Chapter 23: A NIGHT FULL OF QUESTIONS

The sun was starting to set on the western horizon as Kai stepped out of the gates of Phoenix Academy. The sky turned golden orange, thin clouds stretching like soft brushstrokes across the fading blue canvas, creating a beautiful gradient of colors from orange on the horizon to purple on the skyline. Birds were starting to return to their nests, flying in groups across the evening sky, and their chirping slowly faded, replaced by the approaching night atmosphere. The evening air felt cool, different from the scorching heat of the afternoon, and a gentle breeze carried the scent of grass and wet earth from the rain that had fallen a few hours ago—a scent that always reminded him of the training camp days, but now it no longer brought bad memories, just ordinary memories that had started to fade with time. Kai walked leisurely along the sidewalk, his old backpack hanging from his shoulder, and for the first time in a long while, he wasn’t in a hurry. He didn’t need to run. Didn’t need to be alert. Didn’t need to think about threats that might emerge from every corner. Today, he was just walking. And it felt incredibly pleasant.

He enjoyed every step. The evening scenery in that small town felt peaceful—children running around in the park with cheerful laughter echoing among the trees, a woman sitting on her porch peeling vegetables while occasionally waving at passing neighbors, and a few teenagers chatting in front of a coffee shop, laughing carelessly as if they had no worries in the world. There was life here. A life he’d never seen before because his eyes were too busy searching for threats, too busy scanning every corner for possible attacks, too busy counting how many people he could kill in ten seconds. Now, he saw it differently. More calmly. In a way that made him want to smile and feel that he was also part of this world, that he also deserved to experience simple happiness like the people around him.

Kai paused for a moment in front of a small bakery that was still open. The warm aroma of freshly baked bread wafted into the street, making his stomach growl slightly. A middle-aged woman inside the shop smiled at him, and Kai returned it with a small nod. He almost bought one, but he changed his mind. Later, he thought, I still have food at home. At least, I hope I do. He smiled slightly at his own thought, then continued his walk with an unusual lightness, a feeling that made his steps feel lighter and his mind clearer.

Today was a good day, Kai thought as he walked, his eyes observing his surroundings differently than usual—not searching for threats, but enjoying the view. I managed to teach. I managed to train them. And I managed to make Reina smile. That’s enough to make today feel meaningful. After so long just living without purpose, without reason, without hope, now I have a reason to wake up every morning. I have them. I have nine girls who need me. And I have a promise to keep—a promise to protect them, to make them happy, to make up for all the mistakes I’ve made in the past.

Slowly, the sky changed from orange to purple, then started to darken. Streetlights started turning on one by one, illuminating the sidewalk that was starting to empty. Some shops started closing their doors, and people started walking home with tired steps after a day of activity. Kai entered the alley toward his apartment, a three-story old building with peeling paint here and there, revealing the gray, cracked concrete walls underneath from age and weather. The night air felt damp and cold, the scent of wet earth from the afternoon rain still lingering, mixed with the musty smell from walls that had never been repainted and garbage piling up in the corner of the alley. But Kai was used to it. This smell had been part of his life for the past two years.

But when Kai reached the door of his second-floor apartment, he stopped.

The door was open.

Not locked. Not closed properly. There was a two-finger gap between the frame and the door, and from inside, a faint sound could be heard—a sound that had become all too familiar to his ears. The same sound he heard every time Leonhard came uninvited. Kai didn’t panic. He just let out a long sigh, already able to guess who was inside.

Leonhard.

It seemed the old man never learned manners. Or maybe he did it on purpose, because he knew Kai wouldn’t really get angry. Leonhard was always like that—walking in as he pleased, taking drinks as he pleased, and sitting on the sofa as if it were his own home. For years, Kai had gotten used to his former commander’s behavior, but old habits never really disappeared, and Kai remained alert even though he already knew who was inside.

His hand moved into his backpack, feeling around among the books and papers. His fingers touched something cold and hard—a long metal ruler he usually used for teaching. It wasn’t sharp, wasn’t designed to hurt, but heavy enough to be used as an emergency weapon. The ruler was about two centimeters in diameter, its surface smooth with centimeter markings engraved along its side, and one end was slightly blunt from being dropped too many times. Kai gripped it tightly, feeling the cold metal in his palm, and for a moment, he felt a familiar sensation again—the sensation of holding a weapon, the sensation of preparing for danger, the sensation that made his heart beat a little faster. But this time, he had no intention of hurting anyone. He just wanted to be alert. Just wanted to make sure nothing was wrong.

