Chapter 382: Leo Karumi [16]

"So you really are in charge of the festival committee, huh?"

Leo nodded as he stood in front of his teacher at the front of the classroom.

"I’ve already assigned everyone their duties," he said. "I also decided we’ll hold regular meetings after school—every day—so we can discuss whatever needs to be discussed."

"I see..." The teacher studied him for a moment.

"You’re taking this seriously."

Her expression softened. She placed both hands on Leo’s shoulders, practically glowing with emotion. Around them, Leo’s classmates were split into groups, preparing for the end-of-year festival. Yet despite the busy work, the room had gone quiet—everyone listening intently to the exchange.

"You finally decided to be part of a team," she said with a trembling voice.

"I never thought I’d see this day."

She looked like she was about to cry.

Leo, on the other hand, looked like he wanted to vanish.

"Can you let go of me now?"

"Ah—right, right! I forgot how sensitive you get when people touch you... or speak too loudly near you... or, you know, just exist in your general vicinity." She laughed awkwardly, then brightened again as if she hadn’t noticed his expression.

"But still! I guess we managed to take at least one positive step after all these years! I can’t wait to tell my thera—"

"Teacher."

"Right. Sorry."

She immediately let go. The moment she saw Leo’s cold stare, she started sweating and backed off like she’d stepped too close to a wild animal.

Leo glanced toward his classmates. In perfect unison, they snapped their attention back to their work—heads down, hands busy, acting like they were giving it their absolute all, as if they’d rather go to war than get caught eavesdropping.

Leo sighed.

"What is our class doing for the end-of-year festival?" he asked quietly, making sure only the teacher could hear.

Every class had to contribute something.

The teacher smiled, clearly pleased.

"They’re planning a haunted house."

"How cliché."

"Yes, but..." She looked across the room at the students cutting paper and cloth, drawing designs, huddling in clusters to argue and plan. They really were working hard.

"I bet it’ll be fun."

"...Perhaps," Leo said, flat as ever.

The teacher’s gaze returned to him, the same gentle look still in place.

"They could use your help."

Leo shook his head.

"I doubt that. And even if they could, they’d never want it."

He knew exactly how his classmates saw him.

And, naturally, that was entirely his own doing. Not that he regretted it.

"I wouldn’t be so sure," the teacher said.

Leo looked at her, confused, but she only smiled more fondly—like she’d been waiting for this conversation for years.

"After all these years, even if I never truly managed to teach you anything, I’ve learned this much—you’re far too quick to believe that others see you as a monster they should keep their distance from."

"..."

"I’m willing to bet that if you put in even a little effort, you’ll realize just how wrong you’ve been."

Leo glanced at the students again. For a moment, he almost believed her.

But then—

"Does it really matter?"

So what if he could be friends with them? If he wanted that, he could’ve played friendly from day one. He could’ve been popular. He could’ve collected smiles and invitations like trophies.

"Of course it does." The teacher didn’t even look surprised.

"Playing the villain for years—while knowing that isn’t who you are—gets exhausting."

Leo narrowed his eyes.

"All I want is to be left alone. How does that make me a villain?"

Her smile tightened, just slightly.

"If you truly wanted to be left alone, you could’ve simply asked your classmates politely. But you never even tried—not since the first day."

That was true. And Leo didn’t bother denying it.

"You’re incredibly smart, but that intelligence has a way of isolating you, doesn’t it? You’re coming to the end of middle school now, and even if high school isn’t much different, it’s still a Chapter of your life ending. I’m sure that, deep down, you want some change too."

She placed a hand on his shoulder again.

Leo scowled at it immediately, but she didn’t seem to care. If anything, she smiled more boldly.

"Stop trying to act so cool and mature all the time. It’s okay to have fun once in a while. Especially at your age. Nobody’s going to blame you."

Then she let go and walked past him.

"I’m going to get some coffee," she called over her shoulder. "And although I doubt it, I hope what I said makes you think—at least a little."

Leo watched her leave. The door clicked shut behind her.

He exhaled.

’Nobody can ever mind their own business.’

Then he looked back at his classmates and sighed again.

"Class rep."

"Huh—? Y-yeah!"

The class representative—a girl with twin-tails—sprang up so fast her chair scraped the floor. She looked shocked, nervous, and pale, like Leo had just singled her out for execution. The way she stared at him made her seem like a rabbit locked in a cage with a dinosaur.

"What’s your theme for the haunted house?" Leo asked.

"O-our theme?" Her eyes darted.

"Um... well... I guess... everything?"

"Yeah, everything!" someone jumped in immediately.

"Just scare them with every scary thing there is!"

Others piled on right away.

"Zombies!"

"Ghosts!"

"Monsters!"

"Oh, definitely bloodied monsters!"

"Ooh, that’s cool—wait, how are we going to make fake blood?"

In seconds, the whole class lit up. Ideas flew across the room. People started arguing over props, makeup, costumes, sound effects.

The classroom became loud—fast.

The class rep, meanwhile, kept glancing at Leo like she expected him to shut it down at any moment.

He watched the chaos for a few beats, then looked back at her.

"If there’s no theme—if it’s just a mix of everything—it’ll cost more," Leo said, voice clear enough for everyone to hear.

"Different outfits, different materials, different decorations. And if you actually want it to be scary, it still has to be good. If you don’t have a solid plan, the teacher or the student council will shut this down immediately."

The effect was instant.

The room went quiet. The excitement deflated like a punctured balloon. Groans followed—soft at first, then louder—students slumping in their seats with miserable faces. They’d wanted to go all out. They’d wanted freedom. They’d wanted to do whatever sounded cool.

"Then..." someone muttered.

"What are we supposed to do?"

The class rep looked at Leo again, anxious, but with a flicker of hope in her eyes—like he might actually save them.

Leo only shrugged.

"Come up with a plan."

He said it like it was obvious.

Then he turned around and walked out of the classroom without another word.