episode_0037

At first, Arthur didn’t know either. He just thought it was a mean prank between close friends.

-Arthur, can’t you solve this too? Why are you hanging your real head?

-Sigh… You don’t even know the basics, how on earth did you study before!

-Are you pretending not to know something just to stress us out?

Arthur didn’t really care, even though many other verbal abuses were hurled at him.

I thought that maybe he got so frustrated while helping her study that he couldn’t control his anger, and that it was because of me.

But it didn’t take long for this thinking to change. Just two days was enough.

-Are you really an idiot? I told you to understand instead of memorizing?

-Who taught you how to study like that? Did you learn it from your parents? Oh right, you said you were an orphan, right?

-Haa.. It’s so hard to teach someone who is lacking, so why don’t you buy me something to drink? Can you do that for me?

No matter how much I tried to think positively about it, if I kept hearing things like this, I couldn’t help but notice.

You hate me… Otherwise you wouldn’t have to keep saying these things to me…

In just a few days, Arthur’s life at the academy had become hell. He would curse at him for no reason, use him like an emotional trash can, and even treat him like a shuttle for helping him study.

Of course, he thought he could somehow endure this, but Arthur didn’t know that the kids were much more hostile to him than he thought, and that once the line was crossed, it was very easy to cross it again.

… … …

“Because it’s Thursday.. If I just get through today and tomorrow, it’s the weekend..”

Phew… This much is okay… Let’s think of it as okay… Just listen to some swearing and run errands for me sometimes…

Arthur, who had been mind controlled, quietly entered the classroom.

-Little by little.

Let’s sneak in, because we absolutely can’t get caught… I don’t know what they’ll say next.

Arthur moved quietly, fearing that if he got caught they might harass him again for some ridiculous reason, and managed to sneakily sit down in a corner.

The moment I felt relieved inside, I heard a voice that I shouldn’t have heard.

“Hey, are you crazy? I told you to come early.”

“Hi!”

Why are you doing this to me? Just leave me alone.

Arthur was internally angry, but on the outside he was just smiling like an idiot.

“Hehehe.. Sorry, I forgot..”

Arthur tried to speak, hoping that she would just let it go, but the woman’s face began to fill with anger, as if she didn’t like Arthur’s excuses.

“Arthur, do you think I’m easy? What the hell, I told you to come home early so I could help you study, why didn’t you listen to me?”

-Tsk tsk!!

“!!!”

Huh…? What the… Did I just get hit..? I’ve never been subjected to violence before…

Arthur didn’t want to believe that he was right, but he had no choice but to admit it when he felt the burning heat and pain on his right cheek.

“Ugh… why are you doing this to me… there’s no need to hit me…”

Arthur, who had never cried outside of his room despite being bullied until now, suddenly burst into tears when he was slapped in the classroom in front of other children, whether it was because of that or because of sadness.

And although it was understandable to feel sympathy for Arthur, the woman who had hit him began to get angry.

“Are you crying? If someone saw you, they’d think I was bullying you. It was your fault. If you had just come on time, you wouldn’t have gotten beaten up, right?”

A normal person would have refuted the woman’s absurd logic, but Arthur didn’t have the energy or courage to say such things.

“Ugh… I…don’t do it…”

I didn’t do anything wrong, so why am I apologizing?

What on earth do you want from me?

“Yeah, fortunately you know what you did wrong, right? Be careful next time. I’m going through all this trouble to help someone like you, so if you act like that, I can’t help but get mad.”

Oh, I see. You just want to feel superior by bullying me? Then I’ll give you what you want. I’m trash.

“I’ll be careful from now on.. Thank you for forgiving me.. hehe…”

The woman smiled with satisfaction at Arthur’s answer, which completely shattered his self-esteem, stroked his head, and began to whisper quietly in his ear.

“Now you know where you are? That’s exactly your level, so be careful.”

“And from now on, whenever I say something, always smile and answer. If you don’t, you know? If you’re curious, try it once. Anyway, if you understood what I said correctly, answer.”

Arthur paused for a moment after hearing the woman’s words, but when he saw the woman taking a stance as if she was going to hit him again, he quickly opened his mouth.

“I..understand everything.. hehe!”

Of course, incongruous with these lines, Arthur was shedding tears, and the corners of his mouth were unnaturally turned up, as if he was careful not to smile.

“Then I’ll go, see you later, friend?”

Eventually, Arthur sat alone and laughed like an idiot until the woman who claimed to be his friend disappeared from sight completely.

lol…

Arthur felt as if something important had been shattered, and his always bright eyes lost their light.

… … …

“Hey. I have to go eat, so follow me.”

Ugh… I want to stop now… Why are you so anxious because you can’t bother me… Alice… I miss you so much…

“You son of a bitch, you’re not answering me again? Bite me down.”

