NOVEL NEXT Chapter 71
Chapter 71
Seere, cooped up in the room, lay on the bed hugging her white bear and did not get up even once. Thus, the unspoken resistance that started in the morning continued until evening.
During this time, Seere muttered to herself.
“I’m trying so hard to look pretty for Teacher…”
But then, Teacher brought home a girl. Not understanding her feelings at all.
Seere puffed out her cheeks and began to pound the unfortunate whale plushie next to her with her fists.
“It’s just too much! Bringing home some weird girl while not understanding anything! Teacher is the worst! I hate Teacher!!!”
Meanwhile, she was diligently controlling her strength out of fear of breaking the toy.
After a while of shouting and whining by herself, Seere stopped her punches and sprawled out on the bed. Thoughts began to fill her mind about whether it was even worth it to go this far.
“After all, Teacher…”
Looks at her only as a child. And once the goal is achieved, will certainly leave someday. Could she truly hold onto such a Teacher? Seere started to feel such doubts.
“…Ugh.”
No, she hadn’t truly put in enough effort yet. It hadn’t been long since she set her plans, and she still had a long way to grow. It was premature to give up now.
Her desire for Teacher to stay by her side wasn’t something she could easily give up on. Seere thought this and reflected on her earlier actions.
“Was it really forced…?”
But when asked whether three years was such a short time, she felt unsure. Having these thoughts was largely due to her ability, which had grown to the point where she could defeat Belial, who was considered a mid-tier Demon King level after three years.
It was unreasonable to compare her potential to Veronica’s on the same level, yet Seere was unaware of this.
“Still… you only support that girl…”
She hated that. Even if she was wrong, it made her resentful that Teacher only supported that girl. Moreover, after coming back in just three days, he hadn’t even patted her head.
“…Right, Teacher made a mistake. Right, White Bear?”
She muttered while tightly hugging her white bear. At that moment, someone knocked on the door. At first, she thought it might be Rea, but sensing the magical power from beyond the door, Seere’s eyes widened.
“Seere.”
And the voice confirmed it. It was Nahun. Seere panicked and rolled her eyes around, wondering what to do, then chose to evade.
She quickly threw the blanket over herself and curled up. Although her anger was slowly dissipating, she still felt that her pride would be hurt if she faced him.
So, she held her ground while Nahun spoke from the other side of the door.
“I brought cake.”
“Cake!”
Cake and pudding were still Seere’s favorite desserts. For a moment, she partially pulled the blanket down and sat up.
“Ugh…!”
But soon shook her head and dove back under the blanket. Seere was determined to show him what happened when she was angry; she intended to clearly engrave it in Teacher’s mind.
Then surely Nahun would pay more attention to her, or so she thought in her naive and cute way. Nahun knocked on the door again, but Seere did not respond.
Creak.
Then, instead of leaving, Nahun simply opened the door and entered. Seere was taken aback by that action.
‘Why, why aren’t you leaving and coming in?’
Though startled, Seere couldn’t help but notice that Nahun was calm. He simply wanted to check if Seere was asleep. As Nahun’s shadow loomed over her, Seere tightly closed her eyes.
“Seere, why are you pretending to sleep…?”
“Oh, I wasn’t.”
But it was clear to anyone that she wasn’t really asleep, and she was soon caught.
“…I brought cake, so let’s eat together. It’s your favorite strawberry cream cake. You haven’t even eaten yet.”
“Cake… I don’t want any.”
That decision was made after significant contemplation. If she ate the cake because it was good now, all her plans to shock Teacher would fall apart.
“Hmm, really?”
“Yes.”
“Then I will eat it all myself.”
“…Excuse me?”
She heard the sound of Nahun picking up a fork. Then, as she heard him actually eating the cake, Seere couldn’t help but open her eyes wide. And at the casual remark Nahun made, Seere had to spring up.
“Hmm, it turned out quite well even though Mark didn’t help.”
It implied one thing:
‘Did Teacher make it himself…?’
Upon hearing that Nahun had made the cake, Seere kicked off her blanket and got up, realizing her actions belatedly, which made her flinch. Nahun watched Seere with a small smile.
“Do you want some?”
“……Yes.”
#
Nibble, nibble.
Was this some rebellion? She could eat as deliciously as usual, but instead, Seere purposely nibbled on the cake. Unaware that her behavior seemed just cute to Nahun.
After finishing a piece of cake, Nahun spoke to Seere.
“Seere.”
“…Yes?”
“I think I didn’t consider your feelings enough earlier. I’m sorry.”
“….”
Seere glanced at Nahun. Seeing his expression, she knew it wasn’t a lie. Nahun was sincerely apologizing to her.
“But please understand this one thing.”
“What is it?”
“Everything I do is for you.”
Seere’s eyes widened.
“I will never do anything that harms you.”
It was for her. Every action Nahun took was for Seere. Upon hearing this, Seere struggled to suppress the smile that wanted to rise.
‘Teacher is doing this for me…!’
Not noticing Seere’s changing expression, Nahun continued speaking.
“Bringing Veronica wasn’t meant to make you feel bad. That girl will truly be a help to you.”
“…In what way?”
