Hawks from the Land of Light are calling me a dove and an undercover agent in the chat group.

Kuze Shizuka finally returned to reality.

She returned to the reality where the overcast sky had cleared and the sun was shining brightly, showering her with sunshine.

Yato looked at the child and couldn't help but choke up a little. He nodded heavily and said, "Thank you, Shizuka. From today onwards, I will never let you be bullied again!"

Shizuka Kuze burst into tears.

Tears, filled with joy.

Her new life has begun.

Volume 1: 492. The Bully's Intricate Chains, the Root of Violence

492. The interconnected schemes of bullies, the root of violence

The next day at school, all the students in the class, including Marina Kirisaka, felt like they were about to be blinded by the light.

"Kuse-kun, why are you so dazzling?"

All the students stared wide-eyed, dumbfounded, finding it unbelievable.

She was wearing brand-new clothes that fit her perfectly, and carrying a new backpack that was understated but suited her appearance. The backpack had a cute brown bear keychain strap on the zipper.

Her hair, which was originally somewhat gloomy and occasionally too loose, was carefully styled and now exudes a lively and sunny vibe.

It was still the same face, but the eyes on that face no longer held any gloom or dejection; they were bright and sparkling, as if they contained stars. The corners of his mouth were almost always unconsciously turned up, and he would occasionally hum some popular and catchy tunes.

When walking, she sometimes skips and hops, and when she thinks of something, she might suddenly chuckle to herself with delight.

During class, he no longer kept his head down as before. Instead, he spread out his textbook and used a brand-new pen to write down the key points the teacher was explaining in his new notebook, listening with great interest.

The teachers on the podium have all been replaced. All the teachers who had taught this class have been reported and temporarily taken away for investigation.

The new teachers, seeing Shizuka Kuze's demeanor, had no idea that from last year until yesterday morning, she had been experiencing incredibly severe bullying every day.

Everyone still thought that Shizuka Kuze must be the kind of good child who was always surrounded by the other children and was always the most favored.

While it's true that he's a good child.

The teachers changed, which to some extent led to a change in the classroom atmosphere.

The students, who had been forced into this situation by the authorities the day before and were still resentful because they could no longer bully her, were now seeing that all the former teachers had disappeared and the new teachers seemed to have a very good attitude and impression of Shizuka Kuze.

Although the resentment may not have completely dissipated, he has indeed become more obedient in his behavior and is less likely to bully Shizuka Kuze than he was yesterday.

Moreover, quite a few students would occasionally steal glances at Shizuka Kuze.

They hadn't noticed when Shizuka was being bullied before, but now that she's completely transformed, even though she still looks the same, they all feel that she's become much more charming and looks so cute.

Especially for Higashi Naoki, who was the class president, he was already attracted to some of the qualities in Kuze Shizuka that he felt were similar to his mother, and now it wasn't just because of the similarities between Kuze Shizuka and his mother.

Even so, on the second day, apart from the student who was 'burdened by the Emperor's decree' and all the other students knew that he had been given an additional requirement by Mr. Yagi Takeshi to approach Shizuka Kuze, no other student, regardless of gender, approached or spoke to Shizuka Kuze.

The ice layer is so thick that it can be described as a glacial continent similar to Antarctica.

If Marina Kirisaka, as a bully, hadn't taken the lead and set an example by taking action, the atmosphere wouldn't have fundamentally changed. At most, people would have been less likely to bully Shizuka Kuze, but that would have been the extent of it.

So it was for this reason, and also because the decision to conduct home visits to the whole class had already been made long ago.

On the second day after school, Takeshi Yato takes Shizuka Kuze to court to provide audio evidence and confronts Kuze's deranged mother in court. This leads the judge, the jury, and the lawyers to waver and lean towards stripping Kuze's mother of her custody rights.

He took Kuze Shizuka's hand and led her to the Nishimiya family home, hoping that Nishimiya Shoko and the others could become friends with Kuze Shizuka and help him take care of the lonely Kuze Shizuka.

