Chapter 179
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 179
I tilted my head, staring up at Boyan's school. The six-story main building stretched wide across the grounds. A sprawling playground sat out front, flanked on both sides by auxiliary buildings lined up in rigid, orderly formations like soldiers on parade.
'There's a strict sense of unity and consistency here.'
That was why I paused to look. It wasn't just the school; the entire surrounding neighborhood was packed with Bellato-style architecture. It completely lacked the chaotic, sprawling mess characteristic of Border City.
Everywhere I looked, Bellato buildings painted in heavy reddish-browns and ivory lined the streets. They gave off a stable, warm vibe.
'Which only makes it feel all the more unfamiliar.'
In a world of one-eyed people, the man with two eyes is the freak. In a city defined by chaos, a district steeped in unity and stability felt utterly alien. It was as if this entire sector was screaming "No Entry" to anyone who wasn't Bellato.
'Most cities in the Bellato Federation probably feel exactly like this.'
I walked toward the school's main gate.
Two guards were stationed at the entrance, but perhaps because this was a school, their attire was more casual than threatening. Instead of full-body combat suits, they wore lightweight, highly mobile chest protectors, armed with nothing but inconspicuous pistols.
"This is New Cambridge Comprehensive—"
"I'm here because I was called in as a guardian. The student's name is Boyan. He's probably the only Crawler in this school."
I cut him off quickly. If I had let him speak a second longer, the guard would have tried to pull rank by bragging about the academy's proud history.
"A guardian...?"
Despite my prompt explanation, I still got sized up. The guard scanned me from head to toe, taking in my appearance and overall vibe. Even without the intuition of Akies Victima, anyone could guess exactly what was running through his head. 'Someone like you?'
"You know," I said evenly. "A human eyeball doesn't pop as easily as you'd think, even if you press down hard with your thumb. It's surprisingly sturdy."
"W-what?"
The guard flinched. It was a reaction of pure fear rather than anger. He clearly wasn't used to such casually threatening remarks.
"...That was just my way of saying hello. No ill intent. The neighborhood I grew up in was a bit rough."
The guards nervously whispered to each other, muttered something into their communicators, and finally opened the gate.
"You can go to Counseling Room 2 in the third building on the left."
"Thanks."
I gave the two guards a curt nod.
I consciously suppressed my own aggression. Get a grip, Luka. The only people who could brush off my aggressive banter were specialized groups like the Imperial Guard or people who already knew me well. People from Bellato or Kora, in particular, were generally much softer than citizens of the Empire.
I dragged out whatever social skills I had left, which had basically been on the verge of the grave.
Out on the playground, I could see students in the middle of a physical education class. Most of them were human. The few alien species present were the types naturally friendly to humans—species focused on technology and knowledge, like the green-skinned Vagabundus or the blue-skinned Tarpa.
'Japa really sent Boyan to a headache of a school.'
It was a good school, undoubtedly. But for a Crawler like Boyan, it was a deeply exclusive environment.
'We reject those who are different.'
That is the fundamental nature of most species. Even within the same species, those who differ from the norm are persecuted. Just as Boyan had been persecuted among his own kind, the Crawlers.
The glances of passing staff and students briefly landed on me before quickly drifting away. Ultimately, that was because I was human. If an adult Crawler like Regor had shown up as the guardian, every single student on that playground would still be staring.
I entered the annex and found the counseling room exactly as the guard had directed. I appreciated the convenience of the doors automatically sliding open before my feet even reached them.
"Ah..."
As I stepped inside, a shower of bewildered stares hit me. Their faces practically screamed, Are you really the guardian?
'Hmm.'
The counseling room was larger and far more crowded than I'd expected. There were ten people in total: Boyan, two other students, a staff member, three people who looked like the other students' guardians, and three bodyguards who had seemingly accompanied them.
Two of the bodyguards were human; the remaining one was an Equesian. My gaze quickly swept over them. Their eyes moved exactly like mine, instinctually sizing up each other's combat capabilities.
"I'm Boyan's guardian. Not his parent. You can tell just by looking at us that we don't resemble each other," I said, taking a seat next to Boyan. I tried to crack a joke in my own way, but no one laughed. They either had a bleaker sense of humor than the citizens of the Empire, or this simply wasn't a laughing matter.
