Lady Misfortune: Daddy, I'll Be A Righteous Villainess!

"The King and His Knights!" 

Lady had a feeling that it would end up to be something like that. But since she could not come up with anything good herself, she just let Hartigan be. Fallon looked like he's had enough of this world, though.

She wonders what the CHEEKY Trio will pick. With a level of confidence that she doesn't know where in the world came from, Chester declares their team name, "Belle's Handsome Liberators!"

This brat.

Belle is clearly not comfortable with that. It's not like Hartigan is keeping her captive, to begin with. Erwin and Kyle even have the audacity to cackle. Now, Lady is starting to get all riled up too. 

'Go liberate yourself from your own ego, damn it…!' she grimaced.

'Anyway, for now, I must know the rules of whatever this game is. I don't how fudgeball works since I've never played it before.'

To start off, they play to decide who'll get the ball. It ends up with The King and His Knights going first, much to the dismay of the members of Belle's Handsome Liberators. Right after that, both teams walk toward their positions, and the referee gives the signal. 

"Alright! Game, start!"

The match begins. 

Lady needs to concentrate. She admits that she has the flaw of getting distracted easily, but she cannot let that happen this time. Belle is at stake here – Hartigan, too. So, she must do her best. 

Chester looks at Lady then grins.

"By the way, it's against the rules to kick the ball! No matter how fat your legs are!"

That gets her blood boiling and thirsting for his. She really needs to focus –

So that she can crush them all mercilessly.

Going in first, Hartigan holds the ball and prepares to strike. Lady and Fallon made way.

"Eh?"

Right then, something suddenly passes by her at a terrifying speed. It flies towards Chester's face – missing by only a hair's breadth. She saw him stiffen in shock, so she knew she did not imagine it. 

"Eh?!!! W-W-Was that the ball?!"

Now, he looks all pale, his knees trembling. That must have been traumatizing.

"Hey, H-Hartigan! N-No aiming at the face!" 

"Tch."

"Don't click your tongue!"

"Shut up, Chester. Talk with the ball."

Their leader's attack plan seems to have crumbled once he's reminded that face hits don't count. For what seems like the first time, she feels a bit of pity for these cheeky brats – just a tad bit, though.

'Well then, the ball is in their possession now. If I were them, what would I do?'

She doesn't think they will want to provoke Hartigan so soon. Since the CHEEKY Trio also wants to single him out at first, they'll probably leave him for last. On another note, it's still a mystery how good Fallon is at dodgeball. Most likely, he's much better than someone who's inexperienced like Lady.

'I guess their best option is to go for the weakest first...' she speculated until realization hit her.

'It's me, isn't it?'

She shrieked inwardly.

Then, as expected, they throw the ball at her. It's rather a strong one, too.

'Haven't you heard of chivalry?! Is this the type of strength you use against a little lady?!' 

Regardless, she has been naive. She has never played this game before. 

But it seems that only the law of the jungle applies here.

From that point on, every time it was their turn, they would aim at her. She had to flee and dodge like an innocent fawn being hunted by starving hunters. There was no doubt she looked pitiful at this point – what's more, she was already getting sweaty even though the match just began. 

"However, the fact you underestimate me will be your downfall..." Lady muttered through gritted teeth, refusing to let the CHEEKY Trio continue this monstrosity.

"Because this fawn has claws too!"

Gathering all her strength, she braces herself. 

Then, at last, she managed to catch the ball. They were all caught off guard. Her chance to pay them back twofold has finally come – her time to shine has finally come.

"Hyaaa!!!"

And with a battle screech, Lady throws the ball with all her power. 

It flies through the air and travels all the way to the other field – slowly. Then, just when she thought that she finally got to give them their much-deserved karma-strike, it ended up falling right before their feet.

"..."

"..."

"…"

Hartigan and Fallon stare at Lady with pitiful looks – so does the rest of the crowd.

She knew all along. She knew. 

But she didn't want to admit it.

