Chapter 85

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Zig and Leon led us through a very peaceful forest, where not a single sound of a monster's footsteps could be heard.

We continued walking, exchanging trivial conversation. Suddenly, the dense trees before us opened up, and at that moment, Iris, who had been walking beside me, ran forward. There, ahead, stood a man with red hair.

"Reinhardt!"

"Damn, you..."

The man who lifted Iris in his arms—Reinhardt. His languid tone was unchanged, but his expression seemed to brighten with a hint of joy.

Iris's activities on her days off are unclear, but she doesn't seem to visit her hometown frequently. It's not as if it's a great distance, though.

As I watched the touching interaction between master and disciple with a smile, Reinhardt seemed to notice my gaze and approached, bowing politely. Despite his sharp eyes, he is a courteous person.

"I'm sorry for the sudden visit, both of you."

"No, no. We're the ones who came unannounced..."

Shaking his head, he stood behind Iris's house, which surprised me a little.

To be honest, I had imagined a small cabin-scale house for the master. The only house I knew in the forest was the master's, and my limited imagination had pictured a cozy, cabin-like home. However, the house before me was neat and impressive, a house that wouldn't look out of place in a corner of the capital.

As I gazed up at the house in a daze, Zig smiled and peeked at me from behind. Then,

"Please, come in."

He opened the door with a smooth, gentlemanly gesture, like a well-mannered British gentleman.

Basilio and I stepped into the house as invited. The spacious entrance hall, the high ceiling. To put it bluntly, the interior was clearly expensive at first glance.

Perhaps Iris is a young lady from somewhere, and Reinhardt and the others are her tutors. Maybe overprotective parents, worried about their daughter studying away from home, built a villa near the capital and had the tutors live there—such ridiculous fantasies raced through my mind.

"Wow, it's so big!"

"Basilio, this way, this way!"

Iris, surprised, called out, pulling Basilio's hand and bounding up the stairs. Her room must be on the second floor.

As I watched the two of them go up the stairs,

"...You must be causing trouble for Ms. Laura and that guy. She tends to do as she pleases."

Leon muttered, scratching his head uncomfortably. I shook my head reflexively at his words.

"No, not at all. Thanks to Iris, every day is fun."

These words were not said out of consideration for Leon and the others. Indeed, I am sometimes caught up in Iris's overly innocent and carefree actions, but she undoubtedly brings us surprises and smiles. She is like a cute little sister. I am truly grateful that Iris and Basilio are my first juniors.

"Iris! Laura, come on!"

I shuddered at Iris's loud voice from upstairs. Since I was called, I had no choice but to go.

I smiled and bowed to Leon and the others, who were looking at me. As I climbed a few steps,

"Thank you, Ms. Laura. It's reassuring to hear that she's having a lot of fun. She used to get a lot of negative reactions because of her excessive freedom."

Zig's gentle voice made me turn around. He had a kind, brotherly expression.

—Iris seems to be deeply loved by them. This fact made me feel as if it were my own happiness.

Invited by Iris's urging voice, I stepped into what was probably her room. I say "probably" because it was far from what I had imagined as "Iris's room."

The room I stepped into was lined with bookshelves from floor to ceiling on all four walls. The only other furniture that caught my eye was a desk, a chair, and a large bed. However, the room did not feel barren because of the flowers decorating it.

I had expected a more fanciful, girly room—

I traced the spines of the books lined up on the bookshelves. I saw titles related to alchemy, but more prominently, fairy tale titles.

"Is this Iris's room?"

"Iris likes books."

Basilio's gentle question was met with a big nod from Iris.

"I haven't been out much, so I like reading stories."

Hearing Iris's somewhat melancholic tone, Basilio and I exchanged glances. Her usual lively smile was hidden, and the side profile I saw looked much more mature.

—She said she hadn't been out much. A shadow of darkness seemed to loom over the past of the innocent and talented girl.

However, Iris is very close to Reinhardt and the others, and it is clear from the outside that they care for her deeply. I don't think they would harm her, and from Zig's words—about her free actions causing negative reactions—it seems unlikely that she was confined.

I don't know anything now. But,

"Now I can go to many places, so every day is fun!"

She said this with a truly heartfelt smile.

