.｡.:✧ Chapter 36 ✧:.｡.

—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
—————————————————————–

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

 
—

“So, you’re saying this is how it’s done?”

“Don’t force us to do something only you can do!”

“That’s right! We boycott this training!”

Early in the morning.

Today, like always, I was teaching Tana and Eve, and they were grumbling as usual.

This wasn’t the first time. In fact, they once held a two-person protest with signs saying ‘Oppose Daniel’s Outrage’ during our morning exercises.

“When they get bored, they start boycotting.”

The last time I gently agreed, and now they start boycotting or refuse to train at every opportunity.

I mean, it’s not even for me, but for their own good!

“Look at that face! He’s thinking, ‘I’m doing this for them!'”

“After a day off, he nagged all day about exercising! This is practically blackmail!”

“……”

I had my reasons.

Originally, I just wanted to warm them up with a light walk, but somehow, we ended up running, caught up in the moment.

“Learn from her.”

I subtly pointed to Hayun, who was practicing with her sword in the corner.

A week had passed since we dealt with the gang organization ‘Belon Company.’

Impressed by my combat skills, Hayun had asked if she could join my training, and I agreed, seeing it as a natural opportunity to learn her sword skills while gaining a workout partner.

“Hayun was already into sports!”

“You can start now too.”

“It’s like talking to my dad.”

“Old man!”

Tana muttered hopelessly, and Eve yelled back at me.

Right.

If my first love had been successful, I would have had a daughter younger than them, so I guess I’m both a father and an old man.

The problem was that my first love was Rin.

Pretending not to be bothered, I asked Hayun for help, and she came over, wiping sweat with a towel.

“Hayun, help! This guy is an unstoppable exercise machine!”

“How can humans match the standards of a demon? It’s obvious. This is tyranny!”

The situation seemed to be getting worse.

Hayun looked at me, shrugged her shoulders, and replied.

“Still, if you follow what Daniel says, you’ll definitely improve. Your practical scores, like duels and physical tests, are low, so why not endure a bit for that?”

Exactly!

So lovely!

Clapping with satisfaction, Tana and Eve pouted and looked at Hayun.

It’s said that a meddling sister-in-law is worse than a beating mother-in-law.

They looked exactly like that, but then Tana, always scheming, suddenly smiled cunningly.

“By the way, I was thinking of adding some embroidery to the clothes I shopped for last time. How much would that cost? And I’d like to buy some scarves or handkerchiefs too.”

Catching on to the strategy, my little Eve joined in.

“Me too! I want a tablecloth for the small table in my room. Could you come and see it?”

“Let’s go quickly, customers.”

Hayun, who had recently become the academy’s hidden seamstress to survive without her family’s support, sparkled with enthusiasm.

“Hey, wait! Where are you going?”

Startled by their sudden departure back to the dormitory, Hayun glared at me not to interfere, and the other two cheekily stuck their tongues out at me.

‘They sure know how to use Hayun.’

Hayun, always quiet and cold, was still the same, but she transformed when a customer appeared.

For survival, Hayun was evolving.

“Ah, I guess I’ll train alone.”

Left alone for my workout, I heard a rustling sound in the quiet early morning.

Curious, I turned my head to see people climbing over the high wall with ropes and entering the academy.

For a moment, I thought they were Tudogs, but they were wearing uniforms and were familiar faces.

‘May’s gang?’

I definitely remembered them since I had turned them upside down a few days ago for smoking too much.

But their condition was odd.

Their expressions were dark, and their bodies bore many wounds.

Had they been in a fight somewhere? But their leader, May, was not among them.

‘…I’ll have to check on this later.’

May still hadn’t spoken to me.

She seemed to avoid meeting me, so I gave her time, waiting for her troubled heart to settle.

‘I must avoid doing anything bizarre.’

Thinking it would be problematic to stir up more trouble, I decided to visit them today.

***

“At what? She didn’t show up?”

At May’s class.

I dropped by during lunchtime but was told she hadn’t come to school today.

Rin inquired why I was looking for her, but I managed to dodge the question and slip out of class A.

“That’s strange.”

There were easier ways to find out what was happening than confronting May’s clique.

The dean’s office on the fifth floor.

I barged in without knocking, finding the dean sighing deeply. He was startled to see me.

“Could you please knock? I must have asked dozens of times.”

“Is your privacy the priority right now? Where is May?”

