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Lesson 6: Naughtiness, in addition to obedience
Translator: Irid (contribution)
Editor: Laridae, Gaiseki, Zephynel
Daren was quite unused to being in Class A ― the students were so quiet that it was frightening.
Even though the various exclamations that had been heard from Class A at first had been more frightening than those from Class D, his original class, the students quieted down almost instantaneously when needed. In the classroom, there was only the sound of the teacher introducing him and Lance.
It was a strange feeling to stand at the platform and face tens of pairs of eyes in the midst of complete silence. Suddenly, Daren started to miss the noisiness of Class D.
Lance, on the other hand, was perfectly content. He had been smiling at the students below him the entire time. Occasionally, when students expressed awe, he would even wink at them.
But what the students really wanted to look at was Dark Sun. They stared at him obsessively, wearing hungry, fanatical expressions. Compared to the world-class musician, the mysterious expert fighter had much more appeal in a combat academy.
“Well, why don’t you each say a little bit about yourselves?” In the intimidating presence of those two, even the teacher couldn’t help but behave respectfully.
“Sure.” Lance smiled at the teacher. He turned around to write a large “Lance” in flamboyant cursive on the blackboard, and then turned back around. Still wearing a charming smile, he said, “Fellow students, I am Lance. Perhaps not many people know my name yet, so I thought that I should write it down for everyone to see.”
The students returned his smile. All of them knew of Lance’s name.
Lance looked at the welcoming expressions below. He blinked. “It looks like everyone does know me, but even so, I’m an ordinary student now, just like all of you! My only wish is to get along well with my fellow students.”
Applause rang out from below, and Lance flashed another graceful smile.
After the applause, the teacher’s gaze drifted towards Dark Sun. Surprisingly, there was a sense of reverence in the teacher’s eyes as well. He opened his mouth and said, “All right then, it’s Dark Sun’s turn next.”
All of the students turned to Dark Sun, their expressions so fervent like believers gazing upon their god, waiting for their god to exhibit his divine powers.
Daren maintained aloof as Dark Sun. He simply stated, “I am Dark Sun, an ECS student in the middle of a bodyguard mission.”
As soon as he completed the sentence, he closed his mouth and did not speak again.
Contrary to his expectations, the students revealed even more worshipful expressions upon hearing such a succinct response. So cool!
“All right, then. You two, please sit.”
The teacher gestured toward the center of the classroom, where there were already two empty seats. The principal had specifically instructed the teacher to do this. Basically, they were using Class A students as a human wall, safely surrounding Lance in the very middle. If something did happen, then it would be as if the Class A students had begun actual combat internships early.
Daren sat down, but within five minutes he ran into the first difficulty that he had ever experienced in his entire career as a bodyguard: he didn’t know what he should have been doing. Aside from staying alert to his surroundings and waiting for enemies who would appear at an unknown time, it seemed that he had nothing to do.
Should he try to learn? But this wasn’t his real class.
Should he strike up a conversation? Ezart wasn’t here though, and this wasn’t Class D. Everyone was so quiet. No one was roasting meat, arguing, gambling, nor selling weapons, so he thought he probably shouldn’t be chatting.
Playing with Xiao Ai…this was immediately vetoed by the microchip. If he took out Xiao Ai, then everyone would know that Daren was Dark Sun.
When Daren became so troubled that he couldn’t stand it anymore, the teacher finally took care of his problem. Class A didn’t seem to learn about alleged combat history or other similar subjects. After the teacher pressed a few buttons, several animated humanoids were displayed on the blackboard. Each of the figures was demonstrating a different kick in slow motion.
The teacher took out a thin rod and began explaining, gesturing at the figures on the blackboard. “Today I will explain some of the more difficult kicks. Even though combat is currently centered around using weapons, when you are truly completing a bodyguard mission, enemies will often strike first, and aside from your vital points, the target they will be aiming for will undoubtedly be the weapon in your hand. If you don’t practice close combat, you can only resign yourself to be trampled on if you lose your weapon.
“Your legs have three times more strength than your hands. In particular, High-speed kicks are capable of dispensing an even greater amount of power. If done correctly, a single, accurate kick will be able to cause your enemies to lose their ability to fight. Now, the students that are on duty today, bring out two dummies.”
Two students immediately stood up, opened the classroom door, and brought in push carts containing two life-sized dummies. Some of the parts were marked with red circles and had labels to indicate the primary vital points, secondary vital points, etc.
The two students erected the dummies on a spacious platform which had more than enough room for someone to dance on it.
The teacher took off his jacket and put it aside, then said to the students, “Now I will first demonstrate some of the basic types of kicks...”
A student raised a hand, and the teacher responded casually, “Nn? What’s the problem?”
“Teacher, could you have Dark Sun demonstrate these moves?”
The teacher stared blankly at the student for a moment, then cast his gaze upon Dark Sun. The rest of the class simultaneously turned their heads to also look at Dark Sun, who was sitting at the very center of the room. Even Lance looked curious.
