Chapter 190: Youth (1)
“High Priest! Stay well! This favor is something I will absolutely… repay!”
“High Priest! Thank you again and again!”
My last day at the academy. The teachers were lined up in a long procession before the academy's main gate. The trunk of the carriage I was in was filled with various gifts, including school uniforms. With a satisfied expression, I stroked the ring and the school uniform, then looked back at the teachers. Some of them were shedding tears, while others desperately clung to my hand, unwilling to let go.
Over the past week, after touring the graduate school and meeting with the professors, I returned five professors to their youth, and seven professors agreed to my ‘persuasion’ and allowed the teachers to graduate. As a result, the people here now were not slaves. They were proud teachers of the academy, and each one a doctor.
They were intellectuals, and at the same time, humans who were prepared to teach the children of nobles a love for beastfolk and mermaids for my sake.
“Everyone. It has been a pleasure. Our love is stronger than hatred. Beastfolk and mermaids have the right to live. Please, remember this.”
“We will take it to heart! High Priest! Following your will! We will ensure the young masters are reborn as people who love beastfolk and mermaids!”
With a thunderous shout, the time for parting arrived. The school bell had begun to ring. They hesitated as they turned back, their expressions clearly regretful that they couldn't hold onto me. I waved and got into the carriage. The path I was leaving was filled with satisfaction and love. The coachman made a joke.
“My Lord, what on earth did you do to make those notoriously strict teachers from the academy act like that?”