The Villains I Taught Became Heroes - Chapter 106
105 – Before Seeing the True Ending – 4
Since it was a secret, I couldn’t pry any further.
I stayed by her side until her fatigue eased.
“I, I think I’ll go in now.”
“Stay a little longer, okay?”
“I have an experiment… that I need to finish.”
“Is that so? Don’t overdo it.”
“Even if I say I enjoy it, it’s still tough on my body…”
“Do you want to make your master worry?”
“If I’m struggling, will you really worry about me, Master?”
“Of course. You’re my student, after all.”
“…Is it just because I’m your student…?”
“Then what more do you need?”
“…Huh. I understand. I’ll take it easy.”
“Good. Just make sure you don’t smell like vinegar… Ouch.”
Rena’s face turned bright red as she playfully hit me.
It didn’t really hurt, but I pretended it did and slipped away from her. Rena, who had been huffing, relaxed her expression and smiled gently, waving her hand.
After watching Rena enter the Ivory Tower, I stepped into the dimensional magic circle.
Next is Arisha… but where should I look for her?
The only place she could possibly be is with the Demon King, so it would be better to search for him.
.
.
.
With the help of the Information Guild, I found the location of the Demon King.
Surprisingly, he was at Longbake Mountain.
He was eating alone in a cabin halfway up the mountain when he frowned at the sight of me.
“Ha ha. It’s been a while. Demon King.”
“Surely, you were at the Tower of the Sage…?”
“Yes. And I’m also Arisha’s teacher.”
“Hmm…”
He stood up, looking me over from head to toe.
Did he realize I was here to find Arisha?
Without saying a word, he walked away, pointing towards the inside of a cave.
“Is Arisha here?”
“No.”
“Then why am I…”
“I’m going to lock you up here!!”
What the hell?! Being kidnapped and imprisoned by the King of Authority?
He moved quickly and threw a punch.
As I barely managed to block it and was knocked back into the depths of the cave, he crossed his arms and spoke confidently.
“So you’re the one who has captivated our Arisha!”
His tone was filled with hostility.
But from my perspective, it was simply unfair.
Of course, it’s true that kids have fallen for me because I’m talented and charming, but that’s not my fault, is it?
“No, I wouldn’t say I captivated her…”
“Don’t even think about becoming our Arisha’s husband until you knock me down!”
“I’m not even thinking about it?!”
“What?! What’s wrong with our Arisha!!”
What does he want from me?
As I looked at him, I moved my hands.
Dozens of ice spears created from my shadow flew towards him, but he nullified them with just a wave of his authority.
Of course, I knew that this alone wouldn’t be enough to bring down the King of Authority.
“Ugh!!”
Moonlight Island, and Moonlight Martial Arts.
On top of that, additional magic.
He laughed mockingly as he brushed aside my consecutive attacks with a single thrust of his authority.
– Thwack!
“Ugh!”
“Uncle! What are you doing!! The food is ready, so you need to hurry and…”
The King of Authority exaggeratedly pretended to be in pain after being hit on the head with a ladle.
It was none other than Arisha who had taken down the King of Authority in one blow.
“Teacher…? Kya, kyaah!”
Upon spotting me deep within the cave, Arisha let out a scream.
I thought she would rush over as soon as she saw me, but this was a fresh reaction.
“D-Don’t look at me! I-I haven’t even put on makeup!”
Even without makeup, she still looked beautiful, but that was beside the point.
With her golden hair hastily tied up and dressed in shabby training clothes, she quickly escaped from the cave.
“…….”
“…….”
“Teacher! Eat a lot!”
In the quiet mountain lodge, only Arisha was lively as she spoke.
She was completely different from her earlier appearance, now sporting a light makeup that suited her well.
Wearing clothes that showcased her wonderful figure and skillfully braiding her long blonde hair to flow down in front, she generously served a mountain of porridge into my bowl.
“Give me some too.”
“Uncle, just serve yourself.”
Is it because of the way the King of Authority attacked me earlier?
Arisha spoke coldly, and the King of Authority, looking sulky, scooped the porridge into his bowl.
“I came all this way and thought I’d check in since you didn’t come to the resort.”
“Wow! Teacher! Were you worried about me?!”
“I couldn’t not be. I’m your teacher.”
“Ugh! I’m so happy!”
“Ahem! Ahem!”
With a bright smile, Arisha stood up and approached me.
The King of Authority cleared his throat, but Arisha completely ignored him, as if asking where the dog was barking, and hugged me tightly.
“Didn’t I send you to the academy to study? Were you just fooling around? With your instructor, no less?”
“Hehehe~. Does it look like I’m dating my teacher to you, Uncle?”
“You’re not dating. How could a student date their teacher?”
“What?! What’s wrong with our Arisha?!”
