Chapter 664: The Mystery Moon Detective Squad

Three days later, the results came back.

113 out of 150. Evelyn read the number twice.

By any reasonable measure, this was excellent. By the standard she’d set for herself, it was a victory she needed confirmed before she could fully believe it.

Scroll was away—accompanying His Majesty Roland on the inspection tour of Longsong—so it was Wendy who delivered the grades, with a firm pat on Evelyn’s shoulder. “Well done. Her Highness Tilly would be very pleased. Keep it up.”

“I will!” Evelyn nodded, and then immediately went to find Candle. “How many did you get?”

“91. Still a pass.” Candle read Evelyn’s expression with the accuracy of long acquaintance. “You did well.”

“113.”

Candle’s eyes went wide. “That’s close to Lucia’s score, isn’t it? Should I find out?”

“No—they definitely did better.” She waved the thought away. “I only want to know Maggie’s.”

She wasn’t being ruthless. She understood clearly that her raw ability was poor; that fact was fixed at birth and no amount of effort would change it. What could change was the effort itself. Ordinary people excelled at learning all the time. She had decided that she would not lose to anyone in the things that depended on work.

She had also decided, somewhere along the way, that she wanted to be like Roland—learned and capable and broad. That aspiration required, at minimum, not finishing behind Maggie.

She found Maggie after class. Maggie’s answer was cheerful and immediate.

“Cuckoo—117!”

Evelyn stood very still.

She stood still for a while longer after Maggie had wandered off, unable to reconcile the number with any interpretation of events she could construct. 117 was not a score that emerged from a paper mostly covered in drawings of honey jerky. It was not a score that could be explained by luck on the multiple-choice section alone.

“Scroll must have made an error in the results.” The voice that said this was not hers. She blinked. Mystery Moon stood beside her, wearing an identically bewildered expression.

“Don’t doubt other people’s abilities just because you fared poorly,” Lily said flatly, appearing from somewhere nearby.

“I was sitting right in front of her,” Mystery Moon said. “When I collected the tests, her paper was almost entirely blank except for the easy questions. And there were drawings of roasted meat in the calculation section.”

Lily’s brow drew down. “You’re certain?”

“I swear on my electromagnetic force!”

“That is spectacularly unconvincing.” Lily turned to leave.

Mystery Moon grabbed her arm. “Wait. We should investigate.”

“Check with Scroll when she returns.”

“That would defeat the entire point. Where’s the adventure in that?” Mystery Moon’s face arranged itself into an expression of theatrical mischief. “Evelyn! Let’s get to the bottom of this!”

“Don’t include me in—”

“What’s happening?” Candle drifted over.

Evelyn hesitated, then explained. Candle listened with her chin in her hand, turning the problem over with visible interest.

“If you wanted to investigate,” Candle said slowly, “what would you need?”

“Not access to the office,” Lily said, directing the words specifically at Mystery Moon. “I know exactly what you’re planning, and His Majesty and Nightingale being away doesn’t change the rules.”

“I’m not going to steal the tests. I’m not stupid.” Mystery Moon held up one finger. “I just want to know where Scroll marks them. That’s all.”

“You mean…” Candle’s eyes lit.

“We call Summer.” Mystery Moon smiled. “She can replay it.”

Evelyn understood at once. Summer’s ability could reconstruct past events as illusions—if they knew where Scroll had been sitting when she marked the papers, Summer could show them exactly what had happened. “But Teacher Scroll marks exams in City Hall. Is it appropriate for us to simply walk in?”

“City Hall is open to everyone in Neverwinter. There’s nothing inappropriate about it.”

“The lobby is open,” Lily said. “The Ministry of Education office is on the second floor. Do you think the officials there will just let us through?”

Mystery Moon went quiet.

“Let’s forget it,” Evelyn said. She didn’t want to impose on anyone.

“I have an idea,” Candle said.

The idea was Nana.

