“So, No.1000 is already hotly pursuing me. Is that it?”

“Y-yes…”

I nodded while staring at those eyes quaking in anxiety.

“You ain’t lying to me, are you?”

“No! Definitely not! Never!”

Those eyes, quaking at the magnitude of 3.0 until now, suddenly rumbled with the intensity of 9.0 next.

It’s not like I was in possession of the tool that restricted magic usage like in the past, so I made the metal bat stand between No.1 and 17 as a temporary measure to prevent them from escaping.

Oh, and by the way, the reason No.17 was reacting like this was… Whenever I became suspicious of what she said, the metal bat would pointedly grab her shoulder, that’s why!

“Hmm… You’re not lying?”

“Yes, yessir!”

And right next to her was a beautiful blonde babe… whose real ident.i.ty was that of the Order of Nature’s hero, the warrior responsible for beating up an elder dragon to death. Just like No.17, his eyes were quaking nonstop while he nodded away at my questions.

Oh, and to note, the metal bat had her hand pressed on the hero punk’s shoulder, too.

“I see…”

All ‘thanks’ to the hero, one of the horses, Blackie, was now missing.

What a relief that I did find Brownie, making it possible to get the carriage moving again. But with this arrangement, our movement speed would drop, and there wasn’t much I could do about it.

To think that we’d suffer a drop in mobility when we were in such a hurry!

This was all the fault of this insidious hero.

“Should I just tie this punk up and send him off to the Neidon Kingdom…?”

“Yes, instructor. Please, I beg of you to do that.”

If this was any other time, he’d have freaked out and fiercely resisted my proposal, so how come? Was it because the metal bat was standing next to him?

The hero actually said that he’d prefer to be sent to the Neidon Kingdom.

“Y-y-you?! You want to escape alone?! You traitor!”

“This wouldn’t have happened if only you did your freaking job!”

“Eeek?! If you hadn’t called me, only you’d have died, and that would’ve been it!”

The two of them began bickering once more, so I snapped my fingers at them.

The metal bat chimed in. “My little sis is playing outside right now, so… Big sis? Big bro? Can you shut your traps for a little bit?”

“Yes.”

“Ah, yes…”

If you don’t, I’ll personally shut you up~

The metal bat standing between my two former disciples whispered that while wrapping her arms around their shoulders. Which was super effective in shutting their mouths up automatically.

The metal bat finally got to… uh, satisfy her craving last night. I threw the two former disciples collapsed like corpses inside the carriage afterwards. Then, we somehow managed to recover Brownie to get the carriage going again – that happened earlier in the dawn today.

I had no idea who might show up behind us, so I drove the carriage at full tilt until I heard a pair of man and woman scream from inside the vehicle.

Well, that would be more or less a normal reaction if you saw the metal bat’s face the first thing in the morning.

However, waking my sleepyhead daughter by doing so could not be condoned, so I made sure to warm them properly in my own way.

…Obviously utilising the services of the metal bat, of course.

It worked wonders, and now, the two with their mouths firmly clamped shut were made to sit in the far corner of the carriage. I asked my daughter to go outside for a bit with the cat and Kkokko and make a snowman or something together.

I wasn’t a terrible father who’d make my precious daughter sit through an interrogation session, you see.

The interrogation itself was trouble-free.

My two former disciples were frightened by the ent.i.ty called the ‘bat’. There were only two of these little ‘girls’ in this world, but the one we had right here was the top dog in the bat world, the metal bat. My disciples understood this very well, and that’s why they confessed to everything they knew without holding back.

Of course, there could be falsehoods hidden among their words.

According to their testimonies, these two were ultimately the Imperial Princess’s underlings.

Like some kind of a twisted collector, the Imperial Princess was collecting my former disciples one by one, sending a little bit of shiver down my spine. I even briefly felt sorry for my disciples somehow ending up working for that Imperial Princess despite the abundance in the variety of other available jobs…

Then again, I tossed that feeling of pity right out the window after remembering that all those punks were rushing here to capture me.

Honestly, I had no idea that woman would swallow up Yugrasia whole.

The students there must’ve rejoiced that the night cla.s.ses had come to an end. But how much of a gut punch would it have been for them when the night cla.s.ses began again in the new year?

And according to No.17 Nermia, who got transferred to that academy, Rein was beating people up way too much using the wooden bat.

If I was in their shoes, I’d have abandoned being an aristocrat or upholding the family’s honour or whatever and wandered the world as a Runaway Ninja.

-Aren’t you already doing that, though?

-But of course.

The Imperial Princess’s personal army was seemingly getting more powerful with every pa.s.sing day. Could she really be desiring the type of combat strength that’d allow her to establish a nation of her own and successfully wage a war of conquest?

