The Returnee Wants to Live Comfortably

Solo Heaven! Couple Hell! (1)

The atmosphere was so intense, it wouldn't end unless one side gave in.

Since they blatantly went on about Mutamit and whatnot, I couldn't just stay silent.

But I was surprised when a robot suddenly rushed in and put an end to the situation.

"Are you saying we're getting expelled or suspended?"

"What are you talking about! We're the ones who got hit!"

"Yeah! Put the cuffs on them, not us!"

Those guys shouted loudly, mocking the robot as if it wasn't even worth its oil.
Admittedly, we were the ones who hit them.
That was an undeniable fact.

—Scan results... It has been determined that there are no abnormalities in your bodies.

"What?"

—There is no sign of any fractures, bruises, or injuries at all.

When I threw him down, I had actually controlled my strength.

The only injury he had was a little pain.

It was the same for Sang-Ah's knuckle flick.

Even though they weren't actually hurt, they were making a huge fuss like they were emergency patients.

—And everything that happened to you was caused by your own actions.

"Don't talk nonsense!"

"You got proof? Do you have any proof?!"

At their demand for evidence, something appeared on the robot's abdomen.

Did it have a TV installed in its stomach or what? A screen began to play there.
It showed the scene from just a moment ago when we were fighting with those guys.

—Here is the evidence you requested.

Even the voices could be heard clearly.

The insults and slurs those guys hurled at us were all playing back.

"Ah..."

"How could..."

"..."

At the unexpected evidence, their faces turned pale.

It showed them grabbing Sang-Ah's shoulders, trying to force her to hang out, and even calling her a filthy Mutamit.

—In conclusion, it has been confirmed that this incident was caused by your own actions.

"This can't be..."

Trying to forcibly pick up a female student.

Making Mutamit slurs—verbal abuse.

Pretending to be victims—false accusations.

All of these combined made suspension or expulsion almost certain.

—Therefore, for proper procedure, you will be transferred to Middle School 3.

"Huh? Hold on a sec!"

At that moment, I called out to the robot.

It tilted its head, as if to ask, "What now?"

"Do you know where Middle School 3 is?"

—Are you saying you don't know the way?

"It's just, this place is so huge."

It wasn't exactly Seoul, but it was still a vast city.

If you wander around without a map, you'll end up lost and have to go find a police station.

—Then please come with me.

We got into a van parked nearby.

The restrained delinquents sat in the back, we sat in the middle, and the robot was in the driver's seat.

"Can you even drive?"

—Departing now.

The engine started and we headed toward the 3rd Academy.

The more I saw the robot, the more impressed I felt.

Solid evidence collection and quick judgment.

According to rumors, it was built with top-grade metal and powered by high magic power, making it a robot with at least B-class combat ability.

And it could even drive.

'At this point, the word "all-rounder" doesn't do it justice.'

Apparently, it was still in the testing stage, and even so, it was already this effective.

I couldn't help but wonder how it would perform when fully operational.

"Seongjin, don't you think that robot looks familiar? What was its name? Termi...something."

"Terminator?"

"That's it! Terminator."

Honestly, I'd thought the same thing.

After the Gates appeared, I knew the world had changed a lot.

But seeing a robot like that made me confused about whether this was a game or reality.

"But it doesn't go rogue like in that movie, right?"

"No way."

Even if it did rebel, its combat ability was only about B+ tier.

It was literally designed for student supervision at this academy.

Veteran hunters could easily take it down.

'Still, it's amazing.'

Not only did the robot record all our actions, but it also captured all the audio.

Even if video recording is one thing, picking up voices from that distance should be impossible.

The more I saw it, the more amazed I was... and somehow, it felt nostalgic.

'It's pretty similar to what Vern used to do.'

There were three most outstanding legion commanders in the Demon King's army.

Vern was one of them—a being known as the vampire king.

He could manipulate blood to place some of his own blood in dolls and give them commands.

Those dolls would inherit Vern's abilities and could pick up sounds from far away.

He even used them to relay enemy secrets to our corps, uncovering the Empire's rotten schemes.

'Vern, that guy... I wonder how he's doing now?'

When I left for the last time, I even gave him the advice that his breath was terrible.

That's how much of a trusted companion he was.

Since he heard my words, he must be brushing his teeth properly now.

—What is the purpose of your visit to Middle School 3?

As the robot drove, it started a conversation.

Maybe because of its versatility, it seemed curious about a lot.

"We're here to meet someone."
—Who would that be?
"A student named Go Donghyuk... he's a second-year."

When Sang-Ah answered, the robot searched using the name and grade.

The way it handled other tasks while driving made it seem as if its arms and brain worked separately.

—Confirmed. Would you like me to contact Go Donghyuk in advance?

"You even know his number?"

—No. I will just use the dormitory phone.

If it did have his number, that would have been creepy.

If it could do even that, it would be like Big Brother for real.

"You guys aren't going to see Go Donghyuk, are you?"

"You've got to be kidding. I've never met anyone normal who hung out with that guy."

Then, the delinquents in the back spoke up.

They seemed to know a lot about Go Donghyuk.

"What do you mean? You guys know him?"

"He's the same year as us. But you call him 'senior' and talk down to us?"

"Shut up and answer."

"...."

"Now."

They didn't deserve senior treatment after what they did.

A little intimidation from me, and only then did they start talking, their bodies trembling from remembering being hit by me and Sang-Ah.

"Go Donghyuk? He's completely insane. I don't even know where to start explaining..."

"After he enrolled, there was no place for guys like us at this school."

"That bug bastard."

They said as if their own delinquency was all his fault.

But no matter how much they blamed his bullying, it was just shifting responsibility.

"Did he do something to you?"