It was simple: Summer was already involved, and one more person hardly changed the situation. And Nana Pine, as it turned out, required no explanation or strategy at all—she simply walked into City Hall the following morning and was greeted on all sides by smiling officials who waved her through without question. Whether it was the warm reputation she’d earned as the little healing angel, or the fact that her father was a well-known noble personally commended by His Majesty, or simply the way she moved through a room as if trouble was something that happened to other people—she arrived at the Ministry of Education office without a single impediment.

The office was empty. Few teachers came unless there was a meeting.

“We’re in!” Mystery Moon announced. “Let’s backtrack!”

Summer lingered in the doorway. “Are we supposed to be here? This is for officials.”

“Hummingbird is the vice minister of the Ministry of Construction,” Mystery Moon said, placing one hand on her chest. “We’re practically colleagues. As long as we don’t touch anything, Scroll won’t even know we were here.”

“If I find out you’re lying,” Lily said, “I will personally tell Scroll every detail of this.”

“I thought you weren’t coming.”

“I’m here to supervise. To prevent a catastrophe. Don’t read anything into it.”

Evelyn glanced between them arguing and thought that she may have made a mistake agreeing to this. Then Candle took Summer’s hand and murmured something reassuring, and Summer nodded and closed her eyes.

The illusion bloomed into the room.

Summer worked backward quickly through the recent days, searching for the moment after the exam when Scroll had sat at this desk to score papers. She found it, and held it.

Everyone crowded behind the translucent figure of Scroll. Evelyn watched as the familiar, precise hands moved through the stack, marking each sheet in turn. Then Maggie’s paper came to the surface.

“There,” Mystery Moon said. “I told you.”

The paper was indeed nearly blank — apart from the easier fill-in-the-blanks and short-answer items at the front, almost nothing was filled in. Drawings of honey jerky occupied the spaces where calculations should have been. Even the illusion-Scroll paused at it, shaking her head faintly.

It was very clear that this test could not have earned a score of 117.

Could it be that Maggie was lying? Evelyn thought.

Chapter 664: The Mystery Moon Detective Squad

Translator: TransN Editor: TransN

Three days later, Evelyn got her grades for the final exam.

She scored an amazing 113 points out of 150. This was a very high score, judging from her usual standards.

Since Scroll accompanied His Majesty Roland to the Longsong Area for inspection work, Sister Wendy was the one who told her about the results. She even patted Evelyn on her shoulder and said encouragingly, “Good work. Her Highness Tilly would be very happy when she gets to know about this. Keep up the great work.”

“I’ll continue to work hard!” Evelyn nodded firmly and turned round to look for Candle. “How many points did you get?”

“91 points, which is still a pass,” Candle answered, “Looking at your happy expression, you must have done very well on the test.”

“Um!” Evelyn blurted. “113!”

“Really? This score is probably close to Lucia’s!” Candle said excitedly, “Would you like me to find out?”

“I don’t think so. They must have done better.” Evelyn waved her hand. “I only want to know Maggie’s result.”

“Perhaps my next goal could be replaced by Lily or Lucia,” she thought. She was aware her ability was indeed very bad, but she was born like that which was unchangeable. Learning, however, was something that could improve with efforts. Even ordinary people could excel in learning, and hence she did not want to lose to anyone.

She also wanted to be a learned and talented person like His Majesty Roland.

After class, Evelyn found Maggie, but Maggie’s reply was unbelievable. “Cuckoo—I scored 117!”

How could this be possible?

She stood there motionlessly for a long time, feeling incredulous even after Maggie left.

“How could this be? Scroll must have made a mistake in her results.” For a moment, Evelyn thought she heard her own voice. She blinked, only to realize that the one who had spoken was Mystery Moon. She happened to hear the conversation and had a similar puzzled look on her face.

“What’s so strange about that?” Lily stared at Mystery Moon. “Don’t doubt the ability of others, just because you fared poorly.”

“But I was sitting right in front of her.” Mystery Moon tried to justify herself. “When I collected the test, I saw that she drew honey jerky all over the blank paper.”

“Are you sure?” Lily frowned.

“I swear on my electromagnetic force!”

“Hah… that’s not in the least bit convincing at all.” Lily shrugged and prepared to leave, but was pulled back by Mystery Moon.

