Troublemakers

Although K City Second High School was an utterly ordinary school, perhaps because it stood near the largest aristocratic private school in the city, it received quite a bit of extra attention. As a result, it had benefited somewhat from its proximity. The most obvious sign of that was its enormous campus.

Judging by the size of the grounds alone, Second High School was almost as large as Canglan Private High School. Its layout was also rather distinctive. The entire campus was divided into four main building zones spread across the east, south, west, and north. Clockwise, they were the Senior High Department teaching area, the administrative building area, the Junior High Department teaching area, and the dormitory area. Between these four zones lay numerous flower beds, pools, and other decorative features. From above, it actually had the layered feel of a European-style garden. Clearly inspired by the resplendent aristocratic school across the way, the original designer had dreamed of turning this place into a European garden campus as well. Every building bore traces of that effort. Unfortunately, that nameless designer's ambition far outstripped his skill. After blending European, Gothic, Eastern, Arabic, Greek, and countless other styles together, the finished school buildings had become something like a theme park, full of fantastical and absurd elements. The clearest example stood before the Senior High Department building: two vermilion round pillars supporting a towering pointed roof—an end result of combining Eastern features with Gothic architecture.

At the very center of the campus stood a structure in yet another style. Originally, the designer of the entire renovation project had planned to install a huge fountain here, with a group of white marble sculptures in the middle and a small garden around it for students to rest in. But unfortunately, the funding shortage caused by completing all those bizarre buildings turned that beautiful plan into empty talk. The central area was left unused for a time, becoming a patch of wasteland overgrown with weeds, until the school leaders had a flash of inspiration in recent years and came up with a brilliant idea—

Four restrooms sprang up from the empty lot...

This school's architectural layout filled me with deep resentment. The main reason was that the Senior High Department and Junior High Department teaching buildings were located at opposite corners of this enormous campus. Every time I came to pick Pandora up after school, I had to endure a grueling trek of more than ten minutes and pass through the school's largest restroom district—absolutely terrible.

"Very stupid architectural layout," Sandora commented as I pulled her past the campus's central restroom theme park.

See? Even an alien could spot the stupidity of this design at a glance.

On the way, Sandora asked me through Spiritual Connection, "That Girl is a general-class high-ranking Shilin Apostle, isn't she? Why do you still have to pick her up after school?"

So I briefly explained to Sandora how Pandora had been disguised as my blind younger sister. At that moment, I realized just how useful Spiritual Connection was. At the very least, when it came to transmitting information, this high-bandwidth method was far more efficient than speaking.

"I see... The world of Carbon-Based Lifeforms really is strange, but it sounds rather interesting!"

"...I really wonder how you Shilin Apostles normally live. You don't seem to have family relationships at all, do you?"

"How could that be? We have families and such too, though they're somewhat different from those of Carbon-Based Lifeforms. Besides—you shouldn't say 'you.' You should say 'we.' Don't forget, although you're a Carbon-Based Lifeform, you're also a high-ranking Shilin Apostle~"

I nodded repeatedly. "All right, all right, I'll remember that. Oh, right, I still don't know—what identity did you use to blend into human society? You wouldn't keep it secret from me too, would you?"

"This... Hehe, I'll give you a little hint. I'm a ve~ry great no~ble now~~"

Looking at Sandora's radiant smile, I felt a chill run down my back. What shocking stunt was this seriously unhinged girl going to pull now?

Just then, a clear female voice suddenly called from ahead, "You're Lily's Brother, right? Hurry over here! Lily's being bullied!"

I looked up and saw a thin girl with short hair running toward me. I vaguely remembered that she was Pandora's classmate. She had always taken especially good care of Pandora, who was "blind" and "had such a pitiful background." Unfortunately, since she wasn't an important character, the author hadn't given her a name... Ahem, ahem. Pretend you didn't hear that.

"Pant, pant—" The unnamed girl ran up to me, gasping for breath as she said, "I finally found you! Hurry over there! Lily's being bullied by several students from another school!"

"Being bullied?" I asked with an odd expression. "Really? Who's bullying her?"

"They seem to be some very rich students. I heard they came from Canglan. Hurry and go take a look!"

Sandora and I exchanged a glance, and the same question rose in both our minds: What the hell is that Girl doing?!

Though I didn't believe Pandora, whose combat power rivaled an entire heavily armed army group, could be bullied, for the sake of humanity's future, I immediately followed the girl and ran toward the Junior High Department.

Under the Junior High Department teaching building, we immediately saw a large crowd gathered together.

Sandora and I ran to the edge of the crowd, only to find that we simply couldn't squeeze our way in. So I had no choice but to shout, "Lily, are you in there?"

Only after shouting did I remember that I could actually contact Pandora through Spiritual Connection...

At that moment, Qian Qian's voice suddenly came from inside. "A Jun? You're here!"

It turned out Qian Qian had arrived before me.

After much effort, Sandora and I finally managed to push into the circle and see what was happening inside.

An open space about ten meters wide had been left in the middle of the crowd. Pandora stood there expressionlessly, her unfocused gray eyes aimed forward. Behind her stood a nervous-looking Qian Qian, tightly gripping Pandora's shoulders. Facing them were several young people around our age, dressed in expensive clothes. I seemed to recognize the young man leading them, but for the moment, I couldn't remember where I had seen him before.

Our arrival immediately drew everyone's attention. The moment Qian Qian saw me, she happily cried, "A Jun, you're here!" Then she noticed Sandora, frowned, and said, "Sandora, walk carefully..."

I truly admired this girl's gift for language.

The several young people opposite Qian Qian were slightly startled when they saw us appear. Then their gazes collectively shifted toward Sandora, who was as beautiful and noble as a princess, and they let out a low "Wow—"

"Pandora, what happened?" I asked the impassive Loli through Spiritual Connection.

"The leader of those Carbon-Based Lifeforms claimed he had taken a liking to Sister Qian Qian and attempted to take her away. I stopped him."

So that was what had happened. I glanced at the rich kids opposite us and had already guessed much of the truth. So it wasn't Pandora being bullied—it was Qian Qian? What a cliché plot.

Since they dared set their sights on Qian Qian, they couldn't blame me. I had recently been wanting to test the effects of the physical enhancement Sandora had given me, and while I was at it, familiarize myself with the several Shilin Ranged Assistance Attack Abilities I had just acquired. As long as I was careful, I figured I could probably leave them with half a breath.

Just as I was considering which method would let me thoroughly test my new abilities on them, the young man in the lead took the initiative to speak—though he was addressing Qian Qian.

"So, beautiful, have you thought it over? You should come with me. Then you won't have to stay in this lousy school with these poor students anymore, and you'll get to live a life you wouldn't even dare dream of—I'll definitely treat you like a princess..."

Apparently, this guy dressed like a rack of designer clothes was pretty hopeless. He couldn't even come up with decent lines to hit on a girl...

"Hey, blond beauty," the rich extra opposite us said, suddenly turning toward Sandora, who was watching curiously. "Although this Chinese girl is a formidable rival for you, I, being such a generous lover, am willing to give every girl a fair chance to compete. If you're willing, perhaps I can agree to..."

...Was this guy an idiot?!

By then, it wasn't just me. Everyone present, including the children who had only just started junior high, looked at the smug rich extra in the middle as if he were an idiot. Being this narcissistic made him a godlike figure in another sense...

Just as I was gradually losing patience and preparing to go over there for a refreshing one-sided beatdown, Sandora beside me suddenly gave a soft laugh. Then, in a chillingly cold tone, she said, "Heh—It seems some rather unpleasant things will happen today..."