Ch.111The NPC Takes a Leap of Faith. (4)

Just one look at the Dean’s appearance was as pitiful as a people who had lost their country.

Unlike the NPC I’d seen in the game, the real-life version of her had dead fish eyes and unkempt, clearly unwashed hair.

She quietly stared at me with dark circles under her eyes that suggested she hadn’t slept a wink for two days.

“I heard you saved the children.”

“Yes. That’s what happened.”

“…Thank you.”

As the Dean bowed her head to express gratitude, I couldn’t sense any vigor from her body.

Her voice was so raspy it seemed like she might have spent six hours singing alone in a karaoke room.

If I had water in my hand, I probably would have offered it to her without thinking.

“No need for thanks. Anyone who knew would have done the same.”

“…Yes, but that someone should have been me, not you.”

That’s right. It seems she’s been forced to reflect on herself after being hit with hard facts by Ragni.

She showed this side in the game too. Of course, she wasn’t as pitiful as she is now, but I remember she was quite shocked then as well.

“…Did you kill Rotolks?”

“Who’s that?”

“…The Academy’s Vice Principal.”

“Ah. If you mean that old man, he’s dead. He tried to merge with the [Spirit King’s Fragment] he possessed to become a spirit and ended up killing himself.”

I just learned his name today? And I have no intention of remembering it.

There’s no reason to mention that I beat him up, so I answer cleanly, and her dead fish eyes widen just a little.

Well. She probably didn’t know he had the [Spirit King’s Fragment]. She didn’t know in the game either.

“Rotolks… had that? Then, where is it now…”

“I have it. Why? Do you want it?”

“That… I would like to have it, but are you willing to just give it to me?”

“No. I don’t want to.”

This is mine now. I can do whatever I want with it.

Even though Ragni beat her both physically and verbally, and her current state handling the aftermath looks quite pitiful enough to evoke sympathy…

When I think about what this woman did to Ira and Ragni, I feel an even stronger urge to throw a punch at her.

Besides, honestly, it’s all karma, isn’t it? The children who died are more pitiful than you who’s only now shocked and broken by what happened at your academy.

Thinking about it this way, I’m starting to feel like her current state is exactly what she deserves.

“I see, if you don’t want to, that’s fine. I suppose I have no right to it since I failed to notice that he had it in the first place…”

“Well. That’s right. Looting corpses… no, I just picked up what fell after he died. According to adventurer law, this belongs to me.”

As I tap the Spirit King’s Fragment in my bag with my finger, her gaze follows to my bag. But I still don’t sense any energy from her to take further action.

Hmm. Severe case.

“…[The Spirit King’s Fragment] is part of the Spirit King’s soul that he entrusted to humans. It’s a legacy created to help the growth of humans who will lead the next generation. Whether you’re someone who will lead the next generation or not, I have no right, authority, or discretion to judge, but please. Take good care of it…”

“Wait. Don’t end the conversation on your own. Why did you call me here in the first place?”

“…First, to thank you for saving the surviving children. And to apologize. To your younger sister, the girl named Ira who’s taking the exam now, and to the blue-haired woman over there—I threatened them, or rather, I did threaten them. I wanted to apologize for that. Of course, not just with words, but with proper compensation as well.”

After saying that, she bows her head to me again. Well, if she comes at me with this attitude, I won’t need to clench my fist.

Our kids have really humbled this middle-aged woman, haven’t they? Impressive kids.

I can’t remember the last time I had a proper, serious conversation with someone without Attorney Ju mediating.

This is all thanks to Ragni, Rey, and Gor.

“I appreciate your honesty and apology. I accept your apology. As for compensation, I’ll leave that to your discretion.”

I’m not saying I won’t accept it. Why wouldn’t I take what’s being offered? At my response, the Dean raises her bowed head and seems about to move her feet, as if that’s all she had to say.

Wait, wait. Hold on.

“I have something to give you as well.”

“Hmm? To me?”

As if she didn’t expect me to stop her, a hint of curiosity appears in her dead fish eyes.

I have a request to fulfill, you see. I’ve already received payment upfront, and if I don’t handle this properly, I won’t be able to face the will of the [Spirit King’s Fragment] that’s gone to the other world.

“First, I think you’ll find it hard to believe who sent this message, so I’ll just deliver it.”

