Chapter 126

R‌ҽa‌ɗ ​οn​ ‌ΚatReａｄinǵＣａf̈e​

Is there anyone in the world without a story?

Everyone carries at least one story in their heart that they can’t casually share with others.

The same goes for the troublemakers of Class D.

For example, the reason Regina became twisted was her family.

Her supernatural ability is Drugs.

Everything secreted from her body is a drug.

Of course, strictly speaking, the components are different from real drugs.

But the fact that they have similar effects remains unchanged.

Consuming them brings extreme pleasure but with a high risk of addiction.

If it were low-concentration drugs, it might be different, but even a tiny amount of a deliberately made drug is dangerous.

Back when Regina was still young.

One day, when her parents were drowning in despair due to their failed business and mountains of debt.

Regina awakened her supernatural ability.

When a supernatural ability is awakened, it must be reported to the state.

But her parents, noticing the peculiarity of her ability, decided to keep it a secret.

They secretly sold Regina’s drugs on the black market.

Young Regina knew nothing.

She was just a child who believed everything her parents said.

What could a child under ten years old possibly understand?

Regina firmly believed her parents and thought of the drugs as something like a habit-forming but easily shrugged off indulgence.

She made the drugs as requested, and her parents sold the packaged drugs to addicts.

The profits they gained made Regina’s life, which had been filled with hunger, much more comfortable.

At first, Regina had no complaints. She was happy just not being hungry anymore and being able to eat as much chocolate cake as she wanted.

But as she grew older and her mind developed, Regina became greedy.

Even though she worked hard to make the drugs, most of the profits were taken by her parents.

If I sell them myself, all the profits will go into my pocket, right?

Then I can have all the chocolates, dolls, comic books, and anything else I want.

After all, drugs are just something that makes you feel good for a while, like cigarettes, so it’s not a big deal, right?

Thinking this way, Regina started selling her drugs to her school friends at a low price.

It was a decent way to earn pocket money.

Until her friends became addicted to her drugs and fell apart.

Another troublemaker from Class D, Seri, had a similar story.

Her twisted way of thinking also stemmed from family issues.

Seri’s parents didn’t get along well. Love and marriage are different. It was an unfortunate result of not knowing that.

Watching her mom and dad fight every day, Seri thought.

I wish they could get along.

I wish they wouldn’t fight.

I wish they wouldn’t hit each other.

I wish they wouldn’t shout.

I want to be loved.

Seri awakened her supernatural ability.

Or perhaps she was born with it.

Seri, who was largely neglected by her dysfunctional parents.

Not eating even one meal a day was normal, and sometimes she went without food for three or four days.

Even though she received no parental protection from infancy.

Even though an ordinary child would have died of malnutrition.

Seri stubbornly survived.

It’s the tenacious vitality unique to supernaturals.

She hypnotized her parents.

To stop fighting. To get along. To take care of her.

Then, warmth came to the house that had always been filled with coldness for the first time.

I’m happy.

No more broken dishes or windows, no more sharp screams. No more slapping out of irritation, no more pulling hair or locking her in the closet. They didn’t hesitate to praise her for even the smallest things.

Seri felt happiness for the first time.

So she started to think.

This is the right way to use hypnosis.

After that, Seri indiscriminately used hypnosis on people she thought needed help. From her perspective, it was out of goodwill. It was an act of helping, just like she did with her parents.

The problem is that it wasn’t the same from the recipients’ perspective.

A supernatural ability that can control others at will.

How unsettling and terrifying is that?

Even though Seri helped, instead of gratitude, she felt great disappointment from the people who avoided her.

Why? I helped you, didn’t I? It was a bit forceful, but everything turned out fine, so isn’t it okay?

She even wondered if she had done something wrong.

But remembering her now caring parents, she shook her head.

No, I’m not wrong.

They just don’t understand yet.

Yes, that must be it.

If I try harder, they’ll understand.

Even as her body grew, Seri’s mind remained stuck in that time.

The last student of Class D, Carlos, was in a different situation from the other two.

He was from an orphanage.

And he was once a member of the Supernatural Liberation Front, the Family.

At the time, the Family, which had been brought down by the Celestial Corps, committed atrocities by kidnapping young supernaturals in hopes of making a comeback.

They aimed to indoctrinate and brainwash these children, who couldn’t yet discern right from wrong, into becoming new members of the Liberation Front.

Carlos, a talented orphan without a guardian, was an easy target for the Family.

The Hunting Dog.

A dog trained for hunting.

It was the name of the unit Carlos belonged to and his nickname.

He was a hunting dog raised by the Family, a sharp dagger, and a ferocious wolf.

“You’ll have to come with me.”

Carlos boldly declared his intent to kidnap me.

His blue-gray eyes flickered as he glared at me.

Strange? Lucia isn’t prey, so why is the Hunting Dog trying to bite her?

Carlos approached with large strides, as if he wouldn’t listen to any objections.

He was much taller than me and had a robust build, making it feel like a giant wall was approaching.

“Hey, what’s your deal?”

I always walk to school with Alice.

It seemed they had switched briefly, as Frey stepped forward with a furrowed brow.

Standing between me and Carlos, she spoke in an annoyed voice.

