The Villains I Taught Became Heroes - Chapter 81



80 – Have you grown a backbone? – 1

Did I hear that correctly?

I looked at Lena. Her hands gripping the robe tightly. Her shoulders hunched in anxiety.

But her gaze didn’t avoid mine.

“Oh my…”

Wow. I almost cried.

I immediately pulled Lena into an embrace.

“H-Huh?! M-Master?!”

Is that timid, insecure Lena challenging me?! I’m truly moved.

How could this be?

“Ren, Ren.”

“Yes, yes…”

I gently patted Lena, who answered with a melting voice, devoid of strength.

Every time, it felt like her body was softly melting away.

“I am happy.”

“Y-yes?!”

“To think that you, who were always timid and lacking in confidence, who said you could never surpass me, have finally grown up enough to say you will defeat me. How did you grow up so well? Who is my disciple?”

“I-I am your disciple, Master…”

“That’s right! You are my disciple! Oh, my pretty one. Let’s see.”

“Heehee…”

I squeezed Lena’s soft cheeks.

Each time, she let out a small whimper, and ultimately, she couldn’t endure it and crumbled.

As I ruffled her hair, I lifted Lena up right away.

“Our Ren. You’ve really grown up~.”

“Y-yes, I was already grown before…”

“That’s right. You were already grown and became the head of the Ivory Tower!”

“Y-yes…”

“Yes. Let’s keep it this way from now on, okay?”

“Ah, I understand…”

I let go of Lena.

With her face flushed bright red and unsure of what to do, she let out a short exclamation of disappointment when I released her.

Holding her hand, I smiled.

“Shouldn’t we eat something to celebrate our Ren growing up? Let’s go! I’ll buy you anything you want to eat! Okay? What do you want?”

“Um… something sweet…”

“Alright! Let’s go!”

I took Lena’s hand and ran. Upon arriving at a nearby village, I entered a dessert shop and pointed at the wall.

“Give me everything from here to there.”

“Y-yes… Oh? Is that you, Lee Hyun?”

“Oh! Ralph! It’s been a while! Are you still in business?”

“Hahaha! Of course! I keep making our desserts! Wait… Oh! It’s Lena?! Wow~. That little one has grown up so much!”

“Ah, um. Hello…”

“Hahaha! It’s been a while since I’ve seen such lovely faces, so I must give you a great service! Please wait a moment!”

While Ralph went inside to pack the desserts, I kneaded Lena’s hand like dough.

She looked unsure but didn’t avoid my gaze.

Oh, what a cute little thing.

“Is there anything else you want to eat? Or something you want to have? Let me see. Right. You don’t have any clothes, do you? Let’s go buy some clothes. You’re an adult now; you need a proper dress.”

“It’s, it’s fine.”

“No, no. You need to have something good enough. Ralph, please pack the desserts!”

“Got it!”

After buying desserts and clothes, we returned to the cabin.

—

The interior of the cabin looked almost unchanged, as if it were not a lie that we had been taking care of it all this time.

“Okay. Then…”

“M-Master.”

“Yes?”

“…C-Can we continue the conversation we were having earlier…?”

The conversation we were having. The one about how the strong decide, right?

I smiled and took her outside.

“That’s right. As you said, isn’t that something the strong decide?”

“…Yes.”

“Then, Ren.”

I slowly drew my sword.

In that moment, I could see Lena’s complexion turn pale.

“Do you think you can defeat me?”

As soon as I finished speaking, a killing intent surged forth.

In the past, just facing my killing intent would have made Lena shrink back in fear.

But proving that she had grown, Lena stood firm against my aura.

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Wow. I really raised a good disciple.

“I-I won’t know unless I try…”

I leaped forward.

Startled, Lena activated her magic with a shadowless spell, but there was no way a mere intermediate spell could stop me.

As I infused my sword with energy and slashed through her magic, I aimed for her head, but Lena’s body vanished.

A shadow evasion.

In an instant, she created distance and cast her spell.

“Wind Cutter!”

Dozens of blades of wind flew toward me.

I didn’t need to dodge all of them.

Then what?

I plunged my sword into the ground, clashing the blade’s energy with the earth’s power.

– Kuuung!!

The vacuum wave that erupted neutralized the wind blades.

Using the gap it created, I conjured a water ball and hurled it at her, then dashed straight toward her.

“Ah?!”

The moment she blocked the water ball and deflected my sword with a protective spell, a strong wave crashed over me.

It was a reflection spell.

She must have timed it perfectly to trigger it just as I attacked.

It’s not an easy technique, but seeing it executed well, the master truly is a master.

