I Possessed the Heroine’s Teacher

“What the hell are you talking about?!!!”

I couldn’t help but shout at the leader’s words. Disbanding the party and giving up on Media… I was curious if he even understood the meaning of what he was saying. How could he say such things when he knew what this party meant to Werner and what Media was to us?

“Calm down, Camellia.”

“Do I look calm to you? Are you really giving up on your wife? Do you even understand the nonsense you’re spouting right now?!”

“I understand better than anyone else, and I fully comprehend the gravity of this decision.”

He spoke as if he were talking about something trivial, coldly suggesting that we kill my friend. He didn’t even flinch as he said it, as if he were suggesting slaughtering livestock. He was speaking about his wife as if her life meant nothing.

Then Squall threw her chair. Of course, the leader dodged it easily, but Squall, breathing heavily, was seething with anger.

“Disbanding the party? Don’t make me laugh, you bastard! Just because you’re the leader doesn’t mean you have the right to do this!”

“Then let me rephrase it. Melchior, Melissa, and I will leave this party. I recommend the rest of you leave as well.”

“Stop spouting nonsense!”

“I believe personal withdrawal is a right. Or do you think even the right to leave the party is invalid?”

“Hey, you two—Bear and Loli grandma! Say something! Are you really planning on leaving too?”

Squall seemed to hope that they would deny it. But Melissa and Melchior’s reactions were resolute.

“Sorry. We’ve decided to act separately from the leader. Especially that killer’s bloodline; that’s an added reason.”

“Honestly, I was tired of the childish friendship games. Plus, I don’t like that indecisive elf, and I really hated seeing the face of the bastard who killed my husband’s family.”

Ricardo said nothing in response. It was natural since his grandfather had killed Melchior’s parents based only on circumstantial evidence. Given how things were unfolding, disbanding the party seemed inevitable.

Squall, now in tears, shouted.

“…What do you think the Celestial Mage would’ve said if he saw this…?”

“Don’t bring the dead into this. There’s no greater desecration of the deceased than speculating on what they would have done.”

“You’re the one insulting the Celestial Mage! That person cared so much for this party, and now you’re disbanding it!”

“As much as I dislike saying this, I believe that even the Celestial Mage would have agreed to disband the party if he understood the circumstances.”

Squall completely lost her composure and grabbed the leader by the collar, shaking him. Of course, the leader didn’t resist at all.

“Then tell me what the hell those damn circumstances are, you bastard!”

“Unfortunately… I can’t tell you right now.”

The leader shrugged off Squall’s hands and began walking out, taking Melissa and Melchior with him.

I had to ask the leader something, no matter what.

“How are you going to explain this to Werner? This place was supposed to be his home… if you suddenly tell him that the party’s disbanding…”

“Right… I’ll need to explain it to Werner properly.”

The leader turned and looked at me. I could see it clearly now. He was no longer the person he once was.

“I’d like you to tell him that his mother asked for it. If that child is who I think he is, he’ll understand what I’m saying.”

“Wait… you knew Werner’s mother? Why did you keep it a secret?”

“That was also her request. I had no choice but to fulfill it.”

“Wait! I still have so many questions…”

“I can’t say any more. This too was her request. And… congratulations on passing her test.”

The leader muttered something cryptic and left. The room, now empty, felt hollow. Our adventure had come to an end.

Squall collapsed to the ground and began crying, while Ricardo sat in silence for a while before eventually leaving.

Should I leave too? Or should I collapse and cry like Squall? I don’t know. I wanted to cry, but no more tears came. What should I do in times like this, mother? Why did you love someone like father, mother? Mother, where did I go wrong?

And what should I do now?

.

.

.

When I entered Werner’s hospital room, he was struggling to sit up and talking with the crown prince.

“Werner…!”

At that moment, the crown prince suddenly started vomiting.

“Ugh… Gwaaack!!!!”

“Are you okay…?”

Unable to speak because of the vomiting, Werner explained his condition instead.