Custody decisions cannot be made in a day. Although Shizuka Kuze has made her intentions clear—that she wants to live with her teacher—and there is audio evidence proving that her mother treats her badly, the situation remains unresolved.

However, the process will still take several days.

Fortunately, there is no longer any suspense or objection; the result will definitely be successful.

Now, what Yato Takeshi has to deal with is the second layer of bullying root after Kuze's mother, namely the problem of the Kirisaka family.

However, he certainly couldn't be as straightforward here as he was at the Kuse family, because neither Marina nor her parents would likely cooperate properly with an outsider like him and tell him everything.

After all, many things are considered "scandals," and families will try their best not to disclose them to the outside world.

"What?! What?! What?! She's so smug, damn it, how can she still laugh?! What is she laughing at?!"

On her way home, Marina Mitsuzaka gritted her teeth the whole way, almost kicking over the trash cans on the roadside. The cats and dogs along the way were so frightened by her presence that they immediately ran away.

Marina Kirisaka's mind was filled with replays of Shizuka Kuze's completely transformed appearance at school today, a transformation that seemed almost drastic.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got.

That Mr. Ya, he said all sorts of nice things yesterday, even saying he'd get that woman away from my dad, but he hasn't told me anything all day that he's done it. He's a complete liar!

"Liars, liars, they're all liars! Huff, huff..."

Marina Kirisaka was so angry that her tone changed; she was absolutely furious.

But now that she was almost home, she had to take several deep breaths to suppress her frustration.

Instead, she adopted an innocent and harmless demeanor, forcing a smile that both adults and children would find endearing and adorable, and lightly turned the doorknob: "Mom, I'm going home—"

"So I told you what's wrong with you!"

boom!

The moment the door was opened, an angry roar completely drowned out Marina Mikizaka's forced sweet greeting, causing her to freeze and her body to go cold.

Inside the door, inside the house, the floor was a mess, and the father, who rarely came home, was scolding the mother.

Mom deliberately put on a wronged and aggrieved face, as if she dared not resist anything, but in fact, everything she said and did was blaming Dad and provoking him to anger.

"What right do you have to say these things to me? I earned my own money, I can spend it however I want, it's not like I haven't given you living expenses! I've earned so much money, don't I deserve to enjoy it a little?"

"You've spent all your money on that other woman."

"So what? That's why I say you can't reason with a full-time housewife like you. You don't work at all and you don't know how hard it is to work!"

"Marina is still so young, she thinks about her father every day..."

"Don't mention Molina to me. I've never hit her, scolded her, or treated her badly. If you love Molina so much, then take her in after the divorce!"

"You used to be so normal, loving both me and Marina. Now? What's so great about that woman anyway?"

“She’s perfect in every way. She understands me. When she sees me stressed at work, she tells me not to push myself too hard. And you? Every time I come home late at night, I’m already exhausted at the company, and then you come home and say something to me, saying you’ve waited for me for so long. I don’t care about my family. I only care about my work. Don’t think that just because you have some money you can neglect your family…”

"I'm tired of hearing what you're saying! Since you're so unhappy that I'm working myself to the bone for you and the kids, let's just break up!"

"That's all in the past. I haven't said those things for a long time now, have I?"

"Yes, you stopped talking after Kuze appeared. You didn't realize you were wrong; you just knew you couldn't lose me, couldn't lose my money. But it's too late!"

"I work so hard to take care of this family all day long, I take such good care of Marina-chan, I wait for you every day, I cook for you, even if I was a bit nagging before, haven't I always loved you? I've never cheated on you, I've always loved you!"

"How could you cheat on me and hook up with that woman because of these things? How can you do this to me and to Morina?!"

"I don't care about any of that, don't talk to me about these things!"

"where are you going?"