Daren was at a loss, but the microchip immediately made a decision―he should refuse. He wasn’t really a student in this class, so he did not have to comply with the teacher’s commands and reveal his own strength in combat. All he had to do was decline.
He was just about to follow the microchip’s instructions when he lifted his head and saw dozens of hopeful gazes fixed upon him…
So hard to decline.
This was the first time Daren had had this kind of feeling. He kept still for a moment, eventually coming to the realization that he was incapable of declining, yet he did not dare to agree. After all, the microchip had made the decision to decline. While the emotion section was turned on, and he did not need to act in accordance to the microchip’s decisions, but he was instinctively afraid of going against the its guidance, especially after Theodore Avery’s kidnapping.
“Then, may we trouble you to demonstrate, student Dark Sun?”
The teacher was extremely interested in this proposal. He had previously praised Dark Sun’s excellent skills in front of the battle simulator in the plaza, and since then, he has been looking forward to seeing Dark Sun’s strength in combat with his own eyes. The students. Seeing that Dark Sun had not responded, it seemed to him like the offer was going to be turned down. He felt so anxious that he could not resist opening his mouth to urge him on.
Dark Sun continued to be silent for a while. When everyone started to lose hope, believing that he wasn’t willing, he slowly stood up, looked at the teacher, and asked, “What do you want me to do?”
Upon hearing this, everyone’s spirits suddenly lifted. Even the teacher couldn’t hold back his enthusiasm. He hurriedly answered, “Please stand on the platform and demonstrate the kicks as shown on the blackboard.”
Dark Sun stepped onto the platform and studied the moves written on the blackboard. Illustrated there was the most basic upper kick, the side kick to the head, and the roundhouse kick. He shifted his gaze upon the teacher and asked formally, “With how much strength and speed should I execute the kicks?”
Hearing such a precise question, the teacher stared vacantly before replying, “Just use all your strength. These dummies were made from specially strengthened silica, so they’re impossible to break. Furthermore, after you’ve executed your kick, it will report how much strength you used.”
Impossible to break? Daren suddenly had a wild urge to break them all… but that was not allowed! The microchip warned him that this would not only expose his true strength, but could also expose the fact that he’d undergone modifications. Master had once ordered that he was forbidden to reveal the matter of him being a cyborg.
Master… stupid Gege!
Daren’s face tensed. He was a bit annoyed, but he still used the strength and speed recommended by the microchip to execute an upper kick, perfectly and accurately striking the side of the dummy’s head. The dummy emitted a crisp ringing sound.
“What precise movements!” the teacher praised Dark Sun, and glanced at the number displayed on the dummy’s chest. He continued, smiling, “However, the strength and speed could still be improved.”
After all the students in the class had taken a look at the number, all of them unexpectedly sighed “oh” in disappointment. They were like faithful followers expecting their god to smite the enemy with a single miraculous hit, but the god simply started an ordinary fistfight, fighting the enemy fairly.
Daren didn’t know why, but warmth suddenly spread over his face. That wasn’t all―his heart rate quickened. He could not comprehend this strange reaction.
The teacher glanced at Dark Sun. Noticing that something was off about him, the teacher said hurriedly, “There’s also the roundhouse kick. This kick requires the most precision. Let’s have Dark Sun demonstrate for everyone again.”
As usual, the microchip calculated the recommended strength and speed. This time, Daren, whose face was practically burning hot, did not want to follow the microchip’s guidelines. He could already tell that if he acted according to its suggestions, the students would definitely be even more disappointed and sigh “Oh” even louder. If that happened, his face would definitely heat up even more!
His flushed face won’t result in any substantial injury, but, but… it felt very uncomfortable, but if he was feeling this way, wouldn’t it be violating Gege’s order to ‘be happy’?
Daren finally found a reason not to follow the microchip’s recommendation. He would just have to follow the teacher’s instruction and use all of his strength.
After thinking things over and finalizing his decision, he planted his feet on the ground, twisted his body, and lifted his leg. In one fluid motion, his foot thudded heavily into the dummy’s chest.
Even the teacher, who had been standing off to one side of the platform, felt the gale from the impact. Dark Sun’s leg was so fast that no one saw it clearly; they could only see his movement up until his twisting motion. The dummy suddenly emitted a ringing noise, sharper and clearer than the one from before, followed by a strange ripping sound. Then, in front of everyone, a flesh-colored object shot through the air.
At that point, the audience finally realized that Dark Sun had already finished demonstrating the kick.
The sound of shattering glass rang through the air, followed by a faint thud of an object which seemed to have fallen downstairs.
The entire class turned their heads in unison to look at a gaping hole where the window was supposed to be. Sudden realization set in, and they quickly turned to look back at the dummy which has now lost its upper body.
The expressions of the teacher and the students were identical: eyes wide, faces blank with shock, mouths agape, they stared at what was left of the dummy.
