Ch.17Chapter 4. Restraint (2)

I’ve never seen anyone who was actually good at fighting among those who came to bully me.

First of all, no one has brought a guy along to beat me up yet. I’m not sure if I’ve been lucky, or if they just haven’t felt the need to go that far.

Hayun doesn’t know about these incidents, and even if the company knew, they’d have no reason to help me, so it’s definitely not because someone’s backing me up.

Even though my job involves “fighting,” there’s a big problem when the weight difference is too significant. From that perspective, I suppose I should consider myself fortunate.

Next, those who come to threaten me usually don’t know how to fight at all.

Whether they exercise or learn martial arts… I’m not sure if they think it’s not helpful in life or what, but none of the people trying to bully me have been experts yet. That’s also fortunate. Even though I fight magical girls, I don’t rely solely on my physical abilities.

So when you eliminate all that, what’s left are just people who try to make you kneel using numbers and intimidation.

They throw the first punch, and while the person who got hit is stunned, they beat them up.

The type who feel a thrill making someone kneel on the ground.

“Eek…!”

But there’s no way I’d get hit by punches thrown by people like that.

Despite appearances, this body has dodged light beams before. Even if I had suit assistance, the body remembers the movements.

She swung her palm at my face, probably trying to slap me, but I leaned back slightly to avoid her hand.

A kick came flying, but it wasn’t particularly fast either. I dodged to the side, and she stumbled as she put her foot down.

I could easily push her over with a slight nudge of my foot, but I didn’t go that far.

“I’d prefer if you didn’t hit my face, though.”

If my face gets hit, Hayun will definitely worry tomorrow.

Well, I don’t plan on getting hit anywhere, face or body.

I don’t plan on hitting them either.

I glanced up slightly.

There was a camera attached to the streetlight. Next to it, “Security Camera” was written in red letters.

The alley we were in was a bit away from the “rich neighborhood.”

It wasn’t quite a slum yet, but there were a few paths that would be scary to climb alone after dark. Even if it wasn’t where the rich lived, it was still a place where people who could vote lived, so they paid some attention to it.

Besides, since it was a path leading up to the poorer neighborhood, it was naturally on an incline.

As I kept dodging and stalling for time, the speed of the girls swinging their hands and feet at me noticeably slowed.

As I gradually backed up toward the higher ground, they ended up following me uphill while throwing punches and kicks.

Hitting someone already takes a lot of energy, but doing it while climbing uphill naturally makes them tired.

“Hey, you… stop right there.”

“I am standing still. Keep coming.”

I taunted the girls whose faces had turned bright red despite the winter cold, exhaling heavily.

This slope gets steeper the higher you go. By the end, it’s as steep as the entrance to a decent hiking trail. It’s kind of amazing that delivery and mail still come here regularly.

Seeing three girls sweating in the middle of winter was somewhat amusing.

Did they not think about turning back halfway because of their pride?

“See? I told you she’d be easy,” I teased, and the face of the girl who seemed to be the leader turned even redder.

Is this what they mean by sparks flying from someone’s eyes?

“You, I’m going to fucking kill you.”

Her shouting voice had lowered. Speaking through gritted teeth while breathing heavily, she looked quite intimidating.

I gauged the distance between where I was standing and where they were.

The girls slowly walked up toward me. They seemed determined to finish me off today, their tempers flaring.

The alley is quite narrow. If three people stand side by side to close the distance, maybe I should start running about now.

With that thought, I got into position.

“Wait—!”

Just as I was about to dash between them, I suddenly heard someone shout.

Both I and the three girls trying to bully me turned our heads simultaneously.

There stood a hero.

…Of course, I’m joking.

There was just a strange person with their face covered by a mask. The mask wasn’t even proper—it was just a scarf spread out to wrap around their face.

Charitably speaking, they looked like a fundamentalist terrorist; less charitably, they resembled a homeless person wrapped in a burlap sack.

Thankfully, it was winter, so their skin color wasn’t visible at all.

If blue skin had been showing, it would have been a serious problem on many levels.

“What’s that supposed to be?”

One of the girls muttered.

And my attention completely shifted from the girls to that person standing on someone’s garden wall.

“Hey, wait!”

I shouted with all my might as I saw them about to jump down toward the girls.

“Huh?”

At my sudden call, the person who was about to jump down turned their head toward me, and their jumping posture faltered.

Their body tilted in a strange direction.

“Ah.”

This is bad.

I closed my eyes.

“Eek!?”

I heard the girls scream, followed by a thud of something hitting.

When I opened my eyes, that unidentified—well, not quite unidentified, but anyway, that hero-cosplaying person had fallen on top of the three girls.

Oh, this is trouble.

I quickly considered two options.

First: Leave and run away.

Second: Take that person with me and run away.

Honestly, the first option was incredibly tempting.

I might get in trouble trying to help them, and above all, I was annoyed that they’d interfered with the plan I’d carefully set up.

