Chapter 77: 76

“―Hey, isn’t that you, Elias!”

Rivalz was the one to call out to him first.

Rivalz greeted him informally as if he were speaking to an old friend, and Elias grinned at him in kind.

“It has been a long time, Rivalz.”

“Since you have been in the royal palace, we haven’t had the opportunity to have a proper conversation like this. You are the Chief Director, yet you don’t come to school at all―”

“Chief Director?”

Günter offered an explanation to me for this unfamiliar information that I had never heard before.

“Oh, Sir Mondor, you know, he concurrently assumes the position of Chief Director of Selbeth on top of his duties as Commander of the Royal Guards.”

“―Though these days he has been so hectic that it’s just a title.”

The man with the bitter smile―Mondor―turned to me.

“You have been very accommodating to both of them, haven’t you?”

“Both of them…?”

“Shiryu and Shizuku. I am their guardian.”

The impact was as if I had been pummeled with a hammer. That would indeed account for their phenomenal talents, but it was a verity I did not want to learn too much about.

While not outwardly exposing these feelings, I nodded with a stunned visage.

“I see… that’s why both of them are so outstanding. But guardianship…?”

“Yes, they are not my children. Neither are they my adopted children… Well, perhaps the closest I can get is to say that I am their guardian.”

“…I understand.”

The Ido siblings, it seemed that the answer to their appearance―too similar to the Japanese―was on the horizon to me, but Mondor’s attitude was roundabout and barred any further inquisitiveness.

Then Rivalz, who had refilled his shochu―how many drinks was he planning to have―pointed his finger to Mondor.

“But hey, even if you are the Chief Director, you also have a job in the Royal Guards, don’t you? Next month, the final of the SKT will be held. During this period of time, the safety of the incoming high-profile figures for everyone will be the knights’ central concern. Why did you make the effort to show up at this time of year?”

Rivalz’s cynical accentuation of the word “everyone” made Mondor chuckle. In his smile, it was apparent that the gentlemanly Mondor’s true disposition shared a certain affinity with Rivalz’s.

“Well, initially I intended to hand over to the school principal the enrollment procedures for Shiryu and Shizuku. Due to another matter, I suddenly decided to stay in this city for a while.”

I almost let out an “Eek!” sound.

Rivalz curved his lips into a cheeky smile as if to say, “That’s wonderful news.”

“Oh, that’s great! From now on, whenever I feel like drinking, I can invite you!”

“Hey, come on, please refrain from doing that. Even I am not a soldier anymore as I once was… Well, when I have time, I guess.”

“Heh, you do an excellent job of making my life convenient. But what is this other matter you are referring to? When it comes to the mission directly from the Commander of the Royal Knights, is it tied to Ortesia?”

“I guess so…”

Having completely relaxed his atmosphere and tone, Mondor reverted to the demeanor of an old friend, and after a few moments of hesitation, spoke up.

“The truth is that, apart from ‘Hunter’ and ‘Art of the Corpse Princess,’ there is another wanted criminal who is believed to have been involved in the assassination of the Princess last month.”

“――――”

That sobered me up from my mildly intoxicated state all at once.

Frantically suppressing the inclination to jump on the subject, I waited for Rivalz’s reply.

“What? Is that for real?”

“Yeah, ‘Art of the Corpse Princess’ who was being interrogated has finally confessed.”

That woman, should I have finished her off back then after all?

Even if killing the Princess was a grave crime, for that Alice to succumb to torture so quickly was out of the imagination. In any case, it was obvious that she was sick and tired of her prison life, so she probably uttered such a remark as a prank. After all, she was the one who attempted to kill Matthias and me because she was in the mood to enjoy a bit of a party.

“So, what is the name of this wanted criminal?”

“I have no further knowledge of that. It may take a little more time for ‘Art of the Corpse Princess’ to reveal their name. However, the King’s intention is to execute ‘Art of the Corpse Princess’ and her accomplices for their involvement in the incident, to coincide with the timing of the presence of all the key figures in the royal capital for the Skt.”

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“Well, if the story you just told is true, it’s bound to lead to a loss of prestige for the royal family if things are left unchecked.”

“…Or rather, does that mean that the person who sought to kill Ms. Ortesia is still lurking in this city?”

“It is hard to say. Normally, anyone would reckon that they would have already departed from this city, but the adversaries are a group of individuals who intended to carry out the irrational crime of assassinating the royal family. However, I guarantee everyone’s safety in the name of the Commander of the Royal Knights.”

When Murrue showed a gesture of quivering, Mondor, who instantly turned his face toward the others, nodded emphatically. From his fearless face alone, it was evident that he was a formidable figure.

