The Tall Mentor in a Defense Game

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“Raseline’s glowing stopped shortly after.”

Enok blocked Raseline, who kept charging at him from behind, before taking a seat on a nearby bench.

“So, what’s this all of a sudden? Showing up out of nowhere without a call?”

“Hmph, cheeky junior. Do I need your permission to show up?”

“At least give me a heads-up! If I had known, I could have at least pretended to be somewhat prepared. I wouldn’t be stuck drinking this pitiful canned coffee and having this chat.”

Enok shook a 1200-krona can of coffee while grumbling.

Raseline nodded, seemingly unable to refute him.

“Well, you have a point. Sorry about that, junior. I was just clueless. I should have had the sense to know when I didn’t hear from you, I should’ve been hiding in a corner, banging my head against the wall out of loneliness.”

“Forget it. Just cut to the chase and let me know what you really want. You didn’t come all this way just for that, did you?”

“…You’re quick on the uptake. I was planning to tease you a bit. Anyway, you’re no fun. You really should hang out with Vergor.”

Raseline pouted in annoyance.

The new junior was too sharp; there was no fun in messing with him.

“Actually, the reason I came is that I have something to share.”

“Share?”

“Yeah. Lately, I’ve been hearing a lot of people talk about you. You’ve been causing quite the ruckus here and there, haven’t you?”

Raseline chuckled as she sipped her coffee.

She mentioned eavesdropping, so it was probably thanks to her magic.

The Earth Mage Tower master could eavesdrop anywhere there was land, as long as she wanted to.

It made sense that the Magic Guild would have caught wind of Enok’s fight by using such methods.

Enok adjusted his sitting position and focused on the conversation.

“Who are these folks chatting behind my back?”

“Well, let’s exclude the royal family for now. You remember that your last run-in with the separatists? They’ve been talking about you. It looks like they plan to pay you a visit again soon.”

“What did they say?”

“I’m not sure, to be honest. I just happened to overhear it while I was out and about.”

Raseline shrugged her shoulders.

Enok pondered for a moment, tilting his head.

“Got it. But they’re just a flashy rebel faction, right? I don’t think I need to be too worried about them.”

“Better safe than sorry. To be honest, those guys aren’t all there. Even if you’re fine, it could get dangerous for your surroundings, you know?”

Raseline was right.

While monsters were attacking, the separatists were aiming to tear the country apart.

If they were in their right mind, they wouldn’t even think to come up with such an idea.

In other words, you couldn’t consider the situation to be rational.

“Understood. I’ll remain cautious. But were those guys the only ones talking about me?”

“No. There’s more. Another one is the Dimaira Corporation.”

“Dimaira? They’ve been discussing me?”

“Yup. More precisely, the owner of the company, the Golden Mage, Orban Barkas. I’ve heard he’s been looking into you. Apparently, you’ve annoyed him somehow.”

The Golden Mage, Orban Barkas.

He was virtually the monopolist of the medical market and the founder of Dimaira.

As far as Enok knew, his rank was essential.

However, there had been hints in the original text that he might have reached an advanced rank.

‘Golden Mage, huh? That name rings a bell. Must be because of his disciple, Clara, from Dr. Felton’s crew.’

Enok had decided to invest a large sum in Clara, who was a disciple of Felton.

Of course, no money had actually changed hands yet.

But Clara’s attitude towards Dimaira must have changed with Enok’s appearance.

There was no need to be dragged around by them any longer.

It was likely that they started gathering information on him from that point on.

“Separatists and Dimaira. Quite the impressive lineup already. Is there more?”

“Oh, there’s more. But for now, we can skip over it. It’s just suspicion at this point. Nothing concrete.”

“Understood. Thanks for the info. I’ll keep what you’ve said in mind.”

“No need for thanks. I just happened to overhear and wanted to let you know.”

After saying that, Raseline dusted off her knees and stood up.

Having finished her business, she was ready to leave.

“You’re leaving already? Since you came all this way, why not stay for a meal?”

“Nah, this food doesn’t suit my taste. Come visit me at the Earth Mage Tower next time. I’ll take you to a nice place.”

It seemed like it would be hard to convince her to stay.

Enok nodded, not feeling particularly attached to the idea.

“Alright. Take care on your way back. Have a great day.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.”

“…”

“Oh, right.”

Just as she was about to leave, Raseline turned back to Enok as if something had come to mind.

“Hey, junior.”

“Yes?”

“Did you perhaps rob the Golden Mage’s safe?”

“Huh?”

Enok could only reply with a question, completely taken aback.

Robbing the Golden Mage Orban’s safe out of nowhere? That was completely unexpected.

