“Now, now, Miss Jill,” he said. “I think espionage is fine. Why don’t you turn it the other way around and consider it a trial period to see if we’re suited for stuff like this? Plus, we even get some money! Isn’t that great?”
“B-But… You guys might get killed, worst case!” Jill cried.
“Nah, we’re fine. We’re amazing at running!” One of them dared to wink at her!
“And we can use Lutiya and your name! He’s the emperor’s younger brother, and you’re the Dragon Consort!” another student said.
“When Class President Noyn gets strong and rich, let’s have him take care of us,” a third chimed in.
The other students laughed along when Roger clapped his hands together.
“All right, enough yammering,” he said. “Do you have any reports? What happened?”
“Canis has ordered us to leave this place,” a student replied.
There was a chance that Jill would escape with Faris and bring the military down on them. Canis was quick at decision-making.
“The cult members were divided into groups and given teleportation devices to flee to different spots,” a student reported. “Canis already left, but we don’t know where he went. He seems to have headed to Lehrsatz, but that could just be a bluff or feint.”
“In any case, we’ve got no reason to stay here,” Roger said. “And why is it bad if Miss Jill returns to Lehrsatz?”
Oh yeah, they did say something like that. When Jill turned to the students, they quickly fell silent and froze.
“What? Am I not allowed to head there?” she asked.
In fact, Jill should’ve headed to Lehrsatz as soon as she could. Her students exchanged a glance as they nudged each other, asking one of them to speak up in their stead. Jill cast an unamused look at them.
“Didn’t I tell you to report in a clear voice and make it easy to understand?” she egged.
“R-Right, yes ma’am, but our superior right now is Mr. Brooder…” a student said. “Right?”
“Is it about His Majesty?” Jill asked.
There was no answer, and that was telling enough. Her eyes flashed as her students hastily scurried about.
“U-Uh, Miss Jill, are you hungry?” one asked.
“It’s almost time for lunch!” another said.
“What did His Majesty do this time?” Jill asked. “Answer me. Or else…” She cracked her knuckles menacingly, and the students huddled together to form one lump as they trembled.
“I-I’ll report!” a student cried. “His Majesty headed to Lehrsatz, the city of trade! That’s all!”
“Did I not educate you all well enough?” Jill asked. “Did you think that that measly report could fool me?”
“Mr. Brooder! Help!” a student cried.
“I employ a laissez-faire attitude. I’ll just melt into the background,” Roger replied.
“You useless assistant instructor!”
Jill slammed her foot on the chair she’d been sitting on, silencing the room. She quietly stared at her students and slowly opened her mouth.
“Your report? Continue,” she rumbled.
“I, uh, heard that an empress candidate left as well!” a student replied. The unfortunate student who was forced to speak desperately tried to inch back. “H-Her name is Millay! The emperor ordered her to take control of the meeting in your stead!”
“Sh-She’s still just a candidate,” another hastily added. “It hasn’t been set in stone! Please don’t kill us!”
“The Gold Dragon students said that the emperor must have some sort of plan in mind!” another chimed in.
“But it was highly publicized,” another said. “And Millay’s really cute, strong, smart, and has an amazing reputation. I mean…the chance is there, right? At the end of the day, His Majesty’s just a simple man.”
“I-I sort of see the appeal for meeker people, but uh…” A student stopped themself. “Uh, I-I’m just kidding!”
“Y-Yeah, we’re on your side, Miss Jill!” another kid said. “If you’re going to fight His Majesty, um, we’ll sit on the sidelines and watch. We don’t want to get in your way!”
“I see now,” Jill said quietly, silencing the frantic students.
I must be smiling right now. She felt oddly refreshed by it all.
“His Majesty really is impressive,” she said. “He didn’t use me as bait, nor did he rush by himself into enemy territory. He didn’t even change jobs, so he hasn’t broken any of our rules. Which means he isn’t cheating on me. I trust him.”
She moved her foot away and grabbed the backrest of her chair, but she couldn’t control her strength and crushed it into pieces.
“Oh, I trust him all right,” Jill growled. “I trust that he’s confident that he won’t get killed by me!”
“Wow, what a trusting married couple you two are. It’s wholesome,” Roger quipped.
“Mr. Brooder, come back to reality!” a student cried. “Isn’t His Majesty your younger brother?!”
“Now, I’ve got a goal in mind,” Jill said.
Because her chair had turned into smithereens, she sat atop the table, crossed her legs, and glanced at her students.
“First, we’ve got the queen,” she said. “We’ll send her back to Lehrsatz, allowing us to deny any requests to search for the queen. They won’t be able to mobilize their military in the Rave Empire under the guise of a search.”
“M-Miss Jill?” a student called out gingerly.
“And we’ll destroy this place.”
The students gulped nervously.
“Espionage…” Roger said sadly, but Jill ignored him.
“Next, we’ll destroy their bases,” she continued. “If they’re all going to different bases via their teleportation device, there’s a good chance that the Calvariae bases are connected to these devices. We’ll chase them as far as we can and destroy every base they’ve got.”
“Are you gonna keep searching until you find the Sacred Spear?” Roger asked. “That’ll take too much time.”
“I’ve got that covered. If the queen returns, Kratos will inevitably search for the Sacred Spear. The Arks will panic and might take action. The meeting might start. Besides, since I’ve got an excellent representative of my own, if I rush back, I might only be a nuisance for His Majesty. Don’t you agree?”
She smiled as everyone backed away, stifling their shrieks.
“As a Dragon Consort, I’ll just do my job,” she said.
“Uh, so, you’re gonna fight the Order of the Ark?” Roger asked. “It might be a way to threaten our enemies, but have you got any future prospects or plans?”
“Fight? Threaten? Do you hear yourself? I’m not gonna go easy on them.”
Who do you think I am?
“I’ll eradicate everything they’ve ever built and yank them out by their roots,” Jill declared.
No one could voice their dissent. Some had mentioned that she was taking her anger out on others, but she ignored her students’ murmurs.