I Got a Fake Job at the Academy
Chapter 481: Father and Daughter (1)

Chapter 481: Father and Daughter (1)

Morning broke as Rudger, Hans, Alex, and Bellaruna finished preparing to leave.

"Are you leaving already?"

Vierano couldn't hide his disappointment.

He wanted to treat their kingdom's saviors better.

"We appreciate the sentiment, but we still have work to do. We received a commission, so we need to report back."

"But still..."

"Besides, even though we helped, it's not good for humans to remain in an elven kingdom. Those who don't know the details might object. We don't want to add to an already chaotic situation."

They had brought the airship to rescue Sedina.

If someone used this as an excuse to turn it into an international issue, the situation would spiral out of control.

So they needed to leave now, while the airship's identity was still unknown during this chaos, taking advantage of the elves' attention being focused on the World Tree.

The devastation caused by the rampaging World Tree itself was too massive for anyone to pay attention to the airship.

"There might be eyes watching even now, and this is a time when you need to carefully manage the scars of civil war, so it's right for us to withdraw."

All of Rudger's points were valid and Vierano had to nod, swallowing his disappointment.

"I was being too stubborn, only thinking about our position. I apologize."

"It was consideration shown out of care for us. Will you be staying here, Professor Vierano?"

"Since I've already submitted my vacation request, I'll stay with the family and finish things here. There's too much cleanup to do."

Vierano smiled bitterly.

Although most of the three noble families' forces were wiped out, and one family even lost its head, their main houses hadn't fallen.

They discovered that those who remained were still trying to claim the World Tree, so they had to stop that.

"Even after all this chaos, the rats are still struggling. Power is truly frightening."

That was what Ambella said after hearing the situation.

Though there was no wind, her lion-like mane of hair swayed, showing how annoyed she was.

Rudger looked at Ambella's prosthetic arm and asked.

"How's the arm?"

"Oh, this?"

Ambella lifted her new prosthetic arm and grinned.

"It's much better than my original arm. I can feel sensations, and it's just like a real arm. But it's even sturdier. Should I replace the other side too since it turned out like this?"

"Seeing you even make jokes, you must be really fine. Since you came here, are you here to see us off?"

"I'm not here to see you off."

Ambella glared at Rudger before turning to look at Sedina standing beside him.

"Thank you."

"Pardon?"

"You gave me a new arm, for a swordswoman."

"That's...because Aunt Ambella also tried hard to save me..."

"Aunt?"

Ambella's remaining eye widened at the unexpected title.

Sedina hurriedly asked.

"Oh, is that not right? I heard you were like sisters with my mother..."

"...Did Ella tell you that directly?"

"Yes."

At Sedina's answer, Ambella nodded and let out a small laugh.

"To think she considered me a sister even though I couldn't do anything for her. This makes me want to cry out of gratitude."

Though she wanted to meet Ella again, it was impossible since they couldn't access the World Tree.

But Ambella decided to be satisfied just knowing that Ella's soul was still alive somewhere inside the World Tree.

"I won't try to keep you here. Even if you have the ability to communicate with the World Tree, I won't force that on you either. Rather, if anyone tries that, I'll personally draw my sword and hunt them down, so don't worry and go."

"Is it really alright?"

"No."

"What?"

"Of course it's not alright. I'm letting you go even though it's not alright. We've lived for a long time too, how unsightly would it be to cling to a child and beg them to revive our kingdom? Our pride won't allow that."

Ambella, who had been smiling playfully, softened her expression and showed a gentle smile.

"Still, if you want to come back, you can come anytime. If you want to stay, you can stay. If you just want to pass through briefly, that's fine too. We will always welcome you warmly. Though it's only half, this place is also your home and homeland."

Moved by those words, Sedina bowed her head deeply to Ambella.

"Thank you."

"...Ahem. Staying here any longer will just create lingering attachments, so let's get going. Take that airship away quickly too."

