Nobody knows how to be a villain better than me.

Therefore, the student council's triumphant joint lawsuit after winning was exactly what this girl wanted.

So, without hesitation, this girl pretended to be a teammate and helped the boys get points.

At this point, after Beatrice's antics, the score difference between the two sides was only seven points.

To make matters worse, the highly respected vice president, Misaya Reirōkan, was absent, and the external support teacher, Fujimura-sensei, had also disappeared. Illya, who was the second-best combatant, and her companions were also nowhere to be found. In addition, Beatrice suddenly turned against them, and the original luxurious lineup was now in ruins.

As one of the few reliable ones, Ayako Mitsuri had no choice but to drag her tired body to the center and try her best to keep up with Athena's pace.

But in both the front and back areas, the latest substitutes...

The solution clearly lacked sufficient control, making numerous mistakes and being repeatedly breached.

On the other hand, the male side underwent a complete transformation.

In the front row, Kuzuki Souichirou, a former murderer and teacher who could withstand heroic spirits with his fighting skills, took the lead in attack with the help of Ryudou Kazunari. His strangely swinging arms were not only difficult to predict in terms of force and direction, but also showed that he was experienced in fighting and had a seasoned approach. Every move he made was cunning and vicious, making it impossible for his opponents to defend against.

Behind them, the seemingly harmless blond-haired, red-eyed boy, though lacking in strength, always managed to catch the soaring volleyball at just the right moment, completing interceptions and returns. Clearly, his control over force was masterful.

As for the center, the young foreign player in the black trench coat, with his sidesteps, gliding steps, raising his hand and waving, made disjointed movements that were utterly devoid of beauty. He seemed nonchalant, yet as if he had a premonition, he always managed to stand at the perfect spot for the ball to land, swinging it at the best angle and dribbling trajectory, like a finely wound-up instrument.

What's even more terrifying is this person's indescribable ability to control the game. Since he came on, the boys' team has not lost a single point. Even the substitutes with the most weaknesses were able to perform at a level close to that of professional athletes under his guidance.

From this point on, the girls' team suffered a complete defeat, and the score was quickly tied.

"Beep!"

"Whoosh!"

As the whistle blew its final note, the last high shot slammed into the corner of the backcourt from a tricky angle.

It's hard to guard against!

"boom!"

However, to the girls' horror, the volleyball flew over the boundary and slammed heavily against the wall behind them.

The score is tied! It's a draw! It's a draw!

As the final whistle blew, the girls in the stands, whose emotions had been fluctuating wildly, broke out in a cold sweat. But when they saw the exact same number on the scoreboard, they couldn't help but hug each other and cheer.

The boys, who had initially given up hope for the outcome, were still reeling from this sudden and stunning reversal.

Since it's a draw, the bet is void. You can figure out how to divide the event funds yourselves.

"Deliver the three jars here. Don't forget, young man."

Samael smiled with satisfaction, tossed out a note, put his hands in his pockets, and turned to leave with a flourish.

Athena's gaze fell upon the receding figure, and with a flash of insight, she immediately gave chase.

In the open cherry blossom grove, Samael stopped to admire the blossoms and inhale the refreshing fragrance in the air.

"You're the one who messed things up, aren't you?"

A moment later, the goddess of wisdom, who had followed behind, glanced at the familiar figure with a smug look in her eyes. She swept away her displeasure, wrinkled her delicate nose, and snorted softly.

"I've got you now, Dad!"

"Hmm, good alertness, worthy of praise."

Samael turned around, smiled slightly, his eyes showing approval, then curled his lips into a playful contemplation.

"So, guess why I stopped here specifically?"

Open space... dense forest...

Instantly realizing something was wrong, Athena's expression changed drastically, and she turned and ran.

"Want to run? It's too late!"

However, the next moment, accompanied by a cold snort, dozens of red ethereal streams resembling snakes bound the goddess of wisdom, who had no time to escape, tightly and brought her before Samael.

The ancient snake grabbed a young instigator by the back of his collar, and with a sinister smile on his icy face, asked him with ill intent.

"My most, most beloved goddess of wisdom, how many days do you want your butt to be swollen?"

Athena frowned and pondered for a long time before asking tentatively.

Can I choose 0 days?

Samael laughed, his expression growing increasingly radiant, even somewhat distorted.

"Serves you right for causing trouble!"

"That's what happens when you don't study properly!"

"You tried to sow discord!"

"You're quite adept at stirring up trouble, aren't you? You're itching for a beating again, aren't you?!"

Accompanied by gritted teeth and angry rants, a raised hand slapped repeatedly onto the pert little bottom of a certain goddess of wisdom.

"Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!"

The rapid pattering, like a rhythmic drumbeat, mixed with the occasional weak and mournful cries of a child, was heartbreaking and brought tears to one's eyes.

For some reason, there seemed to be a faint, subtle melodious wistfulness mixed in with that weak, mournful cry.

Chapter Seven: Okamoto 001's Tug-of-War (7.6k)

Night falls in the Doll House.

"Daddy, no! No... Waaah... Ilya will be good..."

"Want to run!"

"Help! Help!"

Suppressed groans drifted intermittently from the dimly lit room upstairs, interspersed with suspicious thuds.

"boom!"

Just then, Aozaki Touko, who had just finished a business deal downstairs and entered the room under the cover of night, heard this and decisively took off her glasses, broke the seal, and her gaze became sharp as a knife. Then she quickly leaped up to the second floor, raised her right leg covered by enhanced magic, and kicked open the tightly closed door.

"Orange, help!"

Taking advantage of the lull, a pale-faced, disheveled white-haired little girl screamed and darted behind the rescuer.

Upon seeing this, Aozaki Touko was enraged and issued a righteous and stern judgment against the demon in the house who had revealed his true nature.

