episode_0055

Raemis, or rather, Ishmael, disappeared.

The students left in the classroom whispered amongst themselves.

“What the instructor said, do you think it’s true?”

“The academy’s disappearing? No way. How could a school that’s lasted for hundreds of years close down overnight?”

A heated debate broke out.

Some feared Ishmael’s words were true, while others insisted it couldn’t be.

Those without information were confused, as both sides sounded plausible.

“No, I think it might be possible.”

However, the general opinion soon leaned towards the school closing down.

Because of a significant problem they were experiencing.

“You all know the school cafeteria’s quality has dropped drastically lately, right? We used to get pizza and hamburger steaks, but now it’s turnip stew and black bread.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah, if the most important thing, the food, is in that state, it doesn’t seem like the operating budget is healthy…”

The meals are a mess.

The quality of the student meals, which are responsible for the academy students’ three meals a day, has plummeted.

I’m starting to miss the pickled herring and pineapple pizza that came out a few months ago, got universally cursed out, and disappeared.

At least back then, it was properly cooked food, but now it’s not even that.

Low-quality things that are hard to even call food are being served as school meals.

There are even rumors that it will be difficult to eat even this soon.

“It’s probably true that the support money from each country has decreased. The other day, I heard a princess from the Alcia Grand Duchy grumbling that she would have to ask her family for living expenses.”

“Prices are rising like crazy, and if we don’t have money… the school won’t be able to last.”

There are two main reasons.

There isn’t enough money to buy ingredients, and the supply of ingredients in the market itself has decreased.

Agriculture has been devastated by the war, so high-quality food is almost extinct. Even if you have money, it’s not easy to find.

As autumn passes, even what was left has been exhausted, so the situation will only get worse in the future.

‘There’s little chance of improvement in the short term.’

If the academy, which prepared meals properly even during droughts or famines, is like this, the situation must be really bad both internally and externally.

Moreover, as Ishmael said, the atmosphere among the students is quite grim.

It wouldn’t be strange if the academy closed and sent the students back to their home countries.

The Elaine Kingdom would also prefer that and put pressure on them, rather than leaving foreigners in the heart of their country.

“Haa… all the hard work I put in to get into this place has been for nothing.”

“My hometown is on the opposite side of the continent, how am I supposed to get back?”

“Even if the school closes, I wanted to keep learning from the instructor until then.”

A moment of silence follows someone’s last words.

The teacher who left each of them a book as a final legacy.

It was a short master-disciple relationship of less than a year, but they learned a lot during that time.

The children, trapped in the pre-modern values of barely past the Middle Ages, were able to absorb knowledge of the future.

They broke away from stale, old-fashioned ideas and gained a new perspective on the world.

It was hard work studying because the lectures were difficult, but it was worth it.

If he had stayed a little longer, he would have taught them even more.

“Damn it, the Goddess Order.”

Someone muttered quietly.

Normally, they would have collectively been shocked and searched for the speaker.

But even if everyone kept their mouths shut, they didn’t bother to find the culprit.

It was proof that everyone had a great deal of anger inside.

The dense teachings that lasted a little over half a year were intense enough to threaten the steadfastness of the faith they had believed in.

“…..Let’s go back now. We each have our next class. Ah, don’t forget the book the instructor gave us.”

It didn’t need to be said that the words “don’t forget” implied that they should read it carefully and engrave it in their minds.

Because everyone felt the same way anyway.

Manuel from Hispania, who received “Das Kapital”, and Hermann Maier from Elaine, who received the doctrine of fascism.

Although their tendencies were different, they each held the book Ishmael had gifted them close to their chests and rose from their seats.

‘Instructor, I will use what you have taught me in my home country. Please watch over me.’

‘Should I try a church expulsion movement? I’m sure Helvetia would be very responsive.’

‘First, when I go home, I have to talk to my father and kick all the churches out of the territory. They don’t help with governance much, and there’s no reason to leave the instructor’s enemies alone.’

It was still unknown what they would do in the future.

But one thing was clear.

No matter what happened in the future, it would never be beneficial to the Goddess Order.