Above all, he was the only individual in the country who was granted the designation of a first-class magician, the pinnacle of the magicians’ profession, aside from the chief royal magicians. As I recalled, he was ranked in the top ten in “Mel,” which listed superhuman rankings, and had even ventured into the realm of―”monsters”. Even Matthias, who was equally in the ultra-high ranks, was in the 30th position, reaching the level of―”non-human,” but Mondor possessed capabilities that transcended even that. And such a monster was personally hunting for me. Yeah, the next time I visit the royal capital for the SKT, I will personally go eradicate Alice. To begin with, I doubted that she would accept the death penalty so meekly―

“Well, that’s how it is. Please give me a shout if you see me in the city since things will be troublesome here for a while. I will at least treat you to a round of drinks―”

“What, in the end, you want a drink too, don’t you?”

When Rivalz laughed, Mondor’s mouth contorted into a wicked smile. Perhaps Mondor was actually a bit of a mischievous character.

After Mondor left the establishment, Rivalz spontaneously moved to a different seat, and Ursula arrived at the other end of the table. Even more so than Xenia, her morbidly pale complexion and sleep-deprived dark circles under her eyes exuded an undead-like vibe.

“Excuse me, I am late…”

In one swallow, Ursula downed her first beverage—a liquor so intense that it could be recognized even without ingesting it—as she sank clumsily into her seat. She drank in such a vigorous gulp that it was almost as if she was swallowing beer or shochu.

Without a second thought, Ursula grabbed a nearby waiter and ordered a higher alcoholic beverage that even I had never tried before. My recollection was that she had never been a heavy drinker, but I wondered if this was a sign that she was going to drink heavily today.

Günter then asked Ursula sympathetically, “Did you have to work this late today as well? Even though there is a shortage of manpower, it would be unsustainable for your health to keep working overtime every day like this…”

“Your concern is appreciated, but please don’t worry about me. I heard that after the summer vacation, there will be a replacement teacher, and today I just settled all the work I had accumulated before the social exchange.”

“But… your face doesn’t look at all energetic…”

Murrue had a grim way of saying it, and I wholeheartedly seconded that.

With Alice’s absence, things have really been inconveniencing―

“Haha, I have always been sickly-looking. More importantly, everyone, next week we are going to a social exchange with these members, so let’s have a drink today to deepen our familiarity~”

With these words, Ursula downed the newly served sake in one shot and ordered four more of the same thing. Oh, I supposed we can’t escape now, can we?

After that, following Ursula’s lead, we drank our drinks at a super-high pace, and before long Günter was gone, and Murrue had long since excused herself to the restroom and had not returned. Other than Murrue, Günther was a remarkably shrewd individual.

Not knowing how many glasses of alcohol-like antiseptic solution I had already consumed, I gulped it down in one go, just as Ursula recommended. It tasted no different from my first drink, and was not flavorful at all.

“Teacher Taiga, you are tolerant of alcohol, aren’t you? I didn’t know that, though I never saw you get succumbed to alcohol.”

Ursula ordered from the waiter (how much longer was she going to drink?) and flashed me an ill-starred smile.

I was about to reply, “No, it’s not true, I am already at my limit,” when a voice abruptly called out to me from the side.

“I heard that he and Teacher Xenia used to often hang out at the bar together before, so perhaps that’s how he developed a tolerance for it.”

“…Teacher Mert, when did you arrive next to me?”

Mert, the homeroom teacher of Arti’s class, turned on her signature fluttering smile. As always, I can’t decipher her emotion, or to be precise, anything at all about what she was thinking through her eyes.

No, more to the point, how could it be that Mert had come so close to me without me noticing it? Apparently, I may be more intoxicated than I thought too. I was not so at ease that I could just collapse in a drunken stupor after hearing the revelation that Mondor had arrived and shared the news of seeking me earlier.

“―That reminds me, Teacher Günter hasn’t returned. I wonder where he went.”

After looking at the surroundings, I left my seat to be as natural as possible.

Fortunately, Ursula didn’t comment, but Mert called out to me as I rose from my seat.

“Teacher Kanaki, is Arti doing fine in your seminar?”

“? Yes, as usual.”

“If so, that’s good. Lately, she has been somewhat out of spirits.”

When told about that, I reasoned that this was probably due to the time when Eto died at Arti’s own hands. It was true that regardless of the fact that Eto had been brought back to life, she would not have been able to promptly forgive herself for the deeds she had committed.

“…Please take care of Arti and company while I am gone.”

“Haha, you speak as if they were your own children.”

Such a joyful voice came from behind me as I was exiting the pub.

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