A few days have passed since Allen started hanging out with Ava at lunchbreak. During that time, the three guys that were after his money found their backbone again. The injuries they received when they got beat up by the half-elf were healing. The fear of having to fight her if they approached their target was fading.

They had avoided the teacher’s suspicious stare and made up excuses for some of the bruises that were visible on their face. Of course, that was because they would get in trouble if anyone found out, but they also didn’t want to admit that they lost to one girl. So, having recovered, they now went back to mugging Allen during lunch break.

“You got beat up?” [Ava]

That was the first thing that came out of Ava’s mouth.

“Ha, haha… Y-yes.” [Allen]

The boy with red hair had just lost his pocket money before he met up with Ava in front of the door to the roof. He had arrived late since he had to run to his room to get more money. Also, he carefully walked in the hallways while being wary of his three thieves. The half-elf was in the middle of picking the lock and he was in charge of keeping watch.

“They didn’t hit me on the face, only on the stomach. How-?“ [Allen]

“You’re dragging your feet and bending forward slightly. Also, your smile is too cramped and your hand is currently covering your stomach. You need to do a better job of hiding your injuries.” [Ava]

Allen blinked twice and stared at her blankly as she explained how she knew in her clear voice.

“No one noticed before. Not even the teachers who saw me.” [Allen]

“That’s because they suck at noticing the little details in you.” [Ava]

“… I see.” [Allen]

A gentle smile appeared on his face. He felt happy and the pain lightened a bit.

“I’m glad that we’re friends.” [Allen]

“Hmm? That so?” [Ava]

Finally managing to unlock the door, the two went to the roof and Allen took out the sandwiches and the milk bottles from the paper bag he was carrying.

“You’re not going to tell the teachers? Doesn’t this school take bullying seriously?” [Ava]

Ava asked as she begun to eat her ham sandwich. Allen, who was going to take a bite as well, closed his mouth and slowly lowered his lunch. There was a depreciating smile on his face.

“That’s true. They’ll probably stop if I tell my teacher, but…” [Allen]

“But what?” [Ava]

“The school will report it to my parents and I don’t want them to know.” [Allen]

The black-haired girl watched him from the corner of her eye and brought the glass bottle to her lips.

“So you’ll let them bully you out of pride?” [Ava]

“I just… Don’t want my parents to know.” [Allen]

He repeated the same thing once more and shoved the sandwich in his mouth, signaling that he didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

“In that case, you should fight back. You’re only defending, right?” [Ava]

A sour expression crept up when he heard what she said so casually.

“I’m not like you. I can’t beat three guys at once.” [Allen]

“You could try.” [Ava]

“That’ll just make things worse. They’ll keep hitting me.” [Allen]

Allen said as he shifted his sitting position slightly because of the pain from his abdomen.

“But, they’ll know that you can fight back.” [Ava]

“But, I CAN’T win. And I’ll get in trouble if the teachers find out.” [Allen]

“I thought you didn’t want the teachers to get involved?” [Allen]

“Yeah, I don’t-.” [Allen]

“Then they won’t know. So don’t worry about it and just punch those three idiots a few times.” [Ava]

“Like I said, I can’t beat them.” [Allen]

“You don’t need to. You just need to make them think that getting involved with you is not worth it.” [Ava]

“… Easy for you to say. You were born strong.” [Allen]

The red-haired kid was pouting and getting annoyed at the half-elf’s nosiness. There was no way he could do what she did and defeat three opponents at once, but she just didn’t seem to understand that. Ava, who he had coldly thrown these words at, suddenly grew silent and stared at the sky.

Taking a peek at her rather sleepy face, he abruptly realized that what he said was really insensitive to her. She was a half-elf. Her worries and troubles were probably much greater than his. As such, he tried to apologize to his only friend while panicking.

“U-um, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to…” [Allen]

He ended up mumbling under his breath incoherently and looked down to hide his shame.

“It’s fine. It’s your life, so you decide.” [Ava]

Short and concise, the black-haired girl sitting next to him easily accepted his apology. However, it felt more like she didn’t care than she forgave him.

