Of course, not everyone in the class bullied Shouko. There were a few who remained neutral—neither joined in speaking ill of her nor showed joy over her hearing recovery.
Only one person, when Shouko greeted her, not only didn't doubt her words but genuinely felt happy for her.
Naturally, Eriri recognized this person. It was none other than Miyoko Sahara, the only one in the original work who ever showed Shouko any kindness.
Although she didn't step forward later to stop Naoka Ueno, Shoya Ishida, and the others from bullying Shouko, she silently expressed her concern from her seat.
But Eriri didn't blame her—in fact, she understood her actions. After all, she was just an ordinary elementary school girl.
Because of her initial kindness toward Shouko, she had already begun to be ostracized by her classmates and was being talked about behind her back.
This discovery brought a slight lift to Eriri's mood.
Those who are kind will eventually be rewarded, so Eriri directly granted Miyoko Sahara a touch of good luck, giving her a life ten times luckier than that of the average person.
As for those neutral individuals, Eriri chose to ignore them entirely, treating them as if they didn't exist.
But when it came to those who bullied Shouko—especially Naoka Ueno and Shoya Ishida—Eriri was far less forgiving.
She directly manipulated their lines of fate, attaching varying degrees of misfortune based on how badly they bullied Shouko.
As the saying goes, when someone's luck runs low enough, even drinking water can choke them to death.
Those whose bullying was relatively mild wouldn't die from a sip of water, but living a happy life was out of the question—getting cheated on in every relationship, losing jobs for no reason, constantly stuck in accidents or blamed for things they didn't do. Misfortune would accompany them for the rest of their lives.
As for Naoka Ueno and Shoya Ishida... they could only pray for mercy.
With the level of misfortune Eriri imposed on them, it wouldn't be surprising if one day they lost an arm or a leg due to sheer bad luck, forced to live out their lives in pain.
After passing judgment on Ueno and the others, Eriri lost interest in them. The misfortune she had cast upon them began to take effect almost immediately.
...
Shoya Ishida, seated behind Shouko, was currently twisting his textbook into a tube with a sinister look on his face. Naoka Ueno, seated to his left, noticed his behavior and immediately understood his intentions. Her face lit up with anticipation.
Soon, Shoya Ishida stood up and raised his makeshift megaphone with both hands, aiming it at Shouko's ear.
But just as he took a deep breath, preparing to shout, he suddenly found the air he had just inhaled stuck in his throat, rendering him unable to breathe.
The intense suffocation turned his face beet red. He clutched his throat with both hands, desperately trying to clear the blockage.
Naturally, his frantic movements drew the attention of the entire class and the teacher.
"Ishida, what are you doing? This is class time, not your stage to show off."
From the podium, Mr. Takeuchi looked down with disinterest, assuming Ishida was just acting out as usual.
Due to the distance, he couldn't see the expression on Ishida's face clearly.
However, Naoka Ueno, right next to him, could see everything clearly. Ishida's nearly-dying expression scared her out of her wits.
"Teacher, Ishida's not fooling around! Something's really wrong with him!"
Naoka Ueno stood up and shouted toward the podium, then reached out to support Ishida.
"Ishida, what's wrong? Don't scare me!"
But before her hands could touch him, her rushed movements caused her to trip over her own chair, sending her sprawling toward Ishida.
Because Shoya Ishida was clutching his throat with both hands, his left elbow happened to be pointing directly toward Naoka Ueno's face.
So as she fell toward him, her face collided squarely with his elbow.
"Ow, that hurts!"
A scream rang throughout the classroom as both Naoka Ueno and Shoya Ishida collapsed to the floor.
During the fall, Naoka Ueno was fortunate enough to avoid further injury.
Shoya Ishida, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. His head struck the edge of a nearby desk, tearing open a large gash.
As he lay on the ground, blood flowed freely from the wound on his head.
Fortunately, the impact also dislodged the trapped air in his throat—otherwise, he might have fallen into a state of suspended animation due to the double blow.
Though his current condition wasn't great, at least his life was no longer in danger.
Curled up on the floor, he cradled his bleeding head and let out hoarse groans of pain.
Beside him, Naoka Ueno also lay curled on the ground, clutching her left eye and groaning in pain.
That elbow strike seemed to have landed squarely on her left eye.
The miserable state of both Naoka Ueno and Shoya Ishida stunned the entire class. Shouko was also caught off guard by the sudden turn of events.
Even though she had endured relentless bullying from the two for over an hour earlier, she still bore them no hatred. She only felt sadness and self-loathing.
This self-deprecating inferiority complex had long been a part of her personality. Though the source of her self-doubt was now gone, correcting this aspect of her nature would take time.
Standing invisibly beside her, Eriri watched the dramatic scene unfold with great interest—like something straight out of Final Destination—and silently gave a thumbs-up to misfortune.
Sensing Shouko's unease, Eriri gently placed her right hand atop Shouko's head and softly stroked it.
Feeling the familiar touch on her head, Shouko looked around in surprise.
Finding no one beside her, she grew confused for a moment.
But the confusion quickly faded, replaced by a joyful smile.
