NOVPUB
Chapter 37 - 36 - “Is that really her?”
"RAVEN!!!"
The voice rang like a thunderclap through the courtyard, slicing through the tension like a blade.
Raven had only a second to brace before—
Thump!
A solid little fist collided with his chest—not with strength, but with emotion.
Clara came at him like a storm bottled up for far too long.
Her golden eyes shimmered, not with tears, but with something heavier—frustration, relief, and anger... all tangled in the kind of affection that only came after a long wait.
"You bastard!" She shouted, her fists hitting his chest again. "Do you know what kind of hell you left behind?!"
Raven blinked slowly, then sighed.
The girl who yelled at everyone but him was screaming at him. That showed how much she had suffered.
But she wasn't done.
"You disappeared without a word! No messages, contact, or a way to reach you. I could only hope that you would keep sending letters!" She snapped, eyes blazing. "Do you know how hard it was to manage Alex all this time?! The idiot always does things he shouldn't!"
Raven's expression twitched. "...Why am I not surprised—?"
"And that's not all!" Clara cut him off and continued, her voice rising. "I had to work every day to keep children from our family from fighting each other! Many thought you died as no one knew anything about you!" Her fists hit him again, softer now. "But I didn't. I didn't even let anyone talk shit about you. Not even once..."
Raven felt her words settle deep in his chest.
He let her punch, vent, and rage until her hands finally slowed.
Only then did he move, gently and quietly. He raised one palm and placed it gently atop her head.
"I missed you too, Clara," he said softly.
In the past two years, he had time to think about Clara and what he should do about her.
He thought about his time with her, and although she was... unique, she was beautiful.
She had everything one could want from a girl, especially loyalty.
Yes, all of the heroines in the story were loyal, but Raven had always wanted a harem, so he didn't see any problem with Clara joining.
Her uniqueness would probably spice up their relationship dynamic.
Of course, he wouldn't finalize his thoughts about her yet. After all, he still didn't know whether she would agree to a harem.
Clara, on the other hand, froze as she heard his words. Her fists stopped.
Her lips parted, but no words came, yet her body trembled with emotions.
She lowered her head, her black hair hiding her expression, but her voice still came through—quiet, shaky, and stubborn.
"...Idiot."
The air around them shimmered, figuratively, if not literally.
A rosy warmth spread in the courtyard. The usually ice-cold Clara, the infamous Vaise Witch, was acting like... a girl—a normal girl.
The students who'd gathered to gawk at Raven now stood slack-jawed.
"Is... Is that really her?"
"No way. She's... smiling? Did she just call someone an idiot without breaking something?"
"I thought she only had two moods: murder and more murder!"
Even the first-years were squinting, rubbing their eyes like they were trying to clear away an illusion spell.
Raven glanced around awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. He wasn't used to this level of public emotional drama.
But then—
"Ugh, come on!" Alex grumbled loudly from the crowd, arms crossed. "You could've waited like... two more seconds, Clara! I know he was about to start the face-slapping arc!"
Slap!
Everyone slapped their foreheads in unison, deadpanning at him.
'Is he for real?'
The mood shattered.
Like a stone through stained glass.
Clara turned slowly, her golden eyes glowing with a rage that could melt steel.
Alex flinched. "W-What? I was just saying! No need to get all murdery!"
Even the air took a cautious step back.
Raven, meanwhile, chuckled under his breath and shook his head. "I finally feel like I've returned to the life I was used to..."
Looking away from Clara, who glared at Alex with an intent to kill, he calmly glanced at the others until it landed on Jake, still standing near the back of the group, arms folded, eyes calm as ever.
Jake met his gaze and gave a single, slow nod, and Raven returned the nod.
Nothing more needed to be said.
But then he looked past Jake, toward the other familiar faces standing just beyond the crowd.
Jessy.
With blue-streaked black hair and deep blue eyes, she stood with her arms behind her back, her cool elegance emanating from every inch of her frame.
'Well, she didn't change.'
