Ding ding! “Well, well, look who’s up here talking away.”
I slowly turned my head from left to right, scanning the students. They were looking at me with all sorts of expressions, and it seemed most of them were interested in what I had to say.
As I gazed at the students, I mentally sorted out what I should say. Since I couldn’t tell the whole truth 100%, a little embellishment was needed.
It was clear which parts I could cut out, so let’s skip those. Just the bits about summoning Harpas and our conversations… I could gloss over that, right? Ah, and I should hide Rue’s abilities too.
Where should I start? Hmm… I guess I should kick things off from the festival.
After all, the spark that ignited this war was when I brainwashed that Executor and caused chaos.
“It all started on the last day of the festival. I dueled with an Executor who had snuck into the Colosseum, using the event as an excuse. After defeating him, I attached a magic tool I’d prepared to him and found out his base…”
I began recounting my experiences from the festival to the start of the war, speaking slowly.
It turned out telling my tale was harder than I’d thought. There was a lot of information I needed to conceal, which made it challenging to weave a cohesive story while maintaining its flow.
So, it’s only natural my tale would drag on like a professor’s lecture.
But it wasn’t too boring, I suppose. Aside from a few students, most were listening intently.
“…before heading west, I went to the House of Duke Ryan with Principal Merlin.”
“To the House of Duke Ryan?”
It seemed a bit sudden to the others. I nodded at the boy who promptly shot me a question.
“Yeah. Anyway, at the Duke’s house, I met the previous duke. So, Kalintz.”
“Uh, sir! I don’t understand the context of your story! Why did you suddenly go to the House of Duke Ryan?!”
“Because Kalintz is strong. I went to recruit more allies.”
“Ah…”
A nameless girl was still tilting her head in confusion but didn’t press me further.
Where did I leave off again?
“Kalintz rejected my request to fight Harpas alongside him, showing me his severed arm.”
“Uh, so Kalintz is at the duke’s…”
“No, he’s in the west.”
“Huh?”
“If he lost his arm, shouldn’t we just give him a new one?”
“Huh?”
What? Didn’t the prosthetic work fine?
…Wait, thinking about it, that makes sense. I mean, prosthetics aren’t something students usually encounter. It’s not like promising talents would have missing limbs.
Hmm, how do I explain this?
Oh, no need to explain.
“Viola.”
When I called Viola, who was resting her chin on her hands, she pointed to herself and tilted her head in confusion. She seemed puzzled that I called her.
“Yeah?”
“Raise your right arm.”
“Uh… like this?”
As Viola raised her arm, her sleeve slipped down, revealing her doll-like arm. She scratched her cheek awkwardly and spoke.
“Can I lower it?”
“You can lower it.”
I resumed my tedious tale as she quickly lowered her arm.
“That’s what replaces severed limbs. I made a new arm for Kalintz…”
“Wait, you made it?”
“Yeah. The prosthetic is my invention.”
“Ah…”
The students gave me strange looks. It was clear they thought I didn’t seem like someone who could create such a thing. Clearing my throat twice to change the mood, I said,
“This is just the beginning, so don’t interrupt the flow.”
And so I continued my tale. From recruiting an old-timer to arriving at the second defensive line, the students listened, tilting their heads every now and then.
But when I got to the part about reclaiming the first defensive line, one student couldn’t hold back any longer and shot their hand up.
“Wait, does that mean you toppled the fortress and captured the enemies?!”
“Yeah.”
That was indeed a surprising part. I bet they’d never heard of a strategy that involved demolishing a fortress to capture enemies.
“So the fortress is…”
“I fixed it all.”
“Huh?”
“I fixed it, so there’s no need to worry. I demolished it and restored it in just a few hours.”
Every student tilted their head at once. I was sure I was speaking in clear language, but why couldn’t they understand?
“Uh… So you demolished the fortress to crush the monsters, and then repaired it in just a few hours?”
This time, it was a familiar voice. I nodded at Martina, whose face said she was completely lost.
“Yeah, that’s exactly what I said. It was tough doing it all alone.”
“Uh…”
Why does she look so confused? I briefly stared at Martina’s face, then turned to Karina. She wore an awkward smile.
What’s with that?
…Whatever.
I should just keep talking.
I dove into the story about reclaiming the first defensive line and hit the final highlight.
Naturally, that part was about taking down Harpas.
This part deserved some explanation.
“Have you heard of a magic book called the Book of Wishes?”
“The Book of Wishes… the one that’s supposedly somewhere in the school?”
Exactly, the Book of Wishes. The core of my plan revolved around using it to deceive.
“Why is that important here?”
“Because I was the owner.”
“Huh?”
“I summoned Harpas from a corner of the wilderness in the West using that book.”
“I can’t follow this story…”
“Me too…”
“Me three…”
“Why did you even do that?”
Martina raised her hand, clearly struggling to comprehend. She looked like the appointed spokesperson.
“Because it was the most efficient choice.”
“But if you lose, wouldn’t everyone be in danger?!”
“That’s why I took the Book of Wishes. To ensure I could definitely take down Harpas. Anyway, I sat Harpas down and challenged him to a game. We would ask each other questions, and the one who couldn’t answer would lose.”
“Huh?”
“A game against a demon?”
“Isn’t this just a tall tale?”
I brushed off the students’ murmurs easily, busily concocting a reasonable excuse in my head.
I made up a plausible scenario about how Harpas was restricted by the Book of Wishes and couldn’t respond, leading to his defeat.
“So I beat Harpas, and then I called Renny. You may not know it, but Renny is the knight guarding the Saint. She’s my senior.”
“Wait, Renny was there?!”
“This is getting too convoluted…”
“But it’s better than a lecture, right?”
Every student nodded in agreement.
No matter how jumbled my tale was, it was still better than a class. Just then, I could hear the professor noisily clearing his throat beside me, trying to mask his disappointed expression.
But of course, it’s only natural for students to dislike classes.
“And then Renny beheaded Harpas and we returned together.”
“Uh, so how did your senior knight show up there?”
“Principal Merlin brought her.”
“Ah…”
“That’s the end of my story. Don’t bother asking questions, it’s too annoying.”
I confidently walked behind Karina.
——————–
“At this point, I can’t tell if I’m a guest lecturer or a knight.”
“Hehe, that just shows how amazing Johan is.”
“Exactly! There’s no one else who captured a demon besides Johan! It’s only natural to want to hear the story behind his unique achievement!”
I never expected to be asked all day to share my tales of glory.
Maybe it was because we were nearing the end of the semester, but rather than teaching, the professors wanted to hear about my experiences in the West, subtly wanting me to share.
Apparently, my presence served as an inspiration for the students.
Thanks to that, I could now spout my tales almost reflexively.
At this point, maybe it’d be easier to gather everyone up and finish it all in the auditorium at once. As I pondered this, I looked down at Karina, who was heading back with a more relaxed expression than usual.
Maybe it’s because her legs healed, but Karina seemed to be in a cheerful mood all day.
To be honest, I liked that a lot.
I knew better than anyone how much hard time Karina had gone through.
If she was happy in any way at all, that would be enough for me.
“Walking home on my own two feet makes my heart flutter a bit.”
Karina beamed a pure, radiant smile.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“Hehe, it’s all thanks to Johan.”
Her smile aimed at me made my heart race.
“I-It’s just something that had to be done.”
That was the answer I desperately wrung from my heart.
I wondered how Karina perceived my response. She playfully chuckled like a child and turned her gaze to the sky.
It was the day just two days before the first years would finish.
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