Ambella pointed with her thumb at the airship landed in the large empty space.

Though it had sustained some damage from the fight with Ventmin, it was still fine for the return flight.

"If we leave that here and others spot it, it'll become more troublesome."

"Yes."

After saying their goodbyes, the group boarded the airship one by one.

"Is everyone aboard?"

Robert checked all the people.

His gaze finally turned to Sedina.

"I'm glad you returned safely, young lady."

"..."

"Let me take you back comfortably."

The airship departed.

Ambella and Vierano looked up at the airship slowly rising into the sky.

"You actually don't want to let her go, right?"

Vierano asked Ambella that.

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean Sedina. You actually wanted her to stay, didn't you?"

"Hmph. Forcing her to stay here wouldn't be good for that child. Besides, what I said earlier was sincere. As an elf, my pride won't allow seeking help from a single child."

"That's true."

"Besides. If it's that child, she might return here someday."

"Well, that might be true. So don't be too lonely."

Ambella glared at Vierano who spoke with a smile.

"Ha. You said you're an academy teacher? So you're fine since you can meet her whenever you want, is that it?"

"I didn't say anything..."

"Playing innocent. I liked you better when you were stubborn and rigid."

"Everyone changes. That's true for us elves too, isn't it?"

"Change, is it..."

For elves who had stayed in one place for hundreds of years, the word 'change' was very unfamiliar.

Even Vierano and Ambella, who stood here, were the elves closest to change but compared to humans who lived fiercely every day, they were still at the level of newborns.

"Ella and Ventmin. They both sought ways for our race to survive amid the world's changes."

"Their methods were complete opposites though."

"I don't mean to disparage even that will. I think the same way too. So we must try. Not leaving it to others, but cultivating it with our own hands."

By now, the airship was no longer visible.

It must be mixing with the white clouds flowing in the blue sky somewhere.

"Let's go."

Ambella moved her feet.

"We need to clean up."

Just as Vierano was about to follow, thinking there was no choice, both of them stopped in their tracks.

They had to stop because someone was quietly standing in a place where there had been no one just moments ago.

"...Who are you?"

Ambella asked in a voice full of tension.

Even trying to act natural, she couldn't help but react that way due to the pressure emanating from the other person, a black-haired man wearing a black robe and a white mask on his face.

The soldiers should have been thoroughly guarding the surroundings, so how?

"Pleased to meet you."

The uninvited guest opened his mouth with a smiling expression in his eyes behind the mask.

"I am Zero Order."

* * *

On the returning airship, Sedina fell into a deep sleep.

The same was true for Bellaruna.

The fatigue that had built up until now couldn't be relieved with just one day of rest.

Only Rudger, Hans, and Alex were awake and clear-headed.

The three naturally began discussing future matters.

"Brother. What are you going to do now?"

"I need to go back and sort out the situation. Since we've created a debt with the Roschen family, we can receive massive investment from them."

"You're not going to consume the entire company?"

"Swallowing something that big would inevitably cause problems. If Walter Roschen acts arbitrarily, there will be resistance from the board members below him. We'll probably only be able to barely pick up the pieces that are much more divided and reduced than the original Roschen company."

"Hmm. In that case, you mean to maintain the system on the surface while sucking out more things to collect from behind?"

"There's no need to cut open the belly of a goose that lays golden eggs."

Hans chuckled.

"You don't want to be too harsh on that child's father?"

He said this while looking at Sedina, who was sound asleep on the sofa provided in the airship.

Rudger didn't bother to answer. Hans hadn't expected an answer either, so they naturally moved on to the next topic.

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Yes."

"Then there's only 1 left now. I never thought we'd end up coming all the way here."

"Oh. Only the last piece is left? Since there's only 1 left, that should be handled quickly, right?"

Alex chimed in with an extremely excited voice.

However, despite the two's hopeful observations, Rudger's expression wasn't very good.

Noticing this, Hans carefully asked.

