How to Teach a Hero at the Academy

Chapter 5: The Janitor of the Academy (2)

The slums come alive at night.

Shadows that hid themselves under the sunlight move under the cover of night. Footsteps are heard from buildings feigning abandonment, and sewer rats twitch their front teeth in anticipation of corpses falling into the gutters.

“Seeing as you're asking about Two-Tongued Tarkan……”

Inside a signless building.

The informant narrowed his eyes.

“You're not from around here, are you.”

“That's right. I came from a different world, not Epezeria.”

“……What?”

“You have a good eye. To have noticed my identity.”

“Ah, well……. Right. That's nothing.”

The informant cleared his throat.

In any case, he had expected it. There was no way a man dressed in such a prim and proper formal suit could be from the slums. Stroking his messy beard, the informant scanned Abel's body.

‘That sword…….’

The informant's gaze stopped at Abel's waist. He noted the bastard sword fixed with a belt. A shape as worn as debris washed ashore by the waves. The scabbard was crushed, revealing the inside, and it was obvious that the blade itself would be useless due to its age.

Precisely because of that, it was considered no ordinary item.

‘It must be an Artifact.’

This was the slums of Naflansee.

A place where not only all sorts of riffraff run rampant, but also a place frequently visited by nobles with illicit curiosity. Judging by his frail appearance and formal attire, the informant guessed that Abel was the latter.

“Answer my question.”

Abel said, flicking a gold coin.

“What kind of person is Two-Tongued Tarkan?”

“He's a vicious one.”

The informant rubbed his hands together.

“It seems he ran quite wild during the Mirror War. They say he was part of the 2nd Prince's faction. Apparently, he just ate, shat, and shot people dead for half a year while riding a Magic Arms, so maybe that's why he's not in his right mind.”

So he was from the 2nd Prince's faction.

Abel nodded his head.

The 2nd Prince had stopped at nothing to seize the throne. Not only did he mobilize forbidden arts and drugs, but he also did not hesitate to commit war crimes. That was precisely why Abel had personally beheaded him.

The experiment conducted in Sarrifis must have also been led by the 2nd Prince's faction. He had received reports of other places that had vanished in the same manner as Sarrifis. He had heard that the ground within the spell's area of influence had disappeared as if a crater had formed.

“That bastard.”

The informant whispered, placing the side of his hand to his mouth.

“He collects tongues. He has them preserved and displayed. Sometimes he even eats them. He doesn't distinguish between children and the elderly, and if he likes a tongue, he cuts it all out.”

“Madmen obsessed with collecting body parts are common. What I want is practical information.”

Clink, and.

Two gold coins fell onto the moldy side table.

“I want to know his base of operations. If you guide me to the specific facilities, daily radius of activity, and the structure of his faction, I will pay you thirty gold coins.”

“Oh, of course. Of course. I'll give you as much information as I can.”

The informant swept up the gold coins with a gleeful expression. He shook them in his hand and walked towards the bookshelf.

‘To rule the slums of Naflansee, he must have some skill.’

Abel thought, staring at the informant rummaging through the bookshelf.

‘He could be a good training partner.’

Abel's fingers traced the hilt of his beloved sword.

* * *

A cool breeze blew.

Monika opened her sleep-drenched eyes. The stench of the slums that wafted in every night was particularly vivid. When she absentmindedly tried to twist her body, her limbs wouldn't move as she wished. She simply raised her head and stared at Abel's back in front of her.

“Are you awake.”

When Abel asked, Monika stared blankly at the sky.

Not a ceiling, but the sky. The night sky, rife with stars and a full moon, filled her vision. It didn't take long for her to realize that she was being carried on Abel's back. Abel was standing on the rooftop of some building.

“Excuse me.”

Monika buried her face in Abel's back.

She closed her eyes and breathed evenly.

“Though it may be just an illusion, I apologize. I didn't know I would see you even in my dreams.”

“What are you talking about?”

“What do you mean, what am I talking about. I fell asleep around midnight. I was thinking about you until I fell asleep. About what kind of person you are. That must be why you appeared in my dream. If I fall asleep in my dream, won't I return to reality? So please. Stay like this until I fall asleep.”

“This is not a dream.”

“That can't be. Don't try to deceive me, you product of a dream. This is clearly a dream.”

