Volume Three: The Academy Runs Wild Weaklings (Part One)

"Xiao Ye ~~~ Long time no see!"

"It's only been one class period since I last saw him..."

"When I was separated from Xiao Ye, every day felt like an eternity."

"I live each year like a day."

"That's outrageous!"

"Just kidding... What's the next class?"

"Let me see... It's a general education course that everyone has to take, a course on etiquette and manners."

"Etiquette and manners?"

Mikael Girls' Academy' High School truly lives up to its reputation as a prestigious institution, placing great emphasis on cultivating students' etiquette. From kindergarten to Higher Division, etiquette training is continuous, ensuring that all the intricate rules of manners are firmly imprinted in each student's mind, thus producing perfect young ladies who will never embarrass themselves in any situation.

And so, I encountered my biggest challenge.

"Good health, my lovely children."

"Greetings, Teacher Ekaterina."

"I'm sure everyone knows the founding principles of our Mikael Girls' Academy's School."

"To cultivate the most outstanding women who embody beauty, wisdom, virtue, and purity."

"Very good. For an excellent woman, proper etiquette is essential. Those senior students who have been studying at the Mikael Girls' Academy' High School since childhood have received long-term etiquette education and have long memorized its subtleties. As for you all here, you are all freshmen. I believe that you will not embarrass yourselves in terms of etiquette since you have entered Mikael Girls' Academy Higher Division, but it is always good to learn more."

""""Yes!""""

"So, let's have a little test for our first lesson today, so I can get a feel for everyone's level. How about we start with the most basic tea ceremony?"

""""Good!""""

... We're doomed.

I looked at the high-end tea set laid out in front of me: teapot, teacups, saucers, tea stove... and then what? What were the other few strange-looking things for?

There was a time when I specifically looked into tea culture to impress my classmates, but of course I've forgotten it all now. I've never had the habit of drinking tea, and when I do drink it occasionally, it's always with ready-made tea bags. I know absolutely nothing about brewing tea or anything like that.

Meanwhile, the girls next to me started getting to work... Wow, every movement was so fluid and graceful, their aura and elegance clearly showed they'd received rigorous training. I initially tried to imitate them to get by, but I realized it was impossible... the starting point was far too different.

"Hmm? You must be Liu Ye, the freshman representative. Why haven't you started yet?"

The teacher spotted me quickly and walked straight towards me... Hey, hey, hey, please don't be so loud! Everyone's looking at us!

"Huh? Sister Ye hasn't moved at all."

"This must be some kind of more advanced tea ceremony etiquette."

"So beautiful... Even sitting there without understanding, Sister Ye is a picture of beauty..."

"The high-end tea set matches her temperament perfectly!"

I'm sorry, girls who admire me... I really just don't know anything...

"Come on, let's get started," the teacher said to me.

Damn it, I'll risk it.

I poured boiling water into the teacup, trying to make my movements appear elegant. Once I estimated the water level was about right, I used a teaspoon to scoop a small amount of tea leaves into the teapot.

"Ahem, Liu Ye..."

"Um?"

"The first rinse of water isn't for brewing tea. You need to fill the teapot first and then pour it all out... Also, you need a tea funnel to place the tea leaves..." The teacher stared at me dumbfounded.

"Well..."

They really went too far!

"That teacher..."

"Explain."

"Actually... I know absolutely nothing about tea ceremony... and I'm completely clueless about other etiquette and manners..."

Crackling sound—all the girls around me collapsed. Sorry, ladies, you were disappointed...

"Completely clueless? That's unbelievable... Oh well, there's plenty of time later. I'll take a look at Haoyue's."

Haoyue's slender fingers deftly picked up the tea set, pouring water and adding tea in one fluid motion, her movements extremely elegant. The bright sunlight, filtered through the curtains, cast a hazy glow upon her, as if draping her in a veil of sacred light. At this moment, Haoyue resembled a beauty from an ancient painting, ethereal and otherworldly, her beauty beyond words.

"Sister Yue... so elegant!"

"Every movement is so perfect!"

"I really want her to be my one and only older sister..."

The girls around him were staring with wide eyes, practically drooling. Hey, mind your manners!

But there's nothing we can do about it. After all, Haoyue is a superhuman who's mastered all the formalities and rituals. Making tea is a piece of cake for her—wait, making tea?

An ominous premonition enveloped me.

I think I just remembered something.

Back then, on the river in the capital, Haoyue seemed to have brewed tea for me as well. At that time—

The next second, my premonition came true.

Haoyue generously placed an oversized beer mug on the small coffee table.

"Eh?"

The teacher and the girls were stunned.

Splash, splash, splash... Haoyue poured all the tea from the teapot into the beer mug, filling it more than halfway up. Satisfied with the pale green tea, Haoyue then pulled out several ice cubes from somewhere and added them in, quickly cooling the hot tea.

Then -- glug glug glug glug!

Drink it all in one gulp!

"Pfft~ Awesome~~~"

He even stretched.

We're doomed.

Her ladylike image has been utterly destroyed!

From then on, Haoyue and I were blacklisted by the etiquette teacher.

Because club activities were so prevalent at the Central United Academy, almost all students would participate in club activities after class.

Haoyue and I were no exception.

"Xiao Ye, are we going straight to World's Little Corner?"

"It's the first day, let's go early."

"Oh... so that means I'll be seeing that woman again soon...?"

You mean Xiao Wu?

"Who else could it be? You seem to have told me that woman was Scavengers, right? She's definitely not a good person..."

You have no right to talk about others like that.

Xiao Wu.

A girl I just met, the same age as me.

All I know about her are "her name", "she is Haoyue's roommate", and "she is Scavengers". I know nothing about her surname, her past, or her full strength. I also don't know why she founded World's Little Corner or why she became Scavengers. She is a mystery from head to toe.

