I’m Here to End This Fight

Chapter 56. Birds of a Feather (1)

“Hey, you!”

A voice, slightly cracking as if it had just entered puberty, called out from nearby.

The voice snapped Yuri out of his thoughts, making him sigh inwardly.

‘Ha, damn it…’

The encounter with the perverted playboy and the subsequent choice Yuri had made flashed through his mind.

Thanks to that, Yuri had managed to acquire some points and various items.

However, where there is light, there is also darkness; the opportunity he had gained also came with a downside.

And that was…

‘I’ve attracted too much attention.’

He had stood out far too much.

He had appeared last, disappeared with the Black Sword Corps, and to top it all off, returned carrying strange bags and items.

It was a situation where people couldn’t help but take notice, even if they didn’t want to.

Even though all of this had happened due to his unavoidable plan, Yuri couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling.

‘It looks like Jerry took care of those three I pointed out. That’s a relief, but…’

The problem was that after getting rid of the three annoying flies that had been sticking around, he had caught the attention of even bigger pests.

Sure enough.

The flies had already started to swarm.

“Hey, Blackhead! Can’t you hear me?”

Despite the voice clearly directed at him, Yuri just stared blankly at the sky.

‘Ah… This is so annoying.’

His eyes, hidden beneath his long hair, practically oozed irritation.

When Yuri didn’t respond to the call, the other person moved closer.

“Aren’t you going to answer, you filthy beggar? You’re that guy, right? The beggar who’s been sleeping for days.”

The person who approached Yuri was a boy with brown hair and freckles.

However, his slightly slanted eyes hinted at a bad temper.

The boy smiled at Yuri, one corner of his mouth lifting in a smirk.

“Wow, you managed to survive? I thought you’d be the first to drop out.”

Yuri didn’t waste words on the boy’s sneer.

Instead, he smirked and pointed back and forth between the freckled boy and himself with his chin.

“Filthy beggar? Who are you talking about?”

“….”

The freckled boy flinched at Yuri’s gesture.

Then, instinctively, he looked down at himself.

His clothes were torn and covered in grime, his appearance unkempt from days without a proper wash.

And how did the person in front of him look?

His clothes were pristine, as if freshly laundered, and his exposed skin was spotless.

Only then did the freckled boy realize.

Among the 50 trainees on this Black Ship, the cleanest person might very well be the black-haired guy in front of him.

Yuri was well aware of this fact too.

That’s why he immediately launched a broadside attack.

“Oh, you weren’t talking about me when you said ‘filthy beggar’…”

Yuri’s chin pointed toward the freckled boy’s back.

At the other successful candidates sprawled across the deck, just as dirty and disheveled as the freckled boy.

“You meant them?”

Yuri’s wide-ranging provocation instantly drew the eyes of hundreds.

“….?!”

Humans have a strange ability to sense when someone is watching them.

So, what if hundreds of eyes were on you?

Even if you didn’t want to know, you couldn’t help but notice.

Drip, drip—.

The freckled boy felt a cold sweat trickle down his back as he sensed the prickly stares boring into him.

He shouted at Yuri.

“W-What are you talking about! I never said that!”

“You just did. You called someone a filthy beggar.”

“That was for you!”

“How strange, these days, people call someone a ‘filthy beggar’ even when they’re cleaner than themselves?”

“T-That’s because, y-you were filthy before…”

“Oh? So you mean it’s okay to call someone a ‘filthy beggar’ if they’re dirtier than you? Is that it?”

Yuri unleashed a rapid-fire barrage of words before the freckled boy could even respond, then shouted loudly.

“Did everyone hear that? If someone’s dirtier than you, you can call them a ‘filthy beggar.’ But… let’s see.”

Yuri’s eyes swept over the crowd.

“No matter how I look at it, there aren’t many people here who seem cleaner than me. So, that means… everyone here must be ‘filthy beggars,’ right?”

“…Huh?”

“See! You didn’t call me a ‘filthy beggar,’ you called them that! Wow, this guy’s reckless with his words! Scary, really scary.”

“…Huh?!”

Thanks to Yuri’s twisted logic, the freckled boy had just insulted hundreds of his fellow trainees by calling them ‘filthy beggars.’

Panicking, the boy spun around and waved his hands frantically.

“N-No! I never said that, so don’t misunderstand!”

A few people who had been watching chuckled quietly.

Only then did the boy realize that he had fallen for Yuri’s provocation, and his face twisted in anger.

However…

“Huh?”

The black-haired guy who had been standing right in front of him just a moment ago was nowhere to be seen.

Frantically looking around, the boy spotted Yuri in the distance, slipping away quietly with his belongings in tow.

“This guy…!”

The freckled boy stomped over and grabbed Yuri by the shoulder.

“Hey!”

“Haa…”

Yuri let out a short sigh, thick with annoyance.

He turned slightly to face the freckled boy.

“What.”

His voice was low and menacing.

The freckled boy, feeling an inexplicable chill, quickly withdrew his hand from Yuri’s shoulder.

As if startled by Yuri’s intimidating aura.

Realizing that he had felt fear toward someone as insignificant as Yuri, the boy snapped back, shouting.

“Who… who the hell are you!”

“What?”

“What makes you so special that you get such preferential treatment!”

“Preferential treatment? What preferential treatment?”

“You’re seriously asking?”

