Is this a school or an Asylum? (5)

The big clean-up began immediately.

Before starting, I needed to imprint my presence in the heads of every student.

Even though I'd taken down Choi Sangbaek and Park Sumin, there were still others above them.

I had to show an even greater presence for them to realize how scary I could be.

Only when they realized that fear would my words reach them.

"Hey, couple."

"Huh?"

"Come into the field."

The first contestant was Sung Chohyang, a second-year senior, and she was a fairy-type Mutamit.

Rumor had it that she was the student who went around handing out juice made from blending kimchi and chocolate.

Knowing that she was the senior Kwon Sang-ah had mentioned earlier, I couldn't just let it slide.

Her charges were as follows.

"How dare you play with food?"

"What?"

"Forcing the kids to drink that stuff? Are you out of your mind?"

"That wasn't a prank! I just made something delicious for everyone! Try it yourself! No one says they don't like it!"

"That's just what you think!"

"Kyaaa! Please spare me!"

She was ranked second in the whole province.

Out of hundreds, to be that strong meant her talent as a hunter had blossomed like a beautiful flower in full bloom.

But in every other area, she was like a withered, rotten flower that never saw sunlight.

There weren't many higher-ranked students above her, so she never realized she was playing with food.

If anyone pointed it out, they'd only end up in a bad spot, so everyone just obeyed.

'Survival of the fittest.'

That was the one phrase that summed up the Hand system.

Even students' own problems were to be solved among themselves, so reporting was pointless.

From the outset, with more than half the students being like Choi Sangbaek or Sung Chohyang, adults stepping in would be useless.

Of course, I wouldn't tolerate those kinds of people running rampant as long as I was here.

"I won't do it again, I swear."

"You won't?"

"I won't!"

"And you'll never give that tasteless juice to the kids again, right?"

"That..."

"You're going to, riiiiight?"

"Kyaa! I will, so stop pulling!"

As soon as I put her in an armbar—a wrestling move—Sung Chohyang immediately gave in.

Defeated, she finally realized there was someone above her.

Seeing that I was overwhelmingly stronger, she had no choice but to obey me from then on.

"And one more thing!"

Sung Chohyang had more than just food-related crimes.

"Don't flirt in front of me."

"Why not...?"

"Do you want to die?"

"No! No! No!"

Seriously, middle schoolers going "honey~" right in front of me?

Right in front of my eyes?

They had guts spilling out of their bellies.

Couples back then and now always made me gag.

To be precise, it was just their displays of affection I found disgusting.

smack smack smack

Ah, right.

There were still more things to clean up here.

"Hey, you noisy chewers. You guys come here too."

"...??"

"Should I come get you if you won't?"

"...!!"

When I stood up and glared, the noisy eaters gulped down their food.

Thus began the real environmental clean-up.

****

My wish, both then and now, was to live comfortably.

But to achieve it, the environment around me also had to suit my comfort.

What I was doing now was changing that environment.

Because the current environment was a place no normal kid could hope to survive in.

― Announcement to all students of Middle School 2.

I took over the broadcasting room and spoke into the microphone.

Then I proclaimed the rules I'd set to the entire school.

― I've only lived in Hand for ten days now... but still, I've felt, in my bones, just how messed up this place is.

It wasn't just Choi Sangbaek, Park Sumin, or Sung Chohyang who were the problem.

There were the ones making a racket, smacking their lips while eating.

The ones who always begged for a bite of your food.

The ones who'd steal your underwear and towel while you slept.

The ones who borrowed stuff and never returned it.

The ones who ran around noisily in the hallways at night not sleeping.

The ones who went around spoiling movies others reserved to see on weekends.

And even those little punks who mixed mint chocolate into their school lunch.

― Henceforth, what I'm about to say will become the resolute rules of Middle School 2.

I was disgusted with the complete lack of normality here.

But with hundreds of them, I couldn't possibly train them all in manners one by one.

So, I yelled into the mic.

― Begging for a bite, not sleeping at the prescribed times, borrowing and not returning things, spoiling movies, playing with food. And any other unseemly acts improper for students are hereby strictly prohibited!

My booming announcement left the students collectively dumbfounded.

Still, I kept talking.

― Granted, Hand is full of students who don't even know common sense. You're like this because of your overpowered traits, not necessarily by choice.

― But that doesn't excuse the lack of basic etiquette required to live in a community. I don't care whatever excuses you make.

― If anyone tries to use 'mental issues' as an excuse and asks for mercy, I'll crack their skull open right then and there.

― Why did you even enroll in Hand in the first place? You must have known about your own issues when you came here. So what was your reason?

You only had to look at Kwon Sang-ah as an example to know the answer.

― You enrolled at Hand to fix your problems! If you're here for that and yet refuse to change, that's pure nonsense!

― I'll say just this before finishing.

Finally, I spoke with utmost gravity.

― Let's at least keep the basic rules! That's all.

****

It had already been forty days since my announcement.

During that time, I'd had to bear the weight of my own broadcasted speech.

For the three years I'd be enrolled, those rules would keep applying to everyone, so of course there were those who objected.

Yet thinking about it, the objectors were always the same.

'They play with food, make noise at night, steal stuff. What's so bad about not letting them do these things?'

All I demanded were basic norms.

Nonetheless, a whole group of thirty students challenged me.

After beating them, I discovered every single one was guilty of exactly the behaviors I hated most.

They were just rotten from the start.

Unlike them, the rest of the students had no complaints about my rules.

Maybe it just showed that even Hand students, as messed up as they were, could still keep basic standards.

