“Don’t you dare underestimate me…!”
Shizuku spat the words at Cklares but never stopped moving.
If you mock me, I’ll kill you. That was one of Shizuku’s principles.
So, she released her left hand from the swinging rod.
Extending her knee, she drove her left arm upward to intercept Cklares’s descending fist.
“Oh?”
And she didn’t stop there.
Kicking off the mat, she thrust the rod in her right hand between Cklares’s legs and—
“Hah! This is what I call rough…!”
—thud. Shizuku slammed Cklares onto the mat.
Still, she didn’t stop.
She had already discarded the rod. With her left hand pinning Cklares’s chest, she reared back her right fist, mounting her opponent.
“Payback.”
She drove her fist downward.
“Anything you can do, I can do too, right?”
“Ngh…!?”
Cklares’s counter—a hammer-fist—exploded against Shizuku’s chin.
Shizuku’s punch, deflected by Cklares’s palm, struck the mat instead. Her vision swam. The sheer force of the takedown had nearly knocked her out. As her body went limp, she started collapsing onto Cklares—
“——Take this!”
With a tiny hop of her knees—
She drove both knees into Cklares’s stomach.
“Guh…………!?”
“Ah-ha…!”
The guttural noise forced from Cklares’s lips made Shizuku’s mouth curl upward.
That was a good one. A sound Cklares would never normally make. It was a shame her weight hadn’t fully committed due to the earlier counter, but the pain must’ve been excruciating.
Even the ever-present smirk plastered on Cklares’s face—the one Shizuku hated—was twitching now.
“What a lovely noise you made!”
But it still wasn’t enough.
Having come this far, Shizuku wanted to warp that fairy’s smug face beyond recognition.
So she raised her fist again, ready to strike—
“————Th-that’s enough!”
“Guh—”
“Ngh!”
Ignoring the sudden interjection, Shizuku drove her fist into Cklares’s cheek—just as Cklares’s second counter smashed into Shizuku’s face.
●
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.GITHUB.IO
“Now, listen here, Teardrop! Airystep! Two young ladies of Evergrace Academy, brawling like hoodlums, mounted on each other, throwing punches—disgraceful! Especially you, Airystep! Just because you can do whatever you want doesn’t mean you should!”
Shizuku and Cklares sat side by side in the gym’s equipment storage room, enduring the scolding together.
Their tormentor was Shizuku’s homeroom teacher.
A petite young woman draped in a teacher’s robe, with long, dark crimson hair tied into a braid and round glasses that gave her a plain impression. But right now, her entire body radiated fury.
Her name was—
“Let’s see… oh right… Lake-sensei.”
“It’s CLAKE! Natalia Clake! I literally just introduced myself! I’ve been your homeroom teacher for a year and a half!”
“Haaah.”
“‘Haaah’!?”
“Now, now, calm down, Natalia-sensei.”
“And you, Airystep! I know the headmaster asked you to look after Teardrop, and at this point, I won’t argue about her skipping classes. But that doesn’t excuse such thuggish behavior!”
“Yes, my apologies, Natalia-sensei.”
“Pfft. Wow, you’re getting chewed out and actually apologizing properly? Hilarious.”
“Teardrop!”
Natalia continued lecturing them about proper conduct at Evergrace Academy for a while longer, but Shizuku tuned most of it out. What surprised her was how seriously Cklares listened.
Shizuku had expected her to laugh it off and argue back.
“——Understood, Teardrop?”
“Haaah.”
“…Well, fine. You may return to class. As for you, Airystep—”
“Yes?”
“…………Never mind. You’re dismissed too.”
Natalia’s face twisted as if she’d bitten something bitter, but she didn’t press further.
Shizuku and Cklares left the storage room side by side.
“Man, Clake-sensei’s scary. She’s kind, but when it’s time to discipline someone, she doesn’t hold back. I think she might actually dislike me, given how she reacts sometimes.”
“Huh. So she has good judgment, then.”
“Hearing that from you is… mildly infuriating.”
Shizuku brushed off Cklares’s ever-present smile—which showed no sign of anger—and moved to leave the gym. But—
“Teardrop! That was incredible!”
“Whoa—”
Rebecca blocked her path. No—it wasn’t just her. The classmates who’d been in the gym had swarmed around Shizuku and Cklares.
“You held your own against Cklares-senpai!” “Where did you learn those martial arts!?” “Are you hurt? Let’s go to the nurse’s office!” “Cklares-sama, you were amazing too!” “Your foil work was brilliant!” “You two were both so cool!”
