39 – Talking to the Emperor – The Sword and the Hero
The teacher suddenly disappeared from the royals.
Using all of his power, he traced the teacher. Finding traces of the teacher wasn’t difficult.
Because there were not many half-man half-demons.
However, that was nothing more than traces. Furthermore, all the names were different.
Nail von Adelhelm, Lemon, Miles, Stenney D. Ale, Coral, Wu Tian, Burnt Umber, Elk, Plum R. Orchid…
These names with no coherence, the reason for assuming all these ‘half-man half-demons’ to be the same person was also absurd.
All of them… were people who saved other’s lives and then disappeared wholly.
People who bestowed enormous graces that could not be repaid then fled.
It was as if they were a guardian deity protecting poor people across the continent. It was unfathomable that one man could save so many people under so many different names.
And then.
On the continent, there existed an organization akin to ‘Guardian Spirits.’
It was an entity whose name was dared not be spoken, simply referred to as ‘the Organization.’ Uncovering the link between ‘the Teacher’ and ‘the Organization’ wasn’t particularly difficult.
Yet, however lofty the status of the Emperor of the Empire might be, extracting a person from ‘the Organization’ under pressure was impossible. Therefore, the use of indirect methods became necessary.
From that point on, focus shifted to establishing a system that could respond as swiftly as possible.
A network of information was spread across the continent, and each year tremendous funds and resources were donated to the Mage Tower. Establishing agreements with ‘Teleport Gates,’ forging treaties with foreign nations, enduring diplomatic losses to inscribe laws against discrimination of ‘half-humans-half-beasts’ into the Continental Law, disrupting intelligence among competitors searching for ‘half-humans-half-beasts’ capable of sacrifices as selflessly suspicious as their own…
And then, a tail was finally caught. A ‘half-human-half-beast’ at the Academy had used a Golden Token. The goal was ‘the Rescue of the Hero.’ The power of the Golden Token was such that even a request for a wealthy fief would have to be granted. The fact that it was used just to save a single individual solidified the belief that the half-human-half-beast was indeed the Teacher.
The desire was to bring the Teacher directly into custody, but… the ‘Rescue of the Hero’ was likely a mission assigned by the Organization. If the half-human-half-beast who used the Golden Token was indeed the person in question, a better opportunity would return.
Indeed.
The perfect moment when one foolishly sacrifices themselves for others and fades away alone.
As expected, a professor named ‘Plum R. Orchid’ held off one of the archdemons in the Demon World until the very end. It was a heroic act that anyone with common sense would’ve deemed certain death.
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At that moment, a request for location information was sent to the Organization. It was a signal not to attempt any denial, for everything was known.
Once the location was confirmed…
The personnel waiting near the end of the world immediately secured the Teacher.
And brought the Teacher before themselves.
The recognition was instant. With care, they touched the sleeping Teacher’s hair, intoxicated with medicine. They placed a hand upon their cheek to feel the warmth. Their lips, their throat… the sensation of the body was etched into memory. The Teacher was ageless, showing no sign of getting older compared to that time.
It felt a touch mysterious. The entire situation seemed dreamlike, hazy.
Could it be that the Teacher was indeed a Guardian Spirit protecting the continent? The thought seemed foolish but plausible.
Even the traces found by oneself were spread far and wide in recent decades. Among those who had received the Teacher’s favor were those known as grand heroes of the present.
Had consistent efforts not been made to disrupt information with all the might of the Empire in use… someone else would have taken the Teacher first.
But in the end, it was they who had brought the Teacher!
Such was the power vested in the name ‘Emperor of the Empire.’ Though the weight of the power had become cumbersome, it could still be wielded usefully for the sake of someone precious.
And then.
The Teacher opened their eyes.
“Teacher! You’re awake?”
The Teacher blinked, revealing eyes of slightly different hues, yet not disparate enough to be called odd-eyed.
Then, in a soft voice, they called out.
“…Your Majesty.”
“Yes!”
“Would it be alright to request a brief explanation of the situation?”
“I have brought you here, Teacher!”
“Why… such an extreme method?”
“It means I’ve finally got a grasp on you, Teacher!”
Using a sedative to abduct… even I have to admit it sounds overly drastic.
But it was unavoidable. Without this method, you would’ve escaped right away.
I took a notebook from the bedside table.
