Chapter 18
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: 3. We Gather Our Own Materials.
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"Is it starting today?"
Lunarin Brettis, one of the magic instructors at the Adventurer Academy.
She recalled today's schedule and flashed a gentle smile.
Today marked the beginning of external training for the first-year students.
After finally completing their theory classes, practices, and exercises, the first-years would take on their very first commission.
It was starting with Intermediate Class 3 of the first-years, if she remembered right.
Of course, that wasn't what Lunarin was looking forward to.
'Hee hee, and it just had to start on such a busy day. This is going to be tough.'
The one person on her mind was none other than Edin, who had become the owner of the academy's sundries shop starting today.
'I wish I'd been picked as a supervising teacher today.'
She clicked her tongue in disappointment. If she had, she could've stopped by the shop and seen Edin.
Unfortunately, she had classes scheduled with the advanced-position mage students from the second-year upper class, so there was nothing she could do.
"Instructor Lunarin. What are you thinking about so deeply?"
"Huh?"
At that moment, a male instructor approached her.
Pointed ears, snow-white skin, golden hair cascading down to his waist, and a beauty so exquisite it was hard to believe he was a man.
And strapped to his back was a wooden longbow said to be crafted from the roots of the World Tree.
He was an elf, a rare sub-race exceptionally gifted in archery and spirit magic.
The male elf named Saella was a former S-Rank Adventurer who even held the title of Hero. True to his elven nature, he was extraordinarily skilled in spirit magic and archery.
Elves were said to be born with talents far surpassing humans to begin with, but Saella was an even more exceptional case.
He had been chosen by the World Tree, which elves revered as a god, displaying tremendous affinity for spirits and archery talent.
Leveraging those gifts, he had made a huge name for himself as an active S-Rank Adventurer.
Though it had been nearly twenty years since his retirement, his long elven lifespan allowed him to maintain his prime abilities even now.
Currently, he taught spirit magic and archery as an instructor at the Adventurer Academy.
With god-given looks that made women turn their heads even when he was just standing there, and talents among the best of elves.
On top of that, a career and honors that proved it all.
Naturally, women never stopped flocking to him.
Not just active adventurers, but academy staff.
Even students confessed to him in droves.
'What a man I am.'
And Saella reveled in it thoroughly, though he did have quite the reputation for womanizing.
This led him to develop an oddly strong sense of pride when it came to women.
He believed that any woman he set his sights on would fall for him with just a little pursuit.
But then, a nemesis appeared before him.
That was Lunarin Brettis.
A woman he had met after joining the Adventurer Academy.
Saella fell for her at first sight and approached her immediately.
But Lunarin treated him with nothing more than the courtesy of a fellow colleague.
'How humiliating...!'
A woman who wouldn't fall for him even after he greeted her first and showered her with attention.
Of course, she came from an impressive family and had talents that could've earned her the Hero title and S-Rank Adventurer status if she hadn't retired. She was remarkable.
But even so, no woman could resist Saella.
There shouldn't be.
From that point on, Saella began clinging to Lunarin relentlessly.
He was sharpening his blade to win her over properly.
Yet the more he did, the further Lunarin distanced herself from him.
As if he were a nuisance.
This only fueled Saella's pride even more.
"...Ah, no. I wasn't thinking of anything."
"Eh?! Instructor Lunarin?!"
Now, the moment he even spoke to her, she would stiffen up and leave the spot immediately.
"Come on, let's at least have a cup of tea and chat. I have this special herbal tea that only grows in the elven forest..."
"Not interested. I have a class to teach."
Lunarin cut him off sharply and headed straight for the second-year upper class classroom.
Saella persisted a bit longer with his tenacious courtship, but she ignored him completely.
"Kgh... You're the first woman to ignore me like this."
Unfortunately, the more she did, the less Saella thought of giving up. His pride only burned brighter, igniting his determination further.
"Instructor Saella, that kind of thing can get you in big trouble these days. Don't you know about stalker crimes?"
"Hah. Don't worry. Who else but me is making a move on her? There's no way she'd hate it."
"...Haha ha."
Another instructor passing by warned him, but he didn't even pretend to listen.