"Where to? Ha, of course I'm going to find that woman. Otherwise, why would I want to keep looking at your stinky face here? It's so annoying!"

The parents' heated argument continued, causing Marina Kirisaka's forced smile to freeze and gradually droop down her face.

She really wanted to go over and mediate, but the atmosphere in the house made her too scared to move just by standing at the door. Her little hands gripping the doorknob seemed to have lost all their strength, and she couldn't do anything new.

The angry father picked up his coat, snorted coldly, ignored the mother, and walked towards the entrance, where he saw his daughter standing there blankly, her face pale.

His expression softened slightly, but that was all. When Marina subconsciously made way for him, he didn't say a word to his daughter and decisively went out without even looking back.

"Molinae..."

Inside the house, the mother, who had seen the situation at the door, looked as if she were being haunted.

She gave a bitter laugh and called out softly to her daughter, "Marina, come here, come here..."

"Mother……"

Marina Kirisaka trembled slightly, completely different from how she was at school and on her way home. She gripped her backpack strap with one hand, trembling and moving so slowly it seemed like she was wriggling as she entered the house, holding her breath as she approached her mother who was waving to her.

"Dad and Mom are arguing again,"

Mica Saka's mother had disheveled hair, her expression hidden by it, and only her soft voice could be heard, "He said he wanted to divorce me, and he said he was going to find that woman. Hey, Marina, why didn't you come home sooner? Why did you leave me to face a father like that alone?"

“Mom…” Marina Kirisaka almost stopped breathing, wishing she could disappear into thin air as she approached her mother, barely daring to breathe.

"Ah, but even if Marina came back earlier, it wouldn't matter. Daddy doesn't love you anymore, Marina. Why are you so useless? Why is Daddy abandoning Mommy and you?"

Kirisaka's mother's voice was lifeless, devoid of any vitality. She laughed coldly, the laughter eerily strange, as she looked at her daughter. "Why are you so useless? Tell me, tell me, Marina?"

"I'm sorry, Mom, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Marina Kirisaka trembled more and more, her sobs became more and more obvious, and she kept begging for mercy.

Because she knew this wasn't the first time.

As long as Mom couldn't keep Dad, and as long as Dad left home after the argument, then what happens next will definitely be the same as before.

Nothing had even started yet, but Marina Kirisaka was already so frightened that she kept apologizing: "No, Mom, please, I'm sorry..."

An apology is useless.

It was getting late, and the lights were off inside. The eerie darkness inside was even more chilling than outside. Mica Saka's mother gave a sinister, chilling laugh, groping for the shards of glass she'd broken during her argument with her husband. Holding them in her hand, she asked in a low, menacing voice:

"Hey, Marina, Mommy's asking you a question, why aren't you answering?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Terrified Marina Kirisaka could only apologize repeatedly, not even daring to turn around and run away.

"No, that's not what Mommy wants to hear. Mommy wants your father to come back. Why can't he leave that woman? Why? Tell me, Marina, tell me!"

With a hoarse voice and a grief-stricken cry, unable to stop her husband's resolute decision, Yunmu Saka's mother could not contain her emotions. Her steps were unsteady, as if she were drunk. She raised the hand that had picked up the broken glass high, and the sharp shards of glass were about to pierce her daughter's arm.

"No, Mom—"

With a sob in her voice, Marina Kirisaka was terrified and cried. She instinctively closed her eyes, raised her hands to her head, trembling, waiting for the beatings and venting from her mother that would come not be the first time.

That second seemed to stretch on and on.

One second passed, then two seconds, then three seconds.

With her eyes closed, too afraid to look at her mother, Marina Kirisaka experienced her first painless reaction after crying out. Nothing—no fists, no slaps, no broken glass—nothing came down on her.

Mom, has Mom gone back to being the mom who never hit her, who always liked her, always loved her, and never took her anger out on her?

With hope and longing, Marina Mica-saka tremblingly opened her eyes.

Then she saw it.