A Teacher's Wrath
"Hey, Hanna! I told you not to mention my name!!"
"Ehehe... But you've been sneaking glances at him with such lovesick eyes, how was I supposed to keep my mouth shut... Ahyt!"
"Take this for real!?"
Even as Fiona rumpled her disciple's hair, reunited after so many years, she still found time to thump Hanna on the head for carelessly blurting out her name.
But despite the tears stinging her eyes from the pain, Hanna stubbornly pushed through to the end of what she wanted to say.
"I mean, you came to the capital to see Lord Logan in the first place, didn't you! Ahyt! Ahyt! That hurts!"
"It's supposed to hurt, you little brat!"
"B-but I didn't say anything wrong! Everything I said was true!!"
"Right, and you're going to pay for saying it!"
"Ahyt! That's not what 'right' means! Aaahyt!"
Bonk! Bonk!
When Hanna just wouldn't stop talking back, Fiona's face flushed red as she finally released Logan, whom she'd been holding, and set about giving her head a proper pummeling.
The reason she had visited the imperial capital for the first time in over a decade was, just as Hanna had said, to see Logan's face after so long apart.
But she hadn't actually intended to meet him.
She didn't want to burden her disciple.
She had no desire to look like a shameless mentor crawling out of the woodwork to leech off a disciple who had risen to fame as a member of the Hero's Party.
So her plan had been simple: watch the victory parade from a distance, and be satisfied with that before heading home.
But Logan's face, sitting inside that carriage, had been so terribly dark that she couldn't bring herself to leave so easily.
And so, half to figure out what had made her disciple look so gloomy, and half to lend a hand to Hanna — whom she'd known back before she left the capital — she had ended up lingering in the slums.
And then.
After she'd begged this girl, over and over, to keep it a secret, the little brat had immediately gone and blabbed.
"Repaying kindness with betrayal!"
"Ahyt! What betrayal!? I did right by you!? Ahyt!"
"Shut up!"
Logan watched the two of them squabbling with a dazed, blank expression — until he finally came to his senses.
Because behind them, a long line of people had formed, waiting to receive their rations.
He carefully stepped in to mediate.
"Um... you two... I don't mind if you keep going... but could you perhaps move somewhere else? There are a lot of people waiting behind you."
"Oh."
"Oh."
The two brawlers belatedly came to their senses at Logan's words.
Under the silent gazes of the people lined up behind them, they grinned awkwardly and hastily retreated.
"Well then, I'll be off! Thank you so much for all the wonderful supplies!"
"Don't thank me — thank Her Highness the Crown Princess..."
"Yes, of course, Her Highness the Crown Princess included! Well then! Fiona, unnie, you've got this!"
"Ha... that girl, honestly..."
Fiona let out a long sigh as she watched Hanna wave and vanish, having said her piece to the very end.
Then she walked over to Logan's side and, without a word, naturally began helping him hand out the rations.
"I'll help too."
"Pardon...? This is my job..."
"So it is. But if we do it together, it's faster and easier. Isn't that a good thing?"
"But I can't put that burden on you, Master, not when we've just..."
"Ha... would you look at this. Now that you're all grown up, you won't call me Fiona anymore, it's 'Master' this and 'Master' that. I remember when you wouldn't call me that even when I told you to."
"Ahem... regardless, I can manage on my own."
"Enough of that, you brat. I'll help — it's been too long since we've talked anyway. And just look at how long this line is."
"The line got long because of the commotion *you* and that Hanna girl caused... Ahyt!"
"Shut up! I'm helping whether you like it or not, so quit arguing!"
"A-all right. Thank you, Master."
"Hmph..."
And so the master and disciple, reunited after so many years, slowly caught up on all the words that had gone unsaid while they handed out relief supplies to the poor.
###
Meanwhile.
A short distance away, Anastasia was engaged in the same relief work as Logan.
"Th-thank you, Your Highness! To bestow something so precious upon a lowly wretch like me, directly..."
"What are you saying? Lowly? Please, don't demean yourself like that. And truly, I'm sorry that this is all I can offer you."
"Oh... oh... thank you so much..."
The citizens wept, moved by Anastasia's benevolence.
She was someone so far above them that they wouldn't dare protest even if she tormented them without cause.
And yet she treated them with such kindness.
Her sincere warmth left the people with no choice but to be moved.
And Anastasia's heart ached for these people.
She had expected, to some degree, that the lives of the Empire's citizens had been devastated by the war against the demon armies.
But she hadn't imagined it would be this bad.
Despite this being the imperial capital itself.
Slums were scattered everywhere — far more numerous than she had anticipated.
And their lives were utterly wretched.
I was right to come out here in person...
Even Logan had told her that a speech would be enough. But now she knew for certain: she had done well to see the reality with her own two eyes.
She wasn't performing this charity work merely to win a war of public opinion against the Church and the nobility.
If that had been her only purpose, she would have given her speech and left the relief efforts to others.
There is so much that must be changed...
During the Demon King Subjugation campaign, she had seen so many people living in poverty and misery.
People who could barely survive a single day, while the nobles feasted and indulged in luxury all the same. Was this truly a just world?
Their behavior disgusted her — filling their own bellies by squeezing even harder on those already suffering in wartime.
