Butler, Coach, Lover 2 (Patreon)

Butler, Coach, Lover 2 - or ‘The moment I took sympathy for a poor orphaned girl was where life screwed me again!' (ViVid Strike!, SI!Butler/Coach)

The first thing that I helped Rinne deal with was not training. It was finding a ‘clever’ solution to her bully issue.

Now, the school system in any country or dimension has a tendency to have a bit of a ‘stunted understanding’ when it comes to helping a victim be separated from a criminal. And Rinne’s circumstance, albeit silenced by the lack of care by the school, was one that I plotted to see resolved in a way that no one could deny the harmless but crafty proof of.

And it all starts with the plotting of a prank. Rinne is too sweet of a child to know how to prank any troublesome classmates into leaving her be, so I had to teach her the beauty of trickery when it comes to putting someone in a spot they can’t lie their way out of.

Despite her general quiet and innocent personality, the girl was still a child and thus was soon gushing over the creation of a ‘glitter bomb’ in the form of a cake box. There was a small workshop by the large garage near the manor, big enough to get some testing happening as I had to dust my knowledge in getting this sort of mechanism to work.

I used my money for the process, and, despite a few failures, Rinne seemed to realize what I had in mind.

“Is this… you know, safe? Wouldn’t the principal be angry?”

“Why should he be angry for setting a device you know the purpose of in your locker to no one to touch without your permission?”

That was the point- why would the bullies end up targeted by the device if they can only access it through the permission of Rinne but they clearly didn’t? After a few hours, we had the little ‘revenge bundle’ in the form of a cake box.

A gift for home to celebrate a random thing that wasn’t real. Something that she still showed early at school by merely carrying it to her locker. Students noticed the bullies first and foremost.

And as I warned Rinne that there was a high chance that she was going to be pulled to the principal’s office, I told her to give me a call right as she was called there, not after, but before.

I was already waiting outside the school when this happened. I know, this sounds so dangerous considering I was not her father, but Dan and Lorry had trusted me legally to be her secondary guardian within the chances of dealing with school-related issues.

I wasn’t going to let any chance for them to try and push this ‘offensive’ as I had a reason to believe the principal may be up to covering the asses of the real troublesome elements.

As predicted, Rinne gave a call, and I was already marching inside the school. I was ready for war and… God, this was fucking familiar to a T on how I experienced this very situation as a child. It was the same atmosphere from back then when I got stuck in a similar circumstance.

I caught the principal catching himself from ‘lightly scolding’ Rinne. The man was clearly gas-lighting her and I felt rage boiling behind my chest. But I held it. I had a plan, and I intended to act accordingly. Plus, the sight of three girls pouting while covered in pink glitter was just wonderful to my inner chuckling.

“Oh, Mr. Bukharin. I didn’t think you would have come so-”

“Principal, please. I take care of my young lady’s education just as strongly as her parents do. I would be causing a disservice if I missed such an appointment.”

My interjection was sudden and harsh, like a whiplash. The principal, a portly middle-aged man, looked stunned by this mighty greeting, but merely nodded as I took a seat without his permission.

“W-Well, Mr. Bukharin, you were called here because young Rinne has played a cruel prank on these three poor girls.”

I blinked, appearing surprised as I stared at the ‘poor trio’.

“A prank? How so?”

“From my understanding, she invited the girls to take a slice of her cake in the locker, but it proved to be some sort of mechanism that covered them in glitter.”

“...And I suppose there is proof of the fact they were allowed to check the ‘cake’?”

The principal blinked. “They are covered in glitter-”

“Apologies,” I interrupted again, holding my politeness highty and mighty. “What I was referring to is that they still have the key to unlock the locker. After all, each locker has a single key to unlock them- if Rinne has indeed allowed them to open it, she has to have given it to them or… then that would mean they forced the lock. Which wouldn’t fit with… the story they told you.”

“S-Surely they do,” The principal turned to the girls and-

“She snatched it from us before we-we got there!” The ringleader announced, trying to save her ass as she knew she found someone debunking her crappy plot with ease.

“Is that so, Rinne?”

Rinne shook her head at the principal. “I was in class until I was called over. They weren’t and-”

“Lying is not a nice thing, Rinne,” The principal abruptly remarked. “You should-”

“What?”

My voice sharply stabbed back at the bastard.

