Translator: Tsukii

Editor: Lilia

Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 40 – Things to be Taught and a Letter from the Past

Sparks of magic power scattered across the training ground.　

There were gazes piercing through the target from three directions. They interpreted intent, saw through the target’s actions, and decided on their next strategy.

I deflected the long sword that attacked from the front.　

Erin unleashed sharp and precise slashes like breathing. But that also made her easy to read. I returned the impact and created an opening in her stance.

But from the other party’s perspective, it was nothing but a stepping stone.

The moment I was about to step in, a dagger flew toward my blind spot, and I struck it away as I retracted my sword strike.　

Although Kuyumi’s moves were the hardest to read among the three, this time, all three girls were training together.

As long as I chose the best option and controlled the situation, Kuyumi would be forced to choose one option. That way, I could deal with an attack that I already expected without even being conscious about it.

“This──!”

“Ahah……♡”

　

The two of them, whose attacks had been completely countered, tried to close their distance from me.

It seemed to be an attempt for close combat, but there was no way that was actually the case.

“That’s too obvious.”　

Both of them spread left and right as if bouncing off of each other.　

In an instant, Sharon’s bombardment directly hit the defensive magic I deployed.

“……?! It was read?!”

Of course it was.　

The greatest strength of the combination of Erin and Kuyumi were the waves of attacks from Erin, which could be seen but were difficult to respond to, and the secret attacks from Kuyumi, who was out of sight and could take advantage of any openings.

Since those two rushed at me in unison, it was clear they were aiming for something.　

In that case, it was inevitable to be wary of supporting artillery.

“But!”　

“It’s not over yet♡”

　

A wire anchor entangled my body, which had stopped moving to deploy defensive magic.

If it was a real battle, I would have torn the anchor off by force or swung the anchor to make Kuyumi crash into Erin but…

“I got you! [Vertical Flash Slash!!]”　

The technique that was unleashed by tracing the midline was the SwordX family’s secret technique.　

Now that my movement was restricted, there was nothing I could do to block it.

In that case, I just need to do that.

“Hup-.”　

I took half a step and tilted my upper body.　

The vertical slash that carefully traced the surface of my body… only cut off the wire that was wrapped around me.

“Haah?!”　

“Eeh?!”

Just like that, I thrust the tip of the sword to Erin’s neck and grabbed Kuyumi’s wrist that rushed forward in a hurry to stab me.　

“It’s over.”　

With that as a signal, I returned my sword to my waist.　

This time, the three were training together, so if even one of them failed, the session was over.

“I lost~! I’m completely no match for you~!”　

“Well, it’s not training about winning or losing after all♡ Make sure to review your movements and learn from it♡”

　

Kuyumi comforted Erin, who was sprawled out on the ground.

I’d prefer she didn’t do that while wearing a skirt, though…

“Sensei’s movements at the end were just too disgusting♡ don’t make something that’s the equivalent of lighting a fire under a horse carriage by touching a match to the friction of wheels look so simple♡”

“Right? I never thought I’d see something worse than paper-thin evasion…”

　

Kuyumi started touching my clothes as she wondered whether I actually got cut.

Stop that. I made sure to look at the attack and handle it properly.

As I was watching the close combat group exchanging opinions, Sharon came walking from a distance.　

Perhaps due to the aftermath of the bombardment magic she used earlier, her magic power was slightly unsteady.

“The timing of Sharon’s support was also good.”　

“……Yes.”

　

Holding her huge weapon, Sharon nodded dejectedly.

Uh~n… maybe she felt she wasn’t able to contribute as much as the other two.

“In fact, I have it tough since I have to constantly be on guard for Sharon shooting me.”　

“……I see, it’s good then.”

“It’s really amazing to become a threat just by being there, so all that is left is to expand the range of actions you can take.”

If I told this to my classmates instead, they would say bullshit like, “You mean it’s the best to just stay still without doing anything?” “Then I’ll just sle~ep.” “Don’t forget, I’m always ready to bring you down together with the enemies,” but I was glad that Sharon was an honest girl.　

