Chapter 54
Chapter 54
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Freedom Comes with Responsibility. (4)
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“Those who call themselves the light... will face the iron mace of darkness...?”
In the sudden turn of events, amid the silence.
Someone read the tiny black letters written on the glass bottle.
Those who call themselves the light.
The iron mace of darkness.
...What does this mean?
Is this some kind of message from the demon that created the Troll Lord?
As I was thinking that, the letters slowly faded away.
And soon, they vanished completely without a trace.
“...?!”
One of the researchers hurriedly picked up the glass bottle, but nothing remained there.
What? Did it disappear?
Or is it just pretending to disappear and hiding?
What if that ominous stuff burst out? As everyone tensed up.
“...The magic power is gone.”
Lin spoke cautiously.
The magic power had disappeared.
In other words, that bizarre fluid substance from before was completely gone.
“......”
Only then did everyone relax, and conversations began to flow.
“But now that it's gone, what do we do?”
It was a crucial clue for investigating the Troll Lord's mutation.
But it evaporated like this...
Still, we'd gathered quite a bit of information.
The possibility that the Troll Lord was created by a demon.
The fact that its intelligence came from a mutation induced by the demon.
And that the demon was trying to send us some kind of message.
Finally.
“...Somewhere out there is a demon that created it and intentionally placed it here.”
“......”
At my mutterings, the people who had been buzzing with released tension fell silent in an instant.
Yes, they had realized it too.
That 'demon' was powerful and cunning enough to deliberately engineer the Troll Lord's mutation.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ In the aftermath, Lord Strau decided to formally request a mission from the Hero Management Bureau in his own name.
The black substance evidence had vanished.
But with the mana photos taken, the research records, and the Troll Lord's body showing traces of artificial life creation, it seemed we had enough to request an investigation mission.
Anyway.
Something serious had happened, but no immediate crisis loomed.
For now, we returned to daily life.
Since it hadn't been born in the Ode Swamp, there was no point in searching for birth traces or habitats, so the investigation team withdrew.
I resumed my normal duties as an adventurer instructor at the Adventurer's Guild.
To avoid causing panic by spreading the word.
A gag order was issued to everyone present.
...Well, with researchers around, rumors might spread eventually.
That aside.
For me, who had just resumed instructor duties.
A new ordeal arrived.
“No, today is D-rank regular training. C-rank and above don't need to come. Seriously, don't come.”
“No way! I rushed here when I heard Instructor Kane was back!”
“Can't you make it special training?”
“I was D-rank until three months ago! So I'm closer to D-rank than C-rank—let me take the class!”
“......”
Have these people all gone mad as a group?
Suddenly showing up, saying they want to take my class.
These were the same people who hated training so much they accepted activity suspension penalties to skip it.
Why the sudden change?
Of course, I knew the reason.
My big role in the Troll Lord incident, with the lord, branch chief, and S-rank adventurers all raving about it.
Thanks to that, I was unintentionally at the peak of my popularity.
“Instructor Kane saved my life.”
“Instructor Kane's training is the best.”
“If not for his teachings, I'd be dead from eating poisonous plants in the forest by now.”
“The bomb! Without the bomb, I almost died to the Silver Wolf!”
Even claims that I saved their lives or boosted their request success rates.
The adventurers' glowing reviews were spreading too.
Still, come on.
What's with C-rank and higher adventurers showing up for D-rank regular training? It's ridiculous!
“Go back for now. There will be training days for higher-rank adventurers later. Come then.”
All I could do was soothe them and send them away.
Can't I just let everyone join?
No way, there's no space.
The rundown classroom, barely cleaned, with chairs and desks for only about twenty people.
Even standing, it couldn't hold more than thirty.
Honestly, even the current D-rank adventurers had no seats left, so I had to split the class into parts one, two, three... maybe more.
If higher ranks ignored rank and crammed in, it'd be a disaster.
“Hoo...”
It felt good to be acknowledged, but this was a bit...
After barely managing to shoo everyone away.
“Instructor Kane?”
“Are you okay?”
Among the students for D-rank class part one, Sonya and Reina were there.
The two approached and patted my shoulder, asking if I was alright.
“Yeah, I'm fine. Let's start the regular training.”
If it's like this on my first day back, how chaotic will it get later?
Ugh, just thinking about it is dreadful.
I need to ask the branch chief to handle this somehow.
“Ah, yes. But who is that lady...”
Then, one of the D-rank adventurers pointed behind me and asked.
“Ah.”
