I'm Not Your Dad, I'm a Villain - Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Foul Friend (1)

Faust Panzer.

My first impression of him was relatively positive.

Though he was unable to handle the situation when the parents collectively rushed out, that’s something that would fluster most people.

He made up for it by passionately teaching the children afterward, earning the trust of the parents.

The children also trusted him greatly.

“This must be the first time we’ve met face-to-face, right?”

“Ah, yes. That’s right. The school usually handled everything.”

We were having the consultation, seated in the infirmary, with Faust at his desk.

As I took a sip of the coffee he offered, the distinct bitterness of black coffee filled my mouth.

Faust skimmed through the documents in the student file in front of him.

“I’ve heard that you’ve experienced quite a lot over the past few months. The incident at Hero Land… Ah, and I also heard you worked as Spiritas’ manager. Is that true?”

“Yes, well… It was a contract job, so it didn’t last long.”

“Even as a contract job, managing a world-class star is impressive. In a way, you might be the most remarkable person visiting today.”

Haha, being the best among the parents who are mostly heroes.

Well, not all heroes are high-ranked.

Ronin Blade, an A-rank hero, rarely shows himself outside of missions, so his recognition pales in comparison to Spiritas.

“I guess being the father of that child means you should be at least that extraordinary.”

I was thinking along those lines until he continued.

“What? What do you mean by that?”

“It’s about Moa.”

Faust adjusted his glasses with a serious tone.

The sudden shift in atmosphere made me quite tense.

“Has my daughter caused any problems?”

“Not caused, but she has some issues.”

Issues?

Did he discover Boss’s true identity?

Perhaps he suspected her behavior was not fitting for a seven-year-old girl.

“She has excellent peer relationships.”

As I tensed up, the teacher continued his explanation.

“To be honest, you could say all the kids in the class follow Moa. Even though Nella is the class president, she often goes to Moa first when she needs advice.”

“Ah, yes. That’s a relief.”

“She’s mature for her age, but more than that, she has leadership. The ability to attract people is a talent she possesses.”

He saw through it very accurately.

It’s natural for someone who was a leader of an organization to have the ability to attract others.

“And about her grades… She’s barely at the average.”

“Ah, yes. Average… you say?”

“Don’t be too disappointed. At this age, grades don’t significantly impact their future.”

“No, I’m not particularly disappointed. These days, college isn’t a necessity but a choice. I just want my daughter to freely choose her path.”

In Pangea, the illiteracy rate is nearly half, and as a result, college has long been the domain of the talented or the affluent.

So going to college isn’t mandatory.

While it may be necessary for maintaining her disguise, there’s no need to hastily decide now.

“…Still, from a parent’s perspective, the better the grades, the better.”

Had he sensed something odd in my words?

Faust gave me a sharp look before pulling out some documents from the student file.

“In my opinion, Moa isn’t unintelligent. In fact, she sometimes appears even smarter than our top student, Nella. But school exams aren’t just about being smart.”

In his hand were tests distributed by the school.

At the top was written ‘Moa Bread’, but the number of answers filled in was just over half.

“As you can see, the questions she answered are all correct, but in every test, she only completes about half of the test paper. She spends too much time on each question.”

“Ah.”

I let out a sigh, understanding what he was getting at.

Yes, speed is important in school exams.

You need to solve problems quickly and accurately. Given the nature of exams, Boss wouldn’t score high.

Even for simple questions like 1+1, Boss would start from the basics.

For instance, proving the formula 1+1=2…

While most people think it’s an obvious answer and don’t find it necessary to prove it, mathematicians argue that proving 1+1=2 is one of the toughest challenges.

‘The claim that 1+1=2 is merely stating that one stone plus another stone makes two stones. But if you combine a lump of clay with another lump of clay to make one lump, can you call that two?’

In reality, to refute such claims, mathematicians refer to concepts like the ‘Peano axioms’.

In Boss’s case, she tries to prove 1+1=2 in a more advanced way.

Thinking about it like that, it’s impressive she completes even half of the test.

“What should I say?”

To an ordinary person, it might seem eccentric or out of the norm.

Despite her intelligence, her slow problem-solving speed would naturally raise suspicions for a teacher.

“I’m just asking out of curiosity… Has she ever undergone any experiments?”

Yes, his statement stemmed from such suspicions.

“What? Experiments…?”

Regardless of the circumstances, experiments?

Isn’t that too extreme, even if he’s suspicious?

“As a teacher, I come across various news. For instance, drugs that turn people into geniuses or surgeries that insert metal into bones to increase height…”

“Ah, yes. Such things do exist.”

Indeed, many scammers use pseudoscience.

Parents who can’t distinguish fake information might impose their distorted love on their children, resulting in mishaps.

It’s something a teacher can’t overlook.

“So, I’m worried that Moa might have experienced something like that.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. I’ve never subjected Moa to…”

“No, I do need to worry.”