From what No.17 told me, it seemed that Yugrasia had become even stronger than when I was in charge of it.

Seriously now, what the heck… Even back when I was there, that academy had a G.o.d-tier summoner and a swordmaster, you know?

But that place is stronger now?

Wasn’t that, like, already on the level of a secret organisation h.e.l.l-bent on world conquest? Right, that’s no longer on the level of a mere academy anymore!

-Master, just who was responsible for planting the seeds of that now?

-…Me.

Tsk.

If I was still working there as a professor, I would’ve been rolling around in the hills of amazing ‘incentives’ by now.

The parents of the students who were oblivious of the academy’s true situation – no, probably totally disinterested in the first place – would have come visiting me with lots of bags of money, asking me to help their kids get into ‘this amazing academy!’

Thinking back to when I had to flee from there without even getting my initial investment back made my heart ache so much.

-But you got to meet my little sis because of that, master.

-Well, that is the only solace I got from that ordeal.

If I hadn’t encountered my daughter in that mountain, she could have really died back then.

Such an adorable girl, a perfect daughter if there ever was one, not existing in this world anymore? That would have been a monumental loss to this universe… no, this entire dimension.

So much so that all potential main character candidates existing on this continent should express their grat.i.tude in my direction!

“So, what should I do with you two…?”

“…”

“…”

Even as I continued to swim within many different thoughts, my former disciples maintained their silence. That’s because they knew full well that not saying a word right now would be better for their overall health.

“Should I abandon them here and leave?”

Although faint, the emotion of ‘hope’ floated up in their eyes just then.

“Or should I just take them with me…?”

Their eyes became gloomy in an instant.

“No, wait. It’s all too annoying, so I could just kill them now to ensure their silence…”

Their eyes were now… filled with hope, again?

What the heck? It should be the turn of fear to cloud their eyes now, you know?

Wait, could it be that death was more of a hopeful solution to them? Did they really hate the metal bat that much?

-That is how incredible my cla.s.s is, master.

-No, that’s not exactly a good thing, and that’s the problem for you.

I groaned at length after noticing the light of hope gleaming within the eyes of my former disciples.

Oh, you foolish disciples. Haven’t I taught you to survive no matter what it takes? You poor idiots seem to have forgotten completely about your dear instructor’s teachings!

Even if the metal bat was beating you up, living in this world is still far better, isn’t it!

-But that’s because I don’t work on you, master. I’m pretty sure other people think differently from you.

Of course you don’t work on me, and that’s how I could say stuff like this.

You see, this man called me? I was pretty confident about myself that as soon as someone even picked up a torture device, I’d sing like a canary and spit out all the info I knew.

I was going to talk, anyway, so wouldn’t it be smarter to talk while my body was still unhurt?

-Even though that’s your stance, you mercilessly drilled these kids with the idea that they must never divulge any secrets, didn’t you?

-That’s what the organisation ordered me to do, after all.

I merely did what the higher-ups told me to do. Just that, it was up to the individual to decide whether to abide by their orders or not!

-But you ‘taught’ them while beating them with my first little sister, though!

-Only by being strong enough to endure against such a hurdle would you be able to enjoy true freedom, you know?

-In that case, let me ask you this, master. Has aaaanyone ever beat that wooden bat before?

-Obviously, no one did.

First of all, if you could endure that ‘training’, then you were fully immune from torture, and there would be no reason for me to go after you.

Of course, you’d still change your tune in front of the metal bat, though!

“Well, then. You now have two options.”

I lowered my voice a lot, and for the first time in a long while, reverted to my instructor speech pattern.

“One. You accompany me in my escape.”

The way these two reacted to the word ‘escape’, it seemed that they desperately wanted to escape from under the shadow of the Imperial Princess.

From what they told me, it seemed that they were half-coerced into… No, let me revise that, they were forced at gunpoint to join the Imperial Princess’s organisation.

-They are probably weighing their options between you and the Imperial Princess sister, master. And obviously, the Imperial Princess sis is overwhelmingly winning here.

-Nonsense! Rather than staying next to a crazy b*tch like her, it’ll be far better to accompany a normal person like me!

-Master… Where did you throw away your conscience~?

My conscience? It’s always been in my heart, obviously. And I shall prove that to you, right now!

“Two. You can go back under the condition that you never reveal my location to…”

“I will never divulge that info!”

“Yes, I swear on my life!”

“Fut…!” The metal bat watched the two disciples reply promptly and ended up laughing out loud not in her mind, but in reality instead. “Fuhahahahat!”

““Hiiiieeek?!””

