A Betrayed Master Will Not Return

28 – Regret Gift from the Master (5)

The document held in her hands.

As Fiona read the contents over and over again, she started showing the most dynamic reactions she had throughout the past week.

“This… Is this… Is this really true? Is it really the Master?”

“Yes, Insymus, you know? It’s one of the cities where our Northern Devil Hunters failed in their mission.”

“Uh… yeah… I know…”

A place where all the deployed Devil Hunters were annihilated,

A turning point that gravely shifted the public opinion in the central region.

After that incident, the small nobles and the people began to entrust work to the central Devil Hunters,

And the decrease in workload and the continuous failures became the decisive factor that drove Fiona and Sharlote out of their squad leader roles.

“The bishop of that place made a testimonial. A central Devil Hunter with outstanding skills appeared there and, along with the Devil Hunters under his command, wiped out the demons that were planning to attack the place. And that Devil Hunter’s name is…”

“Gelard… Mura…”

With a trembling voice, she read the name written on the document—Fiora.

At that moment, she felt a swell of emotion rising from the depths of her heart, and she began to cry.

“Sob…sob sob… huhu…”

It was news of her master’s survival. She had thought him dead for over three years and several months.

Of course, she needed to verify whether this news was indeed true.

But the mere possibility that he could be alive…

That she might have the chance to bow before him and ask forgiveness.

Within Fiora, that possibility rekindled the dying embers of her will to live.

“Let’s go.”

“Eh? But… Fiora, shouldn’t we first confirm—”

“Confirm or not, we’ll know once we go there, won’t we? Didn’t they say he’s with the central Devil Hunters? Then the place is obvious!”

“Well… that is true.”

The Devil Hunters of the Central region had made Lime City, situated at the border between the North and Central territories, their stronghold.

Believing that she could obtain some information if she went there,

Fiora, as if the helplessness she felt moments ago was a lie, rose from her seat and began to dress.

‘I can do this! I can apologize! I can ask for forgiveness, face to face! Just wait a little longer… Master. No… Father!”

Gellert sat in his seat, facing forward. He looked at the disciples who had collapsed in front of him and spoke in a quiet voice.

“Good. It seems like this is enough.”

“…hahahaha…hahahahaha…”

“Man…se…”

“Hoeeeng…”

Three people expressing joy in dying voices.

After declaring the end of the three-week training like that,

Gellert slowly stood up from his seat.

“Hmm…”

A small groan escaped his lips.

Due to the pain in his arm and leg, his movements were somewhat unnatural,

But even so, he left the training ground with an expressionless face.

*

“How are your injuries?”

“No problem. It wasn’t a deep wound, and I’ve healed it with healing magic, so there’s no need to worry anymore.”

A question from Elli, who was sitting in front of the desk.

In response to that, I answered calmly.

Although I said it like that, honestly, if the last injury had been in the past, it would have caused quite unbearable pain.

Thanks to the numbness this body developed from the past three years of life and suffering, it could hide any signs, but it was definitely not a minor wound.

However, in other words, it meant that the skills of those three people had improved to that extent. Apart from the suffering, I was able to feel a sense of relief and accomplishment in successfully completing their education as their teacher.

At that moment, while looking at me like that, Ellie said with a calm smile,

“Fortunately, regardless of what happened, since the training ended safely, I would like to entrust you with another mission. Would that be alright?”

“Of course.”

Since there was also a need to confirm the results of the training, I willingly agreed to Ellie’s words,

And without removing her smile, Ellie reached out and handed me a piece of paper.

“This is the new assignment that came in. Please have a look.”

“Hmm…”

The contents of the assignment were fairly densely written.

As I reviewed the contents, I began to feel a slightly different feeling from the previous assignments.

“Well… considering the flow, the final boss will appear soon, but… I never expected that it would lead me here…”

In the first part of the story, the protagonist faced two types of enemies.

One was the demon.

The other was the Devil Hunter who was in an antagonistic position.

However, if you delve deeper into the game, you can discover that when entering the so-called hidden stages.

There are other enemies that exist apart from these two types of enemies.

Enemies that are different from Devil Hunters or demons.

The requested task area written on the paper referred to the location that serves as the background for the ‘hidden stage’.

I thought that I needed to go to Calle at least once, but I didn’t expect to go like this…

With that thought, I slowly packed my documents and

Then Elly spoke to me with a calm voice.

“To be honest, I wanted to give you some rest for a while. You have done so much for us, and even though I interrupted your mission this time, it was for the sake of training. However… the situation is so urgent that we had no choice.”

“Well, it’s okay. Things don’t always go the way we want them to.”

Certainly, as the tension between me and the 3rd Department increased, the number of requests sent to the central Devil Hunters in the northern region increased dramatically.

As a result, even now, except for us, the 2nd and 4th Departments have been dispatched from the central area to here to carry out missions.

From that perspective, it was true that I had made a big impact, but at the same time, I didn’t have any immediate free time.

Especially if the nature of what is happening in Calle is similar to the first one, it was even more so.

“I apologize for ending up having to handle things this way. After this mission is over, I will make sure you can take a proper rest.”

“Now that you say so… thank you.”

Elly, expressing an apology,

I looked at her beautiful face and responded with a light smile.

Strictly speaking, even though she is in a superior position to me, she has always thought about my situation.

In that regard, I felt a liking for her once again,

Suddenly, I felt the urge to take action according to these emotions.

“Come to think of it… I don’t really need to worry about being rejected, do I? I’ve been so clear in showing my gestures until now…”

Even as a rookie who has only learned about relationships through games, I couldn’t help but notice her signs of liking me.

With that, I felt a different kind of tension than before.

I opened my mouth while looking straight at Ellie’s face.

“In that regard, Ellie Hellat, I have one request for you.”

“What is it, Gellard?”

Ellie asked with a voice filled with slight doubt.

Feeling grateful for her response, which was influenced by her actions,

I maintained a composed attitude and spoke to her in a serious tone.

“After this is over… Can you spend some time with me?”

“…”

A date proposal that flowed out so naturally, it would surprise even me, regardless of my pounding heart.

Upon hearing this, Ellie looked at my face with wide eyes for a moment…

But soon, a smile, just like usual, formed around her lips once again.

And then,

While looking directly at my face,

she spoke with a voice that was anything but beautiful.

“Yes, gladly.”

*

A carriage left the mansion, carrying members of Division 3 Devil Hunters.

Watching them leave without any leisure right after strenuous training,

Ellie stood by the window, maintaining her usual smile.

A calm and undisturbed smile, without a hint of wavering.

In that state.

Quietly,

Without giving a glance to the people standing behind her, she spoke.

“Please, have a seat over there and make yourself comfortable.”

“I… Excuse me.”

Following Ellie’s words, the two people glanced around before sitting on the chairs.

Next, Ellie,

After confirming that the carriage had completely disappeared from sight,

Slowly turned around and started to look at their faces.

“Nice to meet you, Ellie Helat. My name is Maximeira Robes Fiona.”

“My name is Charlotte Orde La.”

“I’ve heard your names a few times, so, why did the Devil Hunters, who were representing the North, come here?”

The two people introduced themselves with tense voices.

Upon this, Ellie asked a question with a voice that seemed both gentle and subtly pressuring…

Regarding this, she…

Fiona answered with a voice containing tension and anticipation.

“We… came here to find someone. Our master… Gellert Müra.”

“…”

“Umm… Is he here at the moment? If so, even for just a moment, it would be greatly appreciated. Please… Please let us meet him.”

Continuing, she responded with a quiet smile at the edge of her lips.

“I’m sorry, but no.”