Chapter 36: The Man
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 36: The Man
“…Good morning, Teacher.”
“Oh, uh? Y-yes, good morning, Yohan….”
When I woke up this morning, my teacher carefully avoided my gaze. It was only natural. After all, she had hypnotized me last night.
‘This is insane….’
The memory of being hypnotized, and even the disgraceful things I did afterward—it was all still vivid.
It was a memory so embarrassing I could hardly bear to recall it… like running naked through the middle of the city.
‘No, why did I even act like that?’
Declaring it was a punishment and that I wouldn't lay a hand on her was one thing… but it's amazing I actually went through with it.
And it was a mystery how my teacher managed to hypnotize me in such a way.
‘Let’s think positively.’
I shook my head, realizing this wasn't entirely a bad thing. Losing my virginity while hypnotized, taking my teacher's virginity while hypnotized—neither of those would have been good things.
‘I wasn't in my right mind. I shouldn't be happy about having sex in that state.’
In fact, if I had taken her virginity while not in my right mind, I would have regretted it immensely. The hypnotized me might still be me, but I wanted to do something like that of my own free will, not because of someone else.
By my will alone.
“Teacher.”
“O-oh! Yes, whaaat is it…?”
“From now on, I'd appreciate it if this doesn't happen again.”
“Th-this sort of thing?”
“You hypnotizing me.”
“Hic-!”
As if she never imagined I would remember, my teacher jumped in surprise and started hiccuping.
Then she cautiously looked around, as if searching for someone.
“D-did Ritz tell you…?”
“Teacher. Have you forgotten my magic? The one that nullifies any other magic.”
“B-but that shouldn't be able to bring back memories….”
“I was lucky. It's a habit of mine to circulate my magic every morning and evening. It seems the hypnosis that was on me broke then.”
Not just the hypnosis, but also the spell my teacher had cast to make me forget—it all shattered.
If she had physically smashed my head to make me forget, even I wouldn't be able to remember… but there's no way my teacher would do that to her own disciple.
“Anyway, Teacher, if this ever happens to me again….”
“If it happens…?”
“I will start to hate you.”
“N-no!”
Evangeline quickly ran over and started whining, clinging to the hem of my clothes as I cooked.
“I-I'm sorry! Yohan! I-I was wrong! I was wrong, so…!”
“…Do you know what you did wrong, Teacher?”
“Y-yes! I won't do it again! E-even if you come back reeking of other women, I won't suspect you….”
“—Speaking of which, Teacher.”
Her words about reeking of other women reminded me of something, and I took out the necklace and gem Elesis had given me.
Seeing it, my teacher looked at me with trembling eyes, as if asking why I had it, but as she had just said herself, she didn't dare to suspect me.
“…Why do you have this?”
“I met Elesis in the city. She asked if the debt for my life was repaid now that this gem was shattered.”
“—Ah, so that's what happened.”
Hearing this, my teacher took the necklace and gem from my hand and gently gazed at the cracked jewel.
Then, she smiled brightly and nodded.
“Yes! With this, it seems my job is done! You too, Yohan, don't go near her again. Got it?”
“What? But I should let her know….”
“No! What if she tries to cling to you? Those Holy Knights are an untrustworthy bunch….”
After repeatedly instilling a fear of Holy Knights in Yohan, Evangeline took the necklace and gem he had given her and went into her room.
The moment she entered, she instantly disintegrated the necklace and gem in her hand, making them vanish completely without even leaving a speck of dust.
‘So it was that bitch….’
Truthfully, yesterday, under the pretext of punishing Yohan, she had only sucked on his neck and chest, so she hadn't been able to ask the important question.
Just whose scent was it?
If Margaret had been the culprit, it wouldn't have smelled like this. Since they lived in the same house, she and Margaret used the same perfumed oil.
Their scents might be similar, but never this different.
‘That damned whore….’
The culprit was a Holy Knight. Just like the bastards who believe in a divine being born without a father, she was acting like a total harlot.
It was enough to make one suspect she wasn't a Holy (聖) Knight, but a Sex (性) Knight. That filthy slut wasn't content with just talking to Yohan; she must have used the excuse of giving him this necklace to rub her scent all over him.
