Great Teacher in a Defense Game

#46 Enoch Enoch Enoch Enoch

Enoch shook his head.

Now was not the time for strange thoughts and whatnot.

First, he had to return Lacrima to her original self.

“Drink up, now.”

“I don’t want to…”

“Don’t be difficult. Quickly.”

“I don’t want to… feed it to me instead, please.”

Lacrima whined, opening her arms wide.

It was going from bad to worse.

Enoch could feel the heat rising to his head before he knew it.

It was in no small part due to Clareena, who continued to needle him from the side.

“Your cute disciple is asking you to feed her?”

“……”

“These days, raising them piggyback is all the rage. Indulge her just this once, won’t you?”

-Grind

Enoch gritted his teeth.

Patience was, inch by inch, reaching its limit.

Had she demanded to be fed?

Very well.

If that’s what she desired, then so be it.

“Lacrimna.”

“Yes?”

“Don’t go regretting this later, now.”

Enoch spoke with a decisive face.

Lacrimna tilted her head, bewildered.

Clarena and Felton, observing the scene from the side, were similarly confused.

Regret? Why such a thing, all of a sudden?

The three individuals present thought this simultaneously.

At that instant.

– *Click* –

Enoch popped open the cap of the neutralizer.

He tilted the bottle back, gulping the liquid directly into his mouth, holding it there.

“Enoch?”

“Enoch-ssi? What are you doing-“

Felton’s eyes widened.

Clarena, flustered, reached out a hand.

Enoch ignored it all.

Instead, he reached out and firmly gripped the back of Lacrimna’s head.

– *Thwack!* –

“… Huh? Teacher?”

A thick arm held her head fast.

Lacrimna’s eyes trembled, just a fraction.

For the first time since taking the drug, she was disconcerted.

But it hardly mattered.

Enoch, unfazed, continued to do what needed to be done.

The reaction that followed, he lightly disregarded.

– *Kkuk*

“”!!!””

“Uh, uuh…!”

Lips met quickly, urgently.

Felton, Clarena, and Lacrimia.

All three pairs of eyes widened in shocked disbelief.

– *Gulps*

“Th-that!”

“Madman! He actually did it!!!”

Felton flailed, arms wide, hopping in place.

Clarena slapped a hand to her forehead, impressed.

Oblivious to their reactions.

Enoch remained focused on the task.

From mouth to mouth. From passage to passage.

Enoch, in a single motion, forced the neutralizing agent held in his mouth into Lacrimia.

– *Gulp gulp*

– *Puh-ha*

“…Easy enough.”

“Eh, eh…? Eh?”

Their lips parted moments later.

Enoch wiped away the dribble of neutralizer with the back of his hand.

His manner, his very air, unchanged from before.

For one who had just delivered a sudden, unexpected kiss, his composure was eerily placid.

No, the one lost in chaos was someone else entirely.

Lacrimia, the one who had demanded to be fed, was the very picture of grave bewilderment.

“Wh-what just happened…”

She herself had been the instigator, after all.

Had she not quite anticipated… *this?*

She sat there, stunned, staring blankly at Enoch.

Neutralizer still clinging to her mouth, she stammered, her lips wet, continuing to utter senseless syllables.

“…Damn, must be I’ve lived too long.”

Felton turned his gaze from the theater of madness.

He was beyond speech.

Nor did he wish to add any words.

In truth, Clareana, one of the causes of the incident, was squealing with a giddy air.

“What? Isn’t it wonderfully stimulating?”

“Are you speaking sincerely?”

“Of course. Absolutely. …Though, to be frank, I didn’t think he’d actually do it…”

Clareana cautiously trailed off.

Reason belatedly returned to her.

Looking back, it was a rather perilous situation.

Though she hadn’t actually done much herself.

She’d merely concocted the drug as requested, and nothing more.

Still, her sin of encouragement was not insignificant.

Besides, she was an investor, wasn’t she?

Now, thinking it over, this was hardly a good position to be in.

“Um… Enoch?”

“What is it?”

“Um… are you alright? Thinking about it, things seem to have gotten rather… large…”

Clareana asked quietly.

