Top Instructor of a Third-Rate Academy

Chapter 180 : Chapter 180

180

A week had passed since Cassian contacted Yuria.

In that single week, the world had changed drastically.

"Did you hear? The Holy Kingdom dispatched a full five hundred Inquisitors toward the Empire! They say they have discovered a wicked black mage cult!"

"Is the Empire just going to let that happen?"

"Naturally, the Empire protested that it was outrageous! They raged that if black mages truly existed, they would handle it themselves."

The full-scale power struggle between the Holy Kingdom and the Empire had begun.

The Holy Kingdom had moved a massive force toward the Empire.

The five hundred Inquisitors were a decoy.

They were men who rode black Griffons and radiated presence wherever they went.

They would inevitably draw attention no matter where or when they appeared.

So with them as bait, the main force moved in secret.

"There is talk that the Holy Knights are on the move."

"The rumors are endless. But no one has actually seen them moving. It is probably just a rumor. However many black mages there are, it would make no sense to deploy that many."

It made sense.

And they were not just the ordinary Holy Knights either.

The deployed force consisted of the Holy Knight Commander and the entire main fighting strength.

And the one leading them was not the Holy Knight Commander.

Ranking second in all of Holy Kingdom Hersia — the daughter who delivered the word of God, the Saintess Ganemia.

She herself was advancing toward the Empire.

Naturally, the Empire was in an uproar upon receiving all this information.

"Damn it! How in the blazes did they learn of the Underground Magic Tower's existence!"

"This is exactly why I said we had to leave Instructor Cassian alone! That man is dangerous! He has six Fantasies, six!"

"Six, you say — but the one who said so was that Avril, was it not? So is it not possible the information is compromised?"

"He killed his own mentor and threw the Empire into chaos! You expect someone like that to pass us information for our benefit?"

"Tsk! Is any of that important? What matters is that this Cassian fellow dealt with five Red Moon operatives. And that he passed that information to the Holy Kingdom!"

"Which is precisely why we must sort out who is right and who is wrong! Accountability — someone must be held accountable!"

"Accountability, you say — since when has the Empire spoken such leisurely nonsense about being accountable for the affairs of lesser nations!"

"What, leisurely? This man cannot even read the times!"

The Imperial Senate had already been fracturing behind the scenes as the Emperor's authority weakened.

Every time the nobles gathered, their voices rose.

The princes and princesses did not let the opportunity slip by.

They laid out plans for what to do next with the factions that supported them.

The people of Red Moon, Blue Moon, and Dark Moon moved about in complicated patterns.

"......So, the conclusion?"

"For now, we must defend the Underground Magic Tower. That place is the Empire's sword!"

"The Lionheart Knights are currently busy holding back the barbarians of the Great Forest. Send the Magic Tower."

The Magic Tower, which had been sealed tight, opened its doors at the Imperial Senate's request.

Mages ranging from the minimum of 3rd-circle to the maximum of 5th-circle set out toward the Holy Kingdom.

"Shall the uproar of mere rabble prevent humanity's great progress?"

"Magic is magnificent. Every trivial hardship we face will ultimately be resolved by the advancement of magic!"

At the center of their voices stood the Emperor.

Brillio Lion Traimano.

This year sixty-five years old, yet despite his aged frame, his body upon the imperial throne stood as straight as a pillar, as if flaunting the vigor of a hardened veteran.

In his youth, he had been a warrior who rode at the vanguard of the battlefield along the Empire's borders.

No matter how old he grew, his body and spirit would not crumble.

But the fact that his body and spirit did not age did not mean his power was infinite.

'I too am losing my strength.'

His own children — along with their sons and daughters — were nibbling away at his power piece by piece, each demanding their share.

Even as crisis bore down, rather than unite under the name of the Empire, they sought their own safety and schemed to grow their own factions.

Come to think of it, he himself had been like that when he was young.

The Empire had never before faced a crisis of this magnitude.

But whenever small wars or medium-scale crises struck, his own power had grown incrementally stronger, and some of the imperial grandchildren had been murdered.

He had thought he understood his own decline and was accustomed to having things taken from him.

But he had never imagined that he would see the entire Empire divide and shake like this within his own reign.

'On top of that, someone has even openly declared he intends to use me.'

Cassian was his name.

The demon incidents, Sword Aura, the murder of Professor Hollians, the fragmentation of the Goldline Merchant Guild, the invasion of the Great Forest.

And now even this war between the Holy Kingdom and the Magic Tower.

At the center of every event surrounding the Empire was that man.

That was why he had intended to meet him, recruit him, and settle the Empire's problems.

Because that was how the Empire did things.

But that fellow had chosen a method more Imperial than the Empire itself, from outside the Empire.

Namely — he had declared that he would make use of the Emperor.

"You may withdraw."

The Emperor dismissed his attendants and headed to his private study.

He hung his heavy cloak on the rack and rested his body on a sofa meant for leisure.

Then, eyes closed, he asked.

"What sort of man was he?"

Behind him, a single knight stood at attention and answered.

"He had good eyes."

"Was he astute to the ways of the world? Or was his conviction unbending? Or could he face his fears directly? What are good eyes?"

At the Emperor's question, the knight laughed softly and replied.

"I do not know such metaphorical expressions. His eyes were simply, purely, good."

"I see. He was your disciple, was he not?"

