Great Teacher in a Defense Game

#29 Choose Your Words Carefully

Jane sighed, and spoke.

“We shall have words with Orban, deal with him properly, another day.”

“I concur. I hadn’t realized he was so…unpleasant.”

Nordila nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, two archmages were set to give Orban a walloping.

Enoch was inwardly pleased.

But to show your hand here would be amateurish.

He simply inclined his head slightly, a gesture of gratitude.

“Thank you. Should I find myself needing assistance, I’ll be sure to let you know.”

“Alright, tell me anytime.”

“I’ll help out where I can, too.”

The matter of Orban was dropped there.

This was enough, a sufficient explanation given.

Enoch went to see the man responsible for the car bombing, belatedly.

Jane and Nordilla.

Somewhat bewildered, they followed after him.

@

A short while later.

Enoch stood before the imprisoned perpetrator.

But the man’s condition was far removed from what he’d anticipated.

“So, this is the bomber, then?”

-Well… yes, that’s him. I’m deeply sorry things have come to this.

The guard apologized, visibly flustered.

He was trying to take responsibility for failing to properly manage the prisoner.

But Enoch didn’t rebuke him.

He couldn’t, not really.

The bomber’s current state was, even to Enoch, beyond comprehension.

-Squish

“Fluid started leaking from his ears, and then… he just died— or so they say…”

The culprit in this incident was a vagrant.

He was dead now, slumped against the bars of his cell.

What’s worse, an unidentifiable, pinkish liquid oozed from his nose and ears.

The liquid’s nature was quickly apparent.

It was brain fluid.

‘…Incredible. How could something like this even happen?’

Enoch felt a prickle of disquiet.

Even Jane, standing beside him, tilted her head in puzzlement.

“That’s…odd, isn’t it?”

“Odd? What are you referring to?”

“There’s barely any blood left in the body. Even including what was spilled, the amount is far too little.”

“Blood…indeed, that is the case.”

Jane explained, and Nordilla concurred.

Information agreed upon by two Archmages, no less.

Enoch once again examined the blood pooled on the floor.

“Does that mean…this is somehow related to magic?”

“It’s only conjecture, you understand. I haven’t heard of any mages specifically associated with blood magic.”

Jane shook her head, her expression ambiguous.

An attitude of utmost caution.

It was Nordilla who summarized the situation.

“At least one thing is certain.”

“And what is that?”

“Why, a warning, of course.”

Nordilla looked directly at Enoch.

“It seems this incident is no mere coincidence. Isn’t it, when you think about it, a form of evidence tampering?”

“Hmm…”

“As I see it, someone isn’t particularly fond of you. Does anything come to mind?”

Nordilla asked, probing gently.

Enoch paused, considering.

Too many possibilities surfaced.

‘The Separatists, Orban, and I also assassinated a Royal Magician once.’

The Separatists held Enoch as an adversary.

Orban was somewhat entangled due to the Klarena incident.

Lastly, the Royal Magician.

They were about to cause a major incident with their dimensional gate research.

They were even consumed by magic to the point that they could no longer stop themselves.

Enoch, therefore, preemptively removed them from the equation.

He deemed it foolish to leave a bomb ticking, waiting to detonate someday.

‘For now, the separatists are the most likely culprits… but even that isn’t certain.’

Inwardly, he suspected the separatists were *not* the perpetrators.

Their power was immense, after all.

Countless strongmen were stationed among their ranks.

Just look at the special detachment that had come to find Enoch.

Its leader was nothing less than a ruling-class mage.

Those types wouldn’t bother with something as trivial as blowing up a vehicle.

“Let’s put this matter on hold for the time being.”

-Ah, yes sir.

“I will investigate this separately. I think it best the Guardsmen withdraw from this affair.”

Enoch stated plainly.

In the end, it was Enoch himself they were after.

If that was the case, he only needed to ensure they targeted *him* and no one else.

He couldn’t be overpowered anyway.

The skills Enoch possessed were not limited to what he had shown thus far.

