The Green-Haired Man’s black fist grew larger and larger. Cass watched the four thick fingers expressionlessly, blood splattering against the wall—it was like watching a scene in 0.3x slow motion. For the current Cass, the speed was far too slow. A Magenta Blade manifested; the Wraithblade should have sliced through at a much faster speed…
Thump! A dull sound echoed.
A gentle breeze brushed through Cass’s bangs. The fist had slammed powerfully into the flat of a sword, creating the wind.
“A sword…” Agatha, clinging to Cass’s back and looking up, had sweat on her face.
An elegant, slender sword floated in the air. The expression on the Green-Haired Man’s face was less surprise and more fear as he hastily retreated several steps. This sword, which had blocked the attack, was the Vice President’s Talent, [Dominion Angel], though at the moment it was just a single sword, not the full form.
“What are you all doing? Shouldn’t you be heading to school?”
Vice President Sharp appeared behind them, smiling, holding her schoolbag with both hands. Just as Cass was about to tell Agatha to leave with the Vice President, the Green-Haired Man shouted, “Run!” and then, along with the other seven, vanished in an instant.
The alley suddenly felt less hot, and the shadows beneath the walls offered a hint of coolness.
“Huh?”
This left Cass, who had half-drawn his sword, feeling awkward. He could only withdraw it back into his magic.
“Oh, it’s Benor, right? From last time. What happened? They weren’t students from our school, were they?” Vice President Sharp Gardras wiped the sweat from her smooth forehead with a handkerchief, looking even shinier than usual.
“Um, I-I’ll explain. Actually…” Before Cass could explain, Agatha glanced back at Cass shyly first, then looked at Sharp. “I was just walking to school normally, playing on my phone, when someone suddenly grabbed me hard.”
Recalling the terrifying incident, Agatha’s face paled. Her right hand gripped her arm, and her body trembled slightly. “When I came to my senses, I found that green-haired man pinning me against the wall. The back of my head hit the wall, and it hurt so much. And there were, there were a lot of others…”
“Don’t rush, calm down, take your time,” Sharp comforted, patting Agatha’s shoulder.
“…men similar to him, looking at me with disgusting eyes. Luckily,” Agatha looked at Cass gratefully, “Benor, who was passing by, saved me.”
“How could they do something so terrible in broad daylight?” Cass clenched his fist, grateful he had helped. The consequences otherwise would have been unthinkable. “Miss Bar, if it hurts, you can use this Healing Potion.”
“No, no! It’s fine. Although I was startled, the headache only lasted a little while. I’m okay now. Thank you, Benor.”
Vice President Sharp, while stroking Agatha’s back, looked at Cass. “I see. You did a good deed, Benor. I remember last time at the school gate, you also shielded your girlfriend from Cliff, who had gone strange.”
“Huh?” Cass was surprised, and Agatha also stared directly at Cass.
Although the situation was reversed, it really wasn’t like that. Cass flailed his hands in a panic, hurriedly explaining, “No! It’s not like that! Although I wish it were, I wish the situation were reversed… You’ve misunderstood, Vice President! He may look like a girl, but… he’s a boy! His name is Siloque, a friend from my class.”
“Is that so… Sorry, sorry.” Sharp still seemed unconvinced. “I know it’s a fashion, but a boy dressing up as a girl… I don’t really understand that kind of interest.”
“Huh? Born that way?”
“It’s not dressing up, he was born that way!” Cass quickly corrected. The Vice President was even more surprised, her squinted eyes almost opening wide.
“Really, really, thank you both so much… I was so scared just now, I thought, I thought they were going to…” Agatha’s sobbing voice drew their attention again. She rubbed her eyes, red from tears, and Sharp pulled her into a hug to comfort her.
“There, there, it’s okay now. All the scary things are over. I’ll go to the police station to report this, have them pay attention to patrols around here. We’ll definitely catch those bad people. If you’re still scared, I can walk to school with you for a while.”
