I Possessed the Heroine’s Teacher

Traitors, they are the ones with the biggest organizations in history. In any world, in any era, they have always betrayed people. I’m talking about Judas Iscariot, Brutus, Mordred, Hilda, and that bastard Yi Wan-yong. But I didn’t want to believe that Ricardo was part of such a traitorous organization.

But something was clearly amiss. Why would Ricardo do this? There’s no one who loves his comrades and justice more than him. Moreover, he considers it his duty to be loyal to the royal family, and if the Emperor ordered him to take his own life, he would do so without hesitation.

However, traitors are always unexpected. But you can’t take a life without evidence. First, you need to subdue them and listen to their story. If you use magic, you might seriously injure them, so that’s out of the question. That leaves only subduing them with martial arts without killing them. I’m not very good at that, but I have no choice.

I quietly approached Ricardo with silent footsteps. I took one step at a time, and then pounced on him from behind. Now, if I tighten my grip on his neck and hold a knife to him, and then ask him why he’s here…

I was about to ask the question when suddenly everything turned upside down. What the fuck? If it weren’t for my instinctive fall, my neck would have broken and I would have died.

“What the hell? It’s Werner.”

Ricardo seemed curious as to why I was there. If he were a traitor, he would have clicked his tongue and tried to kill me. So, is Ricardo not a traitor? Then what the hell do I say to excuse attacking him from behind? Now I remember the wise words of an ancient sage: when it’s clearly your fault, just pretend it didn’t happen.

“Oh, it’s you, brother? I thought it was those bastards from the Black Round Table.”

“I attacked from behind too, so I thought you were their lackey and fought back. Your martial arts skills have really improved. If it were the old you, you might have died.”

Werner only knows the basics of punching and tries to imitate the techniques of the Celestial Mage. He’s crap at the real basics like falling safely and joint locks. Even if he had learned some skills, he would have lost to that throw just now. It was a throw so fast that it didn’t give him time to fall safely. I’ve never seen a throw like that, not even when I killed those judo athletes.

“You’re really suspicious, like you’re a different person.”

“Haha, what’s so suspicious?”

“The Werner I knew hated physical labor and would run away using magic whenever I tried to teach him martial arts.”

That lazy bastard… Because of his laziness, Ricardo is now suspecting my identity. Of the seven deadly sins, sloth is said to be the heaviest, and Werner committed it. When his older brothers tried to teach him how to fight, he should have accepted it gratefully. Why did he run away and make things complicated? Why did he only learn the basics…

“Werner, you…”

I have no choice but to kill him if he knows my identity. If all the witnesses are dead, it’s an assassination. If everyone who knows is dead, it’s a secret. If everyone who has figured it out is dead, the secret is kept.

I tried to pierce Ricardo’s neck with my thumb, but…

“You’ve worked really hard, haha.”

“What?”

Is Ricardo really a dumbass? Even Melchior calls him a dumbass. I didn’t pay much attention to what that dumbass Melchior said. But now I see that even he is a dumbass compared to Melchior.

“That movement, only someone who has diligently trained and honed their skills could make. You must have worked really hard to improve your skills so much.”

“Yeah… yeah, I worked hard on my own.”

It’s not that I worked hard on my own. I’m the only one who survived the training. More than ‘working hard,’ it’s more accurate to say I ‘had to learn desperately.’

“You’re gifted in both magic and martial arts, Werner. God has given you two gifts. What a blessing.”

“It’s not a gift. How did you get here, brother?”

“I was also investigating the Black Round Table. I heard a report that someone with a peculiar tattoo had entered the sewers.”

“Oh, really? I saw a kid who stole my wallet being dragged here…”

“Haha! That kid has some guts. He reminds me of you when you were young. He’s just like you when you dropped lightning on the Celestial Mage.”

That’s why the Celestial Mage gave Werner ‘education’ in the form of hellish training.

“I’d like to see such a bold kid. He has the qualities of a knight.”

“You can’t see him anymore.”

No matter what you do, the dead don’t come back. When I was young, I resented the cold, undeniable truth. I desperately prayed for someone to tell me that truth was wrong. But despite the long history, the truth remained: the dead don’t return.

“… I see.”

“There’s a room here where the children are being held. I’ve set up a magical barrier and had the spirits guard it…”

The scene that came to mind made me feel uneasy. I could let go of the children’s deaths, as people always die. But every time I saw their deaths… I kept remembering how they died. There may be no difference between life and death, but to me, there was. I didn’t like the way they died, but more than that, I hated remembering how that kid died.

“Yeah. Let’s beat up the leaders hiding here and rescue the children. It’ll be the coolest thing ever.”

“Yeah, let’s do it, brother.”

Two great heroes stepped forward, fearless. In mobile game terms, it’s like having an SSR shield-user and an SSR caster in your party. Usually, mobile games have a party of three, so one less member could be considered a handicap play.

“By the way, brother, what’s your weapon?”

Ricardo, who always wore a spear, shield, and armor, surprisingly wore casual clothes and fought bare-handed, as if he had changed jobs.

“You mean this?”

Ricardo chuckled and clapped his hands. Suddenly, he glowed, and in an instant, he was wearing silver armor, holding a splendid shield and a sturdy spear.

“Now it’s fine, right? Let’s go.”

What the hell, is he some kind of magical girl or something? Some kind of transformation where he hits with his shield and cuts off heads with his spear? The magical knight Ricardo! Something like that?

Anyway, the magical knight… no, the knight commander Ricardo and the SSR-level human caster Werner go. Who will greet us first? A wyvern? A horse with a human head? Or a centaur with a human torso? Or a blonde magician with four guts? Who could it be?

As we opened the door in front of us, we were greeted by a massive slash. Isn’t that a bit too much for a welcoming gesture? This is why I hate sword-wielding guys…

If it weren’t for Ricardo’s shield, I might’ve died. Indeed, an SSR-level shield-user, his performance is outstanding. But Ricardo seemed to struggle with the slash, his shield-holding hand slightly trembling. Who the hell could have slashed Ricardo so hard? I needed to confirm their identity.

However, trying to figure out their identity was meaningless. The one who slashed was wearing a robe, hiding their features. The only distinguishing features were their slender build for a swordsman and the black sword they held. But with just that, it was difficult to identify them.

“… Hmm, they seem to have some skills.”

When I heard that voice, Ricardo and I instinctively knew. That person was extremely dangerous. They were undoubtedly a member of the Black Round Table and a powerful leader among them. They were not an enemy to be fought against in a prepared state.

“I’ll return the kidnapped children. I’ve already collected the useful ones separately.”

“You bastard, how dare you say that!”

Ricardo rushed in anger, but the man disappeared without a trace. What the hell? It wasn’t an illusion… They definitely had a physical presence, but they seemed to melt into the air. It wasn’t magic that made them invisible either.

Ricardo bit his lip and said,

“Werner, it seems we need to be resolute.”

“Yeah, brother, I feel the same.”

This wasn’t a simple enemy that could be defeated with an auto-play setup in the game. It was a boss that made me doubt if I could even clear it with all my focus.

As I steeled my resolve, I heard footsteps approaching from the direction. I thought additional reinforcements had arrived, but it was just one person. But they were very strong, perhaps not as strong as the one we met earlier.

Ricardo raised his shield and aimed his spear, and I prepared to cast a spell.

And the person who appeared was…

“Werner, Ricardo, what are you two doing here?”

It was the SSR-level Saber, Camellia.