༺ School Tuition is More Expensive Than I Thought! (10) ༻
3 hours.
It took 3 hours for the group of thieves that had been tormenting the people of the Duchy of Freesia for the past few years to be eradicated.
“Not a big deal.”
Brigitte, who had indiscriminately unleashed her magic towards the mountain thieves, took a breath.
In her indigo eyes, the image of a burning mountain was reflected.
“Hurry, hurry, let’s go in!”
“Save the captured people too!”
Rumble—
The guards who had come from the nearby Freesia Duchy began to enter the mountain.
They defeated the thieves who hadn’t escaped or fallen yet. They skillfully rescued the people and recovered the stolen property.
“So, are you all fine?”
Brigitte asked the little kids, who had towels draped over their shoulders.
They had escaped from the thieves’ den, but there didn’t seem to be any injuries or signs of pain.
“Naru…has a problem!”
Naru raised her hand.
It was unexpected that Naru, who they thought was uninjured, had a problem.
When Brigitte nervously examined Naru with her tense eyes, Naru added something.
“Naru didn’t finish her science homework! I’ll get scolded by Teacher Salome tomorrow! Molumolu, will you do my science homework for me?”
━Grrrrrr
“Ugh, what should I do…I have to do my homework…”
To worry about science homework in a situation like this.
Did she hurt her head? Brigitte jokingly thought, feeling relieved.
The children were unharmed.
However.
What happened today would undoubtedly be a shocking experience.
One that could become a trauma for the young children.
Especially Elizabeth, who was very frightened.
“H-He had a gun to his head….”
Feeling relieved that they were in a safe place.
Fear began to stiffen in Elizabeth’s body, and tears poured out.
It seems that her numbed emotions all came back at once.
“It was scary!”
Elizabeth was sobbing.
Her father, Ilgast Lanafeld, handed her a cup of hot tea.
It was a drink that smelled very bitter, more like medicine than tea, made with relaxing herbs that were good for calming the mind.
“Elizabeth, drink this and calm down. And all of you, drink one too. It’s a tea made with relaxing herbs that have a good effect on soothing the mind.”
Grab— Grab—
The children accepted the cups from the kind pharmacist.
Naru, who tasted it first, made a strange sound, wrinkling her face.
“It’s so bitter! Molumolu, you drink it instead of me!”
━Grrrrr
Naru handed the cup to Molumolu.
Of course, Molumolu puffed up its fluffy fur.
It looked like a cat or a hedgehog, raising its fur or thorns to guard itself.
“So Molumolu doesn’t like bitter things either!”
Naru heartily chuckled.
In Brigitte’s eyes, Naru seemed to be in a very good mental state.
“S-Save me…!”
“Get me out of this hellish place!”
Even the surviving thieves were expressing their fear.
But now, Naru, a first-grade elementary student, seemed more collected than ever.
The same could be said for Cecily.
“You said it was herbal tea, right? It’s a bit bitter, but it suits a mature and elegant young lady like Cecily Von Ragdoll.”
At first, Cecily seemed to be just a simple noble granddaughter.
But to Brigitte, who heard Cecily might be Judas’ daughter.
‘She seems quite calm. Honestly, even if she had been mute for several days, it wouldn’t be surprising. That Tywin is the same.’
Tywin Cladeco.
The daughter of the mage Elle Cladeco, whom Brigitte was keeping an eye on.
In the high school and college divisions that Brigitte worked in, Tywin’s name would occasionally pop up, referred to as a ‘genius.’
Feeling Brigitte’s gaze, Tywin scowled with a sharp look.
“What’s the matter, Aunty? Why are you looking at me like that?”
“A-Aunty…? I’m only twenty-five years old, you know? At least call me ‘Big sister’.”
“If you’re a noble, you should already be married and have children.”
That was a valid point.
Noble women on the Pangaea continent generally marry and have children early.
Brigitte herself was from a well-known noble family.
If she had been born and raised normally, it wouldn’t be strange for her to have children by now.
‘Me… already… married?’
While Brigitte was lost in thought for a moment, Tywin added a few words.
“Professor Brigitte is from the Walpurgis family, right? A family known for producing excellent witches and mages for generations.”
“You’re smart for your age, Tywin.”
“I’m not that young, you know?”
Tywin Cladeco.
In Brigitte’s opinion, she was a bold child in many ways.
She was definitely more mature than kids like Naru, Cecily, or Elizabeth.
Her range of thought seemed to be more diverse.
‘She doesn’t seem to have a pleasant personality, however.’
Tywin’s mother is Elle Cladeco, considered the best educator in the world.
But it seems that teaching her child table manners was difficult even for her.
Education.
Feeling how difficult it really was, Brigitte asked.
“So, why did you guys go to Provence?”
“Molumolu!”
Naru handed Molumolu to Brigitte, holding it in her arms.
Brigitte couldn’t understand.
“Why Molumolu? Did Molumolu take you to Provence just to get kidnapped by thieves?”
In Brigitte’s opinion, Molumolu was an unidentified creature.
When she thought that Molumolu might have trapped the children, Naru added an explanation.
“I wanted to know what kind of animal Molumolu is! There was a Priestess of Gluttony called Hina in Provence! She said she would tell us anything!”
