School Violence (3)
The alley behind the dining hall.
As the red Sword Gang vanished, silence fell over the narrow passage.
The kid stared at him with her mouth hanging wide open.
The emotions swirling in her eyes were disbelief, astonishment, and… pride?
What the hell? It’s not like she’s my mom.
Zeron let out a soft chuckle and ruffled the stunned kid’s hair.
“The Matein viscount family? You don’t need to worry too much. If things go south, I’ll just rip their heads off.”
When he had shown her the Sword Gang, he had deliberately let a sliver of his killing intent leak out. It would leave a stronger impression that way.
And just as he expected, the effect was immediate.
He felt a little bad about it, but the kid’s face had gone deathly pale.
“Aww, is our little kid scared?”
Zeron scooped her up in one smooth motion.
Her body stiffened slightly in his arms.
Still afraid?
Or maybe she was just unsettled by the whole “Master” title.
Either way, it wouldn’t last more than a day. That was just how the kid was.
Zeron patted her backside the way one might soothe a baby.
It was surprisingly plump.
The kid’s body went even more rigid.
He could feel her face burning against his neck.
“Jeez, seriously. Come on, want Uncle to walk you all the way to class?”
“…Yeah.”
“…Yeah? Did you just say yeah?”
“W-wait, what the—!? What are you saying!”
The kid suddenly flushed with anger and shoved at his chest, wriggling free of his hold.
Her face was bright red—whether from real anger or embarrassment, it was hard to tell.
“I’m not a child! What do you think you’re doing!”
“Well, you are a child.”
“I am not! And this is sexual harassment, you know!?”
“Come on, between us? What harassment?”
“…Between us?”
“Yeah. At this point, aren’t we basically father and daughter?”
“Go die!”
The kid stormed off, fuming with every step.
Zeron smirked and called after her.
“So! Is this enough for you to trust me now?”
The only reply was a middle finger thrust into the air.
Cheeky brat.
*
After parting ways with the kid, Zeron headed for the staff room.
He needed to see Iris, the homeroom teacher for Class A.
During the field training, each class’s homeroom teacher and their assistants would take charge of one group. If he wanted to officially accompany Class A, he would need her help.
If that didn’t work, he could always just follow them secretly.
“I wonder if she’s in the staff room right now?”
She might still be in class.
With that thought, he opened the door, figuring he could wait if necessary.
“Oh, Zerorong…!”
A completely idiotic nickname greeted him.
“Have you finally lost your mind?”
“I’m not crazy yet?”
“Why are you speaking down to me?”
“You called me Zeron-Zeron first! And you told me to speak casually last time!”
“Crazy bitch.”
Zeron clicked his tongue and walked over to her.
Their familiar banter drew quite a few stares from the surrounding instructors.
He briefly considered plucking all their eyeballs out.
“Wait, did you come looking for me!? Wow…! I’m so happy!”
“…It’s nothing special. I just wanted to ask if I could be Class A’s assistant during the field training.”
“You, Zeron!? Perfect! No take-backs, okay? I’ve already stamped the approval!”
She really was a wildly insane woman in the most colorful way possible.
The longer the conversation went on, the more exhausted he felt….
“Yeah, whatever. I’ll be going then.”
“Ahh…! Wait! I have something I want to ask you!”
“…What is it.”
Zeron asked with a clearly unenthusiastic expression.
Pinkie’s eyes were sparkling like an entire galaxy.
“Ah, never mind! Two things!”
“Haah….”
“Do you remember my name?”
“Was it Arlea de Poltina?”
“It’s Iris de Polhuian!”
“Oh, right.”
When he nodded, Pinkie nodded back with a satisfied smile.
He had no idea what exactly she found so satisfying.
“Then the second question!”
In an instant, Pinkie’s eyes grew heavy and dark.
Her expression and posture hadn’t changed at all, yet the atmosphere suddenly pressed down on the entire room like a heavy weight.
“If it was for someone precious to you… or if you don’t have anyone like that, then even for someone you simply know. If it was for that person, could you kill a hundred innocent people?”
“What kind of random, bullshit question is that?”
“Hehe, is it? Then let me change it… If it was for your own satisfaction?”
Pinkie stared straight into his eyes.
Her gaze was persistent, as if trying to pierce all the way into his soul.
Zeron stared back at her for a moment, then leaned down and whispered into her ear.
“────────.”
Iris’s expression turned strange.
Then, just as quickly, she broke into a bright, sun-like smile.
“Yeah, that’s right! It really was a stupid question.”
With that smile, a faint breeze stirred around them.
The spirit magic that had been blocking sound from leaking out had been released.
Zeron stared down at her for a second before turning away.
*
He had returned to his room and was killing time when someone knocked on the door.
Knock knock. Then a voice.
“Sir Zeron. You have a visitor.”
“A visitor? Who?”
“They said to tell you it’s Medeia.”
“I don’t know anyone by that name.”
“You idiot. Then they said to tell you it’s the kid.”
“Yeah, let her in.”
Zeron chuckled and sat up from the bed.
He had been lying down for quite a while; his hair was a complete mess.
There was no reason to dress up, so he simply ran his fingers through it and stared at the door.
Soon the door creaked open, and the kid stood there glaring at him with a pouty expression.
“I came because I have something to say.”
“Alright, come in.”
The kid thanked Luna politely before closing the door.
Then she trudged over and plopped down beside him.
“That person is the maid named Lunalind? She’s quite unique.”
“Isn’t she?”
“Yeah. I didn’t think she’d actually deliver the ‘idiot’ part word for word.”
“She probably just said what she wanted to say and called it a job well done.”