“H-hey, what—stop crowding me!”
Overwhelmed, Shizuku pulled her hood deeper over her face and tried to retreat—but classmates surrounded her from behind too. As she hesitated—
“Alright, alright. Everyone, calm down. Shizuku-chan’s shy. No touching, okay?”
“C-Cklares…”
“Just keep your distance and talk to her. Think of her like a stray cat.”
“Cklares…!”
Miraculously, the girls maintained a respectful distance while bombarding Shizuku with questions and praise about her staff techniques. It continued until class ended. Neither Cklares nor Natalia—who’d emerged from the storage room—made any move to stop them, leaving Shizuku flustered.
A year and a half as Unlaw, and she’d rarely been surrounded by so many people. She’d always avoided it.
Above all—
Their eyes held nothing but pure, bright, goodwill.
It was nothing like when she’d attended this academy before. Back then, Shizuku had been steeped in a murky darkness of malice, envy, and hostility.
So the sight before her—rows of girls with uniformly cheerful, innocent smiles—felt utterly surreal.
It’s like a fairy tale where I’ve stumbled into the land of the fey, Shizuku thought.
●
Shizuku’s temporary return to the academy came with temporary dorm accommodations.
Given the appearance of the Weeping Woman at night, this arrangement was unavoidable—but—
“So, Shizuku-chan, looks like we’re roomies for a while. Be nice to me, okay?”
Shizuku couldn’t help but wonder if Cklares being her roommate was some kind of prank.
The first thing she noticed upon entering the room was its size—and the sheer amount of stuff.
Wider than the living room of Norman’s boarding house, it felt excessive for a student dorm. The far wall was dominated by a large glass window leading to a balcony outside.
The right half of the spacious room held only a study desk, a bed, a large travel bag, and two violin cases.
The left half was cluttered with furniture—another study desk, a vanity, shelves filled with books and trinkets.
What caught Shizuku’s eye was the cello case tucked in the corner.
After sweeping her gaze over the stark contrast between the two halves—one barren, the other overflowing—she spoke.
“Cklares… I had no idea your interior design sense was this dead. My condolences.”
“Giggle. I cleared that side just for you, you know?”
“How polite. Not that I’ll be here more than a few days.”
“But admit it—if I’d left my things lying around, you’d have complained, right?”
“Well, my luggage is… “
Ignoring her roommate’s teasing, Shizuku checked her belongings.
The travel bag held a few days’ worth of clothes and toiletries.
The two violin cases contained a disassembled sniper rifle and an actual violin.
Confirming everything was in order,
she sat on the bed.
“So? Learned anything yet?”
“…………It’s only been half a day.”
Shizuku sighed at Cklares’s question. She’d considered ignoring her, but knowing Cklares, she’d just keep pestering until she got a reaction.
As Shizuku sat on the bed, Cklares did the same on hers.
Seated at opposite ends of the room, the two faced each other.
“In the first place, the [Weeping Woman] appears late at night, right? There’s no way to investigate during the day.”
After saying that, Shizuku suddenly thought of something.
“Actually, this academy is like your garden, isn’t it?”
“I think that’s a rather trite expression, but I won’t deny it.”
The heterochromia girl nodded while playing with her staff in her hands, without changing her slight smile.
“How much have you investigated about this incident?”
“For the two days immediately after the incident occurred, I used my ability to monitor the academy during the nighttime hours.”
“During the night hours… you mean…”
Shizuku frowned at the brief answer.
“Literally, from sunset until late at night. Using my [hands], I can patrol the school buildings while grasping the overall situation. Together with the other teachers and security guards.”
“…That’s incredible.”
Shizuku was a bit taken aback.
Shizuku had combat experience with [Distortion Types] that interfere with the properties of surrounding objects several times, but she knew no other 《Unlaws》 besides Cklares who could maintain such a range for around twelve hours.
“It’s not as much effort as you think. At least, there were no problems during those two days.”
“What about the third night?”
“I was finally getting tired. Actually, the principal got angry and told me to go to sleep already.”
There she shrugged her shoulders.
Thinking she was somewhat similar to Norman, Shizuku vaguely thought,
“…You actually listen to what teachers say, don’t you?”
Visit the request page If there’s a Japanese Light Novel (LN) or Web Novel (WN) you’d like me to translate
When the donation goal progress bar above hit 100% one novel will be chosen for translation
| Table of Contents | Next* |
Support the Author by Buying the Original Books!
