Chapter 38

Returning to his room, he immediately opened the envelope and decided to take a look at the contents of the paper inside.

He read through the paper labeled "Report."

"Perpetrators, leader-level: Mori Gap, Tomil Gain, Ryan Christopher.

Around 4 PM, they entered the greenhouse.

After getting into a scuffle with Toto Gap, they wreaked havoc inside the greenhouse.

Then, Mori came out of the greenhouse holding some kind of plant in his hand.

They also destroyed the nearby field together and left the scene.

Toto Gap followed them after a while but was beaten back halfway.

Tomil and Ryan have no direct connection to Toto.

It has been confirmed that Mori is from the same clan as Toto.

Mori is from the main family, and Toto is from a branch family. It is likely that Toto was beaten up because of this relationship.

This concludes the report for this time.

Please pay the fee as usual.

The fee for the previous request, the investigation of Eliza Doville and Kururi Heran's friendship, has not been paid.

Please make the payment as soon as possible."

"Hey! The last part!!"

"Damn it!"

I didn't know he had such an information network.

Don't waste money on useless things!

But, that's not important right now. I'll complain later, but for now, I'll gratefully accept this report.

If I had to describe my feelings after reading this report in one word, it would be "anger."

From the content, it's clear that this was nothing but harassment of Toto.

Moreover, the despicable way they misused their position in the main family is evident.

It wasn't even a one-on-one confrontation. Did they really need three people to gang up on that out-of-shape Toto?

I can also tell that Toto, despite being battered, still pursued them.

I can almost feel Toto's pain.

He must have been so frustrated.

Still, it's a very concise and clear report. Maybe I should hire this person next time.

I wonder who to ask.

No, that's not important right now.

I can't forgive this! I want to get back at these three.

I understand why Toto couldn't do anything. If he did, it would affect not just himself but his family as well. It's better that he didn't pursue it.

That means I can't confront them directly either. They probably know about my relationship with Toto, and if I retaliate, it will be seen as Toto retaliating.

But I can't just let this go. Who knows when they might harass Toto again?

I need to teach them a lesson.

I thought about various options, but none of them seemed to work.

Is there a way to teach them a lesson without causing trouble for Toto?

In the end, I couldn't come up with anything. I thought I was a peaceful person.

I couldn't even think of a way to get back at them for a friend. How pathetic.

That night, I thought about many things before falling asleep.

I had trouble falling asleep and kept remembering various things.

On such nights, I always have nightmares.

In the morning, I saw my pale face in the mirror.

The dream I had last night was really bad. Just thinking about it gives me the chills. It's a warm day, but I can't stop shivering.

I never want to have that dream again.

...But, the nightmare gave me a good idea.

My face in the mirror smiled slyly. It was a bad dream, but it felt like a good one.

"Alright"

I decided to do this.

During the breaks between classes, I searched for a person named Mori Gap.

After asking around, I found out he was in Class D.

I took a quick peek inside the classroom.

There he was! Just as described, a blonde guy with a prominent chin. He's called Mori by his followers, so it must be him.

He has a really detestable face. I want to pounce and punch him right now.

But wait, he's not going to run away. I calmed myself down and left the scene.

After school, I immediately went to Class D and started tracking Mori.

He left the classroom with the two followers mentioned in the report.

They were heading somewhere. I followed them stealthily.

They arrived at a corner of the school building.

It seems they often come here. Various items that looked like theirs were scattered around.

There was also a plant, probably taken from Toto, used for a face mask. It was already withered and useless.

"Hey, Toto's face yesterday was hilarious, right? He was so desperate for that thing. It's ridiculous," Mori said, and his two followers laughed.

They were even more despicable than I thought.

"Apparently, he planted it again. When it grows, we should steal it again!"

"Let's go. We could even do it today."

"Sure. Hahaha."

I couldn't take it anymore.

Their white teeth, grinning in laughter, were driving me crazy.

I used a transformation spell to change my appearance to that of a magical radish, human-sized.

