Please Bully Me, Miss Villainess!

Chapter 207 : Beyond One_s Control 1

Upper District, Greenwoam.

This is the library of the magic association "Myriad Leaves Gold", also the designated library of Hartwell Magic Academy. It has been the residence of the administrator Brin for eight long years.

However, now there is an additional cohabitant.

"Ah~ This is..."

Yuna, Brin's cohabitant and childhood friend, found a nostalgic piece of clothing in a miscellaneous box in the storage room.

"Hey... Weren't you supposed to be packing your luggage? Why are you rummaging through my things again?"

Brin, wearing a witch's hat, jumped down from the magical doll she was riding. A license is required to own a magical doll in the city district; this was her specially requested mount.

There's no helping it; as a small-statured member of the small folk race, everyday tasks are very inconvenient. Most daily necessities in the market are designed for beastfolks, who make up over 70% of the population and have similar builds to ordinary humans. These bookshelves, for instance—with the height of the small folk, it's impossible to reach books above the third shelf.

Wind element magic users who can levitate objects from a distance are somewhat better off, able to compensate for their lack of height with magic. But for magic users of other elements, it's quite challenging.

"Look, look—Isn't this our academy uniform? So nostalgic~"

What she held up to show Brin was the smallest size uniform, embroidered with the Hartwell crest.

"My, my~ I didn't expect you to keep such things, Brin~"

Yuna had thought she was the practical type who would thoroughly clear out her past, but it seems that wasn't the case.

"...I just forgot to throw it away."

Unexpectedly finding this relic of her embarrassing past, Brin awkwardly turned her head away, not wanting the other to see her flustered side.

"It would be a shame to throw it away."

Yuna trotted over, holding the clothes up to herself.

"Try it on, it might still fit!"

An expectant expression danced on her face.

"Don't be ridiculous—Why should I have to wear such clothes?"

............

"I knew it, it fits perfectly!"

".................."

The bodies of the small folk generally stop growing after age 14... so of course it fits.

After Yuna's persistent coaxing, Brin finally put on the outfit that made her feel so embarrassed, falling into deep self-doubt as a result.

She ended up wearing it after all.

At her age, to wear clothes meant for teenage girls her student peers wore... it's truly shameless!

The skirt is so short...

It feels so breezy down there...

Was it this short back then too?

"Why does the hair have to be in twin tails like this too..."

She fretted, tugging at her limp curly hair that had been tied into two ponytails. Such a youthful hairstyle was too much for her to bear now.

...She's completely treating me like a toy!

"Hehe~ Didn't Brin used to wear her hair like this back then?"

"That was so many years ago!"

In the end, she was still the same as back then, completely led around by the nose by this person before her.

"...Yes, Brin hasn't changed at all since her student days."

Cupping her face and looking at her, she wore a nostalgic expression.

"I can't believe so many years have passed..."

"............"

There's no helping it; who told her she had no resistance to that smile.

"...If I had to say, Yuna, you haven't changed much either. Appearance-wise, that is."

"Ah~~ How mean, that's not true at all, I've grown taller!"

"Oh, how much taller?"

"About this much, the length of a fingertip!"

She proudly held out her finger to demonstrate.

"...That's quite a lot indeed."

Brin took off the academy uniform and changed back into the wizard robe she wore for work at the association.

Now, of course, this appearance suits her better.

"The current Brin is much more impressive than me. I never thought that little curly-haired girl who always followed behind me would become so amazing~"

"Don't call me curly-hair."

Brin pushed away her hand that was stroking her hair, face reddening.

"But isn't it good now? Your dream has come true, right?"

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"I remember you wanted to be a teacher back then."

When they were in school together, they had written essays on 'My Dream'. Brin still remembered that her dream was to become a teacher.

"Oh my... That was in elementary school, wasn't it? Why do you remember it so clearly..."

"...I just have a good memory!"

She was unwilling to say it out loud, but she remembered everything about her very clearly.

"But it's such a waste, isn't it? Your grades were so good, why did you go into education where the standard requirements are so low?"

Yuna was the center of attention in that year, yet in the end she chose a path that left everyone astounded, right?

"Hmm... how should I put it?"

Yuna folded clothes while reminiscing about the past.

"Actually, I originally wanted to be a preschool teacher."

"A preschool teacher... You really do like children..."

Brin couldn't understand at all.

"A small folk as a preschool teacher... Wouldn't you just be ignored among a crowd of children?"

She found human children noisy and troublesome, and worse, they were about the same height as her, so she would be looked down upon and teased. This kind of thing had happened countless times from childhood to adulthood.

Their race was naturally short in stature. Brin felt that rather than being treated like a child, even standing on a chair to teach students much taller than herself would be better than teaching a bunch of little brats about her own size.

"But aren't children cute?"

"...Not at all."

"Well... I chose this path myself, and I'm very happy teaching at Emerald Star Academy now... I've even taught excellent students like Ellie and Yvonne. I have no complaints about my current situation, you know?"

As she spoke, she wore a very gentle expression.

"But come to think of it... why did you become a teacher too, Brin?"

Yuna asked curiously. Brin had stayed on to work at her alma mater, though she only taught a few classes per semester and didn't have many students, which is why she could hold the concurrent position of vice president at the association.

Although she spent more time here, nominally, her true identity was that of an honorary professor at Hartwell.

"It was just a coincidence."

"Oh? Is that so?"