It did feel strangely real for a dream. But to consider it reality, there were too many strange points. Had he broken into her home in the middle of the night and carried her off? No way. Monika wore a hollow smile.

“I said this is not a dream. Get up now.”

Abel said with a sigh-laden voice.

The tip of Abel's foot tapped the rooftop surface,

The flooring material was covered in diagonal lines as if cut by a sword.

Kugoong──!

A loud roar echoed.

Monika's eyes shot open as she lifted her head.

Her vision, which had been dyed in the color of night, was now covered in dust.

It was because the center of the rooftop had split and the floor had collapsed.

Not even a scream came out. Monika stretched out her left arm with all her might, struggling not to let go of Abel. It wasn't a dream. Not only the acrid smell of dust, but the unpleasant sensation of falling was also real. Above all, the half-orc visible beyond Abel, who had landed on a square table, was……,

‘……No way.’

The ruler of the slums,

It was Two-Tongued Tarkan.

“Ooh……”

Tarkan's mouth opened, revealing sharp canines.

“To come in through the rooftop when there's a perfectly good front door. Well, well, what boisterous guests we have.”

A gluttonous laugh followed.

A knife and fork were held in Tarkan's hands.

Monika saw the plate placed next to Tarkan and, clenching her teeth, gripped Abel's collar. On the plate pooled with blood lay a tongue that looked as if it had just been cut.

“Who the hell are you.”

Before Tarkan's question could even end,

Bang!

- Intruders!

- Freeze!

The door to the drawing-room burst open, and a flurry of footsteps erupted.

Tarkan's men quickly surrounded Abel and Monika. Abel set down Monika, who had been on his back, and then gripped the hilt of his sword, confronting Tarkan.

“I'll ask again. Who are you.”

“Abel Argento and Monika Lohengrin.”

Abel replied to Tarkan's question in a stoic tone.

“Never heard those names before. Are you assassins sent by the old man from the next town over? For someone skilled enough to break through the rooftop and infiltrate, I would have thought I'd have heard your name.”

Then again. That's not important.

You'll just become an unidentified corpse anyway.

Muttering so, Tarkan picked up the Battle Axe that had been leaning against the table. Tarkan's forked tongue stickily licked the axe blade.

“Did you say Abel? You bastard……. You have a very pretty tongue.”

“Thank you. Your tongue is also nice to look at.”

“How kind of you. I like you very much. A tongue that is good with words is also good in taste.”

Tarkan popped the tongue that had been on the plate into his mouth. Chewing on it noisily, he aimed the axe at Abel.

“You ruined my meal. So you'll have to take responsibility. I'll personally cut out your tongue and chew on it. The tongue of that one-armed brat hiding behind you would look pretty hung on the wall.”

Monika's shoulders flinched. She tried to rack her brain to grasp the situation, but no amount of thinking would improve things. She just pinched her cheek. Hoping she wouldn't feel any pain.

‘……It hurts.’

No matter how many times she pinched, it hurt.

Monika let out a sigh.

“Two-Tongued Tarkan.”

Abel said with a calm expression.

“Your men will die by my hand.”

Abel's eyes shifted, scanning Tarkan's men.

Soon, his gaze stopped on Monika's face.

“And you will face this child.”

“──Are, are you out of your mind!”

Monika shouted, grabbing Abel by the scruff of his neck.

“You kidnap a sleeping person and tell them to fight Tarkan? Do you think that makes any sense!”

“Don't give up before even entering the duel.”

Abel's eyes sharpened.

“Didn't you say you were extorted for money every month by that half-orc. Your resentment must be deep. He'll be the perfect opponent for training.”

“Training? What kind of nonsense is that! In the first place, you said the training was from tomorrow……”

Could it be that since midnight has passed, a day has passed?

Even a loan shark wouldn't count the days like that.

Monika couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence.

“Monika Lohengrin, answer my question.”

Have you ever held a sword.

Abel asked, enveloping Monika's left hand.

His tone was so calm it was infuriating.

“……The most I've done is play with my father's hunting knife. And that was only once. My mother scolded me, saying the house would be broken.”

“It doesn't matter. You don't need to be perfect from the beginning.”

Above all,

He had to confirm the talent latent within Monika.

For that, a slight crisis was necessary.

