Chapter 53: A Joke
“Hishiyama Minako, don’t you know that using your abilities without permission at school is against school rules?!”
A deep voice came from underground, and then, a broad, square figure emerged from the earth, standing before the two.
[Mudrock], an veteran professional hero, ranked 145th on the Hero Ranking. His ability was to freely manipulate and change earth and soil. He was also a teacher at Shikoku School.
Upon seeing Hishiyama Minako trapped in mud in the distance, Kazumi knew that this farce was over. The fluctuation from the use of abilities had attracted the attention of nearby teachers, and the conflict between the two individuals was naturally left unresolved.
“Hishiyama?”
Murmuring the surname of this fire user, Kazumi actually felt a sense of regret.
In the end, she was stopped by a teacher. Otherwise, had Hishiyama Minako, completely enraged by her, struck her, she would likely have been sent directly to the hospital.
Of course, Kazumi didn’t act this way simply to get hit or to have the other person punished for attacking her. She had deeper reasons.
Firstly, it was very suspicious that someone like Hishiyama Minako could find her directly. After all, the circumstances were too coincidental: she happened to encounter Kazumi on her way and coincidentally recognized her identity.
Coupled with Hishiyama Minako’s impulsive and easily angered personality, she was the perfect target to exploit.
And as her abilities awakened, Kazumi’s body also gradually changed. Although she looked no different from an ordinary person, with the help of her special abilities, Kazumi was actually stronger than ordinary female students. This way, her chances of surviving a blow from Hishiyama Minako were much higher.
Once she was actually admitted to the hospital, she would be able to identify the mastermind behind this incident!
Secondly, there was her current lack of resources. Although within the academy, the disdain that the Hero Department had for students in the Regular Department had basically become an unwritten rule, no one actively broke this silence. They tacitly completed their studies separately, and occasionally there might be conflicts or disadvantages, but these were all silently endured by the involved parties.
However, if an ordinary civilian in the academy was directly sent to the hospital due to a conflict with a future professional hero, such an event would be enough to become that day’s headline news.
After all, at the current time, it was the honeymoon period of harmonious coexistence between civilians and heteromorphs. No one wanted to see such a thing happen.
Furthermore, students who successfully enrolled in the Hero Department of Shikoku High School were generally from wealthy and influential families. If they were injured by them, the rewards obtained from their parents would be quite substantial.
One must know that she was currently racking her brains over money and resources. She had even started planning to sell herself for something from Sato Shinichi. The consumption of her broken system was astonishingly high, and some of the materials she needed were things that couldn’t be bought even with money.
And if she were really sent to the hospital, she might even be able to lure out Fukada Akihiko, who had been missing all along. Given the relationship between the original body and Fukada Akihiko, if she were truly injured, Fukada Akihiko would definitely appear. In that case, obtaining what she wanted through Fukada Akihiko and the [Dark] Organization behind him would be the optimal choice.
“Teacher Ishitang, I…”
However, all of this was disrupted by the appearance of Teacher Ishitang. Looking at Teacher Ishitang, whose face was dark, and the mud that tightly bound her,
Hishiyama Minako finally snapped out of her recent rage, looking flustered at the tall figure in front of her.
“Come down and apologize to this classmate.”
Teacher Ishitang [Mudrock] waved his right hand, and all the surrounding mud retreated, merging back into the earth. He looked at Hishiyama Minako, who was half-crouching on the ground, and pointed towards Kazumi.
“I…”
Looking at Teacher Ishitang’s actions, Hishiyama Minako knew how irrational she had been just now. However, asking her to apologize to a common girl she couldn’t stand was something she couldn’t bring herself to do.
“Thank you for your kind intentions, Teacher. I wasn’t injured, so let’s just let this matter pass.”
A cold and aloof voice came from the other side. Hishiyama Minako looked up in surprise and saw the thin girl who remained indifferent even at this moment.
Kazumi looked at Teacher Ishitang [Mudrock] and Hishiyama Minako with icy eyes. Kazumi saw through the Hero Teacher’s actions at a glance. While it seemed like he was helping her by asking Hishiyama Minako to apologize, his true intention was to downplay the matter.
After all, if examined according to school rules, Hishiyama Minako, who used a lethal ability against a colleague without abilities, should have had her student status revoked and been brought to court for trial.
However, whether it was out of cherishing her as an excellent hero prospect or due to Hishiyama Minako’s influential elders, Teacher Ishitang [Mudrock] could not possibly act according to regulations.
And she, an ordinary person with no background or abilities, who was almost branded as a member of a supervillain organization, probably had no ability to resist under such rules.
All she could do was choose to exit the stage early, so as not to appear too pathetic.
“Teacher, we have class later, so we won’t disturb you any longer. Also, thank you, Teacher Ishitang, for your help.”
Kazumi explained to Teacher Ishitang [Mudrock] in front of her, took Sato Shinichi’s hand, and turned to walk towards the teaching building.
Leaving behind, a few people who looked at their departing backs with complicated expressions.
…
After being pulled away for several meters, Sato Shinichi realized how far Kazumi had led him. Recalling what had just happened, he looked at his girlfriend with concern.
Whether it was Hishiyama Minako’s words or the subsequent bullying, it must have been quite a blow to the young girl.
He looked up at the girl’s face, but found that, unlike what he had imagined, her originally cold little face was actually showing a rare, faint smile. Within that faint smile, it seemed to contain some special meaning.
“Kazumi, are you, alright?”
Carefully organizing his thoughts, Sato Shinichi still asked with concern.
What he received was only the girl’s nonchalant reply.
“It’s nothing, I just thought of a joke.”
“A joke? What joke?”
Tilting his head in confusion, Sato Shinichi looked at his little girlfriend, bewildered.
Shaking her head, as if regretting that Sato Shinichi couldn’t follow her train of thought, Kazumi looked at the dazzling golden star symbol on the teaching building in the distance and spoke faintly.
“About heroes.”
(ps: You guys are too much! If you keep asking about grave sweeping, I’ll, I’ll skip two days of updates!!!)
(ps: Hmph!)
