Chapter 29: Emperor

The laboratory class was still continuing.

From earlier until now, Yukina and Mashiro had not spoken another word.

Occasionally Yukina would turn her head and happen to meet Mashiro’s eyes looking at her, yet every time, before she could do anything, Mashiro would quickly shift her gaze away and hide her eyes beneath her silver-white hair.

When they began the experiment, the two of them selected the same carrot. 

Their fingers happened to touch when they reached for it, but Mashiro’s reaction was intense. 

She pulled away as if burned, then hurriedly chose other materials, the roots of her ears turning red.

Is she that afraid of me?

Yukina gripped the “rejected” carrot, her cheeks unconsciously puffing out.

In truth, her idea was very simple.

Using her identity as a “small-fry villain” to forcibly approach Mashiro, she could do whatever possible just like before—control this female protagonist’s emotions and prevent another rampage from occurring.

She understood that desire of Mashiro’s to escape. Because she herself had once been the same. Whenever problems arose, she would always hide away alone and force herself to digest them.

But this was not a problem that belonged to her alone.

If things continued like this, the problem would never be resolved, and she herself would sink deeper and deeper into the mire of emotions until she was finally crushed and unable to breathe.

So even if it was only getting a little closer, it would be fine.

She also wanted to stay by Mashiro’s side, simply accompanying her in silence, letting the other know that she was not alone—that there was still someone who could share her troubles.

As for Boss Yumiko’s side…

Yukina slightly turned her head and glanced toward the other side of the classroom.

The bullying little group was chatting heatedly, seemingly very surprised by her performance earlier. It was just a bit too far to make out what they were saying.

Her thinking went like this: as long as she acted just a little fiercer when facing Mashiro, Boss Yumiko should also believe that she was currently carrying out bullying.

But… did I look a bit too fierce earlier?

She guiltily glanced at Mashiro. Mashiro was lowering her head to cut a potato, her light-colored lashes hanging very low, as if covered by a layer of snow, revealing no emotion.

When it’s just the two of us in private, I should treat her a little more gently.

Thinking this, Yukina placed the carrot in her hand onto the table and continued attending class seriously.

At the same time, on the other side…

Hey hey hey, did she just glance back at us?

Showing off! She’s definitely showing off to us! Bragging about how she bullied the relapsed bloodsucker until she couldn’t raise her head!

So strong. Is this the legendary Shadow Powerhouse? Always silently hiding her identity, then shocking everyone at the critical moment!!

Right right, what did that “Gaoooh” move of hers mean earlier? It completely stunned the other side!

It should be some kind of ancient hieroglyphic fist, imitating the strongest creature in this planet’s history—the “Tyrannosaurus”!

Tyrannosaurus? Dragon… that is a sign of the emperor.

The little group’s conversation grew more and more outrageous. They analyzed Yukina’s various behaviors from every angle and always ended up reaching astonishing conclusions.

Yumiko sat right in the middle, legs crossed, arms folded over her chest. Listening to the underlings’ chattering remarks, she only found it grating, her face written full of displeasure.

A sign of the emperor?

Hah. Who is the true king of this class? I, Yumiko, am. 

Do these guys not even know how to distinguish the big king from the small king anymore? Are they trying to rebel?

“You lot, it’s about time you shut up.”

Yumiko spoke. Her voice was not loud, yet the people around her instantly fell silent.

“Decent methods, admirable courage, but that’s all there is to it. In the end, she is still nothing more than an errand-runner under my command. You’re getting this excited… what, do you want to acknowledge her as your boss?”

“Uh… how would we dare, how would we dare.”

“Of course not. We were just too excited. That, uh, no matter how amazing Yukina is, doesn’t she still have to listen to Boss Yumiko?”

“Exactly exactly. Without Boss taking her in, she wouldn’t even be able to become a follower!”

The underlings realized their boss was angry and hurriedly began making up for it.

Yumiko did not continue scolding them. She simply brushed the cascading golden hair behind her ear and maintained a contemptuous posture as she looked toward that side.

Yukina was sitting upright beside Mashiro, a tiny little thing, head lowered as she cut a carrot. 

Every movement was very serious. 

Her two legs lightly swung under the table; if one didn’t know better, they might think she was an elementary school student.

Meanwhile Mashiro would occasionally peek at her, then immediately lower her head again when discovered. 

When spoken to she dared not make a sound, like a domesticated puppy.

A rabbit… had actually suppressed a white wolf?

The more Yumiko looked, the more she felt something was off.

In her impression, Yukina was nothing more than the lowest-level errand-runner. 

If the underlings beside her had not mentioned the name, she would not even have remembered it.

The reason she had taken Yukina in back then was also very simple—purely because this fellow was short enough. Standing beside her could serve as a green leaf to make her own legs look longer.

She had never expected Yukina to do anything in the first place. In these recent two months, this pink-haired shorty had even occasionally dragged them down, and she didn’t even have the ability to amuse her. To be honest, she had really wanted to expel her.

Just yesterday, she couldn’t even manage the simple task of fetching water, directly dropping it and getting her shoes wet, then crying and sniveling about it.

How could such a waste possibly undergo such a huge change within a single day?

Yumiko lightly tapped the desk with her manicured nails, her eyes narrowing into slits. Her leopard tail swayed back and forth behind her.

Suddenly, she seemed to notice something and widened her eyes.

“What’s with that shorty’s getup?”

Her gaze focused on the bandages visible at the edge of Yukina’s school uniform, as well as the eye patch faintly visible beneath her bangs.

She remembered that Yukina had not been wearing such things yesterday.

“Ah, speaking of that!”

Huacai timely leaned over, her snake eyes curving into two crescents.

“Boss Yumiko, did you forget? Yesterday, didn’t you lose your temper in the restroom and give her a hard kick? Maybe it’s because of that.”

“No way. I didn’t even use much force at the time.”

“Aiyah aiyah, that’s hard to say. Boss’s leg strength is so good. Maybe you scored a critical hit and really kicked some internal injuries into her.”

Huacai’s voice lowered a bit further, carrying a few threads of icy breath.

“If I were Boss, I’d keep a little more of an eye open. Some people get bullied without making a sound, and that actually makes one more afraid. Many ‘kings’ throughout history were taken down by the most inconspicuous little followers who usually…”

“Huacai.” Lingsha quietly warned from the side.

“Not saying anymore, not saying anymore!” Huacai immediately raised both hands in surrender, looking completely innocent.

“Just a little reminder. Boss is so smart, you definitely understand what I mean.”

Yumiko did not reply.

She stared at Yukina’s figure, her eyes gradually sinking.

This fellow had indeed been off these past days, and now it suddenly seemed like she had become a completely different person.

As expected, she still needed to find someone who might know the inside story and properly question them.

Yumiko slowly turned her head. 

Her gaze passed over several underlings who were still flattering her and finally stopped on the light-blue tanuki in the corner.

“One of you, go call that tanuki over for me.”

Ningning, who was eating snacks in the corner, twitched her ears and felt something gloomy approaching from behind.