Brief introductions followed. After getting everyone's details, I turned to the silent Boyan.
"Boyan, keeping your head down like that only makes you look guiltier. Did you commit a capital crime? If not, hold your head up high."
"I-I..."
Boyan's voice trembled.
'I can pretty much grasp the situation.'
I could figure out what happened without even hearing the teacher's report. Faint bloodstains lingered on Boyan's hands and sleeves. He had clearly tried to wash them off in a hurry, but the traces remained.
'There are three guardians, but only two students present.'
None of the guardians looked like they were married to each other. And one of them wore a furious expression, looking as if he was just itching to explode.
'Boyan sent one of the students to the hospital.'
The other two students looked terrified. Their clothes were dirty and torn, as if they'd been slammed against the walls by Boyan.
'Boyan is a Crawler. He naturally possesses a fierce, wild aggression. The accumulated bullying must have finally shattered his reason and patience.'
It was a classic violent incident. These brats had been bullying Boyan the whole time, and unable to take it anymore, Boyan had simply exploded.
"Mr. Luka, to explain the current situation..."
The teacher started. The situation was exactly as I'd guessed.
"...The student who is not present here has been hospitalized with a broken arm."
The teacher spoke as if this were a grave, world-ending tragedy. I stroked my neck and chuckled.
"Kids break limbs all the time when they fight. All of my limbs are prosthetic bodies, too. I played a bit rough when I was young..."
Damn it, my habitual way of speaking slipped out. It probably sounded incredibly sarcastic. Actually, no, it was sarcastic. I quickly tacked on a follow-up.
"...We will take all necessary measures. We will also cover the full medical expenses."
I bowed my head slightly. This was me showing sincerity in my own way.
Clack!
The sound of his dress shoes was sharp. The blonde guardian, who had been furious since I walked in, took an aggressive step forward. He even pointed a finger right at my face. If this had been a dark alley, that finger would have been snapped off instantly.
"Medical expenses? Are you kidding me? Do I look like I lack money? And teacher, why do you think I pay a fortune to send my child here? It's to ensure they never have to cross paths with dangerous species like Crawlers. And you let a Crawler enroll here? There is no compromise other than expulsion!"
The blonde man was far more uncompromising than the other guardians. Seeing his blonde hair made me think of Ilay. Of course, the blonde standing in front of me was much uglier and fatter. If I stabbed him in the stomach, I had a feeling hot fat would pour out instead of blood.
"No compromise other than expulsion? Boyan, should we just get you expelled then? Is there any real need for you to attend this school?" I asked nonchalantly, nudging Boyan's shoulder with my elbow.
My casual reaction genuinely flustered the guardians and the teacher.
"L-Luka, ex-expulsion?"
"Japa just picked this school for you on a whim anyway."
Boyan hesitated. He glanced at me and then at the others, gauging their reactions. I waited for him patiently, silently telling him to speak up if he had something to say.
"...I chose this school."
I raised an eyebrow slightly and crossed my arms.
"Is that so? Well, that changes things. No expulsion."
I didn't know why Boyan had chosen this school. But he must have had his reasons, and he must have believed this was the best place for him.
The teacher looked back and forth between me and the blonde guardian before clearing their throat.
"Mr. Luka, the issue is more complicated than you think. The school arranged this meeting to resolve the matter internally through our regulations. If we cannot reach a mediation or compromise here, the police will have to get involved."
The teacher was once again pushing for expulsion.
"Boyan's sponsor is the scholarship foundation of Japa Trading. And yet, you're going to call the police and start a legal dispute?" I said, shamelessly riding on the coattails of a snake.
Throwing Japa's name around like that probably made me look like a real petty scoundrel. At the mention of Japa Trading, the teacher's expression turned troubled. The two other guardians, excluding the blonde one, also looked noticeably uneasy. Clearly, Japa's name carried significant weight in Border City.
"Haha, do you really think Japa Trading would cause a public scandal and initiate a legal battle against me over a single student? I don't know who you are, but that scholarship foundation sponsors over a hundred students."