Keep going—hmm?

In the distance, a familiar figure appeared.

This area isn't just home to the Mikael Girls' Academy and Changting Liberal Arts College; there are also many smaller schools that exist alongside these two institutions, one of which is Wilton Middle School. Although the name sounds impressive, it's just an ordinary junior high school.

It was also school let out over there, and a petite figure was mixed in with the surging flow of students.

I remember her; she was the oldest girl in this World's Little Corner besides us—Monet.

I was just about to say hello when I noticed something strange.

The road outside the school gate was packed with students leaving school, a dense crowd, yet Monet was completely alone, forming a two-meter radius deserted area around her. Upon closer inspection, each student who passed by consciously kept their distance, turning their face away from her, only whispering and staring at her after they had created some distance. She herself seemed to be actively distancing herself from others, avoiding crowded areas, maintaining a distance, and her expression was somewhat melancholic and wooden.

Could it be that she's being isolated?

For a moment I found it strange, and I couldn't help but want to call out to her—

"Shh!" Haoyue immediately covered my mouth.

"??"

"Wait a minute, observe the situation... Moon Mist Silver Veil!" she whispered to me.

We concealed our presence and cautiously followed behind her, observing that she was heading towards World's Little Corner.

The further away she was from school—in other words, the closer she got to World's Little Corner —the less gloomy and dull the look on her face became, gradually replaced by ease and naturalness, and she slowly returned to the lively girl we knew.

It's time...

"The sea, Monet, what a coincidence!"

"Eek--! Ah, it's Sister Ye and Sister Haoyue! You startled me..."

She gently patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Seriously, you sisters are just scaring me. I don't understand you guys..."

"You're the one who's unhappy. You seem so down at school, but you're so lively in the club." Without any beating around the bush, Haoyue threw out a straight shot.

"...!!"

Monet was speechless, and for a moment her gaze became incredibly complex.

"Can you tell me what happened at school?" Haoyue asked with a kind smile, but her words carried an unyielding authority.

"...No." Monet pursed his lips.

"Really not? They're so obviously isolated, it's really pathetic..."

"I'm not pitiful at all!!!"

Monet suddenly yelled, which startled me, and she herself seemed to be startled as well, her expression immediately becoming uneasy.

"Ah... I'm sorry! You all meant well, but I... Anyway, please don't worry, the people at school just don't associate with me, they're not bullying me..."

"... Is that Xiao Wu?" Haoyue's smile grew even more enigmatic.

"--!" Monet's body visibly trembled.

"Looks like my premonition came true. Let me guess... You used to be a pushover who was always bullied. After learning about your situation, Xiao Wu stepped in to help you get rid of those who bullied and made things difficult for you. This did free you from those bad kids, but it didn't really change the situation... right?"

Haoyue narrowed her eyes slightly, observing Monet's reaction.

"..."

Monet lowered her head and remained silent, her thoughts unreadable. After a long while, she sighed as if giving up, sat down on the roadside railing, and slowly began to speak.

"I know, Sister Ye and Sister Haoyue must find this little club very strange. There are no activities, no goals, only the powerful Sister Sakura Dance, the thoughtful Sister Xiao, and us not-so-cute kids..."

"Ah, yes... So, would you be willing to explain it to us?"

We sat down next to her and listened to her story.

"The World's Little Corner was founded three years ago, when I had just entered Wilton Middle School as a freshman. Everything was fine until later..."

Monet's little hands clenched into fists.

"My deskmate was a rich girl. Because we sat close together, we gradually became close and became friends in name only. But it was impossible for someone from a poor family like me to be on equal footing with her. She had several 'friends' like me. She always stood at the front, shining brightly, while we were just standing next to her... Do you understand what I mean?"

"I understand. So, you're nominally her friend, but in reality, you're just her sidekick and follower, like Queen and her maid, right?"

"That's right... Although these days are unpleasant, if you stand on her side, at least you won't become... the one being bullied."

"Bully?"

"She always bullies and ostracizes people she doesn't like because she has money and connections. Some people even dropped out of school because of her. But even though she has such a terrible personality, I turned a blind eye to those who were bullied in order to keep my place in the world, and sometimes I even cooperated with her... I feel ashamed of myself for doing that, but if I didn't do it, I would definitely anger her, and my family is poor, so I would definitely be bullied terribly..."

Several months passed like this, and one day a new transfer student arrived in the class. Her name was Margaret, a very beautiful but melancholic girl. On her very first day, some unpleasant rumors about her past began to circulate.

Monet clenched his fists tighter and tighter, until bloodstains appeared on his palms.

"Margaret, she had been deeply traumatized by her father... and she immediately became my 'friend's' new target. Then came the routine of exclusion, suppression, and bullying, but this time I didn't participate, because for some reason... I developed a liking for this poor child."

After she was bullied, I would secretly comfort her and inform her in advance every day what that 'friend' might do so that she could be careful to avoid it. When bullying was unavoidable, I would also say some discouraging things to try to dissuade that 'friend' from having bad intentions.

"Then what?"

"Then," her eyes turned pained, "I, too, became a target of bullying."

"Did you... confront her directly?"

"It happened during a home economics class, when we were learning to cook. My 'friend' started attacking Margaret, mocking her, insulting her, and even making fun of her past experience of being assaulted by her biological father in front of everyone..."

At that moment, I truly lost my temper. In a moment of anger, I stepped forward to protect Margaret and confronted that guy. Naturally, this enraged her. Unfortunately, the teacher had to leave temporarily, and the argument quickly escalated into a physical altercation. I was also blinded by rage, so I grabbed a kitchen knife and—and slashed down!

"... You... killed her?"

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