Chapter 107
Chapter 107
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: The Graduation Ceremony (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Teaching Assistant Gelsia listened to Ellie's speech from the corner of the auditorium.
Ellie Ordia.
The daughter of Diana Ordia, the leader of a party who had once reached closer to the deepest part of the Labyrinth than anyone else and was treated almost like a legend among explorers.
While it wasn't publicly known in such detail, Gelsia, who often heard the stories from the professors, took a greater interest in the person named Ellie.
That was why, when they entered the Labyrinth, she had volunteered to be the teaching assistant for the group Ellie was in.
'Right. Now that I think about it, it started back then.'
Even back then, the group Ellie was in had been escorted by the party that man belonged to.
Turning her head toward the second floor, she spotted a man looking down at Ellie with a pleased expression.
Balkan.
The man who had slain a variant Minotaur with martial prowess far beyond that of a novice explorer.
At the same time, the man who had oddly been wary of her.
'Did he notice...?'
Gelsia shook her head after a moment's thought. There was no way he could have.
Right now, Teaching Assistant Gelsia was being blackmailed.
To be precise, it wasn't Gelsia herself, but her mother who was under threat.
Like many academy graduates, Gelsia's family had been well-off. Her mother was a typical nouveau riche merchant.
However, a few years ago, her mother's business began to decline, and problems started arising.
The struggling business worsened day by day, and Gelsia's mother borrowed money from all sorts of places to cover the losses.
But even that wasn't enough.
In desperation, her mother had sought help from places she never should have.
She had taken dirty money from outlaws.
Yet the business continued to spiral out of control, and those who hadn't gotten their money back turned hostile.
–Well, well. Who would've thought your daughter was an academy teaching assistant. You raised your kid right, huh? Sucks at business, but great at playing mommy.
Gelsia still vividly remembered the time when an outlaw named Vesta had patted her mother's cheek while looking down at her.
–The, the money... I'll definitely pay it back, little by little. I graduate in a few years too...
–Ha. Fuck. When the hell are you gonna pay all that back, you little shit?
Thwack!!!
With a single punch deep into her solar plexus, Gelsia gave up all resistance.
–You know what's more valuable than money? Manpower and information. So, got any disgruntled teaching assistants or students lately? Introduce me to some. Preferably ones with talent for handling magic power.
Vesta seemed more interested in other things than money.
Especially those who could wield magic power—she wanted them badly.
The temptation to repay her debt by leaking info on teaching assistants or students disillusioned with the academy or life itself.
Of course, Teaching Assistant Gelsia shook her head.
She had affection for the academy as a teaching assistant.
But Gelsia's mother grabbed her leg.
–Daughter. It's not a big ask. Right? Just once, close your eyes and do it. Do you want your mom to end up as these outlaws' slave to snap out of it? Huh?!
–But...
–Daughter. Our proud daughter. Please. For your mom's sake, just once...
–...
Watching her mother kneel and beg for the first time in her life, Teaching Assistant Gelsia quietly closed her eyes.
The first person whose information she handed over was Rayhem, the infamous special-grade slave within the academy.
A month after passing Rayhem's info to Vesta, while passing by Professor Arpo's lab, she overheard that Rayhem had vanished.
–I, I heard Rayhem disappeared... Where on earth...
–Oh, that guy? Heh heh. He's doing fine, so don't worry too much.
–...
Weeks of sleepless nights plagued by anxiety and guilt, and then Vesta's brutish face appeared again.
–I want to get into the academy.
–But today is...
It was the long-awaited graduation ceremony.
–You saying no? Your mom's looking thinner by the day. Wanna never see her again? Oh, if your mom dies, next up's daddy. If he's unlucky, you might see him working a brothel.
Gelsia couldn't refuse Vesta's demand.
In the end, using the dinner party's alcohol purchase as an excuse, she smuggled them into the academy inside large oak barrels.
She almost wished they would get caught, but the guards didn't bat an eye at a teaching assistant who'd been running errands for years.
Crunch–
Gelsia anxiously bit her thumbnail.
"It'll be fine. It'll be fine..."
No matter how much she repeated it, nothing changed. She had already let the outlaws in. She was now their accomplice.
She didn't know what they would do in the academy, but she prayed it would be something harmless like stealing documents, with no loss of life.
But deep down, Gelsia knew.
If it was something that trivial, they could have just told her to do it.
The outlaws had come to the academy for something involving people.
And that was most likely a kidnapping.
That's how Rayhem had disappeared, after all.
Teaching Assistant Gelsia, feeling suffocated by the crushing guilt, lifted her head to let out a sigh.
"Gasp–!"
And she swallowed a sharp breath.
Balkan.
The man who had been watching Ellie just moments ago was now staring straight at her from behind his helmet.
No, that wasn't it. She had unconsciously been staring at him first.
Snapping out of it and averting her gaze, Gelsia felt a sudden suspicion flash through her mind.
During the variant Minotaur attack, Ellie had stepped out of her safe barrier to help Balkan.
From around the time they exited the Labyrinth, Ellie and Balkan had seemed close.
Before the speech, Balkan shouting encouragement to Ellie, and her responding to it.
And crucially, Balkan nodding when asked if they were her parents.
"...No way?"
It was a small doubt, but slotting it in made all the pieces between them fit perfectly.
"Father and daughter?"
If they were, that meant Diana Ordia was by their side.
Teaching Assistant Gelsia began forming a hypothesis in her head.
'If... I could catch those outlaws right now?'
The debt she owed the imprisoned guards would naturally decrease, and she could shed this agonizing guilt.
