That was the charm from the most primitive wildness.
Old Rothschild chuckled.
"Alright!"
He agreed in one go.
Just like an old man who's gotten on in years and unconsciously loves to tell stories and brag about himself.
Asher: "Tsk tsk."
Harry: "Tsk tsk."
Brett: "Tsk tsk?"
Old Rothschild: "..."
"Professor Asher is one thing, but what are you two tsking for," Old Rothschild looked at Harry and Brett with a speechless face.
"Do you know what you're tsking at, just randomly tsking along!"
"I don't know," Harry said very frankly.
Then spread his hands, "But I know there's nothing wrong with following Teacher Asher."
"If there's a mistake, then it's also...", Harry didn't finish the latter half of the sentence, glanced at Old Rothschild who had an unfriendly expression, and at Asher who was smiling at him.
Harry obediently shut his mouth.
'Got it, got it.'
'Can't afford to offend.'
'Better not to provoke.'
'Better to obediently shut up.'
Brett, who was also accidentally dragged into it: "..."
"Is it still in time if I admit my mistake now?"
'Alright.'
Just looking at Old Rothschild's unfriendly gaze, you know the answer. It's definitely too late.
Brett sighed: "Got it, got it, I'll definitely not follow the crowd so casually in the future."
Wasn't this just for the sake of maintaining formation uniformity.
Although in the end, due to confusion, the symbols were still a bit uneven.
But the meaning was conveyed, after all.
Thinking of this.
Brett glanced at Harry, then sneakily glanced at Asher again.
'Mn!'
'Professor Asher, truly not an ordinary person.'
Old Rothschild ignored Brett's gradually more insightful gaze, he sat down heavily on the sofa, and said calmly.
"Same as what you thought."
"The mastermind is that little girl."
Asher nodded, "Kates, right."
"Mm!"
Harry and Brett: "?"
The two of them blinked the same confused big eyes, looking at Asher and Old Rothschild.
"So, you two opened a separate encrypted channel right in front of us?", Harry sighed.
Brett nodded, agreeing completely with Harry's words.
'If it isn't an encrypted channel, then why can't I understand anything?'
'It's not my fault!'
Asher glanced at Brett.
'Learning pretty fast, huh?'
Thinking this, Asher couldn't help but shake his head with a bit of amusement.
"We didn't open an encrypted channel, it's just that I had privately instructed the old man beforehand."
Harry asked in confusion, "Kates... how is she the mastermind?"
"Honestly, among your students, I'm more suspicious of that one named Duncan."
"Just looks gloomy and reserved."
Asher gave him a look, "Without evidence, that's called suspicion, called looking at people through colored glasses."
Harry raised both hands, "My bad, I was wrong, I promise not to say things like that again."
Brett wasn't very familiar with the few students in Asher's small class.
But as soon as they mentioned a male student with a gloomy temperament.
He immediately thought of that guy who faced off against Asher in the competition.
Indeed kind of fits.
Brett couldn't help but subconsciously think in his heart.
If Asher hadn't said it wasn't that person.
After knowing there was a spy in the academy, someone suspicious, he might also have involuntarily suspected that guy, right?
Instead, it's Kates.
Brett did have an impression of this girl.
Very lively.
Very cheerful.
Seemed to get along quite well with the people around her.
Definitely the little ball of sunshine type.
Yet Asher says she's the mastermind...
"Are you sure there's no mistake?", Brett asked hesitantly.
Asher: "..."
Asher looked at Brett with a very speechless expression.
Brett: "Ahem."
Brett pressed a fist to his lips, his voice a bit embarrassed, "I was just mildly..."
"Mildly suspicious, mildly trying to argue for her, huh," Asher said irritably.
Brett chuckled.
He really wasn't questioning Asher, nor was he trying to go against him or anything.
He was just curious.
Really just couldn't understand.
Just what made Asher lock onto that girl named Kates?
"It's a bit complicated to explain," Asher rubbed his chin, finding it a bit hard to explain.
Just how did he lock onto Kates?
That would be a bit embarrassing to say.
Because it wasn't Asher's own achievement.
It was thanks to his home AI Angel, and the little sapling who only knows how to bask in the sun and retire.
The former noticed something wrong with Kates's behavioral motives.
The latter sensed something off about Kates's aura.
Asher: "?"
Asher didn't notice anything at all.
But since there's already a cheat tool, no need to think too much about the why.
Also, backtracking from the result, many things look much simpler.
What Asher didn't say was, actually, at the beginning he had a tiny bit of suspicion toward that girl called Eva.
'Ahem!'
'Dark history.'
'No need to talk about it.'
"Kates disguised herself well. Even in the matter of the greystone, she shifted most of the suspicion onto Eva," Asher said with a calm face.
The other three present couldn't tell at all that Asher had previously suspected the wrong person.
"The spy hidden inside the academy, like I said before, their goal is to ruin those geniuses."
"Pick targets who have slight flaws in temperament or personality."
"Bit by bit, in batches, it's not easy to be discovered this way."
"The other four people in the small class... oh wait, Byrd's already been taken down, so it's the remaining three, they were actually the ones she had been watching before."
So why did those five people all seem a bit off?
Of course it's because, in places unseen, Kates quietly tied them together.
However, due to Asher's interference.
Placing them in the same small class, it made it harder for Kates to target all four of them.
Within the same small class.
All five of them were affected by the Greystone?
Yes.
Kates had considered adding herself to the plan.
To be the second one to fall victim.
But no matter what, it still seemed a bit strange.
Kates regretfully gave up this plan.
And from the four unlucky ones, picked one true unlucky guy.
That is, Byrd.
"Sounds like he really is quite unlucky," After hearing Asher's explanation, Brett felt like he kind of understood.
