Aiden's eyes opened, he was shocked to find himself locked up in a metal prison without a single person. His clothes had changed, becoming typical prisoner clothes made of sackcloth.
The prison warden saw Aiden awake. He went out of the prison room to tell the chief warden about him, which was enough to make Aiden curious.
He tried to stand up even though his leg was dislocated, Aiden walked over to the bars and shouted asking why he had to be locked up in a prison cell.
The door opened, a man in noble attire stepped in. Aiden knew who he was, he was the nobleman who ruled the business in Bynora city. He was Hughes.
"Where's your friend?" the fat man asked, giving him a look of cynicism and disgust.
"I don't know," Aiden said, out loud.
"Huft."
"Bring him out," ordered Hughes, obeyed by the warden.
The cell door opened, and two warders walked over to Aiden and carried the boy out, dragging him along, his leg still injured.
Light streamed in, giving Aiden a glare. They led him to the three-story municipal building.
There, Aiden met his mom and dad. They looked sad when they heard that Aiden was stranded in the Fog Hill. But a mage from the academy managed to save Aiden.
Not only his parents, but Aiden saw Nathan's parents present as well. Aiden reflexively asked them something.
"Where's Nathan? I want to see him," Aiden said, curious.
"What did you say?! ARE YOU TRYING TO MOCK US, AIDEN?!" Nathan's mom shouted, her face red with puffy eyes.
"You killed Nathan! You must have taken Nathan there. Come out and say it, Aiden!" the woman shouted again.
Getting yelled at by Nathan's mom shocked Aiden. He looked to the side with worried eyes, as if hoping his mom would help him.
However, this matter already involved the city government and the Astralis Magical Academy. The common people couldn't do much, they could only obey what they decided.
"Go and see the mayor. Speak the truth to him," Leonora pleaded, her eyes unable to hide her deep sadness.
Aiden cleared his throat, agreeing to what Leonora had said. Still, Aiden was shocked that Nathan's mother scolded him, as he knew she was always gentle and cheerful towards him.
The door to the mayor's office opened, Aiden limped in with the help of two wardens.
There, he saw four people waiting for him, including Mayor Byrone, an elder of the Astralis Magical Academy, and the merchant noble Hughes.
Aiden gasped as he saw the woman in the white and blue uniform who helped him escape yesterday. She could be seen standing next to the academy elder.
"Close the door," the mayor replied, obeyed by the two wardens.
Now, Aiden sat on his knees staring forward, where four people were staring at him. The mayor turned his head, asking the academy elder to begin the process.
"Nyra," called out the academy elder, the woman beside him nodding in agreement.
The woman stepped forward, directly ahead of Aiden. She sat cross-legged before him, then directed her magic forward, into Aiden's forehead which made the boy submissive and helpless.
[Magic Extra: Thread of Honesty]
That's right! The magic light that stretched from the woman's hand to Aiden's forehead formed a flaming green thread of magic. Aiden opened his eyes, both pupils turning green.
"He's under my control," the woman said.
"Ask him why he entered the Fog Hills?" the mayor asked.
The woman asked Aiden the same question, and Aiden would tell the truth because his mind was connected to the thread of honesty.
Aiden explained everything to them, about their desire to catch the Red-Eared Rabbit.
"The Red-Eared Rabbit is a rare non-aggressive beast. Are they swayed by rumors and myths?" asked the Academy Elder.
"I don't know. Let him explain further," said the mayor.
The mayor asked about Nathan's whereabouts, why he was killed, and why Aiden survived. The woman holding the thread of honesty asked Aiden that question.
"Nathan and I got separated in the Forest of the Fog Hills. He went too fast and left me behind."
"I tried to catch up, but I was scared. I heard him screaming, I thought Nathan had been killed by those wolves."
"I ran down the hill, tripped, and was saved by a mage from the Astralis Magical Academy."
Aiden explained everything honestly, the thread of honesty stretched between the woman's hand and Aiden's forehead. If someone was found to be lying, the thread would turn red and break.
Not only would it be severed, the person lying would also receive an electric shock from the impact of lying. Yet, what Aiden said was completely truthful.
The woman turned her head, then nodded towards her elder. The elder seemed to sigh, he did not find anything meaningful between them, just childish silliness.
"That's enough, Nyra," the elder pleaded, Nyra nodded as she deactivated the thread of honesty magic.
Aiden's eyes closed, then opened to reveal the normal color of his pupils.
The academy elder rose from his seat, bidding farewell to the mayor as he had other business, Nyra joined the elder in leaving.
They opened the door and walked out of the room, leaving the parents of Aiden and Nathan confused. They walked in and met the mayor.
"What happened?" Nathan's parents asked.
"Aiden didn't kill Nathan. Nathan died because of his own foolishness," the mayor explained.
"But wasn't it Aiden who persuaded Nathan to go to the hill?"
"No, he didn't. Nathan was the one who asked Aiden to go. Aiden refused at first, but he was forced to go because of their friendship," the mayor explained.
"The meeting is over. I hope there are no more disputes between you."
The mayor walked out of the office, followed closely behind by Hughes. Aiden's parents smiled and cried tears of joy; they had been saved from punishment by Aiden's honesty.
"Jack!"
"I'm still going to assume that your son killed my son!" said Nathan's father.
"The business cooperation between us is officially canceled. I no longer wish to trade with you!" he said.
He and his wife slowly left, leaving Aiden with his family. Aiden apologized and felt sorry, he should have listened to his parents more than Nathan.
"It's okay, Aiden. You don't have to worry about that," Leonora said.
"Your mom is right. All that matters to you is your safety," Leonora's husband Jack replied.
They were back to being a harmonious family. They walked away from the municipal building to return to their residence on the hill.
From the top of the municipal building, the Elder of the Astralis Magical Academy was still flying with his student beside him. His eyes were fixed on Aiden.
"I sense something strange about that kid," the elder said.
"Do I need to keep an eye on him for a few days?" the woman asked.
The elder looked away, then nodded firmly. Receiving orders from her master, the woman left the place to follow where Aiden was going.
When they arrived home, Aiden looked back as if someone was watching him. Yet, he didn't see anything around his house.
Losing Nathan was bad news for Aiden to know. He had been friends with Nathan for a long time and Aiden knew very well how Nathan behaved towards him.
"If we hadn't left back then, maybe this day wouldn't have happened."
Faced with the bitter reality, Aiden still had to move forward and train for the entrance exam to the Astralis Magical Academy or Arcanis Sword Institute.
Nyra, who was tasked with scouting and watching Aiden, did not notice any suspicious behavior from the boy, Aiden was behaving normally like any other boy.
"His strength is normal, not too good, not too bad. He can be selected as a student of the Magical Astralis Academy."
"But it will be difficult for him to socialize, not many commoners like him can survive in the academy. The nobles won't let him study in peace."
"I'd better keep an eye on him until other instructions come for me."