“Are you happy now?”

“Yes, I’ve grown lax.”

“Haha, I can’t believe you’d say that when you’re the kind of girl who bites and lashes out at everyone who comes to us.”

“Please don’t say that …… But thanks to big brother and everyone at the school, I was able to get back on my feet. Even now, when I close my eyes, I remember that time.”

(This girl will be your friend from today. She’s Basleigh-chan.)

(……)

“What an unsociable fellow! My name’s Kruiz. Nice to meet you! Ow!?”

(Kyaaaaah!? Kruiz has been bitten! Norma, pull her off!)

“What!? M-Me!? Hiiii, she’s looking this way!?”

(Stop it, Basleigh-chan!)

“How nostalgic ……”

Basleigh narrowed her eyes, and Himmel opened his mouth with an annoyed look on his face.

“Well, I was surprised that you resigned from the ministry position because you wanted to keep an eye on Tigre, the hero of Berias.”

“In the end, he was also a victim …… Thank goodness he’s married and living happily ever after.”

“Do you not planning to get married, Basleigh-chan?”

“I love you big brother, but I’m not going to marry until I’ve made a dent in that country. I have to clear up my regrets.”

Himmel murmured to himself, “You don’t have to be burdened by it, though.” But he knows that Basleigh is not going to change her mind even if he says that, so he watches over her to make sure she doesn’t do anything rash.

“…… Now, the disposal is complete. My skill [Over Accelaration] hasn’t weakened yet.”

He then throws a rock at the tree, and it hits the tree with tremendous speed and plunges into it. It’s a simple yet powerful skill that allows you to throw things with explosive speed in an instant.

“With that, even if you use tomatoes and carrots, it’ll be lethal. If it’s a stone, it will surely blow off your skull, and Albatross and the others will definitely be frustrated.”

“No doubt. I don’t give people time to use their skills, I don’t let them know what I’m doing, that’s my distinct characteristic. Well, it was a good shot, thanks to Basleigh-chan’s precise instructions. Well, I guess we should join up with Lars-kun and the others”

“No, I don’t think we need to go meet them anymore.”

“Hmm? …… Oh, they’re faster than I thought.”

“That’s right. I was their homeroom teacher at one time!”

Himmel breathed a sigh of relief as Basleigh smiled proudly. It’s probably because she worked as a teacher that she’s become so naive. I wondered if she had found someone she wanted to take care of too.

◆ 　 ◇ 　 ◆

“There she is! Basleigh-sensei!”

“Are you okay!”

“!”

We had been moving in pursuit of Basleigh-sensei, who had been kidnapped by the Deadly Bear, and we finally found her. It’s not like he ran off in a straight line after we lost sight of him, but it took us over forty minutes to get here.

“Oh, Lars-kun, Makina-chan, and Sephiro too!”

“Hi, you came looking for me.”

“I knew it, Himmel-san was after you. I was surprised to see you disappear so suddenly.”

“I’m sorry, I was in a hurry to go after Basleigh-chan when she was taken.”

It seems that both of them are safe.

And beside them lay the deadly bear that had taken Basleigh-sensei, staining the ground red. After confirming this, the child bear jumped out of Makina’s arms.

“Kuon!”

“As I thought, this was the parent …… It’s still breathing .”

“…… I wonder if it’s okay ……”

I turned him on his back and healed his wounds with healing. Still, there’s a lot of cuts …… Even so, there’s no reason for healing that’s improving with [Super Jack-of-all-Trades], so I quickly finish the treatment and called out to Basleigh-sensei and Himmel-san. 

“Oh, by the way, teacher, Birdie and the others are gone, but have they come this way? I thought they were with you.”

“Oh, they were members of the “Gospel’s Descent”, as I thought. They seemed to be trying to capture me, the beautiful and pretty one, but my brother came to my rescue and they all run away!”

“Beautiful and pretty ……”

“No question there!”

“I’m kidding. But, I see …… I knew it, they were the enemy after all. It hurts that they run away, but it’s okay for now.”

It was a hunch I didn’t want to have come true, but finding out the true nature of the Gospel’s Descent and withdrawing from this place was pretty big. I would have liked to catch one of them and take them to Sonia, but the two of them would have had to deal with that many people, so there’s no helping it. There are still three people left in the mansion, so let’s go hunt them down.

“Let’s go back then.”

“Well, considering the possibility that the escapees will report back to them, it would be better to take the mansion as soon as possible.”

“Shall I go back ahead of you? I’ve got other things on my mind too.”

When I said that, Basleigh-sensei put her hand on her chin and thought about it, then held up her index finger and said.

“Then, let me, Makina-chan, and Fath-san go back first. It would take a long time to keep up with the knights. I’m sure my big brother would be okay, but as the minister, I think it’s okay for me to give you some pointers.”

“Yes. We’re going to explore the forest and then we’ll be back.”

“Oh, and make sure you don’t confuse the Treant with the Qliphoth, okay? You’ll recognize them because they’re a little different in color.”

When Makina said that, Himmel-san nodded with a smile, and we split up here. As we watched the knights heal and go deeper into the forest, we saw the deadly bear that had fallen down swiftly get up.

“Oh, thank goodness, you’re awake. He’s a big guy, so it looks like he avoided a fatal wound.”

“Is it okay to approach it?”

“Yeah, he’s become docile, it’ll be fine if we just use the tamer’s trick.”

All you have to do is look them straight in the eye without fear, but many people feel fear when they are this big. If that fear is transmitted to the monsters, you’re out.

“Grrrr ……”

“Kuon♪”

“Oh, by the way, did I mention that I took some loot from them?  Lars-kun, take this.”

“What? …… Oops.”

While I was making eye contact with the parent bear, the child bear began to spin around happily at my feet, and Basleigh-sensei threw me something.

“A ring?”

“It seems to have been used to control monsters. It seems they have used it to the Deadly Bear to take me away too. I don’t know how to use it!”

“What’s with that …… Well, there’s no need to manipulate it now, so it’s fine.”

I tried to put a ring on it, but there was no particular reaction, so I guess there is a way. Regardless, I stroked the arm of the parent bear, who showed no signs of hostility, and looked him in the eye as I spoke.

“We’re not going to attack you, so why don’t you just go back to the nest. You have a little child bear now, so don’t let them see you again. Or you’ll be hunted, okay?”

“Grr ……”

“See you later.”

Finally, I give him a pat on the back. This is also a tamer’s technique: two gentle taps to reassure him. Then I turned on my heel and went to Makina and the others.

“Oh, what’s that? They’re following you.”

“Huh?”

Makina pointed behind me, and when I turned around, I saw that the parent Bear was following me closely. The baby Bear charged at Makina, and she held him in her arms.

“Aren’t you going?”

“Grr!”

“Kuon!”

“♪”

“It seems that they want to come?”

“I think so, looking at Sephiro’s delight. It’s like he’s been tamed.”

“…… I didn’t have the intention to, though.”

“Well, isn’t it fine. Then, let’s go!”

As she said this, Basleigh-sensei sashayed over to the parent bear and pointed her finger. We walked towards the town, wondering how he could straddle the monster that had taken her away.

Now for the battle ……! (psychological warfare)

Thank you for reading!

(Afterword Theater)

“I don’t have much time I have left.”

That’s my line ……!

(T/N: It’s not that kind of don’t have much time left, okay?)