Ch.19I Made a Mistake, So I Should Apologize (2)

Carmilla’s Mother.

Ms. Lagerita.

Unlike her damned brat of a daughter, she was an extremely sensible intellectual.

“I hear my daughter is the cause of this incident.”

“That’s correct. If you don’t believe me, based on the testimonies of the children who were in the classroom…”

“No need. I’ve already assessed the situation. I’m truly sorry.”

“…Pardon?”

As if distinguishing between public and private matters.

First, she apologized without hesitation for Carmilla’s inappropriate behavior.

Then she stated that they would take full responsibility for the incident.

The three of us were dumbfounded at how easily the situation was resolved.

“Carmilla, what are you doing?”

“…!”

“You need to apologize.”

She could have at least given a sympathetic look to her daughter whose face was all bruised up, but I suppose you could call her strict.

Hearing her mother’s words, Carmilla stood up and, with a deeply dejected face, bowed deeply at the waist and apologized to us.

“I… I’m sowwy…”

“Uh… it’s okay… these things happen…”

“Hey! After what you did to someone else’s boyfriend’s face! You should at least take one hit from Janghoon!”

Meanwhile, our young lady.

Either she wasn’t fully appeased yet or she was demanding more apologies, as she raised her voice.

In a whisper.

“Miss, I’m fine now…”

“No way! It looks like she won’t even get expelled, so let’s intimidate her now and make her Janghoon’s lackey!”

Miss Hoshino…

School isn’t a place where you establish hierarchies like that.

Did she read some weird webtoon or something?

She even winked as if she were an expert on these matters despite never having attended school herself.

As I was about to tell her to please just stay quiet for a moment,

“That’s right.”

“Huh?”

“…What?”

With the same expression as when I first saw her.

Ms. Lagerita, wearing a kind smile, was nodding in agreement with something, though I wasn’t sure what.

Then.

“So your name is… Kang Janghoon, was it?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Well, Janghoon. I heard you lost some teeth after being hit by my daughter. How many fell out?”

All of a sudden?

What could this be about?

Is she planning to pay compensation?

“I lost about one tooth.”

Since it was a baby tooth anyway, I hadn’t mentioned it as it wouldn’t require implant costs.

But I never expected the other party to ask about it first.

What’s going on?

…Even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, I told the truth to the one who was at fault.

Then.

“I see. Then you can do the same to her.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Huh?”

“What?”

“……”

The atmosphere in the principal’s office, which had been calming down, instantly froze over like ice.

“…What did you say?”

Did I mishear?

She said I could do the same.

What exactly does she mean by doing the same?

Surely she doesn’t literally mean I should beat her up and knock out her tooth.

Come to think of it, the distinctive monster smell that had been emanating from Ms. Lagerita’s body had long disappeared.

When I first met her, there was a terrible stench, but now it was gone.

‘…What’s going on?’

A person who smelled like a monster.

And that person just gave me permission to do to her daughter exactly what I had suffered.

Of course, I wasn’t pleased about this.

Rather, it was such an unexpected and bizarre situation that it sent chills down my spine.

That’s when it happened.

“Ah, it seems you don’t want to do it yourself.”

Ms. Lagerita interpreted my stunned reaction in her own way.

She then stood up and, still wearing that kind expression, grabbed the head of her trembling daughter who was staring at the floor.

That is, she seized Carmilla’s back of the head and then—

CRACK!

“Wh-what?!”

“Holy…”

“H-hey!”

With chilling lack of hesitation, she slammed the child’s face down onto the table in front of her.

The face that was already covered in wounds from being beaten by Miss Hoshino.

Then, as she searched for something among the light bloodstains scattered on the table.

“Ah, I found the tooth!”

While we all watched in horror, she showed me her daughter’s tooth with a bright smile.

“Now with this, both Janghoon and Princess Hoshino will forgive my daughter, right?”

“Uh, umm…”

Forgiveness my ass.

Even for me, who had lived over 30 years including my past life, it was a scene that made my knees weak.

Then Carmilla lifted her head from the table and began bleeding from both nostrils again.

As if accustomed to it, she wiped her nose without even a groan of pain. Facing her, I wondered how much more shocked our Miss Hoshino must have been.

“Are… are you okay?”

“…Yes.”

A girl who had just entered elementary school had her face bloodied, not by a stranger, but by her own family.

Perhaps because I witnessed it firsthand.

“…I forgive you.”

“Hehe, thank you, Janghoon.”

I wanted to end this situation as quickly as possible, so I said I forgave her.

Immediately, Ms. Lagerita smiled brightly and once again bowed in apology with her daughter in front of all of us, pretending to be a caring mother…

“Let’s go.”

“…Yes.”