I had kept May around precisely to avoid seeing such disorderly behavior. Just today, I witnessed unruly students from other classes wreaking havoc three times.

In particular, the new fourth-year troublemakers in the cafeteria were mercilessly bullying others.

‘That’s why I put May in charge…’

“…I don’t know.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said, I don’t know.”

The dean sighed deeply again, genuinely concerned about his neice.

He began explaining the situation to me, who was still trying to grasp what was happening.

“Three days ago, thugs visited Demalico in the hospital, seeking revenge.”

“What? In a hospital in the middle of the city?”

This was baffling.

“Wait, I thought I eradicated all of them. Were there any remnants?”

I had completely obliterated the Belon Corporation and tortured its leader, Zavalanco, for information just a week ago.

But the dean shook his head.

“The Belon Corporation and Zavalanco were fined and released five days ago.”

“What?”

This was about a drug that ruined bodies, not just tobacco.

Even my limited understanding of the law knew such drugs couldn’t be sold freely.

The dean clenched his fist, looking helpless.

“Daniel, this is the reality of this city. Those who should be rotting in jail for years are freely walking around after paying a few bribes.”

In a daze, I muttered May’s name.

“Something’s gone wrong with May.”

***

Did the kids manage to escape?

Even bound hand and foot, May Plov’s greatest concern was just that.

The thugs who attacked Demalico in the infirmary.

Already in poor condition, Demalico was now nearly half-dead. May clenched her fists as she looked at him.

Demalico’s parents, nobles though less powerful, were helpless except to cry and hold their son’s hand.

A disgraceful son.

A delinquent at school, even reaching for cigarettes he shouldn’t touch.

Yet, he was still their son.

And to May, he was a friend.

A troublesome and ill-tempered friend, but a loyal one since the first year of the academy.

Despite their pleas to the guards, no one protected him, so May and her friends agreed to defend him.

They started taking revenge on the thugs of the Belon Corporation one by one.

But long tails get stepped on.

Eventually, Zavalanco, the head of the Belon Corporation, personally stepped in, partly to vent his frustration over his defeat by Daniel, an academy graduate.

Zavalanco was strong.

Far stronger than the other thugs, May sacrificed herself to let her friends escape, realizing they would all be caught otherwise.

‘They must have gone to the dean for help.’

She was right.

Early the next morning, they reported to the dean and begged him to save May.

A pitiful sight for those who usually cared so much about their image.

‘How long has it been?’

Time was unclear, blindfolded and drifting in and out of sleep.

She wondered how long she had been unconscious.

‘What will the thugs do with me?’

Despite her fears, May forced herself to think positively.

Someone would come to save her.

Maybe Ares, whom she had feelings for?

Imagining a handsome young man with a sword, rushing towards the thugs.

‘Black hair?’

Wait a minute!

Ares has golden hair!

Beautiful, shining golden hair, not managed, but naturally glossy!

But black hair.

‘Daniel…’

Black hair was Daniel McLeans’s.

She was still upset about bringing her family problems to Daniel.

Her actions had crossed a line, and Daniel, not responding in full force, had faced expulsion.

She had no choice.

‘How foolish.’

Truthfully, she was more angry at herself than at Daniel.

Angry because she realized how vile she had been to make Daniel resort to such measures.

“……”

She had just fantasized about a prince rescuing her, but sadly, princes only save princesses.

She was not a princess.

Just a small-minded girl leading a delinquent gang, drunk on her self-satisfaction of friendship, as Sen had said.

“Daniel……”

She called out his name, half-expecting him to suddenly appear and make everything alright.

Unexpectedly, there was a response.

“You know what’s typical of uneducated, delinquent kids?”

“……!”

Daniel’s voice.

She shook her head in disbelief, but blindfolded, saw nothing.

“Da, Daniel?”

Startled, May wondered if it was a hallucination, but Daniel’s voice continued from the darkness.

“They deepen friendships unnecessarily. So instead of one person messing up their life, they all do it together.”

“……”

His words were sharp and teasing.

It was Daniel.

May couldn’t stop her tears. For once, she was glad to be blindfolded.

“So here you are, risking your life to save a drug-dealing friend. You and the others alike.”

Slowly, her restraints loosened, and the blindfold came off. May relaxed, seeing the light and Daniel’s smile for the first time in what felt like ages.

“Being so romantically naive at 18.”

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