Agatha was safe now. Cass prayed she wouldn’t have nightmares tonight. Seeing the two girls hugging, and feeling he couldn’t help much more, Cass silently began to step back.
“Please wait!” Agatha grabbed the sleeve of Cass’s uniform. She hung her head, finally speaking timidly, “Thank you again, Benor. Um, I’m in First Year, Class E. That’s all, goodbye!”
Then, as if she had reached her limit, Agatha turned and ran incredibly fast, disappearing from their sight in an instant.
‘If she had run at that speed from the start, she wouldn’t have been caught,’ Cass thought, very much in hindsight.
“Ah, youth, Benor. The prince saves the princess, and a love story begins or something.”
“Huh? No way, Vice President. I just did what anyone should do. It was a trivial thing anyone could have done.”
He hadn’t expected the Vice President to make such romantic jokes. Cass subconsciously thought of the Vice President as a serious person, especially since during the last incident at the gate, she had threatened to cut off Cliff’s hand.
Vice President Sharp squinted, a look of approval in her eyes as she smiled at Cass. “Benor, you are a very good person. Not many are willing to lend a hand when others are in trouble.”
“The Vice President must also be preparing for the etiquette check at the school gate. I’ll take my leave first.” Unable to bear the atmosphere, Cass bowed slightly and quickly quickened his pace to leave.
“Mhm.” Watching Cass go, Sharp walked into the alley and discovered the camera with tape over its lens. She commanded her Angel to remove the tape. “Has the security around our school become this unstable? I’ll have to be more careful tomorrow too.” Sharp abandoned her morning inspection and headed directly for the police station.
After Cass successfully entered the school, the girl named Agatha did not head towards the school building. Instead, avoiding the sight of passersby, she slipped into another quiet alley. She moved silently, walking deep into the alley until she reached the dead end of a T-shaped alley.
She leaned against the wall, a huge grin spreading across her face. She took off her uniform blazer, folded it into a neat square, swallowed hard—and buried her face in it.
Sniff sniff.
Sniff sniff sniff sniff—
She sniffed greedily, frantically, so excited her legs rubbed together.
After a while, the girl slid down the wall to sit on the ground with an intoxicated expression, panting excitedly. “Mmmph! Mmm—” Agatha pressed the blazer tightly against her face, almost to the point of suffocation, the fabric molding to her features. After enjoying it for over five minutes, like a dog nuzzling its owner, she rubbed her face against the blazer, savoring the scent left behind. “I could eat three big bowls of white rice with this smell, mmm, and there’s a faint scent of Guerlain perfume too. Cass is such a refined, handsome guy.”
“Hey, lady.”
“—Ah!!! The smell of a handsome guy is just too wonderful! I…”
Appearing from the right side of the T-shaped path, the one who spoke was the Green-Haired Man wearing a baseball cap. Behind him followed seven other men, all wearing lewd smiles. It was the same group from before. Eight men and one woman stood in the alley, making it very crowded, and the temperature seemed to rise.
The gang leader, the Green-Haired Man, approached. “We got interrupted midway. I didn’t expect that smiling tiger Vice President to pass by here. Next time, we should block the entrance with a few cars to be safer.” He held up his mobile phone screen. What was displayed wasn’t a threatening video or a picture of some severed body part, but a geometric pattern made of irregular lines—a payment QR code.
For a brief moment, a flicker of disgust passed over Agatha’s face, but it was quickly replaced by a professional, customer-service smile. “Oh, right, right, right. You guys acted really well just now. No, of course you acted well, since you were just being yourselves. Wait a moment, I’ll pay now.”
Agatha stood up, patted her skirt, and first took out a labeled, sealed plastic bag from her Ring Chart. She carefully placed the blazer inside, sealed it, and stored it back in the Ring Chart. Then, she swiped open her Status Window, scanned the other party’s payment code, and transferred the remaining balance.