[The young sorceress has shared her troubles with you. You can't help but sigh - in this chaotic world, even a magical prodigy cannot escape such trials. A hint of compassion rises in your heart - perhaps helping her might bring unexpected rewards?]
Lucas reached out to take back the lunchbox.
But Sophia clutched it tightly to her chest.
Lucas looked puzzled. "What's wrong?"
Sophia swayed her ponytail, timidly saying, "Let me wash it for you."
Lucas replied irritably, "Forget about the stupid lunchbox for now, come with me."
Sophia's face showed confusion. "Where are we going?"
Lucas grabbed her hand. "To collect some debts."
Back in the classroom, Lucas didn't waste time and went straight to the four girls from this morning.
"Where's Sophia's ledger that you owe her?"
Because of the morning's events, the four girls held Lucas in fearful regard. Seeing their secret exposed, their faces turned pale, stammering incoherently.
But after listening for a while, Lucas finally understood the whole story.
They were also victims.
It all started with a fifth-grade bully named Blake who demanded "protection money" from them.
What kind of protection money could grade schoolers have? Just snacks and candy, of course.
One day, when two of the girls were busy, they asked Sophia to buy some snacks for them.
This naive girl thought they wanted to be friends with her, so she not only bought plenty but also charged them less, always seeming happy about it.
This meant after paying their "protection money" to the bully, they still had leftovers.
Gradually, all four girls started asking Sophia to buy things.
When Blake found out, he directly instructed them not to pay Sophia back.
Later, when Sophia noticed something was wrong, she became reluctant to buy things, but being soft-natured, she didn't dare speak up and only asked them to keep track in a ledger.
Lucas listened in astonishment.
Are elementary school kids doing class exploitation now?
He looked at the four girls, heads lowered and hesitant, seemingly aware of their wrongdoing, and asked, "So, you didn't even keep track of the debt?"
One girl quickly shook her head. "We did, we did, but just yesterday, Blake took all our little notebooks."
"He... he said he was going to tear them up."
Blake - that was the bully's name.
[Under your dragon knight's presence, lesser beings submit, but the true culprit is a dark apprentice who rules this territory. In your prime, you could have vanquished him with a gesture, but now, with barely a tenth of your power remaining, you must proceed with caution.]
"Which class is he in?" Lucas asked.
"Class 3, fifth grade," one girl answered truthfully.
Lucas nodded, but Sophia suddenly tugged at his sleeve from behind, whispering, "Lucas, let's just forget it... I'll just stop bringing them things."
Lucas turned around, pinching her round cheeks that felt like jelly, making her yelp "Ouch!"
"Forget it? If you dared to keep track of his debts, Blake will probably come looking for trouble soon."
Sophia's face filled with panic, as if the sky was falling. "Then... then what should we do?"
Lucas pinched her cheeks again, finding it oddly satisfying.
"We'll deal with it."
Sophia looked ready to cry.
The other four girls watched enviously.
Lucas had good grades, looked handsome, and was so cool.
In their class, being close to Lucas was quite an honor.
"Knock knock!"
The classroom door suddenly rattled, and a tall boy stood in the doorway, calling out, "Who's Sophia?"
Unmistakably, it was Blake.
The four girls immediately lowered their heads, pretending not to see.
Lucas looked over, somewhat surprised. "Speak of the devil."
Sophia's face turned pale.
She hadn't expected Lucas's words to be so prophetic - mention Blake, and he appears, actually looking for her.
Instinctively, she hid behind Lucas, clutching his sleeve tightly, tears beginning to well up in her eyes, looking ready to cry at any moment.
"It's over, Lucas, he's going to beat me up."
[The dark apprentice dares to come challenging you, frightening the young sorceress pale as snow - how audacious! You sense he possesses a magical item that could aid your recovery, but confronting him now might lead to a fierce battle!]
Lucas held Sophia's small hand and walked toward Blake.
Blake first noticed Lucas, then saw Sophia behind him, his eyes lighting up.
She's cute, maybe he'd charge her less in the future.
Blake was about to speak, but suddenly a fist connected with his face, causing him to cry out in pain.
"Ahh!"
After eating Sophia's sandwich, Lucas's strength had increased by +3, breaking through the elementary school peak, giving him power rivaling a "seventh-grade warrior."
With this punch, Blake immediately fell to his knees clutching his nose, crying and wailing at the top of his lungs.
He was still just a kid after all.
Though Lucas had adjusted his strength and angle - enough to hurt but not enough to draw blood.
"Fight! Fight!"
Seeing this scene, the whole grade erupted into chaos.
"Quick, get a teacher!" someone shouted.
Sophia stood frozen, staring blankly at Lucas.
Blake recovered somewhat, whimpering through his hands, "You're finished, you hit me, I'm telling the teachers."
Lucas just scoffed. Though he was still half a head shorter than Blake, his presence completely overwhelmed the other boy.
"Where's Sophia's ledger?"
Hearing this, Blake instantly stopped crying, his eyes shifting as he said defiantly, "I... I tore it up!"
A typical child's lying face.
Lucas smiled coldly, "Fine, you tore it up, did you? Then I'll beat you up every time I see you. Don't think about telling teachers or parents - if you dare tell, I'll hit you harder, until you don't dare tell anymore."
He raised his fist again.
What ten-year-old had ever faced such intimidation?
The fierceness in Lucas's eyes wasn't fake, and combined with his aura that far exceeded his peers, it was truly threatening.
Blake immediately cowered, wiping his tears and saying weakly, "I... I didn't tear them up, they're still in my desk."
Lucas lowered his fist. "Go get them."
Blake scrambled up and ran off, returning two minutes later with four small notebooks.
Lucas took them and flipped through - they were in the four girls' handwriting, recording the snacks and juice boxes Sophia brought them daily.
He roughly calculated - it was hundreds of dollars worth.
Hundreds - that was a lot for third graders.
Was this silly girl secretly rich?
"Alright, when the teachers come, you know what to say. Pay what you owe and apologize properly, understand?"
Lucas pocketed the notebooks and flexed his fist, looking at Blake. "Just a little brat trying to play class bully, you must be really bored."
Blake nodded obediently, no trace of the bully remaining.
Moreover, he suddenly felt this boy's way of speaking was really cool.
Unlike those other kids his age who just shouted things like "Yeet!" and "Sus!" and "I'm Peppa Pig" like idiots.
Lucas then pulled Sophia out from behind him, instructing, "When we talk to the teachers, tell the truth. Don't worry about what others might think, and stop apologizing all the time."
"I've got your back, there's nothing to be afraid of, understand?"
Got... got my back?
Sophia had been dizzy throughout, her eyes sparkling like a dazed doll.
"O-okay."
She looked at the cool, aloof boy before her, her little head spinning happily as if drunk, mumbling softly:
"Lucas, I think I'm going to faint."
...