Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest-Chapter 423 97.1 - Breaking Down

<Arcadia Hunter Academy, Headmaster Jonathan's Office, Evening>

Eleanor stood outside Headmaster Jonathan's office, taking a deep breath before knocking on the heavy wooden door. The weight of the day's events pressed heavily on her shoulders, but she knew she had to face the consequences and explain her actions.

"Come in," Jonathan's voice called from inside.

Eleanor pushed the door open and stepped into the office. The room was filled with bookshelves, various artifacts, and a large desk where Headmaster Jonathan sat, his expression stern and unreadable.

"Headmaster," Eleanor greeted, closing the door behind her. She walked to the desk and stood before him, her demeanor calm and professional despite the tension in the room.

"Sit down, Eleanor," Jonathan said, gesturing to the chair opposite him.

She took a seat, meeting his gaze directly. "Thank you, Headmaster."

Jonathan leaned back in his chair, his eyes never leaving her face. "You know why you're here. Explain yourself."

Eleanor nodded. "Yes, Headmaster. I understand your concerns. Allow me to explain the reasoning behind my actions and present the evidence I have gathered."

Jonathan's expression remained stern, but he nodded for her to continue.

Eleanor took a deep breath and began. "We received credible intelligence indicating that high-ranking members of the Valkara organization were planning an attack during the final exam duels. The intel suggested that they would use the chaos to insert themselves into the academy's defenses. This information came from a source we had verified on multiple occasions."

She paused, gauging his reaction before continuing. "Given the nature of the threat, we decided to have Hunters embedded within the crowd to monitor the situation and respond if necessary. The goal was to apprehend the Valkara executives and prevent their plan from succeeding."

Jonathan's eyes narrowed slightly, but he remained silent, letting her continue.

"However, during the operation, it became clear that something was wrong. The attacks began earlier than anticipated, and the Valkara executives never showed up. This deviation from the expected plan indicated that our operation had been compromised. We suspect that a traitor within our ranks leaked the information, allowing Valkara to adjust their strategy."

Eleanor reached into her bag and pulled out a folder, placing it on the desk. "Here is the evidence we have gathered so far. It includes intercepted communications, anomalies in the timeline of events, and reports from our operatives."

Jonathan opened the folder and began to review the documents. His expression remained stern, but his eyes showed signs of interest as he scanned the evidence.

"Professor Whitaker. So, he was one of the rats."

His fists were clenched as he looked into the picture. There was nothing that he could doubt about, since the other person was undoubtedly her.

"Alisha."

A face that he didn't want to see.

"I see why you did it." He turned to look at Eleanor. "I can see the logic behind your actions, even if I do not fully agree with the approach. You should have never risked the life of innocent civilians."

"That was a necessary risk."

"No. Eleanor." Jonathan's stern voice echoed in the room. "Your judgment was clouded. As your master, I know you enough."

"…."

"Therefore, next time. Don't act like a different person. Stay as yourself. Temper your mind. Else, how can you be a guide that you always speak of?"

"...I understand, Master."

"Good."

*********

There are many times when we overthink things. That is the basic human inclination. Finding the answers to the questions in our head.

And the more questions that we have in our head, the harder it gets for us to answer all of them at the same time.

An answer to one question can change our perception of another, making the situation somehow entangled with many things.

Then, how about Astron from Irina's perspective?

How many questions does she have regarding him?

What happened to him in the past? What is the reason he pushes himself this far? What is his motivation? Why is he always so detached?

What are these somehow fragmented memories? Why is my head filled with thoughts related to him?

Who is Estelle?

Different questions that she didn't have any answer. When she has such questions, for a mage like Irina, life suddenly becomes weird.

That was always like that. She can't think about anything other than those questions, and she somehow becomes prone to effects from the outside world on her mind. This somehow made her suspect. More suspecting than she had ever been.

Somehow, when the person in question was him, she was prone to make assumptions for some reason. It was undoubtedly not a healthy thing, and she was aware of it as well.

But she couldn't help it.

'Noooooooooo! What did I just do!' Her face turned bright red at the realization of her misunderstanding. She froze, her heart pounding in her chest, and felt like the ground might swallow her up at any moment.

She took a step back, lowering her head in embarrassment, unable to meet Astron's steady gaze.

Her mind spiraled into a whirlwind of self-doubt and anxiety. 'He must think I'm a liability now,' she thought, her heart sinking further. 'Like a baby that needs caretaking. He must see me as a chore, something he has to manage. This whole thing must be so annoying for him.'

Each thought stung more than the last, her inner turmoil intensifying with every passing second. The confidence she usually carried felt like it was crumbling away, leaving her feeling exposed and vulnerable.