Turning around, there sat a woman with long, straight sky-blue hair, seated demurely.
Unlike when she wore blue ceramic light armor, she was now in casual clothes.
But it was unmistakably Lin, with her signature cool allure intact.
She clutched the magic staff I'd gifted her, smiling broadly in a way that didn't match her usual icy demeanor.
...I just bought something decent from the magic shop.
Is she that happy?
More importantly, why was Lin here?
Well...
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ “Oh, right. Do you still have that jeweled hilt?”
“Pardon? Ah, yes.”
On the way out after wrapping up with Lord Strau.
I happened to notice a magic shop by the square.
Come to think of it, Lin's sword had been shattered.
Perfect timing.
Magic shops surely sell staves with empty sockets, right?
If she embeds the mana stones from the jeweled hilt into the staff, it'd make a fine weapon.
She has no aptitude for swords anyway, so to maximize her talents, focus on magic.
Occasionally swinging it as a club for combat would suit her.
A magic staff fit those conditions perfectly.
It aids in casting magic.
And doubles as a blunt weapon if needed.
“Let's stop by there for a bit.”
“Yes!”
We entered the magic shop together, and I bought a staff with two sockets at the top.
“700 bret.”
Oof... Quite pricey.
Well, it's a magic staff, so unavoidable.
Magic staves are grown by feeding mana to trees, so material costs are enormous from the start.
That's why one costs 700 bret.
Luckily, I still had plenty of reward money from Viscount Strau, so this wasn't a big expense.
Honestly, it's a fair price.
The really expensive ones are just the staff without mana stones, costing thousands of bret.
Magic staves justify their high price.
They're made by feeding mana to grow large trees, granting magic amplification effects.
Embedding mana stones further amplifies specific elemental or targeted magic.
Of course, mana stones cost so much more than the staff itself that many just use the bare staff.
But Lin already had stones to embed, so a socketed one was ideal.
The jewels were few, but the water-attribute from sapphire and wind-attribute from emerald were exceptionally refined.
Better to concentrate power in two than dilute across many.
“Want to take those jewels out of the hilt?”
“T-Take them out?”
Hmm, she seemed hesitant, probably attached to that sword.
But soon, she pulled out the sword hilt and removed the jewels.
I returned the rest, then fitted the water mana stone from the sapphire and the wind one from the emerald into the staff's head sockets.
Fwaaah─
As the mana stones clicked in, blue mana flowed through the entire staff.
Oh... For 700 bret, it accepts the stones' power nicely.
I worried if it could handle the purity of hero-spawned mana stones.
I can't sense mana myself, but based on books I'd read.
It seemed to draw out about 60% of the stones' power.
“Here, use this for magic and you'll be much stronger. It's a gift.”
I handed her the staff.
“Ah...”
Lin looked at me with an expression wondering if she could accept it.
Why give her this?
It's not a huge expense, but truthfully, I felt sorry for her.
A pitiful student whose mentality broke from Hero Academy's neglectful education, possessed by a demon from the darkness it bred.
Instead of supporting her, the academy claimed she was rotten from the start and sold her soul to a demon.
The king disowned his own daughter based on that alone.
How desperate must she have been to offer her life to a troll?
That made me want to help a little.
What I could do was limited.
Like with Sonya or Reina, just nudge her in the right direction.
Sneakily gifting a staff to steer her toward magic.
“Thank you. I'll treasure it. Really... This time, I won't let it become useless. I promise to use it well.”
“...? Yes, please take good care of it.”
She clutched the staff tightly as she said that.
Was she that thrilled?
Won't let it become useless...
It's not that fragile or cheap.
On the way back after the gift.
“By the way, as an instructor... do you also handle adventurer training?”
Lin asked me.
“Ah, yes. That's right.”
She has trauma from academy teachers, so I'd avoided mentioning training.
Plus, I'm a former Hero Academy teacher.
With everyone calling me Instructor this and that.
How could she not bring it up?
She seemed to know everything from rumors: first commoner-born Hero Academy teacher, quit and came here.
Does my existence trigger her trauma or disgust her?
Maybe because I'm not an active academy teacher?
“Could I... take that training?”
“Pardon? You, Lin?”
Suddenly? Why bother?
Does she doubt if a Hero Academy alum can teach adventurer training properly and wants to check?
Or curious about us lowly commoners' and adventurers' basic training level?!
...No, I know she's not that elitist.
I wanted to ask a lot.
But her sparkling eyes, brimming with resolve.
I could only nod in agreement.
...And that's how she's sitting by the lectern now.