Even if the details weren't clear, it didn't matter.
They already knew who the real culprit was.
Just arrest her directly.
"But saying we discovered her identity as a spy doesn't sound good, could cause other consequences," Brett's mind spun quickly.
"Might as well push this matter onto the Greystone industry chain, say it was due to jealousy or some other reason."
"I think that works," Harry nodded in agreement.
He felt Brett's reasoning made sense.
"Don't worry, I thought of that too," Asher said helplessly, "And there are people assigned to handle the aftermath."
Helping to identify the culprit is already good enough.
You still want him to handle the follow-up?
Asher chose to lie flat.
Harry: "..."
Hearing this, Harry didn't feel surprised at all.
This was indeed something Asher would do.
Old Rothschild didn't think there was anything wrong with it either.
They already found the person.
Still making Professor Asher deal with it?
Isn't that a waste of his time?
There are plenty of people to handle the aftermath.
Brett, who hadn't had much contact with Asher: "..."
"Don't know why, but I feel like I'm the only normal person among you guys," He said with a face full of complaints.
Asher smiled.
"Wait," Harry seemed to remember something, called out.
Brett: "?"
Harry ignored Brett, looked at Asher, and said seriously, "Didn't you say there were two people before?"
Hm?
Brett blinked, also remembered this.
Yeah.
Asher said there were two people.
Seemed like he said it was a man and a woman?
"There are two," Asher nodded, like there was nothing wrong with his words.
Harry: "..."
Harry: "Byrd?"
Saying that name, Harry's voice carried a bit of gnashing his teeth.
Like he really didn't expect it.
But judging by Asher's attitude.
Excluding Duncan, who he previously thought was a possibility.
Asher didn't mention him at all.
Then that was almost certainly impossible.
The only remaining choice is... Byrd?
"This doesn't seem right," Harry rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache.
"Byrd?"
"Why him?"
"I wouldn't have any problem with literally anyone else!"
From Harry's expression, you could tell, he really couldn't understand it.
If you had to say why.
Naturally because Byrd was a victim of the Greystone.
No one would first suspect a victim, right?
This is also why Kates thought about dragging herself into it too.
As long as you're a victim, you'll be mostly cleared of suspicion.
This move—
Cliché.
But effective.
See?
It made both Harry and Brett, who also knew the news, start to question life.
"How to put it...", Asher rested his chin on both hands, putting on a villain boss look.
"And what I really can't accept..."
Harry interrupted Asher painfully, "Two!"
"The academy really got infiltrated by two people!"
Just one Kates was enough to shock Harry.
Now there's even Byrd.
Harry couldn't understand.
Couldn't imagine.
Seriously?
Since when did the Advanced Beast Taming Academy become like a sieve?
So many holes, outsiders just stroll in?
Looking at Harry's pained expression.
As a teacher from the Southwest Advanced Beast Taming Academy, Brett didn't feel any warmth or schadenfreude.
If you ask, the South Soren side's already like this.
And the Southwest side, which had the Greystone loss incident, could they really have no issues?
Brett really wanted to say this.
But he just couldn't nod to that thought.
He even suspected, their sieve holes might be even bigger.
The situation in their academy might be even worse.
Seeing the two taking turns being in pain, Asher couldn't hold back a laugh.
Harry and Brett: "..."
The two looked at Asher with speechless, full-of-hatred expressions.
'You can still laugh at this?'
'Is this the legendary happiness built on others' pain?'
'What kind of devil is this!'
Understanding what the two were thinking, Asher showed a speechless expression.
"No."
"Can you guys think better of me, making it sound like I'm some kind of demon king."
"Aren't you?", Harry countered.
Asher: "..."
Asher decided to skip this topic.
"It's not as serious as you think."
One sentence from Asher shifted their focus.
"Not as serious as we think?", Brett repeated uncertainly, "But the current situation in South Soren Advanced Beast Taming Academy clearly proves there is internal..."
"Stop stop stop—", Asher gestured a time-out.
"Listen to me first."
"Why do I say Kates is the mastermind?", Without needing anyone's agreement, Asher continued, "Because only she was truly infiltrated from the outside."
What about Byrd?
Understanding the questioning looks from the other side, Asher spread his hands, "Even if other countries wanted to infiltrate, they couldn't send this many genius students in."
"Who in their right mind would willingly send so many geniuses to someone else's territory."
"Don't you think that makes sense?"
Harry and Brett thought.
Hey?
That does kind of make sense.
"Normal countries definitely wouldn't, but there are always abnormal ones," Old Rothschild suddenly said.
"Like a certain small neighboring country, always likes to go crazy now and then."
"Didn't they just go crazy a while ago?"
Harry and Brett, who also understood who Old Rothschild was referring to, went silent.
No joke.
Things normal countries wouldn't do, they really could do.
The two got even more nervous.
Asher chuckled.
Old Rothschild also chuckled.
"Alright, the old man's just trying to scare you," Asher interrupted their self-frightening.
"Even if Eastern Country wanted to do this, they'd first need to have that many geniuses."
"Do you think they look like they do?"
One sentence from Asher made the two relax again.
Oh.
Doesn't look like it.
Good.
Crisis averted.
"As for Byrd's situation... how to say," Asher rubbed his chin, "It's hard to infiltrate from outside, but once you get one in, and pull others in..."
Asher spread his hands, "It gets much easier."
Byrd is this kind of case.
"Temporarily not sure if there are more who've been roped in, but these two are confirmed."
Hearing Asher's words.
An angry expression appeared on Harry's face.
"To think he actually believed someone like that...", Compared to Kates, after knowing Byrd's situation, Harry was even angrier.
Asher had no solution for that.
Entering the academy is based on strength, and talent.
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