The explosion did not sound like the thunder.
Instead, the explosion was silently tearing apart. For those closest to the cafeteria's rear passage, the death should have been immediate.
The magic circle had not merely released explosion after all. It had unraveled the mana, stripping the walls in a quick blind of white that erased everything.
Baston saw the light first. It swallowed his vision completely that he had trouble whether his puppet worked as he intended or not.
His thoughts went blank and his body moved before his mind could catch up. He was bracing for the impact with everything he had.
He closed his eyes. Embracing such near death, his anxiety became missing. He even didn't have a time to pray silently to whichever God existed in this world.
When he opened his eyes again, the first thing he noticed was that he was still breathing. The second was that everyone was safe.
The happiness flooded inside, knowing that his life would not be short. It would be a joke if he died after earning the reward from the mysterious old book.
While he was grateful to be alive, the shock soon came up. Ahead of him, the passage no longer existed.
The stone walls had been peeled away. The floor was warped and fused into the uneven glassy ripples.
The explosion had carved a path straight through the back of the cafeteria. It was devastated except for one spot.
The space directly behind him remained untouched. A corridor-sized void of the destruction ended abruptly at his back as though the miracle itself had decided to protect him only.
Behind him, Alicia and Panto seemed fine. The relief reached him slowly, creating warmth into his frozen fingers.
"Good… Everyone is still alive…"
The pain soon came. After all, he tried hard to concentrate while pushing the dense wall to block the explosion. Even though he was hurt, the fact that he lost the puppet was quite a heartache.
"The puppet…"
The summoning tool that he had deployed before was gone. The puppet was already erased by the explosion.
It was reduced to several small fragments that even he could not recover anymore. Thankfully, based on what he understood, it should come back after waiting for one day.
In the quiet surrounding, he took a seat on the ground. His mind was spinning fast, trying to find what kind of explanation he uttered.
Still, despite how hard he was thinking, it would surely come up with new trouble.
For now, it was best to throw such matter to someone else.
It took a while before Panto and Alicia had finally opened their eyes. They saw Baston's back first. The first thought they had was everyone died terribly.
They were very sure until they looked at their surrounding.
Alicia's breath was caught in her throat because the passage that they had taken a moment ago had been gone. It was reduced into the wreckage.
The blast radius extended far wider than she had expected. However, the space where she stood was untouched.
She was shocked after imagining Baston's hidden strength. How strong he was to be able to block such explosion.
"Baston…" she said shakingly, "Are you… Are you alright?"
He turned slightly as if he was tired waiting for them, "I'm fine…"
The words were plain and unremarkable.
Alicia stared at him, searching for how he felt.
Eventually, there was nothing. The fat boy stayed there unimpressed. It was just like such explosion was nothing in front of him.
If she had tried to block that explosion herself, she would have died. Even with her family's protection items, the best she could have hoped for was the survival at terrible cost.
Still, Baston stayed where he was as if the blast had been nothing more than a sudden gust of wind. While she was pondering hard about his background, Panto broke the silence.
"Baston! That was incredible!" he blurted out, "You… You just blocked the explosion! I thought… I really thought we were dead!"
He laughed loudly to express his joy. Never in his dream that death was nearby but could not touch him in the end.
Baston looked at him before his gaze briefly sweeping the ruined corridor. Eventually, there would be many questions from such devastation.
He didn't have any strength to explain everything. The existence of the puppet was his hidden secret. No one should know, including the two people nearby.
"When the teachers arrive, Alicia will explain what happened. It would be her deeds…"
Alicia blinked, "What? But…"
"You were the one who erected the magic barrier," Baston continued, "You are the one who protected us."
The suggestion was disguised as his decision already. It was final and he hoped she would take the mess. Panto and Alicia could only stare at him.
For a moment, she thought she had misunderstood him. Saving everyone already brought a good merit. Unknowingly, he would never be careless as long as the cult still stood strong.
The understanding dawned slowly. In the meantime, it took different shape toward another boy.
Panto's mind immediately connected everything to the cult. He thought grimly because if this matter got out, people would start asking the questions.
Staying out of the explosion matter was the safest method to be hidden.
Just like Baston, he must become a passerby in the big picture. By putting everything into Alicia, his voice would not matter anymore. The academy surely would appreciate the noble more than the ordinary him.
If he stayed away from the problem, he would be always hidden.
When no one could see him anymore, the cult also would have a hard time to look at him.
Along his quick thinking, he nodded toward Baston. The fat boy was truly a savior for him.
Alicia wanted to rebuke but Baston's gaze already left the premise. Toward the other side, she could hear the commotion happening at the outside.
Sooner or later, everyone would arrive at the scene. Whether she was ready or not, everything had already fallen upon her.
The implication tightened her chest, wondering what kind of explanation she could give.
Apparently, she was starting to concoct few lies to match up with the event.
There were still many unanswered questions, yet it seemed she had to keep it first.
Eventually, several hurried footsteps echoed from multiple directions.
The teachers arrived in groups and their expressions were shifting rapidly from confusion to shock as they took a look at the devastation.
"What happened here?" one demanded, "Who cause this?"
"There is so much damage... This wasn't an accident anymore..."
Baston stepped back slightly, lowering his head. Once again, he turned into someone
unremarkable. Someone that could be forgotten in the vast space of the academy.
"Alicia knows what happened…" he said meekly, "She realized something was wrong here and she protected us."