"You'll know when you meet him yourself. He's crazier than you could ever imagine."

There was nothing more I could get from these guys.

The robot connected a call to the dormitory, and we were able to have a short conversation with Go Donghyuk.

****

Finally, the vehicle arrived at Middle School 3 and parked in the lot.

The robot immediately took the three delinquents to the principal's office.

No matter how much they kicked and screamed, they were just dragged away without a word.

"The atmosphere here feels kind of strange, doesn't it?"

"Does it?"

As Sang-Ah got out of the car, she could hear the sounds around her.

Seongjin didn't seem to notice, but there was a strange tension in the students' conversations.

Everyone seemed careful with their words.

Especially when boys and girls talked together.

'Is there some kind of banned speech on campus?'

Leaving that weird mood behind, we entered the dormitory.

The boys' dorm at the 3rd Academy.

Once inside, the awkwardness among students seemed to disappear.

Maybe it was just my imagination. We looked for the person we were meeting and opened the door to the living quarters.

"Not here?"

I saw a bed and locker labeled Go Donghyuk, but their owner was nowhere to be found.

"I've been waiting for you."

Suddenly, a voice came from the ceiling.

It matched the voice from the earlier phone call.

Looking up, I saw a student standing upside down on the ceiling.

"Eeek!"

Watching someone stand on the ceiling like a bat, Sang-ah was shocked.

But Seongjin didn't seem surprised at all, as if he already knew.

The student landed on the floor and greeted us.

"Nice to meet you. You already heard about me on the phone, right?"

Go Donghyuk reached out to Ma Seongjin for a handshake.

He was also a Mutamit, of the bat lineage.

Seongjin took it casually and shook his hand.

"I'm Ma Seongjin. You look quite different from when I saw you at church."

"Church?"

After hearing that, go Donghyuk stared intently at Seongjin's face.

Then he suddenly let out an exclamation.

"Ah...! You're the kid who used to come to our church on weekends!"

"You remember me?"

"I didn't catch your name, but seeing you now, you looked really familiar."

Having both attended the same church, they vaguely remembered each other's faces.

Since the conversation started well, they got along right away.

Soon, they sat together at a cafe in front of the school and talked about the recent church incident.

"If you mean that, I heard from my dad too. The culprit was that Sura Guild, right?"

Go Donghyuk said he was shocked when he first heard about it.

Because of it, even though it was vacation, he couldn't go back to church and had to stay at school.

"I heard you guys helped my family out? Thank you so much."

"There's nothing to thank us for. I have ties to your church, too."

"And didn't your dad move the church housing for us?"

"Yes..."

He was talking to Sang-Ah.

It wasn't wrong, since it was Kwon Yongha who accepted the church into their district.

"I'm grateful to both you and your father."

"Ah... yes."

Being complimented was nice, but getting lumped together with her damn dad was complicated.

Still, thinking that they saved a family, Sang-ah tried to look on the bright side.

"You know a bit about my father's hometown, too?"

"Yes, like you, my mother is from there as well."

"Ohh! We're quite alike, then?"

Go Donghyuk's friendliness was totally different from his reputation.

The rumors about him being a madman seemed like baseless nonsense.

"I've also started looking into the Sura Guild. There's a student at this school connected to them."

"Really?"

"A third-year girl named Emily."

Emily?

Sang-Ah frowned at the familiar name.

Soon, she remembered.

She was the girlfriend of Michael, who supposedly committed suicide after being imprisoned.

"Those three delinquents you ran into earlier? They were probably under Emily as well."

"But Donghyuk, how do you gather information all by yourself?"

Did he spy with acute hearing like her?

Sang-Ah wondered, but it was a different method.

"Just like Emily has her own faction... I have my 'Student Council President' faction."

Given that he held that position, he must have had some degree of competence.

This made Sang-Ah feel relieved about Go Donghyuk.

He seemed trustworthy.

"But, I have to ask you one thing..."

"What is it?"

Go Donghyuk asked in a suddenly serious tone.

"What's your relationship?"

"Huh?"

Sang-Ah's expression turned awkward at his oddly serious attitude.

Seongjin answered for her.

"We're just friends."

"Just friends...?"

Go Donghyuk's voice became even more serious.

"Can there really be such a thing as just friends between a boy and a girl?"

"... Um."

"Well, maybe if you're just together for work or something."

Sang-Ah began to feel uneasy.

The strange, tense mood she'd sensed at the 3rd Academy earlier.

The way boys and girls seemed to watch their words around each other.

And now, go Donghyuk's attitude.

She couldn't shake the feeling that a giant storm was brewing from all this.

"But you know, there's one thing you must never do in front of me."

At that moment, a wild look appeared in Go Donghyuk's eyes.

"Absolutely no dating. No one may ever—displays of affection between boys and girls are absolutely not tolerated!"

"..."

"The entire school now follows my rules. Middle schoolers dating? Not a chance!"

Seeing his increasingly agitated demeanor, Sang-ah began to feel genuinely afraid.

Now she understood why people called him a madman.

"It's not just me. Quite a few Middle School 3 students follow my lead."

Step step—

Before she knew it, a crowd of students had gathered behind their table.

Wearing matching student uniforms, they looked almost like a cult.

Sang-Ah was confused, but after seeing Go Donghyuk's eyes, she realized it.

'It's similar to when I lose control.'

A powerful trait and its side effects.

For Go Donghyuk, it manifested in this way.

The students who followed him didn't seem normal, either.

"Seongjin... I think this guy..."

"Those are truly wise words, senior!"

"Yes! Truly wise w—wait, what?"

Sang-Ah was dumbfounded by Seongjin's bold interruption.

Even her last possible ally, Seongjin, was echoing that ideology.

Actually, Seongjin had thought the same for a long time.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】