Chapter 45

“[Storm Strike]!”

The current location is the training ground.

I’m helping with the magical training of the 2nd generation Magical Typhoon.

The other magical girls are still keeping their distance from me, but I don’t really care anymore.

“[Jet Stream]…!”

By the way, are you finally getting the hang of controlling your movement skills?

Besides, it’s not even an attack skill, so you don’t need to vocalize it.

It’s not like we’re doing some time attack or anything…

In battle, that kind of thing is meaningless.

In fact, not saying it and just using it makes the activation speed faster.

“Don’t say it when you use movement skills.”

“Got it! Hoo… [Super Typhoon]…!!”

This is Magical Typhoon’s first ability, the ultimate move of “Typhoon’s Wind,” right?

A technique that focuses solely on the power of the wind, releasing the maximum possible speed irregularly around…

It’s simple yet strong, but it feels like all the techniques are a bit loose.

Still, for now, is this level okay?

“How is it?”

“…It’s gotten better. It seems more stable and efficient now.”

“Can I go demon hunting now?”

“Well, up to Viscount-Class should be fine.”

When you think of wind-based abilities in natural elements, you might think of them as weak but fast, but if you think about it, they could actually be the strongest.

Because even simple mass movement can be strong, but you can focus it on a line rather than a surface.

Of course, if you expand it, it could be considered a surface, but still, the ability to concentrate power to that extent makes it particularly effective at causing damage.

And when you consider the number of blades rushing in, it’s clear that the talent is on the good side.

Especially since she’s only in middle school… If she starts hunting and training properly now, she could become a significant force.

Plus, she’s got guts.

“It’s good talent, but first, it’s better to develop combat sense. Being able to cause damage and being able to fight are two different things.”

“Got it!”

“Ah, and… be careful when you meet Diamond Dust. You never know when she might suddenly turn into a monster.”

“Turn into a monster…? What’s that?”

“You know about the medals, right?”

“Those weird medals? Yeah, I know about them.”

“Sometimes, kids with bad intentions use them to turn into monsters. She’s not in a good state right now, so she might use it.”

“Hmm… I’ll be careful!”

This kid, are you really being careful…?

Well, it’s hard to judge just by appearances, so I guess she’ll figure it out.

“By the way, is there anything you want to eat?”

“Huh? Something to eat?”

“You must be hungry by now, right?”

“…Ah.”

Come to think of it, my senior told me to try fine dining or omakase, right?

I should take her there and treat her.

Since the short-term training is over, I should at least do this much.

“Oh, this place looks good.”

“What is it?”

Looking it up on my smartphone, I found a well-reviewed omakase place nearby.

So I drove Typhoon there.

As soon as we arrived and got out, Typhoon’s eyes widened as if she had seen something rare.

“Se, Senior…?!”

“What are you doing? Let’s go in.”

“Are we really eating here…?”

“Yeah. Come on, let’s go in.”

“Okay, okay…!”

Judging by her reaction, she doesn’t seem to come from a wealthy family.

So this might seem a bit excessive.

Normally, I’d take her to a meat restaurant or something.

“Wow…”

“What’s wrong?”

“Are we really… allowed to eat here…?”

“Eat up. You’ve worked hard to adapt so far.”

By the way, I thought sushi was just decent rice with wasabi and some seafood on top, but it’s incredibly delicious.

Is the difference in portion control, the stickiness of the rice, and the freshness of the toppings really this big?

And not just the sushi, but the other dishes they serve separately are also really tasty.

As expected… my senior didn’t just recommend it for no reason.

…Well, it’s a bit too much to call it cooking.

“Thank you for the meal…”

This kid… how delicious was it that she’s spacing out like this?

Well, it was that good.

I was pretty surprised too when I first had fine dining with my senior.

“Ah, by the way, Senior.”

“What?”

“Um… I get that I should avoid Diamond Dust, but… do you have anything to say about Pretty Heart?”

