CH 70

When Tigre-sensei and I saw that the room has been ransacked, we immediately ran outside and told everyone.

“Verna-sensei is gone. I’m going to search from the sky. Brother, can you take everyone back to the house, please? …… I don’t think it’s a good idea to stay here.”

“What do you mean ……?”

“Wha-!? The house is a mess ……”

As Luciel and Nora opened their mouths, Tigre-sensei tapped them on the shoulder and pointed the way they had come.

“I’m sorry, but we have to hurry. Obediently go back.”

“O-Okay! Come on, guys, let’s go ……!”

“I’ll be at the back, so Jack-kun and Yogus-kun, you take the front.”

“Got it!”

“All right.”

I looked at Tigre-sensei and nodded as I watched him and the two boys flank the girl and start going down the mountain. Soon I was flying through the air and Tigre-sensei was heading down towards the next town. It’s hard to reach this house from any other way than the one we came up with, and seeing as how we didn’t pass each other, I’m going to assume it’s more likely this way.

“Damn …… why is Verna-sensei ……!”

I’ve been looking for her from the sky, but there’s no sign of her. Verna-sensei is a small, but mature woman. I think it would be difficult for a single person to carry her down the mountain.

The distance from her house to the next town is only about two kilometers, so it’s not that far, and depending on the time of day, it’s likely that she could have crossed the town.

“I’m running out of magic …… I should meet up with Tigre-sensei ……”

I flew for about fifteen minutes, but ran out of magic power, so I landed on the ground. Tigre-sensei was going straight down the path of the monster that Verna-sensei had apparently trampled.

“Lars!”

“It’s no good, Teacher, I can’t find her anywhere!”

“Damn it …… let’s get out of here and go to the town, there might be witnesses.”

“Yeah!”

Tigre-sensei and I descended the mountain and entered the nearby town of Mist. The town is much smaller than the town of Cresta where we live, so we walked around the town looking for possible witnesses.

I walked from one end of the street to the other, but couldn’t find anything, so I decided to ask a woman around the corner.

“Excuse me. Have there been any suspicious people here lately …… around a few hours? If they were carrying an unusually large package, or if they were with a woman with glasses, or anything like that.”

“What? Suspicious people, huh …… Hmm. I don’t think I saw such a thing?”

“I see. …… Thank you.”

When I lowered my head in disappointment, the woman thought for a moment and then stopped me.

“Oh, you! Is the woman with the glasses maybe the one with the slightly dirty clothes?”

“……! Yes, that’s right, she’s a sloppy person who doesn’t care about her clothes and whose bangs hide behind her face if left alone!”

“How mean of you to say that ……”

Tigre-sensei squinted and looked at me with his arms folded, but he ignored that. It’s not the time for that, after all.

“That person left town a while ago. It looks like she was accompanied by some knightly-looking people, do you know them?”

“Knights ……? Ah, yeah. He’s my teacher! Tigre-sensei, let’s go!”

“Wait a minute, Lars. They weren’t on foot, of course, were they ……?”

“Yes, they had a wagon docked at the inn. I guess it’s about three hours ago? They left town.”

“…… Thanks. Oh, and one last thing. Did you find out which nobleman it is? Like a family crest?”

“Hmm …… I didn’t see anything as far as that ……”

“No, thanks. Lars, let’s go back.”

“What? We need to talk to the other people ……”

I raised my voice in protest, but Tigre-sensei grabbed my hand and led me back the way I came. I went back to Verna-sensei’s house, sat down on a suitable chair, and opened my mouth.

“Geez …… What the hell is going on here? Why would they dare to kidnap a woman who lives so deep in the mountains ……”

“Yeah ……”

“…… However, there are two things that are strange about. Lars, do you understand?”

I was taken aback when he suddenly asked me that. I can think of something, so I said it.

“The first is that the room was ransacked, but there was no sign of resistance, I guess? With Verna-sensei’s magic, it’s not surprising that something was burned or destroyed, and the flower garden and medicine garden was safe, too.”

“Yeah.”

“The other thing is they’re well prepared. If it was a spur-of-the-moment attack, for example, they would not have prepared a carriage in town. So this means that they were targeting Verna-sensei all along.”

When I said that, Tigre-sensei nodded and said.

“You’re right. How much do you know about her?”

“…… No, I don’t really know her well. I only found out the other day that she’s from another country.”

“When did you meet her?”

I felt uncomfortable with Tigre-sensei asking me that without hesitation, but I answered that it was five years ago.

“All right. You can go home now, I’ll look into it. Maybe the headmaster can tell us something.”

“I’ll go with you. Verna-sensei is like family to me.

“Stupid, Dedite and your classmates will worry about you? I’ll tell you later, okay?”

“…… Yeah. That’s a promise!”

“Oh! …… Well, then…….”

Tigre-sensei turned on his heel and gallantly left the place. It was then that I discovered something had fallen out of his pocket, so I picked it up.

“Sensei–…… he’s already gone. He’s very fast, as expected. Is this …… an earring?”

When the bag was dropped, it may have been torn and the contents came out. I wondered if it was a present.

“…… I will definitely find her.”

I made up my mind, put the earrings in my pocket and went back to my house.

◆ 　 ◇ 　 ◆

Clattering ……

In the carriage running along the street, Verna was looking out the window with a stern expression. At a fork in the road, she looks over to the carriage, thinking that she could take that road to the town of Cresta, where the academy is located.

“……. What do you want from me after all this time?”

“……”

“……”

“Staying quiet, huh. Oh well, I’m sure I’ll be back here soon anyway.”

Verna muttered to the men sitting in the carriage, who were not speaking. One of them opened his mouth.

“…… As if you can go back …… if you know what you’re being called back for, you won’t be that confident ……”

“What?”

The man stopped talking after he said that, and the carriage went to a certain place with only the rattling of the wheels.

Where the heck are they taking Verna-sensei ……!

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“Now, how is he going to catch up?”

The story is already laid out, though ……