Tom looked left, then right, his eyes full of confusion.
The chicken he'd saved for himself was gone—which meant someone had probably snatched it.
Tom's first suspect was his old rival and old buddy, Jerry. Only that guy would take such pleasure in messing with him—stealing his stuff and dragging him into trouble.
Jerry was currently stuffing his face with honey when Tom's evil paw suddenly shot out and—so fast you couldn't even blink—grabbed him and yanked him around to face him.
Tom pictured the chicken in his mind. Little white clouds puffed up over his head. With one hand still gripping Jerry, Tom pointed at the biggest cloud above them; inside it was an image of the chicken.
Jerry looked up and saw the very same chicken from Tom's imagination. Wearing an innocent, bewildered expression, he shook his head hard like a rattle drum, signaling that he didn't know anything.
But Tom didn't buy it for a second.
He knew exactly how nasty the "innocent" little mouse in front of him really was.
Or rather—if Jerry weren't nasty enough, he wouldn't even be able to hang with Tom. After all, Tom was nasty too. If some poor fool managed to piss off both Tom and Jerry at the same time, they'd find out just how terrifying the two of them could be when they got serious.
Tom found a glass jar, tossed Jerry inside, and screwed the lid on tight so he couldn't get out.
Then, wearing a wicked grin, Tom took huge mouthfuls of Jerry's honey right in front of him. In no time at all, he'd licked the clay pot clean—then, just to be mean, he held up the empty pot for Jerry to see.
Hey! Your precious honey's gone—I ate it all. Mad? Are you mad?
Doesn't matter if you're mad. You can't get it back. Heh-heh-heh!
Tom didn't say a word, but his expression and his actions made the message perfectly clear.
Without even wiping the honey off his mouth, Tom stuck his tongue out like a maniac at Jerry, trapped in the glass jar.
And right then, two tall figures suddenly appeared behind Tom, blocking the sunlight. The huge shadow that fell over him made his body stiffen.
Like an old machine badly in need of oil, Tom turned his neck with extreme rigidity—faint crack, crack, crack sounds even audible.
"Hey, kitty. Have you seen the honey Bramble and I stashed?" Briar asked. His tone was so flat you couldn't tell what he was feeling.
The moment those words landed, Tom's mood dropped straight through the floor.
"Bri—ar, that jar in his arms… looks like ours," Bramble said, pointing at the clay pot Tom was holding. Only now, the jar didn't have a single drop of honey left—it had been eaten clean.
A massive bear paw slowly pressed down on top of Tom's head. Sweat poured off him in an instant; he didn't doubt for a second that a paw bigger than his head could crush his skull like nothing.
"Little bad kitty… you've got some nerve." Briar bent down and stared straight into Tom's eyes, an oppressive aura rolling off him. "Stealing their honey, too? Bramble—teach him a lesson."
"Got it!" Bramble answered.
The dopey grin vanished from Bramble's face. He lifted his head and took a deep breath, and then his body started to grow taller. Muscle after muscle bulged up like solid rock—going from one set of abs to eight in the blink of an eye.
"DA!!"
The roar turned into a shockwave that rattled the air, like it was about to peel the turf right off the ground.
And Tom, caught in the middle of it, had every bit of fur blown clean off his body. In an instant, he was completely bald—except for a white pair of shorts with a strawberry pattern covering his lower half…
Don't ask why there's a pair of shorts under a cat's fur. In the same way, you probably shouldn't think too hard about how Patrick Star can peel off that layer of pink "skin" like it's a coat.
Tom didn't even get a chance to explain before the two bears hauled him away.
A moment later, Tom's extremely recognizable scream rang out from not far off.
"Yowww! Awooo-ooo…!"
As for Jerry—somehow, he'd already slipped out of the glass jar. He tore off a drumstick from a whole chicken, fragrant and steaming, and while Tom screamed in the distance, Jerry happily chomped away on the massive leg like it was the best meal in the world.
...
On an open patch of ground, Super Q looked around at the surroundings. Seemingly satisfied, he nodded—and then raised his hand.
"Super Assembly!"
The instant the words left his mouth, the watch on Super Q's wrist split open. In the next second, countless building blocks burst out of it.