"Brother. Is there some problem? Perhaps you don't know the location of the final piece yet?"

"The relic fragment showed me where the last piece is. If there's a problem, it's the scenery the relic showed."

"What? What do you mean...?"

"It was scenery I'd never seen before. A place I'd never seen even though I've wandered every corner of the world."

"What kind of place is it?"

"A world where everything is mixed like watercolors. The sky is blue and purple and green, and the nearby forest and ruins are somehow distorted."

At Rudger's answer, Hans and Alex exchanged glances.

Do you know?

No, I don't know. Do you?

I asked because I don't know either.

Since neither knew anything, the two looked back at Rudger.

"Is there such a place?"

"What is that? Is it somewhere in the remote southern region?"

"I don't know either. It was a place I'd never seen before. I couldn't even figure out its location and direction even if I tried."

Not knowing the location and direction, and the only clue being partial scenery of a place never seen before.

Finding the last remaining piece looked quite eventful.

"When we return, we'll have to first ask around about that scene you mentioned, brother."

"Yes. I'm thinking of looking through literature and documents too. It would be good to ask master as well."

"Ugh. Only one left, but it's still not easy."

Alex hung his head with an attitude of giving up.

-Screech.

[Ah, can you hear me? We'll arrive at our destination soon. Good work everyone on returning safely.]

At the captain's announcement, Sedina and Bellaruna who had been sleeping opened their eyes.

The airship safely landed on the large landing pad in front of the Roschen family's mansion.

When they came out of the airship, Walter Roschen was there to greet them.

They hadn't been able to give notice of when they would arrive, so the fact that he was here meant he had been waiting continuously from before.

"Ah."

Sedina flinched when she saw her father Walter.

Walter also silently stared at Sedina with a cold, sunken gaze and a face without changes in expression.

If they hadn't come here, he would still seem like someone who didn't even care about Sedina but Walter now was clearly anxious.

While there was relief about the fact that his daughter had returned alive, even more so, he was reminded of how harshly he had treated his daughter over the years.

What should he say?

How should he treat her?

He was thorough about everything related to making money and growing the company.

He was clearly excellent as a businessman.

It would be fair to say he was beyond first-class, even super-premium.

But Walter wasn't like that as a father.

After losing his beloved wife, he didn't know how to treat his only daughter.

Though he could read the flow of money better than anyone, he didn't know the heart of a daughter who had lost her mother.

Because it was his first time.

'But it's all just excuses.'

Walter knows that being the first time was just an excuse to avoid his own sins.

It's everyone's first time.

Yet there were many harmonious families in the world.

He could have done better too.

The fact that he didn't despite that was because he himself was lacking, because he was inadequate as a father.

Walter looked at Rudger, the benefactor who had saved his daughter was just looking at him with a calm gaze.

Walter didn't know what that look meant.

If one said it was reproaching him, it looked that way.

Conversely, if one said it understood him, it also looked that way.

Like a mirror.

Even more so in that the other's gaze appeared different depending on what thoughts one had.

'I see. I was trying to run away even here.'

Walter had to realize that right now, he wanted to hear the right answer through someone else's mouth.

He had forgotten that to truly correct what was wrong, it had to come from his own mouth, not someone else's.

"I'm sorry."

After steeling himself, Walter bowed his head to Sedina.

Perhaps because Walter, who seemed like someone who had never bowed his head to anyone in his life, was bowing to her, Sedina was too shocked to speak properly.

"Everything I did to you. I know it can't be forgiven. I know even this meaningless action isn't any consolation at all."

Actually, this kind of apology could have been done when they were alone.

Bowing one's head in front of witnesses was something that hurt the pride of a chairman leading a company.

"Still, I really wanted to say these words."

Nevertheless, Walter bowed his head because the guilt of not being able to do anything as a father weighed heavier than maintaining pride as a company chairman.

"I'm truly glad you returned safely."

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