“UNABLE TO CALCULATE STRENGTH AND SPEED-- UNABLE TO CALCULATE-- UNABLE TO--”
The dummy that was missing half its body was like a broken record, continuously repeating, “UNABLE TO CALCULATE--”
After all, the teacher was a teacher; he had experienced many different situations before, so was the first to recover his wits. With a complicated expression on his face, both jealous and admiring, he took a while to express what he was trying to say: “This, this is really just too... amazing! You’re simply unbelievable!”
The students simultaneously made an “Oh” sound again, but this time, the intonation rose towards the end. They looked at Dark Sun, wearing awed expressions.
It turned out that his face would burn up no matter what he did!
Daren’s face still felt hot, but this time it didn’t seem as irritating as the one before.
“Ah!”
Elian’s jaw dropped. Dark Sun had sent a dummy’s head flying… there wasn’t anything strange about that. Elian had seen him send real people’s heads flying… no, they were the heads of modified humans!
What Elian was so shocked about that his jaw almost fell was that Dark Sun had blushed! Even though the latter was wearing a visor, Elian could still clearly see that the uncovered part of his face was flushed.
Could Dark Sun blush? He can only use ice-cold expressions and a formal tones, right? But it didn’t matter whether Dark Sun had the ability to blush or not―right now he really was, in fact, blushing!
“Your thoughts are all messed-up.”
Elian paused and looked toward the doorway. Eli and Eloise were standing there, and the former was currently looking at Elian with a scowl.
Upon seeing Eli’s expression, Elian felt kind of awkward even though he knew that the other couldn’t completely figure out what he was thinking. No matter what, no one would be willing to allow a mind reader to stand right in front of them when letting their imagination run wild.
Eli frowned.
Shoot! He couldn’t have read this too, right? Elian wrenched his mind away from that topic and asked, “What took you so long?”
Eloise replied unabashedly, “We were calling Papa Avery, telling him that Dar had already come to school and that he didn’t need to worry anymore! When Papa Avery heard the news, he was so happy that he was jumping around and screaming something about the world finally being safe again.”
Eli continued explaining: “He also gave us some news. Ezart was right, Daren was just throwing a huge tantrum. There really was no problem about not being able to turn on the emotion section and the like.”
Elian froze.
“Actually…” Eli suddenly opened his mouth and said, “When I was in the Principal’s office, I heard Daren’s innermost thoughts, but he warned me in his mind not to tell anyone, or else…”
Following those two last words, Daren had thought for a long time but still couldn’t decide what to do. Eli had nearly followed along with that train of thought, hesitating about whether he should tell the Solaris Emperor, Elian, and the rest of them.
Subsequently, Theodore told him that he had known long ago. This caused the incessantly worrying Eli to get so angry he’d almost vomited blood.
“So that’s how it is, no wonder he was blushing!” Elian jumped up and shouted, “He’s not Dark Sun, he’s Dar!”
The other two were startled by Elian’s yell. They looked at Elian dazedly, not understanding what he’d meant by ‘blushing’.
Even Sin yelled, “So noisy!” before turning over and continuing to sleep.
“Let me tell you, just now…”
Excitedly, Elian told the two of them what had happened earlier with the dummy in a systematic and detailed manner. Upon hearing the story, Eloise immediately moved in front of the people and shamelessly took over the chair in front of the peephole. She promptly began wailing, “Oh oh oh! Dar is just too cute when he’s blushing!”
“Eloise, quiet down a bit,” Eli said leisurely, while staring at her. “You haven’t forgotten what Doctor Avery warned us about, did you? We can’t let Dar find out we’ve already discovered he’s no longer Dark Sun.”
Eloise showed no reaction to this and continued her “Oh oh oh.” It was actually Elian who blurted out with surprise and asked, “Why?”
Eli shook his head and said, “I don’t know the particulars. I only know that this is what the Solaris Emperor ordered.”
Turning her attention back to them, Eloise finally said, “What do you mean you don’t know? Papa Avery definitely said that it’s just a little game a pair of awkward brothers is playing!”
Hearing this, Elian seemed to be at a loss, but in the end he decided to buy Eli’s explanation of not understanding the situation.
“Oh oh oh! Class is over. Lance and Dar are going to eat lunch! I want to go too!” As soon as Eloise had finished speaking, she stood up in a hurry and rushed out of the classroom like a tornado.
Elian stared blankly before realizing that he and Sin were the ones who really needed to catch up to Dar and Lance, as they were the ones who’d been ordered by the principal to help protect Lance. Elian hastily turned back to shake Sin, yelling, “Hurry, get up, Dar and the rest of them have already left the classroom!”
“Dar what? What the hell do you mean!” Sin, however, was very angry.
Elian promptly corrected himself: “The target we’re escorting has already left the neighboring area. We need to catch up.”
As soon as he’d heard this, Sin tore off the newspaper that was previously covering his head and face and climbed off the desk, looking grumpy.
Seeing this, Elian gave a huge sigh of relief. Fortunately, Sin did count as someone dedicated to his work.
As he walked out of the classroom, Sin muttered, “If I don’t hurry and catch up to them, Dark Sun will have already dealt with all the enemies, and how could I let that happen? How could I let him steal the limelight?”
