Chapter 35
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: 7. Greenback Forest
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Edin ignoring him was bad enough, but getting chased away by some no-name guard and barred from the academy on top of that?
Claude was absolutely livid.
‘Damn it, damn it! They’re all beneath me...!!’
He was a genius swordsman, the hottest adventurer around right now.
Shouldn’t he be getting treated better than this?!
With his pride utterly shattered, he started looking for someone to take it out on to restore his ego.
‘Mary’s too far away. In that case...’
His targets were his two party members who’d always acted like they’d do anything for him.
Mary and Sophia.
But Mary had returned to her family’s marquisate in the Solte Kingdom.
Too far to go chasing after her.
‘Sophia. Let’s go find Sophia.’
He headed straight for the Preta branch of the church.
“If you’re looking for Priestess Sophia, she’s receiving punishment in the penance chamber.”
The high priest initially refused Claude’s request to summon her.
She was in the middle of her penance, after all.
On top of that, Claude was one of the main culprits behind the wyvern incident.
It didn’t help that the priest found him distasteful.
“Hey, even if Sophia’s with the church, don’t forget she’s also registered with the Adventurer Guild. Take a look at this.”
Claude pulled out the order from the Adventurer Guild elders once again.
Of course, the church had no reason to comply.
There was nothing in it demanding their cooperation, and why should the church follow the Adventurer Guild’s orders in the first place?
It wasn’t some subordinate organization.
Sophia had already come back after causing a huge mess, and now hearing the Adventurer Guild name-dropped in their sacred church was just irritating and exhausting.
‘Haa... Fine, whatever. I’m done. Do what you want with Sophia or whoever.’
The high priest’s patience finally hit rock bottom, and he unlocked the penance chamber door with a whatever attitude.
“Hey, Sophia. I need to talk. Come out.”
Seeing the high priest actually open the door as requested made Claude feel a tiny bit of his pride returning.
He figured talking to Sophia and maybe getting physical would cheer him up, so he called her out.
“...Ah, okay.”
Sophia glanced nervously at the high priest but followed Claude’s order and stepped outside.
She desperately wanted to smash the head of one of the guys responsible for putting her in this state.
But she’d been locked up without sleep for days, her head throbbing, so part of her was relieved for the break.
She craved even a momentary taste of freedom.
And she still wanted to seem sweet and innocent in front of others, avoiding any suspicious behavior.
“Fuck, seriously. These worthless nobodies keep getting in my way. Huh? Sophia, you think this is okay?”
“...”
But Sophia quickly realized something.
Stepping out with Claude wouldn’t bring her any freedom.
‘This guy’s always been like this. Self-centered idiot hero. Picking a moron like him was my first mistake.’
Was it the sleep deprivation?
Her mind still felt foggy and dizzy, but one thing was crystal clear amid the haze.
“Please go back, Mr. Claude. Continuing like this will just get me more punishment.”
“What?”
Either way, she didn’t think she was at fault for this mess.
Not that she was actually innocent—it was just her pounding head making her decide to think whatever suited her.
“What did you just say?”
Claude, already pissed, saw veins bulging on his forehead at Sophia not only failing to take his side but talking back like this.
“Honestly, I don’t think I did anything wrong this time. I just got tricked by greedy Mary and stupid you! I’m not letting this slide either!”
In truth, there wasn’t much she could do even if she tried.
She wasn’t from some high noble family like Mary, and while the church valued her as a talented young high priestess...
That was it. Nothing more, nothing less.
How vast and powerful was the church?
They wouldn’t back a single talented priestess that far.
‘Better to go to the Adventurer Guild and find Edin. He’s a total dimwit, kinda frustratingly slow... but way nicer than this jerk. And his face? Probably better looking too.’
Her assessment of Claude, whom she’d slaved over for so long, was harsher than expected.
From what Claude had just said, Edin was doing better than anticipated.
Not only directly hired by the Adventurer Academy, but apparently quite favored by Chairwoman Mureos too.
‘That idiot hero line seems worse off. Edin’s side might be better.’
The thought that Edin might reject her didn’t even cross her mind.