“The Crown Prince has a condition where he vomits when he sees a woman’s face, Miss. Well, if he was just looking from the second floor, maybe he wouldn’t have, but at this distance, it was guaranteed.”

“I see… but are you okay?”

“For the most part. Melissa’s magic has some side effects, but at least it works well, right? It’s a bit unfortunate that Media’s not here, though…”

Media… I wondered if Werner knew that the talk about killing her had come up today. Could he accept all the information that devastated Squall and saddened me…?

“Werner… The Celestial Mage… in that place…”

“I know… He’s dead.”

“I’m so sorry…”

It was my father who killed him. The fact that I am part of that man’s family made me feel guilty to the point where I couldn’t bear it.

“That wasn’t you who killed him, though.”

Werner peeled the fruit the crown prince had brought and brought it to his mouth. I could hear the crunching sound and the slurping noises as he chewed.

“Werner…”

“The Celestial Mage was always like that. He’d tell us not to starve ourselves and grieve just because he died… He’d say to eat well, live like usual, and don’t get all dramatic. I’m just doing that.”

There were many other things I needed to tell him.

“And about our party…”

“I heard. You disbanded it.”

“What?”

“Zig came and told me, with the reason and everything.”

It was surprising that the leader came here to tell him about the party’s disbandment. No… If that cold-hearted guy had come, I couldn’t imagine what kind of words he might have said to hurt Werner. If he had treated him the same way he treated Squall… I would have killed him.

“Did he say anything else?”

“Well, yes…”

Werner scratched his head. Could it be that he kept that damn attitude?

“He said he’s sorry… He said we should just take care of things ourselves and not worry too much. He also asked us to take good care of Iris and Glacies. And… he said to blame him as much as we wanted.”

That was unexpected. I thought he had turned into a heartless monster, but maybe a little bit of his humanity was still left?

“Kkrrrk… May I speak now?”

“Ah, Your Highness, I apologize for suddenly coming to visit…”

“Gwaaaack!”

He suddenly started vomiting into the trash can again. Werner handed me a large towel.

“Cover yourself. If you don’t, it’ll be like this all night.”

“I guess you’re right.”

I covered my face with the towel, and only then did the crown prince stop vomiting. I couldn’t help but wonder how someone like him could have gotten married.

“Sir… Regarding the Earth Mage Tower Master being part of the Black Round Table… I think the information might be wrong.”

“Wrong information?”

“Since he’s so famous, I’ve been keeping an eye on him, but he really doesn’t have any distinct features. He’s a man who’s bought a slave under the pretense of adoption… but it’s just one, and you know it’s common practice for wizards to buy slaves as apprentices, right?”

Most wizards did hire apprentices in that manner.

“Still, we should check if he’s really a man who only knows about work. His apprentice, the slave, might know something.”

“Unfortunately, that method won’t work. The first apprentice he brought in died more than 10 years ago. Although, even at that funeral, he didn’t shed a single tear…”

“You know a lot about this story for just being about an apprentice.”

“Well, you might not know this, but it was a rather famous story. Even though he came from a slave background, he used an apprentice who had no aptitude for magic at all.”

Werner thought for a moment, then asked.

“So, you said he brought this child in under the pretense of adoption… Couldn’t it be that he really cared for him, and maybe that’s the reason?”

“I’m not sure, but… he didn’t shed a single tear when that apprentice died, and after the funeral, he just locked himself away and kept studying… So, I believe it’s unlikely.”

“In that case, I should meet him and talk to him. Maybe today…”

Werner tried to get up, even though his body wasn’t fully recovered. I tried to stop him, saying he needed more rest, but…

The crown prince didn’t stop Werner. Instead, he said:

“It would be difficult today.”

“No, it’s already hard enough to talk to wizards who lock themselves in their labs…”

“Well, all the tower masters from the Earth Mage Tower are meeting today.”

“…So, did Lorcha go there too?”

“Well, since she’s also a tower master, I assume so.”

“Damn it!”

Werner shoved my hand aside and ran out.