Chapter 228 Tuition Fees (4)
The next day.
MiniPin opened his eyes abruptly.
“…Was it a dream?”
But there was no way that could be true.
He woke up lying on the cold floor, and as he got up, he realized his jaw was swollen.
Only a single blanket covered him.
In an instant, an ominous intuition flashed through his mind.
“Oh no! Honey, are you okay?! Our daughter?!”
MiniPin slapped the floor and rushed down the noisy staircase.
But…
“You’re awake?”
“Dad! Good morning!”
His wife and daughter welcomed MiniPin with a perfectly normal appearance.
“…Huh?”
MiniPin made a perplexed expression.
Inside the fireplace, the fire was warm, and sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn were roasting.
The kitchen smelled of bubbling stew, and outside the window, white laundry swayed in the sunlight and breeze.
“?”
MiniPin was bewildered by the unchanged everyday life.
The attitudes of his wife and daughter toward him were no different from usual.
Even the house showed no difference from yesterday.
“Ah, you… Why were you sleeping on the floor?! I couldn’t move you because you were too heavy! Just left you there! What’s with this sleeping habit~”
“Huh? I was on the floor?”
“Yeah. You were sleeping soundly on the floor. I tried waking you up several times, but you wouldn’t budge, so I just covered you with a blanket and came out. Is your neck not sore?”
His wife’s hand, hitting MiniPin’s back, was firm.
“Uh, no. Did nothing happen yesterday? Burglars or anything?”
“What? Burglars? With you here, how could that happen? Weird guy…”
“Oh, no. It’s nothing. I think I had a bad dream.”
“Gosh, that’s why you were sleeping in such a strange position! Anyway, can you get some sweet potatoes and corn from the fireplace? They should be done. Oh, I put the potatoes in a bit later, so leave them be!”
His wife seemed completely oblivious.
MiniPin sat at the dining table with a bewildered expression and ate the breakfast his wife prepared.
And, as usual, he left the house on time and headed to the guild office.
The street scenery was too ordinary and mundane.
Neighbors greeted him as he stepped out, and subordinates bowed their heads as they passed on the way to work.
“…Was it really a dream?”
But no matter how much he thought about it, it wasn’t.
His jaw was swollen, and the hole in the wooden wall was still there, just as it was.
So, some lunatic had invaded the house, smacked MiniPin’s jaw, and left without taking anything.
Moreover, without stealing a single thing!
“What the heck was that about?”
MiniPin shook his head in disbelief.
Vowing to conduct thorough surveillance tonight.
* * *
That night, lying in bed, MiniPin watched as his wife peacefully fell asleep before closing his eyes. If only it weren’t for the faint noise coming from the window again.
“Se-Seriously!?”
MiniPin looked towards the window. The lunatic from yesterday was standing there once again. Silently unlocking the window and crossing the threshold, the intruder deliberately made noise by crumpling a piece of paper in his hand, showcasing his ghostly presence.
Crackle, crackle.
The sight was truly eerie, sending shivers down the spine of anyone witnessing it.
“…I won’t let it slide this time.”
MiniPin had hidden his beloved sword by his bedside just in case. Thankfully, his wife was a deep sleeper.
The mere appearance of the large sword emanated a menacing aura.
“Die!”
MiniPin swung the greatsword towards the intruder. However,
Thunk!
An unbelievable event occurred. The aura of the Graduator, which cut through everything, was blocked by the intruder. Moreover, it was blocked barehanded!
Clang! Thud! Splat!
The Graduator’s sword and aura were stopped. They were even gradually breaking apart.
‘This, this is impossible…!’
MiniPin was astonished by the unfolding situation before his eyes. However, even that astonishment was not allowed to persist until the end.
Thunk!
Once again, a fist flew to his jaw, cutting off his consciousness.
* * *
“Have you been having bad sleeping habits lately?” His wife casually inquired as they woke up in the morning.
MiniPin, who had once again opened his eyes while lying on the floor this morning, couldn’t offer any response. How could he explain? Every night, he was being attacked by an intruder, taking blows to the jaw and repeatedly losing consciousness.
This painful story wasn’t just something he couldn’t tell his wife, nor his friends, colleagues, and subordinates.
“It won’t do. Tonight, I need to contact the Imperial Guard.”
For the first time in his life, MiniPin contemplated relying on the power of law enforcement. With a heavy determination in his heart, he finished getting ready for work.
* * *
The next morning, the investigator from the Imperial Guard, who had spent the night with bleary eyes, asked, “Mr. MiniPin, is the report accurate?”
MiniPin couldn’t offer any response. The intruder hadn’t shown up last night.
