Chapter 18 – There Was Never a Quiet Day (3)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Wolf Class after the storm named Rachel had swept through it.

Unlike the cadets still murmuring among themselves, I couldn’t open my mouth so easily. Chloe’s expression was shadowed and gloomy. Fortunately, it seemed she’d gotten a hold of her senses again, but her face was so overcast she looked thoroughly dejected.

Apparently, being helplessly subdued by Rachel had stung more than a little. Still, to defend her at least a bit, the opponent had been the fourth seat of Hoakin Academy.

Which meant that, if she fought Rachel, there were only three cadets out of 2,500 who could hold the advantage over her.

And given House Spear Saint’s trait of always marrying the strongest people of the age and preserving only strong bloodlines, her raw physical strength was probably the strongest in the academy.

To be honest, Chloe was more at fault for pulling a knife first, but Rachel had been the one who provoked her with that whole come at me attitude. It was hard to say cleanly who was more in the wrong.

But the problem was that Chloe was in the same class as me and I’d have to spend nearly a full year with her, whereas Rachel was in Star Class and someone I’d rarely had to cross paths with. I scratched my head.

I couldn’t exactly say something cold like, You were the one who pulled the knife first. If I did, I’d probably become the target of the next stabbing spree.

Chloe’s shoulders were drooping as if she’d lost heart. Just as I was about to say something to comfort her out of sheer pity, she hesitated for a moment and then opened her mouth first in a mutter.

“…Do you like them big too, Geom-ma?”

“What?”

“…I mean, do you also like, l-like big breasts!”

“……”

With her vacant-looking eyes welling up, Chloe suddenly raised her voice.

That’s what you’re upset about?

I was dumbfounded. I’d naturally assumed she was sulking because she’d been one-sidedly beaten down, but it was because of breasts. That explained why she’d been staring at me with only her head turned while clutching at her chest with both hands.

Breasts, huh…

I rubbed my chin and thought about it.

Well, I was fairly broad-minded about breasts in general, but the problem was that Rachel’s two milky mounds were just way too aggressive. Chloe’s chest wasn’t actually all that small either.

In the martial world of breasts, the only woman who could really contend with Rachel was maybe Media. Even Abel wasn’t a match for her. The image of those huge breasts that would turn almost any woman into a mere battery size flashed through my mind.

But if I answered honestly here, it was obvious I’d just be kicking a hornet’s nest. Chloe was still gripping a box cutter in her right hand.

When I didn’t have a sashimi knife, I was no match for the Chloe who had grown stronger than before. I had no desire to see blood just because I let my tongue slip the wrong way.

In the end, the answer was already decided, and all I had to do was say it. She was still a girl right in the middle of her growing years, after all, so you never knew.

…Though the odds didn’t seem especially good. I wiped my face once and then said.

“Me, I don’t really like them big.”

“……”

Chloe shot me a flatfish-eyed glare. The hand gripping the box cutter still hadn’t loosened. Letting out a low noise through my throat, I added another line.

“If anything, I might like them smaller.”

Someday I would gladly accept the punishment for betraying a man’s conscience. Right now, my life came first.

“…R-really?”

“Yeah.”

At that, color came back to Chloe’s face. The smile she’d lost returned to her lips. Only after she briskly wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes with her sleeve did she finally shove the box cutter into her pocket. I let out a sigh of relief.

Brushing back the slightly fallen red bob beside her face with a neat flick behind her ear, Chloe smiled brightly. I couldn’t be sure, but… maybe it was some kind of gesture to appeal to me as a woman.

This whole atmosphere being so full of spring wasn’t good either. Chloe was a yandere, after all. If she grew any more fond of me than this, she really might stuff me into a refrigerator at any moment.

The instinctive thought flashed through me that if this situation continued, it would become genuinely dangerous, so I hurriedly changed the subject by bringing up whatever came to mind.

“Anyway. Chloe, about that… Nox. How have things been since then?”

At the mention of Nox’s name, a shadow instantly fell over her face. It seemed she really hated her brother.

Come to think of it, I found myself wondering why Chloe hated Nox that much. She hated House Auditore too, sure, but with Nox it felt more like there was some personal bitterness mixed into it.

But digging into someone else’s family business felt awkward, so I decided not to ask. I wasn’t that curious anyway. The more deeply I got involved with that assassin family, the more chances I’d had to watch my back at night.

As I sank into thought for a moment, Chloe opened her mouth in a voice touched with faint dryness.

“My brother is in the academy annex hospital right now.”

“Why hospitalized? Subspace duels don’t leave physical wounds.”

Chloe shook her head in denial. The side hair she’d tucked back fell loose again.

“…To be honest, I haven’t gone to see him, so I don’t know exactly, but from what I’ve heard, they said it definitely isn’t a physical wound. So you don’t need to worry about it, Geom-ma!”

“Hm.”

I’d sliced him up mercilessly, sure, but he hadn’t looked so weak that his mind would break that badly.

That bastard wasn’t plotting something, was he?

As they say, physiognomy was a science. The emotionless, bloody curve of Nox’s mouth rose up in my mind. Was he maybe planning to use being hospitalized to lure me into lowering my guard and then mug me in the dead of night? It was entirely possible.

And ambushes were his specialty. Of course, I could just stomp him flat again if it came to that, but this time I felt like I might really cut his head off. Preventing an incident in advance would be one of the better options.

“Chloe, could you tell me which ward and room Nox is hospitalized in?”

“…What!?”

Chloe’s eyes flew open in shock. I answered in a low voice with a bright smile.

“Men are supposed to grow up by hitting and getting hit by each other. I’ll go have a short, manly talk with him.”

“…Even so.”