“Tha, thanks… Fighting is bad anyway.” [Allen]

“You’re a nice kid.” [Ava]

Again, while nodding to herself, she called him a kid like she was older than him.

“But, the world isn’t as nice as you.” [Ava]

Her white and dark brown eyes were directed at him.

“Sometimes, you’re forced to fight. When that time comes, you’ll know what you’re really made of and who you really are.” [Ava]

“…” [Allen]

Seemingly satisfied, Ava stopped talking and went back to eating. Allen didn’t say anything either and focused on his lunch. The two then ate in silence and parted ways before the bell rang. Tomorrow, just as expected, Allen was targeted again behind the school building.

“Gah!” [Allen]

Kicked in the stomach, the red-haired boy grunted in pain as he curled up on the ground. Looking down on him were his three classmates.

“The half-breed isn’t here to help you.” [Student]

The leader-like boy said with a sneer.

“Yeah. Why don’t you call out to her for help?” [Student]

“Haha! A guy being protected by a girl? How lame!” [Student]

“… We got beat up by her though.” [Student]

“… Oh… Yeah…” [Student]

“Both of you shut it!” [Student]

The one that looked like the leader yelled at the other two in an irritated voice. Then, he crouched down and took the item hanging around Allen’s neck. The boy didn’t react in time at all and his eyes were wide opened at the shock of what just happened.

“H-hey! Give it back!” [Allen]

He weakly raised his upper body and stretched his hand out. What his classmate roughly stole from him was his necklace that his mother gave to him. It was a beautiful red gem tailored into an inverted triangle and the now broken chain was of a silver color. It was something very important to him.

“Check it out.” [Student]

Ignoring Allen’s pleas, the necklace was passed around and examined.

“Whoaa, it’s really well-made.” [Student]

“Say… you don’t think he’s from a very rich and powerful family, do you?” [Student]

“What? This wimp? No way.” [Student]

“I said give it back!” [Allen]

When the red-haired boy unsteadily got up and rushed with his hands stretched out to take back his necklace, he was easily knocked to the ground again by his three bad classmates.

“U-ugh…” [Allen]

Grinding his teeth in pain and frustration, he laid face-up with one hand on his aching stomach that was punched and kicked. The three bullies laughed, made fun of him and went back to looking at the pretty red gem they just took. Tears were gathering in the corner of Allen’s eyes because of how powerless he was.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

In his blurry vision, as he stared at the clear blue sky, he caught sight of a black streak. Inside the school building, on the third floor, a girl was leaning out the window and watching him. Her long, pointy ears peeked out from her black hair on each side of her head and her body was clad in a white dress.

With her arms crossed on the windowsill and one hand supporting her chin, her sleepy-looking eyes of different color were locked onto him. Like always, he couldn’t tell what she was thinking behind that bored expression, but somehow, this time, he intuitively understood. “What are you going to do?” was what she was asking him with her gaze.

“You’re a nice kid.” [Ava]

The conversation they had on the roof yesterday came back to him.

“But, the world isn’t as nice as you.” [Ava]

She wasn’t going to interfere.

“Sometimes, you’re forced to fight.” [Ava]

Even if they beat him to a pulp, she wasn’t going to lift a finger.

“When that time comes, you’ll know what you’re really made of and who you really are.” [Ava]

This time, the half-elf was only going to observe.

“… Kuh!” [Allen]

Whipping himself in his mind, Allen’s hands clenched into fists and tore out the grass. A strange feeling was born inside him and threatened to burst out, invigorating his spirit. He forced his aching body up until he was in a sitting position. The three bullies that saw him looked at each other, pointed at him and smirked. With complete confidence, they simply waited as he slowly got back on his feet.

“Give… That… BACK!!!” [Allen]

However, they didn’t expect his shout full of fighting spirit or the sharp eyes that he glared at them with. Without hesitation Allen charged at them as he brandished his fist and struck the foremost boy holding his necklace. Not expecting to be attacked, he didn’t protect himself and the punch splendidly connected with his cheek.

