I Stayed Loyal When My Teacher Was Betrayed

11 – This is the Adventurer’s Hope Part 3

That day, it rained.

As if there were holes in the sky, heavy rain poured down in torrents.

In the midst of it,

she asked in a dark voice.

“Are you… leaving?”

“…”

Silence.

She knew that silence meant affirmation.

She didn’t want to accept it.

But in this situation, she had no choice but to admit it herself.

The person in front of her…

It was over now.

In her eyes…

There was nothing left to seek.

Not even the will to live,

nor hope for the future.

And… not even the beliefs she once held within herself.

Everything had turned to ashes and disappeared now.

She was no different from an empty doll.

She was alive, but unable to say that she was living.

An empty shell with nothing left.

Feeling sadness at her state.

Feeling despair at her own helplessness even in this situation.

She,

Captured the disappearing figure of that person in the rain.

I want to become stronger…

I have to become stronger.

To prevent something like this from happening again.

To not helplessly lose precious friends…

And the teacher…

After that time, that day,

Her determination soon became the reason and belief that she was living for.

Because of that belief,

She was able to endure.

Chewing and swallowing countless disgust, humiliation,

And despair.

One step,

And another.

Even as she went through the process of bending, crumbling,

And slamming to the ground.

She moved forward like an obsession.

Holding a glimmer of hope in her heart…

If that person ever comes back…

To be able to confidently talk to him in front of her.

*

“Te… te… acher… how…!”

“Shh!”

A perplexed woman, Ovelin, with a face full of confusion.

As her lips were lightly touched by a finger.

Rosemary spoke in a quiet voice.

“I see that many eyes are watching. Let’s just let it go for now.”

“!… Yes, I understand.”

An unfamiliar sight, not used to such things.

Upon this, Ovelin flipped the masks that had momentarily loosened and stood up from her seat.

A face full of it.

With a disgustingly sweet smile.

“Well then~! For those who guessed correctly, I will give you a special gift.”

“Huh?… Three people?”

-Click!

With those words, Ovelin flicked her finger lightly.

At the same time.

The three people before her eyes.

Rosemary, the demon,

And behind the aspiring adventurers who seemed to be part of the group.

Suddenly, women dressed in uniforms started popping out.

“!… This is…”

At first glance, they appeared to be genuine humans.

However, she could identify the three people trapped by them.

These were not real humans,

But beings created through magic.

From the texture of their skin and attire to the intricate embroidery on their clothes.

They were so exquisitely crafted that, unless one surpassed the ordinary level of perception in detecting magic, they would be completely fooled.

Caught by them, the three people were led somewhere along with Ovelin.

*

We, three pitiful souls, were being dragged away like criminals without any resistance.

Somehow, even Bernie ended up getting involved beside me, but for now, I had no choice but to shut up and obediently follow this situation.

Rosemary, the master, and the woman who seemed to have some connection with her.

Ovelin.

It seemed like the right answer to move as she, who introduced herself as the guild master, had intended.

After a little while of traveling, we arrived at the place.

A room in the depths of the guild building,

That place, just by looking at it, gave off a luxurious feeling.

-Clap!

Upon arriving there, Ovelin lightly applauded.

At the same time, the magical beings who had brought us disappeared in an instant, and the restraints that held us captive were released immediately.

“Everyone, well done. Please sit over here. Ah, teacher, this way.”

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She guided us with a cheerful smile.

Seeing her warm hospitality, I could be certain that this person was the one the teacher spoke of.

After taking our seats,

Ovelin followed the teacher, bringing tea, and spoke in a bright voice.

“Excuse me. It has been a while since we met, and you’ve arranged such a performance.”

“It’s fine. Thanks to it, I was able to easily escape from a troublesome situation.”

“I heard the story too. Yesterday, Gloss recklessly provoked the demons. I never thought they were a being under your employment, teacher.”

Saying that, Ovelin glanced towards me for a moment.

Although she momentarily had a meaningful expression, she soon looked back at the teacher and smiled.