And so Carmilla, with lifeless fish eyes, was led out of the principal’s office by her mother’s hand.

***

Carmilla sat in the passenger seat on the way home.

Sitting next to her mother who was driving, the child remained anxious despite all the problems having been resolved.

The reason was obviously to her left.

She was seeing her mother since lunchtime, when normally she would only see her in the evening.

“We’ll say your injuries were caused by a monster. You understand what that means, right?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll set everything up. You just need to act the part, understand?”

“Yes, I understand, Mother.”

Even while terrified, she responds promptly to her mother’s words without a second’s hesitation, just as she was trained.

But if they arrive home, she’ll be dragged to the “basement” for training and punishment.

To become an excellent hero…

No, to become the strongest hero.

As Carmilla’s eyes grew increasingly dull with fear, that’s when it happened.

“I’m surprised enough that you caused a scene in front of people, but there’s an unexpected figure at the school.”

“An unexpected… figure?”

“Princess Hoshino. Did she also enroll at Almighty Elementary like you?”

Despite her mother not even looking at her, Carmilla answered quickly.

“No. From what I know, Princess Hoshino only came to school this time because of that boy I hit.”

“Is that so? Then that boy you hit… Janghoon must be the princess’s weakness.”

“…What?”

Immediately after, she heard something unbelievable.

“Use him as ‘bait.'”

“B-bait…?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. That princess will be a major obstacle to you reaching the top. So we need to cut off the problem now, while she’s still immature.”

Cut off the problem.

In other words, kill her.

Normally, she would have responded immediately to her mother Lagerita’s words, but…

“Ah, umm…”

Faced with what was essentially an order to commit murder, Carmilla broke into a cold sweat and couldn’t answer right away.

“…Answer me.”

“Eek!”

When her mother finally looked at her and their eyes met, she nodded vigorously with chattering teeth.

“I-I’ll try! S-somehow…”

“Good. I’ll tell you exactly how to do it. You just need to do as you’re told.”

“……Yes.”

Kill someone.

So now I’m not just being thrown among monsters, but I’m going to kill people too.

However, Carmilla didn’t even have time to feel sorry for herself.

Ring ring ring.

The sound of a phone ringing in Lagerita’s pocket.

She immediately answered the call and suddenly stopped the car.

“A monster has appeared in E City.”

“A monster?”

A sudden monster appearance.

After informing her daughter that the location was E City where they currently were, she gestured for Carmilla to prepare to get out of the car.

“I just got a call from the Hero Association. The monster that appeared is the ‘Alcohol Monster,’ classified as danger level Semi-3.”

“Alcohol Monster…”

“Fortunately, it’s right in the middle of the road we’re traveling on.”

“…So I have to fight right now?”

“Of course. The broadcasting station will arrive in about 10 minutes, so Carmilla, don’t defeat the monster right away. Stall for time.”

The car started moving again.

Carmilla unfastened her seatbelt in the passenger seat and was silent for a moment.

But then, hugging her truly painful body, she gathered her courage.

“M-Mother… but I’m in too much pain wight now.”

“……”

“I fought too much with Princess Hoshino, and I’m bleeding a little, and I think I have a fever…!”

She pleaded earnestly that she was really struggling right now.

Her face stung, her mind was foggy, and above all, touching her slightly feverish head, she begged to rest just this once.

But.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Naturally, all that awaited a disobedient child was merciless violence.

After being hit for about a minute.

“I-I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

The confidence she had shown at school was completely gone as Carmilla begged with her hands clasped together.

With tears flowing over the dried blood on her face, she stopped saying anything her mother might dislike.

Finally, at the scene.

“Good. We should see the Alcohol Monster soon.”

“…!”

The Alcohol Monster.

According to records, it was a pot-bellied giant at least 5 meters tall.

Imagining the monster’s appearance.

‘I-I’m scared… someone please help me…!’

The time had really come.

“I’ll be going now…”

Forcing her increasingly feverish body to move, Carmilla got out of the car as her mother ordered.

And then.

BOOM.

“Huh?”

Something fell directly in front of her.

The object that fell from the sky with a ground-shaking impact was none other than the face of a drunkard.

More precisely, it was the severed head of what appeared to be the Alcohol Monster.

Thud.

Standing there dumbfounded, looking at the enemy that was already a corpse upon her arrival.

The being who presumably defeated the Alcohol Monster in her place.

A humanoid monster with more brilliant golden hair than hers and wearing a dark red bone mask landed in front of her.

It must be a monster, but why?

“……Daddy?”

Rather than feeling danger.

Seeing Kang Janghoon who had appeared as a monster, the person Carmilla thought of was her other parent.

Her father, who had been her only support in the past, whom she could no longer see.

Thump. Thump.