The children began to flee, desperately trying to escape Lowell’s rampage.
Lowell passed right by me but didn’t notice my presence.
That was because I was hiding inside a box created by Rezé.
‘Sometimes I really think this is an absolutely broken ability…’
The outdoor training field was overgrown with knee-high grass. A gentle breeze swayed the grass back and forth.
The box I was hiding in swayed along with it, camouflaged to blend perfectly with the grass.
This was what it meant to become one with nature.
I was enjoying this state of perfect harmony when—
Rumble…
I felt the ominous presence of a predator’s eyes fixated on me from somewhere nearby.
Yes, there it was. A fierce predator had me in its sights. A terrifying creature known as the Pufferfish Rabbit.
Rezé, who was also hiding inside the box, didn’t reveal her face, but I could sense it was her.
She slightly lifted the lid of the box and spoke.
“Keke, what seems to be the problem?”
“Y-You thief! G-Give me back my box!”
“Thief? That’s quite harsh. Didn’t you lend it to me?”
“P-Pick your words carefully! Y-You didn’t borrow it—you snatched it from me!”
From Rezé’s perspective, that might be how it seemed.
Right after Lowell began her rampage, I had pulled Rezé out of the box she was hiding in and taken her place.
What? That makes it theft, you say?
That’s a misunderstanding. I merely chose the option that would ensure the survival of both of us.
After all, Rezé could assemble the box much faster than I could, thanks to her activated [Survival Instinct] skill.
“Keke, we’re friends, aren’t we? Isn’t a little bit of borrowing between friends acceptable?”
What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is also mine.
That’s what being friends is all about.
“W-Who’s your friend! D-Don’t act all friendly with meee!”
Was it anger she couldn’t suppress? The box Rezé was hiding in shook violently.
But she wouldn’t come out of the box. After all, a lion was roaming the training field at the moment.
What? You’re asking where Luna is?
‘She flew off in that direction earlier… Is she unconscious?’
Luna had boldly charged at Lowell, declaring she would become stronger.
Of course, the result was a direct ticket to the sky.
Rustle.
Suddenly, the sound of movement came from the grass nearby. I immediately shut the box lid and hid myself.
The ones emerging from the grass were two students from the Advanced Class.
The two of them were crawling on their stomachs, inching forward like worms.
“Phew, let’s rest for a bit here. Is this really training? It feels more like she’s taking her frustrations out on us.”
“At least we’re lucky. I heard the Vice President was tormented the entire lesson.”
“Rodelin? Isn’t she family?”
“That’s what I’m saying. I’d heard rumors they don’t get along, but I didn’t think it was this bad.”
Lowell wasn’t only instructing the first-years. She was also handling the second-years in the Advanced Class.
“I thought it was strange when someone as openly disinterested as her took on the second-year Advanced Class too.”
“You’re saying she did it on purpose? Just to torment Rodelin?”
“What other reason could there be?”
“True enough. To follow someone around just to bully them… disgusting.”
“Let’s get moving again. If we get caught by someone like her, we’ll be left in pieces.”
“They said we could rest once we leave the training field, right? Let’s hurry. We’re almost there.”
“Once we’re out, let’s grab a bowl of beef noodle soup.”
“Sounds great. See you outside.”
But their dreams were shattered.
The Mad Lion appeared out of nowhere and sent both of them flying into the sky.
I watched the scene unfold as more students were sent airborne one after another.
Sniffle.
A faint sniffle broke the silence. The sound came from the box Rezé was hiding in.
“Senior is so pitiful…”
It seemed she had overheard the conversation the two students had been having earlier. The part about Lowell intentionally tormenting Rodelin.
Considering that Rezé had met Luna thanks to Rodelin, it was only natural for her to worry about her.
‘Well, there’s a bit of a misunderstanding there.’
I already knew the truth about Lowell and Rodelin’s relationship, the reason Lowell was so strict with her, and the secret Lowell was hiding.
As a veteran in these matters, it was obvious to me.
But I had no intention of sharing the truth.
Because if handled correctly, I might be able to use Rezé to my advantage.
“You can help her, can’t you?”
“C-Can someone like me really help?”
“Keke, of course. All you have to do is follow my instructions.”
“H-How do I do that?”
“Just take her down. Put a bullet in Lowell’s head with one of your shots.”
“…?”
Rezé’s expression turned ice-cold.
I don’t know why she was giving me that look.
Defeating Lowell was the only certain method in this episode, wasn’t it?
“Zero!”
I had been enjoying the breeze with the box lid slightly open when I heard someone call out to me from afar. Someone was waving and running toward me.
It was Raymon. But he never reached me.
“You little punk! How many times do I have to tell you not to mess with my stuff?!”
Out of nowhere, Luna appeared and lunged at Raymon.
Luna immediately locked one arm around Raymon’s neck and trapped his head under her arm.
Then, using the momentum of her run, she leapt into the air, spun half a turn, and slammed Raymon’s head into the ground.
Tornado DDT!
“Gyaaaah!”
“Dieee!”
Luna climbed onto Raymon’s back without hesitation and began twisting his legs.
She had subdued Raymon, someone who had even managed to block Lowell’s attacks, in an instant.
Perhaps our Luna had a natural genius for hand-to-hand combat.
I was seriously contemplating suggesting a career change for her when—
“So this is where you were hiding?”
A chilling voice came from behind me.
It was the voice of a lion, dripping with saliva, as though it had finally tracked down its prey.
But I wasn’t worried. After all, I had a special technique specifically for dealing with Lowell.