This isn’t the right time to be thinking about the limelight, is it? Elian sighed and greeted Eli as he, too, caught up with them.
“Dark Sun, there’s something I would like to trouble you with.”
As Daren was eating his third different-flavored hamburger with relish, Lance suddenly spoke, his expression extremely sincere.
After chewing and swallowing a piece of hamburger in his mouth, Daren replied simply, “Speak.”
Lance pulled out an intricately designed envelope from his chest pocket, saying, “In three days I will be performing in a stage play. This is an admission ticket. I would really like you to attend.”
Daren looked at the envelope. At the same time, the microchip in his brain was searching up the meaning of “stage play.”
Smiling, Lance said, “Of course, there’s a reason why I’m giving you this. These are tickets for special seats! They’d be priceless even on the black market, but I’m giving you five tickets at once!”
Daren continued to look at him. In any case, Lance loved talking so much that, even if Daren didn’t ask, Lance would still answer himself.
Even though he had already accepted the principal’s mission and had no choice but to protect someone he hated, what was the harm in giving that person a tiny taste of suffering? Daren thought wickedly.
Even the microchip determined that this was a good choice. If Lance couldn’t stand him and put forth a request to switch bodyguards, Daren didn’t need to protect Lance anymore and he could continue hiding his true strength.
Although Daren did not respond, Lance continued talking, not paying any attention at all to Daren’s indifference. Slightly annoyed, he said, “Someone sent me a rude letter that actually told me to stop this great art. The writer of that letter wouldn’t even hesitate to assassinate me in order to accomplish this. Truly an unreasonable situation.”
You’re so annoying, so what’s so strange about someone wanting to kill you? Daren silently retorted.
Lance continued to express his righteous indignation for a while. However, upon noticing that Dark Sun still had not reacted. Troubled by this, Lance reworded his request. “I hope you’ll be able to show up and appreciate this incomparably masterful art form while taking care to protect me.”
Daren glowered at him. He really didn’t want to protect the person he hated outside of the working hours he had agreed to.
“I don’t want to…”
“A stage play?”
He was cut mid-sentence when someone used an unusually excited tone of voice and interrupted him, but Daren couldn’t get angry by the sudden intrusion because it sounded really familiar to him. He turned to look and found Eloise’s face only approximately twenty centimeters away from his own.
Her eyes were sparkling with interest. Tugging on Daren’s hand, she said sincerely, “If you’re going to watch a stage play, you definitely can’t go wearing your uniform or ordinary clothing, so you need to go shopping! Let’s go, Dark Sun, big sister will bring you to the department store.”
Daren furrowed his brows again. He already had so many clothes at home, and there were more and more signs that Gege’s designer would send over a pile of outfits from time to time.
“You can also buy toys at the department store, you know, and I heard that there’s even a toy exhibit that opened recently! There are robots, the newest virtual love game, and also lots of super cute dolls!”
Eloise truly understood Daren’s weaknesses. Basically, Daren had the weaknesses of a ten-year-old.
Eloise, are you a weird big sister who kidnaps little children…? Elian had also come over. When he heard what Eloise said, he really didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He too knew that for Daren, those kidnapper-like words were so effective they were second only to suggestions to go eat midnight snacks with everyone.
Sin looked at Eloise with a puzzled expression. Using toys to lure Dark Sun? Toys?
Daren continued to keep quiet, neither resisting nor concurring.
This, too, allowed Elian to confirm once more that the person before his eyes definitely wasn’t Dark Sun. If he was Dark Sun, he would definitely have replied with a single word, “No,” immediately shooting down Eloise’s senseless proposal.
“Okay, then it’s decided! Today after school, I’ll be waiting for you at the school gates!”
Eloise snatched up the admission tickets on the table, then decided the time and place without waiting for Daren to agree. Afterwards, she turned around and called to Elian, “Right, Elian, remember to come with us!”
“Me?” Elian was startled. “What do you want me to go there for?”
Eloise said matter-of-factly, “Because you’re going to buy a set of new clothes to give to Dark Sun!”
“Why do I have to the one to buy clothes for him?”
Elian laughed bitterly. He knew of the Solaris family’s level of wealth, and even if he used up all of the money he could earn in his lifetime, he would only be able to buy the type of clothes that the family, and admittedly himself as well, would never even deign to look at.
“He calls you Elian-ge, you know!” Eloise replied with righteous confidence. “How could you not buy clothes for a cute little brother?”
Elian looked at Eloise suspiciously. She had the rare chance to go shopping with just her and Dar. How could she possibly ask Elian to be the unwanted third guest––and of her own accord?
“Eloise spent the all money she earned buying idol singer merchandise. Not to mention the fact that she can’t afford to buy clothes for Dark Sun, even treating him to a meal would pose a problem for her.”
Eli explained as he walked over calmly.
“Eli!” Eloise growled, flustered.
So that’s how it was. Elian sighed and said helplessly, “So you’re looking for someone to pay, is that right?”
Eli gave a single, affirmative nod.
