“Then I will prepare your travel to the Llinger Kingdom.”
“What?!”
I’d never even asked for that kind of treatment.
What is going on?!
“I’m really happy for the offer,” I said, “but are you sure?”
“It’ll take you a whole week on foot, no? Let me help you get there safely.”
My idea was to ask a traveling merchant if I could tag along with them on the way to Llinger Kingdom, but there certainly wasn’t any harm in taking a more secure route.
“But is it really okay to give such special treatment to a student?” I asked.
“I don’t expect that to be an issue,” replied the headmistress. “Once I approve of your request to leave the school, our relationship will no longer be that of headmistress and student. We’ll simply be friends, so there’s no problem.”
I felt like she was really straining the logic of what she was saying, but I could at least follow her basic reasoning. It was impressive stuff.
“You’ll have to deal with Rose when you join the rescue team, so give it your best,” said Gladys brightly.
“You mean Usato’s teacher?”
“Yes. She’s the captain of the rescue team. She taught Usato when he started out. She’s the strongest healer we’ve ever known.”
“The strongest healer ever . . .”
“Perhaps a slight overstatement, but it is true to say that nobody has ever surpassed her physical abilities. I’ve never seen anyone who beats her as a healer . . . well, not yet.”
When I thought of how crazy Usato was, it made all the sense in the world that his teacher was just as ridiculously strong. But the headmistress must have seen all kinds of magic in her lifetime, so if she could say that about Rose, then just how powerful was Rose?
“I heard from Usato that she carried the aura of a wild carnivorous beast,” I said.
“And he’s not wrong. There’s always a terrifying aura surrounding her.”
Gladys cringed for a moment as if thinking back to the past, but then she turned a serious gaze onto me.
“I’m sure you’re already well aware, but the rescue team training is no ordinary training,” she said. “And to be perfectly honest, until Usato came along, the idea of her even having a disciple was frankly unbelievable.”
“How so?”
“Rose’s standard for healers is ridiculously high. You see, what she’s looking for is . . .” Gladys paused for a moment before going on. “She’s trying to create a healer just like herself.”
“What?”
My thoughts seemed to freeze in my mind.
“You trained under Usato, so you’ve never actually experienced Rose’s real training. Usato, on the other hand, came here with her stamp of approval. Her training is beyond extreme, and he got through it.”
“Wow, Usato is really incredible, isn’t he?”
“He might not see it himself, but he’s Rose’s ideal rescue team member. Given his performance in the battle against the Demon Lord’s forces, he’s as strong as they come. He’s performing not just up to her expectations, he’s exceeding them.”
I had very little idea what sort of a person Rose was. I had an image of her as a total monster, one who could lift mountains—a person who had made Usato into a violent and powerful beast of his own. Now, thanks to the headmistress’s words, I was starting to believe she was even worse than that.
“There’s really no need to worry, Nack,” said Headmistress Gladys, “Rose’s intense strictness stands out the most, but she also hides a kinder, gentler side. That Usato respects her and follows her as one of her subjects is proof of that.”
“Oh, uh . . . is that . . . so?”
I couldn’t help thinking it unwise to put my faith in an invisible kindness. Gladys took little notice of my awkward expression as she went on.
“Rose treats everybody the same, no matter who they are.”
“Should I assume that means she’s equally strict on everyone?”
Gladys went silent.
Oh come on, this is where you’re supposed to reassure me, no? Now I’m just going to head into this next part of my journey worried sick.
“Nack,” said the headmistress, “Rose is so much more than you can even imagine. And in meeting her, you may face hardships . . . actually, no. You will face hardships. There’s no doubting that.”
“So you’re guaranteeing it? There’s no way around them?”
“I’d give up on trying to escape the suffering. Rose is the very definition of unreasonable.”
My image of Rose suddenly grew into something far worse than when I first came here. But at the same time, I wouldn’t really know anything until I actually met her for myself. That was just as true for Rose as it was for the rescue team that served under her command—all her scary-looking rescue team members and the demon girl they called the Black Knight. Then there were the two healers outside of the rescue team whom Usato had told me about.
“But even then, I’ll meet others through the experience, won’t I? And for me, the connections I make may well be unforgettable.”
Gladys giggled.
“Oh yes, I guarantee that wholeheartedly.”
“In which case, I’m going.”
There was no reason for me to stop here. No matter how much suffering I had to go through for the rescue team training, I was not about to abandon my goal. The headmistress smiled at the determination she saw in me and nodded.
“Which means there’s nothing more to be said. Tell me, when are you thinking of leaving?”
“Preferably within the week, but . . . is that possible?”
“You young people are so quick to spring into action, aren’t you? I’ll do my very best to set you up with transport by the end of the week.”
“Thank you so much!”
I leaped from my chair and bowed deeply to the headmistress. I knew that I was asking a lot from her, but I was overjoyed to know that I’d be able to leave so soon. I glanced out the window and realized that we’d been talking for quite a while—the sun was already setting. I figured now that my school departure was settled, I should take my leave of the headmistress—by the time I got to Kiriha and Kyo’s house, dinner would probably be ready.
“Well then, I’d best be going,” I said. “Thank you so much for everything.”
“Think nothing of it. I learned a lot from both you and Usato. Do your very best, Nack. I look forward to seeing how far you go.”
I laughed.
“I bet it’s not going to be easy getting there,” I said.
I bowed again. The headmistress waved goodbye as I left her office. Us students didn’t get many—if any—opportunities to talk to the headmistress one to one, but I learned through our conversation that she really did have her students’ best interests at heart.
“I can’t believe she knew I was leaving before I said anything,” I said, chuckling to myself. “I must have looked like a fool.”
I walked the school’s corridors as the sun continued to set. Lots of students were heading home now that all the classes for the day were over.
“This might be the last time I ever see this place,” I muttered to myself.
I didn’t have a single fond memory of the Luqvist School of Magic—it was all just me getting bullied by Mina and me being down and out about my healing magic. Still, for everything that had happened, I had nonetheless spent two years of my life here. For me, this was now a starting point—it was where my life truly began. And when I thought of it that way, I felt a little reluctant to leave, even though the place had meant so little to me.
Just then, a girl who was about to walk by me spotted something behind me and shrieked before running away.
“Hm?” I murmured.
Was that because of me?
I couldn’t help but feel a little surprised by the girl’s reaction. I then realized that she’d been looking behind me. I breathed a sigh of relief and turned around only to find myself once again surprised.
“Wha?!”
All the students that had been walking behind me were pressed up against the walls, their faces pale as they panicked to clear the corridor for a single student to walk by unimpeded. He had gray hair and a brimming smile, and when he noticed me, he casually waved.
“Why hello there, Nack,” he said.
“H-Halpha . . .?” I stammered.