'I've made such a fool of myself,' she berated herself silently. 'Why do I always mess things up when it comes to him? Why can't I just understand what he's thinking? Why does he have to be so distant, so hard to read?'

She glanced up at him briefly, only to see his calm and composed expression. It felt like a stark contrast to the storm raging inside her. She wanted to run, to hide from the humiliation she felt.

But instead, she stood her ground, her fists clenched at her sides, fighting the urge to flee. Despite the embarrassment, despite the anxiety, she knew she couldn't run away from this. She had to face it, no matter how difficult it was.

"I am sorry. I misunderstood." She said, her tone slightly louder than normal.

'Ah…..Another mistake.'

And there was no way that this could escape from his eyes. And as she expected, he instantly picked it up.

His calm expression remained unchanged, but there was a hint of amusement in his eyes. "It's alright. Misunderstandings happen."

"Urghk….."

His slightly proud tone and his looking down on her embarrassed her more. But at the same time, it increased the resentment.

'If not for the fact that you were doing shady acts behind everyone's back with that senior, I wouldn't have misunderstood.'

The fact that somehow the situation became more on her side. It was annoying as hell.

"You…." She opened her mouth, looking at him. "You are not a couple, then?"

"Do you have a problem with understanding things on the first try?"

"Tch. Annoying bastard. I just wanted to confirm." She wanted to sulk, but she didn't.

Instead, there was something else she suddenly realized.

'This guy?'

Suppose she were to put herself into her shoes. How would she answer when she was asked such a question?

If someone had accused her the way she had just accused Astron, she would have been angry and annoyed. She would have demanded to know why they were so interested, why it mattered to them. She would have turned the questions back on them, challenging their assumptions and questioning their motives.

But Astron… he wasn't reacting that way.

Instead of getting defensive or questioning her, he remained calm, his expression unreadable. It was as if he knew something she didn't, as if he had a reason for not reacting the way she expected.

'Why isn't he asking why I care?' Irina wondered. In the past, whenever he was inconvenienced, he would always talk back and always look for the reason behind someone's actions. He would always ask, "Why?"

Why wasn't he doing that now?

The realization hit her like a cold splash of water. He wasn't asking why because, on some level, he already knew. He understood why she cared, why she was asking these questions. He wasn't challenging her because he didn't need to; he had already figured out the answer.

'This….'

Suddenly, something flashed right in front of her eyes. The way he reads people is like a book.

Why did she not think of this until now? Why did she just assume that he didn't notice her feelings?

Why did she think that she could hide herself from his eyes?

Why did she do that?

'Of course. He already knew from the start, hadn't he?' After all the time they had spent together, the amount of subconscious signs that she had sent to him must have been immersed.

There was no way he would miss such signs. He was not such a guy after all.

'But, he hadn't responded in any way at all. All this time, he never showed that he knew about this as if everything was as normal as before.' Irina's thoughts continued to race. She analyzed Astron's behavior, replaying their interactions in her mind. The way he never connected with people more than necessary, always keeping a distance. The way he acted as if he could disappear at any moment, leaving no trace behind.

Then, suddenly, a blurry scene flashed before her eyes, causing a sharp pain to pierce through her head. She winced, clutching her temples as the memory forced its way to the surface.

A girl's chest was pierced by the claws of a demon. The young boy with black hair and purple eyes screamed in agony.

"ESTELLE! NO!"

'A demon?'

Irina asked herself, the memory sending waves of pain and confusion through her. She tried to focus on the scene, to make sense of it, but it remained hazy and fragmented. 𝘧𝑟ℯℯ𝓌ℯ𝑏𝓃𝑜𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝓂

The headache intensified, making her feel as though her skull was being split open. But despite the pain, the scene became clearer. The creatures with huge builds, their forms dark and menacing, surround the girl.

'The demons?' Irina thought, the realization hitting her like a ton of bricks. The memory was not just a figment of her imagination. It was real, a part of Astron's past that he had never shared with anyone.

At that moment, as the night sky was lit by the crescent moon, she realized. She realized what had happened to him.

His past actions, how he behaved, and these visions. Everything made sense.

She looked at Astron, her eyes wide with a mixture of shock and understanding.

"What? What happened?"

She looked into his eyes.

'Is this real? Is this really true?'

Questions gnawed in her heart. And she was hesitant to ask.

Since she knew.

The moment she would ask about this, things would never be the same. And a part of her….

Was scared.

'Me? Scared?' She asked herself. No, this wouldn't be the case. She had already promised herself that she would never shy away from anything regarding him.

She would not avoid the situations.

She would face things head-on.

That was the way of Irina Emberheart.

Thus, she stood facing him.

"Estelle."

And she uttered the name.

SHUDDER!

And in an instant, she felt a suffocating feeling that she had never felt before.

Death.

The feeling of death.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