Chapter 24 The Instructor, Appears Alongside Destruction

The Instructor, Appears Alongside Destruction

Cough, cough…

A huge cloud of dust rises from the impact of the landing, making it hard to breathe.

Even the Demon King (me) is coughing, huh…

I think as I glance around.

The ground is torn up, forming a crater hundreds of meters wide, and the dust is so thick that I can’t see anything…

Considering the extent of the destruction, I wonder if there was an underground cave or something.

It’s more of a collapse than just a hole.

Arisu said, “Leave the landing to me!” then unleashed a massive amount of magical power just before impact, absorbing the shock with a force that would make even a gorilla pale.

“Who’s a gorilla?”

Don’t read my mind.

Seriously, can you actually read my mind?

“We’re bound by contract, so I can kind of feel it! This is real telepathy, you know!”

Wait, does this mean that if I make Arisu angry, she could hit me with this kind of power…?

I should tread carefully…

I glance at Arisu, who is smiling brightly.

Scary…

She’s really pumped up.

As I’m thinking this, the dust storm finally starts to settle.

The area is strewn with the bodies of goblins.

“What the hell is this?”

I’m utterly confused.

Did we just land in the middle of a goblin horde?

But there are way too many of them.

Did I do something wrong?

Well, they’re just goblins, so it’s fine!

Competition for survival is harsh.

The world is unforgiving to all living things.

Rest in peace.

As I’m pondering this, someone suddenly shouts from above the hole.

“SENSEI!!!”

It’s an incredibly loud voice.

Hmm? Only 1,158 people should be calling me “Sensei”…

“Isn’t that a lot?”

Arisu interrupts my thoughts.

It’s not vague; I can hear it clearly.

Arisu and I head to the edge of the crater, where a burly, bald man with a club is looking at us.

He appears to be crying.

I know this barbarian.

“Oh, it’s Gomez. How’ve you been?”

It’s been a while from my perspective, so I raise my hand in greeting.

I should check the time difference between the inside and outside of the barrier later.

It probably hasn’t been too long.

While I’m thinking, Gomez gestures and shouts frantically.

“Yeah, I’m fine! Where have you been, Sensei? Why did you fall from the sky? Who is this beautiful maid next to you, Sensei!?”

Whoa, he’s really excited.

Calm down.

Calm down, okay?

I notice other clan members gathering here as well.

Familiar faces.

After living with Arisu inside the barrier for so long, I don’t feel any negative emotions seeing the clan members.

In the past, I would have been overwhelmed by a sense of inferiority.

Time truly heals.

Looking back calmly, I realize I should have talked to them more.

At the very least, I shouldn’t have left without saying anything.

I must have caused them a lot of worry.

Back then, I was mentally exhausted from the situation with Monica.

…I should also have a proper goodbye talk with her.

That’s the right thing to do.

What I should have done was talk instead of running away.

Talking might not solve everything, but we could have reached a better closure.

For now, I’ll savor the happiness of reuniting with them…

“Hey, everyone looks okay. That’s a relief!”

I smile slightly and wave at them as they watch me with bated breath.

The clan members immediately gather around and start talking.

“Sensei! Where have you been?”

“Sensei! How are you?”

“Sensei, who is the girl next to you?”

“Sensei…”

“Sensei! I’m here! Look at me! Over here! Over here!”

“Veiss-sensei brings strange women again.”

“How many is that now?”

“I don’t know, but she’s probably strange.”

“Definitely.”

“Absolutely.”

“Why does he always pick landmine women?”

“Does he have a pheromone or something?”

“Sensei! Please treat us to dinner!”

“Sensei! I have to go to the bathroom! …—”

“You’re pretty popular, aren’t you?”

Arisu comments dryly.

Oh? Is that jealousy I sense?

“No, it’s not.”

Arisu turns her face away in a huff.

Cute…

I pat her silver hair gently.

Arisu closes her eyes and sighs contentedly.

I feel like I’m petting a giant puppy…

The female members erupt in a mixture of cheers and frustrated growls.

Huh? Was there someone strange in there?

“Rolf, I was just away for a bit. Up in the sky, to be exact.

Anna, you look great as always! Great smile today!

Lotte, stop staring at me; you’re scaring me.

Karl, I’m sorry for worrying you.

Yutta, I see you’re doing well, so please stop pulling at my clothes.

Gunter, don’t say things like that; Arisu will misunderstand! Stop it!

Klaus, don’t say such things!

Vili, Elze, I feel like I need to have a serious talk with you…

Martina, let’s do it another time. I’m craving some cooked fish.

Witte, I’m not a toilet…—”

Arisu’s eyes widen.

“What’s wrong? You look like a pigeon that’s just seen a cannon.”

“Did you really remember the faces, names, and voices of all your students?”

“Of course! All 1,158 of them are equally precious students of mine!”

I spread my arms and gestured toward the students.

“Some are annoying, some are problematic, but they’re all precious students of mine! They’re all different, but they’re all good! They’re my pride and joy!”

Some of them blush, some rejoice, and some cry.

“Wow…”

Arisu lets out an involuntary sound of amazement as she looks at me.

Don’t look at me like I’m weird; it makes me feel like one of the weird ones.

“By the way, what are you all doing here?”

I ask Gomez, who’s busy calming Lotte, who keeps clinging to me.

“We’re on a quest to defeat the Demon King Goblin King…”

Gomez says, frowning.

“Hmm? Ah!”

Since it’s been quite a while for me, it takes a moment to recall.

I see; the time difference is about a month, huh. 

…A month has passed after all that time…

“So, how’s the battle going?”

“Until just now, we were being pushed back by the goblins….”

Gomez glances around.

The area is so messed up that it’s hard to tell what the original terrain looked like.

“But then Sensei fell from the sky and wiped them all out…”

Gomez says with an indescribable half-smile.

I spot Ricardo and a few others hunting down the surviving goblins.

Upon closer inspection, I notice a group of people in uniforms fighting goblins on the other side of the hole.

That’s the military, right…?

I think about joining them, but it seems the goblins are confused, and the situation is calming down.

They should be fine.

Is Gideon there too?

I might as well say hello later.

By sheer coincidence, it seems Arisu and I ended up saving my students from a crisis.

After playing with the former clan members for a while, I remember our original purpose.

Right, I’m supposed to be with Arisu.

I patted Arisu, who was growing increasingly grumpy, and said goodbye to everyone.

“Well, the rest of you, clean up the remaining goblins. Good luck. Let’s go, Arisu.”

“Yes, Danna-sama!”

Arisu beams brightly.

“Wait…? Sensei, aren’t you coming back!?”

Gomez and the clan members look shocked.

“Well, technically, I’ve left the clan. This is a kind of closure. It’s not a farewell forever; I’ll visit if I’m around…”

Just as I’m saying this, I suddenly sense a killing intent and jump back while pulling Arisu with me.

A sword flash wrapped in white magical power slices through the spot where I was just standing.

“Sensei—no, Veiss! Why are you wielding the power of the Demon King!?”

There stands Sieg, his sword stained with goblin blood, glaring at me.