🔊 TTS Settings
The Teacher of the Protagonists Wants to Resign – Chapter 11
7. Sunset and Darkness (2)
He said he was looking for someone.
“If they’ve appeared in this world again, it’ll be good news for you as well. If not, then I have to find at least the traces they left behind.”
“Who is it?”
“The guardian of the Great Barrier that you Imperials believe in so arrogantly. Thanks to the mercy they showed hundreds of years ago, your empire has managed to survive until now.”
The Veil of Vertesia.
The Great Barrier that protected the Empire from the demons.
As if reading his thoughts, the boy smiled.
“Did you really think it would last forever without its guardian?”
“It’s about time it grew old, rusted, and broke apart.”
He had said that before bursting into a strange laugh that sounded almost like weeping.
The memory of that encounter overlapped with the sight of the boy before him now.
This time, however, the laughter was filled only with amusement.
“So, you’re dying from frustration, aren’t you? Hm? You’d love nothing more than for this Empire to collapse, but instead you’re stuck searching for a guardian who may not even exist. Isn’t it driving you insane? Hm?”
“Do you think everyone is like you?”
“Whether you like it or not, what can you do? If you don’t keep your promise, I’ll smash everything you took as payment!”
Standing with his back to the boy, Chester suddenly stopped and turned around.
At that instant, the giggling boy jolted upright as though someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over him.
The magic maintaining his appearance shattered, and his mana poured out all at once.
His form rapidly changed, growing from that of a child under ten into one resembling a boy of thirteen or fourteen.
“You crazy bastard! Stop it! Eat what’s meant to be eaten! How dare you devour my mana—!”
“Whatever you are, whatever your goal is, I don’t care.”
“I said stop! If you keep swallowing it recklessly, you might die too!”
The boy’s golden eyes began changing against his will.
He knew all too well just how far that brat of the Rosanacht family could descend into madness while wearing such a calm expression.
If he hadn’t been insane to begin with, he never would have summoned him.
But to do this to your own contractor?! You ungrateful bastard!
How did this bloodline raise its descendants to turn out like this?!
The shadows of night spread throughout the office, absorbing every trace of light as they grew larger.
Only his eyes, cold as the frozen depths of the sea, shone sharply.
“Don’t you dare speak carelessly about what belongs to me.”
“Fine! Fine, I got it! Damn it, I don’t want it anyway! Keep it for the next thousand years if you love it that much!”
Only after the boy raised both hands in surrender did the unnatural darkness recede.
Suppressing the mana that had been leaking away, he kicked the sofa in irritation.
Maintaining a human form by suppressing his true nature consumed an enormous amount of power.
He had fixed himself into the body of a young child because it wasted the least mana.
But that bastard had devoured so much of it that the effort had become meaningless.
Repairing the half-broken transformation spell was another considerable loss.
“You… surely you’re not expecting to live out the rest of your life peacefully after acting like this?”
“I have no attachment to the rest of my life. Though it would certainly be more peaceful without you.”
…That human whelp deserved to be chewed to pieces. He never should have given him any power.
The boy ground his teeth.
If he hadn’t been a Rosanacht… no, if it hadn’t been for that unique mana he sensed back then…
Once this contract is over, I’ll carve you into tiny little pieces and throw you to the demons!
Grinding his teeth, the boy barely managed to suppress his rage.
He still needed that man.
“You seem awfully confident. Fine, then look forward to it. One year at the shortest, two at the longest. That’s all the time your precious Barrier can remain in its current condition.”
Chester silently stared at him.
It was a horrifying prophecy.
Yet the transcendent being with the golden eyes—his contractor—also offered hope.
“The reason I answered your summons is because I saw hope. I sensed even the tiniest trace of Vertesia’s mana, and the magic cast upon the Barrier started reviving. So find them. That’s why I spared your life, and why I’m still tolerating your insolent existence.”
By the time he spoke those last words, the boy’s face was twisted with such fury that he looked ready to bare his fangs.
Killing intent overflowed from him, but Chester paid it no mind.
He returned to his desk and picked up his pen.
“And if I fail to find them?”
“Then you’ll have failed to fulfill the contract, you’ll die, and this Empire, stripped of its protection, will come to an end. What else is there to ask? Ah, though there is one more ray of hope. I heard the Child of Solenia has appeared? You people call her the Saintess, don’t you? Pray that she’s the ‘real’ one.”
