"Stop it, you two."

Since that day, stopping the conflicts in the class has become routine.

It was hard.

That first fight I stopped wasn't exceptionally difficult; most fights were hard to properly deal with.

Over time, it became apparent why normally nobody dares to step forth to stop fights.

Without an ability such as mine, trying to get between two angry guys is dangerous.

Chances of success are low, whereas chances of getting injured are much higher.

"You two over there, drop it."

There was something rewarding about stopping fights, which is why I kept it up.

Conflicts would break out even without my involvement, and orchestrating them was easy enough.

Pacifying people, on the other hand, was far from common. It was far from easy as well.

All these years, I have been using my power to generate cheap chaos.

Which is why being a peace bringer felt like a fresh challenge. It felt worthwhile to use my power in that endeavor.

A part of me probably saw it atonement as well. Atonement for all the ugly conflicts I have thoughtlessly crafted over the years.

And more than anything... atonement for how I turned Lia into a victim.

By doing what she did, I felt that I was redeemed; a little tiny bit every time.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

My hobby has eventually reached beyond the boundaries of quarrels in my class.

I started saving bullied classmates, and even to help out students from other classes with the same issues.

"Thank you."

Whenever I helped others, they would thank me.

Was their "thank you" something I subconsciously ordered them to do? Or was it something they did out of their own accord?

I have never helped others before, so I couldn’t tell.

"Thank you"... it was such a strange phrase, invoking further stranger feelings in me.

Even though I did it solely to redeem myself, I found myself enjoying their thanks.

At some point, I started trying harder and harder, to get more thanking.

There were many acts of violence which I had to deal with.

It was hard.

As I grew up, my curiosity and desire to improve grew up as well.

I started experimenting with my own power, to see what methods are the most efficient.

I have learned many things. Things that the younger me didn’t bother learning.

My ability only worked with my direct voice, that much I confirmed after some trial and error.

Passing notes or using other people wasn't nearly as efficient. Even if my power played some small role in these experiments, the results were too impractical.

My ability could be further reinforced by making eye contact with the target. Talking to them from behind and by phone was somewhat less impactful.

However, the ability wasn't magic, that much I confirmed. If the target couldn't understand my language, then my orders failed to pass through.

Foreigners and animals were free souls in this world, I couldn't bend them to my own will.

Learning of that, I decided to buy myself a cat.

I named her after the first person who ever resisted me - Lia.

From time to time, I tried to make Lia understand my language. I tried to control the cat.

But just as stubborn as Lia was, she refused to do my bidding.

I convinced myself that I bought the cat for experimenting, but perhaps I just was lonely.

"Why don't you come here, Lia? C'mon, I know you understand me."

By playing with the cat, I could recreate a fraction of what I experienced with Lia.

The cat didn't like me.

It didn't come to me when called, it didn't allow me to hold it and even petting was sometimes resisted with bites.

I liked them all, each and very rebellious part of Lia.