The Villains I Taught Became Heroes - Chapter 71



70 – End of Chapter 1 – 2

“Teacher~! Teacher~!”

With a beaming smile, Arisha grabbed my arm.

When she’s in a good mood, she rushes over like a puppy and always hugs my arm, so I didn’t pay much attention to it, but it seemed to bother Sowol and Lena quite a bit.

“Arisha?! Aren’t you clinging a bit too much to the instructor?!”

“Y-yeah. Th-the reason the instructor chose Arisha is b-because Arisha is w-weak!”

“Huh? Is that so, Teacher?”

“I can’t say it’s not.”

I stroked Arisha’s head and looked at the party members on her side.

Ludwig, Lumina, Rifa, and Rowen Trevor, the second son of Count Trevor from the Kingdom of Rodwan, Charlotte, the ace of the Palos Mercenary Corps, and Richter from the Atrima Knights.

All of them could be accepted as companions if we took the Arisha route, and overall, they weren’t a bad balance.

If we went with a typical route, they would be more than enough to defeat the Chapter 1 boss.

However, the current situation can’t be considered typical.

There’s a high possibility that the Asura Church’s machinations are mixed in.

Sowol and Lena would have enough strength to solve problems if they joined another party, but this party lacks that.

So, I thought I needed to fill that gap and joined Arisha’s party.

“So, you’re going to protect me, Teacher?”

“I can’t say that’s not the case either.”

“Hehe~. I’m so happy~.”

Arisha smiled even brighter and hugged my arm tightly.

As I saw Sowol and Lena’s faces gradually turning red, I pulled Arisha away from my arm and spoke to everyone.

“Well, since the party is set, let’s report to the dean today so we can coordinate by tomorrow and meet at the entrance of the underground waterway in the evening.”

I expected it, but the dean was negative about Class A’s members solving the underground waterway issue.

However, with Sowol and Lena involved, and me joining as well, he reluctantly granted permission, albeit with some anxiety.

Thank goodness. I was worried about what would happen if he didn’t allow it.

With a light heart, I headed towards the underground waterway.

When I arrived, all the Class A students were waiting, fully prepared for battle.

Sowol was holding the Moonlight Sword and wearing the Saint’s armor, while Lena was lightly stretching in her magical staff and shadow robe.

“Alright. Here’s the map of the underground waterway. Sowol, Lena, take it.”

“Yes.”

“Understood.”

After handing the map to the two, I passed the remaining map to Arisha.

Arisha tilted her head as she received the map.

“You’re the leader of this party. Just think of me as a member of your party.”

“Um… is that okay?”

“Of course.”

I believed Arisha would do just fine.

I would step in only if absolutely necessary.

After giving her shoulder a light pat, I approached Sowol and Lena.

It seemed they were still dissatisfied with the fact that I was part of Arisha’s party, as their lips were pouting.

“Don’t sulk over something like kids.”

“…I’m not sulking!”

Not sulking, huh?

Their lack of honesty was just like old times.

I poked Sowol’s slightly puffed cheek with my finger.

With a sound like a deflating balloon, her puffed cheek sank, and she started to poke me with her fist.

“I think you’ll do well. Take good care of the others.”

“…With just my words?”

“Should I give you a compliment sticker?”

“Not that.”

With a pouty face, Sowol approached me.

What was she trying to say?

She tugged at my ear and whispered softly in my ear.

“If we get to Emerald Beach, please set aside a day for me.”

Emerald Beach.

Now that I think about it, we went there as a bonus stage if we scored well in the first chapter of the first semester.

We could see characters in swimsuits there.

Taking a day for that… well, that should be fine.

I nodded, and only then did Sowol seem satisfied and let go of me.

—

Well, that’s settled…

“Ren. You can do it, right?”

“…Y-yes. I’ll do my best!”

She seemed disappointed that I wouldn’t be going with her, but Lena was forcing a smile.

Perhaps it was because she wasn’t used to revealing her desires; it was clear she was trying to hide her disappointment.

Feeling a pang of sympathy, I gently patted Lena’s head and said,

“Is there something you want, too?”

“Um… Is, is anything okay?”

“Not just anything. Let’s hear it first and then talk.”

“…W-would it be possible to go back to the cabin during the break?”

The cabin—she must be referring to the place we used to live together.

I wonder if it’s still there?

I nodded at her with a desperate look in her eyes.

It might take a few days to get there, but it shouldn’t be a problem.

As I gave my permission, a smile spread across Lena’s face.