He pushed the door open slowly. Silently. His steps were light, almost inaudible on the creaky wooden floor. He moved quickly, turning his body into the corner of the room with the ruler raised, ready to—

And in the living room, on the old sofa he usually used for sleeping, an old man sat casually. Leonhard. His graying hair at the temples, his wrinkled but still sharp face with small scars around his jaw—scars that told stories of countless battles—and his gray eyes stared at Kai with a half-mocking smile. He wore a black leather jacket worn at the elbows, the same jacket he’d worn when leading troops ten years ago, a jacket that had become part of him, a jacket that held thousands of memories from a dark past. In his hand, Leonhard held a can of Kai’s favorite drink that he’d taken from the fridge. He took a sip, then his face wrinkled in disgust as usual.

"Ugh. This drink is still as disgusting as last time. I don’t know how you can enjoy this liquid that tastes like cough syrup, Kai. Honestly, your taste is really strange. Did you lose your sense of taste on the battlefield? Or maybe you’re just used to bad things because we only ate canned food that tasted like cardboard?"

Kai lowered his metal ruler, letting out a long sigh that sounded like a mix of relief and annoyance, then tossed the ruler onto the table with a loud clack. "Leonhard. Don’t you have a home of your own? Or have you forgotten the way back? This is the second time you’ve walked into my apartment uninvited. I’m starting to think about changing the locks and not telling you."

Leonhard smiled widely, showing his still-white teeth despite his age. "My home is far, Kai. And the journey here is tiring. I need rest and a drink. Besides, you know yourself, I don’t like staying in one place too long. Home is boring. Nothing interesting there. Just walls and memories. Here, at least I can see your always-frowning face."

Kai walked to the fridge, opened it, and took one can of the same drink. He opened it with a familiar ssst sound, took a sip, then stared at Leonhard with a flat expression. "Tastes differ from person to person. And you didn’t come here just to complain about my drink. What do you want, Leonhard? I know you never come without a reason. You always have a purpose, even when you pretend not to."

Leonhard leaned his back against the sofa, his eyes looking at Kai seriously. The smile on his lips slowly faded, replaced by a heavier, deeper, more meaningful expression. "I just wanted to see how things are going. How the school is. How your students are. How... Reina is."

Kai sat on the chair across from Leonhard, his body relaxed but his eyes still alert. "Reina is fine. She’s still the same as before. Stubborn, firm, and always thinks she’s right. She still likes to yell at me every time I make a mistake. And she still likes to correct me as if I’m a child. But beneath all that, she’s kind. She cares. She does all this because she wants to protect them."

Leonhard laughed softly. "She’s always been like that. But you know, Kai, she’s changed. Since you came to that school, there’s something different about her. I don’t know what it is yet, but there is. Maybe she smiles more often. Maybe she’s more often quiet, thinking about something. Or maybe..." Leonhard paused, looking at Kai with a deep gaze. "...maybe she feels like something was missing and has now been found."

Kai fell silent. Leonhard’s words made him feel something strange in his chest, something he couldn’t explain—a warm feeling that made him want to smile, but also confused him. He took a sip of his drink to distract himself, but the sweet taste wasn’t enough to erase the feeling starting to grow in his heart. "You came all this way just to say that?"

"No." Leonhard sighed, picked up his drink can again, then stared at it with disgust before taking a sip. "I came because I want to know how things are there. How the system works. How your students are treated. Because I heard there’s a problem."

Kai frowned. "What problem?"

"Kai, I’ve heard about the Claus Code. And I’ve heard about how he treats your students."

Kai fell silent. His hand holding the drink can stopped in midair. His eyes narrowed. "You know about that?"

"Of course. I know almost everything that happens at that school. I founded it, remember? I have people there. They tell me everything, including about the strange new teacher who almost killed another teacher for insulting his students." Leonhard smiled, but this time his smile wasn’t joking. "You know, Kai, when I heard that story, I couldn’t stop smiling. You really are the Death from before. But this time, you used it for the right thing. You protected them, not killed them. That’s a good change."

