Chapter 17 : Education shapes a person (4)

It’s cold.

A dagger flies into my chest and sticks.

Hoshino, who has been silent, looking at me, whose face has become covered in wounds.

I must have twisted the future of the original work by defeating the monster of the sword.

But why does the “decayed Hoshino” from the original work appear before me now?

Crack-crack-

Wow, that sound of teeth grinding is no joke.

Fox teeth with fangs are making a sound as if they’re hitting metal in my mouth.

Then, Hoshino carefully placed both hands on my injured face, and after a while, she looked over my wounds.

“…I’ll kill them.”

“What… What?!”

“The bastard who did this to you, I’ll definitely kill them.”

Her beast-like pupils were wide open, and she looked dangerous, making an incredibly threatening expression.

So…

“Miss.”

“What?”

“Just so you know, I didn’t get hurt because of this.”

“Uh, what?”

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

It shouldn’t have happened, but… I couldn’t just make Princess Hoshino a murderer.

I had already prepared a lie for this while riding the school bus home.

A “white lie” I had to tell her.

“I tripped on the stairs and fell. These wounds are all from that.”

“You tripped?! How do you fall and get this hurt?”

“Haha… Well, I am a guy, after all.”

At times like this, I was truly thankful for the “female-dominant” world.

In this world, no matter how badly a guy gets hurt, they just brush it off without further questions, saying “because he’s a guy.”

Thanks to that…

“Yeah, boys have weak bodies.”

The shadow on my face had been growing darker since a little while ago.

After quickly accepting my excuse, Hoshino returned to her usual child-like expression.

“Still, you should be more careful!”

“Haha… I don’t have an answer to that.”

“…Anyway, tell me what happened today.”

“Huh?”

“I’ve never been to elementary school, you know. So I want to hear about it as a form of ‘vicarious satisfaction.'”

Vicarious satisfaction…

It would be best to just go with her, but…

“A guy not talking to a girl? How strange.”

…Actually, thinking about it, it might be better that they don’t meet right now because of Carmilla.

Just thinking about the things that little brat did to me today, it’s better that they don’t see each other for their mental health.

Both of them were the “superhumans” with the best combat abilities in our age group.

“One of them is already a hero… and the other one, Miss, has the strength to rival most heroes.”

Two heroes clashing in an elementary school?

Just imagining it makes me dizzy.

No, seriously, which teacher could stop them if they fought?

I guess it’s better if Miss Hoshino is brought in once Carmilla and I are in different classes.

“Each grade has two classes, so we’ll probably separate eventually.”

So, in order to get the hikikomori princess enrolled in school, a bit of preparation to spark her curiosity was important.

“Today, I went to the aquarium.”

“The aquarium? Does the school have one?”

“Yes, it does.”

I told her all about our All Mighty Elementary, selecting topics I thought she’d enjoy.

While dreaming of the day we’d go together.

Of course, I censored all stories related to the vile Carmilla.

…But.

“Janghoon… lied to me.”

That evening.

I’m not some fool who’s going to fall for that.

Hoshino had already figured out that I told a white lie.

From the moment I claimed I got hurt because I was a guy.

At least the Janghoon she knew wasn’t a weak kid who’d blame his mistakes on his gender.

Once I said that nonsense, she knew everything.

That made her more upset.

“Janghoon… I’m your ‘master.’ Why would you lie to your master? Or was I not a reliable enough master for you?”

While the territory was being repaired.

A hotel-level private room specially provided by the D City Hero Association branch.

Inside, Hoshino, who didn’t turn on a single light, continued to mutter while looking at herself in the mirror.

The me in the mirror.

Even the much weaker boy is showing me pity.

As an employer, I can’t even maintain the dignity of a master.

So, my man comes back after being beaten by someone outside, and I can’t be of any support at all.

“…I’ll kill them both.”

Hoshino simply stared silently at her reflection in the mirror.

In the dark room, until the brightness of the room gradually increased with the sunlight seeping through the curtains.

“Miss Hoshino is sick?”

“Yes, when I went into her room this morning, she was wrapped up in her blanket and said she wanted to rest for a day.”