It had a deep-set face and unnaturally short limbs.

It was humiliating to look like this.

Why did I do this? Because this character appeared in the dream I had last night.

In the dream, I was beaten up by these radishes. They were angry because I used herbicide.

It was a terrifying dream. I even begged them to forgive me and promised never to use herbicide again.

It was humiliating.

So, I decided to pass on this humiliation to the three of them, which I thought of this morning.

"What are you so happy about, Wi?"

"W-Who are you!?"

The three were surprised by my sudden appearance. Of course, they would be.

When they asked who I was, I decided to answer out of courtesy.

"You're the herbs we pulled up the other day."

"Huh, are you crazy? That's impossible."

One of the followers snapped. I guess it's hard to believe such a fairy tale at this age.

I realized my mistake too late.

Since they didn't believe me, I decided to use violence.

I raised my fists in front of my face and charged.

While one of the followers was still stunned, I slipped into his guard and delivered a powerful blow to his jaw.

"Ugh" He groaned and fell.

I immediately turned and punched the other follower's nose.

"Aaaah!!"

He screamed in pain and fell as well.

Now it was just one left.

But at that moment, the man who had been pushed down jumped on me from behind.

I managed to turn around, but he was on top of me.

He sat on my stomach and started punching me in the face.

"Die! Die! Die!" He shouted, and I managed to block most of the punches with my hands, except for the first few.

But it was bad. If this continued, the spell would be broken.

I needed to turn the tide.

I dodged one of his punches and grabbed his wrist, twisting it.

"Ow, ow, ow!"

Mori, in pain, threw his body to escape.

This allowed me to avoid being pinned down.

Now it was time to counterattack.

"Damn, die!"

As I prepared to counterattack, Mori suddenly cast a fire spell.

Using magic in a fight is forbidden!! But from his perspective, he was being attacked by a mysterious creature, so it was self-defense.

The fire ignited the grass on my head and spread.

"Hot, hot, hot, hot, oh, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch"

I flailed my legs, trying to put out the fire, but my short arms couldn't reach the top of my head.

While struggling, the spell finally broke.

I suddenly appeared as a human.

"You're Kururi Heran! Hah, did you come to get back at Toto's request?"

He figured it out.

And as expected, he knew about my relationship with Toto.

"I didn't come at Toto's request."

"Like I believe you. I'll crush you and then strangle him. I'll make him regret crossing me."

"It's not related to Toto. I acted on my own."

"Shut up. What I do is none of your business."

"Please forgive me. You can do whatever you want to me, but don't touch Toto."

"What? I'm going to crush you and Toto, got it?!"

Hearing that, something inside my head snapped.

I had never felt such an emotion before. My fists were trembling slightly.

I stepped forward forcefully, and before I knew it, I had punched Mori away.

I heard a dull, strange sound when I hit him. Something might have happened to his bones.

But I didn't care anymore. I wasn't going to hold back.

"Even if I compromise this much, you won't stop? Then I won't hold back anymore. If you do anything more, I won't forgive you. I swear on the name of Kururi Heran that I will crush you. If you touch Toto, I'll crush you. If you touch what's mine, I'll crush you. If you do anything behind my back, I'll crush you. Got it?!"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

He muttered something in a low voice, but I couldn't make out what he said.

The two followers led him away.

...I messed up.

I regret my shallow plan and the trouble I caused Toto. But it's done. I feel useless.

"I'm sorry."

Those words slipped out softly.

That day, I was called to the teacher's office.

I was reported for using violence.

Of course, I have my side of the story, but I was the one who started it.

I didn't even feel like making excuses.

I was apparently going to spend three days in the detention room.

It's a room to encourage reflection, with no special punishment.

It's a way to cool off for three days.

In the detention room, I spent the whole day thinking.

Was my action right?

Now, I think it was wrong. I was too hasty.

After school, Toto came alone.

"I heard you fought with Mori and his gang."

I couldn't answer Toto's question. I couldn't even look at him.

"Taking on three of them was reckless. But it took a lot of courage."