“Who just follows someone they don’t know when they say ‘come with me’? I’m busy, so can you just leave? Or do I have to make you leave?”

Her tone was fierce, but Carlos didn’t even look at Frey.

His blue-gray eyes, more like a wolf’s than a human’s, were fixed solely on me.

Frey’s brow furrowed even deeper at being ignored.

As if in sync with her emotions, a hot heat began to gather in her crimson eyes.

“Calm down first.”

If I left her like this, it seemed like a fight would break out, so I quickly pulled Frey back.

Frey has grown at a much faster rate than in the novel.

If it came to a fight, her chances of winning were very high.

But whether she could win easily was another matter.

Carlos.

The strongest in Class D.

Class D, though small with only three members, is filled with geniuses.

Among them, Carlos is undoubtedly the best, and his combat prowess rivals Eugene’s.

In the novel, he was Eugene’s rival, alongside Leo.

Eugene has opened the door to awakening, and Leo is catching up to Eugene faster than I expected.

So, I can’t be optimistic about Carlos either.

I don’t know what his intentions are in approaching me, but that’s something I’ll find out soon.

“Hi, nice to meet you. Can I ask who you are?”

I already knew, but since this was our first meeting, I asked out of courtesy.

Carlos remained silent for a moment, then opened his dry lips.

“Carlos.”

“Yeah, as you already know, I’m Lucia. This is Frey—no—Alice.”

“I see.”

“Why do you want me to come with you?”

My actions would depend on his answer. I was already suspicious of Regina and Seri’s questionable behavior. Now, Carlos from Class D suddenly wants to take me somewhere? It’s more than just suspicious.

“I was asked.”

Carlos answered calmly.

There was no sign that he was hiding anything.

“Asked? By whom?”

“My younger sibling.”

“Younger sibling?”

Carlos is an orphan.

His parents are unknown, and naturally, he has no blood relatives.

But Carlos has a family not bound by blood.

The children from the orphanage.

When Carlos says younger sibling, he’s referring to them.

“Why does your younger sibling want me to come?”

“They said they wanted to meet you.”

“…”

So, why do they want to meet me?

I wish he wouldn’t omit the subject and object.

I already know what kind of person he is from prior knowledge, but Frey doesn’t.

Carlos’s attitude of not giving a proper reason and answering vaguely was clearly irritating Frey. 

If I stepped aside, she’d probably shoot a heat ray at Carlos’s face right away. Frey’s patience is thin, but not usually this bad. Is she in a bad mood today?

Even if she shot a heat ray, Carlos wouldn’t get hurt, but we already caused a big scene yesterday.

If she caused another commotion with her powers, Frey might face some kind of penalty.

“Why do they want to meet me?”

“That’s…”

Carlos furrowed his brows into a 八 shape.

He nodded his head a couple of times and gave me an intense look.

Then, he crossed his arms and slightly lifted his chin.

“…”

Now he’s completely omitting his words.

He’s probably explaining everything in his mind, but what good does that do?

Lucia doesn’t have mind-reading, you know?

The training instructor from the Family might have had mind-reading, but I don’t.

It’s a habit from his days in the Family, where even his thoughts were monitored.

Carlos hasn’t been able to shake off his old habits even after being rescued by the Celestial Corps.

That’s why he acts so uniquely, but it’s just frustrating for the person dealing with him.

“…That’s why you’ll have to come with me. Understood?”

“Not at all.”

“Hey, are you messing with me?!”

Finally unable to hold back, Frey gritted her teeth.

She’s going to ruin her teeth like that.

Wait, now’s not the time to worry about that.

I quickly slipped my hand under Frey’s armpit.

Pulling her up, I lifted her light, feather-like body.

In an instant, she was dangling in the air and ended up in my arms, looking at me with a bewildered expression.

“Don’t get mad. Leave it to me.”

“But…”

“Hehe.”

I rubbed my face against Frey’s soft cheeks. The soft, squishy cheeks instantly melted away my frustration. Frey, who had been kicking her legs in protest, sighed and surrendered in a subdued voice.

“…Do as you please.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

Alright, Frey is subdued.

Now, only Carlos remains.

But when I looked up, Carlos was already turning his back and walking away without hesitation.

“Huh? Didn’t you say we should go together?”

“After school, I’ll come to get you.”

Wait, I didn’t agree yet?

Can you not just decide on your own?

“What the hell?”

Frey muttered in disbelief, sounding utterly exasperated.

She seemed to be debating whether to shoot a heat ray at the back of his head, so I stroked her head to calm her down.

“Lucia, just ignore him. There’s no need to listen to a lunatic like that.”

I’d like to, but he’s definitely going to come back.

Besides, it’s still a mystery why Carlos’s younger sibling wants to meet me.

Why would a child from the orphanage, who I’ve never met, want to see me?

Holding Frey, I pondered for a while, but of course, without any clues, I couldn’t find an answer.

Yeah, I still don’t get it.

Staying here won’t give me any answers, so I’ll think about it later.

Right now, it’s time to go to school.

First, I need to avoid being late.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Carlos tried his best to explain.

The problem is that he only did it in his head.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
A very straightforward (not) kidnapping!