Zeron laughed heartily as he stood up.
He poured some milk into a glass and handed it to the kid. She took it with a quiet “Thanks” and began sipping at it.
“So what’s up? Is it about what happened earlier?”
“Um… well, that’s part of it.”
The kid set the glass down with an awkward smile, then squeezed her eyes shut and slowly lay down.
Thump. Her head came to rest on his thigh.
Her face was burning red, yet she continued speaking as if nothing was wrong.
“S-so… since when have you been a Mast—!? Ugh… a Master…?”
Correction. She wasn’t calm at all.
“It’s been a while. Late teens, I think. About ten years now.”
“Hmm…. That’s amazing. I thought the youngest record was mid-thirties or something.”
“Well, what can I say? I’m a genius.”
“Annoying.”
Still using his thigh as a pillow, the kid kept fidgeting as if trying to get more comfortable.
Her hair and clothes were getting all tangled from the constant movement.
He could hear her heart pounding—thump, thump—all the way from here. Just what did she want so badly that she was acting this cute?
The sight reminded him of how she looked as a little girl, and a warm feeling spread through him.
“Hey, kid.”
“Yeah….”
“Is there something you want?”
“No…?”
The kid wriggled closer, pressing more of her body against him, then stealthily rubbed her soft cheek against his thigh.
Then she muttered “It’s hot…” and undid a few buttons on her top, glancing up at him!
What the fuck.
Zeron slapped his forehead and reached out.
“Eep…!”
The kid squeezed her eyes shut.
Ignoring her, Zeron buttoned her shirt all the way up.
“Ah…?”
“Sigh, kids these days. You can’t go around showing your skin like that in front of other people.”
“…Oppa.”
Oppa all of a sudden?
Not Uncle?
Zeron grinned slyly.
This kid clearly wanted something from him.
“Yeah? What?”
“Am I an idiot?”
The kid bit her lip hard, then sat up.
She climbed onto his lap, straddling him and trapping him between her legs, then stared directly into his eyes.
“You’ve known all along. Since way back.”
“…Known what?”
“That I… like you, Oppa….”
Zeron stayed silent for a moment, then let out a small laugh.
“Of course I like you too, kid. What kind of relationship do we have? We’re basically father and daught—”
The kid, frowning, grabbed his face with both hands.
Look at me properly.
Don’t look away.
“…You know that’s not what I mean. I like you. As a man. As the opposite sex.”
The kid—no, Medeia—spoke clearly, without hesitation or mumbling, even as her face turned bright red.
“I want to be your girlfriend. I want to do all sorts of things with you. I want to kiss you. I want to do everything beyond that too. Someday I want to marry you, have children with you, and live happily ever after for a very long time.”
“Hey….”
At some point, large transparent tears had welled up in Medeia’s big eyes.
Her expression looked anxious.
As if she already knew what his answer would be.
“No matter what…”
“You said I was cute, so I started tying my hair in twin-tails…. From that moment on, I always…”
From that moment?
He didn’t remember it clearly, but Medeia had stubbornly kept the twin-tail hairstyle for nearly ten years.
“That stupid ‘eep’ scream I make…. You said I sounded like a baby chick… that it was cute, so it just stuck….”
“…….”
“Oppa… do you hate me? Do I not look like a woman to you…? Is it because my chest is too small…?”
“…It’s not because of that.”
“Then why!”
Medeia glared at him through her tears.
A single droplet rolled down her pale cheek.
She bit her lip tightly, squeezed her eyes shut, and leaned forward.
But—
Chu—
The kiss was blocked by Zeron’s palm.
“…Idiot.”
“I’m sorry.”
“…Is it because of Mom? Because you liked Mom?”
“Where did you hear that…?”
“Dad got drunk and told me everything….”
“That moron….”
Zeron let out a long sigh.
Then he simply pulled her into a tight hug.
Medeia buried her face in his neck and swallowed her sobs.
“…I won’t give up.”
“Just give up. First of all, what’s the age difference between us?”
“Age doesn’t matter…. And you’re a Master, Oppa…. You’ll stay younger and live much longer than me.”
“…There are plenty of better men than me.”
“I know that…. I don’t know why I like someone like you either….”
He closed his mouth, unsure what to say.
Medeia sniffled, then pressed her lips against his neck with a soft chu.
“Hey, hey.”
He tried to stop her, but the kisses continued—chu, chu.
In the end, Zeron had to forcibly pull her away.
With swollen, reddened eyes, she forced a smile.
“You’re such an idiot…. Do you think a girl like me is common?”
That lonely smile was nothing like Elena’s.
He had kept calling her kid, kid, but of course he knew she was an adult now.
Still, even so….
“I’m sorry.”
“…….”
In the end, Medeia hung her head.
Was she going to give up like this?
Zeron smiled bitterly, disgusted by the faint regret blooming in the corner of his heart.
That was why he failed to stop her in time.
Medeia’s hand shot out like lightning.
Conflict and escape. And a moment of hesitation.
In an instant, Zeron had left his vital point completely exposed.
“H-hey…!”
“…And after getting this hard, you’re telling me to give up?”
Medeia forced a mischievous smile.
Though her face was flushed so deeply it looked like it might explode, she still curled the corners of her lips upward.
“After making it this big.”
“That’s not what this is…!”
“Ah, I don’t care!”
Medeia hopped off his thigh.
Looking down at his dumbfounded face, she did her best to smile seductively.
“Look forward to it. I’ll make it so you can’t hold back and end up pushing me down, Oppa.”
Then, with a slow lick—her trembling tongue ran across her trembling hand.
The hand that still seemed to carry the heat of his body.