Being a future star athlete was nothing but a pipe dream for someone who was bedridden for all her past life. She was meant to suck at everything – be it in academics or sports. All she was good at was eating cookies and making friends with bees. 

'M-My eyes aren't teary!'

It's just that she's looking at the sun. So, they're burning. She wonders why she's doing that. It's not like she's trying to escape from reality or something.

"Oi, Lady," Hartigan called.

"Y-Yes?" Lady stammered.

"From now on, you pass us all the balls."

"Y-Yes."

She's still in the field. But she feels like her soul is out there already.

'Ahah, the sun is really bright.'

From that point on, Lady vows to work out and get stronger. 

That way, she'll never go through such a humiliating defeat again. It's fine now since she's got a healthy body.

In any case, the match goes on smoothly. 

After her embarrassing attempt to show off her non-existent skills, the CHEEKY Trio officially labels her as 'small fry' and keeps trying to score a point from her. They did manage to send Chester to the outfield. But their attacks only evolved into a crossfire.

In other words, the game got even harder.

"Got you!"

"Wahhh!"

Lady is almost hit, but Fallon comes to rescue.

He catches the ball effortlessly, protecting her from the attack. From his performance in this game, the opponents have decided to deem him a threat.

"I'm sorry, but as long as I'm here, I'm not letting you hit her…" Fallon said darkly.

"But if you did happen to hit her and crack her skull open or something, I would make you pay a thousandfold."

That got Erwin and Kyle petrified. 

She feels ashamed that she has to be protected even though her only useful role in this game is a decoy. She really wants to help out even if it's just for a little. 

Hartigan's hits are strong and intimidating. They're filled with bloodlust, and if they hit, they'd probably be painful. On the other side, Fallon's strikes don't have the same killing intent or impact - but they're very fast. He's rather agile in general, and he uses this fully to his advantage as he's able to easily catch the opponents' throws as well.

Hartigan is usually the one who attacks, but every so often, he passes to Fallon so they can mislead the opponents.

They are a great team, she thought. Even without her help, if the game continues like this, the time limit will soon be over, and they will win by default since they have more members in the field.

'I don't need to do anything. Belle won't be forced to be anyone's girlfriend, and Hartigan won't have to resign as their leader...' she brooded. 

'But then, why do I feel so frustrated-'

"Hey, Hartigan! Watch out!"

Lady snaps back to reality once she hears Fallon call out to Hartigan. 

Even though she's a bit distracted, she's still focused on her decoy's job. This time, though, they go for a feint. Pretending to aim at her, they go for their team leader. He tries to dodge, but it hits his leg.

'No... way.'

Hartigan is out. Fallon is in shock. Lady is gaping like a fish. 

"We got him!!"

"Nice!"

"Now, just take down Fat Legs or Fallon, and victory will be as good as ours!"

The time limit will soon be over - and they're tied. This is bad.

Even then, the match resumes. This time, it's with double cross-firing. 

Through the corner of her eyes, she sees one of their classmates showing her watch to Belle. She seems to be hesitating for some reason - while staring at her whistle. 

'Don't tell me...! Time's almost up?!'

This is bad. 

This is really bad. 

She doesn't want to lose. But she doesn't want it to end up in a tie either. Knowing those three idiots, they'll just keep creating new matches over and over again until someone wins. 

Also, because they took out their boss, they are really pumped up.

"They're faster than before. I can only dodge."

No matter how athletic Fallon is, he's also just a child. So, Lady understands that he can't keep up for too long.

'But really, what's up with these triplets and their stamina?! Are they gorillas? Dodgeball gorillas-'

"Oh, no."

Out of nowhere, Fallon lets out a yelp.

He just got hit by a strong ball from Kyle, which made him lose his balance. Thunderstruck, Lady could only gawk. 

'No... freaking... way.'

Belle seems disappointed.

But they are already out of time. She has no choice but to blow the whistle.

Lady clenches her fists.

'Have we really lost?'