Ch.29Now, Our School (1)

“Hoshino, have you been okay all this time?”

“Oh, Mommaaaaa-!!”

The Okami family’s territory has been completely restored.

And by some coincidence, Lady Makoto also happened to wake up at the same time.

The family head who had always been lying in the hospital room like she was dead.

Perhaps she was overjoyed that her mother who had been like that had awakened.

Miss Hoshino immediately ran to the hospital bed and threw herself into Lady Makoto’s arms.

It was a heartwarming sight, even for me as a servant.

And then came the unbelievable news.

“Hoshino, you’re… going to school?”

“Yes! It seemed a bit strange to just send Janghun alone, so I decided to go along too!”

My daughter who was a complete hikikomori!

Going to an educational facility crowded with children her own age of her own free will!

Thumbs up.

While hugging Hoshino.

The family head secretly gave me a thumbs up behind her daughter’s back, as if to say “well done.”

‘Well done, Janghun.’

‘Not at all, Lady.’

We finished our conversation just by mouthing the words.

She said she had already submitted the school enrollment documents.

“Um, Miss, then the bus…”

“No way. If we take that, there will be other girls riding besides you and me.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“We’ll take our car like usual! Forever!”

The next day.

Returning to our daily routine at the Okami household, we changed into our school uniforms and got into the limousine.

Just like her usual princess attire, Miss Hoshino looked as cute as a well-made fox doll even in her school uniform.

“Miss.”

“What?”

“The school uniform suits you well.”

“?! R-Really? …Hehe. Then maybe I should wear it often?”

“I would very much like you to wear that outfit whenever you go to school.”

“Hehehe… Alright, if Janghun says so, I will!”

It would certainly stand out if she wore a kimono while everyone else was in uniform.

So I was smoothly persuading Miss as we safely headed to Almighty Elementary School in C City…

Tremble tremble.

“Huh?”

…or so I thought.

Until I saw Miss starting to shake like a vibrating phone as we got closer to more children her age.

“M-Miss?! Are you okay?”

“Y-Yes! I-I’m f-f-f-fine…!”

Wait, I thought she’d be fine now that she had taken down the Sword Monster?

Or was this stage still too much for Miss, since she had been a hikikomori even before becoming corrupted?

“Miss Hoshino. If it’s too difficult, you can just observe from the car today.”

I told Hoshino out of concern.

After all, children who are this shy shouldn’t be pushed too hard.

If I just threw her in among peers in hopes of making her socialize quickly, it could potentially trigger a panic attack.

When she beat up Carmilla before, her mind was probably so consumed with anger that she didn’t notice her surroundings at all.

So in this state, it was still…

“No.”

Just as my mind was about to conclude it was impossible.

“I want to go to school.”

Miss Hoshino firmly grasped my hand with both of hers, as if asking me to guide her.

“All the other kids go to school normally.”

“Miss…”

“And as the future head of the Okami family… I-I can’t give up in a place like this!”

Her breathing was still rough.

But Miss’s golden eyes were looking at me more clearly than ever before.

“Miss… you’re amazing!”

“Yes!”

“I’ll support you all the way!”

“Yes!!”

A hikikomori Miss trying to change herself.

Indeed, “social anxiety” was a major weakness in hero activities.

In the original story, Hoshino rose to S-rank through skill alone, but her ability to deal with others was at a negative level, leading to a miserable life of always being an outsider.

But with me by her side, that story from the original “Monster Frontline” would never unfold.

Because as Miss’s loyal servant, I would support her forever.

“Shall we go together, Miss?”

“Yes, let’s go!”

And so, hand in hand with me, Miss Hoshino entered the classroom with a pounding heart.

She soon saw it.

Before the unexpectedly enthusiastic welcome from the students.

“Janghun! Please accept this-sawa!”

Carmilla quickly thrust a gift box toward me as soon as we opened the classroom door.

Her surprise “gift operation.”

“Shit…”

“Oh, you are…?”

“Miss! You shouldn’t use bad language!”

***

Carmilla had completely changed after meeting her real mother with the help of the monster mister.

Unlike in the original story where she died, she seemed to be growing into a good kid, perhaps because I had eliminated the source of all evil—radiation—just the other day.

“I’m sorry for hitting you when we first met-sawa.”

“Huh? Oh… it’s okay. These things happen.”

“No! Even if Janghun forgives me, I can’t forgive myself-sawa!”

