episode_0145

impact.

horror.

Horrible.

He looked at Tristin with an expression full of complicated emotions.

I wonder if this is a real mental attack.

As I was looking back at Mana, Tristin opened her mouth hesitantly.

“Is it so weird to like the captain?”

“Yes.”

“… Why?”

“Isn’t that the same as liking a golem in human form?”

I cussed out Leo, and Tristin looked hurt.

“Not that much… .”

“I think you’d be indifferent even if your arm was cut off while on a mission.”

“That’s true, but… .”

Then what is it not?

Let’s look at it as if it’s ridiculous.

“He looks blunt on the outside, but the captain is such a warm person.”

Tristin made a ridiculous point.

“… Tristin.”

“Is that true? Why did the captain join the secret task force in the first place? It was all to protect his younger brother.”

Of course I know it was for Elin.

“That doesn’t seem like the right way to do it.”

“What the senior just did to the princess was the right thing to do?”

“… … ”

I was speechless.

Of course, I organized my thoughts to think that way.

When I tried to answer, my mouth wouldn’t open.

… Is this really for Elin?

Before doubts could arise again, Tristin continued.

“The members take care of each other without knowing it, and they do all the hard work themselves. That’s what’s good about it. Do you get it?”

“… Yes.”

I nodded for now, thinking that if I said I didn’t know, the Leo advantage presentation would be too long.

“Then please help me.”

“Wait a minute, but why can’t the other members know about this?”

“If you tell them, I’ll tell the captain right away.”

Trust of the secret task force.

Is it okay like this?

“And I think the senior is exactly the same as the captain.”

“… Yes?”

I wondered if this was an insult, but then I thought about the compliments I had just received, and my mood became strange.

“You’re saying that you don’t know something about someone you’ve fooled. Or are you pretending not to know something?”

“Who did I bewitch and when?”

Tristin looked at Luke with contempt in her eyes.

“… … I feel so bad for the princess.”

Should I just send it to Bertain like this?

Tristin muttered.

Luke quickly opened his mouth before his useless thoughts became too long.

“That being said, how can I help you?”

“Please give me the courage to confess.”

“… … ? please.”

Can’t you just do it?

And if it gets cold, don’t give up… .

“Just confess and call it a difference?”

“… … ”

For a moment, Luke thought he had just blurted out a thought.

Tristin pouted.

“Actually, the difference doesn’t matter. But if I confess now, you’ll reject me without thinking. Saying you’re busy, saying you’re a member.”

“… It could be because I’m really busy.”

Luke found himself defending Leo.

“I hope that even when I’m being rude, you can convey my feelings properly. Since I care about you this much, please just look at this once.”

It’s a thought I’ve felt somewhere before.

“… I bet your majesty didn’t feel the same way. She wanted to be seen as a woman, not a student.”

Yes, that’s right.

Although Ellen didn’t say it out loud.

Because it was revealed in actions.

“Have you ever had a proper conversation with someone other than running away? Have you ever tried to hear how they came to like you, why they like you, and what they want to do in the future?”

…I’ve never done it.

Luke was always making excuses and running away.

“I don’t know about the one-sided love, but this one feels so suffocated I could die. It’s like talking to a wall.”

“… So why do you like that wall?”

“Because it’s the wall that protected me.”

The more we talk, the more I think of Elin.

I thought maybe Elin had also tried to knock Luke like that… … .

No, now is the time to focus on the operation.

“I will never interfere with your operation. Just give me a chance to have a serious conversation. The captain will probably have a lot to do with his seniors.”

“Is that okay?”

“Yes, that’s enough. If I hear a clear rejection, I’ll give up too.”

“… Okay.”

A romance while chasing the devil’s trail.

It seems like a really bizarre genre, though.

Luke accepted for now.

If we continue to have this conversation, I feel like my decision, which I have worked so hard to make, will waver.

* * * * *

But we found traces of Luke in the North.

Elin returned to the mansion first.

“… It’s scattered in too many directions.”

Where on earth did it go?

The faint afterglow of Luke’s mana was scattered in all directions, making it impossible to pursue.

“What do you all think?”

Ellen brought a portable whiteboard into the conference room.

Exactly.

Let’s snap our fingers.

The chalk floating in the air wrote in large letters, “How to Chase a Teacher.”

The first to raise his hand was Ranian.

“Should I be there too?”

I thought you were going to take me to the lab.

We somehow ended up returning to the Bertain mansion together.

“Ranian, you know the appearance of the magic tower.”

“But that’s… .”

“Please stay with me until I find the teacher’s magic tower. ”

Lanian nodded with a sad look on her face.

