An Unjust Result
I barely steadied my upper body, which had nearly toppled over, then slowly checked them out one by one. Boys my age, but unbelievably big, with rough glints in their eyes from the start. One had broad shoulders with thick veins bulging on his forearms; another wore a fangs-like grin. Wasn’t on purpose, right?
If it was a mistake, it was trivial—no need to get mad. I’d even accept an apology. But they acted like nothing happened, turning away to keep going.
“Hey.”
When I called out, the boy who’d shoved me froze, then turned. “What?” A sneer curled his lips.
“You calling me? Don’t think I’ve seen you before... Got something to say to us?”
Intimidating tone, laced with mockery—like what can a runt like you do? Looking down on me completely.
Hmm... I glanced around. The other kids looked unhappy with their behavior but didn’t dare speak up.
Bullies like these pop up everywhere.
Tension hung thick, like something might explode any second—then Marie rushed in front of me. “It’s nothing, Marco. Go ahead if you want. Sorry for the hassle.”
Marco snorted. “Hmph. Boring bitch.” He shrugged and headed off to get food without a backward glance. His followers trailed after, each shooting glares.
“...”
Once they were out of sight, Marie whispered cautiously, “They’re bad news. Best to ignore them.”
I nodded silently. She was right—guys like that, you don’t engage unless you have to.
“Anyway, our turn. Let’s grab food.”
“Yeah.”
We picked up trays and quietly headed to the serving line. Inside the dining hall, a seasoned nun was calmly filling each tray.
“Oh, a new face?”
“She’s starting today,” Marie said first. The nun smiled brightly and nodded.
“Monastery life won’t be easy, but you’ll get used to it soon enough.”
With that, warm porridge, a hunk of bread, and some boiled vegetables went onto the tray. Finally, something in a small round pot was carefully added.
We carried our loaded trays to an empty spot in the corner and sat. I peered down at mine, inspecting the food slowly.
Moderately thick barley porridge. Tough whole-wheat bread that turned savory if chewed well. Bland boiled potatoes, carrots, and a few beans. And finally, a mystery dessert in the little pot.
Its softly warped surface, yellowish hue, faint sweet aroma... kinda like pudding. Desserts here too? Surprised, I asked Marie beside me, “What’s this?”
“Oh, right—today’s that day.” She raised an eyebrow. “It’s called Hania.”
“Hania?”
“Yeah. Super-sweet dessert loaded with sugar. Kinda pudding-like... I’m not big on it, but most kids love the stuff. The real fans count down the days all month.”
That sparked my curiosity even more.
“Eat up before it cools. Cold porridge is the worst.”
I followed Marie’s lead and dug in. The flavors were mild overall, nothing spicy. No meat was a bummer, but it wasn’t bad.
Especially the Hania... that was the best.
Slightly melted sugar syrup coated the outside, and inside the fluffy risen dough lurked soft stewed-apple filling. The moment it hit my tongue, a rich, gentle sweetness bloomed, drawing out an involuntary smile. Not fancy by any means, but a rare sweet treat in a place like this monastery.
The meal vanished in no time. Problem was, my stomach still felt empty. I stared blankly at the empty tray.
“...Done already? You’re fast...”
Marie hadn’t even finished half. Feeling awkward, I asked carefully, “Can we... get seconds?”
“Doubt it. One tray per person, usually.”
As expected.
“...Not enough?”
“Yeah.” I nodded, and Marie hesitated before tearing off a piece of her bread and placing it on my tray. A boiled potato and even the Hania followed.
“...You’re giving me Hania too?”
“Yeah. Sweets aren’t my thing anyway.”
My chest warmed a little. No bad people share their food—that saying held true.
“...Marie, you’re such a good kid!”
“No... it’s nothing...” She turned away in a fluster. I caught a glimpse of her flushed ear tips.
“Thanks, Marie. Dig in!”
“...Eat up.”
I picked up my fork again.
“...?”
But just as I was about to eat—a dark shadow loomed over my tray.
“Hey. Hand over all your Hania.”
It was those big, nasty bullies from before. Their hands were already stuffed with Hania snatched from other kids.
“Uh, but...” Marie faltered in panic, glancing at me carefully.
One boy eyed our trays and smirked. “What, one’s already gone? Tsk. Cough up the rest.”
“Pass.”
They blinked in shock, then burst into disbelieving laughs.
“Hah, get a load of this.”
“Hear that attitude.”
“Aren’t they the ones from earlier?”
“Yeah. This brat got no idea who we are?”
One plopped down in the seat across from me, glaring. Marco, definitely.
“Hey, you. Think we’ll keep overlooking you just ‘cause you’re kinda cute? We don’t go easy on girls. Drop the tough act.”
“...”
“Won’t hand it over? Guess I’ll take it myself.”
Marco’s hand reached for my tray.
“Don’t touch. Marie gave it to me.”
“Hmph. Whatcha gonna do about it?”
I’d warned him, but his hand didn’t stop.
“I warned you.”
The instant his hand touched my Hania—I slammed my fork down on it.
—Clang.
I’d aimed to pierce clean through, but unfortunately, the fork just grazed between his fingers—no serious damage.
Tch.
Disappointed, I clicked my tongue and racked my brain for the next move.
In scraps like this, early momentum’s key...
Three against one. A straight-up brawl, and I’d lose for sure. So I needed to make it clear: mess with me, and I won’t just take it.
I stood with fork in hand, burning with resolve to at least leave a mark on the gut of whoever charged first.
“Wai... wha...?”
But things went completely off-script.
“B-bl-blood! B-b-bloooood!!!”
Marco belatedly clutched his stabbed finger and screamed.
“Marco’s hurt!”
“Get a nun quick!”
“That girl stabbed Marco with a fork!!”
They’d chosen snitching over fighting little old me.
“Huh?”
They started it, and a tiny fork prick? This felt off...
I glanced around slyly—
“You see that? She stabbed Marco!”
“No way... How’s a girl that cruel...”
“Look! The scary way she’s gripping that fork!”
Suddenly, I was the villain.
Soon, a nun rushed over, checked Marco in shock, and started treating him. Another nun got the frantic rundown from one of his crew.
......
In the end, I got dragged to the abbess’s office.
“Hmm... So on your first day here, you stabbed Marco... over one Hania?”
“...”
I nodded, avoiding her gaze.
“Sigh...” She stood and approached me closely.
“Marco was wrong to steal it, but using violence? That’s wrong too.”
“...”
“Violence solves nothing. And yours was way too much. You need punishment.”
“...!”
The word punishment made my heart drop. Injustice burned in my throat, but I couldn’t say a word.