Angry Klein

Lynch was so angry he laughed. He had been wondering why Rozanne wasn't at the door today; it turned out she was up to her old tricks again.

"I didn't, Captain, I don't like her!"

He replied through gritted teeth.

Dunn nodded thoughtfully, then looked at the breakfast Lynch was carrying and asked, "Who is this for?"

"Rozanne—no, Captain, listen to me, she..."

Dunn waved his hand, clearly having already made up his mind.

"Rozanne said yesterday that you were planning to confess to her and bring her breakfast today. Don't worry, I don't mean to forbid it; I just wanted to say that if you want to get married, you'll need to work hard and save up a bit more money!"

Lynch: ...

He bid Dunn farewell through gritted teeth, then went out to settle the score with Rozanne.

Unfortunately, that girl was hiding too well. He circled the upstairs and downstairs several times without finding her, and was even urged by Old Neil to hurry up.

Lynch could only toss the breakfast onto Rozanne's desk and helplessly followed Old Neil to the armory for his lesson.

When he arrived, Klein was already waiting there.

"Did you see Rozanne?"

Lynch asked immediately, and Klein gave him a surprised look.

"Why are you so angry? You should be a gentleman to a lady, otherwise..."

"She spread a rumor that you like me, and that we're a pair of secret lovers!"

Lynch explained, only to see Klein—who had just been preaching about being a gentleman—rolling up his sleeves, intending to go find Rozanne and settle the score.

"Forget it, forget it, it's not easy for anyone, be a gentleman!"

Lynch said hypocritically.

Klein was so annoyed he wanted to fight him.

"What gentleman? Right now, I'm a hooligan and a scoundrel!"

"Who is a hooligan and a scoundrel?"

Old Neil had just gone to the washroom, so he returned a bit late and happened to hear Klein's shout, asking in astonishment.

"He said Rozanne is a scoundrel!"

Lynch said with a wicked grin.

Before Klein could explain, Old Neil started laughing.

"So he found out. Poor Rozanne, I hope she can hide from the search of two gentlemen. May the Goddess bless her."

Lynch suspected that the Goddess really was blessing Rozanne; otherwise, how could he not have seen a trace of her all morning?

However, after such a commotion, he felt that his anger toward Rozanne had dissipated quite a bit.

It was his own fault, too; he shouldn't have spoken ill of Klein like that before. Now he was just reaping what he sowed, while Klein had suffered an undeserved disaster.

Lynch decided not to ask Klein for lunch money today.

"Alright, young men, let's start the lesson!"

Old Neil clapped his hands to grab their attention and began explaining the occult uses of divination.

Because Lynch hadn't chosen a pathway yet, he could only listen to these basics for now. Once he chose a pathway, Old Neil could explain the precautions specific to that path.

Furthermore, Old Neil noted that learning the abilities of other pathways was also part of their education; at the very least, if they encountered them in battle, they would have some understanding.

He explained how to use a pendulum and the principles of divination, then let Klein give it a try.

Lynch, curious, tried it as well.

He thought to himself: Two days from now, the mission to perform meritorious service against the cult will be a success.

The pendulum swung clockwise.

"Impressive. I rarely see an ordinary person succeed on their first try. By the way, what were you thinking about just now?"

Old Neil asked curiously.

Lynch thought for a moment and said casually, "I was thinking that I would find Rozanne!"

Old Neil laughed again and offered a moment of silence for Rozanne.

About two hours later, today's occult knowledge session finally ended.

Lynch took his notebook to the office upstairs to review the material once more, then got up to search for Rozanne again.

Ah, there she was, at the reception desk in the lounge, drinking his iced lemon water.

"Is it good?"

Lynch asked with a sinister tone.

Rozanne nodded subconsciously, then realized what was happening and tried to run, but Lynch grabbed her by the shoulder.

"I warned you yesterday not to go around talking nonsense, yet you still..."

Lynch didn't even finish his sentence before Rozanne interrupted him.

"I really wasn't talking nonsense. My butt was hurting yesterday because you spanked me, so I didn't dare sit on the stool. Then I was secretly muttering about how heavy-handed you were, and just then, Captain came over. He asked me why I kept calling your name, and I couldn't exactly tell him about that business between you and Klein, could I? So, I just blurted out that you had confessed to me and I was too excited."

Rozanne explained with a look of complete sincerity.

Lynch still felt that something wasn't quite right. Was it really that smooth?

He asked again, "Then why did you say I was going to bring you breakfast?"

"Isn't that a fact?"

Rozanne muttered.

"Alright, enough of that. I already said I wouldn't talk about you and Klein anymore, so stop harping on it. Even the other person involved doesn't care..."

Rozanne didn't finish her sentence, for she had just spotted Klein.

Lynch gleefully stepped aside to make room.

Rozanne was instantly terrified and started running around again.

However, this girl was still true to her word and didn't tell Klein that he was the source of the problem.

Though even if Rozanne had spilled the beans, Lynch wouldn't have admitted to it anyway.

Since he had only said those things to Rozanne in private, she had no evidence to back it up.

But since Rozanne hadn't said anything, the angry feelings he had toward her vanished, and he even began to eat half of the bread he had brought for her with great interest.

For some reason, when Rozanne returned after her scuffle with Klein and saw the half-eaten bread, her face turned bright red.

"What's wrong with you? You aren't angry, are you?"

Lynch winked at her triumphantly.

Rozanne really wanted to beat this dense idiot to a pulp.

She hadn't been lying; it was indeed because Dunn had seen her in such an embarrassing state yesterday that she had spoken those words about Lynch confessing to her out of a desire for revenge.

But she didn't know if she was sick, because after saying those things, she actually felt that her feelings toward Lynch had changed somewhat.

He was the first person besides her father to ever spank her, and he had even tickled her; no one else had ever touched her like that.

Due to her upbringing, Rozanne had never even messed around like that with other girls.

In the Nighthawks squad, everyone treated her like a little sister, and when she spread gossip, no one cared because it was always true.

This time, she had taken what Lynch said about Klein to be true, which was why she had spread it. Furthermore, under Old Neil's meaningful hints, she had assumed that Lynch and Klein had a relationship, which was why she was so concerned about Klein's affairs.

As it turned out, Lynch had overheard it.

At the time, she had been a little scared, but she hadn't felt particularly worried; at most, Lynch would just have Dunn dock her pay. She never expected this guy to actually spank her!

It really hurt, and it still felt a bit sore even now!

That wasn't even the worst of it; Lynch had actually eaten the bread she had already taken a bite of. For a shy lady, that was truly too stimulating.

She hadn't even gotten angry, and Lynch really should be thanking her.

Yet, what kind of things was this guy saying?

Every single word was stabbing at her heart!

The more Rozanne thought about it, the angrier she became, and tears began to stream down her face against her will.

Lynch: ...