"He was never taught enough to grandly be called my disciple — but seeing how his name has spread across the world, I suppose there may be some benefit to calling him my disciple."

"Crafty as ever."

The knight who had been leaning in the shadow slowly stepped forward.

He was a man like a lion.

One's gaze was drawn to him even when he stood still, and the moment your gaze found him, you felt a force that made it impossible to look away.

His sharp eyes seemed to hold both wisdom and martial prowess in equal measure, and the yellow pupils within those eyes were like those of an innocent beast of prey.

A man to whom the word "lion" suited better than anyone.

The strongest knight in the world.

The Captain of the Lionheart Knights.

Perdius de Lionheart.

"He asked to meet me. Would you like to join your old disciple for a long-overdue reunion?"

Perdius laughed.

"That sounds fine. Feelings have been quietly accumulating while we were apart, after all. My subordinates have been whining about it too."

"I said to have a reunion — not to cross swords."

"Swordsmen converse through swords."

"I see. He said we will know the timing of the meeting naturally when it comes."

"Do I need to tag along?"

Perdius asked provocatively.

"Surely not."

The Emperor answered.

The Empire had never once moved in accordance with an opponent's intent.

The opponent had declared that he would make use of the Emperor.

But as always, the Empire would claim even that ambition for itself in a way only the Empire could.

***

"Teacher. You do realize this plan is incredibly dangerous, right?"

"I do."

"There is talk that the mage summoning demons is not a 5th-circle or 6th-circle, but a 7th-circle. You know that, right?"

"I know."

"No matter how strong you are, Teacher, you are not omnipotent. You know that too?"

"I do."

"And you are still going?"

I nodded.

"Why?"

At Rozalin's question, I quietly sank into thought.

That question had been circling my head ever since the Emperor said he wanted to meet me days ago.

Why was I fighting demons and doing all these things?

Of course I had to!

Because there were people suffering, and there might be people threatening me!

I would run headlong on that kind of reasoning, but sometimes a moment would come when I would blank out and wonder what I was even doing.

On top of that, the result was that the world was being engulfed in war.

With the Underground Magic Tower clashing against the Holy Kingdom's main forces, and the surface Magic Tower joining in, a full-scale war had begun.

In the midst of that gap, numerous Imperial intelligence units had gone into motion, and various colonial states were plotting revolution.

It felt as though I had become the world's hidden mastermind.

But even amid that somewhat hollow feeling, there was something that did not change.

"Because I must be a good teacher."

I did not want to be ashamed before my students.

I wanted to show them that I would see through what I believed was right to the very end.

I wanted to teach them that even when one's body and mind grew weary, if the end result created good, one had to know how to sacrifice.

"You teach swordsmanship well."

"Teaching technique well does not earn one the title of teacher."

That was my belief.

Teaching technique well merely made one a senior, an instructor, or a lecturer.

I wanted to be a teacher.

I wanted to teach people life's attitudes, ways of living, and ultimately, the way to live.

Of course, I could not be the right answer.

What I wanted to teach was the strength to hold onto one's own convictions.

Hearing my explanation, Rozalin let out a deep sigh.

"Why do you have to say something so cool so I cannot even stop you from going to dangerous places?"

"So you are not going to stop me?"

"Of course I will stop you! Even if words worthy of scripture came down from a god rather than something 'cool,' no!"

"You are being strangely overprotective of me."

"Overprotective?! You! Huh? You almost — died — once — almost — went — missing! Such a wicked sinner as you should keep his mouth shut! Huh?! Do you not know?!"

Rozalin shouted and raged loudly.

Meanwhile, Sihan finished his preparations and approached.

"Mana's all charged. We can go now."

"Thank you."

"Thanks for what — I am just doing this to make my trip easier."

Only a small number of personnel were to participate in this journey.

Myself, Berlith, Rozalin, Sihan, and Bonnie.

Berlith and Sihan would reverse-calculate the energy in the dagger to find the source of the curse.

Also, if demon summoners truly appeared, we would need someone of 5th-circle or higher to subdue them.

Rozalin had volunteered as my escort and was tagging along.

I had wanted to avoid bringing any students if at all possible, but Rozalin had insisted that she knew the Imperial frontlines and strategies better than anyone and had to come along.

And Pan.

"......I really wanted to come too."

He had been left out of this journey.

Up until now, we had fought demons and enemies the regressors already knew about.

But from this point on, we had to fight uncertainty — opponents who might appear in any form.

Which meant we needed insurance.

"If you master your swordsmanship to its extreme, you will be able to cut through time."

So even if we all ended up dying, Pan could simply turn time back again.

The responsibility was immense.

"......Will I really be able to turn time back again?"

"It was possible even when I died in a meaningless way. The you of now will be far stronger than the you of that time. Believe in yourself."

"Okay, enough farewells! We are departing — close the door!"

At Sihan's urging, I exchanged brief farewells and climbed into the carriage.

I shut the carriage door and fastened my safety belt.

Soon after, the carriage accelerated rapidly and shot up into the air.

"One hour from now, at this pace. We will arrive at the main stronghold of the Underground Magic Tower and the Holy Knights — where the fierce battle is currently being waged."

Sihan glanced at his clock and asked me.

"We will be heading to the battlefield as you said, but — you really do have a plan to halt a chaotic battle and find the demon summoner, right?"

I nodded.

"I have something in mind. I have tested it too. So for now, please just take us there."