108 – Temporary Respite #3
“I’m not leaving right away.”
At those words, the faces of the students brightened. Of course, only for a short while.
Titania put a bright smile on her teary-eyed face, and she immediately understood the hidden meaning of my words and furrowed her eyebrows in a puzzled way.
“Now? That word… Does that mean you’re leaving?”
“… ….”
It was difficult to explain.
I would have said yes before I met President Heinkel, but now things have become a little more subtle.
If you say you’re leaving and find Ella, there’s no reason to leave.
She
She said she’s not leaving, but if she can’t find Ella, she has to leave after all.
If she had known it would be like this, she wouldn’t have said it beforehand in front of Batar and Elisabeth. Of course, she didn’t expect to receive such an offer from the president, so it can’t be helped.
Said Marian, biting her fingernails nervously. Already her thumb nails were ripped off like saw blades.
“Well, tell me something… ! Are you leaving or not? No, why are you leaving in the first place?”
That question was not unique to Marian. The same question, big or small, was on every student’s face.
I’d rather not know if I didn’t know, but since the situation is like this, at least an explanation is needed.
“Not leaving immediately means literally. Just… It means there is a possibility of leaving.”
“Possibility of leaving?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you in advance, but something important happened and I couldn’t help it. It would be nice if it ended early, but I can’t promise when it will end. That’s why I said I was leaving.”
I let out a short sigh and continued.
“However, President Heinkel took care of his situation, so I decided to put it off for a while.”
“If it is postponed… How long will that be?”
“I will remain as an instructor until the special practice. I can’t say for sure what will happen after that.”
At those words, relief and anxiety appeared on the faces of the students at the same time.
It was fortunate that he wasn’t leaving right away, but he seemed unsure of how to react to being told that he didn’t know what would happen in the end.
Students couldn’t decide whether to be happy about this or to regret it.
Titania opened her mouth cautiously.
“Instructor… Can I ask what the important thing is?”
I thought about it for a while. What is the right thing to tell students?
In the end, I just thought I couldn’t get my students deeply involved in my personal work.
In that silence, Titania’s expression darkened as if she had read her answer.
“Is it something you can’t tell us?”
“… It is a very personal matter.”
“Is it that important? To the point of leaving us all of a sudden?”
The reason why she couldn’t answer that question right away was probably because of the stuffiness in a corner of her heart.
But it was pointless to tell lies that would soon be discovered.
I said with a heavy nod.
“Yes.”
“Ah….”
Titania’s expression was stained with shock. Sadness and embarrassment crossed her eyes, and a wave of emotion that was difficult to express in her words rose.
I didn’t know if what I was going to say would be comforting, but I thought I should tell you in advance.
“Even if I leave, President Heinkel promised to bring in a new instructor by then. So there won’t be any opal black class disappearing or anything. Even after practice is over, you can just take classes like you are now.”
However, Titania’s hard expression did not loosen. So did the other students. It seemed that there was no consolation at all.
Gwyn said in a thin, trembling voice.
“Is there anything we can do to help? If it’s that important, it’s better to do it with a group rather than alone.”
I shook my head resolutely.
“No. It is dangerous.”
“I can fight too! Thanks to the instructor teaching me the sword, I can do a lot more than I used to, and I’m already strong martial arts… !”
Gwynn was the only one in this group who knew how to use rigid body techniques from the time he entered school.
But.
“Anyway, the lower class, I have only just taken the first step in rigid body technique. Don’t tell me that you can use rigid martial arts at that level.”
“Ugh… !”
Gwynn’s rigid body technique was not yet at the level of expressing his sword skills, and was only at the level of enhancing his physical abilities. Even so, it is difficult to maintain for a long time due to the lack of mana.
It is admitted that it is more efficient to do it with a group of people. However, in order to roam around in a land full of terrible scams and undead, you will have to have at least a level of swordsmanship to the level of the Royal Guard.
Even the Royal Guard could not guarantee survival. Needless to say, it was out of the question in terms of student skills.
Gwynn bit his lip with an expression of resentment. Blood seemed to ooze out of his white lips at any moment.
“… ….”
The atmosphere around me was heavy.
It must have been that the gloomy story had been talked about for too long. I had everything I needed to say, so it was necessary to dismiss the students at this point.
Everyone seemed confused. Of course, so did I.
“It has already been decided. Let’s not stop talking about this here. From tomorrow it will be normal class. You must have missed classes for a long time because of the festival, so take a break as early as possible today in preparation for tomorrow.”
I passed that on to the students and left the lobby without waiting for an answer.