Was it the next day after a good rest?

While waiting for the school bus.

I heard that Miss Hoshino was sick.

‘She seemed fine just yesterday… Did she catch a cold or something?’

With her personality, there’s no way she’d fake being sick, so maybe the change in her living environment caused it.

When I heard the sudden news, I considered skipping school today.

But…

“Young master, please just go to school today.”

“Nanny…”

“Hohoho. It’s me, after all. And if the princess knows that you couldn’t go to school because of her, that will make her feel bad too.”

The nanny, who half-forced me onto the school bus.

Thanks to her, I bowed in both apology and gratitude.

It was heartwarming.

Honestly, I had no reason to be treated this well as just a playmate for the princess.

But I wanted to repay her by showing good results.

Chwaak.

“?!”

Puh-huh! Kek, kekekekek…

However, my mood, which had been good just an hour ago, quickly changed.

“Seriously, a guy only shows up ten minutes early? You really didn’t learn much, huh?”

As soon as I opened the classroom door, a bucket of water fell on my head.

In just a few minutes after arriving at school, I was completely soaked and downgraded.

…Well, I expected this much, didn’t I?

Pfft.

“How childish.”

“…What did you say?”

Once again, don’t underestimate a man from a tiny company in South Korea.

A bucket of water?

I’ve seen people scatter lava out of frustration on a shipbuilding worksite.

Compared to those guys, Carmilla, you’re just a joke.

“Your actions are nothing more than that of a spoiled child.”

“Sp-sp-spoiled child?!”

||||||

Puh-huh.

No matter how well they are taught or how smart they are, elementary school kids still laugh at words like “poop.”

In front of those kids, I combined the high-class terms “decayed,” “young lady,” and “brat” into one word.

I gave Carmilla the new nickname “Decayed Young Lady Brat.”

Then, just like yesterday, the atmosphere in the classroom, which had been frozen because of Carmilla’s oppressive mood, suddenly turned into a sea of laughter.

“Wh-why is no one laughing?!”

“Seriously, just yesterday, that girl said she’d help if anything was difficult since she’s two years older, but now what, trying to enforce discipline?”

“Shut up!”

“Hey, Decayed Young Lady Brat. You should’ve messed with someone who could handle it!”

“…Pfft!”

Heh heh…

“How dare this man insult a girl?!”

Thud thud thud.

Looks like her true colors are showing again.

Not even knowing what else to say, Carmilla, just like yesterday, rushed at me with her fists clenched.

What a fool.

This is why kids are so emotional; you can’t play politics with them like that.

If she hits me again today, how much further will the image of Hero Carmilla fall?

By now, Carmilla was no longer someone who deserved respect in the classroom.

Since the moment she turned me into a bloody mess just because I’m a guy, my classmates started seeing her like a “villain” and were scared of her.

And yet, today, she’s making the same mistake again.

“Whatever, I’ll just take another hit.”

Carmilla, full of anger, was already right in front of me.

With her blue eyes flashing with rage, she looked like she was about to punch my face.

I couldn’t help but give a mocking laugh.

“Die!”

BAM.

And then…

Gasp?!

“Huh?”

…

?!

I was ready to get beaten up, but…

Thud… CRASH!

In front of me, Carmilla flew back, her nose broken.

“…Huh?”

She bounced off the stairs in the back of the classroom and slammed into the wall, falling to the ground.

She shuddered and seemed to get up again with difficulty.

But on her face…

A stream of blood from her nose.

“?!”

And yet…

“Wh-what are you?!”

Carmilla, with a furious voice, pointed at me from behind.

Just then…

“Is it you?”

“…?! Oh, Miss?”

“The bastard who touched my man?”

I didn’t know when she started following me, but there she was, walking out from behind me with a fist covered in someone else’s blood.

The fox-eared princess, Miss Hoshino, was making a face that was far more “decayed” than I had ever seen on Carmilla.

If I wasn’t mistaken…

“Get down here.”

“…Are you that wolf, Hoshino?”

“I’ll definitely kill you.”

For the first time in my life, I saw a look in her eyes that showed she was truly ready to kill someone.