“Robbing? I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Guess not, huh? But it seems like the Golden Mage suspects you. They say you’ve been throwing around money strangely ever since you just appeared, as if you spent 1 trillion krona, which is utterly ridiculous.”

“…Did the Golden Mage perhaps have some sort of monetary issues recently?”

“Yeah. I’ve heard that two of his safes got robbed. Just one of them might be worth the national defense budget of the Empire. It’s clearly nonsense, right?”

Raseline chuckled.

On the contrary, Enok froze at her words, as a few hints started to click in place.

‘Could it be that the money I received from the status window…’

Enok hadn’t robbed Orban’s safe at all.

All he had was the wealth provided by the status window.

But then, where on earth did the status window get that money from?

And what had happened to the money in Orban’s safe?

‘This is a tricky puzzle. I’d better bury this idea forever.’

Enok forcefully halted his train of thought.

Sometimes, there were moments when it was best to keep quiet rather than speak, and this was one of those times.

“Anyway, I’ll give credit where it’s due for Orban’s bravado. Does it even make sense for him to have that much money in a safe to begin with?”

“That’s true. I suspected as much when he was called by the grand name of Golden. We’re talking about 100 trillion krona. Someone who’s used to lying seems to be different in every way.”

“Huh? Did I mention the 100 trillion krona?”

“Well, I guess I’ll take my leave now. I’ll see you next time.”

Enok quickly turned his back.

He needed to make a getaway.

From all the truths of this world.

“What’s up with that guy?”

Raseline, left behind, tilted her head in confusion.

She seemed like she was about to start thinking, but quickly decided it had nothing to do with her and walked away.

The incident of the robbed safe was forgotten forever.

Somewhere in the distance, the Golden Mage cried miserably.

@

Days passed in peaceful routine.

Enok trained Lacrina, strolled through town occasionally, and sometimes drove around, enjoying a leisurely life.

Not long after, as winter approached, an official letter arrived from the academy.

‘Is it time already?’

The letter was sent by the academy’s president, Bartro Ulrigan.

It mentioned, in polite wording, that Lacrina’s admission preparations were complete.

‘Well, this is perfect. I’ve been killing time with no purpose.’

Enok skimmed through the letter before folding it immediately.

He had already taught her almost everything he could.

Since he received communication, Enok decided to set out right away.

“Did you forget anything?”

“No!”

Lacrina confidently slung her bag over her shoulder.

She seemed to smile more often than before.

Maybe she had become more honest about her feelings overall.

Whether intentional or not, it seemed her unpleasant experience with ice magic had helped quite a bit.

“Alright then, let’s go.”

Enok got into the car with Lacrina.

He then inserted the key and started the engine.

The engine roared around them.

At that moment—

-BANG!

“…Huh?”

The car carrying the two of them suddenly exploded.

-KABOOM!!!

-THUD!

-Cough! Cough, cough!

“…T-teacher! Are you alright?!”

Lacrina called out to Enok while coughing repeatedly.

She quickly used ice magic to protect their surroundings as soon as she saw flames erupting.

But even that wasn’t perfect.

After all, she was still a bit inexperienced.

Despite Lacrina’s efforts, the explosion had already affected their surroundings.

“Teacher!!”

Lacrina, gathering her strength, stood up amidst the chaos.

Her appearance was already a complete mess.

Her beautifully styled hair, the neat outfit she had prepared for the day—both were now charred with soot.

Still, Lacrina moved towards the flames, searching for her teacher.

Now wasn’t the time to worry about her clothes; she needed to find Enok.

-Fwoosh!

“…”

From atop the broken car, flames incessantly shot up.

Lacrina held her breath as she faced the fire.

“…Let’s do this.”

Her moment of hesitation was brief.

Lacrina prepared to leap into the flames, encasing her body in ice magic.

Just then, someone slowly emerged from amidst the fire.

-Thud thud!

“…T-teacher?”

The figure was none other than Enok.

Strangely, he wasn’t even the slightest bit hurt.

Not a scratch or even a hint of soot on him.

In fact, he was calmly walking out, stepping right over the blazing flames.

“Teacher? Are you alright?”

“…”

He didn’t respond.

Instead, Enok turned to glare at the raging fire.

More accurately, he was glaring at his car, which lay in ruins beneath the flames.

-Creak!

“…Those bastards. How dare they target my car?”

“…Teacher?”

“After waiting THREE whole months for that…!”

-Creak!

Enok gritted his teeth.

Seeing this, Lacrina involuntarily held her breath.

This was the first time she saw Enok’s terrifying face.

This was her first glimpse of Enok’s fury.

 

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