“In any case, welcome, teacher. Has it been 10 years already? I’m glad to see you’re still healthy and well.”

“Yeah, you look healthy too, which is good. And… quite impressive. I heard news that you have climbed up to quite a high position, but I didn’t expect you to become a guild master. That explains why you seemed so serious when I mentioned your name at the reception desk. There must have been a reason.”

“Well, ever since I came to this position, it’s been getting more complicated. I’ve instructed to filter out people who approach claiming to be acquaintances as much as possible. If I knew that the teacher was coming, I would have sent for you right away.”

The two of them seemed to exchange stories effortlessly.

Then,

“Well then, enough of these side conversations, let’s get straight to the point. There’s no need to beat around the bush between us anyway.”

“Yes, please tell me, teacher.”

Amidst their small talk, the teacher’s voice suddenly turned serious.

Upon hearing this, Ovelin also reduced her smile and looked straight at Master Rosemary.

“I want to become an adventurer again. This person here wants to join as well.”

“!… Teacher!”

Upon her words, Ovelin began to show a rather joyous expression.

In her face, a deep sense of joy, as if a long-awaited dream had finally come true, could be felt.

“Really? If you do that for me, it would truly be something I’m grateful for! I needed someone right now.”

“Oh? It didn’t seem like there were so many requests, but maybe it wasn’t exactly like that.”

“Haha, this place is always like that. Besides…”

“Besides?”

For a moment, Ovelin hesitated, about to say something, but then closed her mouth.

However, her hesitation was short-lived, and soon she spoke to the master before her with a serious expression.

“Besides… For what I want to do now, people were necessary. Someone like you, with strength and an upright heart…”

“…I don’t necessarily think I’m that strong.”

“No need to be humble. Without you as my master, I wouldn’t be here now. Anyway, I hope you can lend your help in relation to the upcoming task.”

“Well, if it’s something you’re asking for, I’ll probably have to listen… What is it exactly? Are you planning to start a war or something?”

“Yes, you guessed it.”

Their conversation sounded far from being a joke.

As the atmosphere flowed in a rather unusual way, furrowing my brow slightly,

I started sensing a premonition that I would get entangled in a much more complicated matter than I thought.

And unfortunately,

My premonition turned out to be exactly right.

*

After enduring a tough battle and moving forward, she finally arrived.

At the position she had longed for.

The position where she could overturn everything that displeased her, with her own hands.

However,

The moment she ascended to that position, she realized.

That the world…

Was a much crueler existence than she had imagined.

She had put in effort to grasp the sword,

And had finally obtained it.

However, wielding it as she desired turned out to be much more difficult than she had thought.

“I disagree. Even so, we cannot break the customs that have been upheld until now.”

“Don’t you know that there are rules here in this place? Even if it’s the guild master’s command, we cannot obey.”

“Report? If you can, then go ahead and try. If you want rumors to spread that we capture people without evidence, that’s what I mean.”

The rotten scum that had been piling up within the Adventurer’s Guild.

To clear away the grease, called custom, that had been sticking to everything, Ovelin had been working hard for the past three months.

However, that filthy habit that had continued for decades was something that she, even as the guild master, could not easily get rid of.

Ovelin, who had come to this position by herself.

She had very few followers.

There were those who didn’t completely agree with her, but due to her exemplary attitude, she was unable to gather any followers as she herself refused to create a faction, and they were all quietly offering their support, each gradually falling apart rather than coming together.

Ovelin, who possessed weak power compared to her authority.

However,

It was certain that the situation in front of her would change if she became involved.

Rosetta Hendrick.

Her teacher and one of the strongest Grandmaster-level adventurers in history.

Even though her past reputation had almost completely disappeared after 10 years, if she, who was still recorded as a Grandmaster, were to join her, Ovelin would be able to change everything in earnest.

“How about it? Teacher.”

With such high expectations, Ovelin asked, her eyes sparkling.

Regarding this,

Her teacher pondered for a moment before answering with a smile on her lips.

“That sounds… like it could be interesting. Enough to regret if you miss out.”