The blonde guardian sneered. His own influence must have been considerable if he wasn't intimidated by Japa's name.
Whir.
I ran a search on the blonde guardian's identity through my retinal display. If he was a public figure, his information would pop right up.
'Ergen Wilter.'
He was a businessman who owned a major media outlet. Apparently, he was infamous for yellow journalism. He was exactly the type of person Japa Trading would find extremely tedious to deal with. Still, if Japa stepped in, a negotiation would happen somehow. Japa was actively trying to win my favor, after all.
'But I can't let Japa handle every trivial matter like this.'
This was my personal problem. I was slowly accumulating a debt of gratitude to Japa—a debt that could only be cleared if I saved his life for free the next time he wound up in mortal danger.
'Regardless of the circumstances, a student was injured due to Boyan's violence. On top of that, Boyan is a Crawler, and the opposing side has the power to mobilize the media.'
It was obvious what would happen if we failed to reach a compromise here. Provocative articles would flood the net, screaming about how a savage Crawler sponsored by Japa Trading had brutally broken an innocent human student's arm.
'This is disadvantageous on multiple fronts.'
I thought for a moment, then stood up and patted Boyan on the shoulder.
"We're going to step out and chat for a minute. That's fine, right?"
"Ah, there is an empty counseling room right next door."
The teacher stood up and guided Boyan and me to the adjacent room.
Slam!
Only the two of us remained in the new counseling room. Boyan kept his head lowered, seemingly unable to look me in the eye.
"I told you to hold your head up unless you committed a capital crime. I go around killing people for a living and still walk shamelessly, looking up at the sky. You didn't even kill anyone, did you?" I said, taking a seat on the sofa.
"I should have endured it. Even though I knew I should, in the end, I resorted to violence just like any other Crawler. I, too, am ultimately..."
Boyan's thick, calloused hands trembled. They were hands entirely unsuited for studying. If he wailed on someone with those meat hooks, it would probably make a satisfyingly heavy crunch.
"Crawler or not, there are plenty of bastards who would've resorted to violence if they were in your shoes. Me? If I were in your place, I wouldn't have just sent one guy to the hospital. That motherfucker would already be dead by my hands, and the other two would be drinking through a straw for the rest of their lives. Am I a Crawler? No. But I've been breaking the nose bridges of kids my own age over a single crust of bread since I was a child."
I wasn't comforting him; I was just stating hard facts. Hearing my words, Boyan couldn't help but let out a dry, hollow chuckle.
"But it's true that I did wrong. I don't mean I wronged those kids, but I wronged myself. I knew I had to endure it. I promised myself I would, but I couldn't keep that promise. Even though I knew very well that if I got into a violent incident, things would end terribly for me."
I liked what Boyan just said. If you felt guilty toward the scumbags who bullied you just because you beat them up a little, that wasn't being a good person—that was being sick with the disease of pretending to be good. Though some moralists might disagree.
"So, why did you choose this school? There are plenty of other academies out there. There must be places with looser rules and a higher population of non-human species."
Boyan hesitated. He slowly raised his head, and for the first time today, he looked me straight in the eye.
"...Because I thought this place would be the hardest. I made a mistake today, but I don't want to run away from here."
Boyan had deliberately avoided the easy choice and picked the most difficult path. He knew very well what kind of thorny road lay ahead of him.
I fell into thought, clasping my hands together and tapping my thumbs against each other. Almost instantly, Akies Victima formulated a backup plan.
"Alright. Boyan, brace yourself."
"Huh?"
I stood up. Then, my fist snapped forward, slamming directly into Boyan's face. I controlled the force—just enough to slightly crack the bone without caving in his skull.
Crash!
Boyan collapsed, pitching headfirst onto the floor with a heavy thud. He couldn't even let out a groan.
Thud!
My boot slammed squarely into Boyan's ribs. Sent flying across the room, Boyan crashed into the wall, smashing the nearby furniture into splintered pieces.
A few bones would be broken, and the internal bleeding was going to hurt like hell, but if he took after his father, he'd manage to endure it.
...From here on out, I was going to beat Boyan half to death. I was going to beat him so miserably that the other side wouldn't dare utter a single word of complaint.