A hollow laugh escaped me.

When something you expect to be troublesome for days turns out to be resolved so simply, doesn’t everyone feel this way?

Scrolling through the homepage of that so-called environmental protection group, I noted the list of its members, naturally displayed for public view.

Photos of Flower, their leader, were proudly posted. Seeing a criminal so brazenly flaunt her face made me wonder if I might have mistaken her identity.

'Then again, I might not be one to talk…'

Their setup was eerily similar to the way our own organization operated. Of course, our organization had the backing of a powerful city ruler and a massive corporation, while this environmental group seemed to lack any solid supporters.

Take that boldly displayed donation account on the corner of their homepage. The urge to freeze it instantly was almost too tempting to resist.

"Environmental protection, they say."

After signing up and making a $10 donation, I gained VIP access to their activity records. Skimming through, it was surprising to see evidence of actual environmental efforts in various regions. Flower herself was shown planting trees or using her powers to revive withering plants in videos circulating across social media.

Her bold and confrontational approach to environmentalism seemed to have gained a cult following among certain nature enthusiasts. But that was about it—an easily breakable group that could hardly stand up to a corporation in a direct conflict. The only reason corporations were avoiding clashes with them was the favorable environmental cause that Flower’s group held as their banner.

‘And yet they think they can ruin my field?’

Knowing the truth about them, I found it absurd. Under the guise of protecting the environment, they trampled on the hard work of those genuinely striving to help the planet, recklessly destroying and even stealing.

From my perspective, they were no different from thieves—environmentalists in words only, while in reality, they only cared about their own reputation.

As I considered how best to crush them, I noticed a familiar name in the member list.

“…What is she doing here?”

Leviathan’s childhood friend.

My former lab mate.

Hanee, the blind rabbit beastkin.

Click, click.

A beastkin woman with a cane stepped out of a luxury car. Tapping the ground with her cane, she walked to the entrance of a building, escorted by her driver.

It was clear from her awkward demeanor that she wasn’t used to being escorted. Passersby stared at her, their eyes lingering on her chest, fascinated. Her attire and presence were clearly out of place here.

Upon entering the building, she immediately took the elevator. Observers then realized where she was headed—this was the elevator that led to the headquarters of the villain organization. It was often ridiculed by the employees who’d joined for public benefit as a result of their corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Upon arriving, Hanee dismissed the guiding hand of the staff and walked on her own. She was familiar with the layout, having visited once before.

“─Excuse me.”

Knock, knock.

After two knocks and a brief wait, a voice invited her in. Hanee carefully opened the door and entered, greeted by the same familiar scents and sounds as the last time she’d visited.

Recalling the layout from her previous visit, she naturally found her way to the sofa and sat down. Eight, watching her, let out an impressed sound.

“Impressive that you knew the sofa was there.”

“…I remembered.”

“I see. How have you been?”

“Well, Professor.”

“Professor?”

Eight raised an eyebrow, puzzled. Hanee tilted her head, as if it were the most natural thing.

“You enlightened me on the principles of morality and ethics. It’s only fitting I call you Professor, isn’t it?”

“Well, I didn’t actually teach you, but… sure. From the sound of it, you’ve been doing well.”

“To be honest, I haven’t been doing that well. It’s been a time for me to reflect on just how much harm I caused to others while living like a beast.”

Hanee spoke as she reminisced about her past—from her days as a creature with a blade in hand, taking whatever she desired, to her brief time as a human, where she lived off only what she earned through honest work.

Compared to the ease and simplicity of her beast days, her human life was difficult, exhausting, and often left her on the verge of giving up. Living as a human was that hard.

Yet, the morality engraved in her soul would not allow her to revert to a beast. She wanted to live as a human, avoiding a life of preying on others like an animal.

It was a meaningful life. Hard, but valuable.

“You’ve done well.”

“…Thank you, Professor.”

Eight genuinely admired her. It wasn’t that people didn’t know what morality and ethics were; they just found it hard to follow them. It was far easier to disregard them, while those who thrived often seemed to ignore such principles altogether.

But Hanee was different. She’d simply never learned what morality was before. Now that she did, she was committed to following it, no matter how challenging.

As the one who had instilled these concepts in her, Eight couldn’t help but feel proud of her journey.

“So, could you tell me why you called me here today, Professor?”

“Oh, it’s nothing much… I noticed recently that you joined an environmental group?”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s called True Natural… an organization focused on protecting the environment.”

“I wanted to ask why you joined them.”

“…Was I not supposed to?”

Hanee cautiously observed Eight’s expression. Though she didn’t show it outwardly, she was still afraid of him. More accurately, she feared what he could do—the power he held to imprison her in a void or inflict terrifyingly harsh “education” that would break her spirit.

Fortunately, he didn’t seem inclined to go that far this time. He appeared to be genuinely curious about why she’d joined such an organization.

“No, it’s not that.”

“Well… my situation isn’t exactly ideal.”

“Not ideal?”

“Yes—as you know, I’m a blind rabbit beastkin. I’m not completely blind, but I’m certainly not able to work normally…”

“True.”

“So I have nothing to do.”

Eight nodded, understanding. When he’d first arrived in this world, he’d been turned down by local shops and even construction jobs due to his lack of abilities.

Hanee, being a beastkin with few skills outside her physical abilities, and visually impaired to boot, had very limited options.

“That’s when someone named Flower asked if I’d join her group… and said I’d receive financial support if I did.”

“Financial support?”

“Yes. It’s not much, but I was in dire need of any money…”

Hearing this, Eight sighed. Seeing her struggle with a lack of funds struck a chord within him. Had he not met Regalia by chance, he might’ve been in a similar situation, desperate for money and stuck in some alley.

Not liking the thought of Leviathan’s friend or his own student wandering the streets, Eight began to ponder, eventually coming up with a plan.

He realized that Flower likely didn’t know about Hanee’s connection to him or her involvement in True Natural.

“Hanee, you said you joined because you needed money?”

“Yes? Yes…”

“Then, how about taking on a part-time job?”

“A part-time job?”

“Yes, a very lucrative one.”

Eight cast her a sidelong glance and smiled.

“It’s a job only you can do, Hanee.”

“O-only I can do…?”

Under his gaze, Hanee involuntarily shrank back.

Fortunately, it wasn’t the kind of job she had feared.