The next day.
With Clark joining them, the group continued south through the Dark Forest. Along the way, dealing with the magical beasts they encountered suddenly became much easier with his help.
Clark deliberately showed off in front of Fanny. With his considerable assistance, they easily killed two Wind Blade Demon Wolves and a Frost Flying Eagle along the way.
Whenever a magical beast was killed, Han Shuo would hurry over, immediately extract its crystal core, and hand it to Lisa for safekeeping as a matter of course, treating it entirely as his own party's spoils. He did not even leave Clark the Wind Blade Demon Wolves' pelts.
To please Fanny, Clark forced a smile and accepted Han Shuo's actions despite his pained expression, making no attempt to claim the magical beasts' crystal cores.
At dusk, the group lit a campfire, and Han Shuo began roasting meat again. Clark deliberately stayed close to Fanny, entertaining her with witty conversation. Beside them, Gene watched Clark like a hawk, constantly interrupting to needle him.
The other students scattered to rest, some laughing and chatting, others quietly sorting their belongings. Only Lisa stayed beside Han Shuo, watching him leisurely turn the roasting meat.
"Brian, I've noticed you're getting meaner and meaner. You're nothing like you used to be!" Lisa said, her bright eyes resting on Han Shuo as she idly stirred the campfire with a glowing red stick.
Han Shuo glanced at Lisa and said mildly, "Am I? I'm perfectly fine. I just thought I used to live too spinelessly and wanted to change myself. What's wrong with that?"
Shaking her head, Lisa said, "No, no. Anyway, I feel like you're different from before, though I can't say exactly how. Maybe it really was my Soul Pain spell that made you this way."
Han Shuo could not help laughing. He thought that he was not Brian at all, and that it had absolutely nothing to do with her Soul Pain spell. Lisa, Fanny, and even some of the other teachers and students all believed his transformation had been caused by Soul Pain. It was rather amusing.
"Isn't this change in me a good thing?"
"It's great. You're much better than you used to be. Seeing how weak and timid you were used to make me so angry. I treated you so badly because I wanted you to pull yourself together, but you always meekly accepted everything and never fought back, no matter who bullied you. Back then, I thought you were pitiful. I thought living was painful for you, and you might as well die. Actually, I used Soul Pain on you because I didn't want to watch you keep living so miserably," Lisa said, looking at Han Shuo after a moment's thought.
Frowning, Han Shuo gave Lisa a puzzled look and asked, "So you were kindly helping me by using Soul Pain on me?"
"Of course!" Lisa raised her chin and explained, "I used to practice my spells on you, but I treated you much better than the other students did. You just wouldn't stand up for yourself and lived so spinelessly every day. I couldn't bear watching it, so I decided to put you out of your misery. Look at you now. You've changed so much that I can barely recognize you."
Han Shuo shook his head without saying anything more, though inwardly he did somewhat agree with Lisa's actions. Poor Brian really had lived a spineless life. He had long wanted to kill himself, but simply lacked the courage. Still, Han Shuo could not forgive Lisa's way of helping someone die.
"B-Brian, we'd like to roast our own meat, so we won't trouble you." Just then, Bark, Bella, and the others approached from a distance, looking at Han Shuo fearfully as they spoke.
Over the past few days, any meat Han Shuo roasted for Lisa, Fanny, Amy, and the others had been delicious, while every piece meant for Bark, Bella, and their companions had tasted awful. After several days of this, Bark, Bella, and the others had suffered stomach trouble and diarrhea for days.
Originally, they had kept complaining and cursing Han Shuo, but after witnessing his wild behavior when he went mad yesterday, they no longer dared even complain or curse him, afraid he might suddenly go mad again.
Now, they were genuinely a little afraid of Han Shuo.
With a guileless smile, Han Shuo said somewhat apologetically, "How could I let you do that? As a servant of the Necromancy Department, roasting food is part of my job. It wouldn't be very appropriate to make delicate people like you do this sort of thing, would it?"
"It's appropriate, absolutely! Since we're out here training, we ought to try everything. Besides, you saved our lives yesterday. We shouldn't make you take on so much work anymore. Isn't that right, Bark?" Bella forced a laugh and spoke with an awkward smile.
"Exactly. We should roast our own food instead of troubling you with everything!" Bark's stomach had been upset for days. Knowing that if he ate Han Shuo's meat again, it would certainly be half raw, he hurriedly spoke with a ingratiating smile. After a pause, he added, "Brian, I was wrong before. Please don't hold it against me. If you keep bearing a grudge and come looking for me when you go ma-uh, when you lose your reason, I'll be in real trouble!"
