Chapter 115
Ansiha Mountain Range.
Teiti, who had been dragged to the academy against his will, stared beyond the ridge and slowly blinked.
There was no message from the World Tree, nor any contact from his family.
If something had happened, word would have reached him immediately, so there was no need to worry.
He knew that. He knew, but……
‘Something feels off.’
Teiti frowned while trying to pinpoint the strange anxiety that kept bubbling up unexpectedly.
‘Should I slip away in the middle?’
It seemed okay to step out for a bit if the timing was right.
Teiti let out a long sigh and clicked his tongue.
Then he looked at Daphne, who for some reason was approaching him while snickering to herself.
“What’s so funny? Did you sneak off and eat something delicious without me?”
“Hehe. Hehehehe.”
Daphne rubbed her palms together and let out a sinister laugh.
Ah, that’s the laugh she makes whenever she’s up to something suspicious again.
Teiti subtly took a step back.
“If you knew what I just gained, you’d be shocked.”
“Ooh…… What is it?”
“A slave.”
“……Huh?”
“A slave. I really got one.”
Daphne recalled the conversation she had with Shio earlier.
-You’ll give me everything?
-Then we can do an imprint contract, right?
Imprint contract.
Those bound by this magic cannot harm each other, nor can they easily lie.
It is a contract used among mages who cannot trust one another, by shackling each other with chains.
However, the contract between Daphne and Shio was slightly different.
Only Shio was bound by chains to Daphne.
Daphne herself had no restrictions whatsoever.
“As expected, magic is convenient. It even prevents thoughts of betrayal. Absolutely the best. I’m thrilled.”
“…….”
After hearing the whole story, Teiti looked at Shio — who was standing behind him with his head deeply bowed — with pity.
“Why did you do that?”
-You’re refusing the imprint contract? Oho. So your feelings only go that far. You talked big, but it was all talk.
-Aigo, and here I thought you were serious and got all excited. No, I understand your feelings. You don’t like me enough to take on the risks of an imprint contract. Even though you said you liked me, it’s understandable. I get it.
How could he say no after hearing words like that?
Shio sniffled while sucking in snot.
“I got swept up in the atmosphere…….”
“Aww. Poor thing.”
But in the end, it was someone else’s problem.
Teiti felt sorry for Shio, yet at the same time he felt a little relieved that he himself wasn’t bound to that extent.
“Slave No. 1.”
Teiti bowed his head at Daphne’s call.
“Yes, Master.”
“When night falls, I will leave this place.”
“Yes?”
“I need to catch my lunchboxes… no, black mages.”
Seeing Teiti’s eyes widen, Daphne smirked.
“You must be worried about your family too, so come with me.”
“……!”
She had never said anything about worrying for his family, yet Daphne had already guessed.
Teiti covered his mouth with both hands and marveled.
“Master……!”
He almost said, “This elf is happy!”
“But how about you also form a connection with me?”
That is, until she suggested doing an imprint contract with him too.
“Can you do it, slave?”
“…….”
Teiti froze with his mouth half open, while Shio — who had been gloomy beside him — suddenly perked up, grinned, and patted Teiti’s shoulder.
“Cheer up.”
Ah, no.
I don’t want to cheer up……
Teiti whimpered.
***
Sssip, haa.
Clear and clean air.
Flowers and bushes swaying in the gentle breeze.
The faint scent of flowers and the refreshing smell of greenery naturally lifted one’s spirits……
“Ah, coming back here feels so weird. I think I’m gonna puke.”
“Is this what trauma feels like……?”
“Teppy! Teppy! Snap out of it! Why are you foaming at the mouth and collapsing?! No! You can’t die yet!”
……Instead of lifting spirits, it was crushing morale.
The children, returning to the academy after a long time, were each trembling and stubbornly denying the memories that had taken place here.
Denial would have been fine.
Some of them had half-rolled eyes already.
“Hey, Rachel. Don’t you think burning down our dormitory building would make it burn really nicely? What do you think?”
“Not bad. Let’s see, something like straw…….”
“Straw? Wait, I’ll go find some oil.”
“…….”
Daphne stood with arms folded, staring blankly at the children.
Something’s wrong.
When they first entered, these were excellent children filled with the single-minded determination to protect this country and become stronger, yet now……
“They’ve gone completely rotten…….”
How did it come to this?
“Hey hey! They say they’re gonna burn the building! Let’s do something too!”
“Ooh! Then should I break some pillars? If I collapse that side, the fire will spread big-time.”