"Sorry."

"I don't want you to blame yourself so much. I feel pretty relieved right now."

I looked up and saw Toto.

I was surprised by his unexpected words.

"Did you think I was angry? I was surprised at first. But I'm not stupid enough to be angry at a friend who fought for me."

"But, I ended up causing trouble for Toto."

"It's not like you're going to die. It might be tough, but I don't plan to stay in that territory in the future. It's only for a short while. Besides, feeling relieved now is much more important to me."

Toto said this and showed a rare, refreshing smile.

After Toto left, I thought a lot.

In the end, I didn't find an answer to my actions.

But I felt it was worth thinking about.

I was feeling down, but I thought it was okay to have such days.

At 7 PM, it was dinner time.

When you have nothing to do all day, meals become the only thing to look forward to. I wondered what dinner would be as I opened the door to the detention room.

"I brought your dinner as a visit."

"Eliza!?"

To my surprise, Eliza brought the dinner.

Why!? I was more curious about the food, but I was also curious about Eliza.

What's the food? Why is Eliza here?

I thought about the food first, so I guess I'm a bit more interested in the food.

Appetite is a powerful thing.

"Eliza, why are you here?"

"I thought you might be bored in the detention room. Since books are allowed, I brought one of my favorite books."

"Ah, thank you. 'The Flower Prince,' what a fairy tale-like book."

"Yes, but it's surprisingly a deep story."

"Wow, thank you. I was really bored, so I'm glad."

"Well, it was worth bringing."

Eliza smiled.

Eliza, who is usually calm and composed, has changed a lot since the other day.

She looks like a cold, high-and-mighty woman, but when you talk to her face-to-face, she has a soft side.

Her face is beautiful, so when she smiles, it makes my heart skip a beat. I might be misunderstanding.

"Kururi, I came."

Just as the atmosphere was getting good, the door opened, and Iris came in with a smile.

"Ah"

Iris immediately noticed Eliza and froze.

"Am I interrupting?"

"No, not at all. I'm glad you came."

"Really? Then I'll come in."

She came in and sat next to Eliza.

"Eliza is here too. I, Iris, know you... right?"

Iris called out to Eliza, looking a bit awkward.

"Yes, I know you."

Eliza's atmosphere seemed to sharpen. What's this uncomfortable feeling in the air?

"Hey, Kururi couldn't attend class, so I brought a copy of the notes."

"Notes!? Thank you!! I was worried about missing class. The test is coming up. This helps a lot."

"Sure, I thought you might need them."

"Iris is so considerate. You'll make a great wife."

"No, I won't."

She scratched her head and blushed.

Iris gets flustered easily when praised.

"It's late tonight. What are you going to do after dinner?"

Eliza asked.

"Ah, the test is coming up, so I was thinking of studying a bit before going to bed."

"So, you'll be looking at the copy of the notes before bed."

Uh, I get what Eliza is implying.

"I usually read before bed. I was planning to do that today. I'm looking forward to 'The Flower Prince.'"

"Is that so?"

Eliza's soft atmosphere from before was gone, and it's now hard to talk to her.

"Kururi... you fought today. I heard from Rayl. I think you did the right thing. No, I think you were cool. I feel so relieved!"

Iris spoke up about today's events.

Like Toto, Iris wasn't angry. She even seemed to approve of my actions.

"No, hearing that makes me think my actions were right. But in the end, I caused trouble for Toto. What I did was nothing but trouble."

"No, that's not true! I think you did the right thing."

Eliza responded. Why!?

"I thought you were cool."

After saying that, she made a small "squeal" to herself. I don't understand Eliza's mood.

"Kururi did the right thing. I believe that."

"I believe it more."

Eliza said, closing her eyes.

Iris looked away.

"Okay."

I couldn't stand the awkward atmosphere and responded.

"Kururi, we're here."

"It's strangely quiet."

Vain and Cross came in, noticing the atmosphere.

Well, maybe men are a bit bad, aren't they?