Looks like she’s finally feeling a bit better. After giving her back a reassuring pat, I returned to the Arisha party.

“What did you talk about with Sister Sowol and Sister Lena?”

“Just asked them to keep an eye on the kids.”

“That’s it? Seeing the smiles on your faces, it seems like there’s more to it?”

“More? Not really. Now, let’s head in.”

There are three entrances to the underground waterway.

We enter through different entrances, activate the switch at the end, and when the iron door at the end opens, the central route’s iron door will open, allowing us to enter the processing facility.

Of course, the Arisha party has to go in through the center.

We need to defeat the chaotic forces in the facility before we can follow the main story.

So, I had Sowol and Lena enter through the left and right entrances.

Without any complaints, they headed that way, and I said to Arisha,

“Let’s go in too.”

“Okay! Everyone, be careful!”

With Arisha signaling after checking the map, the assault on the underground waterway began.

The underground waterway consists of five stages in total.

The first is the Slime Factory, a room where slimes continuously spawn.

The goal is to destroy the factory in the center within the time limit, and with our current party, we should be able to do it without any issues.

“Slimes! Lumina!!”

“Got it!”

Those who can use magic centered around Lumina unleashed their spells, incinerating the slimes.

Since slimes have high resistance to physical attacks, responding with magic was definitely a wise choice.

As the slimes burned without resistance in the flames conjured from magical power, a path opened up, and Arisha began using her fighter skill, Detection, to check for any additional enemies.

This is a textbook strategy.

All the hard work I put into teaching them is paying off.

“I can feel something in there!”

—

—

“What could it be? Everyone, stay alert!”

The party led by Arisha continued without major issues. How long had they been moving like this?

As a wide space was revealed, everyone began to prepare for battle.

When slimes started to continuously spawn from the device in the center of that space, Arisha quickly made a decision.

“Slimes are coming out from there?! We need to destroy that first!! Ludwig! Roewen! Charlotte! Let’s take that down together!”

“Got it.”

“Leave it to me!”

“Don’t worry!”

So they were selecting only those whose main attacks were physical to destroy the slime factory.

A good decision.

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The rest would likely provide support with magic, right?

“Teachers, standby! If there’s any unexpected additional attack, please handle it!”

Following Arisha’s orders, I stood by quietly, observing the situation.

Not just Arisha, but the movements of the other students were commendable.

At this rate, we should be able to tackle this without major issues.

-Crunch!!

How long had it been since the battle began? The sound of the slime factory breaking echoed, and soon after, the factory began to collapse.

Impressive. They had thoroughly smashed the slime factory according to the textbook.

“What on earth is this?”

“A device that creates slimes… I can’t believe it.”

“Teacher! Do you know what this is?”

Before I could speak, it was Lumina who answered.

With a serious expression, she gazed at the device and then looked around at us.

“It seems to be an ancient device. Before the Empire was established, there was a place called the Mage Empire. I’ve heard that the Mage Empire had devices that created monsters, and this seems to be one of them.”

“The Mage Empire… If it’s a country that existed before the Empire was formed, that’s a story nearly a thousand years old. Why is this here?”

Ludwig looked at me with a serious expression.

The reason is simple.

The identity of the forces of chaos is none other than the descendants of the Mage Empire.

But there was no need to say that now, so I just shrugged my shoulders.

“Maybe we can find out if we keep going? Let’s hurry!”

Everyone agreed with Arisha’s bright voice.

Thus, we continued deeper, fighting the legacies of the Mage Empire like chimeras and three-headed golems, and eventually reached a room with a switch.

“It seems we’re the last ones here.”

Two of the switches were lit up.

It looked like Sowol and Rena had arrived first.

Arisha confirmed this and activated the last switch, causing the tightly shut iron door to begin to open.

And then.

“…So we meet again here. Lee Hyun.”

With a voice from the entrance of the room, figures dressed in black began to enter.

As each one appeared, looking formidable, Arisha and the students raised their weapons with tense expressions.

—

“…Who is it?”

“The Asura Church. The Archbishop of Repentance.”

A familiar face appeared.

It was the one I had fought before, but we had never settled the score.

“Well, this is convenient. You’re with those I need to kill anyway.”

As the Archbishop of Repentance raised his hand, the dark-clad figures behind him brandished their weapons.

Watching this, I sent Arisha and the other students inside the iron gate before closing it.

“Te-teacher!!”

At Arisha’s urgent cry from behind the iron gate, I turned my head slightly to respond.

“Leave this to me.”

This is something I have to resolve.