Chapter 59
Chapter 59
I don’t know.
I still couldn’t believe in myself.
But, for just an instant, I felt an earnest desire.
I didn’t want to make a fool of myself in front of those eyes that believed in me.
‘I can do this!’
In that moment—
Without even realizing it, Katrinne’s will took hold of the wooden sword.
The Mad Dragon, who had been watching the duel with little interest, widened her eyes until they seemed ready to split.
Crack!
Julia’s wooden sword broke in two.
“W-What?”
The grounds fell silent.
“Something’s wrong! This can’t be happening?!”
“If you don’t believe it, then let’s try again.”
“!!”
Julia clenched her teeth.
Goooh.
Unlike before, her presence had grown razor-sharp.
‘She’s going to go all out and target the flaws in Weapon Breaking.’
Katrinne, on the other hand, was utterly defenseless.
Her awkward stance plainly showed that she knew nothing about swordsmanship.
But her eyes alone were fiercely intense.
A determination never to lose.
‘That’s the Hero’s Will.’
The truth was—
This duel was a scam.
One of the two protagonists at the heart of the story.
The Saint Hero of Light.
The one who would save humanity.
That was Katrinne.
No matter how prominent a villain Julia was, there was no way she could compare.
As expected—
Flash! Crack!
Once again, it was Julia’s wooden sword that broke.
“……”
Julia’s face went blank.
She looked as though she simply couldn’t believe it.
“T-This is… That’s right! Katrinne, you tampered with my wooden sword beforehand! There’s no other explanation!”
“Enough.”
The Mad Dragon intervened.
She looked at Katrinne and me with astonishment in her eyes, then shook her head.
“There’s no point in continuing. We’ve lost this contest.”
“But, Master!”
“I said that’s enough.”
Julia fell silent at once, her face full of grievance.
Afterward, the Mad Dragon stared intently at Katrinne for a long while.
“You said she was a child from a Prestigious Magic Family?”
“…Yes.”
“To think a gem like this was hidden away in such a rotten family. No, even that word doesn’t do her justice. Are all those Prestigious Magic Family fools blind? Ban, how did you recognize this child?”
“Didn’t I tell you? I said I’d show you my talent. As her master, will you acknowledge my ability?”
The Mad Dragon’s face twisted into a deep frown.
There was no way she could refuse to acknowledge it.
“…You want me to hand over Julia’s education rights to you?”
“Don’t worry. At the very least, she’ll be far better than she is now. Weren’t you concerned about Miss Julia’s growth yourself, deep down?”
“……”
The Mad Dragon fell silent.
That was an admission.
She was called the Mad Dragon because of her rough temper, but she wasn’t actually someone who couldn’t tell right from wrong.
“…Julia, from now on, you will receive Professor Ban’s instruction.”
“Master!!”
Julia leaped up, but I went a step further.
“That isn’t enough. During the period of instruction, make sure Miss Julia obeys my words absolutely.”
“Ha! What nonsense are you spouting?!”
“…Very well. Julia, you are to obey Professor Ban’s instructions without fail.”
“M-Master?!”
“I was perfectly clear.”
Julia looked utterly devastated, as if she’d lost her country.
Her master’s command was more absolute than the heavens. From now on, no matter what orders I gave, she wouldn’t be able to refuse them.
‘Serves her right.’
The Mad Dragon sighed, then—whoosh—spread the wings on her back.
She had taken on her dragonkin form.
“I’ll be going now.”
“The road is long. Wouldn’t it be better to rest and recover from your journey before you leave?”
I’d only asked out of politeness, but the answer I got was unexpected.
“The Demon Realm I’m in charge of has been acting strangely of late, so I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”
“…Is something wrong in the Demon Realm?”
“I don’t know the details myself, but it seems there’s been a clash among the Demon Dukes. With the Demon King absent, things have only gotten noisier.”
Though the Demon Realm was broadly referred to as a single place, it was practically a vast nation.
The Demon King stood at its peak, and beneath him were powerful demons known as “nobles.”
‘A civil war among the Demon Dukes is supposed to happen much later.’
More precisely, it was part of the second-year scenario.
‘…No. I can’t be sure. How many episodes have happened out of their proper order already?’
There was one thing in particular that bothered me.
The Chaos Monster awakening incident during the training trip not long ago.
The demons had definitely been involved. And not just any demons—high-ranking nobles.
‘That was originally part of the second-year scenario too, but it happened out of order.’
A cold sweat ran down my back.
Of course, even if something went wrong in the distant Demon Realm, it was unlikely to affect me right away.
Still, it was better to minimize the number of variables as much as possible, so—
“Be careful of ‘Durandal.’”
“!!”
The Mad Dragon flinched.
It was the name of a famous sword.
But I wasn’t talking about the famous sword.
It was a metaphor.
A nickname for a certain “person.”
“…Does what you just said mean what I think it means?”
“I can’t tell you exactly.”
“How did you find out? Was it information from the Ecclesia Ducal House?”
“No. It’s something I learned on my own.”
‘It’ll be easier to take credit for helping her later if I say I learned it on my own.’
If this information changed the future—
If the Mad Dragon managed to avoid the death that was soon supposed to come for her, then I would become her benefactor.
“…You’ve surprised me several times today. Maybe the real gem isn’t that child, but you.”
Her voice was full of admiration.
“You’re wrong. I’m no mere gem. I’m already a brilliant Sun. You’ll feel my radiance countless times from now on.”
…If not for the Black Flame Dragon’s over-the-top blathering, that would have been a truly good way to end things.
Still, Mad Dragon’s reaction hadn’t been bad.
“Haha! All right, I’ll wait and see. I look forward to witnessing your brilliant light spread across the Empire.”
