031

Even though I was lecturing all day, I couldn't concentrate.

“Teacher?”

“Oh, ah. Sorry. Where were we?”

“Posture.”

“Right. It's important to straighten your back well as you lower your legs. Stick your hips out.”

There were many times I missed the students' actions or words.

It was the same even when time passed and night came.

I couldn't lie down in bed until the moon was high and deep, and just paced in front of my desk.

I couldn't even sit at the desk, just stood there blankly, holding onto its corner.

My mind was a mess.

‘The manual I made could get the kids killed.’

Let's try to paint the most hopeful future.

Now that the goal of the final evaluation had been set, the students, whether they liked it or not, would surely be engrossed in their classes.

It seemed Yuria would also actively participate in the class, as we had just taken the first step in our philosophy lessons.

Would her holy power really be of help to the students……?

‘Yuria gets a nosebleed and collapses just from healing my body. But what about 150 people?’

I wasn't looking down on Yuria, the High Priestess, but I couldn't help but be doubtful of her skills.

Above all, the number 150 was the problem.

‘It might be different for one or two people, but for all 150 to advance into an orc village is a bad move.’

I knew right away which orcs the Chairman was talking about.

A few months ago, old orcs had appeared outside the north gate of the village.

When a high orc or a high-ranking monster that could rule an orc village appears, the useless warriors are abandoned.

To save food.

That meant it was the forest to the north.

‘It’s the Viper Forest.’

It was a place where a forest the size of a village spread out, and from the center of the forest, it was connected to the mountains, so the terrain was very rough.

If 150 people entered such a wide terrain with lots of cover, there was a high possibility of casualties occurring without even proper protection.

It wasn't a matter of whether a teacher was present or not.

‘The support is surely Avril’s doing.’

What if Avril used his money to hire soldiers or mercenaries, cut down the timber in the forest, and then set off a bunch of magic scrolls?

‘……No. I can’t use hypotheticals when the students' safety is at stake.’

……I have no choice.

I squeezed my eyes shut and organized my thoughts.

And the next day.

I woke up at dawn and went to find Rozalin at the guardhouse.

“Huh? Teacher, what are you doing here at this hour?”

“You were awake?”

“A soldier’s wake-up time is 5:30! I have to get up quickly, go for a run, and then go on patrol.”

It didn't seem like empty words; next to her, Sordian and Hati were also in full gear, seemingly preparing for their morning training and patrol.

Perfect timing.

I told the three of them about the current situation.

“The Chairman is really something else.”

Rozalin said, sticking her tongue out with an expression of disbelief.

“So, I lost.”

At my declaration, everyone’s gaze turned to me.

“If I win, I can teach this basic swordsmanship manual to all the students, their level will go up…… and I can do what I want to do.”

But what if that endangers the students?

“I won’t be selfish when the students might be in danger.”

So, the swordsmanship manual will just be left like a magic of an autumn night—.

“Teacher. I think the Chairman has a point.”

Sordian crossed his arms and looked at me with serious eyes.

“I've heard a lot of things while I've been here. You said the name of the next demon to appear is Giant-Block, right?”

“Yes.”

“It’s threatening, but it’s a weak demon. You could even call it a variant Cyclops. Practical training against such beings is helpful.”

“The young master is right.”

Hati also had a reluctant expression.

“In the north, children have to go outside and hunt a wild beast alone to become an adult. What do you think happens to the children who can't hunt?”

“Do they die?”

“They disappear. Whether they're buried in a snowdrift or eaten by a beast.”

The cold morning wind swept through the training ground.

“It may seem cruel, but in fact, you have to do that much to survive in the north. All the youth grow up learning how to fight for their coming-of-age ceremony. What are the students of the academy learning the sword for?”

“Not all students are learning for survival!”

“But now, the time will come when all students must survive. The students may not know, but at least you do, Teacher, don't you?”

He wasn't wrong.

But, but.

“You probably see them as just young children, Teacher. But isn't that because of your trauma?”

Ah.

Is that so.

It felt like the cold wind had entered my lungs and awakened my whole body at once.

I would probably feel like this if I opened a window in winter when a cold wave was raging.

‘Was I seeing myself in the students?’

The time when I graduated from the Imperial Royal Academy and was moving to be commissioned, full of dreams.

The fear of when I almost died at the hands of a band of thieves I met on the street.

Was that fear just a trauma, causing me to overprotect the students?

The sun was rising, but my world felt like it was getting a little darker, a little deeper.

Am I holding back the students’ growth…….

“Okay.”

Again, the world becomes clear.

Rozalin, who had approached me at some point, was smiling brightly.

“Don’t think too deeply. All of that is you, Teacher. The students will understand all of your goodwill.”

“Do you think, so?”

“Yes. So please change your tone a little and tell me.”

“Change it?”

“Let's not make it that you lost, Teacher. We were supposed to compete in the final evaluation anyway, right? So let's have a preliminary evaluation for the final evaluation! Ah well, the schedule might be moved up a bit, things like that happen!”

“A preliminary evaluation?”

Rozalin slowly took my hand.

