I'm Not Your Dad, I'm a Villain - Chapter 62

Chapter 62

A Familiar Face (2)

“Eek! What are you doing!?”

“I’m sorry, the moonlight reflecting off the axe was so beautiful that my hand slipped.”

“It’s still broad daylight! What are you talking about!? You damned slave. I’ve been letting things slide, and now you’re trying to stage a coup!? If I go back to the school and report to the principal right away…”

“Sorry? You want me to report abuse at school?”

“Hey, that’s going too far. Don’t do that!”

The man with the bread bag pulled out his smartphone. The teacher, flustered, rushed over to stop him.

Though their voices couldn’t be heard clearly from afar, the commotion was enough to draw attention.

Even the children who were busy setting up tents took notice.

“Nella, what are you looking at?”

Among them, Nella Hart, who had a particular interest in the two adults due to her connections to them, seemed especially concerned.

When a classmate approached from behind and asked, Nella gave a vague smile and continued to watch the two men.

“Ah, well… It looks like the teacher and mister get along very well.”

“They get along, you say?”

The classmate followed Nella’s gaze to the scene.

What caught her eye, however, was the teacher in a strange posture and the man with the bread bag brandishing an axe as if ready to attack.

“To me, it looks like they’re fighting…”

Indeed, from an objective standpoint, it appeared as if a major fight was about to break out.

But Nella didn’t seem overly alarmed by the sight of the two men.

Though their voices were loud, actual violence towards each other was only in the form of threats.

“Yes, but they say the closer you are, the more you fight.”

“Fighting because you’re close… That seems contradictory.”

“Well, I’m not sure, but I’ve heard adults say that sometimes.”

Despite her efforts to get along with the school kids, Nella often found her relationships strained.

What if someone got hurt from fighting? What if they didn’t make up?

However, unlike her classmates, adults often viewed such scenes more leniently.

They would often say, “Kids grow up by squabbling like that. Seeing them fight means they get along well.”

Though Nella didn’t fully grasp the meaning, she often thought adults must have their reasons.

“The deeper the emotional bond, the more they might tear each other apart…”

But unlike Nella, her classmate seemed to understand the meaning.

“Excuse me?”

“Being close means knowing a lot about each other, but that can lead to overconfidence in understanding everything about the other person. This lack of caution can cause unexpected conflicts and fights.”

Fights among close friends often stem from feelings of betrayal.

Even a slight mistake can turn years of friendship into enmity. To call conflicts a sign of friendship is a form of arrogance for those who have overcome them.

“Conversely, overcoming those conflicts can lead to a deeper understanding and more cautious interactions. Haha, so fighting can be a means to understand each other.”

The classmate chuckled softly while resting her chin on her hand.

Watching her, Nella asked again.

“Moa, have you heard something like this before?”

Moa Bread.

The most mature girl Nella knew shook her head at the question.

“No, it’s the first time I’ve heard it. I just considered the meaning of your words.”

“Considered… you say?”

“It’s just a personal thought, so don’t take it too seriously.”

The girl then glanced at the two men bickering in the distance before quietly heading back to the tent.

She, too, didn’t seem to see their conflict as a problem.

“Nella! Can you check this tent for us?”

How long had Nella watched the girl’s back?

Hearing voices calling her from afar, Nella quickly snapped out of it and ran towards the kids who were calling her.

“Ah, yes! I’ll be right there!”

Nella Hart.

The class president of Maris Academy’s 42nd class was considered a pillar of support by her classmates.

Her maturity and intelligence led her to exhibit leadership that guided many children.

“Just assemble it like this… Yes, it’s done!”

“Wow, Nella is amazing!”

The kids around her exclaimed in admiration as Nella quickly set up a tent.

Feeling embarrassed by the praise, Nella scratched the back of her head.

“Ah, no… It’s nothing. I just followed the manual.”

“You read that complicated manual? That’s even more amazing!”

“I saw the teacher struggling with it before. Nella, you’re better than the teacher!”

“Sometimes, I think Nella is more amazing than the adults.”

As the chatter started, more kids gathered around Nella, seeking her help.

The praise felt like a heavy burden to Nella.

More amazing than the adults?

Wasn’t she just a kid like them?

“Well, Moa is actually more…”

The words reflecting her confusing thoughts slipped out.

It was something Nella often kept to herself. She always thought there was someone greater than her.

“Moa?”

“Pfft!”

But the response was just laughter.

It was as if they were dismissing her feelings.

“Sure, Moa is great too. If it weren’t for her during the observation class…”

“Yeah, she was really calm.”

The kids didn’t dislike Moa.

In terms of maturity, she was even more than Nella.

But her distinctiveness made her seem ‘unique’ rather than ‘mature’ to the kids.

“Moa does have a lot of quirks, though?”