It contained all the research I had compiled on Teacher.
“Nile von Adelheim, Lemon, Miles, Steny D. Ail, Coral, Overcast, Burnt Umber, Ecru, Plum R. Orchid…”
All these were presumed aliases of Teacher.
These were the names we unearthed with all the empire’s resources, and there were surely countless more unknown.
“Teacher, do you know what all these people have in common?”
“…I don’t.”
“They all sacrificed themselves for others and died!”
Teacher’s art of escape and survival… could be considered the stuff of heroes.
Among the records, there were numerous instances where survival was ‘logically’ impossible. Apparently, recently operating as ‘Plum R. Orchid’, you single-handedly held off the Demon King’s Four Heavenly Kings to the very end.
Being an agent of ‘the organization’, you were no ordinary figure.
So I considered a change of perspective.
If Teacher managed to secretly survive an ‘unsurvivable threat’ and then vanished.
Then I just need to ensure that you are never left near any such threat.
“So first, I brought you to the safest place in the empire… my own bedroom!”
“Indeed… that’s wise.”
Of course, it would be a lie to say that there were purely no ulterior motives in choosing this location…
But it was correct that this was the safest place in the empire.
After all, it was constantly guarded by a legion of knights of heroic caliber and semi-heroes.
Even if a champion or a grand hero came seeking you, they couldn’t steal you away from me.
“If you understand, then I’ll untie you. I apologize. Your wrists must hurt?”
“Oh, a little…”
“The knight who bound you will be executed.”
“…Not at all, it’s not painful, so please don’t worry.”
“hahahaha, Teacher, you are still so kind.”
The ropes that bound Teacher’s hands and feet were tied so tightly that they left bruises on the skin.
Rage surged within me.
How dare they… leave such marks on the teacher’s body.
I wanted to execute the knight who brought the teacher here. The only reason I refrained was that I knew the teacher would not wish for such an act.
“Your Majesty, now that I think of it, my sword and staff… weren’t they brought here?”
“Oh, should I have them brought to you?”
I remembered them as quite peculiar items.
The sword showed no signs of being folded or welded together. It was a bizarre sword, looking as if the blade, guard, and handle were all made from one continuous piece of metal from the very beginning.
The staff appeared to be an item used for casting magic, fashioned in the form of a quarterstaff intended to be gripped and swung. If it was merely a conduit for magic, there was no need for it to be so large.
Of course, I was planning to return them if the teacher wished so.
They had always belonged to the teacher in the first place.
As I rang the servant bell, a maid soon entered.
“Bring the weapons the distinguished guest has entrusted to us.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
At the command to bring the weapons, the maid looked disconcerted, glancing back and forth between me and the teacher.
She must doubt whether it was permissible to bring weapons into the Emperor’s bedroom.
Not only daring to question my command…
But she also looked at the teacher with an irreverent thought that the teacher might harm me. She didn’t know her place.
Without the teacher’s help, I would have been as good as dead. I wouldn’t have become Emperor; I would have been purged or sold off somewhere for political marriage.
And yet, how dare she look at the teacher with such a seditious glare.
Even killing her a thousand times would not suffice.
“Teacher?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Shall we kill her?”
“For what reason would you do that?”
“Because I don’t like the way she rolls her eyes.”
“I would prefer you spared her.”
“Why?”
“If one could lose their life for rolling their eyes insolently, then I, who have been continuously looking at Your Majesty, would not have enough lives even if I had ten.”
…
No….
Not presumptuous at all….
All day long… even for a lifetime, I wouldn’t mind you looking at me….
“Heh, is that so? Then I guess I’ll spare your life.”
Well, that maid doesn’t know the nature of the relationship between her and the teacher, so it couldn’t be helped.
…But what is their relationship anyway?
I’m not quite sure.
It would be nice if I could have a more concrete relationship with the teacher.
For example…,
Perhaps a national decree?
“Your Majesty.”
“What is it, teacher?”
“I’m concerned that I may be taking up too much of your valuable time.”
“…Tch. Are you telling me to hurry up and go back to work?”
“As the parent of the imperial citizens, you must set an example.”
“Got it! I will finish quickly and return! Ah, the knight commander will be keeping watch at the door, so you can’t escape, okay?”
“I understand.”
The teacher seems to be the same as ever.
