How to Teach a Hero at the Academy

Chapter 87: The Papacy (2)

Pope Johanna.

The longest-reigning head of the Platinum Round Table Orthodoxy.

Her birth year was unclear. She herself

Based on historical facts, Johanna had reigned as Pope for about a thousand years. Skeptics did not believe this. A thousand years was an age when even an elf would grow old. They argued that the Pope was secretly being passed down, merely imitating the same being through spells to secure a political position.

Of course, it was a baseless rumor.

<I've recently taken up the hobby of raising worms.>

Johanna said, walking briskly.

The worm farm in Johanna's arms swayed.

<It's cute how they squirm away from the light, and it's fun to collect their castings.>

“How many are you raising?”

<Well? I haven't counted, but maybe about a thousand including this one.>

Abel was following Johanna.

Black smoke adorned the corridor. It was all Johanna's breath. While Johanna in the form of a girl walked ahead of Abel, Johanna in the form of an old woman appeared from one side of the corridor.

<Don't you regret leaving my side?>

The girl Johanna in pajamas asked, and,

<You lost a disciple, didn't you? You must have been very sad.>

the old woman Johanna in a cloak lamented.

“I am fine.”

Abel answered silently.

The two Johannas' appearances were dramatically different, but the fact that they covered their faces with robes and emitted black smoke was the same. Soon, the girl Johanna left for her worm farm, and Abel walked with the old woman Johanna. Thud, thud. The staff in Johanna's hand struck the stone floor of the corridor one after another.

<The situation has been unusual lately.>

Johanna said, opening the door to her office.

<It's not just the empire. Strange things seem to be happening all over the country. The movements in the Demon Realm are also unusual, and the number of spirits that inhabit the poles has also decreased.>

The Pope's office was modest.

At a glance, it looked like a country house where an old person lived.

Not only were the furnishings quaint, but there was also a living space. The kitchen and bedroom were divided into sections. Johanna, who had been patting her lower back, went to the kitchen and began to brew tea, then gestured to Abel with her chin. It meant he should leave while she had her tea. Abel bowed his head and crossed the corridor of the office.

And so, when he opened the door at the end of the office,

<Let's have a proper conversation.>

Johanna in the form of a young woman appeared.

She must have planned to go to the Great Hall in that body. Abel thought, scratching the back of his neck. Johanna acted through various forms, but for official business, she had always insisted on the form of a young woman.

Because in the form of a girl, she had to live the life of a girl, in the form of an old woman, the life of an old woman, and in the form of a beast, the life of a beast.

<Abel of the Margin, I have received your report.>

Abel's surroundings were white.

In the center of a space with nothing, a sphere that embodied the world was floating.

Lunar Eclipse Eye. A holy relic that recorded the world in real time from the perspective of the moon. Johanna was looking at it.

<Come here. Let's look at the world together.>

Abel nodded his head.

He stood facing Johanna with the Lunar Eclipse Eye between them.

<A while ago, the world trembled.>

It was a fact he was well aware of.

Although it was only for a moment, aftershocks must have occurred in various places, and the temperature of the seawater must have dropped. It must be because the World God had become active. The appearance of a boy who looked like he would break was just an avatar of the World God, and his main body was the whole world. The moment the avatar, which had been in a long sleep, moved, the main body must have also stirred.

<Has the World God moved?>

“Yes.”

Abel answered without hesitation.

<Surprising.>

The World God ‘Epezeria’ was known as a dead god.

It was true. The World God was dead. He had become the world because he had died as a god. The god was dead, but the world was not dead. And so, the World God was moving.

<I remember the advice you gave me a long time ago. The World God and the Demon King become active at the same time, don't they?>

“As you say, Your Holiness.”

<This is a headache.>

Johanna let out a laugh.

<The Parousia Denomination, was it? I heard from the Duke of Orléans. They are tracking their movements, aren't they?>

“It will take some time.”