I beg you.

I didn’t know what kind of aftereffects I would face if I rejected Elin, who seemed like she would explode if I touched her now.

Where on earth did this guy go…!

Lanian turned his anger on Luke.

I have sent several messages on long distance communication paper.

It seemed like he wasn’t even looking.

The same goes for Bena and Nia’s contact.

“Hmm, how about asking Duke Glaze? Isn’t there a space where a magic tower suddenly appears?”

Benna raised her hand and offered her opinion.

“Even if you’re the Duke, you probably don’t know where all the magic towers are. In fact, there are many magic towers that haven’t been reported, and if they’ve been moved to the outskirts, you might not even know they exist.”

Lanian refuted each point.

Then, Bena’s eyes became sharp.

“Then what do you want us to do? Give me your opinion, senior.”

“Huh? ”

“Don’t you have any good ideas?”

The arrow suddenly returned to Ranian.

“That… ….”

Honestly, there is no way.

How on earth do I find this?

I wanted to say something like that.

When I met Ellen’s cold gaze, I couldn’t help it.

“Hmm… If oppa hid on purpose, it would be hard to find him.”

Luckily, Nia told Lanian what she was thinking.

“If you had hidden it so thoroughly, you might have left the empire altogether.”

“I could have done that… …so much.”

Even Ranian, who habitually tried to refute, nodded.

Come to think of it, Luke was a crazy genius who could do something like that.

“Then there’s no way but to search the entire continent.”

Anne sighed deeply and sorted things out.

We were planning to call it a day and meet again tomorrow.

“… Then that will work.”

But Ellen’s stupid hair stuck out like an exclamation mark.

“Yes?”

“You just have to search the entire continent.”

Flash-

Elin’s blue eyes sparkled.

“Until I find the teacher.”

Madness flashed in his once innocent eyes.

* * * * *

How are you going to search the continent?

Instead of answering the question, Ellen chose to stay home.

Of course, it wasn’t because I was angry.

-Don’t come in, it’s dangerous.

I wasn’t locked in the room to begin with.

The place where Elin was staying was the banquet hall where the coming-of-age ceremony was held.

Now, a barrier has been placed around a space that has lost its usefulness, preventing anyone from entering.

Bang! Clang!

Occasionally, only the sound of metal clashing can be heard.

I couldn’t figure out what the hell Ellen was doing.

“Princess. I brought you some food.”

-Leave it there.

Fortunately, this time I ate every bite of food that was brought to me.

“What on earth are you doing inside?”

“Well, maybe they’re making a weapon that can destroy the empire.”

Anne regretted asking Lanian.

How can you slander your own direct superior like this?

“Oh, no. Isn’t that a possible story? If you try to destroy the Empire, Luke isn’t the type to just sit back and watch. He’ll come out somehow… .”

“… … No way.”

“Isn’t it a bit too late to deny it?”

“Senior, your ears must be old.”

Anne denied it later, but she was shaken for a moment.

Somehow, it felt like Elin might be able to do that right now.

-Interesting thought, but no.

“… !”

“!!”

Lanian and Anne were both surprised at the same time.

I was a little bit away from the barrier.

Ellen picked it up like a ghost.

“I thought it wouldn’t be true. Only Senior Lanian slandered the princess.”

“Ah, no…!”

Lanian held his head with both hands.

It was because I thought that infinite mana spheres might pour out from the barrier.

-Don’t worry, it won’t hurt anyone.

But all that came back was a voice mixed with laughter.

-Just wait a moment. I’m almost done.

Then, the sound of metal hitting continued again.

-Oh, I’ll leave all the piling up work to Mom.

I got back to work.

That was the reason why Natia suddenly had to catch up on a week’s worth of pending work.

* * * * *

A week later.

Woof-!

The atmosphere vibrated.

It was because the large-scale barrier that Elin had created had opened.

Anne, Lanian, Bena and Nia ran straight there.

I couldn’t help but wonder what he had been up to for a week.

“How is it?”

When I saw the results that Ellen created.

No one could speak first.

“I modified it a little bit.”

“… a little bit?”

“Don’t you know what a little is, Your Majesty?”

“What, how did you make this… .”

“Have you ever learned it separately…?!”

There was a huge outpouring of reaction.

Ellen snapped her fingers as if to say that this wasn’t the end.

Woof-!

A banquet hall rises with a loud noise that shakes the earth… .

No, it couldn’t be called a banquet hall anymore.

“I’m going to ride this and catch the teacher.”

Shu-

A giant building that disappears.

It was a transparent airship that flew across the continent.

“Let’s go right away.”

Captain Elin is ready to set sail.