Aibar looks at Nikita calmly and asks in a quiet voice,
"What was that for?!"
Nikita angrily shouts back,
"You keep saying that everyone must obey the Guardian of Order and that whatever the Guardian of Order says is the law. But you yourself refused to obey my orders!!!"
Aibar calmly replies,
"But I wanted to save you..."
Nikita responds in a cold voice,
"Save me!? Pfft... Fine, let's say you did save me. But then I told you to stop, and you didn't... Fine, even if you don't want to obey me, at least follow the laws you created yourself. I'm the Guardian of Order, and I ordered you to stop this brutal behavior in accordance with the school rules. But you're nothing more than a bastard who twists the law to satisfy his own desires. You failed to follow the very rules you introduced yourself. Besides, I never asked you to help me in the first place. Hmph, you wanted to help me!? Know your place instead of sucking up to me."
Aibar becomes angry, but he maintains his composure.
"If I hadn't come, they would have carried out their disgusting plan. I wanted to punish them so that incidents like this wouldn't happen again."
"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!!!" Nikita screams.
Then, in a cold voice, Nikita continues,
"You couldn't even save me, and you can't even save the people you hold dear or the people who love you. You don't just fail to save them—you don't even appreciate them. You always try to do too much, only to make things worse. Because you... are completely unnecessary. You're useless!!!"
Aibar clutches the area over his heart and squeezes it tightly. Without saying another word, he walks away and returns to the classroom.
Meanwhile, the students who had been involved in the incident thank Nikita. They bow their heads, seemingly realizing their mistakes, and apologize to her. Their gratitude is a way of showing their appreciation for being saved.
However, Meirzhan approaches Nikita, bows deeply, and speaks in a trembling voice.
"Nikita. I want to apologize, too. I went way too far. Yes, I'm a bad person... But please, I'm begging you, apologize to Aibar..."
Nikita looks at him and calmly replies,
"No... I only intervened on your behalf because he hit you too hard in the groin. He had no right to do that. A school is a place for education, not a place where people should suffer injuries. And next time, don't let me catch you doing anything nasty again."
Nikita then jokes,
"No matter how much of a bastard you are, it seems like you actually like him. Impossible... You're both bastards, and he's supposed to be the kind of bastard you can't stand... So why do you...?"
Meirzhan looks embarrassed, seemingly regretting his actions.
"Yeah, thank you... But you got the wrong idea. You thought he deliberately hit me in the groin with the bat to hurt my future prospects. But he actually struck the ground with the bat. It was just a misunderstanding."
Meirzhan looks a little embarrassed.
"To put it simply... that's just how it seemed to you. But he always holds back his blows, trying his best not to leave anyone seriously injured. He never deliberately harms anyone's health. You misunderstood him. Even when he's angry, he strikes carefully and with restraint. If he ever hit us with his full strength, none of us would still be alive by now."
Realizing that she had genuinely misunderstood Aibar, Maria decides to go to the classroom and apologize to him for going too far.
Aibar enters the classroom and walks over to the window, hoping to get some fresh air and comfort himself.
He stands there expressionlessly for a while. Then, for the first time in his life, tears begin to fall slowly from his eyes.
The students gradually begin to notice.
Everyone in the classroom is shocked.
Symbat immediately jumps to her feet.
"What happened!?"
She quickly becomes angry.
"You bastard, Nikita! Did you do something to him?!"
The entire class is stunned. For the first time, Aibar is experiencing the feeling of crying.
Ever since the incident in the laboratory when he was a little boy, Aibar had promised himself that he would never shed tears for his friends who had died.
However, as he grew older, he gradually became completely devoid of emotion.
When he was thirteen, he had thought to himself that he needed to regain the ability to cry first, believing that the other emotions would eventually return afterward.
Eventually, however, he began accepting his emotionless state.
But deep down, Aibar desperately wanted to experience laughter and genuine happiness.
Images of the incident in the laboratory flash before his eyes—the precious people he had lost that day.
When Maria called him useless, he remembered how he had failed to save his friends.
Just then, Nikita enters the classroom and notices everyone staring at Aibar in shock.
Approaching him playfully, Nikita gently places a hand on his back and gives him a slight smile.
"Hey!!! No way... You can actually cry? I don't believe it. You never cry! Come on, don't be upset, Mr. Emotionless..."
As Nikita lightly pokes him in the back, she notices the tears in Aibar's eyes and falls silent.
The truth was that Aibar had entered the classroom believing he could keep himself under control, thinking that he would never be able to cry anyway.
But despite his efforts, he couldn't hold back the tears.
Nikita's eyes immediately widen.
"What!? Ah!!! I... I'm sorry. I'll accept any punishment you give me. Just... please don't cry..."
She begins to feel sad as well.
When Maria was little, other children often mocked her, calling her an "old hag" and a "witch," making her cry.
Back then, Maria had made a promise to herself:
"I never want to make anyone cry with my own hands. I understand how painful this feeling is. I wouldn't wish this kind of sadness on anyone..."
Without saying a word, Aibar clutches his chest and quickly rushes outside.
Everyone in the classroom gradually begins following him.
The students and Nikita start searching for him.
Eventually, they find Aibar in the school garden.
This time, there are no tears in his eyes.
He is completely emotionless again, his expression cold and distant.
Nikita approaches him, lowers her head, and sincerely expresses her regret.
However, Aibar remains silent and motionless, sitting on a bench with his head lowered toward the ground.
Symbat angrily pushes Nikita away from Aibar and speaks in a cold voice.
