A dented can rolled along with the wind.
The shadow of an abandoned building fell across the empty lot, splitting the bamboo sword carrying girl and the delinquent group into two sides.
Anyone who did not know the situation would probably think they were filming a movie.
Mana raised her head and glanced at the sun slowly sinking westward. She could not help sighing.
She was not going to make it ho in ti for dinner.
"I see… In other words, after I taught you a lesson, another group of delinquents taught you a lesson. So now you want to be your boss?"
From the delinquents' noisy explanations, Mana roughly understood their goal.
The delinquents hurriedly nodded.
"Yes! After seeing your strength, Boss, everyone was completely convinced!"
"As long as you help us, teaching those guys a lesson will be easy!"
"Not interested! And I never agreed to be your boss!"
Mana crossed her arms and answered angrily.
"Sorry, but I have no intention of taking part in a power struggle between delinquents. In my eyes, you and they are birds of a feather. If they beat you because I defeated you first, then that is purely your own fault. I do not feel any guilt about it."
"No, no, no, you misunderstand."
Hearing Mana's answer, the delinquents quickly shook their heads. After a mont, one delinquent girl whose clothes looked slightly more normal stepped forward and spoke with sha on her face.
"Boss, you're right. This is all our own fault, but we had our reasons too."
"…For now, speak. Also, I am not your boss."
Since the other side did not seem malicious, Mana sighed helplessly and decided to listen to their story first.
The delinquents began explaining their situation.
After hearing the whole story, Mana's brows gradually furrowed.
According to them, they had originally only been a group of idle, truant students. Their reasons for not going to school were mostly simple things: poor grades, not being liked at school, bad relationships with family, and so on. After skipping classes, they often gathered in abandoned buildings like this to kill ti. The most excessive things they did were smoking and dyeing their hair. They were rebellious, but they did not intend to bother other people.
Until one day, real thugs who lived in the darker corners of society found them.
Using both sticks and sweet words, those n subdued them, threatened them into extorting money, and promised to share part of the earnings afterward as a "reward."
At first, the students were sowhat resistant. But after tasting the benefits under the thugs' guidance, they gradually lost themselves without noticing and beca accomplices.
"Then yesterday, after so of our guys were taught a lesson by you, Boss, they regretted it and wanted to quit. But those bastards beat them up instead. Everyone couldn't stand watching it, so we turned against them and started fighting."
"I see… Also, I am not your boss."
Mana nodded, finally understanding how they had ended up covered in bandages and plasters.
"Well, the fact that you did not abandon your companions is temporarily worth praising. But after being threatened yourselves, you turned around and attacked weaker people. That is sothing I cannot agree with."
The delinquents spoke with bitter expressions.
"Of course we thought about it… But there are more of them, and they're better at fighting than us. We couldn't beat them at all."
Looking at their battered state, Mana was montarily speechless. She realized she had been thinking too simply.
Not everyone was an exception like her.
For ordinary people, the consequences of a failed resistance were not sothing they could easily accept.
"Then did you not think of asking soone for help…"
Halfway through speaking, Mana seed to understand sothing and pointed at herself.
"So you ca to ?"
The delinquents nodded in unison.
In the end, they were still disliked delinquents.
Most people would run from them, much less lend them a hand.
So after thinking it over and over, the delinquents realized that the delinquent girl who had beaten them up before had instead beco the savior most likely to help them.
"Please, Boss! Save us!"
"We swear! From now on, we'll never extort anyone again. We'll also find a way to repay the money we took before, bit by bit!"
"Ah…"
Hearing the delinquents's plea, Mana could not help feeling conflicted.
Judging by their attitude, they did not look like they were lying. But she could not rule out the possibility of a trap either.
"Fine. If there truly is such an evil group in this town, then I will naturally not sit by and ignore it."
"Boss!"
"But that and this are two separate matters! I have no intention of becoming the leader of delinquents!"
Mana poured cold water on them angrily.
"W-Why?!"
"We're willing to do anything! Errands, chores, manga, snacks, gas, drinks! If you need anything, just tell us!"
"No need. I have no interest in ordering people around."
Seeing Mana turn as if to leave, the delinquents imdiately panicked.
"T-Then what do we have to do for you to accept us as your underlings?"
"I am the one who wants to ask why you are so insistent…"
Seeing this group of delinquents look at her like abandoned puppies, Mana scratched her head in confusion and asked,
"Are you truly willing to do anything?"
"Yes!"
Hearing those words, the delinquents imdiately perked up and answered with great force.
"Can you quit smoking and drinking?"
"Yes!"
"Can you properly apologize to the people you bullied?"
"No problem!"
"Are you willing to dye your hair back?"
"We are!!"
"Can you promise to go to school properly from now on? Your attendance rate must at least be enough for you to graduate."
"—Ugh!"
Hearing that, the delinquents reacted as if a fishbone had gotten stuck in their throats, and they struggled to breathe.
But after a long mont of conflict, they still nodded shakily.
"…W-We can."
Then why are you even delinquents?
Mana silently retorted in her heart, then sighed.
"Let … think about it a little."
——————
After returning ho, Mana ate dinner absentmindedly and went back to her room early to rest.
"Ah… What should I do?"
Lying on her bed and staring blankly at the ceiling, Mana could not help letting out a troubled sigh.
To be honest, defeating those troubleso villains and delinquents was not difficult.
When she was in middle school, Mana had fought similar adult groups before. Compared to high school delinquents, the difference in difficulty was no more than that between a chihuahua and an Akita dog.
Becoming the delinquents' boss was another matter.
Although they simply wanted to follow her out of admiration, Mana could not rule out the possibility that they wanted to use her strength or reputation to bully others.
However, if they could truly turn over a new leaf from this point onward, and if the public safety around the neighborhood streets could improve, Mana did not mind gaining the title of "Boss."
"The problem is… Am I really qualified to beco soone else's role model…? And also… How would obaa-chan react if she found out?"
Thinking of this, the corners of Mana's mouth twitched.
Back then, when Origami-nee had clashed with obaa-chan over her future path, Origami-nee's crying and throwing a tantrum at ho still remained vivid in Mana's mory.
If Mana said she might beco the boss of a delinquent group now, would obaa-chan kick her out of the house?
"But… if I hide it and act on my own, it may be even scarier once she finds out…"
Scratching her head in distress, Mana struggled for a while before finally deciding to consult obaa-chan.
Of course, Mana did not intend to directly explain the truth. Instead, she planned to bring it up indirectly through other topics and subtly test obaa-chan's attitude.
…
"…You want to beco the boss of a delinquent group?"
Yumi leisurely took a sip of hot tea.
After a mont of silence, she slowly nodded.
"All right… I agree."
"…Huh?"
A huge question mark appeared over Mana's head.
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