* * * * *

Ten days later.

“I’ve come to see Instructor Raemis. Where is he now?”

“Raemis-ssi submitted his resignation a week ago. He said he was going back to his hometown, but I don’t know where he is now.”

“What? No, why did you let that person leave the academy as they pleased?!”

“Well… because he’s a contract worker? We promised to let him retire if there was a valid reason, so we sent him away. We also received a penalty for violating the contract period.”

The Saintess, who had reappeared at the academy with a unit of holy knights, threatened to hand over Raemis, but she failed.

The person they were looking for had already left the school a long time ago.

Who in the world would be stupid enough to stay at their job knowing that a pursuer would be back?

“T, this can’t be happening. All the plans are ruined. The honor and prestige of the Order will be completely destroyed.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Well, Instructor Raemis is Ishma–ah, no. Excuse me. If he’s not here, I’ll have to find him myself.”

Whether she released people or issued an wanted order.

Realizing that she had to search by hand, the Saintess sighed and returned.

Even though its power has been greatly reduced, the Order is still the largest religious power and interest organization on the continent.

She thought that it wouldn’t be difficult to find one person if she used the remaining power.

“……Did Instructor Raemis have another name?”

“Isma, if the name starts with Isma…. Could it be, Ishmael? Is the instructor the same person as the writer Ishmael?”

“I have to tell the kids right away.”

Without knowing that her disciples were excited after learning about their teacher’s hidden identity.

* * * * *

“My ears are itching. Is someone talking about me?”

“What’s wrong?”

“No, I just have a strange feeling. It’s nothing, so don’t worry about it.”

In Elaine, the Saintess is probably making a fuss looking for me right now. Unfortunately, I wasn’t there.

Because I’m traveling abroad with Calia.

“But why do we have to go so far? I haven’t heard the reason yet.”

If it’s just about hiding and concealing our whereabouts, it’s okay to be in our hideout.

Except for the occasional eating out, I’ll be writing and analyzing information in my room, so there’s little chance of being discovered.

Or I could get help from Calia and change my appearance with disguise magic.

“The Chief of Headquarters has called for you. Both you and Ishmael-ssi.”

“Me?”

“Yes. He told you to come as soon as you retired from the academy, so now that you’ve resigned, there’s no reason to hesitate.”

Nevertheless, the reason why we were going all the way to a distant land, using the organization’s intelligence network, was simple.

Because the higher-up called us.

How can I refuse when the head of the group I belong to wants to see me? I have to leave a good impression so that the future will be easier.

“It’s strange.”

However, apart from the necessity, there were parts that I didn’t understand.

“Why did he call us together? You’re the branch manager who oversees the organization’s activities in the Elaine Kingdom. If you leave your position, everything will stop.”

In the organization’s hierarchy, the branch manager is a very high position.

There are bases with personnel stationed all over the continent.

Among them, the branch controls/manages all the bases within a country.

And the head of that branch is the branch manager. There are only five or six high-ranking officials on the entire continent.

Above this is only the Chief of Headquarters, the leader of the organization.

“I don’t know either. Since I’ve been summoned, I have to follow orders. The administration is fine because I’ve left it to my subordinates.”

Even though I questioned it, Calia didn’t answer properly. She just grumbled in a small voice that I couldn’t hear.

“He says he wants to see our faces after a long time and have a formal meeting, what kind of favor is he going to ask for? I haven’t even told him we’re dating yet…”

“Did you call me?”

“I was talking to myself, don’t worry about it!”

It sounds like it’s about faces or something. I hope it’s not bad news for me.

Anyway, the trip was quite pleasant.

Thanks to our organization’s know-how, we weren’t checked or arrested along the way.

It was possible to travel safely without being suspected by changing our false identities several times.

It took about 3 weeks to cross the border twice, from Elaine to Navr, and then to the Great Plains.

As the fields and farmland disappeared and we entered a land with vast plains, we were soon able to meet the higher-up who had come to greet us.

“Oh, welcome. Are you the friend who’s going to be my son-in-law?”

Huh?