“Heehee! Hehehe! If the building collapses, the instructors’ faces will be priceless! Heehee! Heehik!”
“…….”
Hehehehe.
For this one moment, the Emperor felt a little pitiful.
Surely this wasn’t what the Emperor had hoped for. Hehehehe.
‘At least this isn’t my fault.’
If the instructors hadn’t rolled the children so harshly, this wouldn’t have happened.
Daphne tried hard to think that way, but
“Right now, just thinking about burning the building makes me feel at ease. Is this what they call confidence born from power?”
“Daphne didn’t live like trash for nothing. Living like trash really makes your heart feel light.”
“Life is like Daphne.”
“…….”
As expected of our kids. Naturally giving credit to Daphne.
“This…… isn’t…… my fault…… it can’t be…….”
Daphne shook her head in denial of reality.
It was at that moment.
“Hey hey! Quiet! The instructors are over there!”
“Hup!”
The instructors returned to the academy, bringing with them the Guardians and mages who had gathered in the mountain range to deal with the disaster.
“O-oh…… Look at the Guardians. They’re really cool.”
The Guardians were dressed from head to toe in pure white uniforms.
Their perfect atmosphere and resolute gazes proclaimed that they were truly the knights protecting the empire.
For the children who had only seen un-Guardian-like Guardians like Kenrick, Nike, and Fiona until now, they couldn’t help but admire them.
“Hey, look at that. Look at the instructors’ faces. They were so scary to us, but smiling like that — is that real?”
The children pursed their lips and pointed at the instructors.
Especially Kenrick was smiling more brightly than ever while facing the other Guardians.
“Wow, they rolled us around like that, but look at them. All soft and fluttery. Seriously. Can people really be this different?”
“Ugh. Disgusting…….”
They almost said disgusting.
That is, until they saw the Guardians in front of Kenrick slamming their foreheads to the ground.
And that wasn’t all?
“We were wronggg!”
“We will correct ittt!”
The Guardians kept shouting apologies — though no one knew what exactly they did wrong — and rolled backward, forward, sideways, tumbling in every direction.
Their pure white uniforms had long since been dirtied.
“Hmm.”
Teppy muttered while watching them.
“They went easy on us because we’re kids. Lucky!”
These guys and those guys are equally insane, Daphne thought, finally giving up on laughing hollowly.
***
“Focus!”
Kenrick, standing on the platform, shouted toward the children.
“As you can see behind me, these are the knights who protect the empire — the Guardians. For the next two days, you must observe them closely, learn many things, and internalize what you learn. Understood?”
Even high-ranking nobles cannot easily meet Guardians.
The Guardians are essentially the Emperor’s personal knight order.
That’s why, originally, both nobles and commoners should have had sparkling eyes upon seeing the Guardians.
Yes, originally.
“Now I understand why knights only wear black clothes. They get dirty so easily like that.”
“The dirt ruins the look. Not cool at all.”
“Even a magpie could sit on their heads.”
The children no longer found the Guardians — who had been rolled around left and right by Kenrick — impressive at all.
The Guardians glared at the back of Kenrick’s head so intensely it might burn a hole through it for making them look like this, but they couldn’t step forward and get angry at him first.
Who would dare challenge ‘that’ mad dog infamous Kenrick……?
The Guardians sniffled while wiping the dirt off their faces.
“The Guardians plan to train until sunset. You will observe their training and learn from it. Understood?”
“Understood!”
Kenrick smiled contentedly at the children shouting in unison.
All the effort rolling them—no, training them—had paid off.
At that moment, he noticed someone raising a hand in his field of vision.
He thought it was Rachel as usual, but surprisingly, it was Daphne.
“Daphne trainee. Do you have a question?”
The other children also turned to look at Daphne in surprise that she was asking a question.
Daphne lowered her raised hand and asked.
“Where are the mages?”
Hiiik!
The children sucked in breaths and huddled their shoulders.
Oops, she should have said “-yo” or “-kka.”
Daphne hurriedly added.
“……Where might the mages be?”
“Push-up position.”
“Eh?”
Daphne grumbled but obediently dropped into push-up position.
“The mages are currently on a search mission. They will return before nightfall, so you can meet them then. Understood?”
“Understood!”
“……Daphne trainee, add ten more minutes in push-up position.”
“Ah, why!”
“Twenty minutes added.”
“…….”
No. What exactly is the problem?
Daphne tilted her head in genuine confusion, and the children and Guardians watching her shook their heads.
There is a problem…… there is a problem……
