Chapter 10 - Nick's Interrogation

"Just eating?" Lina asked.

"Yeah," Teren raised the leftover garbage from his lunch, "just eating."

"Hm... okay." Lina nodded with wide motions, "I guess that's fine. However, I'm still the class president, Teren, once I see you doing something inappropriate, I will immediately reprimand you, is that okay?"

'You're my doggy, stay that way and you'll get a good dog award.'

'What? I said that having a potty mind than a potty mouth is better but I still don't understand her.' Iesa thought and scoffed, 'And you don't know who you are talking about. Teren is a psychopath. Be careful where you tread, clas prez.'

"Um... I wouldn't do such things."

But contrary to Iesa's expectations, Teren passively replied.

'Huh? I thought for sure that he would scare her or something. Did he forget what he said - You do what you want? Ugh... I don't understand him at all! But no, maybe the situation is not that serious for him to intimidate her?'

Due to experiencing Teren's threats and fearsomeness, Iesa was always expecting him to do something more than he should.

'Maybe I'm just got too intimidated by him. Remember Iesa, he only acted like that towards you because you could ruin his life.'

To this thought, Iesa was able to remind herself, 'Yes, I have the advantage!'

She knew she wouldn't be able to use it against Teren, actually, However, this gave her a positive mindset.

'A calm mind is always better!'

Finally, her smile came back.

While her train of thoughts was speeding, Teren had just successfully reflected the class president's persistent attacks.

Afterward, the three came back to class together.

'It isn't necessarily true but I'm sort of afraid of going to class first before Teren.' Iesa thought, 'He might get angry at me or something.'

This attracted a lot of attention. It would've been understandable if it's Lina and Iesa coming back together-

'But why Teren too?' Mike, the popular guy, thought.

The class continued.

Meanwhile, at the Heren Private Hospital, Nick laid on the bed with bandages all over his body.

"What do you mean you don't have enough proof!?" he shouted at the detective.

"Kid, don't shout at me. We are trying our best. The only thing we found at the scene is your things, blood, and some ashes. Although these ashes are suspicious since they're recent, it is obvious they cannot be used as evidence." the old man rebutted.

Nick then asked.

"What about the knife? There should be fingerprints? I didn't see him wear any gloves."

However, the detective shook his head.

"Nope, only your fingerprints. We can retrace where the knife was bought but..."

"But?"

"Are you really talking the truth? He is just another seventeen years old like you. How can he be so calm and be so calculative about performing such a flawless crime? He doesn't have any criminal records."

Nick was speechless. However, he couldn't blame the detective either. He didn't think Teren that way either until the incident yesterday.

"Instead of telling us what to do, why don't tell me the full details of what happened. Innocent until proven guilty. Even if it actually happened, it doesn't mean that the court will accept that it did without any pieces of evidence."

"..."

"I know, the court and the law sucks, But that is necessary to avoid lies getting accepted as fact. We need to compromise, after all. Instead of taking the chance that the lie must be the truth, the law is careful and treats all truth lies until it is proven."

"That's... complicated." Nick didn't understand the old detective's wise words.

The old detective sighed, "Just tell me what happened?"

"From the start?"

"From the start. With no lies, please. If you're caught, even if you're the victim, you wouldn't escape the law."

"O-... okay..."

Nick then enumerated what happened, truthfully, which made the old detective raise an eyebrow.

"So... it's kind of your fault?"

"Yeah...?"

"Don't worry. No matter the reason, a crime is a crime. Since you're so honest about it, I'll help you lighten your punishment for the attempt for extortion and harassment."

"T-thanks...? Light punishments are worth it if I can help bring myself some justice."

"Sure, so what happened next?" the old detective video recorded everything from the start.

"Well... I tried to punch him as a warning." Nick's face then turned serious as he recalled that surreal moment, "When I thought I was about to jab his body, he agilely dodged and hit me in the neck. I felt no hesitation in his hit. After his first hit... he kicked me on the side."

As he told the story, Nick showed the bruises to prove his story.

"When I fell on the ground, he took a knife from his bag and charged at me. I could see the intention to kill in his eyes. He has no hesitation at all! I defended myself but I was sliced." he pointed at all the bandages.

When he got to that part, Nick suddenly remembered, "And when he was about to stab me on the chest, a girl suddenly came out of the corner..."

"Girl...?" the old detective was intrigued, 'A witness, a victim, or an accomplice?'

"She's the popular girl at school. Her name is Iesa Hun. I don't know what she was there but when she showed up, Teren stopped. For a moment, at least." Nick frowned as he caressed his left arm, "After that moment, he stabbed me but I defended myself with my arm."

"After that?"

"After that, he went to Iesa Hun. Although I was in pain, I immediately tried to escape. I looked back and saw that the girl ran away too, as fast as she can, like an athlete! Then that was it. Luckily for me, Teren didn't chase after me and I know my way around until I reached out for help."

"Then here we are..."

"Y-yeah" Nick nodded.

"Very good..." the old detective stood up and stopped the recording, "That was very helpful."

"What will you do now?"

"Hmm... we'll give the suspect a psychological test. It's either he has a mental disorder or he has a motive. The former is more probable so we'll start with that. Also... we will reach out to this Iesa Hun."

"Thank you, detective..." Nick sighed in relief since the detective seemed reliable.

However, as soon as that sigh came out of his mouth, it came back.

A nurse came in, bearing bad news.

"Sir Nick Mauren, you have a visitor.. He claims to be your brother, Nathan Mauren."