That said, it seemed she really was concerned about various things.　

I guess having Erin who managed to master her family’s secret technique, and Kuyumi who was capable of a variety of things to begin with, as classmates would make the current Sharon feel frustrated.

It wasn’t a simple difference in the number of options.　

It was directly connected to differences in battle experience, fighting instinct, and creativity.

Well, there were monsters who could overcome everything by repeating a single action while ignoring all that, though.　

Like the Knight, or the Knight, and let’s not forget, the Knight.

“……You’re right. I hope there will be more things I can do.”

I fell silent as I heard her muttering.　

It seemed more serious than I thought… I would have to think about it for a while.

　

　◇

　

“And so, I’d like to hear your honest opinion about it.”　

“I see…”

I asked the vice principal while holding a piece of meat that had been skewered and carefully grilled.　

This was a small town just a quick horse ride from the adventurer school.

We were at our favorite place, located on a corner of the road that was illuminated even at night.

It was similar to a yakitori restaurant in the modern world.　

The fresh meat purchased that day would be prepped, skewered, then grilled by a skilled cook.

“I think Sharon is probably at the point where she wants to see visible growth. To be frank, it’s the period of time when she’s the most worried about falling behind.”　

“I guess so. Considering her talent, it is true it would be hard to see visible progress overnight.”

When I said that, the vice principal put her finger on her chin and groaned.　

If I were to refer to my game knowledge, Sharon’s firepower would increase as her level increased.

Her daily training was definitely not for nothing.

But it was also a fact that things she did remained the same.　

As the person who was in charge of firepower, she simply switched to higher ranked spells as she learned them.

The routine of consuming accumulated points to blast her enemies remained the same.

“……I feel like I don’t have the ability to provide the progress she seeks.”

It would be easy to just compromise and think of it as efficiently developing character strengths according to meta.　

But that wasn’t it. She was a human. I must not make a mistake like that again.

“That’s why I’d like to hear your opinion as a senior educator.”　

I stuffed my mouth with the meat that was on the skewer and turned to face the vice principal.　

As she traced the rim of the glass with her thin, pale fingers, she smiled.

“Sorry Haruto-kun. This might be a little off-topic.”　

“Yes.”

“It seems you have more leisure these days.”

“Ah~……”

　

I understood what she was trying to say.

It has been around a month since I started teaching. ¹

I personally felt that I became more efficient with the amount of effort I put into my work, and as a teacher, I became able to think of various ways to help my students.

“I guess it’s because I’m getting used to the job?”　

“Of course I think that plays a big part in it, but I think you’ve changed a lot after the incident with Mariemaia-san.”

……Well, that was true.

The big problem that had been bothering me over my entire life was finally resolved after all.

No, well, in the end, I had no choice but to bet on “Mariemaia will grow properly without my unnecessary interference.”　

Since I didn’t know how she learned hatred and love, I guess it was natural to take that stance once I gave up on adhering to the game scenario.

By the way, I shared only with the vice principal the condition for Mariemaia to awaken the magic to defeat the Demon Lord.　

Rather, there were so many things that I couldn’t judge on my own, so I shared it with my former teacher and asked her, “How much should I tell Mariemaia?”

As a result, it was decided that “it would be safe to just communicate the goal,” and that was what I did.　

I wouldn’t have come to such a decision on my own, so it really helped.

“It makes me feel bad since I just consulted you about Mariemaia the other day, but…”　

“Don’t be so reserved, Haruto-kun. We’re the only fellow teachers here, so feel free to talk to me about anything. I’ll also consult with you if I need it.”

“Hahahah… I understand. I’ll do my best to be relied upon by the vice principal.”

“You sure have grown up, even though you used to be like that.”

The ice cubes on the vice principal’s glass clinked as she smiled.　

“I don’t really want to reminisce about my past self. I was so terrible back then, it makes me want to die.”　

