A Ruffian’s Regret

Leidi, clutching her stomach with a pained expression, cast a melancholic gaze at Colt.

“Colt… you’re truly merciless…”

While it wasn’t quite as expected, and Princess, who was swamped with work, didn’t make an appearance, coming to ‘Beethoven’ had undoubtedly lifted their spirits.

Now, the three of them were on their way home.

“You brought this upon yourself, didn’t you?” Colt retorted, her reason utterly justifiable. “Who told you to knead my chest so hard back then…?”

‘Indeed! This is an absolutely valid reason!’ Colt thought. ‘I was in so much pain!’

“Maintaining my weight is such a struggle…” Leidi sighed, a lament escaping her lips. “Yet I… alas, it seems I’ll have to increase my exercise regimen soon…”

Beside her, Sister Ruka also clutched her stomach, but her expression was a mix of regret and helplessness.

She was likely lamenting how easily she had succumbed to her appetite.

Oh, right. Since Colt still had ice cream and chocolate to devour, she hadn’t eaten much of that magnificent Phosphor Lava Cake.

Leidi and Sister Ruka had consumed the majority of it, though Colt had practically forced Leidi to finish her share.

“Speaking of which, Sister Ruka, didn’t you say you had a metabolism that prevented you from gaining weight?” Colt mused, recalling their lunch on the school rooftop.

The question slipped out before she could stop herself.

“Uh… that was just something I said casually…” Sister Ruka averted her gaze, offering an awkward smile.

‘What was the point of that lie…?’ Colt grumbled inwardly.

“By the way, what made you decide to come to ‘Beethoven’?” Leidi tugged at Colt’s sleeve.

“Pure exasperation,” Colt replied, casting a sideways glance at Leidi. “At the time, I was only thinking of how to annoy you, and in a fit of pique, I brought your share of the vouchers along…”

Now that she thought about it, that was truly a childish act of revenge.

Furthermore, using Leidi’s voucher was utterly pointless. How could someone like her ever be short on money?

“Puh-ha! Are you some kind of elementary schooler?” Leidi burst into laughter, nudging Colt with her elbow.

“Why would you say that?!” Colt exclaimed. “Next time you do that, you’ll regret it!”

Immediately, she stretched Leidi’s face wide like a pancake, then molded it into an octopus.

“Tee-puh-choo, oh-choo-loh!” [Sorry, I was wrong!]

Pleading was useless. For now, Leidi would remain a comical octopus princess!

“Hey! I finally found you! Stop right there!”

“Hm?” All three of them uttered simultaneously.

Suddenly, a distinctly unfriendly voice, one they seemed to have heard before, echoed from behind them.

Turning around, Colt saw him—

Ah, it was the same ruffian whose stomach she’d delivered a short, arcing hook punch to not long ago.

It was truly infuriating. The walk from the ‘Chrysalis’馆 to ‘Beethoven’ was only about thirty minutes, yet, including this ruffian, Colt had been accosted by twenty-three men.

Their ages ranged from elementary school boys to middle-aged men. It was practically one per minute, utterly exasperating.

And this particular one had even mistaken her for a streetwalker. If she could, she’d love to stomp him flat like a cockroach, then bury him!

“Shoo-buh-yee! Shin-fahn-kwai-oh-dyoo-ling-ah!” Leidi struggled, trying to turn Colt’s face. [Colt! Let go of my face first!]

“Ah! My apologies! I completely forgot!”

Colt’s hand was still pinching Leidi’s face, and seeing that scoundrel had apparently made her clench unconsciously. ‘My bad, my bad.’

“You bitches, don’t think you can offend me and just walk safely on the streets!” the ruffian snarled. “Do you even know who I am?!”

For some reason… Colt couldn’t help but feel that “baring fangs and brandishing claws” perfectly described the ruffian’s current expression. It was truly a fitting image.

“Apologies, but we don’t know, nor do we care to accompany you,” Leidi stated, as if dismissing him as unsightly, unrecyclable trash.

With a subtle wink, she pulled Colt and Sister Ruka forward, intending to walk away.

But—

“Ladies, where are you off to~?” a voice purred. “Why not join us for some tea~?”

“Angering the boss can be quite terrifying, you know. You might end up tied to a bed and thoroughly messed with~”

Two burly, repulsive men had extended their arms, blocking their path.

“What do you intend to do?” Leidi asked, turning to glance at the ruffian, a cold smile gracing her lips.

“Be disfigured, or sleep with me. Choose one,” he sneered, his gaze lingering on all of them with an unclean leer. “Of course, I mean all of you.”

A truly repulsive feeling washed over Colt.

“This is a public street, sir,” Leidi pointed out, glancing around. “Someone might have already called the police the moment we were stopped.”

A look of disdain curled her lips into a smile.

Colt subtly scanned her surroundings. While no one approached, a considerable number of people were indeed watching them.

Many had even pulled out their phones, likely hoping to gather evidence.

“Hahahaha, quite the defiant mouth you have,” the ruffian scoffed. “But I’m no fool. I’ve already ‘taken care’ of the police in this area.”

“Even if I get arrested, at most I’ll just enjoy some good food and drink for a few days inside. Nothing will actually happen.”

As he spoke, he didn’t forget to flash his seemingly high-end wallet at them.

‘Holy hell… I really want to punch him…’ Colt seethed.

She had initially thought this guy was just a petty thug. ‘Who knew this bastard was such a complete societal degenerate?!’

“Oh dear, oh dear~ It seems there’s no other choice then. We’ll just have to go with you~” Leidi purred, her tone suddenly saccharine.

“I do hope your ‘thing’ won’t disappoint me~”

“Eh?!”

Incredibly, Leidi had cast a seductive, alluring glance at the man’s lower half.

“And~ you must be gentle. I’m quite sensitive to pain, you see~”

“Eh?!!!”

Colt turned her head to see Sister Ruka, also covering her cheeks with a bashful, demure expression!

‘What is happening?! Leidi, what are you doing?! And Sister Ruka too! Why the sudden change of face?!’

“Oh? You’re quite sensible, aren’t you? In that case, I won’t pursue what happened earlier.” He then turned his gaze to Colt.

“Hey, you, the big-chested one in the middle, what about you?”

“Uh? Hey? Huh? What, what?”

‘My brain feels like it’s about to melt down…’

“Whatever I do, she’ll follow along. Right, little sister~”

“Mmph!”

Just then, Leidi had winked at Colt, revealing her utterly distinctive, unmistakably goddess-like (and intensely scheming) smile.

…

…

‘So, you two are planning to absolutely destroy him…’

In that case—

Count Colt in!

Instantly, Colt plastered on a new expression, directing her most obsequious smile yet at the gaudy, arrogant, utterly repulsive, and frankly unattractive human trash before her.

“That’s right, that’s right~ Whatever big sister does, I’ll do too. You have to be gentle with me as well~”

‘Heh heh… you’re finished…’