Great Teacher in a Defense Game

#41 Surely Not This Much

Enoch soothed Lacrimosa.

After a moment, she ceased her weeping.

Left to himself, Van cocked his head, bewildered.

‘Just why exactly did I get scolded?’

Van chewed over the question.

Repeated thought yielded no answer.

Belatedly, he sighed and spoke.

“Well then, now that the introductions are done, I shall take my leave.”

“Very well. Thank you for coming. You intend to continue at the academy?”

“Yes. It doesn’t appear this incident will cause the school to collapse, so… I also find what I’ve learned thus far too valuable to abandon.”

For the sake of the benefits, there was no other way.

Van shrugged as if to say, *what else can I do?*

“A sound decision. Having completed five years, you ought to at least graduate.”

“That is what I think as well. Ah! And this. It is what you asked for last time.”

Van produced something and held it out.

It was a small slip of paper.

“The address of the friend you asked about last time. Or rather, his younger sibling. I made inquiries; they are residing there presently.”

“Thank you. You haven’t visited yet?”

“I was planning on perhaps going sometime. But our schedules didn’t align, so I gave up in the end.”

“It is alright. We shall meet again before long.”

Enoch spoke thus, tucking the memo into his breast pocket.

Ban wore a slightly puzzled expression.

They would meet again soon.

Truly, a story laden with meaning.

“I would ask for details, but surely that would be discourteous.”

“I could tell you, if you wished?”

“It’s alright. It feels a bit… intrusive, to pry.”

Ban shook his head at Enoch’s consideration.

Then, with a small, bright smile, he clasped his fist in his palm.

“In any case, Master Enoch. I will not forget this deed. Upon the name of the Richter family, I pledge to formally greet you again in the future.”

“It is gracious of you to say so. Until we meet again.”

“Yes. I will see you at the Academy next time.”

Ban spoke thus, then bowed his head.

Thereafter, he opened the door and stepped outside.

@

Enoch gazed intently at the space Ban had just vacated.

‘The Academy, eh… it seems the Chairman gave a slight hint.’

Ban had mentioned the Academy so deliberately.

Only Enoch and the Chairman were privy to that fact.

Undoubtedly, the Chairman was pulling strings to secure talent.

“Excuse me, Master?”

“What is it?”

“What was that memo just now?”

Lacrina asked belatedly.

Her gaze was fixed on the pocket within his coat.

“This, you mean? Nothing much. Just an address.”

“An address? Whose?”

“Why, a student, of course. Or rather, a ‘former’ Academy student. You’ll be meeting him soon enough. You two have quite a bit in common, one way or another.”

“Huh? With me?”

“Indeed. He intends to provide support from behind, just like you.”

“……”

Lacrimosa fell silent.

Her gaze, unbidden, drifted to Enoch’s face.

“Why do you look at me like that?”

“That student… are they exceptionally talented?”

“Talent? Of course. If they had none, I wouldn’t have bothered investing in them in the first place.”

“Their gender?”

“Hmm?”

“What about their gender? Are they male?”

Lacrimosa pressed, one question after another.

Her gaze was sharp, for some reason.

Their gender *had* to be male.

Her eyes seemed to be saying as much.

“No. The other one is a girl.”

“…Excuse me?”

“A female student. Probably about your age.”

“……”

Lacrimosa wore an expression as if the world itself had crumbled.

“W-was I… was *I* not enough?”

“That’s… a slightly odd way of putting it.”

“Regardless!”

Lacrimosa urged him onward.

She smacked the duvet with her hands, again and again.

The words that followed sent her spiralling into the depths.

“To be frank, it is true.”

“……”

“You alone cannot possibly face all the Kaiju. A steadfast comrade joining the fight only makes things better. Doesn’t it?”

Enoch asked, placidly.

His demeanor suggested there was nothing amiss.

Yet Lacrimosa’s reaction was of the utmost gravity.

Enoch’s assertion that one wasn’t enough.

For Lacrina, it was a statement of considerable shock.