-Crash!! Crash!!

Arthur’s face began to swell as the palm flew towards him without giving him time to prepare himself mentally.

Why are you hitting me again.. It hurts too much.. I don’t want to get hit anymore.. I said no… Sob..

Then one of the women in the group looked surprised.

“Hey, is this okay? Aren’t we going to a restaurant now? You know who that guy’s girlfriend is, right?”

“Kekeke, you didn’t know? This little shit’s girlfriend isn’t at the academy right now, so you can hit her all you want.”

“And who would help a kid like this? He can’t study, he can’t fight, he can’t do magic. Wow… Looking at him like this, he really is a retard, right? Right?”

As she spoke, the woman began to glare at Arthur, and Arthur, who did not want to be hit again, nodded.

“Yeah.. That’s right, it’s all true.. Hehe…”

“Look at this, even though they call him a retard, he’s still laughing and saying it’s okay. This is why I like Arthur, right?”

“Let’s go eat first, I’ll show you something more fun.”

The woman smiled and started walking towards the restaurant, and Arthur, who had no other choice, followed her into the restaurant.

-Tak.

Arthur took his food and sat down, and although the menu said steak, his expression was worse than ever.

Will you do it again today..? This time, he might really tell me to eat it.. Should I just run away? But then what about tomorrow..

“Oh? Steak today? Looks delicious, right?”

“Ugh..”

“You’re short, so you should eat well. First, give me some meat.”

The woman took the meat without Arthur’s consent and threw it on the floor.

-Took.

-Ji-ik. Ji-ik. Ji-ik.

It would have been better if it had only fallen to the floor, but the woman began to step on the meat with the shoes she was wearing.

“Just wait a minute~ I’ll make it delicious.”

After a while, when the woman removed her feet, all that was visible was a pile of garbage that was presumed to be meat.

And then the trash ended up on Arthur’s plate again.

“Eat.”

Please… how can I eat something like this… Anyone is fine, please help me… please… please… please…

“I made it with all my heart, so why aren’t you eating it?”

“Ah~ Did you forget how to eat it? Then I’ll have to teach you again.”

The woman suddenly got up from her seat, grabbed Arthur by the hair, and slammed his face into the plate.

-Bang! Bang! Bang!

During this process, a fairly loud noise occurred, and Arthur looked around for help, but other students who were eating nearby also heard the sound and just looked around for a moment wondering what was going on. When they realized that the person being attacked was Arthur, they pretended not to see him and continued eating. Arthur saw them.

Haha.. As expected, no one is going to help me.. Well, who would help someone like me..

“How is it? Can you put it in your mouth now?”

“Ugh…Ugh…”

“Oh, shit! This is so dirty.”

“This kid doesn’t know how to save food. Hey, I’m going to eat all that you threw up. You know what? I’ll make you beg for it. Choose wisely.”

“Please.. I’m sorry.. Please look at me just once..”

Arthur said it reflexively, without expecting it, but the woman who heard it showed an unexpected reaction.

“Hmm… I guess I was a bit harsh. I’ll let you go today, so you can go now.”

Is…really…? You’re sending it to me so easily?

Arthur felt a sense of guilt at his own gratitude for the woman’s words that she had sent him, but he was able to find small solace in the fact that today had passed.

“Then I’ll go and see..”

Hehehe.. Today was so hard I could die, but at least the day is over! Now if I just hold on for 10 more days, I can meet Alice..

Arthur felt a little better and moved with a light step.

-Cheolpuduk!

But suddenly Arthur’s leg got caught on something and he fell to the floor holding the plate.

“Ah.. why..?”

As he lay on the floor to check what was entangled with his leg, he saw a woman’s leg entangling his leg.

“Sorry! I didn’t know you’d pass by there?”

“But… I think it goes better than I thought? Maybe it’s because it’s a combination of trash and food waste, but it’s nice to see it like that on a regular basis. Kick.”

Arthur, who was covered in food in an instant, started to cry, and when he felt the eyes of those around him looking at him, he ran away from the restaurant.

-Slam.

Arthur returned to his room, locked the door, took off the clothes he was wearing and took them to the bathroom to wash them.

The sound of running water could be heard in the bathroom for a long time as they worked to wash away the food smell that had gotten on their clothes that day, and Arthur’s crying was not heard well because of the sound of running water.

… … …

Before Arthur’s face was smashed into the plate.

There was a woman watching Arthur from afar.

He was carrying a sword on one side, perhaps because he was a knight, and his hair was unusually pink.

“Hmm… What should I do…”

Contrary to his worried tone, the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, and his eyes were like those of a beast eyeing its prey.

“It might be more fun than you think.”