Chapter 7
## Episode 7
* * *
It was that afternoon when Iri first scouted a location to cause trouble.
"R-Really? You want to tour Ghost Castle?"
"Yep!"
"R-Really, a-are you sure, baby? There might be scary stuff. Like something jumping out suddenly..."
"Yep, it's fine!"
......They had come out to escort her because Iri had suddenly said she wanted to tour Ghost Castle.
Cold sweat trickled down the servants' backs.
*'This place doesn't suit someone as sunny as Lady Iri!'*
Look at it now.
They were just walking down a normal corridor.
And suddenly, a skull head dropped to the floor with a thud.
"H-Huh. It must be raining outside..."
"Eep. That's not rain. It's a skull!"
Tragically for them, Iri had good eyesight too.
"Eek, where did this skull come from?"
"Ah, that's part of a dead tree rotted by magi that turned into a skull shape..."
"Don't explain that in detail to the baby!"
The servant who crushed the skull with one hand flashed an awkward smile.
Iri was looking at them with eyes full of thought and contemplation, making them even more flustered.
"Uh... Isn't it a bit too much? Shall we go inside?"
"No. Keep going. It's so much fun!"
The more they showed her around Ghost Castle, the more the servants somehow felt pathetic.
Because this magi-infested place didn't suit a ray of sunshine like Iri.
By the time they crossed into the annex near the main castle.
A maid cautiously spoke to Iri.
"Well... You've gotten used to the warm southern sun, but our North is pretty cold."
"Wow! It's totally totally great! I like the darkness too!"
Iri trudged ahead diligently in her Magi Blocking Suit, round and puffy.
She waved cheerfully at the stunned maids and flashed a bright smile.
"Hurry and lead the way!"
It was strange. They'd always thought of Ortejo Castle as just a gloomy Ghost Castle.
Somehow, light seemed to bloom wherever Iri walked.
If it kept going like this, working in the castle might even become a happy job.
Unaware that Iri's eyes were scanning only for places to cause trouble.
The maids, immersed in sentimental thoughts, diligently showed her around the mansion.
That's when they neared the Training Hall.
"Wow! Is this where the children study?"
"Yes."
"Eek, can I go in too?"
"Ah... The Training Hall has a barrier around it."
She didn't fully understand what "barrier" meant exactly.
But seeing the maids' troubled faces, it seemed like a place she couldn't enter.
Iri bowed politely in response.
"Ahh, I see. Got it."
"Shall we move on to somewhere else then?"
But right then.
*Ding dong dang dong.* A bell rang from inside the Training Hall.
Iri tilted her head and looked at the maids and servants.
Strangely, their faces were already flushed red or pale blue.
The Training Hall doors opened soon after.
Several children started pouring out!
The maids urgently said, "Roundy-Roundy-nim, let's go quickly. This place is dangerous."
*'Something suspicious is going on. Perfect for causing trouble...!'*
Iri Ortejo (5 years old), the hyena chasing the scent of incidents.
A certain scene entered her view.
A delinquent kid who had been sucking on a bunch of lollipops—could cause cavities!—stood with legs spread wide.
And then raised a fist toward a scrawny little kid!
"Hey, hand over everything you got."
"I-I really don't have anything today!"
The punk kid, who had slung his bag carelessly over his shoulder as he exited the Training Hall, scowled.
"Hey, you. If you dig through your bag and nothing comes out, it's one punch per silver."
The servants and maids murmured quietly.
"No day is ever peaceful."
"At least it doesn't seem like he's actually hitting him."
They couldn't intervene rashly due to status differences.
But Iri was different.
*'I always step in at scenes of injustice!'*
She clenched her fist without thinking and charged forward. Faster than a hamster on a wheel.
"Are you bullying my friend right now?!"
"What?"
The delinquent boy spotted Iri and spat on the floor with a crude expression. *Ptooey.*
"Not bullying, just asking for some money. New face, huh. The head butler's daughter?"
"No! My name is Iri..."
"Whatever. Don't care about your name. Hmph, wearing a blocking suit means you're a regular non-immune, right?"
The boy grinned slyly, as if switching targets.
The five servants froze simultaneously.
But Iri shook her head at the servants trying to block her path.
Meaning, stay put.
Unable to act on their own, the servants stiffened in place.
Seizing the gap, Iri glared with axe eyes and asked.
"Excuse me, but what is the child's name?"
"...Me? Schultz. Collateral blood of the great Ortejo Family. Precious lineage, like sixth cousin to Duke Your Highness or something."
Iri tilted her head.
She didn't know about direct or collateral lines in the Ortejo Family, or abilities and such.
Then, Cookie—who had been watching from her pocket—sent a telepathic message into Iri's mind.
[In short, inferior to you.]
The inferior boy spoke again.
"Don't mess around and get lost."
Of course, Iri had no intention of leaving.
Instead, she boldly stood in front of Schultz.
"What? Why aren't you leaving?"
Annoyed, Schultz raised his eyebrows and tried to trip her immediately.
But Iri, with vivid memories of taekwondo training, dodged easily.
"Wh-what?! How'd you dodge that?"
His shiny face was perfect for a good scolding.
"Perfect timing. Let me teach you manners."
The kid in front of Iri looked bewildered.
"Man... ners?"
"Ahh, you don't know. As expected of a friend with no manners."
"What?"
At the single blow of 'you don't know,' the boy's face—who stayed calm even under adults' scoldings—turned tomato red.
"I-I know, okay?"
"Really? Then what are manners?"
"......"
The boy stomped his foot.
"Ah, wh-whatever, I don't wanna hear that from a weak little lump like you!"
Iri wasn't fazed by such petty words.
She'd heard them tons in her past life.
Instead, she recalled her instructor's words.
"Sometimes, to uphold justice, you must act strong."
And right now was an amazing chance to cause trouble and summon an adult!
Suddenly, the arrogant Schultz's face looked like delicious rainbow rice cake.
Iri wiped the drool pooling in her mouth with the back of her hand.
That was when the stomping servants tried to intervene.
"You can't do this, Schultz-nim! This is—"
Schultz ignored them and raised his hand as if to poke her eyes.
"But what can a weak little pea like you do?"
*Crunch.*
Before the maids could stop him, he grabbed Iri's chin tightly in an instant.
A maid hurriedly scooped Iri into her arms, but this was still attempted violence.
Iri's purple eyes flashed.
"I warned you. Keep your manners!"
Humiliatingly, her current body was soft five-year-old flesh.
Round, small, and weak—not very taekwondo-like.
But with her long—for a nine-year-old—gym experience, she could target vital points.
So...
*'Just try it!'*
In that instant, Iri's foot—filled with fierce confidence—shot toward the air at blinding speed.
"Don't break the rules!"
Take this.
Hectopascal Kick!