What on earth is he trying to say?
I decided to just ignore the King of Authority.
After finishing his porridge with a loud slurp, the King of Authority stood up and left.
Watching him go, Arisha naturally sat on my thigh.
“Don’t worry too much about Uncle.”
“How can I not worry about that?”
He’s openly showing hostility towards me.
With a grin directed at me, Arisha playfully tugged at my cheek.
“I’m doing well.”
“You look it. Your complexion is good. You seem stronger too?”
“Yeah. I’ve been learning some techniques from you, Uncle.”
“What techniques are you learning?”
“Aha! If you give me a kiss here, I’ll tell you~!”
Pouting her full lips, she closed her eyes, and I gently brushed my palm across her face.
“Ah! What are you doing?!”
“I think that’s a bit too much of a prank.”
“I don’t think so.”
“You’re right.”
I lifted Arisha and placed her back in her original spot.
She puffed her cheeks and grumbled, but it was only for a moment.
Returning with her characteristic lively laughter, Arisha mumbled while chewing her porridge.
“I just feel like I need to prepare a bit.”
“What kind of preparation?”
“Hmm~. I’ll tell you later.”
“Alright. If you don’t want to share, that’s fine. You don’t have to be completely honest with me.”
“Are you saying… that includes Sister Sowol and Sister Lena too?”
“Yeah. I don’t know why they’re so eager, but they didn’t come to the resort either.”
“Hmm… I guess that makes sense.”
Arisha seemed to know something, but she didn’t say anything special.
I had no intention of probing further, so I just nodded.
Without saying much, I finished eating.
Thinking I should at least do the dishes, I took the plates outside, and I tilted my head at the sight of Arisha grinning behind me.
“What are you looking at?”
“Nothing. It’s just that I’m cooking and you’re doing the dishes. Doesn’t it feel like we’re a newlywed couple?”
“Uh, I don’t think so.”
“Tch. Want me to help?”
“No, it’s fine. I can manage on my own.”
After magically melting a large block of ice, I washed the dishes with warm water.
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As I stacked the plates neatly, Arisha took them inside the cabin and quickly came back out.
“Let’s go for a walk.”
“Okay.”
Arisha happily wrapped her arms around mine.
Walking with her, who clung to me just like at the academy, was not difficult at all.
How long had we been walking on the pure white snow?
A wide training ground came into view.
“Are we training here?”
“Yeah. I’m getting help from my uncle.”
“Help from the future king… Are you aiming for the position of the next king?”
“Hehe~. I’m aiming for something even higher than that.”
I didn’t ask what it was, hoping she would bring it up herself.
It was obvious.
She would talk about being my consort or my wife or something like that.
“I’m aiming for the position of your wife!”
“I didn’t ask.”
“Yeah, I figured you wouldn’t ask, so I told you. What do you think? Isn’t it cool?”
Sure, it’s so cool.
I pinched her cheek playfully and looked around the training ground.
There were many broken spots in the facilities, making me wonder if they were training properly.
“Work hard.”
I had a rough idea of what Arisha wanted.
No, I also had an idea of what Sowol and Lena were after.
But I couldn’t stop that.
I was hoping to fulfill my own wishes while rejecting theirs.
If that was the case, I couldn’t stop them from trying to achieve their own desires.
“Yeah!!”
—
I couldn’t tell if Arisha knew what I was thinking, but she smiled brightly as always.
Her laughter warmed my heart like water slowly seeping in.
.
.
.
The vacation ended, and the day of the new semester arrived. The true ending is that everything concludes beautifully, and the students become second-years.
In other words, once the opening ceremony is over, it means saying goodbye to this world.
I wrote a letter to leave behind for them to read after I’m gone and placed it on my desk.
By the time they read this, I won’t be here.
– Knock, knock.
Hearing a knock on the door, I went outside.
Who could it be at this early hour?
“Good morning!”
“I’m here too!”
“Yay~! So am I!”
“What’s going on? At this hour.”
“I have something to give to the Master.”
“What is it?”
What Sowol handed me, almost throwing it, was none other than a challenge letter.
“…Suddenly?”
Could it be that they sensed I was planning to leave today?
That can’t be.
“I was going to give it to you in a few days, actually.”
“I had a, a bad dream.”
“So we decided to do it today!”
Such unnecessary enthusiasm.
I shrugged while looking at the challenge letters presented by the three of them.
As a master, I must always accept my students’ challenges.
I am still their teacher, so such challenges are always welcome.
“The loser goes to the cage without a word. Got it?”
“I-I’ll make sure to pack some food well!”
“Yeah! Yeah! You’ll be happy!”
They’re not even hiding the fact that they plan to imprison me if I lose.
I smiled at my students, who were looking at me with challenging eyes.
“Bring it on, you little brats.”