Important Notice: We need translators! Please click on the yellow JOIN US button! ^.^
Lesson 6: Naughtiness, in addition to obedience
Translator: Irid (contribution)
Editor: Laridae, Gaiseki, Zephynel
Daren was quite unused to being in Class A ― the students were so quiet that it was frightening.
Even though the various exclamations that had been heard from Class A at first had been more frightening than those from Class D, his original class, the students quieted down almost instantaneously when needed. In the classroom, there was only the sound of the teacher introducing him and Lance.
It was a strange feeling to stand at the platform and face tens of pairs of eyes in the midst of complete silence. Suddenly, Daren started to miss the noisiness of Class D.
Lance, on the other hand, was perfectly content. He had been smiling at the students below him the entire time. Occasionally, when students expressed awe, he would even wink at them.
But what the students really wanted to look at was Dark Sun. They stared at him obsessively, wearing hungry, fanatical expressions. Compared to the world-class musician, the mysterious expert fighter had much more appeal in a combat academy.
“Well, why don’t you each say a little bit about yourselves?” In the intimidating presence of those two, even the teacher couldn’t help but behave respectfully.
“Sure.” Lance smiled at the teacher. He turned around to write a large “Lance” in flamboyant cursive on the blackboard, and then turned back around. Still wearing a charming smile, he said, “Fellow students, I am Lance. Perhaps not many people know my name yet, so I thought that I should write it down for everyone to see.”
The students returned his smile. All of them knew of Lance’s name.
Lance looked at the welcoming expressions below. He blinked. “It looks like everyone does know me, but even so, I’m an ordinary student now, just like all of you! My only wish is to get along well with my fellow students.”
Applause rang out from below, and Lance flashed another graceful smile.
After the applause, the teacher’s gaze drifted towards Dark Sun. Surprisingly, there was a sense of reverence in the teacher’s eyes as well. He opened his mouth and said, “All right then, it’s Dark Sun’s turn next.”
All of the students turned to Dark Sun, their expressions so fervent like believers gazing upon their god, waiting for their god to exhibit his divine powers.
Daren maintained aloof as Dark Sun. He simply stated, “I am Dark Sun, an ECS student in the middle of a bodyguard mission.”
As soon as he completed the sentence, he closed his mouth and did not speak again.
Contrary to his expectations, the students revealed even more worshipful expressions upon hearing such a succinct response. So cool!
“All right, then. You two, please sit.”
The teacher gestured toward the center of the classroom, where there were already two empty seats. The principal had specifically instructed the teacher to do this. Basically, they were using Class A students as a human wall, safely surrounding Lance in the very middle. If something did happen, then it would be as if the Class A students had begun actual combat internships early.
Daren sat down, but within five minutes he ran into the first difficulty that he had ever experienced in his entire career as a bodyguard: he didn’t know what he should have been doing. Aside from staying alert to his surroundings and waiting for enemies who would appear at an unknown time, it seemed that he had nothing to do.
Should he try to learn? But this wasn’t his real class.
Should he strike up a conversation? Ezart wasn’t here though, and this wasn’t Class D. Everyone was so quiet. No one was roasting meat, arguing, gambling, nor selling weapons, so he thought he probably shouldn’t be chatting.
Playing with Xiao Ai…this was immediately vetoed by the microchip. If he took out Xiao Ai, then everyone would know that Daren was Dark Sun.
When Daren became so troubled that he couldn’t stand it anymore, the teacher finally took care of his problem. Class A didn’t seem to learn about alleged combat history or other similar subjects. After the teacher pressed a few buttons, several animated humanoids were displayed on the blackboard. Each of the figures was demonstrating a different kick in slow motion.
The teacher took out a thin rod and began explaining, gesturing at the figures on the blackboard. “Today I will explain some of the more difficult kicks. Even though combat is currently centered around using weapons, when you are truly completing a bodyguard mission, enemies will often strike first, and aside from your vital points, the target they will be aiming for will undoubtedly be the weapon in your hand. If you don’t practice close combat, you can only resign yourself to be trampled on if you lose your weapon.
“Your legs have three times more strength than your hands. In particular, High-speed kicks are capable of dispensing an even greater amount of power. If done correctly, a single, accurate kick will be able to cause your enemies to lose their ability to fight. Now, the students that are on duty today, bring out two dummies.”
Two students immediately stood up, opened the classroom door, and brought in push carts containing two life-sized dummies. Some of the parts were marked with red circles and had labels to indicate the primary vital points, secondary vital points, etc.
The two students erected the dummies on a spacious platform which had more than enough room for someone to dance on it.
The teacher took off his jacket and put it aside, then said to the students, “Now I will first demonstrate some of the basic types of kicks...”
A student raised a hand, and the teacher responded casually, “Nn? What’s the problem?”
“Teacher, could you have Dark Sun demonstrate these moves?”
The teacher stared blankly at the student for a moment, then cast his gaze upon Dark Sun. The rest of the class simultaneously turned their heads to also look at Dark Sun, who was sitting at the very center of the room. Even Lance looked curious.
