Chapter 176 Sugita Group ⑲
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”I mean, look, even I feel a little bad about it,” Hagimoto said with a mocking snicker. “I really am sorry for dropping your lunch and ruining it, Sugita-kun.”
Hagimoto stood there, looking completely unrepentant.
”So, I went ahead and made a replacement for you. Go on-get it down you.”
He shoved a container in front of me. It wasn’t a meal; it was a heap of weeds pulled from the yard mixed with the carcasses of dead bees and various other insects.
”Screw you! Who the hell would eat this?” I shouted.
”Hey, don’t be like that,” Hidaka said, grabbing me. “Don’t ignore Hagimoto’s ‘charity.’”
Hidaka’s hand slammed onto the back of my head, forcing me down toward the filth.
It was wrong. I remembered this scene vividly. It was the moment just before we were transported to the other world. But this was supposed to be happening to Natsumi, not me. Why was I the one being humiliated?
”Choke it down! Choke it down!”
The class began to chant, their voices dripping with malice. When this happened before, we were the ones leading the charge. Now, every single one of them was laughing at me.
”Stop it! Why me…?”
I tried to fight back, but Hidaka’s grip was like iron.
The classroom door slid open, and our teacher, Nagase, stepped inside.
”How long are you going to keep making a scene? Sit down, everyone. Homeroom is starting,” Nagase said.
”Teacher, Sugita-kun won’t eat the lunch I made for him,” Hagimoto whined.
”And we worked so hard on it too,” Hidaka added.
”Yeah, we accidentally dropped his real lunch, so we all pitched in to make him a new one,” another student chimed in.
I wanted to scream that they were lying. I hadn’t even brought a lunch that day. Why was this happening?
”Is that so? Well, that’s quite rude of you,” Nagase said, looking at me with cold indifference. “Sugita-kun, you shouldn’t let their hard work go to waste. Eat it.”
”Are you insane? Look at this crap!”
”Sugita-kun, you are inconveniencing the entire class,” Nagase replied. “Eat it, now.”
”I told you, I’m not eating this garbage!”
”Calling it ‘garbage’ is an insult to-” Nagase’s voice suddenly distorted into a static-filled hiss for a second. “-the boys. Show some gratitude and finish your meal.”
There was a glitch in her voice. I was sure she was supposed to have said my name, but it came out as a blur of noise. Something was fundamentally broken here. And where was Yuki? He was the one who was supposed to step in and stop this.
”Hurry up and eat,” Nagase commanded.
”Choke it down! Choke it down!”
The chant filled the room, a rhythmic wall of hate. Everyone was smiling. Everyone was enjoying this.
”Choke it down! Choke it down! Choke it down!”
”Dammit… screw all of you! Why… why do I have to go through this!?”
* * *
”Guaaaah!”
I sat bolt upright, gasping for air. Morning sunlight streamed through the window.
”Haa… haa… Just a dream. Dammit, just a nightmare.”
”Fwaaa. Morning, Kazu. You were screaming pretty loud. You okay?”
Rieslett was lying beside me, rubbing her eyes. My shouting must have woken her up. She was completely naked, looking up at me with concern. Even if my ‘equipment’ wasn’t working, I could still toy with her and make her lose her mind. I’d been getting plenty of entertainment out of her lately.
”It was nothing. Just a bad dream. Don’t worry about it,” I muttered.
”You look terrible, though. It must have been a real horror show. Oh, speaking of dreams… Masa mentioned he was having nightmares too,” Rieslett said.
Now that she mentioned it, Hagimoto had said something similar-that he hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep since we killed Natsumi.
As for Hagimoto, he’d stormed out yesterday and hadn’t come back. Had he actually abandoned me?
My eyes drifted to the desk. The same Crystal Ball¹ from yesterday was sitting there, but it had changed. The glass was now dark and murky.
”Not again… was Hagimoto turned into a girl too?”
I leaned in to get a closer look at the ball.
”G-gaaaah! H-help! Make it stop! It’s burning! I’m melting! Gyaaaaaaa!”
”Holy-!”
I recoiled as the Crystal Ball rolled across the floor. He wasn’t just reflected in the glass-he was trapped inside. I saw Hagimoto being charred by flames, sliced by invisible blades, frozen, then thawed, then devoured by shadows, only to be knitted back together to suffer it all again. It was a literal loop of hellish torture.
”What is that? Oh god!” Rieslett shrieked, her face turning pale as she caught a glimpse. “What is happening!?”
”How should I know? But this is just like yesterday… first that recording of Hidaka being used like a toy, and now this…”
Yesterday there had been a letter. Today, there was only a voice.
”Kuhahaha! Good morning. Do you like my gift? I hope it brings you some joy.”
Natsumi’s voice echoed through the room. I spun around, but the room was empty.
”Natsumi! You coward! Where are you? Come out so I can kill you again!” I roared.
”Oh, I’m so scared. Kuhahaha!”
”You’re nothing but a dead man walking, Natsumi!” I ground my teeth, checking the window and the hallway. There was no sign of him.
”You talk big for someone who spent his whole life hiding behind his daddy’s coattails,” Natsumi’s voice taunted.
”I’m a Hero! I can do whatever I want!”
”Not here you can’t. Though I see you’re still busy scamming the bigwigs at Plaudix² to keep your little fantasy alive. You haven’t changed a bit. Still the same entitled piece of trash.”