"Ilya is so young, how could you do that? You scum, you're under arrest..."

"No, these questions are too hard, I don't want to do them!"

however,

As the little girl sobbed with tears streaming down her face, the Grand Doll Master's angry rebuke abruptly stopped. He stiffly looked down at Ilya, who was tightly holding her waist, and then gazed into the room.

Now that the smoke and dust have cleared and the view is clear, three blank test papers on the desk with the lamp on make the little girl tremble with fear, her eyes brimming with tears.

(As for why there were three test papers, five exams, and two false reports, it was two old papers, and the other was the A-grade homework paper they stole today.)

Meanwhile, a parent holding a feather duster stared at the little mudskipper that had escaped from his grasp and was hiding behind Aozaki Touko. His face was clouded with anger, and a cold smile appeared on his lips.

"Where do you think you're going? Come back here!"

"..."

Aozaki Touko's cheek twitched slightly. She coughed lightly, pretending to be nonchalant, and casually asked a question.

"What are you doing?"

"What else can we do?!"

As Samael spoke, his face darkened further. He brandished a feather duster and berated Ilya, who was hiding behind Aozaki Touko.

"The school only reported me for three out of five math tests! She managed to cover up the other two times I failed. This afternoon she even tried to sneak into the office to peek at my test paper and get away with it. If I don't teach her a lesson, she'll become unruly in the future!"

"Uh, so you're going to..."

Aozaki Touko glanced at the intimidating feather duster in Samael's hand, then hesitated to speak.

"Of course, we should have her redo the questions she got wrong on the previous test paper until she can do them correctly!"

Completely unaware of anything amiss, Samael brandished his feather duster, gritting his teeth and displaying a ferocious expression.

"Tonight, I'm going to stick with her! No one's going to sleep until we figure these problems out!"

Faced with the parents' menacing threats, Illya clung to Aozaki Touko's waist, grasping at the straw in her hand, and cried out in despair.

"No! This is too difficult, and there's so much of it! Orange, save me!"

"Keep yelling! Don't even mention her, even if Jesus came, he couldn't save you!"

Samael sneered and, without saying a word, stepped forward and cruelly dragged the poor little girl into the house. A large, iron-like hand pressed down on the girl's delicate shoulders, fixing her small body to a chair.

When Ilya, wiping away tears and doing her homework with a pained expression, Samael snapped out of his daze and turned to look at Aozaki Touko standing in the doorway with surprise.

"Oh, right, what did you just say?"

"No, it's nothing. I was just browsing around. You guys are busy..."

Looking at the horrific scene before her, Aozaki Touko couldn't help but recall the fear of being dominated by her grandfather in the deep mountains of Misaki City. She immediately swallowed hard, ignoring Illya's pleading eyes, and retreated along the wall, disappearing into the shadows before quietly turning and slipping towards the stairs.

"and many more……"

However, just as this Grand Dollmaker, recalling the trauma of her childhood, was about to enter the safe zone, a low shout from behind made Aozaki Touko freeze, as if struck by lightning.

"Close the door..."

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, yet also like a fleeting moment, the gentle words of advice that echoed in my ears were like heavenly music.

"Honestly, Nero and Scáthach, every time they come in they kick down the door, making it look like a demolition site. What bad habits do they have? Why did you copy them..."

"I'll be more careful next time. If there's nothing else, I won't bother you any longer."

Hearing the irritating complaint, Aozaki Touko breathed a sigh of relief, quickly pulled up the door on the ground, used magic to complete the repair work very quickly, and then went into the downstairs studio without looking back.

That was a speed I had never seen before.

"Snapped!"

At that moment, as the intruder left, a feather duster fell lightly from behind, tapping the little girl on the forehead, followed by an annoyed reminder and a cold snort.

"What are you looking at? Do your homework!"

"But I can't..."

"If you don't know, I'll teach you. You can't run away."

"Oh……"

In the end, the gloomy little girl could only face the cruel reality with resentment, and obediently picked up her pen to start struggling with the wrong questions circled on the paper.

The moon was high in the sky, and the night was deepening.

After a long and arduous night of struggle, Ilya finally overcame all the difficulties and was allowed to pass.

Finally, finally we are liberated.

The little girl was so excited that she couldn't contain herself. She immediately straightened her stiff body, loosened her sore wrists, rubbed her sleepy eyes, and eagerly headed towards the bedroom.

You finished it in such a short time? Isn't that pretty clever?

I always thought the Einzbern family, the masters of artificial life, couldn't possibly be stumped by a primary school student's question.

Sure enough, the reason for such a poor exam result was clearly because I was too playful and unwilling to put in the effort.

Tsk, this girl is really spoiled by Alice and the others.

Inside the classroom, Samael carefully reviewed the three test papers in his hand that were all correct, shook his head and hummed softly. Then he raised his hand to tidy up the messy desk, packed his little girl's schoolbag, and put in the stationery and books she would need for tomorrow's class.

After cleaning up the mess, the ancient snake turned off the lamp with satisfaction, tiptoed to the outside of Ilya's bedroom, carefully pushed open the door a crack, and quietly slipped inside.

It seems that he was too tired because he had faced an overwhelming number of practice problems.

Ilya climbed into bed, but before she could even get under the covers, she curled up on the bedding and fell asleep fully clothed.

Does that seem a bit too harsh?

Then let's wait until the weekend and take her to Central Park as compensation.

Samael looked at Ilya's still-suffering face as she slept, smiled helplessly, muttered to himself for a while, then reached out and picked up the family's darling, pulled back the covers for the little girl, and straightened her sleeping position.

Goodnight, Ilya.

The caretaker in the darkness murmured silently, bent down, and gently kissed the silver-haired loli's forehead.