And my pure, innocent Yohan was deceived by that harlot, just standing by while his body was sullied. Unforgivable. A vermin-like bitch. That damned Holy Knight bitch….
‘Should I kill her?’
If she wanted, she could launch a spell from right here all the way to the city where that Holy Knight was. Normally, it would be extremely difficult to inflict any real damage from such a great distance, but didn't she now possess magic powerful enough to wipe out the entire city?
When a being with sufficient power decides to do something, it doesn't take long to execute. It was no different from the feeling of seeing an ant and simply squashing it….
“Teacher?”
“Yeees? What is it?”
“Breakfast is ready. You must be hungry since you didn't eat anything all day yesterday….”
“Oh, okay! I'll be right there!”
Forgetting all about her intention to use magic, Evangeline quickly dashed outside. Time with her disciple was more important than worrying about some damn Holy Knight.
When she came out to the living room, a steak made from the meat they'd bought but not used yesterday, a salad with dressing, and bread with fresh cream were waiting for her.
These were foods she hadn't eaten often during her simple life as a witch, so Evangeline focused on her meal. By the time she finished eating, she had nearly forgotten what she had been so angry about.
Two weeks had passed since I started visiting the city. It was enough time to move beyond just buying ingredients and start exploring the city out of curiosity.
This city also had things like an Adventurer's Guild. Then again, considering they were more like mercenaries than adventurers, it would be strange for any city not to have one.
‘There's no one here who looks particularly strong, either.’
Then again, wasn't this a world where humans couldn't be born with magic? As Fenrir once said, humanity's strength lay in its strategy and its numbers.
This might be a fantasy world, but you couldn't easily find beings who could solve everything by single-handedly slaughtering their way through. Even if such a being existed, humans were not meant to live alone.
Even a Sword Master would have nothing to eat without a farmer, couldn't enjoy delicious food without a chef, and wouldn't even see a proper house without a carpenter.
Humans were beings who lived by relying on one another.
‘Still, I wanted to get a little stronger….’
While wandering the town, wondering if there might be a swordsmanship guild or something similar, I saw someone dead drunk get thrown out of a tavern.
“Get the hell out—! You damn homeless bastard…”
The owner of the shop shouted as he shoved a shabby-looking homeless man, sending him sprawling.
People's gazes shifted that way for a moment before returning to what they were doing.
This was a world where it was common for the homeless or beggars to get beaten while asking for alms. Just being thrown to the ground wasn't even worth a second glance.
But I was different. Having come from the modern world and spent my time in the witch's forest, I still possessed modern morals and sensibilities. It was something I couldn't just ignore.
“Are you okay?”
“Ugh— Piss off if you're not giving me money.”
“…Hey, I'm just trying to see if you're alright—”
And in that moment, the man I'd thought was just a homeless drunk threw a punch with sharp speed.
It wasn't like the Holy Knights, like Elesis, who struck at openings in one's consciousness—it was just simply fast.
After I reflexively dodged the lightning-fast fist, the man I'd thought was nothing more than a drunk homeless guy looked at me, his eyes gleaming.
“What, you dodged that? Who the hell are you?”
“…That's what I'd like to ask. Margaret, didn't you say humans can't have magic power?”
“I did. But it's not an absolute rule….”
Margaret spoke, her gaze on the homeless man.
“If a witch personally grants it to them, humans can possess magic power too.”
Hearing that, I looked at the homeless man before me. I hadn't noticed when he was sprawled on the ground, but now that he was standing, I saw he was tall, well over 190 centimeters.
He would be considered huge even by the standards of modern people, who have such an overabundance of food they can consume excessive nutrients. By the standards of this less-affluent other world, he was practically a giant.
‘What kind of person was that owner to throw a guy like this around?’
As I thought that, I watched the homeless man slowly approach.
“…Who have you been talking to this whole time?”
“Do I need to tell you?”
“Ahh, I get the gist. There's a witch there, isn't there? Even if I can't see her.”
He said this, staring intently at where the invisible Margaret would be, and began to speak.
“I am—”
Thwack-!
He was full of openings, so I clocked him in the jaw.
And just like that, he crumpled to the ground.
He had magic power, so I thought he'd be someone amazing, but….
‘…What the?’
He's a total pushover.