Project Necro is an official initiative by Re:Library.

No matter how eloquent you are, it’s meaningless if you don’t speak. And even the most powerful ability is no different from not having it if you keep it hidden.
Just as it’s important not to recklessly use power you’ve obtained, it’s equally important to be able to wield that power without hesitation.

So, we decided to test whether Paula, having awakened her abilities, could actually use them to help people.
Paula’s training had been progressing both thoroughly and rapidly. At this rate, she could easily reach the level of being able to half-destroy a city before long. If we waited until then to test her in a real-life rescue situation, it would be too late. Testing someone with that much power would cause a major incident in itself.
We could try her out in a smaller-scale event right now, while her power hasn’t fully matured.

Well then.
At Paula’s school, the so-called Psychic Research Society was carrying out a public-execution-style bullying campaign. Calling it bullying is being generous, it’s outright criminal by legal standards, but sadly, crimes that don’t involve physical injuries or money often get overlooked.

We disguised ourselves as janitors, pulled some strings with the school, and deliberately stalled Paula, who had been rushing home lately for psychic training. We made sure she “happened” to stumble upon a scene of bullying by the so-called psychic club—officially known as the Darres Academy Psychic Research Society.

Paula had been sent to the supply room to fetch a mop for a teacher. What she saw was a boy named Hank Snart being beaten with that very same mop. Paula dropped the bucket she was carrying in shock.
Hank had recently been one of the club’s targets. They’d gotten bored of him and moved on, but once someone was labeled “punchable,” they’d get hit casually whenever. Occasionally, they’d torment him under the absurd excuse of “pain stimulation to help awaken psychic powers.” If that were true, I’d already have tens of thousands of psychic abilities by now.

Three delinquent students surrounded the scrawny, short, plain-looking Hank, who wore black-rimmed glasses, and were striking him with the mop. These weren’t the type of delinquents who’d rescue a stray kitten in the rain; they were the kind who’d press a lit cigarette onto it just for fun.
Since they spent every spare moment picking on anyone who looked weak, luring them here was easy.

Upon witnessing this all-too-common scene of petty cruelty, Paula dropped the bucket. But before it even hit the floor, she summoned the Doppelgänger and landed a rapid series of straight punches right in the faces of all three boys.

“Guh-wuhgk!?”
“Wha-guhhh!”
“Yo-ippee!”

All three collapsed onto the floor with pathetic screams.
I was honestly impressed. I’d suspected things wouldn’t be resolved without some violence, but wow—that was fast. No, faster than fast. It wasn’t even a quick decision; it was almost a spinal reflex. Lightning-fast hands.
Couldn’t she have at least tried to solve it with words first?
Getting knocked out cold by a random pretty girl in a sailor uniform with pink curls is basically like being in a traffic accident.

Paula hurried to help Hank up, grabbed his hand, and dashed clumsily but desperately out of the supply room. By the time the delinquents shook off their shock and scrambled to their feet, the two of them had slipped into an empty classroom and locked the door.
Her doppelgänger’s weight doesn’t change even if its appearance does. The boys had been struck by blows carrying far more weight than they could’ve imagined from such a slender, anime-cosplay-level cute girl. Combined with the element of surprise, it was enough damage to buy Paula and Hank—slow as they were—time to escape.

The two caught their breath and held it, pressing themselves against the wall by the hallway windows. They waited, but there were no signs of pursuit.
Then Hank, calmer now, suddenly burst out angrily.

“Why’d you help me!? They’ll get back at me for this. And I can’t win if they do. That’s why I was putting up with it until they got bored and left me alone!”
“That’s—”
“And who was that pink-haired girl? She just appeared and disappeared. Did she actually get away?”
“No, that was—”
“She’s not captured, is she? Don’t tell me your meddling just turned my one-man problem into a three-man danger—”
“Dude, Shut UP!!!”

Paula’s roar cut through Hank’s rising voice, filled with overwhelming force and anger.
She grabbed him by the collar and yelled at him up close.

“Of course they’ll come after me too now! I just painted a giant target on myself! I wasn’t ready yet, I wasn’t finished preparing to save anyone, but I did it anyway! Why’d you make me save you!? Why’d you let yourself get hurt right in front of me!? Don’t screw with me! Of course I couldn’t take it, of course I couldn’t ignore it! You think I’d just walk away after seeing that!? Don’t f̲u̲c̲k̲ with me, I was going home early to avoid exactly this! I can’t take it anymore! It’s your fault, Hank! I’m saving you whether you like it or not, it’s all your fault anyway! Cry and scream if you f̲u̲c̲k̲i̲n̲g want, I’ll save you! I don’t like it when you walk with your head down at school! I don’t like it when you lie to your family about having friends! I don’t like it if you think there’s no hope anywhere in this world!”

Panting heavily, Paula let go of his collar.
Hank stared at her in stunned silence, then awkwardly scratched his head and mumbled.

“Oh, um… sorry. Actually, thanks for helping.”
“…You’re welcome!”
“I’ll, uh… try harder. Y’know. In my own way.”

Paula seemed to calm down after hearing his thanks. She averted her eyes, fiddling with a poster on the wall, looking awkward. Before long, they peeked out into the hallway, sneaking glances to make sure it was safe, and quietly left school together.

Up until today, both of them had always gone to and from school alone. But today, for whatever reason, they left together.
And both of them were completely different from who they’d been just an hour ago. Maybe their temporary solution had only made things worse, but even so, both of them wore bright, refreshed expressions.

…Meanwhile, the three beaten boys were already reporting the discovery of a psychic to the higher-ups of the Psychic Research Society.
Paula’s response today was brave and kind, but just as she herself realized, her training wasn’t complete. Her inability to rein in her sense of justice hadn’t solved the situation; it had pushed it closer to chaos.
Things are about to get messy.