Flap!
Mad Dragon soared into the sky and was just about to disappear from the Free City.
—Please look after Julia for me.
I nodded as if to say I understood, then turned my gaze away.
Grind.
My eyes met Julia’s as she ground her teeth.
…That’s one vicious glare. She’s not going to stab me with a knife in some back alley, is she?
Before I could say anything, Julia swiftly turned her back and disappeared.
She looked like she was going to be a challenge for a long time to come.
I never thought she’d change easily. It’s fine. Now I’m the one in the position of power, so I’ll have plenty of chances to set her straight.
I thought meaningfully.
Julia couldn’t possibly imagine what sort of future lay ahead of her.
“Katrinne, you worked hard too.”
“Ah.”
Katrinne, who was still holding her wooden sword in a daze, as though she couldn’t quite believe she’d won, let out a groan!
“What’s wrong?”
“I meant to punch that girl in the face, but I forgot. Can I go hit her once?”
“…Restrain yourself.”
“…To be honest, she kind of scares me too. I’ll hit her after I get a little stronger.”
Katrinne’s eyes burned with Hero’s Will, making it clear she wasn’t just saying she’d hit her later.
“Let’s go get something to eat.”
“I went through all that trouble, so you’re buying me something expensive, right?”
“Ooh! Is this a victory feast today?! As expected of the Sun, young master Ban! Your brilliance is blinding me!”
As soon as Hans started gushing, the hangers-on flocked to us in an instant.
“…Could I come along too? Oh, not because I lost my meal money trading stocks through a shady backdoor route and am starving or anything!”
“…I… haven’t done anything, so I won’t come. How depressing. I wanted to become Professor’s right hand.”
—Kyu! Kyu! Ko… kki!
Marie, in particular, had been eating nothing but cheap bread every day, so she was flapping around excitedly inside the magic pouch.
But Marie, you didn’t just say “meat,” did you? No matter how quickly dragons learn to speak, having “meat” be your first word is a little…
At any rate, it didn’t seem like a bad idea to have a meal together for the first time in ages.
What about the money, you ask?
Now that I’m a professor, I got an Academy corporate card! If we all eat together, I can use it as an expense for a staff dinner!
The spending limit might be low, but right now, I was invincible.
I declared grandly,
“Hans, you lead the way. Libel, you come along too, and don’t say anything pointless. I only need a student with us so I can justify the corporate card expense. It’s not that I particularly care about you, so don’t get the wrong idea.”
And so, after gorging ourselves at a proper restaurant for the first time in ages instead of a cheap eatery, I parted ways with the others.
It was nice to have a good meal, but what am I going to do about the two students I still have left?
Susan and the Demon Blade Third Prince remained.
They were entirely different from the two problem students I’d dealt with earlier.
The Demon Blade Third Prince goes without saying, but Susan is no ordinary girl either. I hired a private detective agency to look into her, so why can’t they find a trace of her?
While searching for Susan, I learned something astonishing.
No one at the Academy knew Susan.
Even the agents at the private detective agency, experts at finding people, couldn’t get on her trail.
…For now, she’s submitting her assignments by mail in place of attending class, so she isn’t skipping without permission. Let’s wait until the agency finds her. The Demon Blade Third Prince should be making a move soon.
And sure enough.
I had gone deep into a shabby street in the Fifth District, near the tiny room I called home.
A figure in a splendid uniform, completely out of place with the surroundings, stood in front of a dilapidated building.
“You’ve arrived, Professor Ban. I’ve been waiting for you.”
A voice sharp as a blade.
A fierce presence.
The Imperial Palace’s eagle emblem embroidered on his shoulder.
“I am Giseu, deputy commander of the Imperial Guard Fourth Battalion. His Highness the Third Prince has requested to meet with you, Professor.”
Sir Giseu led me to the student dormitories.
For reference, the dormitories were divided into three sections:
the Commoner Dormitory, the Noble Dormitory, and the Royal Dormitory.
Just as the names implied, only the highest-ranking blue bloods—ducal houses, royalty, and the imperial family—could live in the Royal Dormitory.
The Third Prince’s quarters were, naturally, in the Royal Dormitory. His room was like a luxurious hotel suite.
…I’m jealous. I may be royal blood myself, but why is my lodging such a lousy little room?
He even had a separate reception room, about three times as large as my tiny room.
—Kyu! Kyu! Kkoki! Kyu! Bbabba!
Marie hopped out of the magic pouch and toddled around.
She seemed excited after always having to tread as carefully as if walking on thin ice at home, worrying about making noise that would bother the neighbors downstairs.
She wasn’t causing a commotion, and there was no need to worry about rumors starting here, so I was leaving her to it when—
“Oh? A dragon, you say? Does it follow you, Professor Ban? How fascinating.”
A handsome man appeared.
Rather than a boy, he was a striking young man in his early twenties.
Mikhail, the Demon Blade Third Prince, gave me a broad grin.
“They say only heroes can command dragons. Professor Ban, it seems the rumors about you aren’t exaggerated after all.”
“You flatter me. It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness Mikhail, Third Prince.”
I knelt on one knee and paid my respects.
“There’s no need to be so formal. Aren’t we friends? I had a good time drinking straight from the bottle with you in the back alleys of the capital.”
The Demon Blade Third Prince was another piece of imperial trash.
He had supposedly known “Ban,” a piece of trash his own age, for some time.
But even though they were both trash, there was a huge difference between the two.
“Haha. I never imagined I’d end up becoming your student in this body. Isn’t the world a funny place?”
It was the “true self” residing within him.
A sharp glint flickered through the Demon Blade’s smiling eyes.
He was trying to size me up.
This was a crucial moment.