I’m speechless.

Carmilla was severely criticizing herself like that.

While I was nodding approvingly, thinking that the child had developed a sense of shame.

“By the way, what’s this?”

The gift box I had received without thinking.

Inside was a personal safety alarm coated in pure gold.

“It’s a safety alarm-sawa!”

“A safety… alarm?”

“Yes! Even though Janghun is tough, you’re still a boy, right? So I thought your personality might get you into trouble someday-sawa!”

“Oh… is that so?”

Oh my.

She didn’t have to go this far.

At first, I was going to decline out of embarrassment, considering my original age was 37.

But when I realized this safety alarm was made of pure gold, I gratefully accepted it—truly the mindset of someone from a capitalist country.

‘How much would this be worth if I sold it as an adult?’

A 100kg pure gold toad and now a pure gold safety alarm.

If I could clear all the stories of “Monster Frontline,” my future wouldn’t just be bright—it would be dazzling.

A rainbow-colored life, as they say.

As I was chuckling and having a pleasant conversation with Carmilla…

Screeeech.

“……”

“……”

At Almighty Elementary School, there weren’t assigned seats like in regular universities.

So Carmilla and I could sit side by side.

And Miss Hoshino, who was between us, was looking back and forth at the two of us laughing together with a very displeased expression.

“…If you’ve given a gift, shouldn’t you look away from each other?”

“Miss, that’s a bit harsh to say to someone you just met as a friend…”

“Hmph! Friend? What kind of friend pulls out their friend’s teeth?”

“Ouch!”

Come on, it was just baby teeth that fell out anyway, so it’s fine!

Despite the fact that I had forgiven her, Miss kept bringing up Carmilla’s dark history and triggering her PTSD.

“At least she didn’t give you food.”

“…? Why not?”

“Well, because our Janghun can’t chew properly since his teeth were knocked out by ‘someone.'”

“Double ouch!”

Um… it’s not that bad, really!

But even as I tried to say something, I couldn’t help but close my mouth when I saw the beast-like pupils looking back at me.

“Uuu…”

Still, it seemed too pitiful to just stand by and watch Carmilla, who had gone to the trouble of preparing a gift.

“Miss, by that logic, you also knocked out a few of Carmilla’s teeth.”

“?! T-That’s…!”

“And you knocked out more than I did, so let’s call it even.”

“Janghun…! I-If you put it that way, I’m grateful-sawa!”

Carmilla had become a good kid now.

Since they were both from hero families, I thought it would be nice if Miss Hoshino had a friend like Carmilla.

So I naturally tried to bring them together by somehow positioning myself between them.

“Sniff… sob…”

“M-Miss?!”

Now Miss Hoshino looked sad?

“You… what’s going on, Kang Janghun. Why are you taking her side…”

“S-Side? I just thought it would be nice if you two became friends…”

“Ugh, you don’t actually like her, do you?”

“!!”

No, why is the conversation going in that direction?

That’s the kind of talk that could cause misunderstandings.

But then.

Grab.

And what’s she doing now?

“…It’s strange.”

“Carmilla?”

“Huh? Eh?!”

“Somehow… you give me the same warm feeling as that mister I know…”

Well, of course.

I am that mister.

But can she vaguely sense my monster energy even in my human state?

That was dangerous.

I could have accidentally revealed my identity.

But fortunately…

“I guess I just have a talent for recognizing ‘cool guys’!”

Carmilla had this unexpectedly clueless side to her, so we safely got through it—yeah right.

Thump! Thump!

“Hey! Get your hands off my servant!”

“I-I was just touching him for a moment, why are you so upset-sawa?”

The two of them started scuffling with me caught in the middle.

It should be just the beginning of the first semester of first grade.

The ominous future I was seeing was definitely not just my imagination.

And just as Janghun predicted.

“We’re honored to have such an ‘extraordinary person’ volunteer as a student teacher at our school.”

“Fufu. It’s nothing. I was just excited to come here, that’s all.”

“…Pardon?”

“Ah, there’s a reason for that.”

The S-rank hero who would be joining the first-grade Class A with the three of them as a student teacher.

Yoon Ha-eun had set foot here, tracking the traces of the Horned Mask Monster.

“Excuse me, teacher? My subject is sex education, right?”

“What? No. Ms. Yoon Ha-eun, as a student teacher, you don’t have a specific subject.”

“Oh, I see…”

*Looks dejected*