“Did you think someone was here because you detected the magic of scouting the inside of the school? What are you doing here?”
“What about you, Priest? What are you doing here? Were you looking for someone to assassinate tonight?”
“Excuse me… It seems you think of me as a sort of psychopathic killer, but that’s not the case. It’s for the inevitable peace and order in this world…”
“Yes, yes. I suppose so.”
“…”
It was Alexander, wasn’t it?
This reunion with the dark priest was the worst.
Of all times, it had to be when I was secretly watching Tia to see how she was doing…
I was so embarrassed that I had to make every effort to change the subject as discreetly as possible.
“Ah. You asked what I’m doing here, right? I’m a teacher at this school. Temporarily, that is.”
“Really? Is it okay for a priest to lie?”
“…It’s not a lie.”
Alexander showed me a card with an annoyed expression.
It was a teaching certificate.
I alternated between looking at the certificate and the priest’s face in shock.
This priest is a teacher at St. Sophia?
St. Sophia is doomed.
“Now, it’s your turn to answer. What’s the reason for scouting the school’s interior with observation magic?”
“That, well… I was just checking to see how my daughter was doing…”
“Your daughter goes to this school. Ah. So that means she…”
“…”
It seemed like Alexander was ruminating over his memories, muttering to himself as he stroked his chin.
So he had indeed met Tia.
This is a problem.
It’s bad enough that a psycho killer teacher is at the same school Tia attends.
Given that they hired someone like him, it seems the executives at St. Sophia are completely out of their minds.
“Don’t ever do that again. I’m glad I came out; if I had been caught by security, I would have been sent straight to the detention cell.”
“Yes. Thank you…”
For now, the atmosphere had passed without any trouble.
Even though it was Sailor who used the magic, I decided not to sell out his name here.
With this, I owed him a favor.
Whether he would repay it, or if I’d even have another chance to meet him, was uncertain…
“Well, since we’ve met again, how about we chat a bit?”
“Why would I chat with you, priest…”
“I’m curious if you’ve made any progress with the hero since then.”
“…”
It was a ridiculously teasing question.
As expected, Alexander was still wary of me.
He needed to find the Holy Maiden with Leo’s help, and since he kept sticking to me, I could understand why he looked displeased.
The one saving grace was that I had gotten out of the pool of candidates for the Holy Maiden, but really, keeping my distance from this ninja priest was probably for the best regarding my personal safety.
‘Hmm. Maybe I can take advantage of this.’
Then a good idea popped into my head.
A good way to make use of Alexander.
“I haven’t made any progress.”
“I heard the hero was supposed to leave this town…”
“What can I do if it’s not going well? Does the hero listen to anyone’s words nicely?”
“Well, that’s true.”
“But you know, priest, if we’re meeting again, that must be fate, right?”
“Of course. This is also a blessing from the Lord.”
“Priest, how about teaching me some magic in this opportunity?”
“Excuse me?”
I said it with a pleading look, trying to appear as sincere as possible.
As expected, Alexander looked flustered.
I was halfway there.
After all, no man would remain unmoved if such a pretty girl was asking with a flutter of her eyelashes.
“I’m sorry. I don’t conduct private tutoring…”
“Oh. My finger from earlier is still throbbing and hurting. Someone asked for a handshake and ended up cutting me with a hidden blade. Ouch.”
“What do you mean? It was just a slight scratch…”
“Are you saying a priest can just attack innocent citizens like that and brush it off?”
“I thought I already apologized for that incident.”
“I don’t remember it. If I could learn magic from you, I might consider forgiving you.”
“Ha…”
Alexander let out a deep sigh.
Of course, that wound had healed completely, and there were no aftereffects.
But the fact that a priest attacked an innocent citizen still lingered.
To me, Alexander fell short when it came to shamelessness compared to the hero and the duke.
Though he was a bit twisted, he was fundamentally a devout and conscientious person, so I calculated he might be weak against such a request.
“Julia. I’ve been appointed as a history teacher at this school.”
“You can use magic, right?”
“…”
Alexander’s mouth closed tightly.
There’s no way someone who can detect Sailor’s magic wouldn’t be able to use magic themselves.
“I’m not very skilled at magic. If you’re satisfied with basic magic, I can teach you that at least…”
“Thank you. It seems my finger pain is finally easing.”
In the end, I got his consent.
Whether not being very skilled at magic was genuine humility or the truth, I couldn’t tell, but that didn’t matter much.
Since learning magic from that ninja priest wasn’t my primary goal anyway.
My real target was the hero Leopard.
I had already asked Leopard several times to teach me magic, but he always refused.
Perhaps he was worried that my reliance on him would lessen if I learned magic.
What a gloomy fellow.
So the method I came up with was to incite his jealousy.
Leopard, who both despised me and cared for me, would certainly dislike it if I were hanging around Alexander.