I hadn’t intended to lay a hand on those girls. If I fought back or subdued them, it would put me at a disadvantage.

So I was just planning to sprint down this hill and make the girls following me trip…

…Could that be considered “assault”?

Earth is still a protected underdeveloped planet, so things get complicated. An alien from the Galactic Federation might enjoy some extraterritorial rights, but for that person who’s practically an illegal tourist, it could cause many problems.

So if I left them behind and they got taken to the police station, they’d be deported without exception.

“…Ah, whatever.”

I quickly ran over and grabbed the wrist of that person who had just managed to get up.

Then I ran.

“Uh, huh?”

They seemed confused that I was pulling them along, despite being the one who jumped in.

I ran with all my might.

Though they still didn’t seem to understand the situation, the Earthaboo followed me, running hard while I held their hand.

I heard someone shouting something behind us, but I ignored it.

*

“Haa, haa, haa…”

After running for quite a while, we arrived at a neighborhood park.

It’s not a particularly large place. There’s a stream flowing down from the mountain, and next to it is a park with a pavilion and a short walking path.

I looked back at the road.

No one was following us.

“Phew.”

I exhaled deeply and sat down on the pavilion. Usually, this pavilion was almost occupied by neighborhood elderly, but perhaps because winter hadn’t ended yet, no one else was in sight.

“What, what was that just now?”

“No, that’s what I want to know.”

When the Earthaboo, who had just caught their breath, asked while unwrapping the scarf from their face, I frowned.

“Where did you suddenly come from?”

“Huh? Oh, that, I was out buying dinner.”

As they said that, the Earthaboo was indeed holding a plastic bag. Thinking back, they were probably holding it while standing on the wall too.

“…Ah.”

Looking inside the bag, they immediately became dejected. The antennae on their head drooped instantly.

I also looked inside.

There were cup noodles in it. All crushed, though.

Come to think of it, they hadn’t had work for a while. I receive something like an allowance, and all my meals are taken care of at the orphanage and school, so it’s not a problem for me. But for someone who has to pay rent and all sorts of utility bills, it was literally their daily bread.

“…I guess I can boil it in a pot.”

Watching the Earthaboo laugh with a “haha,” I slightly frowned.

“Why did you come out then?”

I still hadn’t heard the full story.

“Well, I heard what sounded like someone being bullied.”

“So you came to help?”

“Well… since it was you?”

I ran my hand over my face.

Seriously, what kind of evil force combatant acts like this?

Well, I’m also a bit strange, doing what I do to earn money for the orphanage.

I sighed deeply.

“Follow me.”

“Huh? Where to?”

“Just come along.”

When I started walking first, the Earthaboo obediently followed behind.

I entered the nearest convenience store.

*

To be honest, I don’t really think it was my fault, but they were trying to help me.

And their dinner got crushed because of it.

Feeling a bit sorry for them, I went to the convenience store and bought new cup noodles.

While I was at it, I also bought a small can of coffee.

“Kehe~”

As a result, we were sitting in the pavilion again.

Since the Earthaboo insisted they “didn’t want to drink alone,” I ended up buying another can. For the record, that extra can was bought with the Earthaboo’s money. They insisted on paying for at least that one can.

The Earthaboo was holding a blue can, and I was holding a warmed version of the same blue can.

The crushed cup noodles became our snack.

Actually, I didn’t eat any. It’s not that I have an aversion to eating crushed ramen, but I didn’t particularly want to eat crunchy ramen mixed with spicy and salty powder alongside coffee.

The Earthaboo, however, was eating it like it was a side dish to soju. Their face even seemed a bit flushed.

I suddenly noticed the “No Drinking” sign attached to the pavilion.

“This is it, this is the life.”

“Isn’t it a bit odd for someone your age to say that?”

I asked, thinking they were definitely imitating something they’d seen in a Korean drama.

“It’s because of my age that I say things like this. We can’t do this in my country.”

Well, because it’s illegal.

I sipped my coffee. The sweet taste unique to canned coffee seemed like it wouldn’t go well with ramen no matter how I thought about it.

“…”

After watching the Earthaboo put ramen noodles into their mouth with an incredibly happy expression, I asked:

“Do you like living here?”

“Huh? Yes, I do. Why else would I choose to live here?”

“What do you like about it?”

At my question, the Earthaboo blinked at me.

“Well… because it’s a different country?”

I mean, I kind of understand, but…

Come to think of it, I know very little about the Earthaboo’s planet. Sometimes they tell me things without me asking, but I’ve never really tried to learn about it myself.

I’ve never thought about wanting to go to another planet.

Seeing how the Earthaboo moves around on Earth without any special life support equipment, it seems they don’t have health issues here, but conversely, there’s no guarantee I’d be fine on their planet. There might be something that’s a minimal toxin for them but fatal for me.

But even setting all that aside, wouldn’t there be quite significant cultural differences?

