[No title provided]
A new act of depravity? Even early in the morning, that ridiculous composite video drained all my energy.
Daring to depict Brynhildr like some filthy whore in that vulgar clip—even knowing it was fake, the advanced synthesis tech that surpassed my wildest imagination and the sight of a lewd Brynhildr I'd never seen before left me utterly spent.
"For someone of my caliber to masturbate to such trash, even knowing it's fabricated... My training is lacking. Whoever sent me that video, if I catch them, I'll cleave them in two with a single stroke...!"
Of course, she made no mention of secretly saving the video. She knew it was blasphemous nonsense portraying Brynhildr of all people entangled with a man, but the allure of that unprecedented lewd version of her president had captivated her completely.
Setsuna frowned at the shameful secret she couldn't confess to anyone, stroking the hilt of the sword at her waist as she muttered to herself.
"This is all that guy's fault! The silhouette of the man in the video looks just like him, and he's the prime suspect who could send me something like this. I can cut him down without a shred of guilt...!!"
Kang Han-beom, the insolent bastard who'd been worming his way between the president and her ever since last year—a man who deserved to be beaten to death. Every time their relationship seemed to progress, every time she tried to confess her feelings to Brynhildr, he'd pop up like a ghost to sabotage them. Recalling her arch-nemesis, Setsuna vowed to take him down today and, true to form, hurried toward school to catch him in the act.
-Kyaaak!
-Me too, inspect me too!
"Hm?"
As she neared the school gate, a sudden commotion reached her ears. Was some famous celebrity or idol heading to class? In a world with superhuman athletes, superhuman idols existed too. Setsuna tilted her head at the unusually crowded gate, packed like sardines unlike any normal day.
"E-everyone! Disperse! Disperse! You're blocking other people's way! I don't know what's going on, but clear out...?"
But that thought was short-lived. Pushing through the cadets, Setsuna headed for the center of the uproar—then froze in her tracks upon spotting something.
"Ahh, check mine too♡ Inspect me♡"
"Me too! Check my skirt length—no, wait! I wore super slutty bra today, that's gotta be contraband♡ Strip me quick♡"
"Hey now, what's that nonsense. Enough—lift your skirt already."
"Wh-what...?"
The cadets were begging her sworn enemy to inspect their skirts. Sure, as a prestigious academy, uniform regulations were strict, so "inspection" wasn't odd on its face. But the method, the attitude—everything screamed wrong.
"Hm, yours is borderline. Pass. Next... What the—why are you thrusting your tits out?"
"I told you! Super slutty bra today! Confiscate it quick♡ And this blouse—supposed to button to the collar, but I left two undone!"
What the hell am I seeing? Another new outrage from the same old Kang Han-beom?
The cadets are shoving themselves at him, begging for uniform checks...?
Cadets who usually avoided Han-beom like the plague were now voluntarily clinging to him, insisting on their uniform violations. They were picking nits on their skirts and the looser blouse regs, demanding inspections.
Normally, he'd be leering with that sleazy grin, nitpicking innocent cadets under the guise of checks for all sorts of sexual harassment...?
He was still peeking up skirts under pretense, sure. But cadets who would've recoiled in horror and begged her for help from hiding were now clustering around him with eager eyes, hiking up their skirts like it was a treat.
"Geum-hwa! Help me out... She's dozing off. Since when?"
"Who cares about that?! Inspect my bra quick!"
"And that's... Park Ayoung?"
The one thrusting her chest at him for a bra check was none other than Park Ayoung, the volleyball ace Setsuna knew well—though they'd never talked much, she was rumored to be on bad terms with Han-beom, just like her.
"Now I get why the cadets are swarming. But that behavior...?"
Looking closer, the cluster begging for inspections was Park Ayoung and her loyal posse. The bizarre scene had been too alien at first to register, but spotting Ayoung's standout massive tits amid the crowd snapped it into focus.
"Probably their usual pissing contest. Those two have been notoriously at odds since last year. Ayoung and her crew must've cooked up this uniform inspection ploy to embarrass him, and Han-beom's retaliating with his standard pervy gropes to not lose face..."
Standard sexual harassment. A phrase that'd raise eyebrows for anyone else, but Setsuna said it flatly, coolly observing Han-beom, Ayoung's group, and the crowd's reactions.
-Look at that... The perv's frozen stiff.
-Acting cool, but Ayoung's pushing him into a corner.
-Who knew this trick existed...?
-Huh? Guess I can shorten my skirt starting tomorrow!
"Ugh..."
Clearly, like how they'd endured Han-beom's nitpicking before, Ayoung's crew had devised this to fluster him. It was working, by her eyes—but the side effects were glaring too.
"At this rate, the whole academy's cadets might turn into whores."
The earlier incident still stung, and seeing Han-beom squirm was satisfying, but letting it spread bad influence was risky. Deciding she couldn't stand by, Setsuna moved to intervene—just as Han-beom reached for Ayoung.
"What're you waiting for? Inspect me♡ Got shameless undies on. Confiscate 'em♡"
"You... Think I won't if you ask?!"
Ayoung thrust out her straining blouse in provocation. Han-beom, patience snapped, lunged for it. The instant Setsuna saw, her body launched like a swallow toward him—a classic rider kick.
She couldn't draw her sword amid the crowd, and his lackey Baek Geum-hwa was slumped asleep against the wall anyway.
Thwack—!!
"Aaaagh?!"
"Wh-what?!"
With screams, her target vanished from before Ayoung, who panicked and scanned around for her vanished "master."
"What... Why...?!"
Setsuna was just as stunned. What? Why'd it connect?!
He'd dodged faster sword strikes before—why not this? Too focused on Ayoung to sense her? She'd timed the kick assuming he'd evade, but her sole felt not cold pavement, but the destructive crunch of splintering wood.
Then Han-beom's agonized scream confirmed it: her strike had shattered his arm.
"Aaaagh, my arm!! You crazy bitch, ugh...!!"
"M-Master... H-hey! You okay?!"
The bone-crack echoed so loud even bold Ayoung paled, rushing to the writhing Han-beom to check him. Setsuna, the kicker, sensed she'd fucked up big-time.
"What happened... K-Kang Han-beom, Guidance Committee Chief?"
"P-President...?!"
What cruel twist of fate? Brynhildr, hearing the screams, had grabbed gear from her office and flown over. She stared at the rolling Han-beom and the dumbfounded Setsuna before him.
Shit, this is bad...!!
No one would see this as anything but her unprovoked assault. A Valkyrie beating a (technically cadet) normal human with kid-level physique to serious injury? No excuse. Assaulting civilians was a major crime, and it looked exactly like that.
Feeling blood drain from her face, Setsuna blurted to Brynhildr.
"I-I can explain everything! All of it!"
"Vice President Setsuna. Details later. Evacuating the injured comes first."
Brynhildr's trusting blue eyes—assuming some reason behind it—let Setsuna exhale a bit. But confusion lingered too. If she wasn't mistaken, a faint flicker of disappointment toward her had shadowed those eyes.