There's no need to pry or dig into her past. If Iris decides to tell us, I want to be there for her.

The door to the room was knocked on, and Reinhardt peeked in.

"Hey, Iris. You're not even serving tea to the teachers."

—As always, the polite Reinhardt led us back to the living room. The sunny living room was decorated with many flowers, just like Iris's room, making it look lively.

When we were invited to sit on the soft sofa, Zig promptly served us tea. I took it with a smile and sipped the tea, which had a sweet and delicate aroma. Instantly, a light, lingering sweetness spread in my mouth. It was a taste I had never experienced before.

"Delicious..."

The comment I blurted out was picked up by Zig.

"We use a bit of a rare leaf from the local area."

I nodded in response, not asking too deeply about what he meant by "local"—whether it was this forest or their hometown.

As we sipped our tea, the conversation centered around the playful Iris.

"Hey, Basilio! There's a place nearby where rare herbs grow in clusters. Let's go see!"

"Wait, Iris!"

Iris pulled Basilio's hand and ran out the back door. Stunned by the suddenness, I stared at the back door they had just exited.

Should I follow them? I wondered dazedly when "Ms. Laura," Reinhardt called my name. Surprised to be called "teacher," I looked at him, and he opened his mouth while looking down at his cup.

"Thanks to Ms. Laura, that girl is much more free. Her letters to us often mention your name. Thank you."

Reinhardt's words made me bow my head. To be thanked so directly by a guardian—like a parent—of a junior was both touching and a bit embarrassing.

"No, not at all... I'm the one who learns from Iris's creativity."

"I'm grateful. It might not be obvious because of my stern face, but she seems to be having a lot of fun now, after a restrictive life."

As he said this, Reinhardt raised his gaze from his cup to look at me. On his left eye—there was the same emblem as Lukas.

The first time we met, and today, his left eye was supposed to be "normal." Despite this, I stood up in surprise, unable to contain my shock.

"...That emblem in your eye...!"

But at that moment, the emblem in Reinhardt's left eye faded away.

"Oh, it's gone?"

"So you do know about this emblem."

Reinhardt, who was looking at me with a puzzled expression, seemed to instinctively understand that I had been led, or rather, tricked. The emblem in his eye was probably created by magic.

By showing me an illusion with magic and getting a reaction from me, Reinhardt said, "So you do know." It was as if they already knew that I recognized the emblem.

"...What exactly are you?"

The silence that followed was tense.

I looked at Reinhardt, Zig, and Leon in turn. Two amber eyes, the same as the heroine of "Last Brave," suddenly looked down. Those two eyes belonged to Reinhardt.

He stood up, came to my side, and bowed deeply.

"First, I'm sorry for testing you. And I promise, we will never harm you."

Reinhardt paused there. Then, with his bent waist, he looked up at me.

"Right now, this world is gradually being consumed by a great evil. Ms. Laura, you must have noticed the anomalies."

The great evil consuming this world. I was certain.

—They are connected to the heroine of "Last Brave."

I don't know how or through what connection, but they might be ancient beings like the heroine. In "Last Brave," the eyes of the ancient beings were not all the same amber color, but in this world, they are.

The "great evil" Reinhardt mentioned must refer to the Demon King.

"...Is it related to the increase in monster attacks?"

I didn't go straight to the point but asked indirectly. Laura Ampere only felt something was off about the strengthening monsters and didn't know that the Demon King would return at this stage.

Reinhardt nodded painfully in response to my question. Before I could ask what his expression meant, Zig joined the conversation with a smile.

"Ms. Laura is an excellent person, so it's a relief to get to the point. Let's skip the preliminaries and be straightforward."

He maintained his smile but spoke in a calm, clear voice.

"The Demon King is about to return to this world. We are the people of Rustu, who have fought the Demon King since ancient times. We approached you because your childhood friend, Lukas Kamill, is— the hero who will defeat the Demon King."

The word "hero" that came out of Zig's mouth made my heart skip a beat.

I knew better than anyone that my childhood friend was a hero. But this was the first time someone other than myself had called him a hero—reaffirming that Lukas was truly destined to be a hero.

Zig and Leon stood beside Reinhardt. Their determined eyes and expressions momentarily overlapped with those of the heroine I had lived with in "Last Brave."