Kai didn’t answer. He just took a sip of his drink.

"But what worries me is, you seem to have started realizing that the problem is bigger than just the Claus Code." Leonhard leaned forward, his eyes looking at Kai seriously. "You’ve started seeing the bigger picture, haven’t you?"

Kai sighed, setting his drink can down on the table with a slower movement than before. "I see a lot of things, Leonhard. I see how my students are treated. I see how they’re ostracized. I see how the other teachers look at them with contempt. I see how they don’t get a proper education. And I see how Reina can’t do anything about it." He looked at Leonhard with sharp eyes. "Why, Leonhard? Why can’t Reina stop it?"

Leonhard let out a long sigh. He looked at Kai with meaningful eyes, as if weighing the words he was about to say. "Kai, do you already know how the system at that school works?"

"Reina is the principal. She’s in charge."

"In theory, yes. But in practice, it’s not that simple." Leonhard rubbed his face with his rough palms, a gesture that showed a weariness he rarely displayed. "That school follows a democratic system. Every teacher has a vote. The principal does have authority, but she can’t act without the majority approval of the teachers. That’s a rule I made myself, because I didn’t want the school to become a dictatorship like the government we fought against before. I wanted Phoenix Academy to be a better place than the world we left behind."

Kai fell silent. His eyes looked at Leonhard with an unreadable expression. "So, what you’re saying is... Reina can’t stop the teachers who act unfairly because they have votes?"

"Exactly. As long as the majority of teachers support a policy, Reina can’t do much. She can protest, she can argue, she can threaten, but in the end, the majority vote determines everything. That’s the weakness of a democratic system when the people in power are the wrong people." Leonhard raised his drink can again, stared at it with disgust, but still took a sip. "And that’s where the problem lies, Kai."

"What do you mean?"

"I just investigated something. And the results... aren’t pleasant." Leonhard set his can down carefully, looking at Kai with sharp, warning eyes. "Most of the teachers working at Phoenix Academy are government plants."

Kai froze. His eyes widened. The drink can in his hand almost fell, but he managed to hold it with trembling fingers. "What?"

"You heard me right. The government has infiltrated that school. They sent their own teachers to monitor, to control, to make sure the rebel children don’t get a proper education. They can’t do it openly because of my agreement with them, but they do it secretly. Through the teachers they’ve placed there."

Kai set his drink can down roughly. The sound of it hitting the table echoed through the small room. "That means... they’ve already broken the agreement."

"Yes. Indirectly, they’ve interfered with the school’s affairs. And that violates the agreement I made with them years ago." Leonhard sighed, looking at Kai with meaningful eyes. "Reina can’t do much because, as I said, the majority vote of the teachers is stronger than the principal’s voice. As long as those government plant teachers remain there, Reina can only stay quiet and watch. She doesn’t have enough votes to fight them. She’s trapped between her responsibility and her helplessness. And it frustrates her, even though she never says it."

Kai clenched his fists. "So all this time... they were left to suffer. My students were left to suffer. And nothing could be done?"

Leonhard looked at Kai with a deep gaze. "There’s one person who can."

Kai blinked. "Who?"

"You."

Kai fell silent. His eyes looked at Leonhard with a confused expression. "Me?"

"You’re not an official teacher, Kai. You’re not a teacher hired by the government. You were placed there by me. So you’re not bound by the same rules. You can move more freely. You can gather information without raising suspicion." Leonhard leaned forward, his eyes looking at Kai with intensity. "You’re the only person who can change the situation at that school, Kai. Because you don’t have government eyes watching you. You’re free. And that freedom is your greatest weapon."

Kai was silent for a long time. Leonhard’s words sank into his mind, one by one, like puzzle pieces starting to fit together. I can move more freely. I can gather information. I’m the only person who can change the situation.

"I..." Kai opened his mouth, but the words didn’t come out. He sighed, rubbing his face with both hands. "I don’t know where to start."

"Start small, Kai. Watch the suspicious teachers. Note who’s too close to the government. Find out what they’re planning. And most importantly, protect your students. They’re the top priority. Don’t let them get hurt again." Leonhard stood up from the sofa, adjusting his worn jacket. "You can do it. I believe in you. I’ve always believed in you, even when you didn’t believe in yourself. That’s why I chose you for this task."