A scene that would make every civil engineer drool unfolded: as if guided by invisible hands, the blocks snapped together on their own. In the blink of an eye, house after house was finished—move-in ready, with all the furniture already included.
"Boss is unbeatable! Boss is so cool!"
Bobby clutched two pom-poms and cheered behind Super Q like a cheerleader. When Super Q's work slowed for a moment, Bobby rushed over with perfect timing.
"Boss! Let me wipe your sweat!"
"Boss! I bought you some juice!"
"Boss! Let me rub your legs!"
He was doing nothing but menial, service-type errands as a lackey, but Bobby didn't feel ashamed in the slightest—he was proud of it.
Being Super Q's lackey was the greatest stroke of luck in Bobby's entire life!
The towel meant for wiping sweat was suddenly tossed right into Bobby's face. Then Bobby heard Super Q say,
"That's enough, Bobby. Now's not the time to rest. Today's work isn't finished yet."
Treated that roughly, Bobby still didn't feel anything was wrong. He continued following respectfully behind Super Q.
"Using Boss's Super Assembly just to build houses… what a waste of such a powerful skill…"
"You've got it wrong, Bobby." Super Q shook his head. "Letting these abandoned kids have a home to return to. Giving them a place that can block the sun, keep out the rain, stop the wind, and shelter them from the heat. Making every child still wandering around in confusion remember that there's a safe little house here that will always welcome them back… I think that's exactly what makes Super Assembly great—and what it truly exists for. Back then, EE Bond must have created Super Assembly for that very wish. It shouldn't be used for fighting and killing. It should be used to benefit everyone."
"…"
After hearing Super Q's words, Bobby's voice trembled. Even with sunglasses on, he still made a wiping-tears gesture, looking like he was about to cry from how moved he was.
"As expected of Boss! You're so kind—so great! I'll follow you forever!"
Super Q crossed his arms, curled his lip, and snorted. Then he turned and walked off.
"Come on, Bobby. Today I'm going to build more houses than that guy GG Bond!"
"Yes! I believe Boss can do it!"
...
In a classroom, the moment the dismissal bell rang, Uncle Bodhi wrapped up today's lesson.
He tidied up the lesson plans on the lectern, thinking about what to do after class—maybe go find Teacher Mihoo for coffee and talk shop about teaching.
But before he could even step out the door, a crowd of enthusiastic kids swarmed him.
Weslie and the others were sheep who could talk. Tom and Jerry were a cat and a mouse. Briar and Bramble were bears who could talk. Super Q and Bobby were pigs who could talk… The originals for these kids' friends all existed as animals in the real world, and after seeing enough of it, the kids had gotten used to it.
But Uncle Bodhi was different.
He was a mole.
Sure, "moles" were apparently based on real moles—but the difference in appearance was still huge, big enough to make them feel like an entirely new species.
A round little head. A cute red nose drawn right on it. Beside the nose explaining it all—two curved lines, two tiny black dots, and finally a bright smile… and there you had a mole.
Moles were something the kids found endlessly fascinating. And as for Mole Manor, they longed for it even more—because it was a country that could satisfy every fantasy these children had about a beautiful life in another world.
"Teacher Bodhi! Teacher Bodhi! Tell us more about the Red-Haired Knight!"
"Yeah, yeah! You didn't finish last time! Did the Red-Haired Knight beat the dragon in the Black Forest or not?"
"Tell us more about Mole Manor! What kind of country is it, really?"
Like that, the kids absolutely refused to let Uncle Bodhi leave, bombarding him with questions.
"Oh! You all want to hear about the Red-Haired Knight? All right, all right—I'll tell you. But you have to behave, sit back down in your seats, and listen nicely. Then I'll start."
Uncle Bodhi stroked his little handlebar mustache, smiling with warmth and delight.
Because, you see, the Red-Haired Knight was him.
Even if he was old now—and a little chubby—and even if too much movement could easily throw out his back, back in his youth he had been the captain of Mole Manor's Royal Knights. Legend had it that as long as he was around, the moles never had to worry about the dragon in the Black Forest threatening Mole Manor. Even the current captain and acting captain of the knights had been students he'd personally trained.