“But even if you were a bad student, you were always a good person, even from back then. You sneaked out, skipped classes, and went out with your fellow classmates to exterminate bad people to make the world a better place, didn’t you?”

The me from back then was really terrible!　

As a punishment for myself, I started hoping to die an unusual death.

“That’s more the mistake of youth…”　

“But Cadenta-san said thanks to those activities, it became the foundation of her current occupation.”

“The vigilante activities of truant brats have nothing to do with the kingdom’s secret force, right…?!”

As I couldn’t help but roll my eyes, the vice principal took a sip from her glass.　

“That’s how life is. The time when one tripped over a small pebble will be remembered when they achieve success.”　

“……Is that how it is?”

“That’s right. Although you’re good at training soldiers, you’re still inexperienced as an adult leading students, so I think it would be a good idea to learn about that.”

She pointed out such a logical argument.　

Indeed, I hadn’t accumulated a lot of life experience yet. I spent all of my time running around and fighting and worrying about the plot.

Me being a teacher now was barely possible thanks to the memories of my previous life. If not for that, I would be nothing but a fighting machine.

“That’s why you should be able to really understand how Sharon-san feels.”　

“……!”

　

It is true that I wanted to make progress.

But I never thought it was a feeling I could empathize with Sharon.

“A teacher might be someone who teaches and guides, but that’s not all there is to it. Sometimes, it’s necessary not only to give, but also to support them.”　

“……I guess you’re right.”

It wasn’t just about giving things to Sharon that would improve her skills.　

As a teacher, I also needed to be aware of what and how she felt.

“Sorry, and thank you very much.”　

“Fufuh, it’s alright. You’ll listen if I want to consult you someday, right?”

“Yes, of course. How about leaving the bill to me for today?”

Because we finished work early, we had plenty of time.　

As I spoke with the intention of eating and drinking leisurely, the vice principal narrowed her eyes and held the menu in her hand.

“Owner, please give me from here to here.”　

“Okay.”

The vice principal’s finger slid smoothly and beautifully from one end of the menu to the other.　

No way……

　

The owner standing in the kitchen agreed without flinching, and the other customers also said “A~ah.” “What a reckless thing to say to the ‘Drinking Beauty’ herself.” “I guess that’s a mistake of youth,” as they looked at me with pity.

Everyone was already aware of it?! Why did none of them tell me about it?!

“Haruto-kun, consider this a lesson. Before you act rashly, you must carefully check your environment, including properly researching potential opponents… I think I already taught this before, but it’s disappointing to see that you forgot about it. I’ll make sure to teach it to you once again.”　

The vice principal looked very beautiful as she told me that.　

It was just a guess, but I think the angels who burned Sodom and Gomorrah also had that kind of beauty.

　

　◇

　

The next day, I woke up with all my might while fighting off my pounding hangover headache.　

After washing my face and gulping down some water, I managed to make it to the staff room, but there was an unexpected person waiting for me there.

“Ah, good morning, sensei.”　

For some reason, Sharon, who had a troubled expression on her face, had come to the staff room first.　

By the way, the vice principal was casually sitting at her seat as usual. She looked fine.

What happened here? It felt like I had been the victim of a terrible scam.　

“Good morning, Sharon. What’s up?”　

“Um, err, I have something to ask.”

I glanced over at the vice principal.　

She nodded silently without looking at me.

“Then let’s go over there for a bit.”　

I pointed toward a conversation space separated by a partition in one corner of the staff room.　

It was a place used for casual chats with guests.

We sat on two sofas facing each other.　

The whole time, she was holding a white envelope in one hand.

“Is the thing you wanted to ask about, that letter?”　

“Yes.”

Sharon opened her mouth hesitantly.　

I had a bad feeling about it.

“That’s… the person who was going to be chosen to be my marriage partner in the past wants to tour this school…”　

Was it another guardian who wanted to berate── Eh, what?

Someone who was going to be chosen as a marriage partner?

Wasn’t that totally a stranger?! Screw it! No way! Did they think we were some kind of tourist attraction?!　

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