<I hear it's a religion organized by cardinals from a long time ago who became apostates? I'm curious. This body has been firm for a thousand years, but which era's cardinal turned their back on the Main Gods?>

It wasn't difficult to distinguish between truth and lies. Abel Argento must have been a hero once. He must have faced countless Demon Kings through his reincarnations. According to Abel, the Demon King was a disaster that occurred inevitably, and no matter how much the cause was removed, its awakening could not be stopped.

A vagrant could become the Demon King, a rabbit wandering in the fields could become the Demon King, or a stone rolling on the side of the road could become the Demon King.

“Everything that makes up the world has the potential to transform into the Demon King. The Demon King will appear in some form or another.”

Abel said with a cloudy expression.

“But there is time. My disciple will not be defeated.”

<That's a rather desperate prospect.>

Johanna shrugged her shoulders.

<You said you would become a professor at CIAR to teach the child who will become the hero. You are confident in that child's victory, but does that mean you are not confident in your own victory?>

“Depending on the situation, I must be defeated instead.”

I have gone through reincarnations with that resolve.

Abel muttered so.

<There is no need to argue with your resolve.>

In the first place, his heart was difficult to fathom.

Johanna had reigned as Pope for a long time, and she had come to find the countless mysteries of the world to be boring. Then she had encountered Abel. Through Abel, she had learned of the existence of countless worlds, and had learned about ‘The Mother God's Right Hand’ and ‘The Mother God's Left Hand’, and the Hero and the Demon King. It was a truth she had learned in the past, not even 20 years ago.

For now, just digesting it was overwhelming.

It was too sudden to even affirm Abel's inner thoughts.

<I respect you, a hero who came from another world, but…….>

“I am no longer a hero.”

<I'll take your word for it. Anyway, I…….>

Johanna waved her arm.

The Lunar Eclipse Eye began to rotate slowly.

When Johanna gestured while looking down on the shrunken world, a certain point on the Lunar Eclipse Eye was magnified.

<I cherish you more as a Sword Saint.>

The collapsed Dawn Leaf Theater.

The view of the theater, which had been cut by Abel's Aura Blade, was displayed. It was neatly severed, as if cut with a giant sword.

<So, as much as I cherish you, I must scold you. Isn't that right, Abel?>

“Your Holiness is right.”

Next, the Upanishads Museum of the Sharma family.

The ceiling of the museum, which had collapsed when Abel fell, was displayed. It seemed to be in the middle of repairs.

<The Dawn Leaf Theater was one of the empire's legacies. The Upanishads Museum was the same. The Duke of Sharma said you had already destroyed the museum's ceiling twice. Is that true?>

“……Yes. For some reason, I always fall there.”

Haa.

Johanna let out a sigh.

<Why don't you just destroy the entire capital, Abel?>

She asked in her original tone because it was so absurd.

<I read the report you sent. You destroyed the city to avoid casualties, right? You really moved busily. But I have no choice but to scold you. Because your actions have drawn the attention of the subjects.>

Johanna was right.

Abel had acted too publicly. And so, the subjects were paying attention to Abel. He had destroyed the warships that had adorned the skies of the capital, he had also destroyed the Dawn Leaf Theater, and he had even destroyed the Upanishads Museum. There would be no one in the capital who did not know of such an Abel.

<Why, did you want to gain fame?>

“No. It was just because time was short.”

<I know. I was just asking. But I'm a little curious. You haven't forgotten that you are a Sword Saint, have you?>

“I have not forgotten.”

<I won't ask you about what happened in the Saint-Pierre estate. The cardinals must have scolded you on my behalf. There are plenty of other reasons to punish you.>

Above all, she said.

Johanna whispered, moving the Lunar Eclipse Eye.

<You, more than anyone, must want to be punished.>

“……I will not deny it.”

Although he was just hardening his expression silently, Abel must be feeling self-reproach. It wasn't because he had abandoned his duties as a Sword Saint. It must be because he was sad about losing a disciple. That was what Johanna guessed.

