After hearing the whole story from Heracles, I returned to Atlas.
'The Giants are still somewhere on this land. Trapped in Pandemonium.'
And if only I could free them, there was no reason for me not to.
The problem was that doing so might really incur the wrath of the Gods.
It would be fine if that wrath was only directed at me, but it would probably be a divine punishment upon all of humanity.
'Even if I decided to free them, I wouldn't know where to begin looking.'
Pandemonium existed somewhere on this land. But finding it was no easy task. Even I couldn't find it unless I was very close.
My senses could detect most things, so I could find it if I searched meticulously, but they were basically sensitive to enemies and killing intent. The detection range was too narrow to use for anything else.
Finding Pandemonium, slumbering somewhere on this vast continent, was beyond my abilities.
'If only there was an artifact that could detect Eclexis, similar to Mana detection...'
Humanity had almost no knowledge of Eclexis. Even I had initially heard it called "demonic power."
So even if such a detection ability existed, it wouldn't be easy to find. If it were an artifact, it would have to be at least Unique, if not Legendary.
'Does such an artifact even exist?'
My head was full of complicated thoughts, but I couldn't just sit around. I was a teacher now.
I conducted my classes as usual. I had handed over the combat training to Aster, so my workload had become lighter. Aster's adaptability was remarkable, so I didn't have to worry about anything.
Well, actually, it was questionable whether I should be surprised by anything Aster did well.
After about a week, I was able to collect health checkups from all the students. It wasn't that difficult, and no one refused since it was in lieu of vacation homework.
'By the way...'
As I got used to teaching again, the students' faces came back into focus.
Students who were studying hard to one day confront devils and monsters. It was only natural for me to feel a sense of pride and sorrow, even though it hadn't been long since I graduated.
And as I watched them, a student who wasn't concentrating on the class caught my eye.
"Student Zenita."
"..."
"Student Zenita?"
Zenita de Sandre, sitting next to Basileo.
The female student who lost a riddle contest to me in the library some time ago.
She was a child who was very sincere in class, but today, her head was stuck to the desk, refusing to budge.
...I thought she was sleeping, but that...
"T-Teacher. Zenita is a little..."
"Student Basileo."
"Yes, sir."
Basileo responded, looking very nervous.
"Take her to the infirmary."
"Y-Yes, sir."
Basileo's voice was filled with relief.
A faint, dying voice came from beside him.
"...I... I'm... fine..."
"Take her."
"Yes, sir."
There was nothing more to hear.
* * *
I was in the staff room, looking through the health checkups.
[What are you going to use those for?]
Just then, a message flew in.
It was Elodie.
Elodie was at her desk in the staff room, doing her work. She seemed to be completely ignoring me, how skillful.
[I'm checking on the students' health. They're health checkups.]
[I heard that was instead of vacation homework? The other classes are jealous.]
[Well, no student likes homework.]
No matter how ambitious a student might be, they wouldn't like homework they gave themselves, only homework they were assigned.
Elodie asked again.
[So what are you going to use them for?]
[...?]
What was with that question? Didn't I just answer?
[I told you, I'm using them to check on the students' health?]
[Lies. You're scheming something weird again, aren't you?]
[...]
I wasn't!
I really was just checking their health.
To be perfectly honest, I was too lazy to make or check homework, so I just came up with a temporary assignment that would put the students in a good mood. And since it was homework, I had to actually collect the forms to build trust.
Of course, it felt like I had gained too much of their favor, but that wasn't a bad thing.
Elodie, seeing that I didn't answer, sounded excited.
[See? Do you think I don't know you by now? You're laying the groundwork for some other plan, aren't you? I just hope it's not something as huge as averting a war this time.]
[...No, this is...]
[Ah, you don't have to tell me the whole plan. I trust you, whatever you're doing. Just call me if you need help.]
[O-Okay.]
Elodie glanced at me and winked.
I couldn't deny it with her believing in me that much.
I looked back at the health checkups.
'No students have colds or anything. Well, I should be more worried about injuries than illnesses anyway.'
This wasn't a normal school, so the results on the health checkups were quite different.
In fact, whether I gave them vacation homework or not, most of the students would train on their own during vacation anyway. That's how it was at Constel.
Constel was different from regular schools in many ways, but the biggest difference was that the students hated vacations.
They usually had a tougher schedule than being at school. They underwent family training, learned skills, or even received magical body modifications.
'…So I thought it would be the same here, but I was worried for nothing.'
It wasn't like I was happy about there being a lot of injuries, but the physical condition of the Atlas students was excellent.
Unlike Constel, Atlas wasn't under threat from monsters. They had devils instead, but those guys weren't going to stick their heads into Atlas with their crazy bloodlust. So maybe their vacation training wasn't as desperate as Constel's.
'Oh, wait.'
Come to think of it, those devils were under my command now. Not all of them, but a significant number had been absorbed, and the remaining forces wouldn't attack Atlas.
In other words, the Agoris continent, including Atlas, was now safe.
People just didn't know it yet.
'It's a strange feeling. Being the Devil King.'
Especially while still being human.
"Hmm."
As I was flipping through the checkups, my hand stopped on one student's record.
Among the generally healthy students in my class, one line stood out.
- Lack of fluids and nutrients. Advised to focus on dietary management.
"Hmm..."
Judging by the description and symptoms, it wasn't anything major. Maybe she was on a diet that was a little too extreme.
But the student's name bothered me.
'Zenita de Sandre'.
Zenita, who wasn't feeling well during class.
It seemed like it wasn't just a temporary lack of energy.
'Come to think of it, she hasn't received the prize for winning our bet yet. I've been so busy I haven't even looked into it. And there was that request from Mr. Liberto.'
Liberto, Zenita's father. Originally, investigating Carla was a request he had given me.
Hmm, I had more on my plate than I thought.
"...As her homeroom teacher."
It wouldn't be strange to make a home visit to check on a student's health, right?
It could even be considered exemplary conduct for a teacher.
"Ah."
At that moment, I realized something and looked at Elodie.
As if she knew, Elodie was giving me a knowing smile.
Read ahead by supporting me on Ko-fi. Tiers starting at 10$ per month and you can access upto 40 advance chapters! Choose your tier by clicking the 'Support me' button! Join our discord server for latest release updates and novel discussions. Rate and review this novel on NU to help people find this novel. Bonus chapters on reaching milestones. Happy reading!
i feel like 'the old man' could be some eastern god. Maybe Tao Ancestor
ReplyDelete