I Stayed Loyal When My Teacher Was Betrayed

23 – Heart of a Teacher 3

Quickly recovering wounds on the shoulders.

Shortly after completing the recovery with Mist’s holy magic,

The master still asked me with concern.

“Are you okay? Or is there any uncomfortable place..”

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“I am fine now. There is nothing wrong.”

“Well… Really? Then that’s a relief…”

Master’s relieved look.

I couldn’t help but feel doubtful about her different atmosphere than usual.

The teacher I know never flatters anyone like this.

She didn’t speak, but just helped if someone fell,

and would never raise her voice to make a noise.

Despite feeling skeptical about it,

I smiled slightly at the fact that her appearance wasn’t considered so bad,

And said to her with a light grin.

“I’m really okay. Thank you for your concern, Master.”

“! … Um, well, if you’re safe, that’s all that matters.”

With those words, the master calmly composed her expression again.

Then she looked at Mist staring oddly at us and said.

“Why are you looking at me like that? You have things to take care of right now.”

“! Ah…”

Right after hearing that, Mist rushed off in a hurry somewhere.

There were the heads of the four great families who had been battered by the teacher and me.

As for the assassin, there was no excuse as his brain had been pierced, and he died immediately.

Furthermore, the ranger also had his neck broken due to the aftermath of the teacher’s attack and died.

Only the dying priest and the magician were left.

Looking at the two of them, the Valkyries sent cold glances.

“Sa… Save… Dao… But… Still… I am your father, aren’t I?”

The dying priest begged for his life.

On the other hand, the wizard simply stared at them in silence… or rather, he was targeting Freya, to be exact.

“If you have something to say, go ahead. I might spare your pitiful life begging for it.”

“Heh…”

Freya spoke with a cold voice.

However, in response, the wizard only displayed a chilly sneer.

“…Kill him. This traitorous scum. It was my biggest mistake to spare someone like you.”

“…Father…”

“Shut up! You are not even my child! Just a piece of bad luck that was born! I was foolish to show mercy and use someone like you for my own gain!”

…

The wizard shouted with a voice filled with hatred.

In response to this, Freya hesitated but slowly raised her staff as if there was no other choice.

Her trembling hand.

Upon seeing that, the man kept sneering until the end.

“You weakling, what can you even do?! You’re just a combination! You should never have existed from the beginning! Someone who can’t even perform simple tasks properly like a dog! You are not even worth living… Ugh!”

…

Freya, facing the man who kept cheerfully talking, thrust her staff into him.

The staff, containing magic, pierced through his body instantly.

Leaving behind the lifeless man whose heart has been pierced,

Freya pulled out the bloodstained staff without hesitation and headed somewhere.

And…

“S.. Spare me! P-Please! I-I was wrong! I’ll give anything… Anything you ask for! Whether it’s the position of lord or the power of the adventurer guild! Please save me!”

The official begged more desperately, seized by spasms due to his comrade’s death.

But…

“Tsk. With such tenacity… I would have shown some courage, even if it was recklessness.”

“!”

Cold words came out of Mist’s mouth.

The official understood what it meant.

It was the same words he uttered in the past while tormenting young Mist.

In response, the official’s face froze with a stern expression…

*Bam!*

He drove an arrow into the head of Brünhilde, who had been waiting beside him.

“Ku… he… uh…”

The newly appointed official met her death as she let out a sigh.

After concluding everything that way,

She turned towards them…

Rosemary asked in a calm voice.

“How do you feel?”

“I… don’t know.”

“…Me neither…”

“Haha… I thought I would at least feel somewhat relieved… But it’s not exactly like that.”

Four people lay dead in this place.

They were individuals who, without a doubt, deserved their bloodshed and were more than enough enemies for them.

They made their childhoods full of suffering,

Those who raised them as mere puppets.

Nevertheless, looking at the three people who were expressing a sense of discomfort at this moment…

A quiet smile began to form on the teacher’s lips.

“…You’re a good child. For now, at least.”

“…What?”

“W-What…”

With a dumbfounded expression, they blinked their eyes.

Regarding this, the teacher continued speaking calmly without losing her smile.

“Even though you suffered a terrible ordeal, you still can’t purely hate your kin. In other words, it means there is still compassion lingering in your hearts.”

“…”

“Um…”

Unable to deny the teacher’s words, they remained silent.

In response to this, the teacher swung her cane lightly and cleanly cremated the corpses of those who lay dead.

“!”

A perfect cleanup with not a single bone fragment remaining.

Having tidied up the traces of the execution so immaculately, the teacher looked at the three people and advised in a quiet voice.

“If your hearts have not died, they can change. Of course, it will require efforts proportional to that… How about it? As someone who has lived in this world for a long time, I think I can help you a little.”

The mentor reached out his hand slowly.

The three who looked at it seemed to hesitate for a moment, but soon came to a quick conclusion.

“Well, at least it’s better than being bullied by those humans.”

“I will repay this favor in any way I can. Please trust me.”

“…In the first place… there was no choice…”

They each took the mentor’s hand, uttering a word. It could have been a somewhat touching scene, but as I watched them, I could only force a bitter smile at the hidden truth.

‘Slaves 1, 2, and 3 are being reborn once again…’

Nana Bernier, a formal disciple, was treated differently from the other three subordinates. Of course, it wasn’t as if the mentor was openly exploiting them, but knowing how her “subordinates” had been treated in the past at the mausoleum, I could only wish them well with a heavy heart.

However…

“…Huh?”

I suddenly realized one thing too late, then I left the place.

“Here you are.”

“… “

A voice coming from behind.

Frea turned her head for a moment and then stared straight ahead.

The rooftop of the building.

Frea gazed at the sky from there.

Whenever her heart felt stifled, this was where she often went.

At this moment, being in that place again made Frea feel both doubtful and deeply uncomfortable.

“…You don’t look happy. Aren’t you pleased?”

“….I should be pleased… but why do I feel so uneasy?”

With a bitter voice, Frea spoke.

Everything had ended.

She no longer had to live the life of a puppet.

The restraints of her oppressive family,

The presence of her abusive father,

They were all gone now.

However… even so,

A feeling of suffocation still lingered in her heart.

It wasn’t simply because she killed the entity she used to call “father.”

Seeing him spew out his final hateful words, all the remaining affection washed away.

Yet, despite that, her heart was still incredibly empty.

Just like… an empty doll…

“…I have always longed for freedom… But now that I finally have it… I feel more confused than happy…”

“…Is that so?”

She wanted to escape from the path she was on,

But now that the path has disappeared, she felt lost.

Where should she turn?

What should she live for from now on?

Amidst the sudden turmoil that engulfed her,

She slowly looked beside her.

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The presence she thought to be similar to her.

However, fundamentally different from her in some way.

Toward him, Freya cautiously asked.

“Hey… do you, by any chance, know? How should I live…? How should I use this freedom I’ve gained?”

“Hmm…”

The demon pondered her words for a moment.

Then, while gazing at her face,

He calmly spoke in a gentle voice.

“Simply put… Just live doing what you want, isn’t that it?”

“What… do I want?”

“Yeah, there must have been at least one thing you found enjoyable in your life so far. I don’t know what it is, but now that you’re finally free, why not spend your time doing that?”

“…”

Vague, but…

A story that seems like it could be the solution.

Prea pondered for a moment…

Suddenly.

One thing came to mind.

“…Come to think of it… I have it. One thing that just came to mind…”

“What is it?”

The demon asked with a hint of curiosity.

Looking at him, Prea spoke in a serious tone.

“Demon, let’s date.”

“What?”