The two disciples trembled like leaves as if they were terrified by that laughter. But I had something else to worry about instead of them right now.

-What, there’s something else, master?

-Yeah. My gut feeling.

Huhuhu…

Well, I did train these punks mercilessly enough for them to have nightmares about me. As such, even I couldn’t really call myself a good instructor.

Even so… Even if that’s the case!

-Compared to the Imperial Princess, I’m the normal one here!

To think that they actually chose her over me!

What a pair of disappointing and infuriating disciples they were!

-I knew it. It’s the money, isn’t it?! It must be the Imperial Court’s enormous wages that even managed to seduce me! For the sake of those wages, they are willing to remain working for that woman!

-Um, master…? These kids are n.o.bles, remember…? Not just any, but high-ranking n.o.bles, no less! One of them is the granddaughter of the magic tower’s lord while the other guy comes from a Grand Duke’s family, which is riiight below the Imperial Family in terms of n.o.ble ranks! They are merely trying to survive this situation, you know? Which is what you taught them.

-But, but! Realistically speaking, staying next to me instead of the Imperial Princess should be easier for them to survive, you know!

-Judging from everything that happened so far around you, master, that’s complete lunacy, but for the sake of peace, let’s say you’re right. Even if they go with us, the Imperial Princess will still chase after you, right? So, rather than being chased around by what you refer to as ‘calamity’, wouldn’t it be easier to live by quietly hiding somewhere within said calamity?

When the metal bat countered with some words that sounded far too logical, I realised that it became a bit harder to make a smart-sounding reply.

To think that her gift of gab was as good as the Dragon Slayer that had its ego awakened after stabbing a dragon in the heart!

Could this be the proof of an ego weapon growing up, then?!

-What the heck is up with such a detailed set-up, master??

-Well, there’s a thing, a story about searching for the son of my father. [1]

Then again, my metal bat wouldn’t lose out to the Dragon Slayer in any aspect, though! [2]

Just like that weapon, she could talk and even transform into a humanoid, too. However, don’t forget that our metal bat could still use all the abilities contained within her weapon form in her humanoid form, too!

-That’s obvious! This G.o.ddess is invincible and unmatched under the heavens, after all!

I agreed with that a.s.sessment.

I managed to flee and live a relatively trouble-free life until now all thanks to the undefeatable metal bat, after all.

That’s why I should utilise her to the fullest of her abilities.

I addressed the disciples. “I see. I now understand your wishes.”

Would you look at their hope-filled eyes now?

Since ancient times, people grew hopeful when they could see a possibility of something. It was the same story in daily lives, too.

For instance… like a cute doll right by the chute in the claw machine, seemingly within easy reach. Or, after upping the scale a little bit… like buying a lotto ticket; buying the stocks that have been in an upward swing in the markets recently; or buying Bi*coins after you heard about its value going through the roof!

I can get that doll, I can become a winner…

The stock value can go up even more…

People believed that and became hopeful. People believed in that, and that’s why they challenged the odds.

No one in their sane mind would insert their money into a claw machine that anyone could tell was an utter waste of their money. No one in their right mind would purchase stocks of a ruined company worth nothing. And no one would buy imaginary coins with no real-world value that couldn’t even be converted to real money.

But humans had this tendency of not giving up when they see ‘hope’ in something.

As long as I endure this, as long as I overcome this…!

If I do that, then there’s hope for me!

If a G.o.d of Hope with a rotten personality really existed somewhere, that guy would’ve been grinning ear to ear while looking at my two former disciples. Unfortunately for them, though, my personality was just too kind for their expectations.

“I’ve considered your opinions and… You two shall now accompany me in my journey!”

-Um, master? Your nature what now?

Fu-hahaha!

Look at how wonderful my personality is!

I was different from those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds that tortured you with the glimmer of hope. I perfectly dropped my victims in the abyss of despair from the get-go so they wouldn’t even see any hope in the first place!

Here was I, teaching them the truth of life that giving up would make it easy for you!

Where would you find a better, more thorough teacher than me in this world!

-As expected of my master… I can’t find any semblance of kind personality anywhere in you! No, you’re so terrible that it’s verging on being really cool!

Those two pairs of eyes, filled with hope only a second ago, suddenly became dazed like a dead fish’s eyes.

I had already drawn up my future plans on how to use these two when I announced my intention.

Well, then. My dear disciples, let us head to a brighter future, shall weeee!

[1]: This is a reference to a Korean ReadNovelFull called… “Searching for My Father’s Son”, a romance fantasy novel published in 2017. Not sure anyone has translated it into English, though.

[2]: “Dragon Slayer” is the name of the ego sword wielded by the female lead (main character) of Searching for My Father’s Son.