What happened next was a short scuffle as angry shouts and bodies falling down filled the air. In the end, taking on three opponents at once was too much for the inexperienced Allen and he was once more on the ground. The three male students who each had a bruise caused by a punch were surrounding him with a menacing atmosphere.

“Don’t get carried away!” [Student]

As they raised their legs to deliver a deluge of kicks on his defenseless body, they backed off in surprise and covered their eyes. Suddenly, a bright light flashed in their faces and blinded them. Then, as they slowly lowered their arms and opened their eyes, they saw an unbelievable sight.

Allen, who got on his knees, was glowing in a strange aura. It was like a thin, white film covered his body from head to toe and was faintly visible even in daylight. The red-haired kid, who felt the change that happened to him, stared at his hands with an incredulous expression. The pain was fading, fatigue was disappearing and strength welled up inside him.

Clenching his fists, a determined expression formed on his face. While the other three were still reeling back from shock and frozen stiff because of confusion, Allen stood up and lashed out at the closest opponent. The punch fueled with the unknown phenomenon buried itself in the poor fellow’s stomach, sending him tumbling on the ground.

“Wha-?!” [Student]

The strength and speed behind his movements were different from before which caused his classmates to be surprised once more. Even when his footsteps were sluggish because of the pain, he moved faster than they imagined. The attack that came from his thin arm rendered their friend unconscious and he laid on the ground like a worn-out rag.

“A-Allen, how are you…?” [Student]

It was impossible. The guy they were beating up suddenly started glowing faintly and took out one of their own in one hit. They didn’t understand how things suddenly became like this. They didn’t understand how Allen suddenly manifested such an ability.

“T-this is magic! But, humans can’t…! Tch!” [Student]

One of the students rashly charged in because of his loss of composure. Allen crossed his arms in front of his face to defend, but the fist struck his stomach instead. However, undaunted, the red-haired boy counterattacked by swinging his right arm sideway, hitting the side of his foe’s body. He only felt a sting from the enemy’s strike while his blow instantly made him writhed on the ground in pain and faint from agony. He turned his head to the last enemy that was still standing.

“H-hii!” [Student]

This one, frightened by the sharp eyes and the display of power that unfolded before him, reflexively took a step back. Their positions were reversed. He was on the powerless side and his body shook with terror.

“WUAAAAAAH!” [Student]

Letting out a high-pitched cry filled with fear, he turned around and ran from the place, leaving behind his two friends and the boy that became a terrifying force. Standing alone as his shoulders heaved up and down, Allen calmed his breathing and relaxed his tense muscles. It was over.

He walked toward the first person he took down and picked up the item next to him. It was his necklace that reminded him of his home. The chain was broken, so he would need to get it fixed. His face turned into a frown and he felt like kicking the guy for damaging his necklace, but he refrained from that since he was already unconscious.

Now that he got his belonging back and carefully put it in his pocket, he checked his current condition. The faint light was still attached to him like a second skin. Allen raised his hands in front of his face and examined them closely. Looking at his palms and then turning his hands to look at the back, he kept staring at them as if he was trying to see through them.

Afterwards, he checked his arms, his torso and his legs. He couldn’t really let others see his strange appearance, so, hopefully, this would disappear after a short while. However, that was not important right now. The power that this light bestowed him was what was occupying his mind.

“Amazing…” [Allen]

His body felt so much lighter. Their attacks felt so much weaker. He could move so much faster. He could hit so much harder. After that bright flash of light, this phenomenon happened, but there was no way he caused it. Humans couldn’t use something like magic. It was a skill exclusively for some of the other races, like the elves.

“Ava?” [Allen]

Murmuring that name, Allen looked up at the third floor of his school to where the window was opened. He caught sight of black hair fluttering in the wind as a girl turned around and left. It was like a tail following behind her and it quickly receded from his view as she walked away.

“Geez…” [Allen]

A wry smile formed on the red-haired boy’s lips.

“You saved me again.” [Allen]

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*Author* Expected that? What do you think the consequences of Ava's actions will be?