[Lifespan Remaining: 5 days, 22 hours, 43 minutes.]
’I probably should’ve saved ten...’
A part of him regretted not setting aside enough to satisfy the examination requirement. But well, being alive was more important, so that was that.
Noct had originally planned to continue hunting. However, it looked like the immediate area around him really was completely undead-free...and way faster than he expected.
So, with nothing left to really do, Noct decided to head toward the chapel early.
He had considered tailing Alice, but with those eyes of hers, he’d probably get caught instantly. And also, it would be more prudent to check on the other two just in case something happened.
Noct concealed his presence and climbed onto one of the blackened trees overlooking the area before moving through the branches.
Using Sylpheed’s currents, his body felt as light as a feather, even if his physical stats were definitely below standard to do something like this. Still, after a few minutes of traversal, Noct managed to spot the two of them.
The abandoned chapel stood within a circular clearing surrounded by broken gravestones. Most of its roof had collapsed, while thick roots crawled through the cracks covering its stone walls.
Annie had spread a large piece of cloth across the ground. Dozens of gears, crystals, wires, and metal components had been neatly arranged across its surface. Finn knelt beside her, holding what appeared to be a three-in-one tool.
"The one with the curved end," Annie said without looking up as she dug her hand into the dirt floor.
"They all have curved ends..." Finn frowned.
"The one at the very end!"
Finn flipped the tool around and passed it over without complaint. Noct continued watching the scene from above, watching Annie place small metal rods into the ground before they sprang up by themselves in an armed state.
’Certainly looks like she knows what she’s doing.’
As soon as the rod she placed was finally secured, a small thread connected it to another rod that had already been installed off into the side. With Noct’s natural mana sensitivity, he could sense that the entire perimeter had been surrounded by these things.
However, each thread led back toward a palm-sized brass device resting beside her knee.
"What does that part do?" Finn asked.
"It measures tension across the wire," Annie explained. "If anything larger than a Grave Crawler crosses through, the mechanism releases the stored mana and activates the trap."
"What happens after it activates?"
"That depends on which attachment I use. This one releases an explosion, while that one produces a loud sound to warn us."
Annie picked up another small metal disk. "And this one sends a signal to a paired receiver. It’s useful when you need to monitor somewhere from far away."
’Perfect...’
That was exactly what he needed. Though the moment the invisible thread made a full "lap" around the area, it started flickering uneasily.
Annie frowned. "The necrotic mana around here keeps interfering with the mechanism."
"Would affinity-less mana work?" Finn asked.
"Can you provide some?"
Finn pressed two fingers against the crystal embedded into one of the rods and allowed his colorless mana to enter. Suddenly, the line became stabilized again.
"It worked!" Annie said with glee. "Your mana is perfect!"
"My mana?"
"There’s no elemental property interfering with the mechanism," Annie explained excitedly. "Do you know how difficult it is to find a completely neutral power source? I could use this to test almost any invention!"
For most of his life, Finn’s lack of affinity had been treated as a deficiency. Now, someone was treating it like it was a delicacy instead.
A small smile appeared across the prince’s face. "I could...help you test the remaining traps again, if you’d like."
"Really?"
"I’m interested in how they work."
Annie immediately moved closer and began explaining every component inside the device. Finn listened without interrupting, occasionally asking questions in between.
Before long, both of them were making changes together. At one point, they reached for the same piece of metal. Their fingers touched, causing both of them to flinch at the same time.
"S-Sorry!" Annie pulled her hand away.
"No, it was my fault."
"No, I should’ve been paying attention."
"I was the one reaching across your workspace."
Neither of them seemed willing to look at the other afterward. The strange atmosphere caused Noct to almost gag as he stared down at them from his tree.
’You’ve got to be kidding me. It hasn’t even been an hour...’
Still, their interaction gave Noct something considerably more important to consider. Annie didn’t appear guarded around Finn, which should be the case because she had been nervous about teaming up with him just yesterday.
Now, she was explaining her designs without hesitation, including how to activate, disable, and modify every trap.
Even so, Noct’s suspicions refused to disappear completely.
It was really hard to believe that someone like her, a total geek who loved creating magical inventions, could be someone who wanted to trap all sixteen of them here and spell out their impending doom.
There just wasn’t a motive that Noct could figure out.
Noct had met plenty of people capable of smiling while preparing to stab someone in the back—case in point: Faust de Arcadia.
Annie could simply be an exceptionally talented liar.
But if this entire interaction was an act, then she deserved to attend a theater instead of Rexford Academy.
’Either she isn’t the traitor—’
’...Or one that’s very good at acting.’
But before he could continue watching them from above, Noct suddenly felt that his tree branch had dipped under an additional weight.
"What are you doing?"
Noct nearly fell out of the tree.
Somehow, Alice had landed on the branch beside him without making a single sound. She was crouched only a few feet away, her golden eyes staring at him suspiciously.
"Shh!"
He instantly raised one finger to his lips before pointing toward the clearing below, where the other two were still talking to each other. Alice glanced toward Finn and Annie, but still didn’t understand why he was hiding.
"What are you doing?" she repeated.
"I should be asking you that," Noct whispered. "Weren’t you supposed to keep an eye out on Group Eleven and hunting?"
"I was. I got here early, but nobody was here so I was hunting nearby."
Alice lifted the small pouch tied to her waist. Several monster cores knocked against one another from inside. There must’ve been at least fifteen in there.
’She managed to hunt enough to pass and then some on her own and in such a short amount of time? Well, I guess she’s a scholarship student for a reason...’
Still, Noct decided to try to change the subject.
"Then why are you here?"
"I saw an enormous disturbance of mana coming from your direction," she explained. "It was large enough to blow away part of the fog, so I went to investigate."
"Was that you?"
"No. You really think I could do something like that?"
Alice narrowed her eyes, but continued regardless. "Before I reached that area, I spotted you moving through the trees. You were acting suspiciously, so I followed you here."
’She spotted me?’
Noct had concealed his presence and used Sylph’s currents to avoid disturbing the branches. Even Instructor Klein had struggled to locate him under the veil, yet she still managed to do so?
’Those eyes really are ridiculous.’
"And now you’ve found me," Noct whispered. "Go back to hunting."
"No."
"Why not?"
Alice then pointed into the distance at a couple of figures approaching. They were stained in blood, bruised and battered, yet the hope in their eyes shone even through the dense mist.
"Group Eleven’s here."