Hit by it, I tumbled to the ground, choosing to lie there instead of getting up.

“H-How are you?! M-Master!”

“……”

“…M-Master…? N-No! No!!”

As Lena, who had been so full of herself, suddenly screamed and rushed towards me without a hint of movement.

Dropping her magic staff, she came to my side and grabbed me tightly.

“Master! Master!!”

“I’ve got you, you little rascal.”

“Ahhh?!”

I embraced Lena, who was completely defenseless.

She, caught without any strength, could only sniffle in my arms.

“Y-You’re being cowardly!!”

“Well, adults are usually cowardly. And there’s nothing cowardly in a fight.”

I could easily use a chokehold to knock her out, but at this point, Lena should at least understand that she has lost.

After releasing Lena from my embrace, I stood up.

“To defeat your opponent, you must finish them completely. Not knowing such a basic thing shows you’re still a novice.”

“B-But how can I defeat you…?”

“You said you would beat me, right? Then you should have used any means necessary.”

I gently patted the head of the teary-eyed Lena.

Despite her lips pouting, she didn’t shy away from my touch.

I stood up, fiddling with her puffed cheeks.

“Alright. Shall we have some dessert now?”

“Is it tasty?”

“……”

Nodding, Lena, who was munching on cake, agreed.

This brought back memories.

When she attended class diligently, I used to buy her lots of desserts back then.

Though her body had grown, Lena was still a proud student of mine.

“Master…”

“Yes?”

“W-Why do you dislike everything?”

“Dislike everything? I have plenty of things I like too.”

I picked up one of the desserts in front of Lena and took a bite.

It wasn’t overly sweet, making it a pleasant treat.

After finishing it, I noticed cream smeared on Lena’s cheek.

“Hold still.”

I wiped the cream near her lips, then set the handkerchief down and looked at her.

Her pretty face was filled with questions.

“But, Master, you always draw a line.”

“Hmm. Me?”

“Yes, yes. I-I can hear too, you know. There are so many people trying to get close to you at the academy… I-I know.”

“Because they can’t give me what I want.”

“W-What does Master want…?”

“That’s right.”

“What’s that, what is it?”

“Do you want to know?”

“Yes, yes!”

I gently patted Lena’s head. Facing her as she blinked her eyes in anticipation, I smiled.

“It’s a secret.”

“…You’re not a little kid, are you?”

“Haha. Just kidding. What I want is for you all to live happily in a peaceful world.”

Yeah. That’s all I wish for.

I looked at Lena, who was gazing at me with a sulky expression.

“Y-you’re always, always lying…”

“Adults are naturally liars.”

“W-wow. That’s so unfair…”

“Is that why you don’t like such a petty teacher?”

“…Well, that’s not it.”

“Haha. Right.”

I smiled again as I watched Lena focus back on her dessert.

We stayed in the cabin for just one day.

She seemed to want to stay a few more days, but I had things to do when I returned to the academy, so I couldn’t spare much time.

“Then let’s meet on the first day of school.”

“Yes, yes…”

I comforted the sulking Lena and sent her off to the Ivory Tower before returning to the academy.

Back in my room, I gathered the stack of documents I needed to complete and headed to the café, where I ordered coffee and began to fill out the paperwork.

Ugh.

Why is there so much to do?

Even though it’s vacation, I have a mountain of documents to write.

“Instructor Lee Hyun.”

“Hmm? Ludwig, right? Didn’t you go to the Empire?”

“I returned a bit early. By the way, I didn’t think you would be alone.”

“Is that so?”

Ludwig, sitting across from me, glanced at the documents I was looking at. It wasn’t anything particularly confidential, so I didn’t mind.

“Strange things are happening in the Empire.”

“Is it a problem with the Magic Empire?”

“Uh-huh. That’s right. There were also those who aimed for His Majesty the Emperor.”

“I see…”

Could it be the Asura Church?

Or the Magic Empire?

Perhaps it’s simply the work of those who wish to see the Empire shaken.

Ludwig sipped his coffee and continued speaking.

“New devices are being discovered all over the Empire.”

“Sounds like it’s from the Magic Empire.”

—

“That’s right. It’s the same kind of devices we saw last time. I found out that they’re being discovered not just in the Empire, but all over the continent.”

“So?”

“Soon, a request will come to the Academy. His Majesty hopes that you, as an instructor, will take an interest in the matter.”

“I was already thinking of that.”

“Reliable as always.”

With a slight smile, Ludwig set down his cup and looked directly at me.

“So, about that.”

“Um.”

“By the command of His Great Majesty the Emperor, I must ask. Would you consider a matchmaking proposal?”

A sudden shift here?