“Let’s go out in advance and survey whether that place is really a good place for field training, and whether catching that high orc is a proper evaluation. And the place that will carry out that task is, ta-da! This guard unit!”

The self-blame and worries that had been stabbing at me.

The emotions that had been creeping in like an insidious fog gradually dispersed.

“So just give the order. You can ask for a favor.”

“Okay. Then…… I’m asking for a favor.”

“Yes, sir!”

Rozalin saluted playfully.

Her giggling made the worries I had just a moment ago seem insignificant.

My worries hadn't completely disappeared, but I gained the courage to overcome those mistakes and find a new answer.

So I also told Rozalin.

“Let me go with you.”

“You yourself, Teacher?”

“Yes. I'm not just asking you for a favor…… I want to check for myself.”

I had dealt with monsters that had flocked to the village a few times.

But those were just the ones who were wounded and pushed out due to territory disputes, like the orcs before.

I felt like I had to experience and face the monsters that had settled in their own territory myself.

“Understood.”

“Big sister. Wouldn't the forest be a bit dangerous for the Teacher to go? The Chairman wasn't wrong……”

“It's fine. When a superior gives an order, you have to follow it. Isn't that what a soldier is? Huh? Our Teacher wants to do it! Because he’s worried about the students! Huh? I was a student once too. Huh?”

Hati tried to argue with Rozalin, but Rozalin waved her hand as if to dismiss his opinion.

“Teach! Let’s take Pan too.”

“Pan?”

“He’s been training like crazy for a week. You can really look forward to it.”

For a week, I hadn't met Pan even once because of the bet.

The last time I saw Pan, he said he wouldn't just rely on me but would do his best himself.

“And Yuria too!”

Yuria’s holy power was essential.

“Should we call Instructor Freutche too?”

“Hmm? Why?”

“Huh?”

“Ah, are you worried it might not be enough? It’s fine. We’re more than enough with our current numbers. In fact, just me and this guy could wipe them all out.”

Really……?

An ordinary orc settlement has about 300-400 orcs.

If there’s a high orc, there are about twenty orc warriors guarding it.

Depending on the type and characteristics of the tribe, there may also be an orc shaman.

And just the two of them?

I looked at Sordian just in case.

Since he wasn't from the future, wouldn't he be able to give a more objective evaluation?

“You don't have to worry. Those people, they're really monsters.”

“Monsters……”

“The Chairman's words are a bit extreme, but they're not necessarily bad. Pan needs to gain more experience. With Yuria, we can handle our own injuries. We don't need anyone else.”

“R-really? Then when should I tell Yuria and Pan to gather……”

“Why worry about something like that? Let’s just go catch them.”

……?

“We’ll go into the dormitory, kidnap the two of them, and leave immediately.”

“B-but I have to go to class?”

“Let them have self-study. Or you can just dump it all on the Class B teacher today. He was a person who was dying to lecture, wasn't he? Wouldn't he like it?”

After saying that, Rozalin immediately started walking towards the dormitory with long strides.

Hati and Sordian also followed her without a word.

No, are we really leaving this suddenly?

Without any preparation?

And that place, it's more than a week away from here.

“Hahaha, Teacher. You haven't seen it yet, have you? We’ll show you the latest future technology.”

“Future technology……?”

For some reason, my heart started to pound.

* * *

Four horses ran at a fast pace without rest.

White foam hung from the horses' mouths.

Nevertheless, the horses' speed did not decrease.

Kwaang—!

Cutting through the bumpy dirt road, the carriage with its large wheels accelerated at a furious speed.

And I.

“Hahahaha.”

Was staring blankly out the window to resolve the feeling of being tricked.

“Teacher, are you still sulking like that?”

Rozalin, who was sitting in the front of the carriage and had volunteered to be the driver, turned her head back and laughed.

“No, you clearly said it was future technology……”

“It is. The Saint’s(to-be) torture technique from her Saint days! Making horses run infinitely!”

“I already knew that technique……”

First.

Yuria prays for the horses to have accelerated speed.

Second.

She continuously supplies them with holy power through a stamina recovery prayer.

So, if the horses that can never rest due to the infinitely supplied stamina run like crazy?

They can cover a distance of about a week in just two days, day and night.

“I see it!”

“We’ve arrived?”

“Hahahaha, the smell of iron is wafting from the forest!”

And in the far distance.

The scenery of the forest, which spread out like a huge reservoir, was slowly getting closer.

It was the Viper Forest.

“The carriage will be stopped nearby for safety! We will charge in as soon as we stop! The front will be me and Pan! In the center, the Teacher, Sordian, and Yuria! And Hati will finish things off from the rear!”

Yuria guided the formation.

I had heard it during the two days we rode on horseback, but there was no such thing as a strategy.

Just charge in and destroy them all at once.

We hadn't slept properly, but Yuria had even restored our stamina.

The horses and people were in the same boat.

Slowly, the horses began to stop.

The horses, who could finally rest, knelt on the ground with resentful eyes.

And almost at the same time.

“I’m going first!”

Pan and Rozalin kicked off from the carriage and ran out.

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