Chapter 40 Professor Walt

Chapter 40 Professor Walt

Warden stared at the thick, metal-braced handcuffs, uncertain how to deal with this predicament.

"You can't be serious," Tifan shouted. "You want us to give ourselves up? We'd literally be powerless to the whims of some nobles if we let you cuff us."

Warden raised an eyebrow. He did notice something odd about the cuffs but didn't know they could be used to suppress spirit power. Could they restrict raw physical power, though? Whatever it was, Warden didn't want to take chances.

"Finally showing your true colors, eh?" shouted Walt, who seemed convinced they were the bandits. Technically, only one of them was a bandit, but that was past tense now. This guy had no right to convict them.

Tifan didn't bother with the noble bunch and turned to Warden, as if he needed a reminder. "Warden, listen to me," he said. "These people are not going to listen to anything you have to say. With the amount of noble blood stuck up their ass, they probably consider us inferior beings. This is nothing but a game to them."

Warden got that the former bandit was warning him, but still, it all felt a little too unreal.

"How dare you say the job of keeping the peace in the realm is nothing but a game?" shouted the chestnut-haired girl, hiding behind others. "It is you who takes it as a game and makes it difficult for us to govern order over the realm. How sickening."

Even the professor looked offended, his lips splitting into a scowl. "Even if you're not a bandit," he said, "you'll rot in prison for making such claims." He handed the cuffs to another man and drew his sword from the scabbard—a fine blade, sleek and over a meter long. "Looks like we have to settle this in the old way. Kevin, take care of the students. Make sure none of them gets hurt. It'd be a pain to explain to the academy if anything goes wrong with them."

"You're merely so-so," Warden replied, "for someone who teaches others. You're not even a true swordsman."

That comment probably stung more than Warden imagined. Walt's attacks became more ferocious. Now it wasn't just about capturing bandits but teaching the arrogant ass who offended him. He would cripple the bastard if he had to, and—

A dark blade flashed to his side, and even though he dodged, the blade struck his underarms, breaking through his defense and armor to draw blood. Walt was sure he dodged and made it, but the blade still stuck.

***

June peered downward from her bonded beast, Sylvie, a Starfire Crane. The wilderness below thinned somewhat after she crossed Triu. Her mentee had already left from there, met with others from the academy, and was safely on her way back to the academy. She wouldn't have to worry about that. One less weight off her shoulders.

The only remaining concern was the problem with constant beast attacks. It wasn't only the one her mentee reported; all the other villages around this region were getting attacked at night. The signs weren't good. They had already found three dungeons, one Grade 7 and two Grade 8. Adventurers were deployed to take care of them, so they wouldn't be an issue anymore.

The problem would be the ones that hadn't been found yet. June's duty wasn't to clear the dungeons but to find them and report back to the academy. Her fighting skills were adequate, but they valued her other capabilities more.

"If only I could find Professor Walt on this track," she sighed. The guy was capable, but he came with students with barely any experience in the field. He wouldn't be able to deal with the issue when he had to worry about them. There was still the thing she heard from her student.

She hoped it was a misunderstanding, and Walt would be a better man and know what's really important here.