Talking with Chloe had made me feel that the relationship between her and Nox wasn’t just purely bad. It felt more like a twisted love-hate kind of thing.

Whatever it was that worried her so much, Chloe bit down on her lips and let out a strained little sound. At times like this, it was time for my special move.

“Chloe.”

“Yes?”

I lightly placed a hand on top of her head and stroked it. On my lips, I wore the smile polished over many years in the food-service industry.

“I’m asking you.”

“……!”

Chloe’s face flushed like an erupting volcano.

How to Deal with a Yandere, Step 1. Pat their head first. That alone should get you halfway there.

It was the moment I felt the value of all those days I’d spent studying YouTube before bed.

* * *

VIP room, Hoakin Academy annex hospital ward.

Nox was buried in the bed, trembling. An emotion he’d never felt in his life writhed inside him. His heart wouldn’t stop pounding.

Even as time passed, the density of that something welling up from deep within showed no signs of subsiding.

It was because of that bastard.

Kang Geom-ma.

A name he now couldn’t even bear to say aloud. He could only mutter it silently within himself.

Every time Kang Geom-ma’s pitch-black eyes brushed through his mind, he could feel his body tingle starting from the furthest edges.

A vivid fear he’d never tasted before. His rage toward that bastard and his disgust toward himself were mixed together, tormenting him.

He had gone his whole life without knowing defeat. No matter what enemies stood before him, they had all gone cold before the Hongryundo of Nox, the genius of Auditore.

That had been true only until yesterday. Nox had lost. No, if he had only lost, that would’ve been fortunate. The moment that bastard’s presence changed, he had been sliced apart like fish meat in no more than a few seconds.

Having his flesh cut hadn’t hurt. But the pain of having his spirit broken robbed him of even the would to rise.

would it have been different if it had been night? He thought that too for a moment, but the instant he imagined clashing blades with Kang Geom-ma again, the joints of his body twisted in unnatural directions.

“Fuck!”

Grinding his teeth with a crack, Nox slammed the side shelf hard. The apples, bananas, and other fruit in the basket rattled and leapt up noisily. The steel shelf caved inward in the shape of his fist.

Kill him. Kill him. Kill him.

Yes, he could kill him. Nox’s true role was that of an assassin. With the full strength of Auditore, they could surely cut off the head of that bastard Kang Geom-ma.

There was only one obsession filling Nox’s mind.

I had to kill that bastard and bring Chloe back.

Chloe was subordinate to Auditore. On top of that, her potential as an assassin was at least comparable to, if not greater than, Nox’s own.

It was right as the flame of revenge was burning cold in his eyes.

Knock. Knock.

The sound of knocking soaked into the white wall.

“Who is it!”

With his brow tightened, Nox hurled a sharp voice toward the door. As if answering in place of words, the hospital room’s sliding door rolled open mercilessly to the side.

“Me.”

It was Kang Geom-ma. Nox dropped heavily onto the bed with a stupid look on his face. His jawbone jolted. The fighting spirit that had been blazing only moments earlier died the instant he saw Kang Geom-ma’s face.

“Y-you, y-you.”

His words stuttered unconsciously. His teeth knocked together so hard it felt like he might bite his own tongue. Barely, he clenched his gums and shut his mouth.

Kang Geom-ma stuffed his hands deep into his pockets and trudged over toward Nox. Then he pulled out one of the nearby chairs with a long scrape, dropped into it, and leaned back.

“Looks like Auditore really does have money. This room’s something else.”

Completely unconcerned, he scratched the back of his neck and looked over the inside of the room. It should have been nothing more than that, yet beads of moisture bloomed across Nox’s forehead. The cold sweat gathering there began to run in streams.

“Can I eat this?”

“……”

Kang Geom-ma asked with a glance toward the apples in the basket on the shelf. Nox’s jaw gave a small nod. It was the moment he learned what an involuntary reflex truly was.

“Thanks.”

He picked up one firm, well-grown apple and bit into it in a huge mouthful. Apparently it tasted good, because he kept crunching into it without caring that juice was splashing around his mouth.

Nox’s mouth twitched, but no sound leaked out from between his teeth. What he felt was pure fear. Facing that bastard made his insides twist so badly it felt like he might vomit instead.

When Nox covered his mouth, Kang Geom-ma, expression unchanged, picked up the fruit knife resting in the basket. Had he come to finish things? Instead of reacting, Nox’s body froze stiff with a jolt.

At the sight, Kang Geom-ma tilted his head and picked up another apple, beginning to peel it gently. The apple skin, peeled so thin it was nearly transparent, looked almost like silk. It was knife work so uncanny it held the eye.

“If food won’t go down, at least eat some fruit.”

Then he set the smooth, spherical fruit on the shelf. Even then, Nox’s body kept twitching. Pointlessly, every little action Kang Geom-ma took made his body react unconsciously.

“Well, you look fine enough, so I’m heading out.”

Kang Geom-ma stretched once, rose from the chair, and turned toward the door. Nox’s eyes quickly flicked back and forth between Kang Geom-ma’s retreating back and the fruit knife on the shelf.

If it was now.

That bastard was defenseless. Slowly, cautiously, Nox began extending his arm toward the shelf. There wasn’t even the sound of hospital clothes rubbing against skin.

At that moment, Kang Geom-ma opened the door halfway and turned only his head slightly back. Nox received those bleak eyes full on.

“Oh, right.”

“……”

“If you’re thinking about taking revenge on me.”

With that dry voice, the air in the hospital room scattered apart.

“I’ll wipe out every last branch of Auditore.”

Thunk.

The door closed.

The apple on the shelf opened outward in eight separate pieces.