I’ve already grown this much!
Does he still think of me as a child from those days?
Well, for now, that’s enough.
As long as the teacher is here, there’s plenty of time.
If I thoroughly control the teacher and make it so that he can’t converse with anyone other than me, maybe then it would be possible to make the teacher depend on me?
*
“So how long are you going to be staying here?”
“Well, who knows. Until the hero defeats the Demon King?”
“It’s hardly any different from being trapped in a cave like this! Ugh, the trauma is coming back…!”
“Still, it’s better to be with someone than alone, right?”
“Well, that’s true! In fact, did you know that when I’m alone, I talk to myself up to 5,700 times in just one hour?”
“That’s impressive in its own right…”
“hehehe, feel free to praise me more!”
I’ll have to compile a bit of information about the mythical age while discussing it with Shaf this time.
There happened to be quite a lot of notebooks on the bedside table.
I was about to take out a blank notebook, but I opened one that had information about me out of curiosity.
[Teacher’s XX into my XX…]
I quickly closed it again.
“What’s the matter? Weren’t you going to read it?”
“No, I believe we should respect privacy.”
“Oh, so it was more like a diary? Lein has better manners than I thought! Actually, I think I used to enjoy keeping a diary when I was human. Or didn’t I? Now that I think about it, I think I gave up after about three days.”
“Right….”
Hmm.
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As the emperor’s teacher, should I give him some s*x education?
‘This feels familiar.’
Speaking of which, Roja must be attending the academy regularly, right?
*
“Hero….”
“You were Roja, right? Please call me Kana for short.”
“Yes, Kana…. Well, that is….”
“Oh, since we’re of similar age, how about dropping formalities?”
“Oh, uh… so, that’s….”
“Can I call you Roja?”
“Yes… Kana…”
The truth about Roja
Among classmates, she wasn’t very good at speaking. Being an aristocrat who lived far from social circles made it worse.
She was exceedingly polite to professors and elders, and she was quite good at making presentations.
But she was extremely awkward with ‘friendship’.
Therefore, it took tremendous courage for Roja to speak to the hero.
Nevertheless, Roja had no choice but to ask.
“Kana, did you just mention… Woocheon…?”
“… You heard?”
“That’s…isn’t that Professor Plume’s name…?”
“Yes… they are incredibly precious to me… and someone I’m grateful for…”
Indeed.
That name, Woocheon.
It was a name that Rosa had dearly missed.
“…Kana.”
“Yes?”
“Perhaps… Professor Plum might not have died.”
“What?”
But it wasn’t just a matter of missing.
Even as a child, she had sought to learn Woocheon’s whereabouts, going so far as to be impolite to the Duke.
The Duke, with a troubled look on his face, had hinted to her about ‘the organization.’
She didn’t know the details.
However, she remembered hearing that the organization would typically fabricate the ‘death’ of a person when handling a ‘fictitious identity.’
Of course, it was an incredibly optimistic speculation….
“No one has actually seen Professor Plum die, right…?”
“…”
Warrior Canary too.
She was one of the witnesses who had experienced Woocheon, believed to be dead, being alive again.
It wasn’t strange for something that had happened once to happen again.
Thus, Canary too began to harbor a peculiar hope for that ‘incredibly optimistic speculation.’
“Ugh… but there’s no way to know for sure. Of course, the Duke could do it, but….”
“There is.”
“Huh?”
“There might be a way to contact the organization…”
And ‘the Warrior.’
As a being chosen directly by the goddess, she was the opposition incarnate.
In name, she could also utilize all the authority of the Holy Kingdom.
Although she had previously refused─.
“Rosa, thank you! I’ll go to the Holy Kingdom!”
“Eh…?”
The current hero was now free from the apprehension he had been feeling, thanks to some help from heaven.
Just as the emperor who could harness ‘the full power of the Empire’, the hero who wielded ‘all the authority of the Holy Country’ began to pursue heaven.
A few hours later.
At the end of the world of the ‘Organization’.
“Hmm, if I have permission once, twice should be fine…? The last sighting… close to the Imperial Palace. Ah, you’ve been kidnapped, gosh. Good luck. I’m thankful for your devotion to humankind.”
The branch leader, who was hit by the secular power of the Empire and the religious power of the Holy Country, was having a moment of enlightenment.