I Stayed Loyal When My Teacher Was Betrayed

50 – Ramen with You 4

Bernier showed a cold smile.

Upon seeing this, I felt a sense of bewilderment and immediately raised my guard.

“You… Surely, you’re not planning another dirty trick!”

In this situation, Rosetta had no reason to say meaningless words.

If that’s the case, the person here, Bernie, is actually the demon lord, Lorquina, disguised as before.

As I made that judgment, I immediately gathered my magical power and entered a combat stance.

But…

“Calm down, Edmund.”

“Yes?”

At that moment, Rosetta suddenly stood in my way.

I couldn’t understand her reaction, but for now, I had no choice but to step back according to her command.

And then, Lorquina, who appeared as Bernie, smiled meaningfully and looked at Rosetta, saying,

“I wondered if I would be discovered, but did you really think you could catch me… when exactly did you start to suspect, teacher?”

“If we must talk about it, it would be three days ago when you became my disciple. The first time you used magic in front of me. In that moment, I caught a glimpse of your progress.”

“!”

As I realized what that meant, my face became stiff with shock.

That means she is not Bernie but actually the demon lord, Lorquina.

However, I had no chance to say anything about it.

Rosetta continued without pause.

“Oh… but why have you left me alone until now? You must be aware of the danger of keeping the demon lord as your disciple.”

“Not particularly. On the contrary, it was more convenient for me to keep you by my side. As long as you are close to us, it means at least you don’t have any intention of acting actively.”

“Haha… indeed… I didn’t know you were thinking that far.”

“And above all, no matter what, since you are my disciple, I won’t abandon you even if you are not a demon but a devil. It’s a principle that once someone becomes my disciple, even if they are not a demon, I never let them go.”

“!”

Lorquina showed a slightly bewildered expression upon hearing those words.

But soon, she erased that expression and regained her calm smile as she spoke again.

“Haha… you’re really stubborn about unnecessary matters, aren’t you? So, what do you plan to do with me from now on? Does uncovering my true identity mean you want to start a fight?”

“I told you, I want to negotiate with you. As the demon lord, you… or rather, the mighty force known as the demons.”

“Do you think I will listen to that? The demon lord like me and an insignificant human…”

Of course, at least from what I know, you are not foolish enough to reject this proposal.”

“…”

“That word struck Lorquiene’s heart unexpectedly, and she momentarily closed her mouth.

And towards her, Rosetta continued to speak with a calm smile.

“Don’t you also know? The fact that any more fighting will only bring harm to each other. With the balance of power somewhat equal, if we fight until one side disappears, the surviving side won’t be in a normal state either. You knew that too, which is why you went so far as to try to get information through this kind of reckless act.”

“…ugh…”

As if that was the correct answer, Lorquiene couldn’t easily refute it.

I also knew very well that the current tense situation on both sides, as Rosetta said, was not good for anyone.

Full-scale battles and simple local frictions were too burdensome from the start.

Even the adventurer guild alone was already staggering under excessive workload,

And Maratap, which had been hit before, was also slowing down its recovery work while unable to delay its vigilance against the enemy.

This phenomenon was also true for the nations of the free races who suffered immense manpower losses due to the past war.

That doesn’t mean the situation for the demons was perfect either.

One of the three Great Demon Kings, Ordin’s death still left a significant void in their power.

His underlings lost control and rampaged in various places, and

above all, they lost their strategic advantage over the free races because of that.

This situation has accumulated damage to them in previous wars.

Even if they had a force one step above, trying a full-scale battle against an opponent with a comparable power would be a clearly reckless gamble.

“Of course, if you are willing to bear that risk and choose war, then there is nothing we can do. But … at least to me, you don’t seem to have such thoughts right now. What do you think?”

Lorquiene remained silent for a moment at Rosetta’s question.

And…

“Hahaha.”

She began to make a small laugh after the silence ended.

“Anyway… I felt it from the first time we met, but… it’s definitely not ordinary. Can I really qualify to be the fake demon Lorquiene’s teacher?”

“I’ve never had a fake teacher. I always taught you magic with sincerity, and you have learned it to the best of your abilities. We just had secrets between us. I don’t deny that relationship itself.”

“Well… is that so? Anyway… it’s good. Indeed… the condition that we need to sit at the negotiating table seems to be fulfilled for now. Then…”

With those words, Lorquiene literally sat down.

While watching her, the teacher put a slight smile on her lips.

“Shall we start? That negotiation, I mean.”

“Yes. But before that… isn’t there something else that needs to be taken care of?”

“What?”

Rosetta looked at me with those words.

Then Lorkine also looked at my face…

“Ah…”

She started to show a completely different complex expression than before.

*

“…”

“…”

Rosetta stepped away for a moment.

Lorkine and I, the only two left, remained silent for a while.

My heart was incredibly complicated at this moment.

The fact that the person I had always thought of as a colleague or weak younger sibling was actually the final boss, the demon king.

It was surprising and even made me feel betrayed.

Especially considering that she had always shown me her favor.

All of it was a deception and a lie towards me, which made me feel quite uncomfortable.

At that moment, feeling so bitter inside,

Lorkine, who had been silent the whole time, spoke first.

“…I’m sorry.”

Surprisingly, the first thing that came out of her mouth was an apology.

However,

Even that felt like a disgusting lie to me right now.

“Apology? What are you sorry for? After all, you’ve achieved your goal. You’ve deceived me, all of us, and completed your task as the demon king. Why are you apologizing to me? Are you trying to deceive me again now that we’re here?”

“That…that’s not it…”

“I…believed in you.”

“!”

Lorkine temporarily closed her mouth at my words.

I gave voice to what I had in my mind without any filter in this moment.

“I thought of you as a younger sister. That’s why I wanted to protect you. But it was all my mistake. I was just a foolish demon who played into the hands of the mighty demon king…”

“That’s…not true!”

In that moment, Lorkine suddenly raised her voice.

I couldn’t help but feel a slight confusion at the stronger reaction than I had expected,

Looking at me like that, she spoke with a voice that seemed sincerely filled…

Simultaneously, with a voice that seemed to contain sincerity.

“Yes… It’s true that I deceived you. Ha… However… However…”

Lorkine began to blush deeply just like that,

Showing her usual self in front of Bernie, she bowed her head and confessed to me as if making a confession.

“I… understand… I also… enjoyed that time. Even… even if it was built on falsehood… I was sincerely happy during that time… More than living as a demon king, more than the time spent with my master… more than anything for me…”

“…To say such things now. Are you trying to deceive me again? What kind of trickery is this… Whoop!”

In that moment.

A sudden, intense sensation.

I was momentarily captivated by a thrilling sensation spreading from the corners of her lips, making me feel dazed.

And…

“…”

Lorkine released her lips, expressing embarrassment.

Seeing her unable to meet my gaze and blushing like a girl,

I couldn’t help but think it would be difficult to see it all as an act.

“I-if you want… I can do even more than this… If… if it’s to prove my feelings… anything…”

“…”

Her words felt sincere.

In response, I maintained silence for a while.

Instead of the demon king I had seen before, I looked at her, embodying the shyness of a woman.