"So, did your dream finally come true? You think you've defeated him several times, don't you? During the history lesson, he deliberately let you win. I deliberately passed the question to his group because I wanted Aibar to win... But he chose you as the winner instead.
"And when he congratulated you and offered you his hand, you acted like you were some kind of superstar and slapped his hand away. Ugh... Aibar even started deliberately losing to you after that, just so he could become friends with you.
"Who do you think you are? Aibar is our hero. And who are you? Aibar tried to become your friend because he was thinking about you. He didn't want you to end up isolated and alone. But honestly, Aibar has nothing to gain from being friends with someone like you.
"In short, you're a terrible Guardian of Order. Aibar is far above you. You're not even worthy of being compared to—"
Before Symbat can finish, Aibar gets up and approaches her. He gently covers her mouth with his hand, stopping her from saying anything more.
Then Aibar calmly looks at Nikita and says,
"Please forgive her, Guardian of Order. And forgive me, too, for interfering in your affairs. She spoke harshly to you, so punish me in her place. You have the right to do so..."
He then releases Symbat.
Nikita becomes embarrassed and flustered.
"No... No one is getting punished. It's fine. I went too far, and she's right. So, Aibar... please forgive me."
However, Aibar says nothing. He returns to the school building, picks up his bag, and leaves.
The school day isn't over yet.
Nikita hurries in front of him and blocks his path.
"Stop. Where are you going? At least finish your lessons. That's one of the rules you created yourself."
In truth, Maria still hopes that Aibar will forgive her before the school day ends, even if he cannot forgive her right now.
Aibar calmly replies,
"The rules? I'm just an ordinary student now. If you can, go ahead and enforce your laws. I used to do things that way myself. I was the one who made those who broke the rules obey them. Anyway, I'm leaving."
Nikita stubbornly raises her voice.
"Stop! Otherwise, I'll expel you from the school! According to the rules, the Guardian of Order has the authority to do that!"
Aibar responds in a calm, icy voice.
"I'm no longer interested in this school. Expel me if you want. I don't mind."
He turns and starts walking away.
This time, Nikita grabs his hand to stop him.
"Wait... Please, don't leave. This is all my fault. Please forgive me just this once..."
Aibar calmly looks at her, his terrifying crimson eyes cold and unyielding.
"Let go of my hand!"
Without realizing how much force he is using, he shoves Nikita backward with tremendous strength.
Alexei, who happens to be leaving school early, witnesses the scene. He immediately rushes over and shoves Aibar away from his younger sibling.
Alexei glares at him coldly.
"How dare you!"
He continues staring at Aibar for a moment before speaking in an icy voice.
"Know your place. You were the one who declared him the Guardian of Order. And now you're refusing to obey him and trying to use force against him?
"Yes, I'm much weaker than you. But I'm still willing to fight you to protect my little sibling."
Alexei's expression remains cold.
"As his older brother, I can't just stand by and watch something like this happen."
Aibar calmly replies,
"There's no need for a fight. I apologize."
He then turns around and heads home.
When Nikita tries to stop him, Alexei intervenes and holds her back.
"Let him go..."
Nikita explains the entire situation to her brother, then feels somewhat upset with him for interfering when he believes he shouldn't have.
Alexei truly understood what had happened and inwardly admitted that he had made a mistake.
The next day, when Nikita tried to speak to Aibar, he ignored her and walked straight past, returning to his former seat in front of Symbat.
Symbat was overjoyed to see her former deskmate back again.
Nikita understood just how deeply she had hurt Aibar. After all, ever since the day they had first met, Aibar had always sat beside her. But now, he had returned to his original seat.
Aibar began winning every competition again, reclaiming his former status as the ideal student. He effortlessly won every subject-related contest and competition he participated in.
Symbat was delighted. The cool Aibar she had known before had finally returned, even if he was no longer the Guardian of Order.
Nikita repeatedly looked for opportunities to apologize, approaching Aibar again and again. But every time she tried, he would simply get up and leave, continuing to ignore her.
Nikita deeply regretted everything she had done. She felt utterly miserable.
And in her solitude, she gradually began to realize something else: she had fallen in love with Aibar.
He had always tried to cheer her up by sitting beside her and talking to her, even though Aibar himself was never much of a talker.
But now, Nikita understood that it was too late. Aibar no longer wanted to talk to her.
She spent the night tossing and turning, unable to sleep properly. By the following morning, she had made up her mind.
No matter what happens, I'll make things right with Aibar today.
The next morning, Aibar and Nikita arrived early as usual and tidied the classroom together. Just as Nikita was about to apologize again, Aibar walked outside.
The bell rang, and the first lesson was about to begin.
Maria rested her head on her desk, covering it with a book, and closed her eyes. She was exhausted. Deep down, she was finally admitting to herself that she genuinely loved Aibar.
Then, she sensed someone taking the seat beside her.
Maria opened her eyes and raised her head.
Aibar had returned.
He was sitting right beside Nikita.
Symbat stared at him in surprise.
Aibar spoke calmly.
"My bag is still beside Symbat. I've taped the textbooks for today's lessons underneath your desk."
He retrieved the textbooks from beneath the desk, then looked at Nikita calmly.
"You're forgiven."
Nikita was so overwhelmed with happiness that tears welled up in her eyes. The other students were happy for her as well.
Symbat gave a faint smile and thought to herself:
Good. If this is what you want, I won't oppose your decision.
She then turned her attention back to the front of the classroom and sat quietly in her seat.
When the lessons ended and everyone was getting ready to go home, Aibar turned to Nikita and spoke calmly.
"I won't be able to come to school tomorrow. I have some things to take care of."
Nikita gave him a slight smile.
"Fine. But this better be the first and last time."