Chapter 40: 17.1

　When he looks up, he sees a girl standing next to his desk. She has blond hair and is wearing the school uniform. Her blouse buttons, which are usually open, are tightly closed.

「Nishizaki, san?」

「Uh...」

　The girl's gaze wanders around with an awkward look on her face.

　As if caught up in the moment, she looked around and saw that there is no one else in the classroom. So, the noise she just made was made by her.

　Why is she here?

　What was she trying to do to him while sleeping?

　Chihiro thinks and come to a conclusion.

　She'll come see him after school, one on one.

　It's a repeat of what Chihiro did to Riko yesterday.

　Then what does she want?

　He looks into Riko's flickering eyes and asks.

「...Have you come to avenge yesterday?」

「Hii...」

　*Tonk*

　Riko jerks around and hits the desk.

　She didn't seem to have any intention to harm Chihiro.

　After all, the emotions he read in her are unsettling.

「Nishizaki-san?」

　The girl's shoulders shook.

　Riko, who looked as if she is about to start crying, whispered quietly.

「I'm sorry」

　She apologizes.

　Yesterday, he made her say it over and over again.

　And now, a day later, the girl says it of her own volition.

　What's this?

　Chihiro is puzzled by the sudden sensation that ran through his body.

　A strange sense of satisfaction fills his heart.

　Perhaps unaware of Chihiro's condition, Riko continued to speak in a trembling voice.

「I don't know what to do. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't figure it out. Eventually, I decided I had to see Izumi」

　She came to the school in her uniform, apparently.

「I hid and watched the school gate, but Izumi didn't come out. So, I came to the classroom and waited for people to disappear. But you were asleep」

「Did you try to kill me while you could?」

「No!」

　Tears well up in Riko's eyes.

　Chihiro got up from her chair and looked at Riko from the front.

　Fear. And a very strong one, amplified by Chihiro's ability.

「...I won't do it. Trust me」

　So weak.

　She's just a girl.

　Chihiro can't believe it's that Nishizaki Riko who's been tormenting him for two months.

「I didn't know Nishizaki-san was this weak」

「Oh...」

　The reaction is dramatic.

　Riko slumped to the floor and suddenly started screaming.

「Aaahhhh!」

　And then she started crying.

　With tears streaming down her face, she looked upward without shame or embarrassment.

　"There are probably still people left in the school building. But what would they think of me if they saw me like this?", Chihiro's thought.

　...Should I make her stop crying?

　Chihiro is unsure. It is annoying, but Riko's behavior is not unusual. It didn't look like she is trying to annoy him by screaming, and letting her cry until she feels better would make it easier to talk.

　But when he pondering.

　A person walks quickly into the classroom. He thought someone had already heard her crying, but it's Maria who comes in.

　She took one look at the situation in the room without stopping, and walked up to Riko.

　*Slap*

　Without hesitation, she slapped her on the cheek.

「Eh...?」

　Couldn't understand what was going on. Riko looked up blankly.

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　Maria grabbed her by the hair and whispered close to her face.

「Shut up. Don't you know you're bothering Izumi-kun?」

「F-Fukami-sa...」

「If you want to show your obedience, show the proper attitude. Or are you doing this on purpose to be abandoned?」

「No, no...」

　The look on Maria's face when she turned to Riko was, in a way, even more terrifying than when she had told Riko she was going to kill her.

　A fierce scorn.

　It is so crushing that even Chihiro, who wasn't the one who had seen it, trembled.

　Riko, who had once stopped crying, burst into tears again, but she too must have realized that she should not cry. She wipes her tears and closes her mouth.

　Maria then strokes Riko's head with her palm. She smiles a loving, captivating smile.

「Well done. If you're a good, honest girl, we won't do anything painful or scary to you」

「...Ah.」

　Candy and whips.

　Maria's gentle voice seemed to soak into her shattered heart.

　Riko relaxed her expression and stared at Maria, then shook her head.

「Why would Fukami-san do such a thing...?」

「Oh. You mean you don't want to be ruled by someone other than Izumi-kun?」

「What do you mean...」

　Riko glanced at Chihiro. He feels like she's asking for help, but it's hard to deal with, so he let it go for now.

　Then, Riko returns her gaze to Maria.

「It's none of your business...」

「It does. Because I'm Izumi-kun's slave. Isn't it the role of a senior slave to discipline an undisciplined junior?」

「What... what are you saying? I don't get it...」

　That would be incomprehensible to Riko.

　Riko's face blushed and paled at the word "slave", and she seemed to be in a state of utmost confusion.

　This is not going to end well.

　Deciding that, Chihiro turned to Maria.

「Maria」

「Yes, Master」

　She replied in an unusually polite tone, perhaps because she had said that to Riko. Her voice gave him the same pleasure he had felt earlier.

「Can we change places? We can't talk too long here」

「Sure... Let's do it this way」

　Maria's face lit up as if she had thought of something.

　She takes out a notepad from her desk, tears off a sheet, and writes something on the surface. On the back, she drew what looked like a map and handed it to Riko.

「Nishizaki-san, please go to the supermarket and buy the ingredients I wrote here. Come back to the place on the map when you are done」

「Hey. Why would I do that...?」

「Huh. Disobey me?」

　Apparently, she's trying to get her to run an errand.

　In a way, it sounds like a good idea. She is a rough girl, with a merciless way of thinking.

「...All right. So, I just buy it and take it with me?」

「Yes. Take care of it... Let's go then, Master?」

「Ah, yes」

　Maria asks her to pick up the bags.

　However, Chihiro felt it would be wrong to just ignore Riko and leave.

「I'm sorry, Nishizaki-san. I'm counting on you」

「Eh...」

　He couldn't see Riko's expression after that as Maria pulled him to hurry up, but he thought he heard her say, "Okay", just before he left the classroom.

　Or rather, he unexpectedly decided to leave with Maria.

「Well. We should get ready for everything when we get back」

「Yeah... I have to decide what I'm going to talk to Nishizaki-san about」

「Eh? But, what about her training?」

「That's the point」

　Maria poked her head in, but Chihiro tilted his head as if to say he didn't understand.

「Isn't it obvious? You have to make her swear complete submission while you can... and I was a little frustrated yesterday, so I want to get some benefit.

「That's the second part of your real intention, isn't it?」

「It's just your imagination」

　And so on, they arrived at the apartment.

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