Great Teacher in a Defense Game

#27 May You Rest In Peace

“It vexes me.”

“Pardon?”

Enoch spoke abruptly, mid-smoke.

The man who had been observing.

Orban’s lackey, the Golden Magician’s pawn, tilted his head.

“Why do you say that, so suddenly.”

“Is that golden b*stard my liege lord? Must I come running the moment he summons?”

“…”

“The tone is hardly befitting of one addressing a superior. Tell Orban, that cur, if he desires to see me, he can come find me himself.”

Enoch dismissed him with a wave.

A blatant gesture to get lost.

The lackey’s eyes widened at the sight.

“You will regret this. Do you dare refuse Orban-nim’s proposal? Do not forget we could drag you away by force.”

“Intriguing. What wage do you earn per moon?”

“…Excuse me?”

“I asked how much the golden one pays you. Are you unable to comprehend?”

Enoch questioned, head cocked to the side.

The lackey huffed a disbelieving breath.

Then, he spoke.

“Five million Cro per moon.”

“Not bad. Seems the golden fellow doesn’t skimp on compensating even his underlings.”

Enoch sneered, then rummaged in his breast pocket.

A wad of notes emerged.

The lackey smirked.

“Surely, you aren’t attempting to buy me off with money—”

-Thud.

Unexpectedly, a wad of bills tumbled to the ground.

Enoch spat upon the money and ground it into the floor with his heel.

Fifty million Kro, defiled and ruined.

A reaction unforeseen.

The underling’s discomposure was plain.

“What, are you doing…?”

“What I just discarded? That’s fifty million Kro.”

“Huh?”

“Meaning this garbage is worth more than your salary.”

-Click.

Enoch placed the cigarette back between his lips.

Flicking the Zippo to life, he spoke as if tossing something away.

“That is how I see you, right now.”

“…”

“Now, scram back to your master. Tell him to come himself. Unless he wants to become like this trash.”

Enoch issued the warning, casually.

His demeanor as light as if inquiring after one’s health.

The underling paused, stunned by Enoch’s response.

Then, his hand moved to his pocket.

“Perhaps I underestimated you.”

Enoch sighed.

-Crash!

In that instant, Enoch’s coat warped.

What emerged was the tail of a colossal serpent.

The long tail shattered the pub’s entrance, sending the underling hurtling into the distance.

-Boom!

-Rumble…

The entrance to the pub had been blown open.

Beneath, the crumbling remains cascaded downwards.

Enoch, unconcerned with the minion’s well-being, called over the nearby Master.

“Master, apologies about the entrance. Consider this compensation for the repairs.”

He placed a thick wad of bills on the counter.

The Master, who had been observing, shrugged as if it were nothing.

“Can’t complain. Anyway, fare thee well. Give Lacrina my regards.”

“I will. I shall see you this evening.”

With that, Enoch departed.

The Master whistled and strolled towards where the debris had scattered.

-Squelch!

“Gah, cough…!”

Ten minutes later, the minion clawed his way out from beneath the wreckage.

The Master clucked his tongue as he looked at him.

“One must choose their battles. Chest puffed and swaggering gets you exactly that.”

“Shut your trap! Which way did that b*stard-“

The minion’s words were cut short.

The Master had spun around and kicked him in the jaw.

-Thwack!

-Thump!

The kick landed squarely.

The minion collapsed without resistance.

Out cold, by anyone’s reckoning.

The Master pulled out a communicator and called the guard.

“Ah, Guard? This is the Crooked Fish tavern, and some crazed fellow came in causing a ruckus-“

@

-Understood. We’ll gather the information and statements first.

“Apologies for the inconvenience. I’ll offer a gratuity once this is all settled.”

-Nonsense. What with all we’ve received in the past. Ha ha… Don’t worry about it, and feel free to call on us anytime.

-Click

Enoch hung up and closed the communicator.

The other party was the Magnusra Guard Headquarters.

“Something came up, so I asked them to gather the testimonies beforehand, knowing I’d be late.”

‘I wanted to beat them myself. No, I’ll just beat them later, I suppose.’

Nodrila, I contacted ages ago, explained the situation, and got her understanding.

Jane… bringing some liquor might smooth things over.

The golden one… no need to bother with him.

Right now, Lacrina’s condition was what mattered more than any of that.

-Sir Enoch? We will be arriving at Artemia shortly. Should we land at the same location as last time?

“Yes. Do so.”

-Understood.

The airship landed moments later.

Enoch exited the airship without delay.

Then, he headed towards the academy’s main building.

It was a short walk to the headmaster’s office.

-Creak

“Headmaster.”

“Ah, Enoch. You’ve arrived sooner than I expected.”

“I came straight away after hearing the news. What on earth happened? Beating the students and ripping up textbooks? Lacrina isn’t the type to do that.”

Enoch spoke as soon as he arrived.

Baltro paused for a moment.

It was the first time he’d realized Enoch cared for Lacrina this much.

‘Note: Enoch cherishes Lacrina more than anticipated.’

“…First, we need to understand the full situation. Rather than me telling you, it might be better to hear it directly from her.”

“Agreed. Where is Lacrina?”

“She’s probably in the infirmary.”

“Infirmary? Could she be injured?”

Enoch’s eyes widened.

Lacrina was a vital asset, helping him to hold back the monster incursions.

Could it be that she, of all people, was hurt?

‘If that were the case…’

Enoch balled his fist without realizing it.

Baltro didn’t miss the gesture, marking it down.

“…No, Lacrina is unharmed.”

“Then why is she in the infirmary?”

“So there’s a record she received treatment, of course. Handling it as mutual culpability makes things easier later on, you see.”

“So Lacrina is alright?”

