29 – External Lecturer (5)
Thus, the hero’s lecture came to an end.
The news spread in about an hour, showing how lightly the students took it.
“Urgh.”
Jane rubbed her throbbing temples, seemingly exasperated.
Truthfully, she doesn’t really care about rumors.
Hadn’t she already roughly anticipated that Kael would be stronger than her in the arena, despite everything?
But there was one reason she was so troubled right now.
“Are you okay, Kael?”
It was all because of Kael.
It seemed he had been hiding his strength from the other students.
So, as Jane, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.
“I’m sorry, Kael.”
“It’s fine. Honestly, it’s my mistake too.”
It wasn’t all Jane’s fault, to be fair, he had made a mistake in the end as well.
He exerted too much force when he used his last punch.
The Undying Lich isn’t particularly weak in close combat, but it isn’t incredibly strong either.
There was no reason for Jane to be so overwhelmed by a punch.
So, it was okay to consider that he had made a mistake as well.
‘Besides, the Hero party is weaker than I thought.’
He’d factually thought that Jane would avoid his last attack.
Wasn’t she a hero after all?
And he had heard that she even defeated a legion commander recently. He didn’t expect her to fall so easily.
‘The legion commander shouldn’t lose easily to the Four Heavenly Kings.’
Even considering the compatibility, her strength was much weaker than he thought.
So, he couldn’t help but ask.
“Jane.”
“Huh, yes?”
“Didn’t you recently defeat a legion commander?”
“Ah. Uh, yes. I did.”
“But why did you fall so easily? I heard that the legion commander and the Four Heavenly Kings are on par.”
“Ah. Well, that is…”
At Kael’s words, the girls look uncomfortable and scratch their cheeks.
Then, Jane opened her mouth.
“Actually, I didn’t capture it alone.”
“Then?”
“Of course, I caught it with the help of the military.”
“Hmm.”
Well, it was as expected.
She never claimed she captured it alone in the first place.
“And.”
For a moment, she continues her words as if it’s not over yet.
“It was, well, the compatibility was just too good.”
“Compatibility?”
“Yep. The general we fought against was too vulnerable to divinity or my magic. Plus, he only fought in close combat, so it was easier to fight.”
“Yes, that’s right!”
“That was the case indeed.”
The other two nod their heads in agreement with her words.
“Um, Kael.”
At that moment, Jane fiddles with her fingers and soon stares fixedly.
Then, she opens her mouth with difficulty.
“Could you please come back to our party?”
“……….”
She looks at him with yearning eyes.
Then, she flutters her arms and continues to speak.
“We, we don’t have a wizard in our party. And as you’ve seen earlier, it’s efficient to have a wizard when dealing with one…”
“Isn’t there any other wizard besides me?”
“There are some who have joined us so far.”
“But?”
“They all see us too logically.”
Considering their looks, it’s not a surprising reaction.
Objectively, their looks were pretty enough to make passing men lose their minds.
Therefore, I understood.
“So, isn’t it a matter of finding a female wizard?”
“We’ve tried that, but most are severely lacking in ability.”
“Hmmm.”
Considering the abilities of the three of them, there’s no room to dispute that statement.
Even though Seria and Jane had lost to him, their abilities weren’t ones to get beaten up anywhere.
‘Rather, if they were to get beaten, it would be because they got beaten.’
Considering how far he’s come to ask this, it must be quite desperate.
However, he also has tasks of his own.
‘There’s the remaining apostates and a few students I need to take care of.’
If there was time to spare, maybe, but now he has responsibilities to fulfill.
Therefore, he couldn’t accept her suggestion.
“I’m sorry.”
“Ah…”
The three of them let out a shallow sigh at his rejection.
Jane wears a gloomy expression.
Then, with an awkward smile, she opens her mouth.
“I suppose. Now that you have a lover, it wouldn’t be easy to leave the throne…”
“Hm? A lover?”
At her unexpected words, a question mark floated in his mind without him knowing.
At this, she blinked as if she didn’t understand.
“Weren’t you with a lover?”
“Sorry, but I’m not dating anyone.”
“Huh? Weren’t you alone with the person who guided us during the fireworks last time?”
It seems she’s misunderstood something.
“That person is just a colleague at work. Not a lover.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“That’s right. It’s just a misunderstanding on your part.”
“I see…”
Upon hearing that, for some reason, their faces brightened up, including Jane’s.
“Anyway, I’m sorry, but I have a lot to do, so I can’t help it.”
“Alright… If you say so, then it must be so.”
“There’s no other way.”