I couldn't crack down on them too harshly while the war raged... but from now on, everything will be different.
She would begin with the Post-War Imperial Reconstruction Project, building up the infrastructure, then change things one by one, step by step.
Of course, the process would be grueling and difficult...
But if Logan is with me, I can do it...
The moment Anastasia repeated her beloved's name in her heart, she wanted to see his face again.
And so, toward the direction where Logan was serving the citizens, just as she was...
she slowly turned her head.
But what on earth was this?
"Wow, now that's a fine young man, if anyone's asking!"
"What is that supposed to mean? I've always been a fine young m— whaah!"
"Heh heh, sure, sure~ a fine young man~"
Was Logan not flirting away with another woman!?
"!!!"
Sparks flared in Anastasia's crimson eyes.
"Renate, I have some business to attend to. Excuse me for just a moment."
"Your Highness? What do you...?"
The instant Anastasia rose from her seat, Renate tilted her head in puzzlement and looked in the direction her liege was heading.
"Fiona...?"
She was startled to recognize at once the red-haired woman standing beside Logan.
Why is she here...? No — more importantly, Your Highness!
Before Renate could even begin to wonder why Fiona was here, her liege was already preparing to charge over at full speed, and she had to be stopped, fast!
But Anastasia had already shot off like an arrow.
"You! Get away from Logan this instant!?"
She wedged herself between the two, shouting with terrifying force.
###
Anastasia had momentarily lost her reason and nearly exploded — but by truly miraculous fortune,
Renate, who had rushed after her, managed to restrain her in time.
And once Anastasia finally understood exactly what was going on...
"I-I'm so sorry... Logan... and Lady Fiona, too — we only just reunited after so long, and I didn't even recognize you before flying into a rage... I'm truly sorry..."
She covered her reddened face with both hands, not knowing where to look.
She hadn't even properly understood the situation before making an utter fool of herself.
The relief work was nearly wrapped up by then.
It was lucky Renate had at least managed to shoo the onlookers away... but still, she had shown herself at her most embarrassing before a great many people.
Ever since that day in the conference hall — whenever it came to anything involving Logan, she simply could not maintain her composure, and the shame of it burned her.
At that, Fiona offered a gentle smile.
"Not at all, Your Highness. The fault is mine — playing around with my disciple instead of paying my respects first. Would you please forgive me?"
"F-forgive you? No, it was my fault, I..."
Anastasia waved her hands, insisting that everything was her own fault —
but somehow, everyone around her seemed to be looking at her with fond, knowing smiles.
Which made her decide that escaping this scene, quickly, was the top priority.
And so Anastasia hurriedly made to take her leave.
"Ah... anyway, I still have to hand out rations to those who haven't received them yet, so I'll be going now!"
But the moment she turned to go —
Logan followed right after her.
"I'll come with you, Anya."
"What? No, I can manage on my own!"
"I want to help. How could I possibly be refused for that?"
"W-well then, I suppose I have no choice. Let's go together, Logan. Ehehe..."
Even though she had just made an utter spectacle of herself because of Logan,
Anastasia's face split into a wide, silly grin at the mere thought of being with him.
Renate watched her liege and heaved a deep, deep sigh.
"Haa......"
Fiona chuckled at the sight and gave Renate's shoulder a light tap.
"What's the matter? It's a lovely sight to see, isn't it?"
"Tsk... Yes, and who do we owe that lovely sight to?"
"Hm? Me?"
She knew perfectly well, of course — but Fiona played dumb, and Renate shot her a look of pure exasperation before answering bluntly.
"Fine. What brings you here, anyway? Did you come to see Logan? If so, you could have just contacted me and I'd have arranged it. What on earth were you thinking, showing up out of nowhere like this? You've disrupted Her Highness's schedule."
"Oh, come now... we finally reunite after all these years, and you're all stiff and formal..."
"Spare me. If you'd wanted to meet Logan, all you had to do was ask me directly. So why are you here?"
"All right, all right. I'll tell you everything."
As Renate pressed her relentlessly, radiating a murderous intensity, Fiona raised both hands in surrender and explained the whole story.
She had only meant to watch the victory parade briefly and head back home —
but her disciple's face had looked so grim that she couldn't bring herself to leave.
At that explanation,
Renate clicked her tongue in exasperation.
"Tsk. Then all the more reason you should have come to me first, no?"
"Hm? Do you know why Logan looked like that that day? From what I can see now, he doesn't seem to need worrying about, but something about it keeps nagging at me..."
"Haah... Fine, I'll tell you everything. But you must not fly into a rage. Do you understand?"
"Hm? A rage? ...All right, I got it. Now tell me, quickly."
A rage, she says.
Fiona had spent years as a Gold-Rank Adventurer — she was still active even now.
Which meant she could swear, with absolute confidence, that no ordinary matter could ever rattle her or make her lose her composure.
And yet.
After hearing Renate's story,
Fiona erupted, snarling and spitting out curses on the spot.
"That rotten piece of— fucking hell!!"
"I TOLD YOU NOT TO RAGE!!!"
First her childish liege, Anastasia —
and now poor Renate found herself forced to thrash her long-lost idiot friend within an inch of her life.