“Certainly. It’s the ones who *did* the hitting who have the problem. Broken nose bones, twisted limbs. Quite the mess.”

“I’m not particularly interested in that.”

Enoch tilted his head, as if questioning the pointless chatter.

His attitude was one of genuine disinterest.

“…”

Baltro opened his notepad again.

‘Note: This Enoch fellow isn’t exactly normal either.’

@

Enoch headed straight for the infirmary.

It was on the first floor of the main building.

He opened the door and stepped inside, finding Lacrina sitting blankly in a chair.

“Lacrina.”

“Teacher!”

Lacrina shot to her feet.

She immediately ran and threw herself into Enoch’s arms.

-Wham!

“I came as soon as I heard. What in the world happened?”

“I’m sorry…”

“It’s alright. I’m on your side. Don’t feel pressured, just tell me.”

Enoch gently stroked Lacrina, who was nestled in his embrace.

It was comfort filled with affection, not anger.

Perhaps she drew some courage from that.

Lacrina, who had only been repeating apologies, spoke with difficulty.

“The thing is… well…”

“Tell me. What happened?”

“The children…they insulted the teacher.”

“?”

Enoch tilted his head, a slight frown creasing his brow.

The reason was more than a little unexpected.

Truth be told, a bit of roughing up almost seemed warranted.

“That’s all?”

“No. They also said I was a slave who’d gotten lucky and been sold to a rich man.”

“……”

“And…they mocked me for being an orphan…”

“……”

“And then… this, I just can’t say.”

Lakrina trailed off, her voice fading into a whisper.

Such a vulgar word it was.

A word she couldn’t bring herself to utter before her teacher.

Enoch considered this with a grim resolve.

Should he use his fists?

Or his magic?

The gun, alas, was out of the question.

‘First, I should get a look at their faces.’

Silently, Enoch loosened his hands, stretching his fingers.

Then, he gently detached Lakrina from his embrace.

Leaving Lakrina behind, a hint of disappointment playing on her lips, he headed toward the ward where the injured lay.

-Screech

-Rattle

He entered the ward and drew back the curtain.

What appeared was a graveyard of cripples.

-Ugh, uuurgh… ughh…

-Ugh, ughheck, ughheck…

“……”

Enoch felt anew the extent of Valtoro’s consideration.

Hearing only whispers, he’d imagined maybe a broken bone or two, the end.

But this…

A veritable human octopus was the only way to describe it.

‘…Perhaps the thrashing should be postponed.’

Finding a spot *not* swathed in bandages proved more difficult.

And kicking those blinking eyes was simply out of the question.

“You hit him a bit much, eh?”

“…I apologize.”

“No, it’s not your fault. These fellows started it. No need for *you*, the victim, to be sorry.”

One mustn’t muddle cause and effect.

The ones to start the trouble in the first place were the problem.

Enoch was quite strict in that regard.

Such strictness felt like a warm consolation to Lakrina.

Though it also ignited a faint spark of guilt within her.

“…I’m sorry for disappointing you. I’ll make sure nothing like this happens again.”

“No, it’s not a big deal. You can hit them again if you want.”

“?”

Lakrina tilted her head, puzzled.

Weren’t people usually supposed to discourage such things?

Just then, Valtoro belatedly arrived.

“Did you hear what happened?”

“Yes. It seems it wasn’t Lakrina’s fault.”

“…I’m tired, so we’ll just leave it at that for now. They’re only injuries that will heal quickly anyway, once they recover.”

Valtoro refrained from adding unnecessary words.

He had long realized it would be of no use.

Regardless of the circumstances, Enoch was already set on protecting Lakrina.

No need to stir up a hornet’s nest.

“We’ll leave now. You’ll need the space to treat the students.”

“Yes.”

“Lacrina, you come out now too. The pretext is sufficient enough.”

“Ah, yes…”

Lacrina hastily followed Enoch.

The moment Enoch brushed past him, Baltro swiftly whispered to Lacrina.

“Lacrina.”

“Yes?”

“I just wanted to say, in case… such things should be avoided in the future, if possible.”

“Ah, yes…”

“Yes, frankly, twisting all their limbs in completely opposite directions was a bit much. I’ve contemplated it for four hours now, and yes, it was far too much.”

“Yes…”

Lacrina quietly agreed.

Even she thought turning a person into a human octopus might have been a tad excessive.

@

After leaving the infirmary.

The three walked down the hallway for a while.

As they walked, Enoch spoke.

“Chairman. Was this incident merely an accident?”

“Hmm? What’s with that sudden question?”

“Lately, incidents and accidents have been strangely frequent. Cars spontaneously combusting… maybe it’s just my imagination, but it feels like someone is deliberately hindering me.”

“Your thoughts are too extreme. Surely not? It’s merely a childish squabble.”

Baltro shook his head.

His statement was, frankly, bordering on paranoia.

At that moment, someone came running urgently from afar.

It was an instructor from the academy.

“Chairman.”

“What is it? Why such haste?”

“Um… the parents of the students who were injured this time have come to protest…”

“……”

“As you know, the ones who were hurt are the children of nobles. The headmaster is currently trying to appease them, but what should we do?”

The instructor asked, his tone flustered.

Baltro, without realizing it, glanced at Enoch.

Could this truly be mere coincidence?

The timing felt too… orchestrated.

“…For news to travel this quickly. It’s a bit unsettling. I’ll have to seriously consider your words.”

“Let’s be off, then. Seems they’re looking for me.”

Enoch gestured with his chin towards the hallway beyond.

Disturbance was brewing in that direction.

‘God have mercy.’

Baltro unconsciously made the sign of the Order.

Rest in Peace.

‘No, bloody hell, that’s not right.’

Baltro hurriedly made the sign again.

He found himself, without volition, preparing for the funeral of nobles.