I love time travel the most!

Instead of apologizing, Kobayashi escalated his behavior.

That's because the dragon-shaped doll Sigmund wasn't around; otherwise, she would have definitely lost her temper and issued a forced command due to shyness.

"Actually, you didn't really want to see me; you just wanted to hang out with that guy like this, right? Like, how should I put it, a rehearsal for a date... or something?"

"What...! You...! How...!"

The girl was so shocked she couldn't speak.

Kobayashi was clearly right, and pressed on, "Didn't he ask you out? Why did you refuse? It must have been something you'd been dreaming of, right?"

"……no."

Charlotte's aura suddenly dissipated, she lost her momentum in an instant, and then turned her head away.

She turned her gaze to the dim canal, her sapphire eyes also clouded by it, and whispered in a hollow voice, "Felix is ​​very popular, girls are crazy about him, so if I go on a date with him..."

"It will create more unnecessary enemies and stuff... but you said you don't care about those enemies, so you're afraid of causing trouble for them, right?"

Kobayashi explained the girl's concerns.

The girl, feared by everyone in the academy and nicknamed "Tyrannosaurus," is surprisingly considerate of others; others would surely be astonished if they knew.

"So this admiration slowly turned into longing."

"……probably."

"But young lady, longing is the emotion furthest from understanding. Do you understand this?"

"……Eh?"

Charlotte suddenly looked up, puzzled, at Kobayashi who had suddenly uttered such philosophical words.

"Don't look at me like that. I'm just repeating what someone else said."

"I think so too, after all, you're a country bumpkin who dares to go head-to-head with an automaton."

"If you mean that the behavior of those lowly puppeteers who just stand there and talk is elegant, then yes, I am indeed a complete country bumpkin."

"You...!"

Charlotte couldn't say anything more when she thought about how the other party had knocked down the ten puppets who had ambushed her.

However, the girl's arrogance still led Kobayashi to treat her to three servings of ice cream. In response, the wealthy and arrogant country bumpkin demanded that she accompany him shopping as a task.

After wandering around for a while, we headed home after nightfall.

As soon as I returned to campus, I realized something was wrong.

It's already nine o'clock. Normally, the academy should be quiet by this time, but the other side of the gate is unusually noisy.

—An attack has occurred.

Upon hearing this news, Kobayashi subconsciously frowned.

Chapter 136 A Clue Offered to Themselves

Every year, the Royal Academy of Mechanical Arts sees a significant number of students withdrawing from the program.

After all, this academy is one of the most prestigious institutions in the magic world, and the courses are anything but easy. Therefore, those students who can't keep up will eventually face the fate of being abandoned.

In addition, there are high tuition fees, corresponding academic qualifications, and other off-site factors.

There are countless reasons to drop out of school.

However, since October of last year, when the new school year began, the number of students dropping out has surged, and has now reached as many as 26.

There were twelve cases where students were forced to drop out of school due to damage to automata.

The culprit who caused all of this

—Cannibal Candy

"So, finding it is your current task?"

"Yes."

Akabane Raishin nodded.

However, his expression was not good, because the attack occurred while he was still at the academy, even while Felix was recounting intelligence.

Even with an excessive sense of self, it's hard not to suspect that it's a deliberate provocation.

Kobayashi didn't intend to join in the fun, but he couldn't help glancing over there, and his superhuman farsightedness instantly kicked in.

"Well……"

He couldn't help but furrow his brow slightly.

The upper and lower halves of the object were scattered on the ground at some distance.

The fracture reveals the abdominal cavity, and its relatively intricate structure gives the impression of peering inside a human body. The exposed gears, wires, and other components, ironically, create an atmosphere even more gruesome than that of a human corpse.

Both feet were completely smashed, which is probably why their movements were restricted.

The lower half of the wreckage's face was so badly damaged that its original form was unrecognizable. Scattered around it were blood-like substances, as if it had been gnawed on by some wild beast.

What's most striking is the bizarre wound.

The area where the heart should have been was hollowed out, leaving only a round indentation. The surface of the wound was extremely smooth, like a candy that had been licked until it melted.

Not good.

I finally managed to get over "Akatsuki no Akatsuki" and then I had a physical reaction.

Seeing that Kobayashi's expression was off, Akabane Raishin patted him on the shoulder and even had the leisure to joke, "Combining cannibalism with candy, don't you think it perfectly captures the characteristics of a wound?"

“...Not a bad joke, Akabane-kun.”

Xiaolin rolled her eyes at him.

This guy is particularly sensitive to changes in other people's feelings, but he always intervenes without knowing the situation, which even makes someone as oblivious as Kobayashi somewhat resistant.

"Speaking of which, who is the puppeteer of this automaton?"

"It's that guy who uses the iron ball."

"Oh, it's him."

Xiaolin's bad mood immediately improved.

Because that guy not only ambushed Kobayashi with a large group of people during the day, but also ambushed Akabane Raishin again in the evening, having his magic circuits eaten by the [Demon Eater] can be considered a fitting punishment.

But you can't laugh!

If I laugh out loud, my life as a puppeteer will be over.

Almost all the students are gathered here now. The appearance of the "Demon Eater" has caused panic. If someone were to laugh at this moment, even if it wasn't him, the panicked and confused students would accuse him, which would definitely cause unnecessary trouble.

He turned to ask the last member of the trio.

"Charlotte, what do you think?"

"..."

Charlotte did not answer.

For a long time, she stared blankly down at the student, without saying a word.

"Ciel, were you out with him?"

The handsome young man's sharp words startled Charlotte from her reverie. Although the words were not meant to be a scolding, they made her visibly shrink back, and she quickly began to defend herself.

"Wait! That's not it, that's—"

"Alright. Let's end this topic here. Raijin, come here for a moment."

Felix coldly ignored Charlotte's words and led Raijin toward the shadows of the bushes in the courtyard.

Charlotte watched his retreating figure, her eyes flashing with a burning intensity, before turning and leaving without a word.

"Wait a minute, Ciel."

Felix, keeping his back to her, unexpectedly stopped her, saying coldly, "You'd better stop interfering with the [Demon Eaters]'s affairs."

"But--"

"Leave this to the disciplinary committee member. Also..."

He turned to look at Charlotte, his face devoid of its usual warm and gentle smile, instead displaying a sorrowful frown, and said, "I understand your feelings. Although it's regrettable, I will withdraw."

“Huh—?!”

"You chose Kobayashi, not me. Is that all there is to it?"

"How could that be? No, it's not like that..."

Charlotte froze in astonishment.

"...I still have work to do. Excuse me, could you please leave first? Also, I don't want to see you again for the time being."

After Felix finished speaking, he quietly turned and left.

Charlotte's face was as pale as an automaton that had just died in a corner, and her petite body trembled slightly.

"W-What should I do? Felix hates me! What should I do... what should I do... what should I do...!"

The words he was muttering were heartbreaking.

"Hey……"

"Leave me alone!"

Charlotte shook off Kobayashi's hand and ran away as fast as she could.

Watching her small figure leave, Xiaolin's lips twitched uncontrollably, and she complained softly, "Hey, hey, hey, I'm the one being used, aren't I?"

What's wrong with me? Why am I feeling so down?

It's the CPU, right? It's definitely the CPU!

The blond, masked man with squinty eyes used his pressure on Charlotte to deliberately provoke her guilt, hoping to make Charlotte feel sorry for Felix and become even more devoted to him.

It's a low-level, highly targeted, and very effective despicable tactic, but unfortunately, the one being used is oneself.

"Lord Kobayashi, aren't you going to chase after them?"