He would likely get furious, wondering why the one searching for the Holy Maiden was crawling into such a wretched pit.
And eventually, he would force me to learn magic from him and cut off my tutoring with Alexander.
That was my goal.
After all, this was the hero who defeated the Demon King, who made the whole world tremble in fear 50 years ago, so learning magic from him would be the best option.
Even I thought it was a flawless plan.
“What would be a convenient time for you?”
“Well, I can flexibly change my days off. What about you, priest? When is a good time?”
“I suppose Sundays are free. I have no schedule at all on Sunday afternoon.”
“So you worship in the morning and rest the rest of the time? You’re not canceling any promised appointments just because of me, right?”
“No. I came in from out of town and don’t really have any friends to meet with.”
“What about meeting women?”
“None of those either.”
“Huh? I figured there’d at least be someone. Isn’t there a girl among the congregation who follows you around because she likes you?”
“I’m not the kind of person to use my position to engage in inappropriate relationships with my congregants…”
“Ahaha. Just joking! Oh, but it sounds like there is someone…”
Surprisingly, the conversation flowed well, which took me aback.
Not because we communicated smoothly, but rather it felt like he was the kind of person you wanted to tease just because he had that captivating sense of humor, you know?
Anyway, it seemed like I could get a bit closer to Alexander.
In the end, we decided to meet on Sunday afternoons at 2 PM for the magic tutoring.
“Well. Isn’t it almost time to head back?”
As soon as I finished cleaning the hallway, I immediately checked the time.
It was about time for Tia to return.
It was the recess hour, so I felt I could welcome her with enough time to spare.
Just the thought of seeing Tia again made my legs tremble with excitement.
I was nervous about how Tia would come back after her first day at school…
“She’s coming.”
As soon as I heard the sound of clattering hoofbeats, my body reacted first.
The magnificent carriage of Dragania had already arrived right in front of the villa.
Before the carriage even stopped, Tia burst out of the door and darted towards me.
I hurriedly opened the main gate, and she flew in, hugging me tightly.
The impact made me tumble backward.
“Mom, Mom! I’m back from school! By myself! Bravely!”
“Oh my, you did well, our daughter.”
“Hehehe! Mom, do you know what happened at school? Tia almost went to the wrong classroom because I remembered the wrong class…! Oh! And that tall and pretty girl we saw at the entrance ceremony last time? She was in our class? When she introduced herself… No, wait! Before that! I was about to introduce myself when someone called themselves a lizard half-human from the front! So, so Tia…”
It was all so chaotic.
If you’re going to talk, at least do it one at a time.
But Tia seemed too excited to have the composure to speak calmly.
I gently patted Tia’s head, nodding along to the constant flow of words pouring out like a rap.
Just listening made me feel good.
“And, and then! When I went outside during recess! You know that arrogant blonde boy, right?!”
“Uh huh. The prince?”
“That’s right! When I ran into him, he started picking a fight, which was really annoying…! But Tia is nice, so I just let it go!”
“Oh my! Good job, my daughter. Well done.”
“Hehehe.”
I was happy.
I thought to myself again how alive I was in this terrible world.
In the Dragania domain.
In the mansion on a snowy mountain where snowflakes scattered 365 days a year, Duke Dragania opened his eyes wide after having them closed.
He had been haunted by a nightmare for the first time in his life, and whenever he tried to sleep, it would torment him.
“Steward.”
“You called, my lord?”
“About six months ago, I burned down a small village south of the institution.”
“Yes. I remember.”
“Find the survivors of that village. A young woman and a child. The child was a newborn at the time, but now must be around six months old.”
For the first time in his life, he felt guilt.
He experienced regret, free from human laws and morals for the first time.
While he was atoning for his sins to Julia, memories of having raped a human woman and fathering a child kept resurfacing, driving him mad.
If only he had restrained his lecherous desires then.
Or if he hadn’t fled like a coward when the child was presented to him.
“Are there any other distinguishing characteristics?”
“…The child will likely have the horns of a dragon. As for the woman… I have no recollection at all.”
“Understood. I will begin the search immediately.”
“…”
The duke rubbed his aching head.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall any details about the woman he had wronged.
All he could remember was that she had a beautiful smile.
While returning to the duke’s domain, he had seen that smile and, as if enchanted, had rushed down without even having the leisure to transform back into a human…
“Ha. Damn it.”
With a sigh filled with guilt and regret, the duke let out another one.
He had let it go for far too long.
The child may already be dead.
The woman might have gone mad and lost her sanity.
Yet, he must find them.
He didn’t care if he wasn’t welcomed by the woman or treated as a father by the child.
He had an obligation to provide for both of them.
“I hope I can find them…”
The duke earnestly wished and prayed for even a chance to rectify his wrongs.
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