...She didn't want to say.

It was because she wanted to work in the same place as her, so she also chose the education department when filling out her aspirations. As a result, she was unexpectedly hired by the "Library" which owned half of the academy's rights to become a manager...

Later, she met S. Gold, the leader of "Myriad Leaves Gold", who appreciated her talents. She also happened to like quiet work, so she put her expertise to use in "Myriad Leaves Gold", climbing her way up, and finally becoming the vice president here...

The long arms of the magical doll placed books on the shelves.

These books needed to be categorized before spring...

Sitting on the magical doll, Brin continued her work at hand, forcing herself into a work state.

As long as she entered a focused state, she could set aside her personal feelings.

This is how she had always done things.

"But if you can't teach children, then you'll just have to have one yourself."

The focused state she had finally entered was easily broken by this one sentence.

Brin almost slipped, nearly dropping the book she was shelving onto the floor.

She took several deep breaths before finally mustering the courage to speak.

"Yuna..."

"Hm?"

"Are you still going on blind dates?"

"Eh?"

Probably not expecting to hear this question from her, Yuna blinked rapidly, a look of panic and disbelief on her face.

"H-how do you know about that?"

"I'm sorry... A letter came from your hometown before, it wasn't sealed properly and fell out... so I accidentally saw the contents..."

"...I should be the one apologizing."

She stopped organizing the clothes in her hands and sighed.

"It's not something I wanted to hide from you anyway... I am indeed going on blind dates."

"...Well, we are at that age now."

Brin forced out a few dry laughs, trying to make her expression look natural, but her hands gripping the control stick were shaking like a sieve.

"Have you met anyone decent?"

"Not—at—all!"

Speaking of this, Yuna suddenly became very upset.

"Ah ah—My luck with men is really terrible... It's been like this since high school! I feel like I haven't met any good men, and just because they're the same race, I have to marry them? That's so unreasonable!"

"Indeed... Those guys are all very fickle."

The small folk are naturally good at communication, mostly born with outgoing personalities, and with their baby faces, male small folk seem to be quite popular among some human women.

"...Saying things like 'Compared to same-race women with no figure, of course voluptuous and beautiful big sisters are better'... It's too much!! One minute they're on a date with me, and the next they're being carried off by other women, it's simply unbelievable—"

"...There are such cases?"

"Yes! It's bizarre, right? What kind of people are these..."

After venting her frustrations, she let out a big sigh as if releasing a great deal of resentment.

"To be honest... I really don't want to go on blind dates..."

"But I see your family..."

"They keep urging me to find a partner, right?"

Brin felt like there was a small stone lodged in her heart, making her uncomfortable.

She used to be such an outstanding person, but now...

Yuna lowered her head and packed her clothes into the box, pressing them down.

"Although I love children, I don't want to marry someone casually just for that reason. It's quite a contradiction."

"...Brin? Have you finished organizing the books? You're in my way..."

At some point, she had come to stand in front of her.

Brin took a deep breath.

"In that case, why don't you just stay here in the royal capital with me!"

For many years, continuing until now, she had always wanted to say these words.

If she didn't say them now, she felt like she would never have the chance again.

"Or... is it not okay to be with me?"

"............"

This time it was her turn to fall silent.

"The 'teacher exchange' between schools was your doing too, wasn't it?"

After the new spring semester starts and the exchange ends, she will have to leave this place.

"...Yes."

Brin no longer denied it. Everything she had done was for her to come to her side.

"Hah... I knew it."

"How could a small school in the countryside like Emerald Star Academy suddenly have an exchange program with Hartwell..."

She looked at the packed luggage beside her, wearing an expression between a smile and not.

"Brin, why would you go to such lengths for me?"

"Because... because..."

Brin's face turned red. She was born fairer than any of her race, and any slight emotional fluctuation would become particularly obvious on her face.

"Because you, Yuna, are the one I must defeat!"

"...??"

"Since our student days, no matter what I did, I never won against you, did I? Be it in academics or career... Looking back, I've always been led around by you... influenced by you. Don't you think you should take some responsibility??"

"So... you're already better than me now..."

"Just once, I want to change your life!!"

Brin threw caution to the wind and stepped forward to grasp Yuna's hands.

When she looked up, she realized that those eyes hidden under the witch's hat held a seriousness she had never seen before.

"Now I have enough money... and a house too! With my position, I absolutely won't let anyone gossip about us... I understand you better than those people, and most importantly, being with me will never make you cry."

Yuna, at a loss, blinked rapidly.

"Why are you saying such things now? I thought you joined the association because you had a special relationship with President S. Gold... Do you know how shocked I was back then??"

"There's nothing like that at all!!"

Brin hurriedly waved her hands in denial. The usually calm her had never been so flustered before.

"President S. Gold is a good person, she does take very good care of me, but there's nothing between us—"

"I see... It seems I misunderstood."

Yuna showed a relieved smile and lowered the hands that Brin was holding.

"If we were still in our student days, I might have happily accepted, because I liked Brin too."

"In that case, come with me—"

"—But, it's not possible."

However, this time, she firmly rejected her.

From the second she said this, it felt like she was crumbling from the inside out.

"The clan won't agree."

Marrying a man of the same race, passing on the lineage like the ancestors, that's what it means to properly fulfill one's life's mission.

Yuna gripped her luggage again and pushed open the library's large door.

"...Not everyone can live as freely as you do, Brin."