Panto reacted instantly, following the words of his savior. In this time, he must devote all of his effort toward Baston. Even it was a lie, it was a means for survival.
"That's right!" he added loudly, "If Alicia hadn't stepped in, we'd all be dead!"
He gestured wildly, exaggerating his fear and gratitude, "She was amazing! She was truly heroic!"
The teachers exchanged glances. The traces of mana left behind were chaotic but one thing was clear that no ordinary student could have survived in this kind of explosion.
If it was a noble, then that would fit best for the explanation. Alicia quickly felt the heat rush to her face as many questions hurled down on her from all sides.
She nodded when appropriate and she answered carefully while keeping the story simple. Eventually, one teacher gestured firmly.
"Alicia, come with us to the office. We need a full account from the beginning of the story."
He then turned to Baston and Panto, "You two may return to your dormitories."
Panto bowed obediently and Baston walked away without comment. In this big picture, they were nothing.
No one stopped them and no one questioned them. As they left, Panto glanced back once while watching the teachers surrounded Alicia like an eager witnesses around a polished truth. They did not even glance at them.
For some reason, that bothered him more than the explosion.
*****
After the chaos was settled, the hunger returned. It finally caught up to Baston since he rushed here hurriedly. He spent so much energy just to search for the magic circle and block such explosion.
"I'm going to eat first…" he said simply.
Panto hesitated before he had an idea. At this time, he offered his service pleasantly. The excuse he had was since Baston had already saved him, he felt bad if he didn't treat him.
"Let me check if the cafeteria is still open…"
Baston watched him leave and the suspicion was flickering briefly before fading.
Panto had changed since the last time they met. Perhaps, the experience of nearly dying shocked him greatly. Because of that, his temperament became milder.
While he was pondering, Panto returned and his face didn't look good.
"It seems they're closing the cafeteria because of the chaos before… I don't know when they will open it again."
Baston frowned because if the cafeteria was closed, he could only seek food outside the academy. The outside food meant money but he did not have any money to spend.
"Today might be the last day we can eat here… By the way… I persuaded the chef and ordered something already."
Baston said nothing since he was quite grateful.
He was waiting for a while. As soon as the dish came out, he was baffled. The roast chicken was too big for him to consume at once.
"This is too much..." he thought, "How I am suppose to finish it…?"
There was no other choice. He had to eat it or he would be branded as ungrateful.
He then ate slowly. Each piece of the chicken passed his tongue delightfully. From here on, there would be a war inside his stomach.
He was too focused on the dish that he did not notice the waiter. Unbeknownst to him, the man slipped something into his pocket.
It was a coupon and it was usable for certain restaurant outside of the academy. It was valid starting tomorrow.
*****
After getting full, Baston went back with stomach full of kindness.
He lay down on the narrow bed, staring at the ceiling with empty eyes.
The academy was quiet again deceptively. The footsteps no longer echoed in the corridors and there was no ringing bell in the evening. Everything seemed peaceful, persuading everyone that the explosion had never happened.
The calm illusion disturbed him since he thought the place would plunge into chaos.
He silently looked at the old book beside him. It was closed and its worn cover was dull in the lamplight.
He did not dare to touch it. He had learned that unnecessary contact invited something bizarre. Such attention from the mysterious book would only cast the judgment.
His thoughts returned to the moment of impact. The explosion itself was triggered by him.
The magic circle had not reacted to Alicia nor Panto. It had reacted only to him.
To be precise, the old book was the one who silently switched the trigger. The faint warm that he felt before was real. Even though he couldn't point it directly, he believed his intuition.
Now, another question popped up inside his head.
Why the old book triggered the explosion?
What was the purpose of interacting with magic circle?
Was the book truly his friend or enemy in the end?
He didn't know the answer. Even after thinking for a long time, the means from the book was still a mystery.
The old book indeed had given him the rewards for his performance but it never explained more. Every time the judgment was commenced, he as the only participant could only respond to its calling.
He wanted to experiment further but he didn't dare to proceed. His senses secretly told him it would be a bad idea to provoke it.
For now, it was better to abide by the old book's request.
Whenever the quest was given, he only needed to perform to his best. While he was more like a slave, his master truly tempted him with magnificent rewards.
It was acceptable at present.
*****
In the meantime, Alicia stood alone in the corridor outside the teachers' office. The accolades were still ringing in her ears.
She should have been elated but the unease gnawed at her. After all, Baston's credit had been misplaced and the evidence had vanished.
The one who had done a great deal had already walked away untouched as if the explosion had never been meant for him at all.
She went back to her private room, taking a seat alone.
Her hands folded tightly in her lap. She had replayed the teachers' questions over and over, examining each of her answers for the inconsistency.
The story she told was clean. It was logical and supported by her status with the magic items she carried. Everything was indeed too clean that it worried her.
She was afraid there would be future contradictions with missing details and bizarre trace.
However, no one had questioned her account beyond her own story. No one had asked much about the magic circle and no one had asked why its destruction path stopped.
The most concerning of all was no one asked about Baston at all. She pressed her lips together toward that fact.
The fat boy had not once looked surprised by the explosion's outcome.
He had not asked the questions and he had not reacted out of way. It was as if he had expected it.
If Baston had access to another informant, then that informant might also know that she currently carried a credit she did not earn.
Such credit that would soon be reported upward beyond the academy into the society where the truth had a way of resurfacing.
She did not fear the punishment of lies. She just feared of being used.