Those chosen as Heroes receive the world's protection from birth. If she had been born into a prestigious family, she would have manifested her talent early on, but because she was born a commoner, she simply hadn't realized her power. If she became a Hero without a right arm, she must have a talent so great that the existence of a right arm didn't matter.

“Look. The hilt is wide.”

Abel drew his beloved sword from his waist.

He tilted the hilt towards Monika and whispered.

“If it's too heavy to hold with one hand, I'll hold it with you. But swinging it is your part. I will only bear the weight.”

Killing the Demon King was, in the end, the Hero's role.

Abel was just shouldering the Hero's weight with her. Unaware of the existence of the Demon King she would soon face, the girl standing before him was afraid of a mere outlaw from the slums. If so, he would just have to fully support even that fear.

“Are you not a child who wishes to live.”

Abel said to Monika.

“How long do you think your life in the slums will last. Will you prolong your life by handing gold coins to an outlaw, and every time a being that threatens your life appears, you'll just beg for your life to be spared? If you want to live, learn how to protect your life first.”

Abel forced the hilt into Monika's hand.

“Remember this, Monika.”

Abel said, enveloping Monika's hand.

“The world is unreasonable, and at the same time, cruel. To live is a continuous process of saving oneself from the world.”

Abel's right hand and Monika's left hand shared the hilt.

Monika looked at Abel's sword with trembling eyes.

It was heavy. It was just an overwhelming weight.

“Khahahahat!”

At that moment, Tarkan revealed his canines and laughed maniacally.

“What the hell are you two talking about! You're like a traveling theater troupe that fell through the roof.”

Even while shouting so, Tarkan kept a close eye on Abel's sword.

‘That's definitely an artifact.’

Though it looked like a sword that couldn't even cut a goblin, it must surely be imbued with magical power.

A swordsman with an artifact is a difficult opponent to face.

For now, there was no choice but to push with numbers.

“──Strike!”

At Tarkan's command, his men moved.

Abel ignored the blades closing in on him and just looked down at Monika.

“Do you have any aversion to seeing corpses.”

“……I don't.”

Monika replied, avoiding Abel's gaze.

“I've seen many.”

“Then watch closely.”

Before his words could even end, Abel's left arm moved.

Monika doubted her eyes.

She wondered if what she saw was real.

Abel's left hand stroked the empty air, and a circular space opened up. Abel put his hand into the Subspace and took out a magic staff. A magic staff so old it looked like it would crumble if he just gripped it tightly. When Abel swung it,

- Kkeuik!

- Wha, what is it!

A translucent protective barrier was formed,

and the men who were charging at Abel were thrown back.

What happened after that was too much for Monika's eyes to follow.

The magic staff was gone, and Abel pulled out a repeating crossbow from the Subspace. In that gap, the men righted their posture. Abel pulled the trigger without giving them a single glance.

There was a sound.

Sound, sound, sound.

The men collapsed, pierced through the temple.

They were like wilting weeds.

“Damn it! Can't you get up?”

Tarkan shouted at his men.

A few of them even pointed their swords at Abel, but,

──Jjaenggang!

Abel took out a Sword Breaker from the Subspace.

In the blink of an eye, one of the men's swords was shattered. The blade of the Sword Breaker fiercely grazed the man's neck, and the messily severed head tumbled to the floor.

Pseut! Pseuseut!

Streams of blood shot up from the headless body.

The men's gazes turned to Abel's Sword Breaker. Bits of flesh were tangled on the serrated blade. Expressions stained with horror. Monika blankly looked around at the corpses of the men, then finally swallowed a lump of saliva.

She couldn't believe it.

In an instant, he had killed more than half of the men.

While his right hand held the hilt of the bastard sword,

he moved only his left hand to block all attacks and aimed only for vital spots.

‘How can he do it without even looking…….’

Abel had been staring only at Monika's face the whole time.

Monika couldn't believe that fact at all.

“Are you ready, Monika Lohengrin.”

Meanwhile, Abel wore a faint smile.

“From now on, let us save you.”

Monika's gaze wavered.

Biting her lower lip, Monika bowed her head to hide her expression.

‘Yesterday he said let's save the world…….’

And this time he's saying let's save myself?

Monika closed her eyes tightly.

‘This is ridiculous. But…….’

She let out a sigh like a resentful groan.

A listless breath scattered.

However,

‘……Whatever happens, happens.’

Kkwak,

Strength entered Monika's left hand.