Chapter 313 : A Father's Anger
Chapter 313: A Father's Anger
Tap. Tap-tap-tap.
The relentless sound of rain pounding against the umbrella.
It was so loud that even voices were nearly drowned out.
My entire body was soaked, growing cold until my senses became numb.
Yet there was one scorching sensation I could never mistake.
The burning heat that still lingered on my cheek.
And there was no way I could mistake the one responsible for it.
Aaron Stingray.
The man I respected more than anyone.
“…….”
I was bewildered.
With my eyes wide open, I slowly turned my head and met Aaron's gaze.
But there was nothing I could read from his frigid expression.
I slowly raised a hand and touched my cheek.
It wasn't because I was trying to confirm anything.
The situation felt so unreal that it was simply an unconscious reaction.
And through that, I realized one thing.
I was trembling.
“Why……?”
I asked in a trembling voice.
It was only a single word.
Just, "Why?"
Yet the moment I tried to say it, my throat tightened.
My voice cracked.
My lips trembled.
Even my pronunciation came out distorted.
It didn't actually hurt that much.
Really.
What was one slap across the face?
Just moments ago, I'd been risking my life fighting demons.
There was no way a slap on the cheek could hurt more than blocking the attack of a ten-meter monster.
No.
There wasn't even any need to compare it to monsters.
As a child in the Fallen District, I'd rolled around countless times playing with other children.
I'd even suffered unfair beatings simply because of where I came from.
I'd grown more than accustomed to pain.
At this point, even if a bone broke, I was confident I'd cry out in pain—but never shed tears.
But this was different.
That faint stinging sensation that barely hurt at all...
It was unbearably heartbreaking.
Far more painful than all the violence I'd suffered until now.
I felt wronged.
Frustrated.
Heartbroken.
Why had I fought so desperately?
What had I stood against those monsters for?
If I'd done it for my own selfish desires, that would have been one thing.
But I had never imagined I'd be slapped for it.
Before I knew it, tears streamed down my face.
I tried to endure them, frowning out of sheer pride.
But once they'd begun to fall, there was no stopping them.
Instead, I glared at Aaron with all the determination I had.
“What... what did I do wrong......!”
I asked.
Aaron remained silent for a long time.
As though filtering his emotions again and again, he finally forced himself to speak.
“……Why did you do something so reckless?”
“R-Reckless? But I—!”
“There was never any reason for you to do that.”
His voice rose slightly.
Only a little.
But it was the angriest I'd ever seen him.
The pressure alone forced me to falter.
“Did you not know what happens when demons capture someone? Didn't they teach you that in class? The moment you fall, the demons will make you their toy. They won't kill you immediately. They'll gouge out your eyes, cut off your tongue and lips, skin you alive, rip out your intestines and play with them, stab beneath your fingernails, burn your hair, keep you alive with magic until your body reaches its limit... and when your final breath leaves you, they'll violate your corpse and urinate on it. That's what demons are.”
“I know that......!”
“Then why would you do something like that!?”
Unable to hold back any longer, Aaron shouted.
Never before had he raised his voice like this.
If anything, the angrier he became, the deeper and calmer his voice usually grew.
Everyone present knew that.
No one dared even twitch their lips beneath the overwhelming pressure he radiated.
Not just the Special Class scholarship students.
Even Maria could only watch the situation unfold.
“I've already heard what happened here from the other students. Once you knew your opponents were demons, you should never have made such a reckless decision.”
“So I was supposed to stand there and let those people die?”
“Yes.”
Aaron answered without hesitation.
“If you died like that in this garbage city, no one would thank you. Your death wouldn't make you a hero. It wouldn't leave your name in history. It wouldn't be some noble sacrifice. It would be nothing more than a meaningless dog's death.”
“You don't have to say it like that!”
“Ah... let me correct myself.”
Aaron muttered with a cynical smile.
“There would be one meaning to your sacrifice.”
“……!”
Perhaps because he'd become so emotional, he spoke faster and faster.
As he continued, he stepped forward, pressing me even harder.
Unable to withstand his presence, I took another step back.
“Once everything is over, I'll continue living without ever knowing that your unrecognizable, violated corpse is rotting somewhere in a garbage disposal site in the Fallen District. Believing you're still alive, I'll search for you using everything at my disposal. Eventually I'll face reality. I'll deny it. I'll rage against it. I'll blame myself, and spend the rest of my life doing exactly that. I'll live like a hollow shell, with no will to do anything, endlessly imagining meaningless scenarios of how you died. I'll slowly wither beneath the weight of guilt until I finally give up on everything.”
“…….”
“Well?”
He stared straight into my eyes.
“So that's how you kill Aaron Stingray. Isn't that a magnificent revenge? Didn't you resent me? Then why don't you jump back over that wall and beg the demons one more time?”
His voice became colder.
“‘Please torture me and kill me in the most miserable and horrifying way imaginable!’”
Then he suddenly whipped his head toward Silence and the other three members of the Special Class.
