CH 8 TRACES OF POISON AT ENDFIELD HIGH

Tesa grumbled in frustration, taking a deep breath as she grew annoyed with Gin's strange and ridiculous behavior. She couldn't understand why he acted this way. Could he be an animal lover? Ah, he was truly exasperating.

"To all students and staff of Endfield High School, please gather at the assembly field immediately. This includes students, teachers, janitors, assistants, and even the cafeteria vendors. Thank you."

A voice rang out from the school's speakers. From the tone, it was clear that the principal was speaking. Everyone quickly made their way to the assembly field, including Gin and Tesa.

Gin arrived carrying a bowl of soto and holding a cat in his arms. He walked beside Tesa—ah, how embarrassing it was for Tesa to be seen with such an incredibly odd guy. She could only lower her head in shame.

Once everyone had gathered, the principal stepped forward, scanning the crowd before speaking.

"Listen, everyone. You must be aware of the unfortunate events that have befallen two of our students, Rita and Ana. Now, I have received news that Arin and Indah have suffered the same fate. Their skin has become wrinkled, and both have submitted resignation letters to withdraw from school. Ana has not attended school since and has not been heard from, while Rita is reportedly considering taking medical leave."

The crowd murmured among themselves. Fear spread through them, worried that they might be the next victims.

"And what's worse, three other students have submitted resignation letters out of fear that the same thing might happen to them. So before I escalate this matter to the police, I urge the perpetrator—whoever you are—to confess and reveal how to reverse the effects on the victims. If you do so, I will not report you."

Everyone glanced around, observing one another, searching for the culprit. They exchanged looks, watching each other's expressions and movements carefully.

Gin suddenly stepped forward, still holding his bowl of soto and the cat. The entire crowd was stunned—was he the culprit? It was possible, considering he was the new student. But why did he look so calm, showing no sign of guilt?

"I know who the culprit is," Gin announced to the crowd.

"How do you know?" the principal asked.

"The culprit is Rita," Gin said nonchalantly.

Gasps filled the air. Everyone, including Rita, was shocked by his accusation. What did Gin mean by accusing Rita? Wasn't she a victim?

"Her targets were five people—Ana, Arin, Indah, Tesa, and herself. She knew that Ana, Arin, and Indah always brought packed meals for breakfast. On Monday, she had the opportunity to poison Ana, Arin, and Indah's food, but she couldn't risk being late for the assembly, or else she might have become a suspect herself."

"Arin and Indah are in the same class and have a habit of arriving early and washing their hands before eating. That's why Rita postponed her plan and decided to poison only Ana's meal that day."

"On Tuesday morning, Rita entered through the back gate to poison Arin and Indah's food. And today, she pretended to almost bump into the soto vendor so she could slip poison into Tesa's meal."

"How do you know the soto is poisoned?" the principal asked.

"From its scent. The same scent that lingers on Rita is also present in this soto. I also smelled it yesterday when Rita arrived early at the back gate," Gin explained.

"Scent? What do you mean?" The principal was still confused.

"I can detect even the faintest scents, no matter how many other smells are present," Gin replied.

The crowd and the principal still struggled to grasp his words. The atmosphere grew noisier.

"This is proof. Look at this cat I fed the soto to—its body is heating up. See how it's writhing in discomfort? Look at its paws—the poison works faster on animals than on humans, so the effects show more quickly," Gin said, holding up the cat's paw, which had begun to wrinkle.

"If you're still doubtful, feel free to try this soto yourself and see what happens. For humans, the immediate effect will likely be a feverish sensation, but don't worry—Rita has the antidote."

"Wait, wait! How can you accuse Rita? What's her motive? If she's the culprit, why did she poison herself?" The principal started pressing Gin with more questions.

"First, bring Rita forward so she can't dispose of the poison in her pocket," Gin instructed. All eyes turned to Rita. Hesitantly, she stepped forward.

"You have no reason to accuse me! Maybe you're the real culprit!" Rita snapped defensively.

"You did all this because of the Miss Endfield pageant. You poisoned yourself to divert suspicion. And with the leave you requested, you would claim you found a cure for your wrinkles. But in reality, you already had the antidote. You were the most eager contestant to sign up before your so-called 'illness.' Meanwhile, your four main competitors had yet to register. With this incident and only three days left to register, they would no longer stand a chance of winning."

"And once your one-week medical leave is over, you'd return to school looking perfectly normal, claiming that your treatment worked. Then, you'd pretend to help your rivals recover. It wouldn't matter anymore, because by then, the registration for Miss Endfield would already be closed."

"And what proof do you have?" Rita yelled.

Gin released the cat and reached into Rita's pocket, pulling out a small bottle. Rita froze in shock, especially since Gin had touched her pocket without warning.

"This is the poison. And it's already in the soto," Gin declared. "Like I said, if anyone still doubts it, you can taste the soto yourself. Or, take just one drop of this poison and see if the effects match."

Silence filled the air. People exchanged glances, searching for anyone willing to volunteer.

"As I mentioned earlier, don't worry—Rita has the antidote," Gin reminded them.

"I will taste the poison," the principal said. Gin handed him the small bottle.

"I will try the soto," said Mrs. Nadia, the homeroom teacher of Class 3-A. Gin handed her the bowl of soto.

All eyes were on the two of them, waiting to see if Gin's claim was true.

"Ohhhh… your heartbeat," Gin said, pointing at Rita. "I can hear your heartbeat racing in fear."

Rita was startled by his words. How did Gin know she was panicking?

"Hhmm, Gin," Mrs. Nadia spoke after tasting a few spoonfuls of the soto.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"This soto… it's leftover from the cat, isn't it?" Mrs. Nadia suddenly realized.

"Yes, ma'am," Gin replied.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?!" she snapped.

"I did mention that I fed it to the cat," Gin said casually.

"You—!" Mrs. Nadia tried to hold back her frustration at having eaten food that had already been given to a cat.

"She just found out how annoying Gin is," Tesa muttered quietly.