“Wait a minute, what I said was all true! Maybe we should investigate.”

“I’m not interested.” Lily snarled. “If you have any doubts, you can check with Scroll when she comes back.”

“That would defeat the whole purpose of exploring, ah,” said Mystery Moon with an expression of mischief. “Evelyn, let’s help you to find out the truth!”

“Don’t count me in!”

“What happened?” Candle called out.

Evelyn hesitated and then revealed her confused thoughts.

“Hmm… what would you do if you wanted to investigate?” Candle touched Evelyn’s head and said, “It takes a few days for Teacher Scroll to return, right?”

“Now that both His Majesty and Nightingale are away, don’t think that I’ll allow you to sneak into the office.” Lily glared at Mystery Moon. “Don’t think I’m unaware of what you plan to do.”

“Steal the tests? I’m not that stupid.” Mystery Moon shook her fingers. “I just want to find out where Scroll marks the tests.”

“You mean…” Candle’s eyes lit up.

“We just need to call Summer.” She smirked.

Evelyn instantly understood Mystery Moon’s plan. Summer could replay the illusion where Scroll was scoring the test for Maggie, and the mystery would be solved. “But… Teacher Scroll usually does so at City Hall. Won’t it be inappropriate for us to be there?”

“What’s wrong with that? In the city of Neverwinter, everyone can easily access City Hall, so there’s no reason why we can’t go.” Mystery Moon shouted. “It’s not His Majesty’s office, so I think some people should stop worrying unnecessarily.”

“I have to remind you,” said Lily, “Most people only have access to the lobby of City Hall. The office of the Ministry of Education is on the second floor. Do you think those officials will let us enter?”

“Well, this…” Mystery Moon was at a loss for words.

“In that case, let’s forget about it,” Evelyn said. She did not want to bother the others. “I’ll wait for a few more days.”

“No, I have a way around it.” Candle pondered as she touched her chin.

…

Candle’s method was very simple, which was to involve Nana. According to her plan, since Summer would already be involved, it would not matter if they called another person as well.

And as it turned out, this method did work.

Evelyn was amazed by Nana Pine’s popularity. As soon as Nana entered City Hall the next day, she was greeted warmly and stopped by no one. This was probably due to the popular image of the little angel, or the fact that her father was a well-known noble in the Border Area who had been personally praised by His Majesty. Anyway, she entered the office of the Ministry of Education effortlessly.

There was no one in the room.

Few teachers would come here unless there was a meeting.

“We’re in!” Mystery Moon said excitedly, “Let’s start backtracking!”

“Are you sure… this is alright?” Summer was a little hesitant. “Only officials are allowed to be here.”

“Officials are no different from us. Hummingbird is even the vice minister of the Ministry of Construction,” Mystery Moon patted her chest and said, “Don’t worry, as long as we don’t say anything, Scroll would certainly not mind that we visited her office.”

“If I find out that you’re lying, I promise I’ll tell Scroll,” Lily said coldly.

“I thought you said you weren’t coming?”

“Hmm… I, I’m here to supervise you and prevent you from making a big mistake, got it?”

Looking at the both of them arguing, Evelyn suddenly felt that her decision might be a mistake.

Finally, Candle managed to persuade Summer. When the illusion appeared in the office, everyone held their breath.

It was pretty clear that the exact time when Scroll marked the papers had to be the day after the exam and before she left for Longsong Stronghold. Summer quickly found the exact scene with a quick flashback.

Everyone quickly squeezed behind “Scroll”.

As long as the time had not lapsed for too long, Summer would be able to maintain the illusion for 30 minutes. Soon after, Evelyn saw Maggie’s paper.

“Look, I wasn’t lying!” Mystery Moon shouted.

“…” Lily could not help but frown.

There was indeed a large amount of blank space on the paper. Other than the easier fill-in-the-blank questions plus the question-and-answer type of questions in front, almost no words were included in the calculation section. Some of the items even had drawings of roasted meat underneath them. Even “Scroll” was shaking her head unwittingly.

It was very clear that this test could not have attained a score of 117.

“Could it be possible that Maggie was lying?” Evelyn thought.