Abel Argento must have been a gentle man. That was what Johanna thought. The past of a hero who had lived for over a thousand years could only be understood by the Pope who had reigned for about a thousand years.

<My child, I don't like you blaming yourself.>

Johanna pointed to a certain point on the Lunar Eclipse Eye.

And so, it was displayed. The scenery of a remote fishing village.

<I won't let you punish yourself.>

I'll be the bad guy for you now.

I'll give you a punishment. On your behalf.

Johanna whispered so.

<Do you know where this is, Abel?>

“It's Portsmouth.”

<You know well. It's a very small town.>

“I have memorized all the place names in the empire.”

Portsmouth was a small port town.

It was once a prosperous fishing village, but it had declined at some point.

The town's population was only about 400. Economic activities through fishing were being carried out, but the results were not good. It was because monsters had formed a group in the sea decades ago, and because of that, the ecosystem had been destroyed.

“If this continues, the town will disappear.”

Abel said, observing the view of Portsmouth.

Most of the town's buildings were abandoned houses, and there were many signs of monster attacks. The latest_epɪ_sodes are on_the NoveI-Fire.ɴet

“For an attack on a fishing village, the monsters' momentum is strong. Soon, the residents will be massacred.”

<It's gotten worse recently. It seems a monster with a self has been born. According to intelligence, traces of apostates have also been captured. It might be related to the Parousia Denomination.>

Abel's gaze narrowed.

Monsters usually do not have a self. They move according to their killing instinct, not by thinking for themselves. Monsters with a self were rare and at the same time, had great power.

And so, they were named intelligent species.

They were distinguished from other monsters.

<You will be leaving for that place. With your disciples.>

“What do you mean by that?”

<I told you, Abel. I'll punish you on your behalf. At CIAR, as part of the final evaluation, each class carries out relief activities, don't they? I heard they subjugate monsters that appear in remote places. Because there will be a limit to operating the empire's forces.>

It's a good course of study.

It's public and at the same time private.

Johanna muttered so.

<That place just happened to send a request for aid to CIAR. So I sent a letter to the vice president. I said it would be better to dispatch you and your disciples.>

As the Sword Saint of the Margin, Abel, and as Professor Argento of CIAR,

you will have to subjugate the intelligent species, and you will have to protect and teach the children at the same time.

Can you do it well? You must know well that the positions of Sword Saint and professor are difficult to reconcile.

Isn't that right, Abel?

<This is my punishment. Take it gladly.>

While struggling between the two responsibilities that make you up,

after being in pain and in pain,

<I hope you will overcome it.>

A moment of silence.

The intelligent species was a dangerous opponent.

It was no problem for Abel to face it alone, but the story changed if he took the children with him. But because Abel had become a professor, he no longer had the time to move alone, and as a Sword Saint, he was worried not only about others going to Portsmouth, but also about the lives of the people living in Portsmouth. The difficult-to-reconcile responsibilities were chaotically intertwined and were pressing down on Abel.

“I will accept it.”

But he didn't mind.

Abel firmly trusted his students.

Monika, Demian, Ernst, and Roberta were all children with special talents.

Fleur was no different. They were all children who held the power to save some part of this world.

“My disciples will not falter.”

Abel bowed his head lightly.

“I want to support such disciples.”

It was time to return to CIAR.

The moment he was about to turn his back on Johanna and take a step,

<──Oh, and get married too!>

Johanna's cheerful shout echoed.

Abel's movement stopped. He froze, standing on the tips of his toes.

<I forgot? You became a professor at CIAR to earn money for your marriage. It's the cover identity I made for you. So wouldn't it be natural for you to get married soon?>

A month should be enough, right?

This is also my punishment.

It must be really, really painful. Take it gladly.

To Johanna's whisper, Abel,

“……This is a bit much.”

muttered with his eyes wide open.