Chapter 123 - Burn it Down
...
And so... the dreaded lunchtime arrived.
I tried my best to push it for later, but any later than this won't be any good.
I-I have to placate her fury before things take a turn for the worse.
Giving Nihara a poorly made-up excuse, I walked towards the Council office location to see if Celesta was there. Otherwise, I would have to browse through endless halls or wait for the College to end for the day.
It became less and less crowded as I walked nearer to the Council office. Maybe because there are no lectures held here, or was it due to being a staff building?
Who cares? Let's just find Celesta already. Then I have to deal with Karime, Lara, Jorah, Isla... and Sis Lin...
Oh, God. I am in too much trouble!
As I knocked on the door of the Council office, I was welcomed inside and went in.
Thankfully, Celesta was here.
She looks... very normal, I think. Just working on the documents silently.
It's those others around her that look somewhat strange.
Their eyes were either filled with tears, a sense of despair, or anger... towards me?
Why is that so?? I just came here!
Celesta slowly raised her head to look at me, before she sprang up from her seat and ran towards me... hugging me tight to her chest!
Celesta... she smells nice... and her body is soft too...
"C-Carene... you idiot..! Where were you since the evening?! I was looking for you all over the place!! Do I have to chain you to myself to stop you from running away?!"
Wait! D-Don't do that! I was just near the house, not far away!
"Celesta... I-I'm sorry. I forgot to check my phone until I got here in College. I'm sorry for not contacting you before staying over at a friend's place for the night. Forgive me, please?"
Maybe my soft approach worked, but Celesta didn't scold me any further or say any scary things.
The cold feeling in my body since arriving in the office rapidly went away.
On the other hand, Celesta's tears falling above my head didn't make me feel that good about myself.
I made her cry again... I should try pampering her a bit later.
I let Celesta have her fill of hugging me, while those around us heaved a sigh of relief.
What's wrong with these people?? They should have placated Celesta in my stead!
What a bunch of useless friends!
...
Celesta didn't let me go until I had lunch with her.
What? It wasn't time for her lunch yet?? She said that rules are meant to be broken and ordered a set to be delivered straight to the office.
The taste was good, though, so I couldn't complain. Rather, it was way more luxurious than what was available in the Cafeteria.
At last, she let me go... albeit reluctantly. Even then, she wanted to throw all of her duties to her peers and walk home with me.
Obviously, everyone objected.
With a sour look on her face, Celesta went back to work.
Well, at the very least, she isn't giving that cold vibe anymore, so maybe it's okay.
With all of her peers looking at me with thankful eyes, I went my way back to the next hall to continue my studies for the day.
Well... I wanted to, but I was surrounded instead. By three ladies no less. No, correction. By three super gorgeous beauties!
Thinking that God was being too generous to me nowadays, I soon recognised them to be Nihara's new friends.
Hey! I-Isn't this a golden chance to become friends with them too?!!
With the ancient theory of a friend's friend being our own friend, I waved towards them and spoke,
"Oh, you three. Nihara's friends, right? Nice to meet you! I'm Carene, also Nihara's friend."
As I extended my hand for a handshake, the three of them stared at my hand without any intention of shaking it.
The orange-haired one began to scream at me instead,
"Quit your foolishness! We are here to warn you. Stay away from Miss Nihara. She has no need for cowards like you as her friends!"
Oh ho~? I guess they don't want to be my friends, huh? Time to throw that stupid theory into the garbage bin!
Since they didn't want to act nice, I couldn't be bothered to care as well, as I folded my arms and looked at them with an ugly expression and taunted them,
"And here I thought you people would be somewhat decent. Then again, finding Nihara in this cesspool was already like winning a lottery."
"Actually, I am anything but a coward. What complaints you three have of me, I just don't care. Just know this, I will live my life as I want. I will be friends with whoever I want to be with."
"And I will... sleep with any chick that I desire to sleep with!! That's my motto for life! Dig that!"
Not wanting to continue the stupid conversation any longer, I began to walk away from those three before their shout stopped me again.
"Q-Quit trying to act so mighty! Where were you..? Where were you when Miss Nihara needed your help?! Why did you let her face those horrible guys by herself?! Coward!!"
Horrible guys..? Wait, don't tell me...
As I turned towards the angrily crying orange-haired girl, I walked back towards her and spoke,
"I wasn't present yesterday. What happened? Did someone trouble her again??"
Maybe being able to feel my fury, they didn't continue to mock me, but honestly told me about yesterday's events.
God, dammit! Just when I was away... Nihara was about to be trapped by them again?!!
Enough of this crap already. Time to end this once and for all!
My scoldings this time would make them bleed from their ears!
...
As I asked the three to lead me to the two boys' location, they brought me to a remote and dark location.
By the way... the number of girls behind me had begun to increase at some point, which soon became too large to count.
Maybe they all have some business there?
A musky and bad smell was in the air, while one of the roads led somewhere deeper, I was brought to the other end, as I soon came across a tall and hunky guy.
