Chapter 396 – The Evolution of a Juvenile Offender.
The test, filled with pain, has finally ended.
Everyone’s body had somewhat recovered, but still, the results had not come out.
“Is the result still not out?”
“So, who is the leader now?!”
“It’s me, right! Me!”
“Please at least tell us the first letter of who the leader is!”
But the succubus kept repeating the same thing as before.
Just wait a little longer until the results come out.
“It will be out soon. Please wait until then.”
To be honest, there weren’t that many test subjects, and with only three categories for the test.
It was strange that the results weren’t coming out quickly for the juvenile offenders.
Maybe they were waiting for something else.
Due to impatience, or maybe just because they were elementary school kids.
Their complaints and dissatisfaction started piling up quickly.
But the moment they heard the voice of the recovered Chūnibyō male.
“Urgh. Can’t you handle this little wait?”
“Oh, f*ck. Here we go again.”
Instead of expressing their accumulated complaints, they chose to wait quietly.
If they showed their feelings, it felt like they would lose for no reason.
Especially to that idiot.
“I’ve lived through eons of time, so this is nothing.”
“Isn’t there an armband? Please kick that nerd out.”
But not long after, the elf and saintess who had gone to get the results came in.
“Thank you for waiting long!”
“Here it is.”
“Thank you.”
With that, they could feel the end of waiting approaching.
Maybe it was because they had decided to stay quiet because of that Chūnibyō bastard.
Anyway, since the wait was over, they were glad no matter what.
“Finally, the results are out.”
“Finally!”
In that moment, the boredom in the juvenile offenders’ eyes melted away like snow.
In its place, a strong desire quickly crept in.
“Now, I will announce the results.”
As soon as the succubus finished her words, silence fell instantly.
It was a sight that no one could believe.
After all, the ones causing this silence were the uncontrollable juvenile offenders.
Eventually, the succubus, whose mouth had been tightly closed, slowly opened it.
And in line with that, the emotions of the juvenile offenders began to intermingle.
The one who gained the qualification to be leader was.
“The leader is you.”
“Of course!!!!!”
None other than the Chūnibyō male’s group leader.
He had no hesitation in hitting others.
And when getting hit, his resistance was slightly less than others, which worked in his favor.
Then, his followers, the ability users with transparency and teleportation, followed after him.
“Wait a minute… I…?”
“Did you just speak? You are obviously not worth grading.”
“……Why…?”
Of course, the Chūnibyō male was ranked dead last.
The cruel words of the succubus said that even his scores weren’t graded.
And as a result, the scene unfolded where the male kept asking why.
“You can’t even stand properly.”
“No, I can stand, no matter what.”
“You can’t. You’re weak.”
“…It’s just because I haven’t eaten yet…”
None of the juvenile offenders paid attention to the conversation.
“Bind him to a cross. He’ll resurrect in three minutes, right?”
“……That would be three days.”
“You’re so weak; three minutes would be enough.”
“Why are your roasts so sharp, f*cking cat?!”
After all, they were rushing to express their feelings.
“See! Without any abilities, I’m the best here!”
“This time I’ll hit, so you go get tied up, f*ck.”
“Nope, I won’t do it. You’re a total idiot.”
“…I’m still satisfied to be ranked second.”
“Everyone shut up. I’m not in a good mood right now.”
No matter how others felt, the group leader’s mood was at its peak.
Even though his whole body was aching, breathing was a bit difficult, and his limbs were shaking.
He managed to temporarily forget that pitiful pain.
Because he had officially become their leader.
Moreover, since the succubus had set the stage for the leader’s privileges to take effect.
The group leader had no choice but to seize that opportunity.
“What color do you want? Please tell me first, leader.”
“I want pink! Pink is the color of the leader and a color only for men, right?!”
“Understood. I will make a note of that.”
Then, the succubus began writing something on a piece of paper.
Surely, she was noting the color the group leader mentioned.
“And the others, please tell me your desired colors in order of ranking. However, duplicate colors will not be allowed.”
The succubus then addressed the remaining juvenile offenders.
And soon, they each shared their desired colors.
“I want orange!”
“Then I’ll go with yellow!”
“……Please make mine white…”
Coincidentally, their desired colors were all different.
So afterward, they could gather again without any major conflicts.
“F*ck, did you just target me?”
“If you’re jealous, why didn’t you try harder? Stupid b*tch…”
“I noticed you when you hit me, fcking btch.”
Except for the guy with the transparency ability.
Because of that, they hadn’t thought of it.
That if they were going to do this, they didn’t need to work so hard.
Finally, the succubus, having written down all their requests, sent them a glance.
“I understand your requests well.”
“I’ll prepare it quickly.”
“Please wait a little, everyone!”
“Yes!”
Soon, the succubus, elf, and saintess left the building.
Then suddenly, the saintess came back in.
She approached them briskly, holding several blindfolds that seemed to have come out of nowhere.
“Oh, I almost forgot. In that case, wear these blindfolds and wait, will you?”
“Why the blindfolds?”
The saintess gave a faint smile to the juvenile offender expressing curiosity.
It was a smile that seemed kind yet extremely ominous.
But the juvenile offenders’ thoughts didn’t extend that far.
Their inflated expectations had paralyzed all other senses.
“If you see what’s to come, you’ll be really surprised, so it’s an encouragement for you to wear them.”
“Got it! This is easy!”
“I’ll see a miracle, like a blind person seeing light.”
“I’ll look forward to it!”