Leonhard walked toward the door, his hand reaching for the handle. But before he left, Kai called out to him.

"Leonhard."

Leonhard stopped, turning around. "Yes?"

"One thing." Kai stood up from his chair, his eyes looking at Leonhard seriously. "I want to ask about someone."

Leonhard blinked. "Who?"

"I saw a woman at the school gate. Twice. She... she didn’t look like a teacher or staff. She just stood there, smiled, then left. But there was something strange about her. Her face felt familiar, but I don’t know from where." Kai stepped closer, his eyes looking at Leonhard with undisguised curiosity. "I want to know if you know about that woman."

Leonhard frowned, trying to remember. "A woman at the gate? I don’t know who that is. I’ve never seen her. But tell me more details about her. Maybe I can help."

Kai sighed, trying to remember every detail about the woman. "She’s not too tall, maybe around 160 centimeters. Her hair is black, shoulder-length, tied half-back with a simple clip. Her face is clean, her eyes are warm dark brown, and she’s always smiling. A smile that’s... strange. Not a friendly smile or a greeting smile, but a smile that gives me chills. Like she knows something I don’t. Like she’s waiting for something."

Kai paused for a moment, trying to remember more details. "She was wearing a simple white blouse and a long gray skirt. No uniform, no ID tag. And she always carried a book in her hand—maybe a notebook, maybe a regular book, I couldn’t see clearly because it was always closed. But the strangest thing was her eyes. Her eyes... I feel like I’ve seen them before. But I can’t remember where."

Leonhard fell silent. His eyes narrowed, like he was trying to match that description with something in his memory. "Warm dark brown? A strange smile? Carrying a book?" He shook his head. "I don’t remember ever seeing a woman like that. But I’ll look into it."

"One more thing," Kai continued, his voice growing softer. "When she smiled at me, I felt something strange. Not fear, not discomfort. But something... familiar. Like I’ve felt that smile before, somewhere, sometime, but I can’t remember."

Leonhard looked at Kai with a deep gaze. "Kai, are you sure you’ve never met her before?"

"I’m not sure of anything anymore, Leonhard." Kai sighed, looking at the drink can in his hand. "I feel like there’s a missing piece of memory. Like there’s something I need to remember, but I can’t reach it. And that woman... she’s like a key to unlocking that memory."

Leonhard nodded slowly, his eyes still looking at Kai with full attention. "I’ll find out who she is. But for now, focus on your students. They’re the top priority. If that woman is important, you’ll know in time."

He opened the door, stepped out, then paused and looked back. "But one thing I know, Kai. If your instinct tells you something’s strange, trust your instinct. That’s what’s kept you alive all this time. Your instinct has never been wrong. And if that woman is important, you’ll know in time."

Leonhard stepped out, closing the door softly behind him. The sound of his footsteps faded on the stairs, then disappeared. Silence returned to the apartment, only the soft ticking of the wall clock in the background, a sound that had always faithfully accompanied his lonely nights.

Kai stood in the silent living room. His eyes stared at the closed door, his mind spinning quickly. The woman at the gate. Who is she? And why does her face feel familiar?

He walked back to the sofa, sat down heavily, and picked up his half-empty drink can. He took a slow sip, feeling the strange sweet taste spread across his tongue. His eyes stared at the cracked ceiling, the light above still flickering as usual, like it was giving him a sign he couldn’t understand.

The government has infiltrated the school. The teachers are their plants. My students aren’t safe. And I have to do something.

But where do I start?

He stared at the drink can in his hand. I have to protect them. I have to find out who’s working for the government. I have to stop them. But I can’t do it alone. I need help. I need Reina. I need Leonhard. I need...

His thoughts stopped. The woman at the gate. Who is she? And why does she keep appearing in my mind?

Outside the apartment, Leonhard stood on the sidewalk under a dim streetlight. The light flickered like the one in Kai’s apartment, as if sharing the same fate. He stared at Kai’s apartment window, his eyes narrowing under the dim light. A question arose in his mind, one he hadn’t voiced inside.

That woman. Is she back?

Leonhard let out a long sigh, then turned and walked away, leaving the shadow of the old apartment that was starting to darken. In his mind, one name kept spinning, a name he hadn’t heard in a long time, a name that worried him.

Is it her?