178. Summit Meeting
178. Summit Meeting
Before I knew it, the day of the summit had arrived.
"Hoo... This is the last task I had at the Academy, isn't it? I wonder if Hulan-nim is doing well?"
"She's probably fine...."
The image of Hulan, who had vanished right before my eyes because I had ripped the invitation in the briefest moment of surprise, still remained vivid.
Seeing her act like that, dragon beastman or whatever, all the mystique she once had just disappeared.
I, too, had to head to the conference hall soon, so I had already finished all my preparations.
I had donned Squite's armor, and Carmel had changed into the ceremonial robes she always wore.
"It activates if we rip it, right?"
"Yes."
When Carmel and I tore the invitation, a magic circle with an intricate pattern rose up, and a sensation entirely different from the Space-Folding Step enveloped my entire body.
We had been on the mid-slope of a hill, but in an instant, we were moved indoors.
Looking down, I could see a magic circle similar to the one I had seen a moment ago, installed on the floor.
"This is it?"
"Yes."
The place we arrived at was quite familiar.
It was a space adorned with delicate decorations everywhere.
This place, where religious ornaments symbolizing the gods stood out prominently, was the interior of Saint Raoul's Grand Cathedral, the heart of the Holy Nation.
At least they hadn't summoned us to some strange location.
A few people were waiting around the magic circle.
Their role seemed to be greeting those who arrived here using the invitations.
"Huh..? Right now?"
"Yes, they are waiting for you."
Among them, a nun approached and whispered quietly into Carmel's ear.
"It's unfortunate, but we must part ways for a moment here. They're asking me to report quickly on everything that happened at the Academy."
"Who, the Pope?"
"Shh!!"
When I casually omitted any honorific, Carmel placed her finger over where my lips were... well, they were hidden by the helmet right now, but anyway, over the mouth area.
"No matter what, this is the Holy Nation, so please be a little careful."
"Then what am I supposed to do? Just wait here?"
"The summit... there's still some time left, so you can wait, or there are a few Masters who have already arrived—why not try some socializing?"
"Who said I wanted to get friendly with them? What nonsense... Fine, go on, go."
"I'll come back as fast as I can!"
The Saintess grabbed my hand, shook it a few times, and then disappeared, following behind the nun.
'I've been left truly alone.'
Everyone else who had been in the hall had followed the Saintess away.
All that remained was me, alone in this vast hall.
This was all a problem of my usual image management.
The other Masters were the type who liked being revered, and indeed they were, but the Shadows had a fixed image of hating any attention, so even if someone was with us, everyone avoided staying in the same space.
They seemed to think they were making us uncomfortable by being in the same space.
'I can't exactly call that wrong. Still, they could at least guide me a bit.'
I knew the geography of this place to some extent, but being left alone like this was still bewildering.
There was no point in moving elsewhere since it was an awkward location, and if I stayed here, I might run into the Masters who would arrive after me.
Since my relationship with the other Masters wasn't good and I felt reluctant, I was pondering whether I should just go look for Hulan—when suddenly the floor started flashing brightly again.
Someone was coming to this location.
'...Should I vacate the spot? No, let's at least see who's coming.'
If I left now, it would just look like I was running away, making the atmosphere even more awkward.
Since we'd meet at the summit anyway, I decided to wait and at least give a light greeting.
After waiting a short while, the light flashed, and two people appeared.
"I see a familiar face right upon arriving. Have you been waiting for me? How commendable. I'll praise you."
"Wah?!"
The person who arrived was the Empire's greatest sword and the Imperial Knight Commander, Linda Westwood.
The Director strode up to me immediately upon arrival and clapped me on the shoulder.
"Wow... How long has it been?"
Behind her, a very familiar and dearly missed voice sounded.
The Director had not come alone.
A knight clad in jet-black armor just like mine, with two swords at her waist, approached and stroked my head.
"How many years has it been? You're still so tiny! That's why I adore you!!"
After confirming there were no other people around, 'her' helmet flipped back.
Then, the black hair that had been trapped inside the stuffy helmet cascaded down smoothly.
With black hair trimmed into an asymmetrical length and eyes that gleamed black like black pearls, her expression seemed to be telling me to take off my helmet quickly too.
It was a face I had truly missed and hadn't seen in a long time.
"Teacher?"
"That's right, my adorable disciple. It's Teacher."
She was Wendy Westhaven, the Director's twin sister, a Shadow of the Empire, and my Teacher.
.
.
.
.
Worried that another Master might appear if we stayed there, we moved to a different room.