Just now, she had heard Eriri's voice and realized it wasn't her imagination—her beloved Eriri-nee was right there with her.
At last, Mr. Takeuchi realized how serious the situation was.
If something went wrong during his class, he would be held responsible.
While he usually turned a blind eye to most things, this was different—it concerned his career.
He hurried down from the podium, pulling out his phone to call for emergency assistance.
...
With Mr. Takeuchi escorting Naoka Ueno and Shoya Ishida to the infirmary for immediate care, the atmosphere in Class 6-2 exploded.
The students enthusiastically discussed the incident, losing all interest in gossiping about Shouko.
Most of their attention was on the injuries of Naoka Ueno and Shoya Ishida.
Shoya's condition was obvious to all. Blood was still visible on the floor, and everyone knew his head injury was serious—otherwise, the teacher wouldn't have called for an ambulance.
What really piqued their curiosity was Naoka Ueno's condition.
Because Naoka Ueno kept covering her eye, no one could tell how serious her injury was.
Some of the students who were closer to her couldn't help but feel worried for their dear friend.
However, the commotion in the classroom didn't last long. Despite the incident, class still had to continue.
Before long, another teacher took over the class, and the bloodstains left by Shoya Ishida on the floor were cleaned up.
Even after nearly twenty minutes and the second period had ended, Naoka Ueno still hadn't returned to the classroom. The ambulance Mr. Takeuchi had called also left the school hastily just before the end of class.
During the break, many students from Class 6-2 rushed to the infirmary to check the situation, but they found no trace of Naoka Ueno.
Only then did they realize that her injuries must have been just as serious as Shoya Ishida's.
Just like that, the morning classes came to an end.
News of what happened to Naoka Ueno and Shoya Ishida quickly spread throughout the entire school.
But all of this was no longer Eriri's concern. She had already returned to the Nishimiya household.
After learning about what Shouko had experienced at school, Eriri initially planned to withdraw her from school immediately. But Shouko insisted on finishing the day's classes, so Eriri relented and dropped the matter.
However, she didn't stay at Suimon Elementary the whole time. After accompanying Shouko for over an hour, she went to check on Yuzuru.
According to her perception, Yuzuru had apparently beaten several classmates so badly they might end up in the ICU.
Of course, it wasn't that Yuzuru had meant to go all out. Initially, she only planned to lightly teach a lesson to the classmates who had bullied her and Shouko.
But before she could act, they provoked her first. In a moment of anger, she didn't hold back and seriously injured them.
Frankly, those kids were lucky. If Yuzuru had hit any harder, they might have died on the spot instead of being hospitalized.
Naturally, the school didn't ignore Yuzuru's violent actions and clearly intended to deal with the matter seriously.
But just as they were about to contact the parents, Eriri had already arrived at Yuzuru's side.
From that moment on, the matter had nothing to do with Yuzuru.
She walked away unscathed, and those bullies who were injured ended up being viewed as victims of a mutual fight.
Whether it was the school, their parents, or even the bullies themselves—they all believed this version of events.
Moreover, not only those few, but all students who had ever bullied Shouko and Yuzuru were also gifted a special package of misfortune courtesy of Eriri—a life of hell was waiting for them.
Truly a cause for celebration!
After resolving Yuzuru's situation, Eriri returned once again to the Nishimiya household.
Since then, she stayed there and didn't leave again. Aside from chatting with Ito Nishimiya, she spent most of her time idly conversing with the group members in the chat.
Soon it was a little past 3 p.m. Yaeko Nishimiya, who had taken the afternoon off work, completed the withdrawal process for both Shouko and Yuzuru, then brought them home.
...
"Eriri, what are you doing? This is far too generous. How could we possibly accept it?"
Looking at the document folder Eriri handed over, Yaeko Nishimiya quickly waved her hands in refusal.
Not long after she returned, Eriri had told her that she had purchased an apartment building and intended to gift it to the Nishimiya family. She then pulled out a document folder containing the property deed.
Of course, it was registered under Shouko and Yuzuru's names.
Yet even so, Yaeko Nishimiya firmly rejected Eriri's goodwill without the slightest hesitation.
After all, that apartment building was extremely valuable. Most people would have been overjoyed by such an offer.
But Eriri wasn't surprised by Yaeko's reaction—she already knew her personality well.
Yaeko Nishimiya had always taken pride in being able to raise Shouko and Yuzuru alone, fulfilling both mother and father roles.
"Aunt Yaeko, rejecting it is pointless. The property deed already has Shouko and Yuzuru's names on it, so the building now legally belongs to them. It's a done deal."
Ignoring her refusal, Eriri placed the folder directly on the dining table.
"If you really don't want it, go ahead and burn the deed. Either way, I've never taken back anything I've given."
With that, Eriri turned and left the living room, heading back to Shouko and Yuzuru's room.
Whatever Yaeko did next wasn't her concern.
Staring at the now-empty living room, then at the folder on the table, Yaeko opened her mouth but said nothing.
A few minutes passed before she finally sighed and quietly picked up the folder from the table.
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