The Master of the Villains Has Disappeared

Arita remembers.

The day when despair settled on her master's face upon receiving a sudden letter.

'...Please take care of the children, Arita. I have somewhere I need to go urgently.'

Arita remembers.

The day when her master returned in tatters after leaving for the ancient dragon's lair with his comrades.

'He couldn't have died. Yes, he's not the type to leave like this... If I search the continent, surely someday...'

Arita remembers.

The days of completely dominating all the dark corners of the continent, starting from the day she heard incomprehensible mutterings from her master.

The days of mercilessly crushing organizations operating in the shadows of the empire while searching for clues.

'I, I don't know, Arita. What on earth am I supposed to do...'

Arita remembers.

The empty gaze of her master that didn't disappear even after subjugating all the shady places of the continent.

The bitter gaze that ultimately turned to a faded will, despite giving everything, including her body, to console such a master.

'...Arita. Would you find out what happened at Primus?'

Arita remembers.

The moment when a glimmer of hope briefly seeped into her master's empty eyes.

The moment when even his usually calm voice contained a slight tremor.

'W-Wait! Evan!!'

-Whoosh!

'...Tch.'

Arita remembers.

The moment when a dagger coated with a very strong sleeping poison missed by a hair's breadth.

The figure of a small girl who saw through her ambush that no one had ever detected before.

Arita.

"What on earth is Karian plotting..."

-Rustle.

"『Memory Restraint』"

Doesn't remember.

The threads of mana that dug into the bottom of the shadow that didn't allow any external intrusion.

The moment when she was captured by the girl who suddenly revealed an overwhelming pressure and had her memories erased.

"You didn't infiltrate Primus today. Because of the newly reinforced defense magic circles, somehow."

Arita doesn't remember.

The moment when a youthful index finger sent a purple sphere into her mind.

The moment when she turned her back as instructed by the girl in front of her and returned to the distant orphanage.

-Tap tap.

-Tap tap.

"...Hmm...?"

"Ah, big sis woke up~!"

"Even Arita sleeps in sometimes, huh."

Arita remembers.

Her own figure who had fallen asleep in the orphanage bed at some point.

The fingers of the mischievous children who playfully poked her cheeks.

"Are you awake, Arita?"

"...Director?"

Arita remembers.

The bewilderment from failing to complete her master's order for the first time in her life.

Her master's smile that contained not disappointment, but a slight excitement and joy.

-Rustle.

"Your memory is cut off. No, it was cut off so that I couldn't see it."

"...What do you mean..."

"It means I made the wrong choice. I should have gone myself, not you."

Arita remembers.

The gentle voice that told her she did well, as she hung her head like a sinner.

The calm voice that thanked her for not disappointing him this time as well.

"Thanks to you, one thing has become certain."

There's something hidden in the academy that I shouldn't know about.

Karian, with eyes mixed with various emotions, said this as he rose from his chair.

And then, he announced to Arita and the children beside her that today's breakfast menu was soup.

"Now, let's eat first. People can't think when they're hungry, after all."

○

"Eat at least one spoonful. You need to eat something to regain your strength."

"...Okay..."

After my continued persuasion, Princess Irina picked up the spoon I handed her with a dazed expression.

Still, seeing her nibble at it, it seems last night's shock was quite significant.

'In the end, it's because of me this time too...'

After erasing Arita's memories last night, I had to erase Princess Irina and Evan's memories as well.

Well, the two of them wouldn't be able to understand why I let Arita go.

Come to think of it, secretly infiltrating Primus is a serious crime in itself.

Moreover, it's unthinkable for a Primus professor, of all people, to release someone who tried to harm a student.

But from my perspective, I couldn't let Karian's cherished subordinate be interrogated.

Although I didn't have any particular connection with Arita, if something happened to her, Karian himself would surely stir up Primus properly.

'This is better than things getting unnecessarily noisy.'

Therefore, instead of arresting Arita, I erased her memories and sent her back to where she came from.

Rather than announcing the existence of an intruder, it was better in various ways to make it as if there had never been an intruder in the first place.

Of course, from Evan and Princess Irina's perspective, there couldn't be a more bewildering situation.

They suddenly fainted while patrolling the campus with me, and moreover, they don't even remember what happened.

It would be strange to be calm after experiencing something full of questions from beginning to end.

"I'm truly ashamed..."

"Well, people can faint sometimes in life. Since there's nothing wrong with your health, don't worry and fill your empty stomach first."

It seemed that Princess Irina and Evan were embarrassed about fainting in front of me.