I grabbed a nun who was walking down the corridor and asked her for a room where we could talk; she led the way, sweating profusely.
Linda, in her white ceremonial uniform, leading the way with two Shadows emitting black mist following her, filled the hallway with an intensely heavy atmosphere.
The priests passing nearby all kept their eyes firmly downcast to avoid meeting our gaze, and since the black armor that constantly radiated perception-inhibiting magic looked so chilling, I could fully understand their reaction.
The place we arrived at was a meeting room situated in a very secluded location.
"It is constructed similarly to a confessional booth, so no one can enter carelessly, and there is no risk of the conversation leaking outside."
The nun said that and then quietly slipped out.
As soon as the door closed, everyone sat down as if by prior arrangement and deactivated their Shadow armor.
"Hoo... Now I can finally breathe."
I was wearing the neat clothes I had worn around the Academy, but Teacher was dressed in very adventurer-like attire.
She wore sturdy-looking leather pants, a quilted armor vest with multiple belts onto which various items could be attached, and a durable-looking cloak over it.
Despite wearing such a practical, lived-in outfit, her skin retained a marble-like pale whiteness, creating an unreal scene.
It was as if a noblewoman had briefly donned an adventurer's costume for a concept.
Teacher would normally dress up in the formal knight order uniform when she returned to the capital, so judging by her appearance, it seemed the Director had grabbed her while she had been out actively roaming around.
The three Masters of the Empire had gathered for the first time in a long while.
"Atlas~! You really are cute every time I see you! Have you gotten a little taller? You've really grown up well even while I wasn't looking. Seeing the kid who used to have an expression like he'd been through the world turn out like this, I'm truly moved."
After deactivating her armor, Teacher spread her arms wide toward me, hugged me, and ruffled my hair thoroughly.
If it had been anyone else, I would have flared up in anger right here, but with Teacher, it was fine.
Her gentle, familiar scent seemed to soften my heart.
I had met Teacher right after I had become a formal member of the Shadows.
Having been abused daily at Titan, I had been extremely sharp-edged back then; she picked me up, saying she saw potential, and we traveled across the continent carrying out various missions together.
Even back then, I had already been standing on the boundary between the highest rank and Master, but I had been unable to cross the final wall due to a lack of enlightenment. It was thanks to Teacher that I could overcome it.
They say those who have crossed it understand it better—after all, Teacher, who was a Master, knew exactly what kind of wall I was failing to surmount.
Until I properly grew into a Master myself, Teacher stayed by my side.
It must have been a relationship similar to Casey and me.
Even vanishing somewhere at the drop of a hat was similar.
We weren't connected by blood... but at the very least, I considered Teacher to be my real family.
"I'm relieved to see that Teacher seems the same as ever."
Once I had solidified my path as a Shadow, we had barely been able to meet each other, so it was as if we hadn't seen each other for several years.
I was truly glad.
"Yeah, yeah, so you're attending the Academy right now? Did you make a lot of friends? You're not going around making nothing but enemies like you did when you were a squire, are you?"
"No matter how bad I am, I don't make only enemies."
Teacher asked with a laugh, having apparently heard from the Director where I was and what I was doing now.
I felt a slight sting at the question about whether I'd made nothing but enemies, but since it wasn't only enemies I had made, I could laugh it off.
"The Academy, huh... You must have met plenty of cute girls there, too. So, how's the romance business going? With someone of your caliber, even if you have a few flaws, they'd be lining up for you."
"...."
Several women flickered through my mind.
I couldn't deny it, but I was a little too embarrassed to affirm it, so I remained silent, which caused Teacher, who had asked the question, to become flustered.
"...What, why aren't you denying it? You actually have one??"
"Wendy, don't ask him about that kind of thing. Can't you see the kid is struggling?"
The Director, unable to watch any longer, peeled Teacher, who was still ruffling my hair, off of me.
"You're curious too, so what's with that attitude? I'm the one who raised this kid into an adult, so of course I'd be curious about this sort of thing!"
"Kgh-cough?!"
When Teacher suddenly started digging up old stories, the Director became flustered as well.
"Why are you bringing up such old history now?!"
"Let's see here... It's only been 6 years!"
I hadn't been paying any attention to that incident since digging it up would only hurt us both, but if she brought it up first, I had a few words of my own to say.
"And who made whom an adult? Teacher, you also..."
"You... you!! That's a secret!!"
"Haah... We don't get many chances to gather and talk like this, so can't we have a more substantial conversation?"
Watching us air each other's dirty laundry and engage in mutual exposé, the Director let out a heavy sigh.