Seeing my unconvinced expression, the Earthaboo scratched their cheek a bit embarrassedly.

“Well, just… Here I can get caffeine anywhere, and I can watch my favorite dramas or movies anytime. And it’s good for watching the latest movies, right?”

That’s true.

That’s true, but…

Somehow, looking at them like this, I get the impression they don’t want to talk about it.

Having thought that far, I decided not to ask any more.

Crunch, crunch.

The sound of them chewing ramen was quite explicit next to me.

Watching them, strangely, the crushed ramen looked appetizing.

I picked one up and put it in my mouth to chew.

Then I took a sip of coffee.

I immediately regretted eating it.

*

The next day.

As always, I headed to school on the bus with Hayun.

I sat down without much thought.

Ignoring whether other kids were having pleasant conversations or not, I was about to take out my textbook from my desk when—

Slam.

The classroom door opened with a loud noise. Actually, it sounded more like a “bang” than a “slam.”

Startled, I looked toward the source of the noise and saw an adult with a flushed face.

A rather large woman.

“Ma’am!”

And I heard our homeroom teacher shouting from behind her.

Looking closely, the woman was wearing a necklace. The design was quite sophisticated, but the expression on her face wasn’t very elegant, creating a significant imbalance.

Her clothes were the same. Even without knowing much about design, it was obvious from the large logo of a luxury brand on her dress. On top of that was what must have once been the fur of some wild animal.

The handbag she was holding was surely an extremely expensive item as well.

Her eyes, which were scanning the classroom, met mine directly.

Although I’d never seen her before, I could guess who she might be.

Hmm.

I hadn’t expected this.

There have been quite a few kids who’ve tried to bully me, but this is the first time a parent has come.

Was I just lucky until now?

Or maybe this year started with bad luck.

The woman, who had honorably recognized me, approached me without hesitation.

Students in her path slightly moved aside. It wasn’t so much to bully me as it was their thinking that there was nothing good about getting involved with that woman.

Someone was recording with a smartphone.

Could that be useful evidence later?

I stood up. Hayun, who was sitting in front of me, also stood up when she saw me rise.

The face of the woman approaching me was about to burst with redness. Her eyes were so wide open that it was almost scary, as if they might pop out.

Her daughter doesn’t resemble her mother at all. I don’t know which of the three girls from yesterday is her daughter, but none of them looked like her.

I thought she would start shouting as soon as she got close, but breaking my expectation, her hand went up first.

Looking at the smartphones recording us, I seriously considered whether to take the hit or dodge it.

I should probably dodge.

Anyone can upload a video with any reason attached.

If they upload it with a title like “School Violence Justice,” it could be disadvantageous for me. Seeing the kids recording and snickering, I didn’t want to act according to their intentions either.

So I fixed my gaze on that thick hand, and then,

Thump.

That hand didn’t reach me and stopped midway.

“…”

Hayun was looking at the woman with an expression that seemed to ask what she was doing.

The hand that was being swung at me had stopped midway. Hayun was blocking it too lightly with one hand.

For reference, she didn’t “grab” it. Smart as she is, Hayun seemed to know that if the woman got hurt, it could be seriously disadvantageous for her.

“Excuse me, ma’am.”

The voice that came from Hayun’s mouth was very polite and calm.

“May I ask what this is about?”

Seeing that calm face, some reason seemed to return to the woman’s head, and her eyes wavered a bit.

“This girl—”

Stare.

Hayun looked steadily at the woman pointing her finger at me.

Without blinking once.

Oh, this is a bit scary for me too.

The tip of my finger trembled slightly.

It’s not simply that Hayun being angry is scary. The woman in front of me isn’t that frightening either.

But, this current situation.

It’s a situation where Hayun might find out about what happened to me yesterday.

“This child.”

Whether she sensed something from Hayun’s serious expression, or finally remembered who Hayun was and what organization she belonged to, the woman’s voice regained a bit of reason.

“She injured my daughter yesterday.”

“…”

Hayun looked at me.

Her expression suggested she didn’t believe the woman’s words at all.

‘That’s not true, right?’

It felt like I heard those words, and I almost made a groaning sound.

What should I say here?

If I say I did it, then it becomes something I actually did. There was a security CCTV, but the problem is that I wasn’t the only one captured on it.

If a lawsuit is really filed and the police start looking for the “assailant,” problems could arise from there.

Seeing my silence, the woman became more aggressive, though I’m not sure what she thought.

“Because of that incident yesterday, my child’s ribs were broken in three places! Do you know that?!”

No, I didn’t know.

Honestly, I thought they got what they deserved.

They probably would have healed in a day if they’d gone to a treatment center, but it seems those kids decided to stay in the hospital.

They probably received treatment as well.

“Jieun?”

Hayun called my name with a somewhat perplexed voice.

“…”

After a moment of contemplation, I exhaled deeply.

“So what?” was the response I gave.