Just as Enoch didn’t yet know their identity, *they* didn’t know the depths of Enoch.

In other words, a situation of mutual ignorance.

If that were so?

There was no need to be cautious and evasive.

If they wanted a fight, he’d give them a fight. If they wanted war, he’d give them war.

Enoch rather wished they would launch a full-scale assault.

It was an unvarnished truth, without a single lie.

‘Come if you dare.’

Enoch immediately released his hands, the matter dismissed.

Silently, he committed the incident to memory.

@

A few hours later.

Enoch boarded an airship headed north.

At long last, they arrived at a desolate plain, far removed from the city.

A domain haunted by the presence of beasts.

“Is this the place?”

“Aye, this is it.”

Enoch and Nordilla descended from the airship.

Behind them, Jane emerged, shivering as she stepped onto the ground.

“Ugh, why did you even want to come here?”

“I told you, the monsters’ movements are strangely suspect.”

“We could just deal with it when the time comes.”

“Stop your whining. You came along of your own accord, why complain now?”

“So, you’d leave me behind? You heartless b*stard. How can you do that to a person?”

Jane grumbled, twirling a finger.

-Whirr

-Shlick!

In that instant, a monster lurking in hiding was cleaved in two.

Blades of water.

The Water Guillotine magic.

“This is why I hate the North. Cold and unsettling. Even the monsters use strange techniques with their cunning little minds.”

Jane clicked her tongue, looking at the dead beast.

It had crept near the airship, stalking their party.

“Quite large.”

Enoch examined the fallen creature.

The monster was indeed enormous.

Its height alone rivaled a three-story building.

“Let’s see… this is a Rotrodon.”

Nordilla explained the creature’s nature, like a seasoned teacher.

“Rotrodons mimic the magic of invisibility. They make their bodies transparent, then when prey approaches, they extend their tongues like spears to hunt their targets.”

“Like a chameleon, then.”

“Chameleon? What is that, now?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Enoch trailed off, his words unfinished.

Sometimes, the estrangement of this other world caused problems.

“Hmm? Well, doesn’t matter, I suppose. Not what’s important right now.”

Nordilla stretched her shoulders casually.

“First, we should clean up this area. If we leave it as is, they’ll group up again, and swarm towards the Empire.”

“I concur. Jane seems to agree as well.”

“Hey! When did I say that!”

“Quiet, quiet. At least there are three of us, it should be over quickly enough.”

Nordilla mediated between the two, surveying their surroundings.

The continent’s north was filled with snow-covered mountains.

There was nowhere in the north his eye didn’t reach.

“Let’s see. Roughly 80,000? 100,000? Seems a bit over. Doesn’t seem like too many.”

“That’s a relief. If we’d stayed another month, they would’ve multiplied several times over.”

“So it seems. Those cursed beasts. Spore propagation, the first time I’ve ever seen such a thing in my life.”

The ecology of the beasts was simple.

Kill, eat, evolve, and propagate.

The problem was precisely the propagation.

“The beasts have neither male nor female, nor even any distinction between individuals. They simply spread spores and propagate on their own.”

“Even the time required is less than a month. Truly loathsome creatures.”

The birth of the beasts was similar to that of mantises.

When a giant egg sac collapsed, hordes of baby mantises would swarm out.

The spores of the beasts were much the same.

“It’s only thanks to cannibalism that their numbers are this manageable.”

Nordilla sighed.

“Sometimes, this reality frightens me. If we fall one day, I wonder what will happen next…”

“Calm yourself. Now is not the time to fret needlessly over the future.”

“Enoch’s right! How long are you going to just stand around talking? Let’s hurry up and finish this!”

Jane shouted loudly.

At that moment, the sea of the north surged.

-Swaaash

Far off, a tidal wave began to rise.

“Understood. Spoke too much, I did.”

Nordilla chuckled, short and sharp.

Then, she flicked a finger.

-KRUUUMBLE-

Avalanches broke loose from the surrounding mountain ranges in unison.

“Roughly thirty thousand per head. Twenty minutes should suffice.”