After all, she’d always acted sweet around him.
Being nice to everyone definitely paid off in times like this, she thought.
‘Since it’s come to this, I’ll ask Edin to help fix this insomnia punishment from that Mureos woman.’
Sophia deluded herself that her sweet request would surely be granted.
“Hey, you bitch! After all I’ve done for you, how dare you say that shit?!”
Of course, first she had to deal with the moron in front of her.
She used to pretend she couldn’t live without him.
But seeing him get used by the Adventurer Guild elders showed his time was up.
The sweet part was over.
“Haa, just move aside.”
Normally, she’d play nice, sweet-talk, and coax Claude away.
But right now, she didn’t have the energy.
Sophia brushed past Claude in a hurry and headed back into the church, leaving him standing there dumbfounded.
‘What the hell, that crazy bitch?’
Her behavior was so unlike her usual self that he didn’t even think to grab her, just staring blankly for a while.
‘Gotta make some excuse to the high priest first.’
Sophia ignored Claude completely.
She just wanted to get out of the penance chamber quick and figure out how to reach Edin.
“Sir Claude? Do you still have business here?”
Only when the high priest approached him moments later did he snap out of it.
“Th-those fucking bastards... Dare to look down on me? Just you wait.”
“...Pardon?”
He’d let the guy summon her, and this was the thanks he got.
The high priest was dumbfounded and wanted to argue, but the man before him wasn’t one who listened to reason.
“Haa...”
Sophia whining about hating penance after coming back a mess.
Claude spewing curses at him like he was somebody.
‘And these are the Hero Party idiots... Sigh, the Adventurer Guild’s doomed soon. Lord, look upon us with mercy.’
He kept those explosive thoughts to himself.
#
Afterward, Edin joined students’ practice parties several more times to gather materials.
“Teacher Edin, what’s this one used for?”
Before long, he was being treated like full-fledged faculty.
Visitors to the sundries shop, those heading out on practice runs—everyone started calling him “teacher.”
Of course, he worked at the academy and genuinely taught material gathering during practice, which was faculty territory.
But no one had ever called the sundries shop owner “teacher” before.
“Teacher... feels kinda embarrassing.”
“Isn’t calling you Teacher Edin perfectly natural? At least use the honorific, right?”
Saella, who’d become his constant shadow—only leaving for bathroom breaks or bedtime—launched into a rant.
“Ugh, it’s really burdensome. Right, Edin?”
Saella could get a pass as his bodyguard, but Lunarin was coming to the shop every day too.
“Ahaha, well. But Teacher Lunarin, aren’t you busy?”
“Nope! Not busy at all!”
Edin gave an awkward smile at Lunarin’s bold declaration.
“So today, I’ll watch the shop! How’s that?”
“No, Suiven’s handling that...”
“Aw, two’s better than one.”
“I’ve got some stock left over today too, so once gathering’s done, I planned to skip crafting and stay at the shop.”
He’d stocked up plenty of sellable goods for the time being.
Since his potions and materials hit A- or B-grade, diluting them yielded huge batches at once.
“Seriously, Edin, you’re too capable.”
“You think so? Haha.”
Edin was indeed realizing his own value more each day.
Unlike his time in Claude’s party, people were actually using his potions well.
And gathering materials was becoming as second nature as alchemy, making every day enjoyable.
“Teacher Ediiin! Can you explain this one?”
On top of that, more and more students were seeking him out.
“How do you use this Sticky Potion...”
“Oh, I can explain that.”
But whenever students asked Edin, Suiven would step in front, blocking him and insisting she’d handle it.
“Go do your thing. I’ll take care of the students.”
Suiven flashed a thumbs-up.
“Ah, I could explain it fine.”
“No way. Can’t waste top talent on Sticky Potion demos.”
“Haha...”
Seemed like Suiven really wanted to explain herself, so Edin backed off.
“Teacher Suiven’s so passionate.”
Lunarin laughed as she watched.
“Ah, time to head out soon.”
They were having such a fun time when the moment for practice departure arrived.
Edin started getting ready to leave.