I Possessed the Heroine’s Teacher

The carriage started moving, fueled by my boredom. I decided to tell them various stories I knew to relieve their boredom. This is why people should read books. Their reactions were surprisingly positive, and I felt like a professional storyteller.

First, I told them about the story of Han Gaozu, who had a milky name, and Xiang Yu, the Overthrowing Mountain and River, who fought against him in the Chu-Han Contention. Iris was interested in Gaozu’s milky name, Glacies sighed at Xiang Yu’s foolishness, and Camelia liked the part where Xiang Yu and his beloved consort, Consort Yu, parted ways. They didn’t show much interest in my favorite part, where Gaozu’s father was cooked into a soup, and Gaozu shouted, ‘Give me a bowl too!’

Then, I told them the story of the Three Kingdoms, which took two days to tell. Interestingly, each of them supported a different faction. Iris supported Liu Bei’s Shu Han, Glacies supported Gongsun Zan, and Camelia supported the Wei Kingdom. As a result, my favorability towards Iris increased, while my favorability towards Camelia decreased. How could she like the White Snake Murderer, who tried to kill Liu Bei, the Yellow Turban Sage? Elves must have a different culture.

I was about to tell them about the manga ‘Hunter,’ which I enjoyed reading, but I stopped because I hadn’t read the ending yet, and no one else had either.

I also considered telling them Bible stories, but even though I was a baptized Catholic, I didn’t know the content well enough to tell them.

In the end, the most well-received stories were the romance novels and manga I knew, such as ‘The Sorrows of Young Werther’ and ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ Iris pitied Werther, while Glacies mocked him for being foolish. They glared at each other as they gave their evaluations, but I ignored it.

The story then moved on to the beginning of ‘The Count of Monte Cristo,’ where Edmond Dantes was being taught by Abbe Faria. Just then, the carriage stopped.

“We’ve arrived at the Water Magic Tower.”

It was time to face my childhood friend and the sins committed by that dog, Werner.

I got off the carriage and saw that there were quite a few people around. Most of them were adventurers who had come to sell the corpses of monsters, as it was near the Magic Tower. There were also many inns and bars targeting these adventurers. In the 21st century, there were commercial areas near train stations, but in this world, there were commercial areas near Magic Towers.

As I was thinking about buying land and building a Magic Tower, I bumped into a man wearing a black robe that covered his entire body. The man dropped the paper envelope he was holding, and apples rolled out of it.

It was clearly my fault. I had been thinking about committing fraud in a redevelopment area, and now an innocent victim had appeared.

“I’m sorry. I was lost in thought…”

The man in the robe replied,

“… No, it’s my fault too. I didn’t avoid you.”

His deep voice and large build indicated that he was a man. He seemed to be a very polite adventurer, considering that most adventurers who sold monster corpses were not very polite. I was sure he was an adventurer because the hilt of a sword was sticking out from his robe’s waist. His hands, which were visible, were also covered in scars, indicating that he was a swordsman.

I helped him pick up the apples, and he thanked me, even though I was the offender.

“Thank you for your help.”

“It’s nothing…”

“I hope we can meet again if the opportunity arises.”

He finished his greeting and walked away. The adventurers near the capital were surprisingly polite. It’s true that people should be sent to Jeju Island and Seoul, respectively. Even the adventurers, who usually had a default setting of eating their manners, were so polite… The future of the capital seemed bright.

I opened the door to the Magic Tower with ease and was guided by an attendant to the room where Lorcha was waiting.

“This way.”

I took a deep breath and opened the door.

As soon as I opened the door, I smelled the fragrant scent of old books, like in a used bookstore. It was a scent I personally enjoyed, but it wasn’t the time to appreciate it. Moreover, my consciousness was directed towards the woman in the center of the room.

Her hair was a clear sky blue, her eyes were a lush green like a forest, and… even though her chest was small, her slim figure was attractive. Lorcha had grown into an adult, no longer the innocent girl who reacted strongly to Werner’s words.

Her thin arms were visible through the silk sleeves, and the emblem of the Water Magic Tower was on her clothes. She was wearing tight black tights.

“Huff…”

Since she wasn’t an adult, she couldn’t smoke a pipe like Sherlock Holmes, so she put it down and turned to me.

“… You’re here, Werner Alton.”

I didn’t know what to say to her, whether it was an apology for my past words, a sign of joy at our reunion, or a formal greeting between magicians.

Fortunately, Lorcha cleared up my confusion.

Bang!

I didn’t need to greet her, as I was sent flying by her dropkick. If I hadn’t raised my arms to guard, I might have died. It seemed that Lorcha had been practicing this dropkick for a long time.

The force was probably equivalent to a central pressure of 985 hectopascals and a maximum wind speed of 23 meters per second.

Of course, Lorcha didn’t think about what would happen after the dropkick, so she fell too. She got up without any fuss and brushed the dust off her clothes.

“Do you know why I kicked you?”

“No…”

Was it the nonsense I said to her 15 years ago? Or the fact that I disappeared and cut off contact? Or was it because Werner disappeared, and Lorcha had to fill the gap, crying and eating mustard? There were too many possibilities, and I couldn’t pinpoint which one it was.

“You’re still a bad guy… a really bad guy.”

Tears welled up in Lorcha’s eyes as she glared at me. I was the one who got kicked, but why was she crying? Regardless of the reason, the person who made Lorcha cry was Werner, not me. I was an innocent victim.

By the way, Werner, you bastard. You made a woman cry. Now, you have to fix it. This damn bastard shat and ran away, leaving me to clean up the mess.

Next time I see you in my dreams, I’ll kick you with a central pressure of 985 hectopascals and a maximum wind speed of 23 meters per second. Then, I’ll punch you in the face and hit you in the temple. I’ve firmly decided on this.

“You disappeared without a word, got injured, and made me hear about you from someone else? I even sent a carriage to make sure you arrived safely, but you came injured? Are you trying to provoke me?”

Lorcha pointed to my neck.

“And you got injured on the way here? Are you trying to provoke me?”

I touched my neck slightly, and blood was seeping out. It wasn’t a serious injury, but it was a shallow cut made by a sharp object.

When did I get injured?