Referring to that guy, the orange-haired girl spoke to me,
"It's him. There was one more with him, but he has taken a leave for a few days."
Acknowledging her info, I walked closer to the guy as his eyes fell upon me.
Instantly, his face paled, and he began to tremble.
What's with him? I haven't even begun scolding him yet?! Don't spoil my enthusiasm before I even begin!
Without me saying anything, the guy fell down to his knees and began to cry out,
"F-Forgive me!! I was... wrong! I don't dare do it again! I-It wasn't my faultttt!!"
Ahh? W-What am I supposed to do now??
The orange-haired girl stepped up instead and screamed,
"Don't you dare lie to our faces! We saw you and your accomplice yesterday! Admit it, you pervert!!"
The guy began to weep on the floor as he cried out,
"I-I was wrong!! I don't dare to do it again! I-I will even stop coming here from now onward!"
Pathetic... was this the guy who had the balls to do that to Nihara?
All of my anger went down the toilet. Still, I need to give him a warning.
Using his already low posture, I walked closer to him and stepped on his head lightly, and spoke in a low tone,
"If I see you anywhere near her again... I won't be this lenient anymore."
"Y-Y-Yesss..."
Seeing him soiling his pants was enough to gross me out.
What I didn't expect was that... as soon as I walked away from the hunky guy... the other girls, including those three, began to kick at him with varying degrees of strength!
Hey, hey! He won't die like this, right?!
I d-don't wish to go to jail for something this stupid!
As if liberated from some curse, those girls screamed out while pumping their fists into the air!
Seeing their fighting spirit horrified me, as if they were out for blood.
"Onto the next battlefield!"
""""""OHHH!!!!""""""
The girls screamed in unison and began to march the other way, deeper inside. Being somewhat worried and feeling a bit responsible for causing a mob riot, I briefly checked the stomped guy's breath before I ran after the group of violent ladies.
...
By the time I arrived there, it was already too late.
The girls were busy furiously stomping on some guys, while three naked girls shivered with fright in a corner. Their bodies were covered with smelly fluids that I soon recognised.
So this is the place where... even Nihara...
The place filled with sin and tears felt very uncomfortable to be in. But the stomping ladies were completely at home, at ease as they thrashed around.
I quickly found some clean sheets and rolled them around the frightened girls, trying my best to soothe their fragile minds.
While at the same time, the blonde-haired girl loudly exclaimed,
"Listen well, you pigs!! Tell your superiors this as well. From today onward... this orgy group thing is finished! Forever!!"
"If we find you guys trying to bully someone again, our group... Miss Nihara's group will stomp you into the ground!!"
"""""""Nihara! Nihara! Nihara!!""""""
I knew that I was watching something strange, but it went beyond the realm of strangeness.
It was totally nuts!! Everybody's gone crazyyy!!
Unable to stay any longer, I brought the three over to the nearest empty clean room and fetched their uniforms before giving them some immediate psychological assistance, after which I helped them to their batches.
What kind of rotten luck do I have today? Did I step on some dog shit? So unlucky...
...
Doctor Lindie examined her last patient before lunch, after which a group of nurses came into her office and spoke to her,
"Doctor, let's have lunch together!"
"Yeah! It's best to eat in Doctor Lin's office. The AC feels so heavenly~~."
"Idiot, just sit down to eat already."
Seeing the girls chirping about, Doctor Lindie smiled with happiness.
They were new interns who had quickly bonded with her and didn't care about office politics or her own past troubles.
Feeling somewhat proud and in the mood to show off, Lindie sat between them with her own lunch box, seeing which the young nurses screamed in shock,
"Ehh?! Does Doctor Lin make her own lunch? But, I made some extras for you~."
"Me too! I made extras as well..."
Lindie thanked them gratefully, but she didn't need to stay hungry or ask them to share food any longer. Her lover had cooked for her after all!
As she gloatingly opened her lunch box, all the nurses leaned over to see the contents. At once, they froze immediately.
Seeing everyone's weird expressions, Lindie leaned down to observe as well.
Above the dishes, a big white note was placed with a neat handwritten message on it, which read as follows:
'For my darling Lin, with love'
As Lindie's face turned stark red rapidly, the nurses around her began to cheer and shout in excitement as they asked,
"W-What?!! Doctor Lin, you had a boyfriend?!"
"Oh my god! Such a lovey-dovey relationship??"
"W-What is he like?! Is he a hunk? A rich guy?! No, is he a doctor too?!"
Leaving the clamoring girls aside, Lindie raised the paper note and stored it away carefully before another round of exclamations rang out around her.
All of the contents of her lunch were decorated with heart symbols. The young nurse's imagination was running wild, hoping to have such a dreamy lover, too.
Lindie only smiled mysteriously while slowly savoring the lunch made for her and her only.
"Tastes good~!"
...
A/N: Thanks for your support so far!