Plus, any potential casualties would be averted.
–If there's anything troubling you, feel free to tell me anytime. As an explorer, I can take on combat requests too.
Balkan's words as he climbed to the second floor echoed in her mind.
After a brief hesitation, Gelsia made her decision.
After Ellie's speech ended, Diana and I hurried down from the second floor.
"Um, could it be... Ellie Ordia is... your d, daughter...?"
"N, no way. Then the lady next to you is...?"
"No, even so, that's not right. How could that vulgar, lewd, plump body be Diana Ordia? She looks totally lame."
"Hmm, you think? Well, she retired, so her figure might've changed over time..."
"Ellie called that guy 'uncle' anyway. They're just acquaintances, right?"
"Even as acquaintances, they looked awfully close. Plenty of value there..."
"Ahem! I run a small workshop in the explorer district over there–"
It was because the parents who had seen Ellie and me talking on the second floor were now wide-eyed, trying to strike up conversations.
They were after connections, sure, but I didn't need ones trying to suck up by prying into Diana's and my relationship.
In that sense, I vaguely understood Ellie's feelings.
I needed people who saw me as Balkan the explorer and invested in that.
'They talk big, but until I build a solid foundation, I should milk this situation for all it's worth...'
Only after quickly exiting the auditorium and getting into the carriage did things quiet down around us.
"Plump body..."
Diana, with a sullen face, looked down at her own body and muttered.
She seemed really bothered by what she'd overheard earlier.
"Balkan. Have I... really gained weight...?"
"No way. Remember those guys who said that? They were just jealous and trash-talking. You're at your best right now, Diana."
This was sincere, without a shred of lie.
Diana without her soft, plump, cozy milf body... Honestly, I couldn't even imagine it.
"...Hee hee. Really...?"
Diana tried to suppress her rising smile, but I could clearly see she was pleased.
A bit later, Ellie entered the carriage, her face hidden under a large wizard hat.
I'd gestured for her to come to the carriage after the speech.
Ellie took off her hat and plopped down naturally beside me.
"Huuu... They talked to me even more than usual, so it was hard to shake them off..."
"Hee hee. You did well, Ellie."
Diana, sitting across from us, beamed the moment she saw Ellie and pulled her into a tight hug.
"Your speech was amazing. You've worked so hard all this time."
"Eek..."
After squirming in Diana's arms for a moment, Ellie held her breath and bowed her head at the words "you've worked hard."
Overwhelmed with emotion, perhaps? Ellie quietly reached out and hugged Diana's back tightly.
A few seconds of watching the mother-daughter bond grow even stickier.
Ellie pulled away from Diana's embrace with an embarrassed face and glared at me.
"But Uncle. Wh, what was that earlier?! It was so embarrassing!"
Was that shy "Oppa" all in my head?
The title reverted to the rough "Uncle."
"Why? It was great, right? People cheering your name. Boosting your courage. When else do you get a chance like that?"
"St, still! It was emb, embarrassing..."
Ellie's voice grew smaller and smaller.
She seemed used to comparisons and belittling from others, but pure support was something she had no resistance to.
"...Well, thanks anyway. Eek–"
When I placed my hand on her red hair and ruffled it wildly, Ellie let out a weird squeak and laughed.
"Your bangs are all messed up. The dinner party is soon; shouldn't you put on a dress?"
"Ah. I left some old clothes in the dorm in a hurry... But I can't put it on alone."
"Hee hee. I'll help. And redo your hair too."
Diana and Ellie's conversation meshed perfectly.
'She was sulking royally before heading to the palace.'
A few days ago, they'd met up, gone dress shopping, and talked, it seemed. That must've worked.
"Time feels a bit loose; why don't you come to the dorm with us, Balkan?"
As I pondered Diana's suggestion, Ellie waved her hands frantically.
"Un, Uncle in my room?! Th, that's a bit...!"
"Why? I'll be there too, so no problem."
"B, but. I've been at the academy these past few days... It's not a total mess... but I haven't tidied up..."
"Ah..."
Diana let out a short breath after hearing Ellie's whisper.
The dorm room full of Ellie's lived-in feel.
I could imagine bras and clothes tossed around haphazardly, but panties neatly folded out of minimal conscience... It piqued my interest wildly, but...
Right now, the familiar presence pacing around the carriage outside was more concerning.
"I'm fine. There's lots of interesting stuff at the academy; I'll wander around and meet you at the banquet hall on time."
"Really? Alright then..."
The banquet hall was close to the auditorium, but the dorm was a bit farther.
Diana and Ellie took the carriage to the dorm, while I got off and started walking aimlessly toward the academy branch.
Then I sensed someone following me.
I walked leisurely, heading to a place with as few people as possible.
"...You noticed."
As the surrounding gazes vanished, the person following spoke up.
I didn't bother answering and turned around.
Professor Mangkostil's teaching assistant. Gelsia.
I'd felt her behavior was suspicious, but it was just a hunch without evidence.
It turned from suspicion to doubt during Ellie's speech when I kept feeling Gelsia's gaze.
And here and now, that doubt became certainty.
–To be so sure of an outlaw raid means there might be an inside job...
I recalled the conversation with Diana in the carriage, sharing info.
Inside job.
The one who let the outlaws into the academy and gave them the chance to strike.
Why would such a person seek me out specifically?
The reason was clear from Gelsia's expression alone.
'Huh. All these teaching assistants think alike.'
When Rayhem betrayed the Blaz clan and spilled info, it was exactly that face.