The juvenile offenders donned the blindfolds without suspicion.
“I’ll be back.”
“Yes! We’ll be waiting!”
Not long after, they heard the sound of the saintess leaving the building.
As soon as they heard that, the group leader suddenly turned his gaze toward where the male would be and began to mock him boldly.
How dare he!
“Hey, idiot. Is that all you can do at your age?”
“……”
But the male remained completely silent.
Was it too shocking that the succubus hadn’t even asked him about his colors?
Or was he trying hard to ignore the group leader as a last defense mechanism?
Well, either way, it didn’t matter to the group leader.
“Well done, acting so tough while having Chūnibyō, you f*cking idiot.”
“……”
Whatever it was, now that male’s leader was the group leader.
Even so, the male maintained his silence.
He felt it wasn’t time to speak yet, so he continued to endure.
But what did that matter?
In terms of results, it was clear that the ones outstanding were not that male, but all the juvenile offenders here.
After all, he didn’t even have the chance to choose a color, so how inferior was he compared to them?
The moment the juvenile offenders thought that, the male suddenly spoke to the group leader.
“Hey, hey.”
“At least call me leader, you little follower.”
With a hint of Chūnibyō in his demeanor again.
But he spoke as if everything was casual, due to a strange feeling.
The male didn’t follow that and kept talking, pouring out whatever he wanted to say.
As if he was forcingly suppressing negative emotions, it all seemed very unnatural.
“Those crimes you guys mentioned earlier.”
“What’s it to you?”
The juvenile offenders flinched at the unknown pressure.
And the male’s voice grew a bit heavier.
“Are you just bragging?”
Even though he was blindfolded, he seemed to have caught onto something.
“Or did you really commit those, you f*ckers?”
As soon as he finished that statement, the juvenile offenders responded strongly one by one.
It was partly because the guy they thought was just an idiot cursed at them.
But more so, they tried hard to ignore an incoming, inexplicable fear creeping up their spines.
“Yeah! We did all of it!”
“Feeling bad? That’s too bad then!”
“No one can judge us juvenile offenders!”
“That’s the limit of this country’s justice system!”
However, compared to how fiercely they shouted, the response was once again silence.
The impulsive anger of the juvenile offenders quickly dissipated.
As the fear they just felt began to swallow their senses again.
The male’s remark lingered in the air.
“Hah.”
“What! What is it?!”
In that moment, the juvenile offenders half-convincingly realized.
Even though they couldn’t see the male’s face due to the blindfolds, it felt as if he was smiling.
“And it’s amusing.”
“……”
In a rather sinister way.
They had committed various wrongdoings until now, but this was the first time they felt such emotions.
It felt so stifling that even breathing seemed futile, and their hearts felt like they would explode from the tension.
Is this what it feels like to be suppressed by pure atmosphere?
“Are you… really a Chūnibyō?”
“Urgh. I told you, I’ve endured eons of time.”
“Come on, stop joking!”
The juvenile offenders no longer thought the male was a Chūnibyō.
But they also didn’t acknowledge him as an adult.
It just felt like they had mistakenly provoked a mad dog that they shouldn’t touch.
At that moment, the door opened, and someone entered.
Then, a situation unfolded that the juvenile offenders were glad about.
That was none other than.
“I brought it.”
“O…oh, you’re here…!”
The clear voice of the succubus dispelled the cold atmosphere.
Unconsciously, hearing the familiar voice of the succubus, the juvenile offenders sighed in relief.
In front of each of them, something was set down abruptly.
It must be some specific object reflecting their desired colors.
“Is this what we were thinking of?!”
“That’s right. It’s just right for you.”
Just as they began to relax, thinking it finally came.
The male suddenly spoke to the group leader.
The fearsome atmosphere they felt moments ago suddenly seemed like a lie, turning very calm.
“Hey, leader.”
“W…what?”
Just due to the lingering emotions they felt moments ago, the group leader flinched.
But the male continued to speak gently without paying it any mind.
“Congrats, you little sh*t.”
At those words, suddenly the tension that had been dominating their bodies vanished.
Or maybe they became so numb they could no longer feel fear.
The juvenile offenders once again shouted harshly at the male.
“You! You! You better show respect to the leader!”
“Seriously, what gives you the confidence, huh?! Isn’t our leader scary?”
“Just don’t end up crying later when you get messed up, you psycho!”
“You really don’t know that messing with our leader will lead to your doom, do you?”
Maybe it looked like they were trying to organize their hierarchy at this late stage.
And as soon as they finished speaking, they took off their blindfolds.
With great expectations of what the succubus would present now.
But as they opened their eyes and saw the scene before them.
“What gives you such confidence.”
“……Huh…?”
Their expectations began to twist and distort.
Besides the elf and saintess they had seen before, even the familiar succubus wore a sardonic smile.
But what was most important to the juvenile offenders at that moment was not that.
It couldn’t be any other way.
What lay before each juvenile offender was.
“Of course, it’s the Hunter certificate.”
“…..What the hell…”
None other than their Hunter certificates.
It had not only their names written down, but also some specific details.
And they were even adorned with the colors they desired.
“…W-why…?”
“Now you all have them.”
Soon, the juvenile offenders’ expressions transformed.
Faster than their eyes could register the sight before them.
From intense expectation, to severe despair.
Watching the juvenile offenders react, the male, who had by now removed his blindfold, grinned fiercely.
“I also originally had one, you idiots.”
“Ah…?”
As he spun his Hunter certificate on his finger.