Daren was at a loss, but the microchip immediately made a decision―he should refuse. He wasn’t really a student in this class, so he did not have to comply with the teacher’s commands and reveal his own strength in combat. All he had to do was decline.
He was just about to follow the microchip’s instructions when he lifted his head and saw dozens of hopeful gazes fixed upon him…
So hard to decline.
This was the first time Daren had had this kind of feeling. He kept still for a moment, eventually coming to the realization that he was incapable of declining, yet he did not dare to agree. After all, the microchip had made the decision to decline. While the emotion section was turned on, and he did not need to act in accordance to the microchip’s decisions, but he was instinctively afraid of going against the its guidance, especially after Theodore Avery’s kidnapping.
“Then, may we trouble you to demonstrate, student Dark Sun?”
The teacher was extremely interested in this proposal. He had previously praised Dark Sun’s excellent skills in front of the battle simulator in the plaza, and since then, he has been looking forward to seeing Dark Sun’s strength in combat with his own eyes. The students. Seeing that Dark Sun had not responded, it seemed to him like the offer was going to be turned down. He felt so anxious that he could not resist opening his mouth to urge him on.
Dark Sun continued to be silent for a while. When everyone started to lose hope, believing that he wasn’t willing, he slowly stood up, looked at the teacher, and asked, “What do you want me to do?”
Upon hearing this, everyone’s spirits suddenly lifted. Even the teacher couldn’t hold back his enthusiasm. He hurriedly answered, “Please stand on the platform and demonstrate the kicks as shown on the blackboard.”
Dark Sun stepped onto the platform and studied the moves written on the blackboard. Illustrated there was the most basic upper kick, the side kick to the head, and the roundhouse kick. He shifted his gaze upon the teacher and asked formally, “With how much strength and speed should I execute the kicks?”
Hearing such a precise question, the teacher stared vacantly before replying, “Just use all your strength. These dummies were made from specially strengthened silica, so they’re impossible to break. Furthermore, after you’ve executed your kick, it will report how much strength you used.”
Impossible to break? Daren suddenly had a wild urge to break them all… but that was not allowed! The microchip warned him that this would not only expose his true strength, but could also expose the fact that he’d undergone modifications. Master had once ordered that he was forbidden to reveal the matter of him being a cyborg.
Master… stupid Gege!
Daren’s face tensed. He was a bit annoyed, but he still used the strength and speed recommended by the microchip to execute an upper kick, perfectly and accurately striking the side of the dummy’s head. The dummy emitted a crisp ringing sound.
“What precise movements!” the teacher praised Dark Sun, and glanced at the number displayed on the dummy’s chest. He continued, smiling, “However, the strength and speed could still be improved.”
After all the students in the class had taken a look at the number, all of them unexpectedly sighed “oh” in disappointment. They were like faithful followers expecting their god to smite the enemy with a single miraculous hit, but the god simply started an ordinary fistfight, fighting the enemy fairly.
Daren didn’t know why, but warmth suddenly spread over his face. That wasn’t all―his heart rate quickened. He could not comprehend this strange reaction.
The teacher glanced at Dark Sun. Noticing that something was off about him, the teacher said hurriedly, “There’s also the roundhouse kick. This kick requires the most precision. Let’s have Dark Sun demonstrate for everyone again.”
As usual, the microchip calculated the recommended strength and speed. This time, Daren, whose face was practically burning hot, did not want to follow the microchip’s guidelines. He could already tell that if he acted according to its suggestions, the students would definitely be even more disappointed and sigh “Oh” even louder. If that happened, his face would definitely heat up even more!
His flushed face won’t result in any substantial injury, but, but… it felt very uncomfortable, but if he was feeling this way, wouldn’t it be violating Gege’s order to ‘be happy’?
Daren finally found a reason not to follow the microchip’s recommendation. He would just have to follow the teacher’s instruction and use all of his strength.
After thinking things over and finalizing his decision, he planted his feet on the ground, twisted his body, and lifted his leg. In one fluid motion, his foot thudded heavily into the dummy’s chest.
Even the teacher, who had been standing off to one side of the platform, felt the gale from the impact. Dark Sun’s leg was so fast that no one saw it clearly; they could only see his movement up until his twisting motion. The dummy suddenly emitted a ringing noise, sharper and clearer than the one from before, followed by a strange ripping sound. Then, in front of everyone, a flesh-colored object shot through the air.
At that point, the audience finally realized that Dark Sun had already finished demonstrating the kick.
The sound of shattering glass rang through the air, followed by a faint thud of an object which seemed to have fallen downstairs.
The entire class turned their heads in unison to look at a gaping hole where the window was supposed to be. Sudden realization set in, and they quickly turned to look back at the dummy which has now lost its upper body.
The expressions of the teacher and the students were identical: eyes wide, faces blank with shock, mouths agape, they stared at what was left of the dummy.
