Looking at the math teacher with cold eyes as he struggled to resist, Christian didn't care. He dragged him a little further down the street and, after making sure there was no one around, began barraging him with punches.
Not caring one bit where the punches landed, as they made a rhythmic "thud, thud" sound, Christian continued.
The math teacher nearly lost his drunk state from the beating and started to come to his senses.
His previous angry glare turned into one of confusion and disbelief, as if questioning why this was happening to him.
"W-why are y-you d-doing this?"
Between his cries of pain, the math teacher asked with a muffled and hoarse voice, but Christian, not wanting to risk his voice being recognized, remained silent. There was no need for him to speak, after all.
The math teacher initially questioned why this was happening but quickly shifted to asking what Christian wanted, insisting that he could give him anything.
"Y-you can have all my money."
Soon, his cries turned into sobs with desperate pleas, begging Christian to stop.
"P-please stop."
Christian, now feeling a slight pain in his fist from the beating, didn't feel comfortable, and hearing the math teacher beg, even after everything he had done, made him feel even more uncomfortable.
Maybe it was because it was the first time he had hit someone, but he still didn't want to soften his heart and continued anyway.
Feeling a little tired, Christian threw the math teacher to the ground. But hearing his faint cries and pleading voice, and seeing his battered, blood-streaked face, he questioned whether he should really proceed with breaking his bones as he had originally planned.
Was he being excessive after all? Christian nearly broke his resolve, but then he reminded himself of everything that had happened: how the teacher had mentioned his parents, how his sister had nearly fallen into depression because of him, and how the suspension could have affected a normal student for all his future.
Reminding himself of all these things, and how the math teacher didn't hesitate at all before when he started hitting him, even though he shouldn't have known that the hacking incident that had happened was related to him, Christian felt his resolve harden once more.
With coldness gleaming in his eyes, he grabbed the math teacher's hand, twisted it behind his back, and with a quick, forceful movement, snapped it. A sound similar to a crack echoed through the street, followed by his scream.
"Aaaagh"
After staring at him a little strangely, Annabelle replied.
"No."
Christian, feeling even happier with the answer, said again.
"Then we can eat together. I've just started anyway."
Annabelle decided not to think too much about it for now and went away after saying.
"Okay, I'll go and change quickly and come to help you."
As he started grilling the meat, Christian felt that this simple action appeared profound, as the meat got burnt in the end.
He didn't grill more, not wanting to burn the remaining meat, even though he had bought a lot. Still, he couldn't help but wonder how he would have managed the barbecue if his sister hadn't shown up.
Luckily, his sister didn't take much time to come. But, upon seeing the burnt meat, she laughed and started teasing him.
While Christian felt some shame for not being able to grill the meat properly and even considered putting cooking on the Idle Practicing slot, the atmosphere itself was not bad. It was peaceful and comforting.
At this moment, the incident at school felt trivial.
He felt contented inside as he started eating with his sister, enjoying their back-and-forth banter.
"You seem especially happy today. Did something happen at school?"
Annabelle, while asking this question, hoped it was really a girl this time, but the answer disappointed her in the end.
"Well, something really did happen."
Christian proceeded to tell her everything that happened, as if he were just a spectator and not the mastermind, of course without mentioning that the math teacher extended his hand at him.
And Annabelle suggested that they should go to school again and talk with the principal, arguing that it was really all the math teacher's fault.
Christian still rejected the idea and reassured her that they would eventually come to meet with him themselves, or so it seemed, based on his meeting with the principal.