“Yeah, I’m seriously asking.”

“Those things! You disappeared with the Black Sword Corps and then came back carrying all that stuff!”

The freckled boy pointed at Yuri’s shoulder.

Specifically, the bags of miscellaneous items Yuri was carrying.

With the boy’s shout, several people—no, quite a lot of them—started to eye Yuri suspiciously.

To them, Yuri, who had suddenly disappeared and reappeared with a bunch of stuff, did indeed seem to have received some sort of special treatment.

As the mood around him seemed to agree with his story, the freckled boy grew even more smug.

“Do you have some sort of connection with the Black Sword Corps?”

“….”

“Honestly, it was suspicious from the moment you showed up late. Hundreds of people waited for you, and yet there was no punishment or…”

Blah, blah—

Mumble, mumble—

The freckled boy kept rambling on in front of him, but Yuri let the words go in one ear and out the other.

However, the longer the boy continued to talk, the faster Yuri’s irritation grew.

‘Ah, this is so annoying…’

Why had he gone through the trouble of giving up his points and handing Eric and the other two over to Jerry?

It was precisely to avoid bothersome situations like this, where excessive attention led to unnecessary trouble.

‘Is this really the right way?’

Yuri had planned to quietly and inconspicuously navigate through his first year in the Cradle, avoiding unnecessary attention.

His intention was to blend in, only stepping in when necessary to reap the benefits that he needed.

‘I was thinking of going for that “strong but hiding it” vibe.’

Or perhaps being the mastermind pulling strings from the shadows.

‘That was the plan…’

But from the very beginning, things were going awry.

At that moment, Yuri realized something.

‘A strong but hidden power? A mastermind? Sure, it sounds cool, but…’

He admitted to himself that such a role just didn’t suit him.

‘If I keep this up, I’ll suffocate from frustration before anything else.’

How was he supposed to tolerate pests buzzing around him like this?

Already, frustration was rising up to his throat.

‘Hoo…’

After a brief contemplation, a determined look crossed Yuri’s eyes.

‘Yeah, preventing trouble doesn’t always mean you have to hide your power, right?’

Trouble usually arose from getting involved with too many people.

So, the solution was simple: don’t get involved with anyone.

And when it came to avoiding people, Yuri could be considered an expert.

‘People don’t avoid poop because they’re scared of it; they avoid it because it’s dirty.’

Human relationships are the same. People instinctively avoid someone who seems dirtier to deal with, rather than someone who’s just scary.

So, Yuri made up his mind.

He decided to become a giant pile of poop that everyone avoided.

Mumble, mumble—

Yuri watched the freckled boy, who was still babbling in front of him, and finally opened his mouth.

“Hey.”

“…?”

“Can you swim?”

“What kind of question is that?”

“So, can you swim or not?”

“Yes, I can.”

“Really?”

Yuri’s lips twitched into a smirk, forming a shallow dimple.

He stepped back slightly and spoke.

“Hey, did you know?”

“…?”

“Every time you open your mouth, it smells like a rotting squid that’s been dead for 27 days.”

“…?!”

“When was the last time you brushed your teeth? The stench is no joke.”

“…?!”

As Yuri pinched his nose and took another step back, the freckled boy’s eyes wavered with embarrassment.

To be honest, he was feeling a bit self-conscious too. He had only washed his face and hands with the accumulated snow, and like Yuri said, he couldn’t remember the last time he had brushed his teeth.

While the boy was still in shock.

“I don’t think this will do.”

“…?”

“You need to go clean yourself.”

“…What?”

Where was he supposed to wash up around here?

Before he could even voice his thoughts, Yuri moved first.

Tap—

Yuri took a short step, and his figure disappeared.

Grab—

In an instant, Yuri had rushed forward and grabbed the freckled boy by the throat with one hand.

At the same time, he hooked the boy’s knee with his right leg, breaking his balance.

Then—struggled to free himself from Yuri’s grip, but Yuri’s hold was so strong that he couldn’t budge.

Screeetch—

The boy was dragged along by Yuri’s hand, his feet scraping across the deck.

Thud—

Before he knew it, the boy’s back hit the ship’s railing.

Yuri smiled, baring his white teeth.

“Make sure to scrub yourself clean.”

Without hesitation, Yuri pushed the boy over the railing.

“W-Wait…”

The freckled boy flailed his arms, but no one reached out to save him.

The next moment, he plunged straight into Lake Monparche.

Splash—

It all happened within a matter of seconds.

The situation had unfolded so quickly that the onlookers couldn’t grasp what had just happened.

But soon, a few people jumped up in shock.

“What the…?!”

Dada-da-da—

Yuri ran forward, pushing the freckled boy by the throat.

“Guh, guh!”

The boy “Is he insane?”

Exclamations of disbelief and shock burst out from all around.

They couldn’t believe Yuri had actually pushed someone off the ship.

But Yuri remained unfazed.

“I’m not sure if you’ll be able to make it back, but if you do, bring something tasty with you!”

Even as the ship continued to move, Yuri lazily waved at the freckled boy, who was now far behind in the distance.

After waving for a while, Yuri slowly turned to face the crowd.

A cold smile played on his lips.

In that smile, the crowd saw a strange illusion.

Grrr—

A mad dog with gleaming yellow eyes filled with insanity.

It was an illusion that screamed, “I bite even if you don’t mess with me!”