“Priestess of Gluttony? Hina?”
Swoosh—
Brigitte’s pupils moved.
Where her gaze landed, she saw a little girl sitting silently on a chair, with a towel long enough to cover her whole body.
She had pink hair.
Her eyes were slightly red, her expression was calm, however.
‘This girl exudes an intriguing aura.’
Suddenly, a loud commotion erupted from somewhere nearby.
“Quickly, release this Sifnoi…! This innocent Sifnoi has done nothing wrong…! Hiiiik…! Rice and beans, blaargh…!”
“……”
Brigitte frowned with a puzzled expression.
“Sifnoi, what are you doing there?”
“Oh, is this voice Lady Brigitte? Please explain the innocence of this Sifnoi to these soldiers…!”
The nymph was tightly bound by ropes.
The soldiers guarding her were surprised by that interaction.
“Lady Brigitte, do you happen to know each other?”
“Not really, well, I know about her. She served as the porter for the Demon Castle Subjugation Party. Her role was to carry various items, but the contents of the baggage were occasionally pilfered.”
“Hiiikk…! This Sifnoi is being treated unjustly…! The only things this Sifnoi stole were delicious jerky, candy, honey, sugar, chocolate, and… two wild strawberries…”
“You also stole my underwear.”
Brigitte growled.
Prompting Sifnoi to tilt her head.
“Why would I steal such a thing…? You can’t even eat those things…! Mwehehe, this Sifnoi is a professional food thief…!”
“Oh? Then why did my underwear keep disappearing?”
In that moment, doubt crept into Brigitte’s mind.
* * *
As all the thieves were getting captured.
Around midnight, roughly.
Thud—
Something fell from the sky.
It was Cariote, the demon hunter, with bloodstains on her face and body.
“The hunt is over. The inside of the mountain has been mostly cleared. The hostages, prisoners, and slaves have been well escorted by the soldiers of the Duchy of Freesia.”
Cariote had eliminated the remaining enemies after Brigitte’s magic covered the sky.
Most of them were simple bandits, so for Cariote, the meteorites falling from the sky were more dangerous than dealing with thieves.
“Judas is nowhere to be seen. Where did he go?”
Cariote looked around.
The answer came from Ilgast Lanafeld, the pharmacist.
“He left the children with me and disappeared. He said he had a bad feeling. He must have gone to defeat the remaining thieves in the mountain.”
“I didn’t see him. Looks like we missed each other. But if it’s him, there’s no need to worry. The problem is here. Cecily, if you continue to act recklessly like this, the lifespan of your grandparents will decrease.”
Cariote blamed Cecily.
Cecily was taken aback, clutching the hem of her uniform and looking around nervously.
“Grandma and Grandpa…”
“I just sent a message to the village. The rescue news will reach them soon. They are kind-hearted elders. It’s better not to worry them.”
Cariote was a little angry.
Children acting recklessly.
Seeing that reminded her of the mistakes she made in the past.
She lost her mother and sister because she couldn’t properly control her mischievous younger sister.
In order not to repeat that mistake, Cariote spoke sternly.
“If you keep disobeying curfew and acting like this, I’ll tell the old folks to take away your snack time.”
“Hiiiik…!”
Cecily was a well-behaved child who had learned manners from her parents.
So she knew well what to say in situations like this.
“…I’m sorry…”
Cariote’s heart softened a little at the apology.
Now, along with the softening of her anger towards her past self, curiosity filled the emptiness in her heart.
“Cecily, you’re a smart girl. You wouldn’t have gotten involved in this incident without a second thought. Why did you come to this village?”
“M-Mom…”
“Mom?”
“I wanted to ask the priestess where my mom and dad are…”
“…….”
Cariote was slightly taken aback.
Then, Cecily, who had been a bit weakened by the scolding just now, spoke carefully.
“I heard. Maybe Grandma and Grandpa might not be Cecily’s real grandparents. In fact, Cecily might not be their granddaughter or even a noble… she might be an orphan…”
“Damn it, did you overhear yesterday’s conversation? Not realizing someone was eavesdropping outside the door. I’ve really become soft after the war.”
Swoosh—
Cariote wiped her face with her palm as if she had made a big mistake.
And she asked in a low voice.
“So, did you find out anything? From that little Priestess of Gluttony.”
“I did hear that there’s a possibility that Mom might be in a place called Kowloon Mountain today…”
Cecily looked around her surroundings,
And Cariote also looked around her surroundings.
Cariote’s eyes were fixed on the little girl known as the “Priestess of Gluttony”.
The little girl had a strange aura surrounding her.
“…Hm?”
Cariote raised her black eyebrows as if she had discovered something.
The sight of Hina was experiencing a strange change.
Wave— Wave—
Hina’s body began to emit light.
Upon seeing this, Naru exclaimed.
“Oh, holy shh…! Hina’s body is sparkling! Hina, are you actually a firefly?”
“……”
At Naru’s exclamation, Hina looked at her own palms.
Wave— Wave—
Her body was strangely glowing, and her palms were turning translucent, looking faint.
Hina looked at the objects reflecting behind her palms and spoke softly.
“Fate… has started to deviate from its predetermined path…”
ss
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