“First of all, the most important is power reinforcement. I brought her with the intention of promoting her to the position of commander.”
“Is it that much?”
“Enough. And she’s close in age to you. Since the age gap is just one year, you could become friends.”
“Teacher.”
“Hmm?”
Seere couldn’t understand the last remark, even if she understood everything else. Being friends with that girl? No way.
“I don’t need friends.”
There was no way she would befriend someone who would steal her Teacher’s attention. When Seere asserted this firmly, Nahun seemed slightly taken aback.
“Still, wouldn’t you feel lonely without friends?”
“Why? You’re here, and there’s Rea and Cecili. There’s Cain too, and Captain Lin….”
“Uh… Well, then friends are fine, but she will be useful for reinforcement.”
“Yes.”
Nahun cleared his throat once and continued.
“…Anyway, that’s how it is. As I’ve said before, I have no intention of taking in any other disciples besides you… I don’t have a hobby for raising kids anyway. Veronica was really a coincidence, and you could consider this case very unique.”
Seere quietly stared at Nahun. Suddenly, she slightly leaned in with the top of her head visible.
“Huh?”
“You haven’t patted my head once since you returned.”
“Ah….”
Nahun chuckled. Then, while Seere waited, he pulled something from his pocket. Opening it with a click, Seere tilted her head in curiosity.
“Teacher?”
“It’s a present. Since I couldn’t teach you for three or four days, I had to bring you at least one present.”
Nahun gently took Seere’s hair and attached a pin. Then, with a bright smile, he softly patted Seere’s head.
“See, it suits you perfectly.”
Seere, who had been blankly watching Nahun’s actions, raised her hand slightly and felt the hairpin he had attached. Finally, Seere smiled brightly.
“Is this really for me!?”
“Of course.”
“Wow! Teacher!!”
As Seere hugged him tightly, Nahun laughed heartily, accepting her clinginess. Seere rubbed her face against him, murmuring.
“I love it so much.”
“I’m glad you like it. I was worried because I don’t have a knack for choosing these things.”
“Anything given by Teacher is great.”
Seere slightly lifted her head to look at Nahun. Nahun regarded Seere with the gaze of a proud teacher. Seere smiled warmly at Nahun and said.
“After all, there’s no one but you, Teacher.”
“Is that so?”
Nahun felt joyful. He was glad that Seere thought of him as such a great teacher. However, contrary to his thoughts, there was one more hidden truth that Seere kept to herself.
‘It has to be Teacher.’
#
From the next day, Veronica began studying and training. To keep his promise to Seere, Nahun didn’t personally oversee her. Instead, he assigned reliable mentors to ensure she could study and train well in a good environment.
Theoretical studies were handled by Cain, and martial arts training was taken care of by Celestia, the newly appointed commander of the 7th Corps. Lin was already supervising Seere’s training, so she was excluded.
“These will be your mentors. Follow them well.”
“Yes, yes…!”
Nahun entrusted Veronica to them and returned to his office. At that moment, something caught his eye.
“…Who is that?”
“Your intuition is remarkable. You truly are a great person.”
Others likely wouldn’t have noticed. But Nahun could tell. Magic power was twisted and gathered in the garden, so intricately that most people wouldn’t catch on.
As the awkward magical field was removed from Nahun’s view, a man emerged. Nahun didn’t know the man, but he could tell what kind of creature he was.
“A demon?”
“My name is Gaunimalis. My master, the cruel god, commanded me to deliver a message to you.”
“The cruel god….”
Nahun pondered who it referred to and quickly realized. It was a name that wouldn’t usually come to mind, but now that the situation had arisen, a certain name popped up in his thoughts immediately.
“Golraph?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Why have you come to find me from hell?”
“My master wishes for you to return as soon as possible.”
Nahun let out a slight sigh. Then, somewhat roughly, he swept his hair back and glared at Gaunimalis.
“Gaunimalis.”
“…Yes.”
“State why I should heed your master’s words.”
Nahun’s atmosphere changed dramatically. Gaunimalis, sensing it, trembled slightly.
“I-I merely delivered a message. It’s not a coercion, great one. How could I dare pressure you, great one? I just wanted to hear your response…”
“If I respond, you won’t send anyone else, will you? No, that wouldn’t happen either.”
“That’s….”
“Would it be better to show an example as a warning instead? To show what happens if you touch me.”
“…Great one.”
Gaunimalis knelt on the ground. He prayed earnestly.
“If you were to kill me, my master would not stay silent.”
“Now you’re threatening me too.”
“That’s not what I meant. My master can do nothing to the great one, but… he can certainly get rid of the groups you care for.”
“Your tongue is reckless, Gaunimalis.”
Nahun had approached Gaunimalis before he knew it, and in an instant, his hand lifted the demon’s head.
“You mentioned something that should not be said.”
“What did I…?”
“Didn’t you imply that you would do something to Seere’s forces?”
“That’s, that’s true! My master says if the great one doesn’t return, there will be no reason for them to stay…!”
With that statement, Gaunimalis could say nothing more. Nahun had cast him away, and before long, Leviathan, who had appeared behind him, swallowed the demon whole.
“Golraph….”
Golden eyes glimmered ominously. As if pondering how to remove the obstacle.