Simon closed his eyes, then he exhaled deeply and yawned as he placed his feet on the ground.
"I guess it’s time."
His broken smile mask appeared above his hand, then he wore it and walked to his door.
He opened it, and the moment he did, he took a step back as a figure came flying across the balcony of their dormitory.
Bang!
Simon calmly looked to his right, and he saw a member of the Iron Fangs lowering his fist with a cold expression.
The Iron Fangs looked at Simon coldly, but the moment he saw Simon, his pupils constricted and he quickly turned and walked away.
Simon raised a brow but he said nothing.
He leaned into the wall, folded his arms, and watched the chaos happening all around him.
The screams, the curses, the shouts, the sounds of punches and kicks, and the sound of doors breaking.
Everything was so chaotic and beautiful at the same time to witness.
The victims?
His classmates.
The cause of the chaos?
The Iron Fangs.
The true cause of the chaos?
Him.
[You really are a mad man, you know that right?]
Lilith’s voice echoed in his mind, and Simon indifferently shrugged.
[I need a source of income.]
Lilith scoffed. [This is going to make them hate you even more.]
Simon raised a brow. [And what makes you think I care about that?]
[Right... A heartless bastard like you would definitely not care about such a thing.]
Simon gave no response and just kept on watching the chaos happening all around him.
As for what was currently happening?
It could be summed up in two words.
Bullying and extortion.
The Iron Fangs were bullying his classmates, and they were also collecting a sizeable portion of their stipends.
Many obviously refused and tried to fight back, but how could they win against their seniors who have been trained by the clan?
How could they win against their seniors who mainly consisted of Archfiends.
Those who fought back were beaten, but not to the point of death and not to the point where they were given serious injuries.
Their injuries were just minor injuries that could be healed within a short period of time, and at worst, they fell unconscious.
Meanwhile, some decided to just willingly give what the bullies asked for when they saw how powerful they were.
And just like the bullies told them earlier, they did not hurt anybody that willingly gave them what they asked for.
’Hmm. Not bad. Akaza is doing well... Speaking of Akaza, I wonder how he’s doing against Sunless, Jorra, and Merath. All three are not normal, and they might give him a little bit of problem.’
’... Well, considering the fact that they would not want to expose their true capabilities, Akaza should have it relatively easy.’
A second after Simon had these thoughts, his ears twitched as he heard the sound of somebody breathing roughly behind him.
"Hey, you. Slave."
Simon turned and stared at the demon behind him.
The demon was wearing the mask of a rat, and his eyes were filled with coldness and anger as he stared at Simon.
Simon tilted his head slightly. "Are you talking to me?"
The demon with the rat mask gritted his teeth as he held his left waist while leaning into the wall.
"I’ve been watching you. Why have none of these bullies attacked you since? The bastard that attacked me turned away the moment he saw you."
Simon had a slightly surprised expression behind his mask, then he nodded.
"You are observant. That’s good. But your decision making skill is rather poor despite your observation skill."
Simon shook his head as he spoke with a slightly disappointed tone.
"Why would you choose to fight your bullies and get injured in the process? You should have seen that they’re more powerful than you, but you still chose to fight back. You should just have given them what they asked for."
Fury instantly flashed in the eyes of the rat-masked boy the moment he heard this.
"Why won’t I fight back?! Do you know what they’re asking for?!"
Simon ’curiously’ raised a brow and spoke with a curious yet teasing tone.
"What are they asking for?"
The rat-masked boy took a step forward and clenched his fists in anger.
"Fifty percent (50%) of my weekly stipend. Fifty percent!"
"And you don’t want me to fight back?! I worked hard to gain that stipend! I won’t allow a bunch of bastards to take it from me!"
Simon nodded with his arms folded, acting like he understood.
"I understand, but can’t you see that you’re injured? It’s better to not fight your bullies and just give them what they want. Your health is more important than any other thing."
He took a step forward and gently patted the rat-masked child.
"Your health matters more than wealth. Never forget that."
The rat-masked demon had a deep frown behind his mask as he looked at Simon’s hand, then his eyes.
His eyes showed sincerity, kindness, and worry. And if he could see Simon’s face, he would see that Simon had a gentle smile behind his mask.
As for Simon, he meant what he said when he told the child that his health mattered more than his wealth.
Why?
Because if the rat-masked demon continued in his stubbornness and always fought back, it can lead to unforseen situations like his death.
Also, if he was poor in health, how would Simon be able to extort money from him?
All in all, he wanted his fellow classmate to be quiet, submissive, and to value his health more.
Why?
So that he could have extort from him with less stress.
"You’ve not still told me why none of these bastards are attacking you. Even now, none of them have come to attack me and collect my merits."
The rat-masked demon asked with a frown as he looked around.
Simon’s lips curled up into a devilish smile behind his mask, then he said.
"Well, because they work for me."