CH 75

“…… is this what you call a castle? It’s awesome ……”

“Wow, this is amazing. It’s bigger than your house, Dedite-kun.”

“It’s where the king lives, after all.”

“Lars-kun, so you’ve been recruited by a place like this ……”

Jack and Nora looked up at the castle from the main gate, their mouths hanging open as they gave their impressions. Makina was the only one who seemed to have a different opinion, but it seems that Tigre-sensei’s talk with the gatekeeper went through, and we’re led into the castle.

“Uhhh …… I’m getting nervous ……”

“You should have stayed at the inn ……”

“But, it’s not possible for kids like us to get access to the audience hall, right?”

I was annoyed to hear him say that Verna-sensei was a secondary concern. As I was thinking that he shouldn’t have come if he was just curious, Makina smacked Jack on the head.

“We’re here to help Verna-sensei, aren’t you? You can go back to the inn now, okay?”

“Uh, I-I’m sorry ……”

“You got scolded.”

“Be quiet, Nora.”

“Yes.”

My brother walks beside Nora, holding mother’s hand. I walked in the front with Tigre-sensei, and soon we arrived at the audience hall. When the heavy door was opened, I saw the king with a dignified expression and several knights on either side. Among them was the figure of Gurudo.

“I heard it’s a teacher from Oblivion Academy, but do you know Gurudo?”

I called Gurudo, the advisor of the holy knight club, with the implication to confirm, and stepped in front of Tigre-sensei to stare at his face. A little bit, but seeing as how Gurudo’s expression isn’t exactly flattering, I’m guessing it’s true.

“…… I had certainly seen this man before. But why are you here, if you’re not their advisor?”

“I wanted to thank you for the game the other day, but he was busy. I came to greet you instead. First, I’d like to give you a souvenir ……”

He then handed the furniture to Gurudo, who inspected it and presented it to the king.　

“Hmm, it’s a good one. Thank you for the gift. Is this all you’re here for? I’ll leave the rest to Gurudo.”

“What?”

“No, that’s not all I have to say …… Actually, someone has kidnapped one of our faculty members. I’m trying to track him down. Her name is Verna, and she has the same name as this princess, do you know anything about her?”

That was straightforward, Tigre-sensei! I thought he was going to get a little more involved, but maybe he’s in a hurry because of the dragon thing. I’ll be watching with excitement to see what happens.

“No, there is no such person–“

“it’s okay. Gurudo. You said you were a teacher ……”

“As I thought, Verna is this country’s ……”

The king nodded and began to talk about the situation when Tigre-sensei spoke up.

“It’s embarrassing to tell you this, but I’m her father …… the previous king, didn’t like her. So I sent her out, but she ended up going out of the country. I had lost track of her. But the other day, Gurudo reported that he had found Verna, and brought her back.”

“If that’s the case, why did you do something like kidnapping …… is to sacrifice her?”

I mentioned a few things that I thought people might be wondering about, and he answered them.

“…… After the incident with the previous generation, Verna disappeared as if she was running away from us. That why, even if we directly ask her to come back, she will not do so. It’s a long vacation period right now, so I figured they’d think she were on vacation or something. You know about the dragons, don’t you? The sacrifice thing is a misunderstanding, we are going to defeat the dragons, so Verna was not brought back as a sacrifice.”

When I hear those words, I immediately refute them.

“…… With all due respect, isn’t that selfish? There may have been circumstances, but shouldn’t we respect Verna-sensei’s wishes instead of forcing her to leave just because you found her? If that’s why she wanted to go home, that’s fine, but if she disappeared as if she were running away, as you said yourself, then she probably didn’t want to go home.”

“Mu ……”

“Kid, you’re disrespecting the king!”

“…… I’m sorry, I spoke out of turn.”

I don’t want to say I was out of line, but I understand it’s not good for the king. But I have one more thing to say.

“…… However, Verna-sensei is …… is our teacher. If she have been mistreated, please return her to the academy.”

“…….”

The king looked at me with a difficult face. I also looked over at my brother, Nora, Makina and Jack, who was also looking at the king with serious faces. In the silence, my mother continued to speak.

“Please forgive my rudeness. My name is Marianne, the wife of the Lord of Gust in the Reflexion Country, the mother of this child. It seems that Verna-sensei has been living in the mountains ever since she met us, or even before she met us. She never bathed, had shaggy hair, and wore dirty clothes. I’ve spent a lot of time with her, and she’s like family to me. If Verna doesn’t want to be here–“

“A Lord’s son and wife …… so don’t pick on me so much. As I said, this is my fault for not being able to stop my father. As Verna said, do not get involved in this anymore.”

“His Majesty, you can’t tell these people that much …….”

A man beside him, who looked like a minister or chancellor, reproved him with a stern face, but the king continued.

“I don’t think I can ignore them risking their lives to return my daughter, even if they belong to another country. But you’re was a step too late. Verna is on her way to defeat the dragon whose seal has been broken. I don’t think she’ll be back for a while, but when she does, I’ll do as Verna says.”

“!?”

Tigre-sensei’s complexion changes when he hears those words. What did he just say!?

“His Majesty! Did Verna …… -sensei go to kill the dragon?”

“Mm. My wife said that Verna’s magic is so powerful that we need her help to defeat it. I told her she didn’t have to go, but she promised–“

Then Tigre-sensei turned on his heel and started running.

“H-Hey, what’s the rush?”

“It’s probably can’t be helped that none of you guys know anything about dragons, but …… how many wizards are there? How many magic-using ones are accompanying her?”

“H-Hmph. There are five people who can use advanced magic, plus Princess Verna! And there are fifty knights, plus the Knight Commander and Vice Commander!”

Then Tigre-sensei became enraged.

“Not enough! You need 30 wizards and more than a hundred people who can fight to defeat the dragon! Why do you think it was sealed up in the first place?”

“……!”

Everyone in the room broke out in a cold sweat as they realized what Tigre-sensei meant. Yes, if it’s dangerous, you can defeat it. The only reason they haven’t done so is because–

“It means that sealing it was the best they could do! Damn, it’s still okay if it’s a wild dragon, but if it’s a sealed dragon ……!”

“Where are you going!?”

“I’m going after them! North to the mountains, I hope!”

“Ah, ahhhh, …… Y-You’re not just a teacher, are you ……?”

“Do you understand me when I say [War Demon]? I’m sorry to interrupt you!!”

“You’re ……?”

“Oh, wait, teacher!”

The knights gasped when they heard the name [War Demon].

We couldn’t catch up with Tigre-sensei, who left in a flash, and we just stood there. 

Tigre runs!

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“I’d like to know why Tigre-sensei cares so much about Verna.”

Well, it’s just a little further ……