Titania’s longing eyes followed my back.
But she deliberately ignored it and never looked back.
***
“This is ridiculous.”
A lounge where students gather.
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Marian angrily expressed her displeasure.
“What is it, ‘even if practice is over, you can just take classes like now’! Aren’t you talking about it like it’s someone else’s business?”
It was a pretty plausible imitation to have a low voice and hardened expression like Ion, but no students laughed or reacted to it.
Only Schurz sighed briefly and adjusted his glasses.
“What can I do? You have personal circumstances. It’s not something we can change if we don’t like it.”
“But it is… this isn’t much….”
Marian grumbled a little with a bitter expression.
At that, Schurz did not refute either. The sudden and embarrassing thing about the situation was that he was too.
Batar went up to the room with a sour expression, and Elizabeth didn’t even show her face at all.
But besides that, the other students were more than Schurz, but by no means less.
Gwynn said in a somber voice.
“Is there any way? The instructor said no, but… I don’t want to leave it like this.”
It was Saladin who answered that. He crossed his arms and replied in a stern manner.
“What are you going to do? In the first place, we don’t even know where the instructor is and what he’s trying to do. You know what that important thing is and you want to help?”
“But now… Maybe there will be a way later!”
A month is short if it is short, and long if it is long.
At least that was the case with Gwynn. Ion, who reminds her of the shortcomings of her sword, suggests a way to go in a different direction from her master, and teaches her by clashing swords every day, is no longer a simple instructor.
Gwynn was emotionally dependent on Ion for a large part before he knew it. He longed for that strength and even thought that he would one day want to be like Instructor Ion.
But to think that Instructor Ion left so suddenly and without any sign.
That fact brought anxiety and a change of heart to Gwynn.
Of course, other students did the same.
Oznia, who had been quiet all along, suddenly spoke up. She was always quiet and languid, unlike the times when her energy was drained, she spoke in a serious tone that was rare for her.
“… I think so too. I think you should do something if you can.”
“This is 2:1.”
Gwynn glanced lightly at Saladin.
Marian added.
“That’s what I mean. Did Instructor Ion say that? Until practice, she will remain as an instructor. Doesn’t that mean you’re going to do something important during practice? If that goes well, you’ll keep working as an instructor, or you’ll have to leave.”
Everyone nodded at a reasonable guess.
“Then I think the first thing to do is to find out what kind of situation Instructor Ion is in. Who agrees?”
First of all, Marianne raised her hand. Gwynn and Oznia followed and raised their hands.
Shurtz spoke anxiously.
“Wouldn’t that be a bit dangerous? What will the instructor think when he finds out that we did it….”
“What do you think? You have nothing to lose anyway. Do you let go of your hands like this and watch the instructor leave? Even if you regret it at that time, it will be too late.”
Then Titania, who had been crouching on the sofa the whole time, raised her head slightly.
“Regret… ?”
The light was slowly returning to her green eyes, which had been deepened with worry.
“Right. I don’t want to regret Again… If I let the instructor go, I’m sure I’ll regret not doing anything like my brother. Will you join me too?”
At Titania’s remark, Marian nodded her head and said.
“Then four covers with this? I think it’s already half full….”
“No, since when was the majority vote?”
“I just made up my mind. If you twist it, you’ll be the student council president.”
Shurtz raised one hand as if resigned.
“Honestly, I’ve never had a lot of discussions with the instructor, and I don’t really agree with why you guys are doing this… It can’t be helped if this is the opinion of the class. I am also a member of this class, and I do not want Instructor Ion to leave.”
In the end, everyone’s eyes turned to Saladin, who was the only one who did not raise his hand.
As everyone’s eyes focused, Saladin said with his shoulders trembling.
“Oh, what is it? I wasn’t particularly against it, was it?”
Saladin finally untied her arms and raised her hand crookedly.
Marian raised the corners of her mouth in satisfaction.
“Six votes out of eight. Then, I persuaded Batar and Elisabeth myself-“
“You don’t have to.”
A thin voice echoed in the break room.
At some point Elizabeth, with a haggard complexion, was standing leaning against the entrance to the break room.
“Elizabeth? You… Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
She hadn’t come out of the room since a few days ago, her face was pale, and her eyes were full of fatigue that she couldn’t hide. Like someone who hasn’t eaten or drunk anything in two days.
But despite the students’ concerned stares at her, Elizabeth feigned her composure and straightened her back.
“I was listening.”
Her red eyes looked at everyone.
“What you are trying to do, I will help.”