I Stayed Loyal When My Teacher Was Betrayed

35 – The Disaster of Mount Ma 5

“Please… come in. I’ve been waiting for you.”

A group of adventurers entered the room.

Led by three witches, they were accompanied by an assassin, a priestess, an archer, and even a demon, a rather peculiar combination. Observing them, Lokiya expressed her courtesy.

“Nice to meet you. I am Rosetta, the team leader.”

In response to Lokiya’s words, Rosetta also showed her respect.

At first glance, it seemed like they were reciprocating the greeting from this side, but for a moment, Lokiya sensed something.

Falling in love with a woman who was almost stooping down to her waist, it meant that the other person wasn’t bowing their head more than their neck. It could be thought of as a simple action. However, from Rockyia’s standpoint, who had been rolling around on this ground for a while, it was easy to understand what it meant. “This means that she values herself more than me.” Maybe it was an attitude that could be rude to the owner of Matap, but Rockyia didn’t feel the need to fuss over it or even think about falling forward on this matter. Maybe Veolf wouldn’t know… Now there was no power left for her to build up her dignity by calling herself the chief of Matap. The important thing was to get as much as she could from it. Feeling mentally shaved away from such a simple greeting, Rockyia spoke to them with the biggest smile possible. “Thank you for coming all the way here. Please sit down for now.” After Roseeta, adventurers took their seats. Watching them all radiate an uneasy sense, Rockyia felt like she couldn’t breathe for a moment, but she held back and opened her mouth. “You’ve heard roughly about the request. Patrol the area near Matap and if there are any monsters, please exterminate them.” “I see. If it’s that kind of job, we can handle it easily. But…” With those words, Roseeta’s cold stare began to emerge. Then she said something with an unsettling emotion to Rockyia. “Is that really all?” “! A word as sharp as a sword. However, since Rockyia expected this kind of question to come up anyway, she maintained a smile and said to her, “Of course, I’ll be grateful if you only handle external affairs. However, there is one more thing… There is one personal piece I would like to hope for separately.” “A personal piece?” “Yes, it could be slightly academic… Even though we belong to different organizations, aren’t you a witch who walks the magic path with us?” “That’s true, but…” “I’ve always thought that there hasn’t been enough interaction between our Matap and the Adventurer Guild. In that regard, I would like to have a humble exchange meeting now that we’ve finally met each other.” “…Is that… impossible?”

After a moment of silence in response to her words, Rosetta.

In a moment, Rocky could hardly help but feel restless in the awkward atmosphere that began to flow.

The action of simply asking for a social gathering, at first glance, seemed simple.

However, for Rocky, this situation was practically the last remaining lifeline.

With her and Matap’s power alone, she could not overcome this predicament.

With her lacking knowledge and abilities, it was impossible to come up with a plan, and even if she thought of it, she lacked the capacity to execute it.

In this situation, the advice of Rosetta, who was known as a grandmaster adventurer and had lived as a witch for much longer than her, gave her a glimmer of hope in the darkness.

And about this.

Rosetta, who had maintained silence, finally responded in a quiet voice.

“Understood. I’m willing if you want it.”

“Ah!”

Whether she read this expectation, or there was something else, it was impossible to know.

However, just knowing that the woman in front of her agreed to her request made Rocky’s face start to light up with joy.

“Thank you. If you want, I will prepare a suitable place for you by tomorrow. We need time to proceed with the commission, so take your time to socialize.”

“Yes, that sounds good.”

*

At times, a situation could seem completely different depending on the information one knew.

And at this point, me and Rosemary’s master could understand.

Seeming to carry on the story nonchalantly, Rocky was feeling as if her insides were burning at that moment.

‘Looking beyond her face, it seems she has suffered a great deal…’

She was trying to cover it up, but behind the makeup, dark circles were visible, and her skin had become rough enough to resemble asphalt compared to the earthiness of the past.

Her face had become almost halfway marred by wrinkles, showing an almost pitiful change from her original appearance.

However, even looking at this, I felt not sympathy, but rather a sense of retribution for the teacher who betrayed me.

‘How ridiculous, to betray your teacher and end up in this state. It’s kind of funny, isn’t it?’

It seemed to clearly show what it means to have wasted your life.

Curious about the expression she would make if we revealed our identity to her,

I started to ponder for a moment about what she had done during the exchange meeting with us.

Just by witnessing the scenes I saw so far on my way here, it was easy for me to realize that Matop was completely chaotic.

Matop, which was always lively even though it was located in Busan in the past.

However, the atmosphere of this place, which I returned to after almost a year, had completely changed into something incredibly gloomy and melancholic that could rival a funeral home.

It wasn’t just because many people died in the previous war.

The biggest problem was undoubtedly the current situation where Lokiya, the owner of Matop right in front of us, was grumbling without doing what she should be doing.

Not only the basic operations of Matop but also the post-war management were in complete disarray.

And this was something we had anticipated long before we came here.

“At least, our known Lokiya was never qualified to be a leader.”

Lokiya, who was outstanding in magical abilities, could never become a figure worthy of leading someone.

In such a situation where she forcibly held onto her position claiming to be a leader, there was no way Matop could remain intact.

She had no ability to perform her duties, nor did she have enough charisma to give orders to others.

Even though there were talents within Matop, they were neglecting their responsibilities and merely looking on, all because of these reasons.

“No… Maybe she is not even aware of it. This woman, who can’t even pay attention to her surroundings, can’t possibly assess people properly…”

While her magical skills were outstanding, Lokiya was utterly powerless when it came to anything beyond personal magical growth.

The reason Lokiya called us might have been initially stated as an exchange meeting, but the true intention was obvious.

She sought advice that could be helpful to her as a fellow wizard and wanted to establish a connection with the Adventurer Guild through us.

Regarding her intentions,

Master accepted it with reservations.

Honestly, in my heart, I wanted to let it all end disastrously, but it seemed that Master had a different plan.

Of course, that didn’t mean Master would simply extend a hand of mercy… It was definitely not the case.

At least, Rosemary Master, as far as I knew, was not that kind of person.

“She may forgive, but only after receiving a suitable price… From that standpoint, Lokiya might also…”

With expectations for the future unfolding quietly inside me like anticipation, I slowly got up from my seat amidst the atmosphere of finishing the first greetings and preparing to leave.

*

In the dark night.

Within it, a group of shadows were moving secretly through the forest.

Cloaked in robes, they were stealthily moving.

At that moment,

“!”

A figure appeared in front of those people.

Likewise, wearing a black robe and emitting an eerie magical power characteristic of demons, that person spoke to them in a calm female voice.

“Please come forward, I have come to deliver Lord Lorukine’s orders.”

“Hmm…”

“Your… Your command, please.”

She spoke quietly yet politely.

After hearing her words, the crowd in robes nodded with tension still marked on their faces.

“Understood. With Thorcan’s instructions and as you have stated, we will carry out your commands.”

With those words, they vanished in an instant.

Just after their visit, which took advantage of the darkness, disappeared.

The woman in the black robe turned quietly and looked back.

As she gazed at the sight of the Matap coming into view.