A guilt she hadn’t managed to suppress permeated her tone.

Yet Enoch showed no particular reaction to her demeanor.

He simply chuckled.

“Miss Clareana.”

“Yes, yes?”

“You’ve suddenly become quite timid. Was merely a kiss such a grave matter?”

“…Wha, what??”

Clareana was taken aback.

She was caught off-guard by such an unanticipated question.

“A ki, kiss?”

“It was merely a chance occurrence. Why do you make such a fuss over a simple kiss? As if there were some grand significance to it.”

“But… from Lacrina’s perspective, wouldn’t it have been… her first kiss?”

Clarena feebly offered as defense.

For some reason, the situation felt unfavorable.

For now, she had to use Lacrina as a shield to conceal her own vulnerabilities.

“First kiss, eh…”

Enoch’s reaction was surprisingly lackluster.

He chuckled softly upon hearing Clarena’s reply.

Then, turning his head, he asked the person directly.

“Lacrina.”

“Huh… Oh? Yes?”

“I’m curious about your review. How did it feel just now?”

“Feelings… you ask? Well, I suppose… I’d have to try it again to know for sure-“

-Thwack!

Enoch decisively flicked her forehead.

The sound of the strike echoed sharply.

“Ow!”

Suddenly struck on the forehead,

Lacrina clutched her head, her face contorted in a grimace.

Enoch, leaving Lacrina’s reaction behind, turned his gaze back to Clarena.

“As you can see, the person involved seems to be doing just fine.”

“…Th-that…”

Clarena was at a loss for words.

Somewhere along the way, the tide had turned.

She was clearly relishing the relationship between an innocent student and an indifferent teacher.

But waking up from her musings, she found herself under attack.

“Th-then, about…”

“Clarena-ssi?”

“Y-yes…?”

“You seem to lack experience in this sort of thing. Haven’t you been spending too much time cooped up in the lab?”

“!!!”

Clarena froze.

It was because Enoch’s words held a stark truth.

“Well, I understand. A person can end up that way if they only study and live their life.”

“……”

“It’s not exactly Clarena-yang’s fault. Rest assured.”

Enoch added, with a smile playing on his lips.

It was obvious he was trying to tease her.

Yet, strangely enough, she felt no anger.

She’d certainly heard that being struck with facts incited fury.

Could even rage be discerning in its targets?

Clarena felt an unspoken defeat wash over her.

“…I, shall take my leave first. A great deal of work awaits.”

Ironically, it was Felton who departed the scene first.

His disciple concocting an aphrodisiac, himself neutralizing it.

The man he considered his benefactor, suddenly planting a kiss on said disciple.

All of it tested Felton’s reason.

He no longer wished to remain in this theater of madness.

And so, he fled.

For now, it was the only course.

@

The commotion subsided after a short while.

Lachryma had fallen asleep on the bed before anyone knew it.

The sedative effect of the neutralizing agent had taken hold belatedly.

“…Here. I’ve dulled the sample’s effects a bit.”

“You should have done so sooner. I’ll use it well nonetheless.”

“It was nothing…”

Enoch requested improvements to the medicine from Clarena.

Clarena accepted the request without a word.

Perhaps it was because she had just been dealt a blow herself.

Clarena offered not a word as she adjusted the medicine.

Her spirit seemed to have dampened somewhat in the interim.

“Hmm?”

Just then, Enoch noticed something odd about the newly handed-over vial.

[Viagra-1]

Unlike the sample he’d received prior, this new vial bore a code he hadn’t seen before.

“Miss Clarena.”

“What is it?”

“This code here. Does this denote an, ah, improved version?”

“Oh, that? Yes, it does.”

Clarena swiveled her chair.

Across the spinning seat, her gaze met Enoch’s.

“Strictly speaking, the stimulant we’re making now does have an original source, doesn’t it?”

“That it does.”

“That’s why. We aren’t going to sell it separately, and since it’s made for personal use, I intend to gradually improve it myself to suit your constitution.”

“Improve it? Are you serious?”

