Re-Tale of a Hero - Chapter 8. Disagreement

With the acting Duke promising support for the academy, assistance was given to the staff and students.

However, as more and more students and teachers regained consciousness, turmoil befell the academy.

While magic was used to clean the uniforms of those that had minor “accidents”, there was little that could be done to help their mental state, leading to numerous cases of students shouting and yelling back and forth.

In the midst of this, a discussion was happening in the first conference room between Lucius’ group and the teachers, with Kaito and his friends joining them as the first to make contact with the other-worlders.

When their situation became clear to them, the teachers’ expressions darkened, and some of them began to cry when they realized there was little hope of returning home.

Principal Sakurada, who remained collected, expressed relief when he heard that their safety was guaranteed for the time being.

“Fumu. Correct me if I’m wrong, but what you’re saying is that you can guarantee our safety along with food, clothing, and shelter. Is that right?”

After listening to everything that had to be said, Principal Sakurada first confirmed what was most important to them, and Lucius reassured him that that was the case.

“Yes, I can guarantee it in the name of Duke MacDowell.”

Lucius had already made this clear several times, but he knew how important this was to the other party. Hence, he reassured them again and again.

But there was a catch.

“However…as much as we wish to support you for as long as possible, somewhere along the line, we would require you to find the means to support yourselves.”

“Of course…”

“…Nevertheless, we understand that you need time to adjust, so we won’t rush you. If need be, we can introduce you to jobs in the near future.”

“Is that so? Then we might have to trouble you when the time comes.”

Saying so, Principal Sakurada lowered his head. Lucius nodded.

“Please rest assured. As for shelter, I believe we’ll be able to prepare them just in time before it gets dark outside. That said, it’ll only have the bare minimum space and blankets…”

“It will suffice as long as it shelters us from the rain and wind. Though some students might feel uncomfortable, they will have to put up with it for now.”

Principal Sakurada relented while lowering his head and letting out a sigh.

Fortunately, Tenou Academy had teleported to a location close to the dutchy where the acting Duke resided, and so the support unit arrived swiftly and got to work remodeling the classrooms.

As such, before it got dark, they would be able to secure living space.

“Oh, and also, would you be alright with us stationing our unit on school grounds? If not, we’d appreciate it if we’re allowed at least near the school.”

“May I ask for the reason why?”

Principal Sakurada sounded a little wary when he was asked for permission to have military force stationed on school grounds. However, when he learned the reason, he could only agree.

“I don’t know what your world was like, but there are monsters and bandits in this world. From what I heard, none of you can wield magic. Excuse me for being blunt, but a group of 20 bandits or a slightly powerful monster will be enough to annihilate the 500 of you.”

“…I see. To think we’re so powerless in this world…”

“Yes, and as condescending as this may sound, any one of us three can incapacitate all of you without causing harm. Bandits, on the other hand, won’t show such mercy, and you should be able to imagine what would happen by that point.”

Lucius said this while sounding apologetic. He understood that people that came from a peaceful world would be wary of them. However, this was necessary for the safety of both parties.

As for why he was apologetic, it was because eliminating bandits was part of their responsibilities.

In the empire, even those of noble births would suffer heavy punishment if they were found to own slaves, but there were still some that kept them in secret.

Furthermore, other countries had not abolished slavery, so the bandits might sell them off as slaves.

Hence, if Tenou Academy was besieged by either thieves or monsters, they would be met with a tragic end. Even if they didn’t lose their lives, they wouldn’t be much better off.

Female students and teachers would be sold off as prostitutes after being assaulted. As for the male population, they would have to be lucky to be sold off as slaves.

Sakurada, having come to this conclusion, immediately agreed.

“What a dangerous world… In that case, we apologize for making so many requests, but please protect our school for us. As for where to station the troops, please give us some time to consider.”

“I understand. I have to take command of my unit, so please excuse me for now. Please tell us where we can station our troops as soon as possible before the sun goes down.”

Lucius and the others left after saying that.

Sakurada, the other teachers, and Kaito’s group saw them off, and after confirming that the other-worlders have left, they continued their meeting, with Sakurada asking Sakura questions that couldn’t be asked before Lucius and his men.

“Tendou-kun, you and your friends have been in contact with them the longest among any of us. Do you think they can be trusted?”

“Perhaps…”

Sakura didn’t give a definite answer as it was hard to trust someone she had just met. The rest of the students remained quiet, whispering amongst themselves.

“Al seems to be a nice guy though.”

“But you know, he might be scheming behind our back while making us lower our guards with that smile of his.”

“You think he’s like that?”

“I’m not sure either. Either way, even if Al doesn’t have any bad intentions toward us, the person known as the acting Duke might. For now, we should try to be as careful as we can.”

Impossible, Kaito said in his heart. He was certain that the acting Duke wouldn’t bring them any harm, but he stopped himself from saying this out loud.

“Well…we’ll have to let nature run its course for now.”

“We should come up with a plan just in case. After all, I have no intention of entrusting my fate to anyone other than Kaito.”

“That so? As I thought, you two are definitely…”

Despite the serious atmosphere inside the meeting room, Kaito, Tina, and Sora were having a rather carefree conversation.

Putting aside Kaito and Tina, the fact that Sora could be so laid back spoke volumes of his character.

However, it didn’t take long before one of the teachers finally erupted.

“We’re definitely being deceived by them! They must be planning on capturing us in the middle of the night!”

It seemed many teachers were having similar thoughts as they voiced their agreement.

“Yeah! That must be why they’re asking if they could station troops near us!”

“They can’t be trusted!”

While many voiced their doubts, some disagreed with them.

“Have you already forgotten about that d-dragon we saw earlier!? If we’re attacked by another one of those, we’ll be annihilated in no time! Are you telling me you’d rather die!? We have no choice but to trust them!”

The teacher stuttered a little when he mentioned the Lesser Sky Dragon.

A female teacher spoke up in agreement.

“There’s also the possibility of the school being attacked by robbers! I don’t want to see my students enslaved!” she said in a loud voice.

The discussion soon turned into an argument, and when a full-on fight was about to erupt, Sakurada stepped in to stop them.

“Calm yourselves!”

His voice echoed throughout the conference room. If it wasn’t for Tina secretly erecting a barrier that stopped any sound from leaking outside the room, his voice would’ve traveled well beyond its walls.

“We adults must keep our composure. Otherwise, it’ll make the students more uneasy than they already are. It appears everyone needs some time to cool their heads. Let’s stop our discussion for now and take a break for half an hour.”

Knowing that they were getting too heated up, everyone agreed to take a short break.