That's what I thought.

"Now it finally feels good to eat that meal."

For some reason, the school lunch tasted like a gourmet meal today.

Maybe because there were no more kids deliberately ruining the food or my appetite.

With them gone, my body and appetite felt great.

"Can I sit next to you?"

Kwon Sang-ah sat down next to me, in the empty seat.

I nodded silently, and she placed her tray beside mine and sat politely.

"Did you know? Pretty much everyone around here is talking about you these days."

"You can hear all that?"

"Yeah. My hearing's always been good."

Since she'd inherited most traits from a dragon, all her senses seemed to surpass a human's.

It seemed she'd picked up on murmurs in the crowd even during the freshmen's oath.

"What are they saying?"

"Nothing bad, really. Just that you're strong... mostly speculating about who'd win if you fought number one."

"Number one?"

"You haven't heard? The number one above Chohyang."

Now that I thought about it, I'd never met the student ranked first.

I'd tried to check the school site a few times, but all information about them was locked.

They clearly didn't seem like just an ordinary student.

"You know who it is?"

"I heard from Chohyang. Right now, they're at the Hand Awakened Recovery Center."

"Recovery Center? The place problem students are sent to?"

"Yeah. Chohyang knows that number one really well."

His name was Michael Kang.

His mother was Chinese, but he had grown up in America with his father.

He came from a good family, was highly recognized for his traits, and was admitted to Hand.

But as an orc-type Mutamit, his personality was said to be brutal.

Kids like Choi Sangbaek or Park Sumin would still follow staff commands, but Michael wouldn't listen at all.

"That kind of guy is number one at this school?"

"He's number one, but his actual fighting power is equal to Chohyang's. No matter how many times they fought, it always ended in a draw, so the rankings never changed."

"So why did they fight in the first place?"

"Well..."

Emboldened by his number one status, Michael acted as if nothing could touch him.

He clashed with Chohyang before, and whenever he could, he'd bully students who shared Chohyang's dorm.

He had no real reason—just pure, savage inclination.

And he'd blame it all on his uncontrollable traits.

"What a psycho."

"That's why he was kicked out of school and sent to the center. Michael Kang was so bad, no one seems to say anything negative about you."

Compared to him, I must look like a saint.

Should I... be grateful for that or not?

"What about you these days? You haven't lost control again?"

"I'm still fine. I borrow the training hall late at night and practice controlling my traits, so I believe I'll manage one day."

"Since when?"

"Ever since your speech in the broadcasting room. Remember what you said then?"

[-Why did you even enroll in Hand in the first place? You must have known about your own 'problems' when you came here. So what was your reason?]

"It's exactly as you said. If you came to Hand to fix your own 'problems', you should stick to that purpose."

If you get in trouble while drunk, that's your own responsibility, and it's the same for incidents caused by your traits.

All those crazy kids enrolled at Hand to prevent such accidents.

"Thanks to what you said, I won't forget my purpose from now on. Thank you."

I heard gratitude in her voice, but I could still feel the anger deep inside Kwon Sang-ah's heart.

Yet, the fact she kept it hidden meant there was still hope for her to control her rampages.

"By the way, do you not sleep at night?"

"Ah..."

Not sleeping at the prescribed time—that was definitely one of the things I outlawed, and the memory was vivid in my head.

"No need to worry! It only gets noisy in the training hall."

She assured me her late-night training didn't disturb any other students' sleep.

Honestly, that much I could let slide.

"Oh, want to go to the movies this weekend?"

"Why the sudden invite?"

"Chohyang booked tickets for this weekend, but someone dropped out, so there's a spare seat left."

"You want me to fill in?"

"Yeah!"

Her gaze practically begged me to go.

Looking into her pure eyes, I had to wonder if she was really the same girl who'd gone berserk before.

"Alright."

I liked seeing her try to change, so I agreed to her request.

****

Hand's facility was, overall, clean.

Even though it dealt with troublemakers, it upheld basic morality.

But there was still a place for those who couldn't even keep those morals.

[Hand Awakened Recovery Center]

A luxurious aura radiated from the building with that sign.

It was a facility to help rehabilitate problematic awakened students.

Because these were kids who hadn't ended up at juvie, they could enjoy such a peaceful place.

"So, I'll be going back to school next Monday, right?"

A Mutamit boy with horns on his head beamed as he spoke.

A woman, probably the center director, lovingly cut a cake.

"When you return to school, you mustn't hit other kids anymore, Michael."

"Of course. I don't have any reason to cause trouble now anyway. Thank you for everything."

Michael Kang, the star of the graduation party, expressed his gratitude.

It was hard to believe he was the same student who'd gone around beating up kids at Middle School 2, given how serene his face was.

"Michael, could you go buy some more snacks?"

"Sure!"

Promptly agreeing to his friend's request, Michael Kang headed to the nearby convenience store.

Even from just watching him buy snacks and come back, he seemed like a completely reformed student.

Then, Michael made a phone call somewhere.

"Hello? Emily, how've you been? How's Third Academy these days?"

He kept chatting as he walked.

"Ugh~ It was hell here. I cringed so hard living here I thought I'd die."

As he walked, his expression grew more and more savage.

"What? Treat you to food as a treat for getting out? Of course, I have to treat you!"

He bumped into a passing man.

Both lowered their heads and passed each other politely, then Michael sweetly spoke again to his lover on the phone.

"Tell me anything you want to eat. I just got some money."

Shaking the wallet he'd just stolen.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

Another person to beat up...

【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.