‘Looks like I’ve shocked her. Well, I suppose this wasn’t the answer she desired.’

Lacrina is frank.

Especially before Enoch, her emotions tend to lay bare upon her face.

A matter of course, but Enoch had perceived her budding affections long, long ago.

‘Whatever the intent, it matters not. As long as it leads to a yearning for improvement. Jealousy could even be a beneficial stimulus.’

Jealousy invariably leads to a thirst for advancement.

And should it fail to, he need only use his power to forcibly connect them.

Enoch steeled his resolve.

For the world’s sake. For Lacrina’s sake.

It was inevitable.

‘Still, seeing as we’re meeting anyway, it wouldn’t hurt to become a little more…familiar.’

“Lacrina?”

“…Yes.”

“Don’t be too disheartened. You’ll always be first in my eyes.”

Enoch seized the opportune moment to offer solace.

Lacrina belatedly lifted her gaze.

Her eyes were already glistening.

Please, do cease your weeping…

“…Truly?”

“Indeed.”

“Truly?”

“Indeed, truly and surely.”

“Truly? Really, truly?”

“Goodness, that’s what I’m saying.”

Lacrina questioned him as if interrogating.

Enoch felt an unsettling chill crawl down his spine.

This was a first.

Even Baltro’s habitual phrase echoed in his mind.

“…Memo, keep a close eye on Enoch. Especially underline that.”

“Get out of my head, Balthor.”

“Not precisely *in* your head, am I…?”

“?”

Enoch turned his head.

Balthor was standing right behind him.

“When did you arrive?”

“When you and your apprentice were having a quarrel—”

Lacrima interjected.

“It wasn’t a quarrel.”

“…Having a trivial conversation—”

“It wasn’t trivial.”

“…Having a profound and deeply impressive conversation, I happened to seize the opportunity to arrive. There, is that satisfactory, Miss Lacrima?”

“Yes.”

Lacrima nodded.

Balthor Ulligan, the Archivist Mage.

He looked at Lacrima and, once more, opened the memo pad in his mind.

‘Trait, persistence.’

He swiftly added another line.

The page was already threatening to overflow.

“Ahem, ahem… In any case, let’s get to the point. Enoch… sir?”

“I’ve told you before, that makes *me* more uncomfortable.”

“…What can be done. It makes *me* uncomfortable not to use honorifics as well. In any event, you have a visitor. They’re looking for you.”

“A visitor? For me, you say?”

“Indeed. Coincidentally, they were in the vicinity—”

“Ah, here you are.”

In that instant, someone appeared at the location.

Nordilla, the Master of the Tower of Ice.

“Lady Nordilla?”

“It’s good to see you again, Enoch. Lacrima, have you been well in the meantime?”

“M-Master Tower Lord, I greet you…!”

Lacrina scrambled to her feet, offering a quick bow.

Enoch, as if curious about what all the commotion was, inquired,

“Lady Nordilla. What brings you here so suddenly? You didn’t even give us prior notice.”

“There wasn’t time. I happened to be passing through after hearing from Bergo.”

“Happened?”

“I heard talk of the academy being temporarily suspended. Am I wrong? Since you have free time on your hands, I thought perhaps I’d take Lacrina under my wing. That’s why I came all this way.”

Nordilla tilted her head, puzzled.

Enoch quickly grasped the situation.

It seemed Bergo had been gossiping about the matter in the group chat.

“No, there’s nothing amiss. The academy is indeed closing its doors for a time, as you heard.”

“Is that so? Well, splendid. I’d like to take this opportunity to keep a closer eye on her. What do you say? Would that be agreeable?”

“I am amenable. I was, in truth, hoping to request just such a thing.”

Enoch quickly acquiesced.

Nordilla chuckled heartily.

Lacrina, who had been silent until then, cautiously spoke up.

“Um… Lady Nordilla?”

“Yes? What is it?”

“I’m grateful you would concern yourself with someone like me. However… if I were to go with you, Lady Nordilla, would I be separated from Enoch-sensei?”

“Hm? Separated?”

