Chapter 104: Fat Grandma
I took a cautious step back.
“What do you want… don’t make a move… I-I’m not afraid of you!”
This guy, the way he’s standing, it looks like he wants to fight? What a low-class man… a love guru? Does anyone really fall for a guy like this?
“Haha, look, she’s scared…”
“No matter how sharp-tongued a girl is, when she meets a real lion, all she can do is shake in fear.”
“At the end of the day, she’s just a little girl…”
“Hey, kid, you’ve gone a bit too far! Apologize, Alex won’t do anything to you.”
“We need to get along nicely from now on.”
“Shut up, all of you!”
Alex roared at his chattering companions behind him and dashed toward me, raising his hand as if to grab the collar of my dress.
“Listen, kid, I’m telling you—”
Before he could finish, I gracefully sidestepped his outstretched arm. While he was still stunned, I swept my right leg, kicking his left leg up into the air. He lost his balance and, face-first, went “bam!” onto the ground.
“Don’t touch me,” I looked down at him and said.
But inside, I felt a little regret.
I had initially wanted to try a German suplex, but at the last moment, I realized the potential for “exposing sensitive areas,” and that startled me. In a panic, I had to switch to a leg sweep.
I should have used that as my ultimate attack… what a pity…
“Whoa…”
“Alex got taken down…”
“This girl is ruthless…”
“She looks so delicate, though…”
The murmurs around me grew louder, and I saw many students on the upper and lower floors snickering, some looking at me with pity and sighs.
“Alex embarrassed himself… this girl is in trouble.”
“Tough luck for her, first day at the academy and she runs into this…”
“Being too pretty is a sin too, I guess.”
“But she has black hair, so she should be fine, right…?”
Meanwhile, the red-haired guy’s buddies surrounded me.
“How dare you make a move?”
“Kid… you’re a bit impulsive.”
“You’re not getting away this time.”
“Alex, are you alright?” someone asked.
“I’m fine…” The red-haired guy, on the ground, pushed himself up with his elbow, shook his head gently, and a few drops of bl**d fell onto the stone below.
“You’re bleeding!”
“Hey, girl! Hand me that scarf tied around your arm!”
…Are you kidding? Why would I give it to you? Gross!
“I told you, I’m fine!” The red-haired guy wiped underneath his nose with the back of his hand, leaving a bright red mark. His tone became even harsher, “Don’t let her go!”
“She can’t get away.”
After saying that, someone reached out to grab me… why don’t these people ever learn?
So, I rose onto my toes and punched the guy in the face.
“Ah—”
He stumbled back two steps, covering his nose with teary eyes, and soon the bl**d began to seep through his fingers.
“Don’t touch me.”
I was getting annoyed.
“d*mn, this little one…”
“You’d better explain yourself today… you think an apology will settle this?”
“What else do we need to say to her?!”
The red-haired guy stood up again, bl**d oozing from his nostrils and streaking his face like messy war paint. He was now in a rage, no longer pretending to be a gentleman, glaring at me and shouting, “Catch her! d*mn it, drag her to room 1016!”
“Alex, calm down! This is the academy, not outside. We still don’t know who she is…”
“I don’t care who she is! This is the royal city! In the royal city, I’m the king! What anyone else thinks doesn’t matter! Bring her to me!”
…The nobles around here are really… so arrogant.
“Ha! A girl with such personality, we’ll have to train her properly when we bring her back.”
“Looks like she’s a novice too.”
“Hey, kid, are you?”
The things they were saying were getting less and less bearable. I was getting really mad and decided to use some physical means to shut them up. These guys clearly dressed like they’ve never suffered a day in their lives… I wonder how much they can take; they better watch themselves, or they might just end up being knocked out.
“I’m your mother.”
As I took a step toward the red-haired guy, a voice rang out like an off-pitch trumpet from the tower.
“What are you idiots doing in a circle over there?!”
The noisy atmosphere instantly fell silent.
I turned toward the source of the voice and saw a plump, disheveled old lady storming over, rage written all over her face. She was as round as a ball—sorry, I shouldn’t have used such an unkind description, but it’s very accurate… yet her feet moved like the wind, and the loose flesh on her face shook violently as she went. That flaming red rhinophyma seemed like something only a strong man like Pagos could rival; I couldn’t shake the feeling that even the stones beneath us were vibrating…
The old lady held a bunch of keys in one hand and a water jug in the other as she ran, shouting curses at us.
“Hey, you little brats! Didn’t I tell you before, if I ever see you bullying a girl again, I’ll smash your heads?! What, do you all want a long life?!”
The red-haired guy and his friends suddenly looked flustered, their bravado deflating.
“d*mn, it’s Fat Grandma!”
“Isn’t it too early for her to be at the gate? How did she get here?”
“Someone must have snitched.”
“Don’t let me find out who it was…”
“Kid, just you wait! I won’t forget this! This isn’t over!”
The red-haired guy, Alex or whatever, started to slink away, but not without throwing back some nasty words.
“Alex! Who are you remembering?! Come say that to my face!”
“Who’d want to step back to you? This is so d*mn unlucky…”
“Let’s get out of here!”
The haughty group that had been so intimidating a moment ago scattered like cockroaches when the lights come on. The plump old lady ran up to me, pausing to catch her breath, still cursing under her breath.
“A bunch of mangy dogs, phew… lost all your dignity… you’re nothing but trash, dare to run wild in my territory… don’t let me see you again! If I do, once is not enough, I’ll knock you out once for every time I see you…”
…This grandma has quite the character.
After catching her breath, she turned to me, her face so round that her eyes were almost hidden, now sporting a pleasant smile.
“Little girl, you okay?”
I smiled back at her.
“Grandma, I’m fine.”
“Child, you’re a new student, right?”
“Uh-huh.”
“You’re really pretty… but you’d better be careful around those people. They’re a bunch of useless cattle, always picking on beautiful girls like you, not even knowing how many youngsters they’ve harmed… As long as we old folks are around the academy, they’ll behave themselves a bit more… but once you’re out the door, they’ll do anything. Girl, you’re from the Empire, right?”