“Uh- I mean, the girls say-”

“What about the teacher?” I shot back flatly, turning to Rinne. “Were your teachers aware you were always in class?”

“Yes, I was on the first desk in the central line,” The child confessed bluntly, causing the principal to shrink a bit as he found himself subjected to my flat gaze.

“I-I guess a misunderstanding-”

“I want these three thieves expelled. And I want the name of their families so I can speak with their parents over a circumstance that should make them happy of pulling out of this school considering the blatant favoritism the principal is pursuing,” I strongly commented, offering no space for protests. “Also, I would like the proper documentation to pull Rinne out of this school. I am appalled by this situation and I am glad Lord Roy is not around to see the kind of individual who was responsible for these children’s education.”

I had a big talk with Rinne’s parents through this, I knew as much, but I could tell the well was poisoned and this place was no longer safe for her. The fact that the bastard was going through these sorts of lengths to cover how shitty he was and how he was doing his hardest to hurl everything out of the window to save his stats quo… I was furious.

And I knew that Rinne’s dad and mom were going to be just as angry. In fact, my request for their name was in preparation for Dan’s potential decision to start a legal assault on the matter. This level of abuse and gaslighting… Outrageous! Utterly horrendous!

Minutes flew like seconds as Rinne and I were soon sitting by the car and driving away from that place as she picked her things and we left.

She looked a bit deflated by the experience but I decided to talk with her as we passed to pick some ice cream before going home. It was a good ‘starter’ for a conversation with Rinne, so I decided to rely on it this time too.

“It’s not your fault,” I commented, grabbing the child’s attention with it. “In fact, many kids will definitely be grateful for this.”

Rinne frowned. “I had to leave school.”

“A school,” I corrected. “You left a bad one at that. The principal proved to be far more dangerous than I thought- he would have caused you trouble if you stayed.”

A slow nod. “I just thought… that it would have been just a prank. And nothing more. That it wouldn’t have gone like this.”

“And yet they were willing to tell you all sorts of things to make you guilty. But you are a bit of a hero despite what they told you.”

“...Why?”

I blinked, looking up at the sky. “The bullies will be forced to be removed from school, thus stopping causing issues to other children that were in a worse situation than yours and the principal, who enabled this bad behavior to continue, will be forced to leave too. The next one will have to behave nice or be expelled too.”

“So… I left school but… those that remain will not be bullied again?”

“For the time being, that will be the case,” I admitted with a tiny grimace, deciding against lying to her now. “Sadly, bullies are a common issue in schools, but we will keep our eyes open to not let this situation happen again. Got it?”

Rinne smiled, licking her strawberry cone. “Got it.”

Our little stop before going home was good enough to put her in a good mood. Good enough to not have any issue in doing some homework while waiting in her room. I took this chance to call Dan and ask if he and his wife could come to visit the manor for lunch.

The couple was available, and it allowed me to speak in regard to the school situation without any surprises. As expected, tension was high, but Dan channeled that wrath on the list of names for the bullies’ parents. He had calls to make and excused himself.

Meanwhile Lorry had actually made a move that, albeit awkward, opened Rinne up to her. She picked her up, hugging her dearly and apologizing while sobbing at being a ‘poor excuse of a mother’.

I had a feeling Rinne was surprised by this behavior, having spent so little time with the woman and yet feeling touched by this. She hugged her back, looking sad but not crying back.

They just hugged for a while and they enjoyed the early afternoon together before Lorry took the task of finding a proper school for Rinne under her responsibility. This allowed the child and I to focus on the other chore we had for today- which was to find a gym where she could start her training with.

I may be an average coach, but even I had to get the girl a place where she could train with proper tools. And the Frontier Gym proved to be just that. Jill Stola was a champion of martial arts until just two years ago. She was stunned by the request of having part of the gym for Rinne to train and made a single request of watching over the sessions.

She had been tempted to coach Rinne, and I had been close to taking her up for the offer, but Rinne was adamant on having just me as her coach. Flattering, but a bit forceful.

Despite that, I still took a few minutes to think on what exercises to train with as her body needed a steady but specific schedule to let her body develop strongly but without incurring any issues with her own growth. She was very young, so I didn’t want any training to ruin her bones and muscles in the long run.

With Rinne moving to another school and starting her training, I thought things would have been quiet for a while. Then I was caught off-guard when a friend of hers from childhood suddenly appeared and… proved to be quite the lovable rascal.