.
"Hmm..."
He deliberately paused for a moment before explaining, "Haruhime is a very cute girl, older than me... well, actually, she is a year younger. She is from the Far East. Right now, I am using a projection body, so my physical age is 13, making me a year older than Haruhime, even though my true form remains unchanged."
When Stella heard him start talking about Haruhime, her eyes widened and she perked up her ears, determined to hear every detail.
'The Far East? Could she be from Japan?'
The girl panicked.
'Could it be that all my previous romantic fantasies are about to come true? Am I about to become the loser childhood friend in this scenario?!'
'No!!!'
"And then?! What happened next?!"
'Heh'
"She has a pair of green eyes, quite stunning, and long, golden hair."
'Golden hair? Green eyes? A foreigner? Could she be mixed-race?'
"Oh, right. She is from the Renard Clan, so she also has a pair of fluffy animal ears that are incredibly sensitive, and a golden tail," Noah explained with a straight face, describing Haruhime's appearance perfectly.
But in Stella's ears, the description became increasingly abstract!
'Huh?'
'A.... beast-person? With animal ears? What the hell is this?'
"Wait, what nonsense are you spouting?! I am asking you seriously!"
"I am answering seriously too. Though she is not Stella's style, she is a very cute child. She will definitely grow into a stunning beauty someday."
Noah nodded in agreement as he spoke.
Stella snapped, "There is no such thing as beast-people in this world! Renard Clan? Have you been watching too much late-night anime?!"
"Well, she doesn't exist in this world," Noah replied with a smile, his tone nostalgic. "Haruhime is from another world."
Stella hurled a pillow at him, roaring, "So its all just your delusion!"
Noah caught the pillow and shook his head. "No, not delusion. Haruhime is real, just in another world."
The Princess was speechless.
'Okay.'
She had never realized Noah was such a hardcore otaku!
A fox spirit.
He had a fox-girl he'd fantasized about in his head!
She had actually been intensely jealous of an anime girl who didn't even exist, agonizing over it for weeks.
How stupid!
Suddenly, Noah leaned forward, pinning Stella's flailing arm to the bed with his right hand!
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