After confirming that the Dean has turned to face me again with a tilted head, I take out a paper from my bag and hand over the writing containing his will.

For reference, I’m still illiterate in this world’s writing, so Gor wrote it for me.

It’s an excuse, but I really haven’t had time to study.

“This is what he said during our conversation. Read it alone later. And.”

-Thump.

I raised my finger with as much strength as I could muster.

“This is from the client who asked me to deliver the message. ‘The one who should scold you is me, who gave you [A Glimpse of the Future], but since I can’t do anything now, I’m sending this person instead. Please come to your senses with this.'”

“…What?”

At my words, her eyes light up. She probably understands the meaning of these words and who said them.

“W-wait. Where did you hear that?! No. You don’t mean! Th-that Spirit K…!!”

-Flick!!

“Argh!!”

Cutting off her words, I release my tensed finger and deliver a full-power forehead flick that sends the middle-aged woman’s head jerking backward. Her neck might snap even though it wasn’t an uppercut.

Hmm. That was about 80% personal feelings and 20% client request. Was my personal emotion too strong? Whatever.

Seeing the blue bruise forming on the Dean’s forehead, I feel the congestion in my chest clearing. Ah, is this catharsis!

“Ugh!! Eek!! A-at my age, a forehead flick!! You, no!! H-him!! Where is the Spirit King?! You!! You met him, didn’t you?!!”

“There was will remaining in the [Spirit King’s Fragment]. He said the main body can’t move right now due to other matters.”

“Where is he!! Where is he?! No, the Spirit King’s Fragment! Even the will in there…!!”

“I’m sorry, but that will has disappeared. And he told me never to tell you his location. The reason is written in that letter. Read it.”

“……”

The middle-aged woman, whose eyes began to water after my flick, turns her gaze toward the paper I handed her.

Hmm, the rotten fish has come back to life?

“Oh, and with this, I won’t ask anything more about what you did to Ragni and my sister. Of course, that’s separate from the compensation issue.”

“…Ha. I see. No wonder you hit me so hard. There were personal feelings mixed in?”

“Not entirely absent, but it was the Spirit King who ordered it.”

“Damn it, to think the day would come when I’d get a forehead flick from a young man not even half my age, it’s truly humiliating.”

The Dean, who keeps rubbing her forehead as if it’s quite painful, eventually tears up. Huh? Is she crying because I hit her?

Did I hit her too hard?

“…Your sister. If she passes today, I originally planned to assign her kind and excellent professors, but I’ve changed my mind.”

“Let me just say, if you mess with my sister out of spite…”

“I will teach her myself.”

What? What did she just say…?

“Be prepared. This one hit I took today—I’ll make ‘my successor,’ who will be far stronger than you, return it to you.”

“W-wait. You’re going to teach my sister? Do you have the time… No, more importantly, who says you can make Ira hit me?! No, that’s not it. Wait, what do you mean by successor…!!”

“Hmph!”

With that, the Dean snorts and disappears.

Crazy. Teleport? The Dean could use that?!

Wait, something’s strange? I didn’t hear she used it when tracking the kids?! And.

[-Academy Dean- Name: Neti Naika Level: 520]

‘…She’s not level 700, how did she use that?’

And Ira as her successor? Is she saying she’ll teach Ira as her disciple? The Dean, who’s a deus ex machina?!

I gave her one forehead flick on the Spirit King’s orders, and suddenly she’s formed a connection with Ira. But should I be happy about this…

‘No. It’s a good thing. This is that kind of world. Learning from strong people and getting stronger quickly can’t be bad.’

I shake my head while looking at where the Dean had been and then move toward where Ragni and Miho are.

Honestly, considering what the Dean has done so far, I’m not particularly eager to entrust Ira’s education to her, but…

‘…Her eyes had come back to life, so it should be fine.’

The moment I delivered the Spirit King’s message and gave her the flick he ordered, her eyes were neither dead fish eyes nor the authoritarian, magic-centered eyes from the game.

Probably. The Spirit King saw that talent and those eyes and bestowed his blessing on her.

“Ha. But who would have thought her eyes would resemble my dad’s when he taught me ranger skills?”

The eyes of someone teaching another person.

They were the proper eyes of an educator that the teary-eyed Dean had never shown before, either in the game or in this reality.