Swish!
The moment I sprang out of the box, I performed a full split with my legs, spreading them wide to both sides.
When I looked up at Lowell with a mischievous grin, she let out a sigh as if in disbelief.
“What the hell is this? Aren’t you going to fight back?”
“Keke, my frontal lobe hurts from my last fight with a high-tier demon. Besides, someone like me could never be a match for you, Lady Lowell.”
“You little slacker… I should punish you one of these days. But ugh, you’re so cheeky it’s hard to stay mad.”
Lowell grabbed one of my cheeks and began pulling it back and forth.
She treated me like a child, but I couldn’t complain.
After all, the person in front of me wasn’t so different from an actual lion.
“Zero, don’t worry. I took care of the stalker for you. Hmm…?”
Luna, who had just finished dealing with Raymon, suddenly stopped when she noticed Lowell.
Lowell, upon seeing Luna, let out a low whistle.
“Hmph~ What’s the matter? Are you upset because I find your guy cute?”
“…Of course not.”
“For someone who’s not upset, your expression says otherwise.”
“You misunderstand. This is just my default expression.”
“Relax. There’s no way I’d like someone as ugly as him. Besides, stealing my sister’s man? Not happening. Seriously though, what do you all even see in this guy?”
Excuse me, but everything you just said was wrong.
I’m not ugly, I’m not Rodelin’s man, and I’m definitely not Luna’s man!
Of course, I kept these thoughts to myself. I wasn’t about to risk being chewed to pieces by the lion in front of me.
As Lowell continued tugging on my cheek, Luna adjusted her grip on her wooden sword.
“Let’s try again.”
“You’re hopelessly weak, but at least you’ve got guts. I’ll give you that. A hundred times better than the others.”
Luna and Lowell clashed once more.
They exchanged a few strikes, but the result was the same as before.
Luna ended up flying through the air once again.
“L-Luna!”
“Kyaaah!”
Lowell suddenly screamed in surprise as Rezé, who had been hiding until now, suddenly appeared.
Startled, Lowell let out a girlish shriek and instinctively jumped back, clutching onto me.
It was understandable. From her perspective, someone had just popped out of thin air.
Rezé hopped and skipped toward the spot where Luna had landed.
“Ahem, what is the Academy doing keeping wild rabbits around? Scared me half to death.”
After understanding the situation, Lowell released me.
“Keke, if there’s a lion, why not a rabbit as well?”
“Keep joking, and you’ll end up dead.”
Oops. I’d accidentally let a playful comment slip after seeing a rare cute side of Lowell.
With her nasty temper, there was no way Lowell would just let this slide.
‘She’ll probably give me the punishment of stretching both my cheeks.’
That cruel penalty that would leave my plump cheeks drooping pitifully.
Bracing myself, I closed my eyes, hoping she’d be gentle.
But no punishment came.
“…?”
When I opened my eyes slightly, I saw it.
Lowell was staring absentmindedly at the box.
Specifically, the empty box Rezé had left behind.
“I saw it before, but… it really is a fascinating thing.”
“Keke, that’s the signature trick of the rabbit I raised. She’s got quite the talent for it.”
“And you’re bragging about it even though you didn’t make it yourself?”
Lowell reached out and pushed my nose upward. What was she trying to do, turn my nose into a Picasso-style masterpiece?
“A box that can hide anything… Hey, can you make it bigger?”
“How big are we talking?”
“Hmm… big enough for a small house. People need to live in it, after all.”
She hadn’t tried it, but that would definitely be impossible.
What Rezé could create was, after all, just a box. A house was out of the question.
Besides, what Lowell seemed to want wasn’t a house, but more like…
“Something closer to a prison, I’d say.”
“…And what if it’s a prison? As long as it’s safe to live in, who cares?”
“What about the person trapped inside? Do you think they’d feel the same way?”
“They’d be grateful. The safest place in the world. Isn’t that what everyone dreams of?”
“Keke, personally, I think they’d resent you terribly.”
Finally, Lowell’s gaze shifted away from the box. But she didn’t look at me.
Her short hair swayed in the breeze as she walked forward, tossing out her response.
“Doesn’t matter. Let them resent me all they want.”
As soon as Lowell’s class ended, Caron called all the first-years together.
“There’s a mission.”
“Pardon?”
“You’re all going to Trash Village. It’s a live combat mission replacing your usual classes.”
Woooaaahhh!!
The students burst into cheers before they could stop themselves.
Not only were they being freed from boring classes, but more importantly, they were escaping from Lowell’s grasp.
“There’s no way the temporary instructor will tag along on the mission.”
“It’ll take at least a few days, maybe even a week or two to complete.”
“By the time we get back, Lowell will be too busy to stay at the Academy.”
“We’re free! We’re finally free!”
They’d only spent two days with Lowell.
But that was more than enough to leave the kids completely drained.
The students, celebrating Lowell’s absence in hushed tones, were interrupted by her voice.
“By the way, I’m coming too.”
“…?”
“We’ll have plenty of fun training together on the way.”
The once-spirited training field fell into dead silence.
The students’ gazes shifted toward Caron.
Their eyes pleaded desperately, begging him to save them from this demon.
Perhaps he understood their silent plea. Caron stepped forward and opened his mouth to speak.
“Hmm, this silence is perfect for a briefing.”
–TL Notes–
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I see it! Lowel will become the most important key in the saving Rodelin hidden piece!
All of this tough love too! And her favoribility towards the party seem to be improving
And Zero will probably upstage Alex once more in the next mission