“I see.”
“Huh?”
Contrary to my expectations, they accept it purely.
I thought they would need a little more persuasion.
-Ohm.
At that moment, the notification magic circle on Jane’s wrist vibrated.
Looking at this, Seria opened her mouth.
“Jane. It’s about time we go.”
“Ah. Is it that time already?”
She looked at me with a somewhat regretful expression.
Soon, Jane rises from her seat.
“Kael, then we’ll be on our way.”
“Okay. Good job.”
“Ah. Yes. And.”
“And?”
As I stared at her, Jane’s face slowly turned red.
Soon, the three people simultaneously bowed at a right angle and opened their mouths.
From Noble mtl dot com
“We’re really sorry for kicking you out of the party.”
With those words, they gracefully disappeared.
‘I never expected to get an apology.’
Kael also stood up, thinking that.
And then, he left the lab.
-Wow, it’s the professor.
-They say he even defeated the hero.
-What’s he really like?
Students were murmuring as they looked in his direction.
“······.”
Seeing the students’ reactions, Kael thought.
‘How great would it be if, at the very least, someone could handle the aftermath.’
***
At that moment.
A man was downing drinks in Cali’s hideout.
It was Hail, who previously lost to Kael in the semi-finals of the fighting tournament.
“Sigh.”
He released a shallow sigh and placed the liquor bottle on the table.
He still hadn’t been able to find any information on the one who killed his little brother.
The information he sought, despite ordering his subordinates to find it, remained elusive.
‘It feels as though the world has become a curse against me.’
Indeed, he would do anything to find that bastard, so he could avenge his brother’s death.
Otherwise, he felt like he would go mad.
-Glug! Glug!
Just as Hail gulped down another drink.
“Enter.”
Suddenly, someone walked into the room.
The person who had entered without his permission was none other than Cali.
“Boss.”
“Are you drinking again?”
“Well, yes. Sigh.”
“It seems your brother’s death affected you more than you thought.”
“Well, I didn’t think I’d care much, but surprisingly, I do.”
“I see. Well, he was your only family. Besides that, there are two pieces of news I need to share with you.”
“News?”
“Yes. We’ve finally found out who the murderer who killed your brother is.”
“?!”
Suddenly, Hail’s eyes went wide open.
He didn’t even think that the words he wanted to hear the most would come out of Cali’s mouth.
“Who is it? Who’s the culprit?”
“Well, first, why don’t you have a drink?”
Kali handed over a vial filled with a black liquid.
“I know that it’s a drug that grants magical power to the body.”
Kali squinted at it.
“I’ve told you before, Boss. I’m strong enough without magic.”
“No, you’ll need it this time. For revenge against the one who killed your younger brother.”
“So you’re saying… that guy is stronger than me?”
“Yes. I heard he’s a new professor who just joined the academy this term.”
“A professor?”
“Yes. You should know what it means to be an academy professor, right? How strong they must be?”
At that question, Hail nodded silently.
To become an academy professor, one must achieve excellent results.
Therefore, it’s safe to say they’re stronger than most.
“Huh. I understand. Just eat it, right?”
With no other option, Hail accepted the magic drug he offered.
Thus, a dark energy began to ripple within his body.
“Huh.”
Having suppressed the rippling magic within him, Hail showed a faint smile.
‘I promise to avenge you, little brother. Wait for me.’
With that thought, he smiled confidently without knowing that the man who killed his brother was actually a grand wizard.
***
About a week had passed since the guest lecture ended.
Naturally, there weren’t any significant changes over the week.
Except one.
“Hello, Professor!”
“Professor, aren’t you in touch with the hero? “
The students’ interest in me has increased considerably.
Rumors are spreading that I am acquainted with the hero’s party.
Moreover, there are exaggerated rumors because I defeated Jane.
‘Even though I caused a problem, it would have been nice if you helped clean up the mess.’
For a moment, I thought to myself.
-Brrring! Brrring!
A call came in through my magical communication device.
Only a handful of people would contact me.
As I looked at it, anticipating, there was no surprise.
‘Sariel, is that you?’
I breathed magic into the device and answered the call.
Soon, I asked.
“I’m sorry, but I’m busy right now. Can I call you back later?”
-Huh? You’re very busy?
“Yes, I have a lecture to give soon.”
-Really? That’s a pity. I have some good news for you.
“Good news?”
-Yeah. I’ve got the information about the person you asked me to investigate.
“…Well, the lecture can start a little late. Tell me about it.”
Every so often, it´s good for the students if a class starts late.