'Just you wait. I'll make you come to me on your own someday.'
Imagining Lunarin seeking him out with sparkling eyes, Saella grinned lecherously.
Of course, even that looked charming thanks to his stunning beauty.
'Hee hee, class is over. Time to go see Edin.'
Her expression toward Saella had been icy cold, but now Lunarin beamed innocently as she thought of Edin. It was hard to believe it was the same person.
The very thing Saella so desperately desired—making her come to him on her own.
She was already doing exactly that with Edin.
"Instructor, something good happen? You're smiling so much."
"Yeah. Looks like you were waiting for class to end even more than we were."
Two female students from the second-year upper class mage position approached and spoke to her.
"Oh? Ah, yeah. My afternoon's completely free now, so I'm off to meet someone."
Unlike with Saella, she responded kindly to the students.
Lunarin was fundamentally a warm and friendly person.
The only ones she treated coldly were specific individuals, Saella included.
"Whoa? A guy? You have a boyfriend?"
"No way, Instructor Lunarin has a man? The boys are gonna cry."
The female students' eyes sparkled as they pressed her.
For women, another woman's love life was always an intriguing topic.
Especially when it involved their incredibly pretty and talented instructor!
"Hee hee hee, it's a secret."
Lunarin smiled sweetly in response.
"Aw, it is a guy!"
"Whoa, for real? Who is it?"
The girls squealed with curiosity, but Lunarin brushed them off vaguely and slipped away.
The students had their next class, so they couldn't follow her.
Thanks to that, Lunarin was able to head to the sundries shop completely alone.
'Hee hee. I wonder what Edin's up to right now?'
Ever since their recent reunion—when she had convinced him to join the academy—she'd been thinking about him nonstop.
Why was that?
Sure, she definitely liked him.
But it was just the fondness one person has for another. It hadn't felt this intense before.
Was it because he'd escaped Claude and gained his freedom?
His calm demeanor despite that?
That he'd joined the academy just as she'd suggested?
She didn't know.
Whatever the reason, these days, Edin's face kept popping into her mind.
And so, she was heading to the sundries shop right now to see him in person.
'I should congratulate him on the new job.'
With a perfectly reasonable excuse, no less.
And trailing behind her was one man.
'Instructor Lunarin... Where are you headed with such a happy expression?'
It was the elf who kept getting shot down by her.
Saella.
On his way after class, he had spotted Lunarin by chance once again.
But this time, she wore a shy, love-struck girl's smile—one she'd never shown him.
'Beautiful.'
That sight was so dazzlingly lovely that Saella found himself lost in it without realizing.
Where on earth could she be going with a smile like that?
Curiosity piqued, he began tailing her.
He did so secretly because he knew she'd stiffen and bolt the moment he spoke to her.
It was a mix of not wanting to ruin that pinnacle of beauty and wanting to satisfy his curiosity about her destination.
'To think I'd be tailing a woman like this.'
His pride took another hit, but even so, he followed her as stealthily as possible, holding his breath.
She was an exceptional mage.
The slightest trace of mana would give him away.
Saella focused entirely on concealing his presence and form, as if he'd returned to his adventuring days, trailing her.
...Anyone watching would think he was no different from a stalker.
The fortunate part was that very few could pierce the stealth of an elf of his immense skill.
Not even Lunarin, the target herself, noticed a thing.
In any case, as he followed her like that.
Before long, Lunarin arrived at the shopping district.
'The shopping district? What is she buying?'
He'd thought maybe a dessert shop or even a restaurant.
Instead, she entered a sundries shop of all places.
'What's this? Prepping for a commission today?'
Instructors could take adventurer commissions with academy permission, as long as it didn't interfere with their schedules.
The academy paid well enough for the talented individuals they hired, but for former top adventurers like them, it was still a bit modest.
So some made time for adventuring on the side.
But Lunarin hadn't done so once since becoming an instructor.
Why head to a sundries shop all of a sudden?
Curiosity burning, Saella slowly approached the sundries shop.
He peered inside through the window.
"...!"
There was Lunarin, talking with a certain human man.
And on her face was that beautiful smile from earlier.
The smile she absolutely never showed to Saella.