Abandoned by my Childhood Friend, I Became a War Hero

→ City of Adventurers ←

The huge eyes that were roaming the battlefield had disappeared before I knew it.

I considered pursuing it, but there was no great significance in chasing after a warlock that could teleport away at any moment. Besides, I had a strong intuition that the fleeing undead mob wouldn’t lead me to my real goal.

What was important now was the situation in the city and the condition of the students.

Having been hit by artillery several times already, I was naturally anxious. When I looked up at the sky, just as I had feared, the airship was belching black smoke and gradually falling from the sky.

“Damn it….”

I furrowed my brows deeply.

Why does that stupid machine always crash when I’m aboard? It feels like it’s under some sort of curse.

After letting out a deep sigh, I ran toward the falling airship.

Fortunately, the airship was not completely uncontrollable. Despite spewing black smoke, it was stably and slowly reducing its speed, which seemed to be an attempt at an emergency landing.

I guess I don’t have to worry about it exploding upon impact.

The landing site of the airship was right in front of the city gate. There didn’t seem to be any wide spaces inside the city for it to land, so this seemed like the only logical choice.

As I approached the city, the first to greet me were the students.

Titania spotted me and ran straight toward me.

“Instructor Eon!”

Behind her, the other students were following in a line.

With a flushed expression, Titania spread her arms wide and began to recount what she had seen.

“It was truly amazing! Just… wow! When you jumped down, the ground split apart! With one punch, all the undead were swept away! I thought I was watching a hero from a legend!”

At Titania’s words, the students of Opal Black nodded in agreement.

Schultz spoke with a face unable to contain his admiration.

“I knew you were strong, instructor, but I never thought you would be this powerful. Have you reached the legendary Master Class that I’ve only heard about?”

The awkwardness of the past few weeks had disappeared; the students’ faces were filled with excitement.

Looking at their eyes, I immediately realized the reason.

It was their awe of me.

I could understand the students who didn’t know who I was showing such a look, but Elizabeth, who already knew my identity, and Marian, who likely knew as well, had similar expressions.

Perhaps they felt the difference between hearing about something and seeing it in person.

Not particularly fond of the atmosphere, I lightly shook my head and spoke.

“That’s not what’s important right now. Are there any other injured?”

“Everyone’s okay! Thanks to your great defense, fortunately, no one was hurt. The airship seems to be a bit damaged though…”

While I was talking with the students, someone jumped out of the airship and ran toward us.

It was Instructor Lirya.

“Instructor Graham!”

“…Instructor Lirya?”

Instructor Lirya approached me with a pale complexion. Then she immediately started checking all over my body.

“Are you okay? Any injuries… any wounds!? I, I should get some… no, the city is right next door, we should call a doctor-“

“Instructor Lirya, calm down. I’m okay.”

I rolled up my sleeve to show her my perfectly fine arm.

There were some old scars, but they were all old injuries, and even if I had been hurt, they would have healed by now. My healing speed was already beyond human.

After checking my condition, Instructor Lirya’s eyes began to fill with tears, previously filled with worry. Then, she shouted as if she was angry.

“I, I was so worried! How can you just leave a message like that and jump from such a height! I thought something really happened to you… I was so anxious watching from above!”

“……”

I could barely remember the last time someone worried about me in battle. It was almost the first time since Charlotte left. So, Instructor Lirya’s reaction felt very strange and somewhat perplexing.

Recalling the times with Charlotte, it seemed like my words, arguing that there was no danger or questioning why she was worried, only provoked her anger. It was best to just apologize in these situations.

After a moment of thought, I opened my mouth with a soft voice.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to worry you, Instructor Lirya.”

“…Sob!”

She finally burst into tears at my response.

Well, that’s not the reaction I was expecting.

Unsure of how to respond, I just stood still. Instructor Lirya, wiping her tears and her eyes turning red, spoke to me.

“You won’t engage in such dangerous actions again, will you?”

“……”

I closed my mouth, unable to say anything.

At that time, there was no other way but for me to step in, and even if time could be turned back, I would make the same choice. So, I didn’t want to lie and chose to remain silent instead.