In one episode of the Mole Manor cartoon, the dark wizard Kula couldn't defeat Lele Hero, so he was forced to use a youth potion to turn Lele Hero into a little kid. What he didn't expect was that the potion would also turn Uncle Bodhi back into his younger self—who then easily chased Kula off.
Kind of like using the Time Stone to turn all the Avengers into old men… only to get pinned to the ground and beaten senseless by an elderly Thor who somehow got stronger the older he was. Same vibe.
"Uncle! Uncle Bodhi! I want to hear about Lele Hero! Tell me more about Lele Hero!"
There was another mole in the classroom. But unlike Uncle Bodhi, he wasn't standing at the lectern—he was sitting with the other kids as a student. His name was Molele, and he claimed to be Lele Hero's number one fan.
Suddenly, a sharp whistle cut through the air. A chalk stub flew with pinpoint accuracy and smacked straight into Molele's forehead, knocking him out of his chair and onto the floor. His eyes turned into spirals, and the spot where he'd been hit even reddened a little.
Still holding the throwing pose, Uncle Bodhi's temples bulged with a throbbing vein as he snapped, "What are you yelling for?! Did you finish your homework? And you're shouting at me in my classroom?"
And just for the record: Uncle Bodhi wasn't only Molele's teacher—he was Molele's guardian too.
Once Uncle Bodhi pulled out his authority as a teacher, Molele naturally didn't dare talk back. So Uncle Bodhi began telling the class about his experiences from when he was young.
Of course, none of these kids knew that the Uncle Bodhi standing in front of them was the very Red-Haired Knight who could take on a hundred enemies alone. Uncle Bodhi had told Molele before—but Molele hadn't believed him at all.
"Huh? Teacher Bodhi, you're still not done?" a robot passing by the classroom door asked curiously. It wore a floral shirt and a pink tie, but its head was a television set.
"Ah, Principal TV…" Uncle Bodhi said. "It's nothing. The kids don't want me to leave—they want me to tell stories. If they're asking like this, how could I refuse?"
"Oh, I see… but I should warn you first." Principal TV put on a stern expression. "You're staying voluntarily, so it doesn't count as overtime. Don't even think about getting a single cent of overtime pay from me!"
Uncle Bodhi's expression turned a little complicated.
"What overtime pay? We're all here helping Nursery Rhyme."
"...Huh? Oh, right—this isn't my Super Star Academy." Principal TV realized it a beat late and scratched his head awkwardly. "Ahaha… sorry, sorry. Old habits."
So your old habit is not paying overtime?
Just then, a group of kids surrounded Principal TV, their eyes glittering with curiosity.
"Um, are you really a television?"
"Is 'Principal TV' your nickname, or is that actually your real name?"
"Are you a robot? An AI? Why were you designed to look like a TV?"
"The face on the screen is so interesting!"
"I want to know… can you play programs like other TVs, Principal TV?"
It was the first time these kids had ever seen Principal TV, and they were brimming with curiosity—someone even poked the buttons on top of his head.
It turned out Principal TV really could play programs like a normal television, and could even tune into this world's broadcast stations. But the kids kept changing channels so frantically that Principal TV's face began to glitch.
Then—bang!—Principal TV toppled stiffly onto the floor.
Behind him, Molele stood there holding a wooden stick, taking in everyone's stares.
"Uh… I heard that when a TV breaks, if you just smack it once, it'll get better, so I…"
A moment later, Uncle Bodhi's furious roar exploded through the classroom.
"Molele—!!"
After seeing these people—after witnessing all of this—Satomi Rentaro and Seitenshi could no longer keep fooling themselves, no matter how hard they tried.
Every bit of it was beyond reality—beyond the scope of science.
Just like Seitenshi had said earlier…
It was like magic.
"They… what are they, exactly?"
Satomi Rentaro looked at Nursery Rhyme and asked the question that cut straight to the heart of it.
"And you… what are you, really?"
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T/N: SO MANY CARTOOOOOOOOOOONS IM GONNA KILL MYSELFFFFFFFF anyway enjoy the 1 chapter nonome gained for you guys almost finished black bullet ALSO uh fixed some names in the past 2 chapters so yeah guys PLEASE tell me if you spot any errors jeez