“And the same goes for all of you!”
“Who gave you permission to leave your assigned operation zone? Do you even understand your own positions?”
“…….”
Silence and Guardian lowered their heads, looking like children who'd been caught after pulling a prank.
Raina looked even more frightened.
Lastly—
Aaron addressed Maria.
Without even looking back at her.
“Maria.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Know that you disappointed me today.”
“……I'm sorry for failing to properly carry out your orders. I have no excuse.”
Maria bowed deeply.
She looked genuinely remorseful.
“Haah……”
After pouring out his words like a machine gun, Aaron finally let out a long sigh, as though he'd emptied everything inside him.
As his deep, booming voice faded away, the rain once again filled the silence.
Whoooooosh……
A few seconds.
Or perhaps several minutes.
Only then did I finally understand why Aaron had become so angry.
He'd become unusually emotional and said all kinds of outrageous things...
But if I summarized that entire speech into one sentence—
I was terribly worried about you.
The moment I understood that...
The resentment in my heart slowly began to fade away.
There were still things I wanted to argue.
There were still things that felt unfair.
But my negative feelings about being slapped disappeared.
In their place remained guilt...
And regret.
'S-So... you were worried about me......?'
The thought eased my heart.
Well...
I'm still angry that you slapped my face of all places...
But like I'd thought when it first happened, it hadn't really hurt...
And considering Aaron's physical abilities...
If he'd actually struck me seriously, it wouldn't have been strange if my entire head had been torn off instead of just leaving my cheek stinging...
Which meant he'd deliberately held back because he was worried I'd get hurt...
'Damn it... I don't know anymore......'
My emotions were all over the place.
I hadn't completely forgiven him.
And I was still disappointed that he was the kind of man who would hit a woman...
But it wasn't enough to make me unable to forgive him.
Still...
There was something that had to be made clear.
I steeled my resolve.
“……Even so, I don't think I deserved to be hit.”
“Iri……!”
Maria tried to interrupt, as though telling me to read the room.
But Aaron stopped her by raising a hand.
“……Very well. I'll give you a chance to explain yourself.”
“Maybe it wasn't the wisest decision, just as you said, Mr. Chairman. It may even have been an incredibly dangerous choice. I admit that.”
“And?”
“But I don't want anyone denying that it was the best decision I could make at the time. And we're not as weak as you think we are. We're students of Trinity Academy. We've received plenty of training. Maybe we still seem lacking in your eyes... but there's one thing I'm absolutely certain of.”
I stepped toward Aaron.
Looking up into his face, I declared proudly.
“I'm not your daughter. We may be a sponsor and a scholarship student, but we're not father and daughter. I'm a fully grown adult, and I'm capable of making my own decisions.”
“…….”
“So apologize for hitting me.”
Aaron's eyes widened slightly.
A moment later, he pressed a hand against his forehead and sighed.
Then, in a quiet voice, he spoke.
“……Very well. I'll apologize for that. It seems I let my emotions get the better of me.”
I smiled mischievously.
“You're not planning to leave it at just words, are you?”
“……?”
“You know... compensation. You owe me a settlement. Of course, I don't mean money, and you don't have to give it to me right away. Let's wait until everything has been resolved.”
“……Very well.”
Even Aaron seemed dumbfounded by his own answer.
He let out a dry laugh.
“You've become rather shameless, Iri.”
“I've always been like this.”
I shrugged.
Come to think of it...
Maybe it was actually fortunate that Aaron had slapped me.
Until now, I'd always been the one helplessly pleading while he held all the cards.
After today...
I felt like I could be much bolder around him.
Maybe it was a little underhanded.
But experience had taught me that if I obsessed over every little detail, nothing would ever get done.
Perhaps...
I'd even been influenced by the demons' wicked aura.
“Haah……”
Aaron closed his eyes and let out another deep sigh, as though swallowing countless words.
Right then—
Someone casually approached us.
“Well now, Boss~”
Messy hair streaked with white.
A thick beard.
A face completely incapable of seriousness.
The private instructor affiliated with the Stingray Foundation.
Lexus Bane.
“Looks like you're finished here, so let's get moving. It's about time, and I think these little chicks have learned their lesson.”
“……Lexus.”
“Oh come on, Mr. Stingray. Don't glare at me like that. Those brats are the ones who messed up, not me.”
Even beneath Aaron's fierce glare, Lexus simply grinned casually.
Aaron finally gave up and started walking after him.
Maria quietly followed behind.
Lexus turned toward me and the members of the Special Class, gesturing with his hand.
“Hey. You lot, come with us.”
“……W-Where are we going?”
“Hey, damn it! Puppy! When your teacher says, ‘Come,’ you're supposed to answer, ‘Yes, sir!’ and follow. Got it?”
“Old fossil…….”
“You sure talk a lot! Hurry up already!”
We looked at one another uncertainly.
In the end...
We followed after Aaron and Lexus.
That was the beginning of the counterattack.