“Why? Do you think I’m incapable of even this much? We’re not going to use it just once and be done with it, are we? Then I should do it. Shouldn’t I?”

Clarena asked, all casual innocence.

A question imbued with the meaning that she herself would handle it if any further needs arose.

‘The original author is coming to mind now.’

Enoch marveled anew.

She could have simply copied and given him the first sample she made.

And yet, she was considering his constitution and improving upon it.

This was a feat beyond mere responsibility.

It was possible because of the tenaciousness that had kept her at the very front lines, treating the afflicted until the very last moment.

“…It’s ridiculous for me to even question it.”

Enoch sighed softly.

A sigh of joy.

It felt as though he had taken a rather circuitous route, but only now did the reality of having gained a reliable ally truly sink in.

“Improvement, I shall leave it in your capable hands.”

“As much as you require. I would never disappoint an investor such as yourself.”

“Besides that, I foresee I will be in your debt often in the future. I pray you will assist me each time.”

“Just don’t cease your patronage. Then, I will exert all my power.”

Clarena spoke it as a jest.

Enoch chuckled softly.

“Such a thing will never come to pass.”

‘Since it’s not my money, anyway.’

The unspoken words were quietly buried within his heart.

@

Enoch received the samples and tucked them into his pocket.

After excusing himself from Clarena, he went to the rooftop to smoke.

At that moment, without warning, his communicator began to blare.

-Bee-bee-beeb

‘Hmm?’

Enoch hastily checked the caller.

It was Rascelin, the Archmage of the Great Earth Tower.

‘What business could he have?’

A feeling of unease pricked at him as he opened the communicator.

His voice was heard immediately.

-Click

-Hello? Junior, is that you?

“It is. Lord Rascelin, what urgent matter brings you to call?”

-Enoch, Enoch, Enoch, Enoch

“Lord Rascelin?”

Enoch frowned.

The communication was… off.

For some reason, he could only hear his name repeated incessantly.

-Ah, ah. Hello? Junior, can you hear me?

“I hear you clearly. However, Lord Rascelin, why were you repeating my name a moment ago?”

– Ah… that? That wasn’t me— no, never mind. I was contacting you about that very thing.

“Pardon?”

– Junior, are you alone right now?

Raceline asked again.

Her voice was different from before.

A serious demeanor, devoid of any playfulness.

Completely unlike how she was in the comm-channel.

“Yes. I am alone. What is the matter?”

Enoch, too, had become serious.

Raceline sighed, then said,

– Explaining it would take too long, it’d be faster to show you directly. First, can you switch to video-comm?

“…? Yes. Understood.”

Enoch opened his communicator and brought up the screen.

Raceline’s face appeared on the square display.

“My side is ready. Can you see me?”

– Yes, I see you clearly. Looks like you’re in the city. That’s fortunate.

“Fortunate…? What does that mean?”

– Explanations later. First, take a look at this.

Raceline didn’t answer the question.

Instead, she turned the screen to show the ground nearby.

‘Prairie? And… a monster?’

Enoch observed the image intently.

Before long, he deduced her location and situation.

Currently, Raceline was standing alone on a prairie outside the city walls.

And surrounding her, countless monsters lay fallen.

‘Even at a glance, there appear to be over thirty. But why show this to me?’

Enoch tilted his head.

He couldn’t grasp the intention behind showing him this.

It seemed he needed more of an explanation.

At that moment.

-Enoch?

“…?”

The fallen monster abruptly opened its maw.

-Enoch? Enoch? Enoch?

“…What in the world?”

-See? These monsters, it seems they know you.

Raceline turned the screen again.

The communicator’s screen filled with her face once more.

Raceline spoke, grumbling with a weary air.

-You see my face?

“…Yes. I see you.”

-Good. Glad the comms are working. Ah! And besides the monsters, there’s one more oddity.

“One more?”

-See this? These things were scattered around next to them.

Raceline held an object up to the screen.

It was a small vial.

Labeled on its side: [Viagra-127].

“……”

-I’ll ask just in case.

“…”

-Enoch, does any of this strike a chord with you?