“Right? Unlike Nella, her grades are average…”

“Your grades are similar, though~”

“Well, mine are still 5 points higher than Moa’s!”

The conversation shifted from Nella to Moa.

Soon, their attention moved to Moa, who was assembling a tent nearby.

“Am I doing this right?”

“No, like this.”

“…Like this?”

“No, no, come here. I’ll do it for you.”

Though the tent assembly was designed to be easy for kids, the child Nella praised struggled with it.

“Wah! You can’t break it!”

Moreover, she made a mess as usual.

“Ah, I thought it would be better to understand how this mechanism works before assembling it, so I made a mistake.”

“Haha~ Moa made another mistake~”

“She’s going to get in trouble with the teacher~”

Laughter erupted around her, and the kids nearby Nella also began to giggle.

“Remember in art class when she couldn’t do anything? She said she was expressing the universe by putting a dot on the paper…”

“Oh, I know that. It’s called modern art, right?”

“She probably copied it from somewhere.”

“Her mannerisms and way of doing things are so out there~”

While Nella was considered a leader, Moa was seen as an oddball.

Though she was unique, her peers didn’t see her as capable.

Her occasional charisma didn’t last long in their minds.

‘Moa is… blending into the environment.’

Though Moa often guided and comforted her when her father was absent, her peers viewed her as an ‘equal.’

Unlike Nella, who relied on maturity and intelligence to be depended upon.

‘I wish I could be like Moa…’

No matter how mature she was, she was still a 7-year-old girl inside.

But she had no one to confide in, so she kept her worries to herself.

Seeing the person she depended on become the subject of her concerns was a significant challenge for an inexperienced girl.

“By the way, have you seen Isri, class president?”

As she struggled with her thoughts, a child suddenly asked.

The child looked around, but the owner of the name was nowhere to be seen.

It was enough to cause alarm.

‘Isri… She didn’t cause trouble again, did she?’

Isri was the student in the 42nd class who caused the most trouble.

She often knocked over desks, broke windows, damaged props during practice, or even broke building pillars while trying to fix things.

Her actions went beyond mere mischief, resembling acts of destruction.

The only relief was that her presence made the mischievous boys behave, and her destructive acts never targeted other people.

But despite that, her excessive destruction couldn’t be overlooked.

She listened well to instructions, but if not supervised, she quickly caused trouble, requiring constant monitoring.

“Isri, what are you doing here…”

“Nella, stay back!”

After searching, they found the green-haired girl in a poncho.

But her appearance was slightly different than usual.

Nella stared intently to figure out what was different.

-Caw!

At that moment, the black creature Isri was facing cried out, drawing Nella’s attention.

The sharp cry that pierced her ears belonged to a bird commonly known as a crow. In front of the crow were two long objects lying side by side.

Antennae?

“No, that crow took Isri’s sensors!”

It wasn’t antennae; it was hair.

Something Isri always referred to as her ‘sensors.’

“Sensors are important to Isri! Without them, she can’t receive the Doctor’s signals, and her functions will be disrupted!”

Receiving signals, functions…

Though not typical terms for a person, Nella vaguely understood that Isri wasn’t an ordinary girl.

Though the teacher hadn’t explicitly explained her identity, he had said she wouldn’t harm others and to be reassured by her presence.

It implied that Isri was entrusted to the class due to ‘adult circumstances.’ Her unique strength and heavy weight hinted at her unusual nature.

‘So those antennae… I mean, hair is important to Isri?’

Though she didn’t know the details, she understood that much.

She also realized that talking her down wouldn’t prevent the incident this time.

“Um, Isri, I understand, but let’s calm down and call an adult…”

“Right now!”

Ignoring Nella’s words, Isri leaped.

Though she moved faster than any girl her age could, her opponent was a bird with superior senses.

-Caw!

The crow cried out, flying away with the hair in its beak.

Isri’s head smashed into a nearby tree, causing it to tremble from the impact.

The tree was on the verge of being uprooted, and the smaller trees connected to its roots toppled like dominoes.

“Ah, wow…”

It was an incredible force, unthinkable for a girl her age.

Meanwhile, the crow, holding Isri’s hair, flew deeper into the forest, avoiding the fallen trees.

“Ah! The crow is escaping with Isri’s sensors! Stop right there, you thief crow!”

“Isri! You can’t go alone!”

Ignoring the shock, Isri sprinted off.

Unable to abandon her responsibility as class president, Nella followed.

The two girls chased the crow, crossing the fallen trees and heading deeper into the forest.

They didn’t notice that the fence buried beneath the fallen trees had collapsed.

***

A little while later.

“This is a big problem.”

A classmate who noticed the absence of the two girls saw the sign at the collapsed site and frowned.

[Beware of Wild Animals]

It was indeed a dangerous situation.

End of Chapter