They were apologizing, saying they only caused trouble when they should have protected me in case of an emergency.

'But isn't it the students who need protection, not the professor?'

I still wondered why Princess Irina and Evan tried to protect me.

No matter how you look at it, I'm not at a level that needs protection from kids. Why on earth did they think that way?

Of course, I was grateful for their intentions.

However, as someone who had committed the bold act of making the princess faint and erasing her memories, I couldn't look Princess Irina straight in the eye.

No matter how I thought about it, everything I did easily surpassed the level of simple sacrilege.

Of course, Princess Irina herself wouldn't remember what happened, but I'm needlessly scared.

Is this what they mean by a thief being wary of his own footsteps?

"Anyway, really nothing happened, so don't worry too much about it."

Eventually, after lightly patting Princess Irina's shoulder, I got up from my chair and came out into the hallway.

Or more precisely, I was about to.

"Um, Professor. I received a letter from my sister─"

-Stop.

A noticeably more cautious voice.

A gaze that seemed to be glancing at me, checking my reaction.

However, more than anything else, the word 'sister' instantly stopped my steps.

For Princess Irina, I knew only one person who could be her sister.

"It seems my sister is coming to observe this Stage of Advancement."

"W-Why...?"

"I'm not sure of the details either, but the letter said that the Divine Beast had delivered a message."

Feeling my eyebrows trembling, I turned back to Princess Irina and asked if I could see the letter her sister sent.

That is, Lilian's letter, even if just for a moment.

And exactly one minute later.

My breath caught at Lilian's handwritten letter, which contained exactly what Princess Irina had said.

'Are they playing some kind of relay race among themselves?'

Just when I had difficulty sending back the person Karian sent, now Lilian herself says she's coming in person.

I didn't give any particular hints to my disciples, so where on earth did things go wrong?

Eventually, as I briefly recalled my past actions, I had to shift my gaze slightly upward at Princess Irina's voice that was heard once again.

However, for some reason, this time it wasn't a notification but a personal request.

"Please help me, Professor. I don't want to... disappoint my sister."

A gaze with a hint of determination.

The atmosphere felt was also very serious.

"What do you mean by asking me to help?"

"Training. For the Stage of Advancement."

"...Hmm..."

From Princess Irina's perspective, this Stage of Advancement is an opportunity to meet Lilian.

At the same time, it's an opportunity to show Lilian her skills and gain recognition.

Thinking about it that way, it wasn't strange for Princess Irina to ask me for help.

One way or another, Princess Irina is my assistant.

There's no one particularly stronger than the ancient dragon among Primus's professors.

For Princess Irina, there's probably no one as certain as the person directly raised by that ancient dragon.

In reality, I'm just borrowing Orphion's name, but Princess Irina has no way of knowing this fact.

However, from my perspective, it's not just awkward but even uncomfortable.

If I train Princess Irina, I felt like she might change like my disciples.

Nevertheless, the reason I couldn't refuse Princess Irina's request in the end was due to the insurmountable difference in status.

The current reality is that if the blood of the Divine Beast asks to be trained, I have to train her, and if she asks to be taught, I have to teach her.

"Come to the faculty office... in the afternoon. I think it would be better to talk when we have more time."

"...! Yes!"

Princess Irina's face brightening by the second with anticipation for the future.

In complete contrast, my face with just an awkward expression due to worry and concern for the future.

If the Emperor appears before me someday and questions me for ruining not one, but two of his daughters, I would have no excuse.

I'll have to beg just to spare my life...

○

"Hmm..."

Ainel, who was examining the documents she had just received, lets out a short sigh.

And then, briefly shifting her gaze to the new professor standing right in front of her.

"When did Mana Design become such a frightening subject?"

She questioned the difficulty of the task set by the new professor for the Stage of Advancement.

And for good reason, as the documents in Ainel's hands contained only tasks of very wicked difficulty.

"Even for tasks exclusive to the advanced class, this seems a bit excessive."

"But they're all things I've taught, so it should be fine."

"I don't think the students will be fine, though..."

Ainel, worried about the students' resentment that would be heard later, said this and instructed to adjust the difficulty.

Still, the new professor didn't bend her will.

Eventually, the youthful face that started to persuade Ainel even mentioned the purpose of the event called the Stage of Advancement.

After all, since the purpose of the event is to experience the actual battlefield in advance, this level of difficulty is rather appropriate, she said.

"It's better to experience these things in advance, Dean. Even kids much younger than the advanced class students did this much."

"...Professor, what kind of world have you been living in..."