51 Im a saint. I always knew it. (1/2)

Is Joker having a hard time finding talented people or something?

I looked down at Kuro who was staring up at the ceiling blankly in disbelief.

I beat him down in just a few moves. He's definitely stronger than those thugs but still leagues below my level. Looks like being a Rook isn't a big deal.

”....who are you?” He finally whispered. ”No way you're a normal girl....”

I shrugged and sat down in a chair.

When Kuro looked at me in suspicion.

”I won't accept my defeat until you unveil yourself!”

Weirdo. Whether you accept it or not, you still lost.

I promptly ignored him.

”I have to say, Tania, I never knew that your state was so terrible. Good thing I decided to come personally....”

”....That voice.....M-master...?” Tania managed to ask in a state of shock. ”W-what.....?”

Kuro widened his eyes and looked visibly confused at this sudden development.

”Ugh, I'm not your master. Dammit, I told you not to call me that in public....” I retorted with a grimace while cringing inside. ”In the first place, isn't that only used to address your superior....?”

Tania seemed like she couldn't believe her eyes and slowly walked towards me in amazement.

”....Master.....I thought you were good at fighting after seeing you in the game but that was a major understatement.....” She muttered.

I think I was just ignored.

”No wonder Sia keeps calling you a monster...I thought she was exaggerating....”

Huh? I couldn't hear her properly, she's talking too quietly.

”Oh, you look really different huh, Tania.”

She flinched back and lowered her head.

”I wanted to be stronger...so I changed myself in the game. It's as if I can become someone else in Sapphire.....”

Hm, relatable. That's a pretty common case.

”B-but Mast-”

”Don't call me that.”

”...B-bu-”

”...”

”...What are you doing here?” She asked in confusion.

I looked back at her with a confused expression as well.

”Weren't you the one who asked me to help? I've already wiped your criminal history so I came to deal with your debt. I also paid for your sister's medical bills. I'm even willing to help you move if you want.”

Her face went blank for a moment.

Then she slowly sank to the floor while trembling.

I just watched her with a neutral expression.

Poor girl. Must have been through a lot of stress dealing with run-away parents and a sister in a coma all by herself. She's still my age.

”R-Really? Why would you do such a thing for a stranger....?”

I just shrugged.

”Cause we're not strangers but friends of course. I rarely make friends, but I promise that I do treat them nicely when I do.”

She seemed pretty touched, considering she started crying.

I got flustered. What the hell are you supposed to do when a girl starts crying?! I have no clue!

It was true that I rarely make friends though. In the past, I was always too proud, and now I'm currently being bullied.

Or wait, I'm not being bullied anymore. I forgot.

I don't really feel like making friends at my current school after everything that had happened though.

Sia's a different case.

”Wait! You can't just do that! Tania is mine, she's still in debt!” Kuro suddenly jumps up and shouts. ”You can't take her away! I can't give her to someone who doesn't even dare show their face!”

His previously defeated atmosphere immediately disappeared and he glared hatefully at me.

Wow. Possessive much? Bro, at this rate you're going to make her hate you. I bet she already does.

I was wondering why a Rook would care about a few loan sharks. Looks like they were just what connected him to her.

He seemed to have forgotten that I had just beaten him up and recklessly lunged towards me.

I just threw him down again to remind him.

”Seriously, you look pathetic.”

He shook in humiliation, probably at being beat by some mysterious highschool girl.

Yeah, I would have been pretty embarrassed if that happened to me too.

”Y-you won't get away with this. I won't allow myself to suffer from this humiliation....!”

He's starting to sound like another average thug...

”Just wait....! I'm going to tell Lord Damian, he rules this entire territory, you won't get away!”

I facepalmed. Lord Damian? Isn't that one of the kings? So I'm going to be skipping straight from a Rook to a King? I feel like the order is a bit messed up.

However, before I could advise him not to look for this 'Lord Damian' of his he had already picked up his coat and run away.

Not before shooting Tania a fervent gaze of course. I got the shivers from that.

Seeing that only me and Tania were left, I took off my mask and flipped off my hood. No need to wear it any longer. My face needs to breathe.

I shook my head disappointedly. If only Kuro had decided to help Tania instead. She would have possibly fallen for him. But instead, he decided to try and take control over her life and keep her chained to him.

That's just being a bastard. That's disgusting.

I hate people who think others are like property.

Hey. I'm not being a hypocrite, at least I always treat people like humans.

Uh, the people who deserve such treatment at least.

Also, who said I can't recognize romance when I see it? I'm an expert at these things called relationships.

Saying that I'm dense is a lie.

Okay? Okay? Okay.

Good.

I'm not dense. Fight me.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't even notice Tania's worship like gaze until her face was literally right in front of me.

”As expected of Master! Not even afraid of a gang leader! Sia was also telling the truth when she told me that you look the same as your avatar and if not prettier in real life.”

Sia? I have a bad feeling about this.

I backed away a little from the overly-excited girl.

She inched closer as a result.

What happened to the timid girl hiding around the corner?! What did you do to the innocent and shy Tania from before?!

”Please take me as your disciple! I admire your amazing martial art skills with all my heart! I will repay your acts of kindness towards me for the rest of my life!” She kept rambling on with a passionate gaze much like the one that Kuro had looked at her with before he left.

I'm getting shivers again.

”W-well....I don't really have disciples so I'm not sure.....” I hesitantly said.

The few people back in America don't count.....I think.

Although Tania is seriously reminding me of them right now. They used to look at me the same way too. They didn't leave me alone until I did what they said and created a mini group for them.

So creepy. I'm almost glad that I left.

Like c'mon, I was only seven. It seriously traumatized me.

”Really?!” Tania's eyes lit up brightly and filled with sparkles as she stared at me. ”Then! I have the honor of being your, no, Master's first disciple?!”

Hah.....I can't believe I have to deal with another person like them.....this is going to be tiring.

”.....Fine, if you want.” I reluctantly said. ”Here's my contact info, save it on your phone. My real name is Yuri Mizuki.”

I held up my phone number and she scrambled to copy it into her own phone.