“Pretty Heart? What about her? She’s a really pure and kind kid, right?”

“…Huh? No, it’s just… I happened to meet her, and she gave off this strangely intense pressure…”

“Pressure?”

“Like, when I mentioned you… her expression didn’t change, but the atmosphere suddenly got really scary!”

“…? Really? Well… okay. Be careful on your way back.”

“Okay~…”

It’s a bit strange that Pretty Heart suddenly exerted pressure.

Pretty Heart isn’t the type to do that, right?

…No, could it be… that she’s obsessed with me…

“……”

No, that can’t be.

No matter what, that pure kid wouldn’t be a yandere.

Besides, I’m not that attractive, am I?

Still, I should keep it in mind as one of the possibilities.

You never know, so it’s better to be prepared.

“…No way, that doesn’t make sense.”

“She’s just really jealous and trying to hide it, that’s for sure!”

“That must be it. Yanderes are pretty rare, after all.”

She probably just wanted to train with her respected senior.

I shouldn’t jump to conclusions.

“Huh? Sis~!”

“…Huh? Nari?”

“Sis, where are you going?”

“I was just feeding the kid I was teaching after her adaptation training.”

While driving home slowly, Pretty Heart waved and greeted me.

She’s probably on her way to hang out somewhere.

But we happened to run into each other like this.

“…Is that the kid? The one who uses wind.”

“Yeah. She inherited it, so she needed a period of adaptation.”

“Hmm… Is that so?”

“…Why?”

“…Sis.”

“I’m listening.”

“Why don’t you train with me?”

“…What?”

Pretty Heart suddenly puffed up her cheeks…

…This is definitely jealousy.

It doesn’t feel like yandere, just that childish ‘me too’ thing.

Isn’t she already past the age to be jealous over something like that…?

“Nari… do you even need training?”

“I do! So next time, hang out with me!”

“…Okay.”

“Hehe~.”

“Is it really that good?”

“It’s super good!”

Am I really that great… I really don’t get it.

Well, since we’ve met, I should give her a ride.

“Get in. I’ll take you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Where are you going?”

“Let’s go to the place where we always meet.”

“Huh? Ah~ near the bus stop?”

“Yeah!”

Do they always meet at the same place?

My friends and I just decide on a place whenever we meet.

It’s not like it’s ever been a problem.

Is there a reason to always meet at the same spot?

“Ugh~ I smell someone else~.”

“Do you hate it that much?”

“Not hate, but… I can’t monopolize you!”

“…Monopolize?”

“Ah, no, nothing… it’s nothing!”

This girl, she’s quite greedy, huh?

But monopolize? I’m not anyone’s property.

Because I’m not a doll.

So can you stop treating me like some cute thing?

It really hurts my pride as a man, you know?

“Here, we’re here.”

“Thank you~.”

We arrived at the place Pretty Heart mentioned, and she got out after thanking me.

In the end, Pretty Heart was just being cutely jealous…

I’m glad the yandere possibility I was worried about isn’t there.

If she had turned yandere… just imagining it is terrifying.

I couldn’t possibly kill a kid I’ve been so close to with my own hands.

“That’s a relief.”

“Right!”

“Getting that kid’s blood on my hands would be… too much.”

“You worry too much!”

“…When you go through something really unpleasant, it changes you. If there’s even the slightest possibility of getting blood on your hands, you can’t take it lightly anymore.”

Tch… Enough of this depressing talk, I need to get home and crack open a beer.

Anyway, I’ve confirmed Pretty Heart isn’t a yandere, so no problem.

Thinking about it any further is pointless.

“What’s this, a message.”

“It’s from your younger sister!”

“…Ah.”

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“……”

[Brother… get ready to be scolded when you come back home…]

[I don’t know what they’re going to say, but Dad got really mad, saying you’ve been hiding and doing all sorts of things…]

So that’s what it was…

Anyway… they’ve done everything to block my path in life, and now they’re at it again?