Enoch traced a sigil on his chest.

The routine to maximize his inventory.

-RUMMMBLE-

Subspaces tore open across the North.

Countless treasures cascaded forth.

Each transforming, taking shape and rising.

“We’ll meet again shortly.”

“Aye, you lot be careful as well.”

“Ten minutes. I’ll freeze to death, so let’s all reconvene here in precisely ten minutes.”

The three scattered swiftly.

Three minutes later.

Forty thousand monsters vanished from the North.

@

The party reunited after twenty minutes.

Nordilla was the last to arrive.

Not because she had trouble dealing with the monsters.

But because she had strolled back leisurely, as if on a promenade.

“Why did you walk!”

“Calm yourself. Why is a maid, all talk and no action, so worked up? I merely came slowly, to see if any stragglers had been missed.”

“Tch…”

Jane wore a woeful expression.

Tears even welled in her eyes.

Enoch belatedly felt a sense of questioning.

“You’ve been particularly…difficult since we arrived. Is something the matter?”

“Nothing like that!”

“Actually, she’s right. This place doesn’t agree with Jayne. With ice instead of water all around, she’s naturally affected.”

“Ah, so her very essence is being shaken, in essence.”

“Something like that. Like experiencing a headache and seasickness at the same time. I, too, often feel a similar sensation when visiting the Tower of Fire.”

Nordilla explained in her stead.

Enoch nodded, as if understanding dawned.

Jayne waved a hand wearily.

“…Alright, so let’s just go already. I’m really struggling.”

“Is it so unbearable? Beyond your endurance?”

“Yes. It feels like my very soul is being reshaped in real-time.”

Jayne said, gesturing to her own body.

“Frankly, my constitution is partially to blame too.”

“Constitution? You mean the revealing clothes you wear?”

“Care to die? My constitution is different from that of ordinary people to begin with. I have more water in my body than others.”

“?”

“?”

“You could say I’m specialized for water affinity. Thanks to that, I adapted quickly. But, as a result, now…”

Her explanation broke off mid-sentence.

Jayne stopped speaking and stared at Enoch.

For some reason, Enoch was staring fixedly at Jayne.

Nordilla was doing the same.

“…What? Why are you all looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?”

“Miss Jayne. That… no, never mind.”

Nordilla’s voice trailed off.

She even averted her gaze.

Jayne’s confusion only deepened.

“What is it? What’s wrong? Did I do something wrong?”

“…Jayne, please try running things through your brain before you speak.”

“What? Why the strange talk all of a sudden? My head already hurts as it is.”

Jane squinted, brow furrowed.

A silent demand for explanation hung in the air.

Enoch sighed a dry, humorless puff of air and chuckled.

“Yes, yes. I understood you perfectly well.”

“Huh? What is it?”

“Lucky you. To be so…watery.”

“…?”

Enoch turned sharply on his heel.

“?”

Jane tilted her head again, a slow burn.

Then, a blush crept up her face, a crimson tide.

“!!!”

“Shall we go, Lady Nordilla?”

“Yes. Let’s.”

Enoch hurried her along, fighting back a smile.

Nordilla sighed, falling into step beside him.

Such sudden, crude humor.

He found the conversation itself utterly exhausting.

“So… ‘watery’… Ehh. Sometimes I feel like I’ve lived too long. The currents of the times flow too quickly.”

“Just a feeling, I’m sure. Even I thought that was a bit much.”

“Did you? Well, I envy you young ones. As one ages, the moisture leaves the body, you see.”

“So it seems.”

“?”

Nordilla cocked her head, confused.

An odd feeling, something unpleasant, pricked at her.

In that very moment, Jane shouted from behind them, her voice rising in panic.

“Wait-! Wait-!”

-Clatter-clatter-clatter

“Stop! What I said before was a mistake! A mistake, I tell you!”

Jane slid to a halt, having sprinted after them.

His face had ripened to a tomato-red before anyone noticed.

In that time, it seemed the water had boiled over, too.

“Flee, then.”

“Do as you wish.”

“aaagh!!!”