Looking at MiniPin’s massive stature, the investigators from the Royal Guard commented, “Realistically, it’s hard to imagine a thief who could ransack Mr. MiniPin’s house.”
“Moreover, capturing a Graduator-level aura barehanded. What a bizarre situation… Why would someone with such skills resort to petty theft in the first place?”
“You mentioned there’s no one you recently angered. Hm, perhaps stalking due to jealousy?”
“Anyway, we’re not exactly idle, so we can’t provide night patrols like this in the future.”
“It’s a bit inconclusive to say we’ll do something in return, but we’ll strengthen patrols in this area a bit more. Take care.”
In the end, MiniPin had to bow his head multiple times, dismissing the investigators from the Imperial Guard.
* * *
And unbelievably, on that night.
Crackle –
The intruder visited once again.
“Argh! This rascal! What the heck do you want?!”
Wearing two helmets, MiniPin swung the knives in his hands and rushed out. However, the result was as usual.
Thunk – Snap!
The two helmets shattered, and the two knives broke. MiniPin, once again, took a punch to the jaw and lost consciousness.
* * *
And the next day.
The day after that.
And the day after that.
The midnight visits continued.
Having confirmed once again that nothing had been stolen from his house this time, MiniPin sat on the couch in the guild office with a disappointed heart. Just to be safe, his wife and daughter had already sought refuge with relatives.
Since that day, MiniPin had become a man who feared the night. How could he not be afraid when some lunatic kept coming through the window, delivering a single blow, and disappearing? It was an incredibly effective and violent natural sleep aid.
“I’ve been struggling with stress-induced insomnia recently… Is this some kind of new treatment?”
Of course, that wasn’t the case. However, MiniPin couldn’t bring himself to talk about this to anyone due ot his pride as a guild leader.
“Telling the Imperial Guard will just earn me ridicule. Ha, that villain. Always lurking and attacking only when I’m alone…”
Who would believe a tale that a man over 7 feet tall was suffering continuous assault from a stalker? Facing a dilemma he had never experienced before, MiniPin felt only frustration.
Right at that moment.
“Guild Master, a request form has arrived.”
The deputy handed over a document, and this time, the quantity was a bit less—only one document.
MiniPin narrowed his eyes. “Even during the off-season, we’re getting requests?”
“Well, yes. For the past few days, they’ve been consistently sending in request forms. It’s the same person every time.”
Then MiniPin noticed something odd. The condition of the supposedly newly submitted request forms was not good. The paper, supposedly fresh, was severely crumpled.
“What’s this? Isn’t this a newly submitted request form? Why is it crumpled?”
“I don’t know. They’ve been coming every time with a crumpled request form. It’s the Academy student you mentioned before.”
“Academy student? Who’s that?”
“You know, the young guy from the Colosseo Academy.”
“Ah, right.”
Now he remembered—someone sent him an audacious request, and he sent them back with ridicule and mockery.
“Well, anyway. I don’t have time to entertain the whims of wealthy young masters…”
MiniPin absentmindedly accepted the request form again this time and crumpled it just as before.
Crackle –
At that very moment, MiniPin stiffened as if struck by lightning. The sound of crumpling the request form was familiar, something he had heard somewhere before.
“…!?”
MiniPin hurriedly moved his hands to unfold the crumpled request form from earlier. Then, he crumpled it again.
Crackle –
Perhaps due to the special material of the paper, the sound of crumpling was slightly different from other papers. This sound was undoubtedly the unpleasant noise made by the night intruder.
Upon reflection, why did this form come back, didn’t he crumple it and threw it away?
MiniPin turned to his deputy and asked tentatively, “Hey, um… have you been cleaning my room lately?”
“Yes? Of course, I do it all the time.”
“What about the trash can in my room? Do you empty it?”
“It’s always empty, so I didn’t empty it separately.”
MiniPin was shocked by the deputy’s response. This request form was thrown into the guild office trash can a few days ago.
“In that case…”
The request form that had been sent back was being picked up, crumpled, and then put back again. They would then crumple it once more and launch attacks during the night.
“What in the world! Who the crazy person is doing this for?
MiniPin completely unfurled the request form, his face pale with shock.
[Request Form]
Name: Vikir
Affiliation: Colosseo Academy
Request Details: Hire one guide
Purpose: Monster Hunting
So crumpled that it was barely readable, MiniPin stared at the request form with a dazed expression.
“How is it?”
A voice from behind the deputy interrupted with an unfamiliar yet familiar tone. Despite the deputy’s disapproval, MiniPin turned to see who it was.
‘This is a fucking warning.’
A first-year student from Colosseum Academy, Vikir.
“Now, are you considering taking on my request?”
Speaking with the same voice as the intruder from the nights, Vikir continued to taunt MiniPin.