"All right. Since you're being so kind, thank you. Come on, you can roast the meat. I hope you have fun." Secretly delighted, Han Shuo stood with a guileless smile and took away some cooked meat. He handed a large piece to the eagerly watching Lisa, picked up the remaining pieces, and walked toward Fanny.
The tempting aroma of meat slowly spread. Fanny, who had been listening impatiently to Clark and Gene argue, suddenly brightened. She licked her lips, and a charming smile curved her mouth.
"Teacher Fanny, Teacher Gene, um... and Sir Clark, here's your roast meat!" With a soft, guileless chuckle, Han Shuo handed the meat to the three of them.
"Mmph... ptooey... Brian, why isn't this piece cooked today? It tastes awful!" Fanny suddenly cried out and spat out the mouthful of meat.
This time, because Han Shuo had not handed her a piece separately, the poor-sighted Fanny had chosen the wrong one. She had been so eager to eat that before Han Shuo could warn her, she had already bitten into the meat he had prepared for Gene and Clark.
"Uh... Teacher Fanny, that one isn't yours. This one is!" Han Shuo smiled wryly. You were a little too impatient.
Han Shuo hurriedly handed Fanny the carefully roasted piece and snatched the half-raw meat from her hand. Taking out a dagger, he cut away the part she had bitten, then offered it to Clark with a beaming smile, saying somewhat apologetically, "Honored Sir Clark, this is yours. My cooking skills are a little lacking. Teacher Fanny has taken a bite, but I'm sure you won't mind?"
Clark said, "Uh... I'll just have bread."
"How can you do that? Bread won't replenish much stamina. As a knight who needs plenty of stamina, you really ought to eat more meat. Are you turning your nose up at Brian's cooking, or is it because Teacher Fanny has bitten it?" Gene already knew that anyone who treated Han Shuo badly was bound to suffer after eating his cooking. He secretly laughed in gleeful delight, yet wore a righteous expression as he urged Clark on.
"No, that's not what I meant. It's just, it's just..." Looking helpless, Clark waved his hands awkwardly and shook his head, unsure how to explain. He had plainly seen Fanny spit it out after one bite, so he naturally knew that piece of meat could not taste good.
"As a noble knight, Sir Clark certainly wouldn't want to eat something someone else has bitten. I understand. How about you eat this piece instead, Teacher Gene?" Wearing an understanding expression, Han Shuo first implied that Clark was turning his nose up at Fanny, then shifted the trouble onto Gene.
At Han Shuo's words, Gene began to panic. Smiling awkwardly, he shook his head repeatedly and said, "No, absolutely not. How could I take something meant for Sir Clark? Besides, this piece is mine. I'll go eat it now."
Sweat began to show on Gene's forehead. After blurting this out in a fluster, he hurriedly took the other equally half-raw piece from Han Shuo's hand and fled straight toward Bark and Bella, clearly intending to roast it again.
"Teacher Gene really is a modest man. It looks like you'll have to take care of this piece after all!" Han Shuo smiled guilelessly, intending to force the meat into Clark's hands.
Clark wore a pitiful, bitter smile, then seemed to suddenly remember something and hurriedly said, "I forgot something. Please excuse me."
With that, Clark hurried away just as Gene had, as though fleeing, and vanished from sight in the blink of an eye.
"Brian, you're getting meaner and meaner. No wonder Gene, Bark, and the others have kept getting diarrhea these past few days. That was all your doing, wasn't it?" Fanny shot Han Shuo a look, both annoyed and amused, and chided him.
"Teacher Fanny, you only just realized? Brian really is different now. He's become meaner than any of the students." Lisa giggled, then gave Fanny a curious look. "Oh, right, Teacher Fanny, since you knew perfectly well that Brian was deliberately teasing those two, why didn't you stop him?"
"Because I also found Clark and Gene too annoying, crowding around me and talking endlessly, constantly arguing and insisting on dragging me into it. It was so tiresome. Still, Clark has helped us a great deal. He really is a good person!" Fanny explained to Lisa with a mischievous smile.
The first part of Fanny's words secretly pleased Han Shuo, but when she called Clark a good person, he could not help feeling angry again.
"So that's why. Hehe, Teacher Fanny, I know there's a large pool nearby with clear, clean water. We haven't bathed in days. Shall we go swimming together tonight?"
"Lisa, you never used to like swimming. Why have you suddenly taken to it lately?"
"Uh... because swimming is good exercise!" At Fanny's question, Lisa's delicate face reddened. She turned to glance at Han Shuo and hurriedly answered.
Han Shuo wore an odd expression. He thought of the breast-enlargement method he had told Lisa about last time. It seemed that although she had outwardly paid it no mind, she had actually begun putting it into practice in secret. He could not help finding it amusing, and gained a little more understanding of how women thought.
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