“UNABLE TO CALCULATE STRENGTH AND SPEED-- UNABLE TO CALCULATE-- UNABLE TO--”
The dummy that was missing half its body was like a broken record, continuously repeating, “UNABLE TO CALCULATE--”
After all, the teacher was a teacher; he had experienced many different situations before, so was the first to recover his wits. With a complicated expression on his face, both jealous and admiring, he took a while to express what he was trying to say: “This, this is really just too... amazing! You’re simply unbelievable!”
The students simultaneously made an “Oh” sound again, but this time, the intonation rose towards the end. They looked at Dark Sun, wearing awed expressions.
It turned out that his face would burn up no matter what he did!
Daren’s face still felt hot, but this time it didn’t seem as irritating as the one before.
“Ah!”
Elian’s jaw dropped. Dark Sun had sent a dummy’s head flying… there wasn’t anything strange about that. Elian had seen him send real people’s heads flying… no, they were the heads of modified humans!
What Elian was so shocked about that his jaw almost fell was that Dark Sun had blushed! Even though the latter was wearing a visor, Elian could still clearly see that the uncovered part of his face was flushed.
Could Dark Sun blush? He can only use ice-cold expressions and a formal tones, right? But it didn’t matter whether Dark Sun had the ability to blush or not―right now he really was, in fact, blushing!
“Your thoughts are all messed-up.”
Elian paused and looked toward the doorway. Eli and Eloise were standing there, and the former was currently looking at Elian with a scowl.
Upon seeing Eli’s expression, Elian felt kind of awkward even though he knew that the other couldn’t completely figure out what he was thinking. No matter what, no one would be willing to allow a mind reader to stand right in front of them when letting their imagination run wild.
Eli frowned.
Shoot! He couldn’t have read this too, right? Elian wrenched his mind away from that topic and asked, “What took you so long?”
Eloise replied unabashedly, “We were calling Papa Avery, telling him that Dar had already come to school and that he didn’t need to worry anymore! When Papa Avery heard the news, he was so happy that he was jumping around and screaming something about the world finally being safe again.”
Eli continued explaining: “He also gave us some news. Ezart was right, Daren was just throwing a huge tantrum. There really was no problem about not being able to turn on the emotion section and the like.”
Elian froze.
“Actually…” Eli suddenly opened his mouth and said, “When I was in the Principal’s office, I heard Daren’s innermost thoughts, but he warned me in his mind not to tell anyone, or else…”
Following those two last words, Daren had thought for a long time but still couldn’t decide what to do. Eli had nearly followed along with that train of thought, hesitating about whether he should tell the Solaris Emperor, Elian, and the rest of them.
Subsequently, Theodore told him that he had known long ago. This caused the incessantly worrying Eli to get so angry he’d almost vomited blood.
“So that’s how it is, no wonder he was blushing!” Elian jumped up and shouted, “He’s not Dark Sun, he’s Dar!”
The other two were startled by Elian’s yell. They looked at Elian dazedly, not understanding what he’d meant by ‘blushing’.
Even Sin yelled, “So noisy!” before turning over and continuing to sleep.
“Let me tell you, just now…”
Excitedly, Elian told the two of them what had happened earlier with the dummy in a systematic and detailed manner. Upon hearing the story, Eloise immediately moved in front of the people and shamelessly took over the chair in front of the peephole. She promptly began wailing, “Oh oh oh! Dar is just too cute when he’s blushing!”
“Eloise, quiet down a bit,” Eli said leisurely, while staring at her. “You haven’t forgotten what Doctor Avery warned us about, did you? We can’t let Dar find out we’ve already discovered he’s no longer Dark Sun.”
Eloise showed no reaction to this and continued her “Oh oh oh.” It was actually Elian who blurted out with surprise and asked, “Why?”
Eli shook his head and said, “I don’t know the particulars. I only know that this is what the Solaris Emperor ordered.”
Turning her attention back to them, Eloise finally said, “What do you mean you don’t know? Papa Avery definitely said that it’s just a little game a pair of awkward brothers is playing!”
Hearing this, Elian seemed to be at a loss, but in the end he decided to buy Eli’s explanation of not understanding the situation.
“Oh oh oh! Class is over. Lance and Dar are going to eat lunch! I want to go too!” As soon as Eloise had finished speaking, she stood up in a hurry and rushed out of the classroom like a tornado.
Elian stared blankly before realizing that he and Sin were the ones who really needed to catch up to Dar and Lance, as they were the ones who’d been ordered by the principal to help protect Lance. Elian hastily turned back to shake Sin, yelling, “Hurry, get up, Dar and the rest of them have already left the classroom!”
“Dar what? What the hell do you mean!” Sin, however, was very angry.
Elian promptly corrected himself: “The target we’re escorting has already left the neighboring area. We need to catch up.”
As soon as he’d heard this, Sin tore off the newspaper that was previously covering his head and face and climbed off the desk, looking grumpy.
Seeing this, Elian gave a huge sigh of relief. Fortunately, Sin did count as someone dedicated to his work.
As he walked out of the classroom, Sin muttered, “If I don’t hurry and catch up to them, Dark Sun will have already dealt with all the enemies, and how could I let that happen? How could I let him steal the limelight?”