And beside her—
Rufus.
Air blew his red-streaked midnight hair while his blood-red eyes locked onto Raven like he was analyzing every breath.
There was fear in the guy's eyes, but Raven noticed something else. Something new. 𝒏𝙤𝙫𝒑𝙪𝙗.𝙘𝒐𝙢
'Hoh? Look at this guy,' Raven grinned as he looked into Rufus's eyes, making the guy shiver.
His gaze, however, remained fixed.
'I'll have to beat some sense into him, huh?'
Recalling the time in Cradle when Rufus used to be scared to even look into his eyes, Raven's grin widened.
'He must've forgotten the feeling since it's been two years.'
Raven was sure they could sense his power, not his overall strength, but at least his cultivation level.
That must've given them confidence, as even Jessy, although well-hidden, had a challenge in her eyes.
'This won't do. I gotta show them who's the boss.'
Raven eyed them, wondering how he should move forward, but before he could think deeply—
"Ughhh..."
Groans of pain broke the moment, and everyone turned toward the sound.
There, lying face-down on the gravel like crumpled laundry, were the three poor souls from earlier—Scooby, Courage, and Droopy.
Standing over them, like a silent shadow, was Jake, still wiping his hands with a handkerchief like he'd just dusted off an old shelf.
"They tried to run away," Jake said without a trace of emotion.
Then, another blur of motion, and his arms moved to strike them again, wanting to put them to sleep, but before he could—
Whoosh!
Wind whistled as someone moved at a breakneck speed. Before Jake could even react—
Clench.
—His arm was grabbed.
His other hand moved toward the sword on his waist, only to see who was holding his hand, making him tilt his head in confusion.
'When did he get here?'
"Forget it," Raven, holding Jake's hand, shook his head. "They were unaware of my identity, or they wouldn't have done that."
He knew how these plots worked. If they humiliated the dog trio more than this, the one behind them would come.
But if this matter were resolved, they would have one less enemy, and by doing this, he would give off a good image to the dog trio.
"Right?" He asked, turning toward Scooby, who was still in pain but quickly nodded.
"Yes!" He exclaimed. "If I knew who you were, I wouldn't have done it!"
"See?" Ravenn turned to Jake, who was still in shock, unable to believe how he was grabbed without noticing.
However, it wasn't just him who was surprised; even the others, including Clara, were stunned.
'That was as fast as me...' Clara thought.
And one must know, among the Vaise family's children, she was the second fastest after Jake.
Above all, Jake, despite being the fastest, was caught.
Yes, he wasn't ready, but that didn't mean he had weakened, certainly not weak enough to be caught by someone at the third level.
After all, he was a peak plate-four magic swordsman—a realm above Raven.
'Is he hiding his strength?'
This was what everyone thought, wondering if he had some artifact that hid his level or if he was just good at hiding.
However, they didn't get an answer.
"Well," Raven, seeing their expressions, knew they wouldn't respond for a while, so he turned to the dogs. "Excuse us."
With that, he patted Jake's shoulder, breaking him out of his thoughts before they moved back to the group.
Raven then turned toward Jessy and Rufus, who were frowning, the fear in Rufus's eyes intensifying.
'Good. I like that look.'
But it wasn't the end.
The show of speed was just the beginning; he was going to show them more, enough for them to know they couldn't defeat him.
Along with the group, consisting of faces he hadn't seen for two years, Raven walked toward the teachers' wing, wanting to talk with the principal before anything.
He needed to get some permissions. After all, one couldn't join the third year directly without any problem.
And since he was the protagonist, the problem would probably be big.
What he failed to notice was the expression on the Dog trio's face.
Scooby was glaring at their backs, his expression showing rage as he felt humiliated already.
The fact that Raven stepped in to help them was more shameful. It was as if he were sneering at them for being so weak that he didn't want to deal with them.
Poor Raven.
He had thought the plot would change because he didn't beat them up.
He would later regret not beating them up since the plot was progressing as it was supposed to.