Reading my response from that silence, Instructor Lirya showed a sad expression.

“I am truly grateful for your help, Instructor Graham, but I don’t want to see you getting hurt. If the same thing happens again, please remember that there are people who worry about you.”

“…I understand.”

I could promise her that much.

The atmosphere around us, including the students, grew solemn at Instructor Lirya’s words.

When the awkward silence filled the surroundings, another person descended from the airship at a good timing.

It was Doctor Brown, covered in oil and soot.

He appeared, dusting off the dust from his clothes, which were so dirty that they could no longer be called white.

“Oh my! Our hero has returned. Are you alright?”

“I am fine, but how is the airship? Did the engine break down again?”

“No way! It’s designed with a much greater emphasis on durability than before. It won’t break down that easily!”

I frowned slightly.

“But it did fall, didn’t it?”

“…Ahem! It would be stranger if it were fine after taking such a bombardment multiple times! The engine is safe, but the propulsion system took a direct hit. It can probably ascend and descend, but for a while, it will be at the mercy of an expensive hot-air balloon.”

I understood that to mean it could start but couldn’t move forward.

“Does it need to be repaired?”

“Indeed. Fortunately, the necessary materials are in the airship, but the problem is time. Even I can’t fix it in a day. Especially if it is left outside the walls like this and gets attacked again, it could be a big problem.”

“Then we need to get into the city.”

In the uncertain situation where we didn’t know when the undead might attack again, we couldn’t leave nearly 200 students outside the city walls.

Fortunately, it seemed there wouldn’t be a big problem getting into the city. The city’s inhabitants would have seen me fighting, and while waiting in front of the main gate, they were already preparing to open the city gates and welcome us.

In the city, they were busy opening the city gates and lowering the drawbridge.

If we waited a little, someone would soon come to meet us.

“Ahem, ahem.”

At that moment, Doctor Brown gave me a subtle hint. It seemed he wanted me to come closer.

As I approached Doctor Brown, he firmly grabbed my shoulder and cautiously led me away from the students. There, he began to speak softly.

“Take good care of that young lady. The other instructors wanted to turn the ship around right away, but she resisted because she said they couldn’t abandon you if you’re with your students.”

“You mean Instructor Lirya when you say ‘young lady’?”

“Yes. Well, she certainly doesn’t look like a ‘young lady’… But that’s not the point. You two are somewhat close, aren’t you? Don’t get too upset and treat her well.”

Doctor Brown seemed to be seriously misunderstanding.

I shook my head to correct his misunderstanding.

“You seem to be mistaken, Instructor Lirya and I don’t have any particular relationship.”

“Eh? You’re not?”

“Yes. We have a simple professional relationship.”

At my answer, Doctor Brown scratched his chin and said grumpily,

“It didn’t seem that way… Well, if you say so, it must be so. Anyway, the way that young lady thinks about you is unusual, as far as I can see. She insisted we have to land this ship anyway, and even said she would forcibly turn the ship around to pick you up if necessary.”

“Did that happen?”

“Yes, that’s what happened.”

Doctor Brown set his face in a serious expression.

“That young lady, contrary to her appearance, definitely seems to be an adult. The kids, well, they’re still young, so you must just seem impressive to them. But that young lady, she didn’t just care about your well-being, did she? That’s probably because she knows the weight of war.”

“Hmm….”

“It’s an old man’s unnecessary meddling, but think deeply about it. A woman like her, who is so patient, is rare. When I was young, I met Sonia, who had exactly that kind of character. There weren’t many people who would put up with my eccentricity, but I regret not treating her better before she left. I still regret it…”

“What are you suddenly talking about?”

“Hehe, I’m telling you not to have regrets like me, aren’t I?”

Despite what he was saying, his face was full of the playful mischief characteristic of eccentric old men.

I sighed and shook my head reluctantly as I moved away from Doctor Brown.

In the meantime, the city gates had opened, and a guide had come out from inside to meet us.

The situation in Shubaltsheim, as we entered, was…

Much, much more serious than I had thought.