This isn’t the right time to be thinking about the limelight, is it? Elian sighed and greeted Eli as he, too, caught up with them.
“Dark Sun, there’s something I would like to trouble you with.”
As Daren was eating his third different-flavored hamburger with relish, Lance suddenly spoke, his expression extremely sincere.
After chewing and swallowing a piece of hamburger in his mouth, Daren replied simply, “Speak.”
Lance pulled out an intricately designed envelope from his chest pocket, saying, “In three days I will be performing in a stage play. This is an admission ticket. I would really like you to attend.”
Daren looked at the envelope. At the same time, the microchip in his brain was searching up the meaning of “stage play.”
Smiling, Lance said, “Of course, there’s a reason why I’m giving you this. These are tickets for special seats! They’d be priceless even on the black market, but I’m giving you five tickets at once!”
Daren continued to look at him. In any case, Lance loved talking so much that, even if Daren didn’t ask, Lance would still answer himself.
Even though he had already accepted the principal’s mission and had no choice but to protect someone he hated, what was the harm in giving that person a tiny taste of suffering? Daren thought wickedly.
Even the microchip determined that this was a good choice. If Lance couldn’t stand him and put forth a request to switch bodyguards, Daren didn’t need to protect Lance anymore and he could continue hiding his true strength.
Although Daren did not respond, Lance continued talking, not paying any attention at all to Daren’s indifference. Slightly annoyed, he said, “Someone sent me a rude letter that actually told me to stop this great art. The writer of that letter wouldn’t even hesitate to assassinate me in order to accomplish this. Truly an unreasonable situation.”
You’re so annoying, so what’s so strange about someone wanting to kill you? Daren silently retorted.
Lance continued to express his righteous indignation for a while. However, upon noticing that Dark Sun still had not reacted. Troubled by this, Lance reworded his request. “I hope you’ll be able to show up and appreciate this incomparably masterful art form while taking care to protect me.”
Daren glowered at him. He really didn’t want to protect the person he hated outside of the working hours he had agreed to.
“I don’t want to…”
“A stage play?”
He was cut mid-sentence when someone used an unusually excited tone of voice and interrupted him, but Daren couldn’t get angry by the sudden intrusion because it sounded really familiar to him. He turned to look and found Eloise’s face only approximately twenty centimeters away from his own.
Her eyes were sparkling with interest. Tugging on Daren’s hand, she said sincerely, “If you’re going to watch a stage play, you definitely can’t go wearing your uniform or ordinary clothing, so you need to go shopping! Let’s go, Dark Sun, big sister will bring you to the department store.”
Daren furrowed his brows again. He already had so many clothes at home, and there were more and more signs that Gege’s designer would send over a pile of outfits from time to time.
“You can also buy toys at the department store, you know, and I heard that there’s even a toy exhibit that opened recently! There are robots, the newest virtual love game, and also lots of super cute dolls!”
Eloise truly understood Daren’s weaknesses. Basically, Daren had the weaknesses of a ten-year-old.
Eloise, are you a weird big sister who kidnaps little children…? Elian had also come over. When he heard what Eloise said, he really didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He too knew that for Daren, those kidnapper-like words were so effective they were second only to suggestions to go eat midnight snacks with everyone.
Sin looked at Eloise with a puzzled expression. Using toys to lure Dark Sun? Toys?
Daren continued to keep quiet, neither resisting nor concurring.
This, too, allowed Elian to confirm once more that the person before his eyes definitely wasn’t Dark Sun. If he was Dark Sun, he would definitely have replied with a single word, “No,” immediately shooting down Eloise’s senseless proposal.
“Okay, then it’s decided! Today after school, I’ll be waiting for you at the school gates!”
Eloise snatched up the admission tickets on the table, then decided the time and place without waiting for Daren to agree. Afterwards, she turned around and called to Elian, “Right, Elian, remember to come with us!”
“Me?” Elian was startled. “What do you want me to go there for?”
Eloise said matter-of-factly, “Because you’re going to buy a set of new clothes to give to Dark Sun!”
“Why do I have to the one to buy clothes for him?”
Elian laughed bitterly. He knew of the Solaris family’s level of wealth, and even if he used up all of the money he could earn in his lifetime, he would only be able to buy the type of clothes that the family, and admittedly himself as well, would never even deign to look at.
“He calls you Elian-ge, you know!” Eloise replied with righteous confidence. “How could you not buy clothes for a cute little brother?”
Elian looked at Eloise suspiciously. She had the rare chance to go shopping with just her and Dar. How could she possibly ask Elian to be the unwanted third guest––and of her own accord?
“Eloise spent the all money she earned buying idol singer merchandise. Not to mention the fact that she can’t afford to buy clothes for Dark Sun, even treating him to a meal would pose a problem for her.”
Eli explained as he walked over calmly.
“Eli!” Eloise growled, flustered.
So that’s how it was. Elian sighed and said helplessly, “So you’re looking for someone to pay, is that right?”
Eli gave a single, affirmative nod.