”So what? You’re just pissed because I stole your women and your money,” I spat.
”Hardly. I couldn’t care less about the filth that betrayed me. Those women are worthless.”
”That’s horrible! How can you say that?” Rieslett cried out.
Natsumi didn’t even acknowledge her. “They made their choice. Now they get their punishment. Reese, tell Marl and the others: I will never forgive them.”
”Hmph. What a petty little man,” Rieslett scoffed, clinging to my arm. “No wonder Kazu stole us away from you.”
”Haa… well, believe what you want. By the way, Kazu… how’s the impotence? Having some nice nightmares?”
”How did you-? Wait, was that you!?”
”Ding ding. You guessed it.”
”You son of a bitch!” I screamed at the empty air. “Fix it! Fix me right now! I can’t even enjoy myself like this!”
”Sure. I don’t mind fixing you,” Natsumi replied casually.
I froze. He was actually agreeing?
”On one condition,” Natsumi continued. “Tomorrow. The Arena³. You and Reese against me and my partner. A two-on-two tag match. If you win, I’ll cure you. In fact, I’ll give you everything I have.”
”Everything? You mean that gorgeous woman you were with? Lil?”
”You mean Lili? Sure. Her too.”
I didn’t care what her name was. If she was that beautiful, I wanted her.
”Fine. It’s a deal. I’m going to take every last thing you own, Natsumi. Say your prayers.”
”I was going to say the same to you. Don’t be late.”
With that, the voice vanished.
”Kazu, if you win, Lilith-san will get to be loved by you instead,” Rieslett said, her eyes shining. “She’d be so much happier with you than with that loser. We have to win!”
She pumped her fist, her breasts swaying with the movement.
”Damn right. I’m going to violate her right in front of his face. I want to see the look on his mug when she’s begging me for more. Hahaha!”
I was already savoring the victory. I didn’t stop to think about how Natsumi had absolutely dismantled Hidaka and Hagimoto. I had ‘Steal⁴.’ As long as I had my cheat skill, there was no way I could lose.
Looking back, I should have realized how delusional I was being.
—
Summary:
Sugita experiences a distorted nightmare of his past bullying, now as the victim. Upon waking, he discovers Hagimoto being tortured inside a crystal ball by Natsumi. Natsumi offers a tag-team duel at the arena to cure Sugita’s impotence.
—
Trivia:
- The ‘glitch’ in Teacher Nagase’s voice suggests the world/dream is being manipulated.
- Sugita previously stole Rieslett and other women from Natsumi.
- Hagimoto was the one who actually killed Natsumi originally.
- Sugita is still impotent, which is his primary motivation for agreeing to the duel.
- Lilith (Lil) is the ‘transcendent beauty’ seen with Natsumi in previous chapters
—
Character Insight:
Sugita’s hubris is at an all-time high; despite seeing his allies tortured, he believes his ‘Steal’ skill makes him invincible. Natsumi shows a cold, detached cruelty toward his former companions.
—
Behind the Scenes:
The author used a parody of the ‘Unlimited Blade Works’ incantation from Fate/stay night in the original web novel post-script to describe the ‘Zamaa’ (revenge) elements of the story.
—
TL Notes:
Notes:
• Hagimoto – One of the members of the Sugita gang who actively bullied Natsumi. At first glance, he looks like a cool, smart guy with glasses, but he is actually vulgar and has a foul mouth. Wields a large scythe named Grimm Reaper and possesses the Unique Skill Sariel’s Protection.
• Sugita – Sugita Kazu. The leader of the Sugita gang and the primary bully of Natsumi Sasaki. His grandfather is the Superintendent General and his father is a Police Superintendent, so the two of them covered up all his crimes. Because of this, he does whatever he wants wherever he goes. He has a lean build, sharp features, and a calculating gaze. Possesses the ‘Steal’ (窃盗) skill and uses it to brainwash women.
• Hidaka – 182 cm, 79 kg muscular man—ex-Sugita gang member and Kendo club alum, now Hero-class wielding Holy Sword Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi and Unique Skill
• Natsumi – The protagonist. Height 168 to 171 cm, weight 57 to 59 kg. He has a baby face, but he hides his eyes with his bangs. He was bullied by the Sugita gang just because his name sounded like a girl’s name.
• Yuki – Yuki Chihiro. Height 178 cm, weight 70 kg (Male). Natsumi’s childhood friend. A handsome, athletic top student in the soccer club.
• Rieslett – A half-Japanese, half-Swedish girl with a youthful appearance. Often mistaken for her mother’s sister. A blonde or brunette girl. Currently wearing a black cloak over a white shirt, accented with a red ribbon tie. A navy-blue, knee-length pleated skirt, black knee-highs, and brown leather shoes.
• Reese – Jessica’s sister, currently asleep. Identified as a ‘beautiful blonde lady’ by Alice.
• Marl – Lil’s younger sister figure or companion who enjoys watching the couple from a distance. Not the real one.
• Lil – One of the heroines. Height 166 cm, B-W-H: 90-56-90. She is a top-tier beauty with long indigo hair down to her waist, a large scar on her abdomen and sharp golden eyes. She has wolf ears and a tail.
• Lili – Sasaki Natsumi’s familiar. She is a Lilim, a type of succubus, and has no fighting power. Of course, she only thinks about erotic things. Blonde hair, blue eyes, twin-tails, and a petite but busty (‘loli-bakunyuu’) physique
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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