Nordilla’s head tilted to one side, a question mark made flesh.

The atmosphere was, for some reason, rather peculiar.

She seemed loath to be parted from Enoch.

-Tower Lord.

“Hmm?”

At that moment, Baltro called to Nordilla.

He gesticulated wildly, struggling to convey his meaning through charades.

-Ob, sess, ed. Ob, sess, ed.

“…?”

-Af, fec, tion. Af, fec, tion.

“……”

-A-wry, A-twist, A-wrong. A-wry, A-twist, A-wrong.

“…Ah, I see. So that’s how it is.”

Nordilla chuckled softly.

He was quick to grasp the situation.

It hadn’t been quite this… pronounced, just a short while ago.

They’d grown rather close in the interim, it seemed.

“Say now, Enoch.”

“What is it?”

“Seeing as how things have transpired, how about you join us as well? My cherished disciple seems quite eager to have you along.”

Nordilla posed the question.

Lacrima watched with nervous anticipation.

Enoch answered without hesitation.

“I’m fine with it. I was planning on accompanying you regardless.”

“Is that so? Excellent. Lacrima, is that sufficient?”

“Pardon? …Yes.”

Lacrima answered, her head bowed low.

Her demeanor betrayed a certain shyness, as if her inner feelings had been laid bare.

Nordilla watched her, a warm smile gracing his lips.

For a glacial mage with a heart of ice, nothing was quite as sweet as the blossoming of innocent affection.

“Um… Tower Master?”

“Hmm? What is it?”

At that moment, Baltro approached.

He leaned in close to Nordilla’s ear and whispered softly.

“Take this with you. It could prove quite helpful.”

“What is this?”

“A memorandum. Notes I’ve compiled regarding Lacrima.”

Baltro, the mage of records.

He could recall information stored within his mind with astonishing speed.

The item he had just passed was also created by his magic.

Nodrila, the recipient of the gift, wore a look of slight unease.

“This is… awkward. It feels rather like spying on a student. Is such a thing truly necessary?”

“It will be, I assure you. Absolutely.”

Baltro spoke with a fervor.

Almost a certainty, bordering on madness, that startled even Nodrila.

“…Is that so? I’ll gratefully accept it, then. Thank you for the consideration.”

“It is nothing. Merely doing what is necessary.”

Baltro retreated a step.

Nodrila, concealing his discomfort, tucked the notebook into his pocket.

*Received, yes, but I should avoid looking at it whenever possible.*

Prying into a girl’s inner thoughts is rarely a virtuous act.

Nodrila hoped that Lacrina’s innocent heart might endure, relatively untouched, for some time yet.

*Nothing is more precious than a pure heart. I pray that child cherishes this time.*

Nodrila glanced back at Lacrina.

She was now gazing at Enoch, who stood beside her.

The white-haired elder smiled contentedly as he watched them.

Alas.

Such hopes were soon to be shattered.

@

“…Lacrina?”

“Yes?”

“So, this is the magic you’ve created recently?”

“Yes. That’s correct. Is there a problem?”

One hour later.

The snowfields in the north.

Nodrila had requested a certain spell from Lacrina.

He’d instructed her to cast the most potent ice magic at her disposal.

And the result…

Lacrina conjured a colossal serpent of ice.

Something eerily reminiscent—

No.

To put it bluntly, it was a magic, vague and derivative, solely fixated on imitating Enoch’s summon.

This… this wasn’t what I’d hoped for.

“How is it, Lord Nordilla?”

“Hmm…”

“Surely, it’s quite powerful, no?”

Lacrimosa asked, a smile blossoming on her face.

Her expression was so artless, so pure.

She clearly expected praise to be showered upon her.

“…Yes. Not a bad spell at all.”

“Right?”

Lacrimosa beamed, radiant.

Nordilla seized the opportunity, swiftly retrieving his notepad.

‘Forgive me, Lacrimosa. I never imagined it would be like this.’

Nordilla apologized inwardly.

He’d vowed never to open it again, and yet.

It seemed he needed to consult it, at least for reference.