What kind of people are they…?

They never once comforted or supported me, just scolded and lectured endlessly… always telling me to study, that I must go to college…

In the end, it’s just so I can get a good job and support them comfortably.

If that’s the case, at least lower the bar if it’s too hard to get into a good college, or help me find other talents.

But no, they just keep saying how much they’ve done for me…

When in reality, they’ve never given me what I truly needed.

And then they have the nerve to talk about how much they’ve done for me… That’s just the duty of being a parent, not a favor.

A favor is supporting and helping your child carve out a future, not blocking every path they try to take.

And then, after destroying every decent path I found, they have the nerve to talk about favors? What kind of mindset is that?

And, to begin with, an average score of 2.5 on the college entrance exam is still a result of hard work.

But they made me apply only to Seoul-area schools, and then got mad when I didn’t get into top-tier schools like SNU or KAIST.

I mean, it’s obvious that with a 2.5 average, I wouldn’t get in there.

Are these people who supposedly went to college themselves really that clueless?

Ah~ so that’s why they ended up with a dirt-poor family after going to college?

…Well, I did secretly apply to schools that matched my grades and even got accepted, but they threw a fit and made me give up.

I mean, I understand that the perception and evaluation of colleges have changed a lot from back then, but we’re living in the present, not the past.

What do they expect by using outdated standards?

And now, after all that, they want to lecture me again, acting like parents?

It’s really ridiculous.

“Rampage…?”

“…What.”

“Your expression… it’s really dark…?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Sigh~… They’ll probably do a 180 and start begging for money if I show them how much I’ve earned.

So showing them the money isn’t a good idea.

Well, they’ll probably figure it out anyway.

Then I guess it’s time for an ultimatum.

At least to my dad, since my mom might not be as bad.

But according to Nari’s message, my mom didn’t say much.

If she’s not saying anything, maybe she still considers me family.

At least she’s not meddling with an independent adult.

“…You’ve been by my side for 15 years, so you know my parents aren’t exactly great people.”

“I know… but from what I’ve secretly heard… they really do want you to go to a good college, get a good job, and live well!”

“Don’t lie. If that were true, they wouldn’t have raised me like that. Just being 5 minutes late for a promise got me beaten with a stick, stripped naked, and thrown outside. They told me to jump off a building when I was depressed, to kill myself, and every little thing turned into a fight. Even when it was clearly their fault, they’d lose their temper and destroy everything! People who treat their child like a tool wouldn’t have such hopes!! Stop talking nonsense!!”

“It’s true! I wouldn’t lie about something like that! Besides, if I lied about something like that, Rampage would cut me in half and kill me, so how could I dare?”

“……”

“Plus, your dad is just hot-tempered and loses control in the moment! That’s not his true self!”

Damn… I know.

Chubby wouldn’t lie about something like this.

But… it just doesn’t make sense.

All that, really for the sake of their child?

What kind of lunatic torments their child like that for their own good?

It’s really infuriating…

“…Chubby.”

“Yes?!”

“I’ll believe you for now.”

“…!”

“But if they act the same way when I get there, I’m cutting ties. Got it?”

“Yes…!”

Sigh… Well, I guess I was just venting about my bad memories.

There are families far worse than mine, so I guess I’m still in a pretty good situation.

If Chubby’s telling the truth, it’s just their stupid mindset that college is everything.

They just went about it the wrong way… Let’s think of it like that.

It’s pointless for me, who knows nothing about psychology, to overanalyze.

“…I’m hungry.”

“I’ll set the table as soon as we get home!”

“Okay.”

…But, what they did to me and Yura doesn’t just disappear or get justified.

I can treat them as parents for now, but I don’t plan on being close.

They don’t deserve to be called parents anyway.

So I’ll meet them once, and then never go back.

My family… is just Yura and Chubby.