It was a matter upon which the fate of the Empire depended.
Yet, strangely, it did not truly resonate with Chester.
Whether the Empire fell…
Whether humanity perished…
What did any of that have to do with him?
It was hardly the sort of thought one would expect from the man who had made unparalleled contributions while standing at the forefront of the war protecting the Empire.
Still, part of him thought it might be better if this miserable Empire simply collapsed.
But…
Many people would die.
His people among them.
“What will you be doing while I search for Vertesia?”
“I’ll be busy recovering the power I lent you. Oh, and while we’re at it, tell the chef in this mansion to stop overcooking the steak. It’s a pain having to send it back every single time.”
…When this contract ended, Chester decided he would bill that useless freeloader for every expense he had incurred.
With obvious reluctance, he signed the budget documents allocated to their “guest.”
Thus, the two contractors each vowed revenge against the other while sharing one common goal:
To fulfill their respective obligations as quickly as possible and end the contract.
The first day of a new semester was always filled with excitement, nervousness, fear, and anticipation.
And that wasn’t true only for the students.
“Now then, let us all pray to the Goddess.”
“Please allow us to finish this semester safely.”
“Please let me leave work on time.”
“Shouldn’t you be praying to the Headmaster instead of the Goddess for that?”
Amid the faculty members of the Advanced Division each offering their own prayers, one gloomy voice struck everyone’s hearts.
“Please don’t let there be any casualties.”
It was such a modest wish that it almost brought tears to one’s eyes.
Without even turning around, everyone present knew exactly who had said it.
Silently, they added a prayer for Lucien Filonia to their own.
Having received the blessings of all her colleagues, Lucien poured a freshly brewed cup of coffee into her already abused stomach and headed toward her newly assigned classroom.
“Ugh… I’m dying.”
She had only just arrived at work, yet she already wanted to go home.
She drifted down the hallway looking like a ghost, but neither the teachers nor the students she passed paid her any special attention.
They were all used to seeing her like this.
“Professor Lucien!”
“Kalix. Good morning. You’re here early.”
The moment she met her former student, the dying expression disappeared from her face, replaced with a bright smile.
Now in his graduating year, the young man pulled a playful grimace.
“I got Professor Radehols’s class.”
“Oh dear.”
Lucien let out an involuntary sigh of genuine sympathy before hastily trying to recover.
“He’s an incredibly learned man. I’m sure you’ll learn a great deal from him.”
“Professor… you didn’t mean a word of that.”
“Kalix, sometimes it’s important to pretend you don’t know things, even when you do. That way—”
“So Lady won’t kick me later?”
Kalix chuckled before his expression suddenly turned serious.
After glancing around to make sure no one was listening, he lowered his voice.
“I heard the class you’re taking this year is no joke. Everyone says it’s the class attracting the most attention among the new students.”
“When you were in my class, that class was also the one everyone paid the most attention to.”
Kalix, who had personally survived that absolute nightmare, shook his head with complete seriousness.
“Please be careful of the Temple and House Münster, Professor.”
His warning carried a different weight from the words of encouragement offered by the other teachers.
“I will. Thank you for worrying about me.”
“If things get bad, just call me! I’ll come straighten those kids out!”
His dependable appearance made Lucien burst into laughter.
“Thank you. But you’ve got enough on your plate already—earning your graduation credits, completing your subjugation practicum, and writing your thesis. Even two bodies wouldn’t be enough for all that. Survive those first, then we’ll talk.”
As Lucien’s tone naturally became more casual, Kalix anticipated what was coming and quickly bent his knees.
A gentle hand patted his shoulder.
He was a giant compared to most adults.
Yet in front of this beautiful, delicate teacher, he somehow always felt like a little kid again.
Knowing how remarkably talented his teacher was at getting caught up in dangerous incidents, Kalix reminded her once more.
“Especially don’t get involved with House Münster. Don’t even talk to them. And don’t be nice to them either.”
“How am I supposed to avoid talking to my own student?”
“But still!”
“All right, all right. I’ll keep it in mind.”
Even so, Kalix knew.
His teacher might answer like that, but she was never the type of person who could actually follow such advice.