Was his concern too excessive?

Faust cut me off, adjusting his glasses.

At that moment, the light reflecting from the curtains glanced off his glasses, hiding his eyes for a moment.

As if to conceal the change in atmosphere.

“Because during a recent health check, I found traces of a drug I created in her blood.”

I felt a slight change.

The minimal courtesy and politeness maintained so far had disappeared.

-Buzz!

Before the realization transformed into vigilance, a tinnitus echoed in my head, and my strength drained from my body.

Crash! I fell out of the chair, and the coffee cup I had been drinking from fell, spilling its contents everywhere.

“Cough, uh… Ugh!”

I tried to move, but my hands just trembled.

And I couldn’t breathe properly.

As if my lungs were paralyzed… Yes, it’s a typical reaction to poison.

“Don’t worry for now. It’s just a mild anesthetic.”

Faust turned away from my panicked self and closed the curtains.

He moved about in the now dark infirmary and took something from the supply closet.

A sharply honed scalpel.

“Where should I start… How about de-boning your fingers first?”

There was no hesitation as he aimed the scalpel at my hand.

Damn, this is dangerous.

“What are you doing, teacher? You…”

“Shut up.”

Faust plunged the scalpel into my finger.

The blade sliced through the skin like paper, penetrating the muscles and tearing through the interior.

The searing pain shot from my fingertips to my brain.

The scalpel in his hand precisely targeted the nerves that triggered pain.

“From now on, answer with yes or no. Do you understand?”

“What…”

“Looks like you don’t.”

Ignoring me, he pulled out the scalpel and stabbed another finger.

The delicate blade, sharper than a fine sword, cut through flesh and muscle without resistance, precisely damaging the nerves and causing excruciating pain.

More torturous than getting your nails pulled out while alive.

But the worst part was I couldn’t even scream to express the pain.

“If you don’t answer properly, things will get worse. And don’t expect mercy even if you do.”

Faust left the scalpel embedded and pulled out another from his pocket.

A makeshift weapon compared to a dagger.

But he could skillfully target nerves with just that.

“Depending on what you’ve done, I can make you live your life as a brain in a jar.”

He wasn’t bluffing or making empty threats.

The weight of his words hit me hard as I struggled to ask him.

“You… Are you a villain?”

“Haha, you really don’t listen.”

“Shut up and answer!”

I had to know, regardless.

I had to find out if the person I needed to protect had been toyed with by another villain.

“…I used to be a villain.”

Did he sense something from my gaze?

Faust coldly replied.

Yes, someone on the hero’s side wouldn’t act this way.

If they suspected something, they would hand the person over to the association rather than torture them.

“As you guessed, I used to live a pretty wild life. I cleaned up my past and now live modestly as a teacher.”

“That’s ridiculous…”

“But I still have a sense of duty and find fulfillment in teaching kids.”

Faust stabbed another finger with the scalpel.

The blade tore through the skin and muscles, exposing the bone.

Despite the blood pooling on the floor, his face remained calm.

“Then why did I find traces of a drug I created in my student’s blood?”

His expression now was one of anger and disgust.

Perhaps genuine concern for his student being exposed to ‘suspicious activities’.

“Moa’s father, what did you do to that child? Did you inject her with drugs to turn her into a genius? Is that it?”

Was it because I was slow to answer? The scalpel started to cut through my finger more irritably.

A crude torture that didn’t care about nerves or bones.

I couldn’t scream because the anesthetic was still affecting my lungs, but I repeatedly reminded myself of his words.

Suspicious drugs? During the three years I looked after her, nothing came to mind.

If anything, it would have been before the organization collapsed.

“What? You’re doing a health check on Boss too?”

“Well, she’s still a person, so we need to check her health.”

“…No, she’s not a person.”

“She’s still human in form. Want to see the test charts?”

Yes, indeed.

In the organization, someone examined her body.

They would inject her with necessary drugs.

And he told me this.

‘Why did a drug I created appear in her body?’

Understanding that, I desperately moved to resist him.

My arm swung and knocked the scalpel away.

I elbowed his jaw, sending him sprawling across the infirmary floor.

“Cough, ugh!”

I gasped for air, but I still couldn’t scream and ended up coughing.

Still unable to shout.

Blood loss from my fingers made me dizzy, blurring my vision.

“Whistle~”

Unlike me, Faust casually got up, whistling.

Adjusting his glasses, he looked genuinely impressed.

“Impressive. The anesthetic I used should’ve incapacitated even the best regenerative beings.”

“…It’s not regeneration. It’s restoration.”

“Restoration?”

“Enough, just answer my question, you bastard!”

I shouted at him, discarding any formality.

Not just because he tortured me.

But because his ‘concern for his student’ might be fake.

“Anatomy… What are you doing at this school?”

Anatomy, the human chimera.

Why is the third-ranked executive of Ouroboros working as a teacher at this academy?

End of Chapter