“Are you actually considering transforming into a katzune, Kazumi-san?” I said. “You will need [Beastialize] and then either invest a certain amount of SP into it or spend a large amount of time transformed to level the skill to fully gain all the benefits of being a beastman. It is a substantial investment.”
Whether you were a teacher or an adventurer, knowing when you needed to take a break was an important skill to possess. While Hestia and Tasianna have criticized me for being a workaholic, it wasn’t that I enjoyed working but rather I worked a lot for financial security. Simply because we had the money now did not mean we would in the future.
Hestia’s concerts and our party’s travel and fighting funds were my job to organize. This wasn’t so easy to get even if we could receive rank C Quests that paid well, since they were always a risk. We couldn’t sell good monster materials now that we had Grimnir and Tasianna crafting equipment and brewing potions respectively.
Thankfully, Hestia’s concerts and the merchandise we sold were an amazing return on profit and our recent deal with the Sarlenzia company solved our issues selling some of our excess goods from our garden. Hestia was gaining followers and we were earning good Davi … Yet, we needed more. I wanted more. We haven’t reached financial security until we could buy ourselves a mansion on the beach!
… However, I could worry about that later. For now, I was just trying to enjoy my break after having to fight a rank B volchark and rachonoid queen in what felt like a single day.
Five days have passed since that huge raid battle. On floor five of Cedaraille’s Emerald-Flare Forest Dungeon, my garms, my former students, and I were taking it easy. Well, I was taking it easy while everybody else was doing whatever they wanted, whether hunting or playing around.
Since we hadn’t met in nearly a year—or over a year, depending on who was counting—my former students and I were simply catching up. It felt good hanging out with other Japanese, and with me turning back to an 18-year-old in my wolfkin form, we’re practically the same age now. Well, sort of. All of them already had their birthdays in Peolynca and were 19 now. I was younger than them, both as a fenrir and wolfkin. How ironic.
I was currently speaking with Kazumi, a girl who managed to persuade her parents to adopt three cats that she wanted to take care of. Being the cat lover that she was, she was asking me for advice with the skill [Beastialize]. While it was a transformation skill like [Humanize], there was a rather notable difference: according to the description as well as Cernust, you were able to choose your preferred beastman race.
“Well, I will not stop you, but you have seen racism against beastman, right. My personal experience was rather tame compared to how brazen it was in the Lecartiglio Duchy when you described it,” I said.
Sure, there were a few villagers in Carine Village who didn’t like beastmen, those very people had a hard time accepting Hestia as a priestess when she gave her first sermon, but none of them resorted to violence, only mumblings. I guess knowing we were nobles and the ones responsible for stopping the bandits also helped.
It did remind me of Zeather’s warning, that the Lecartiglio duchy did not accept any beastman outside of Arvisian. Zeather’s sister, Quini, even received a scar when they were both slaves in the Kingdom of Atadoro, the country south of Artorias which bordered Lecartiglio.
Kazumi played with her hair, twisting it around as she considered my words. “If I remember correctly, the racism was usually directed to the full animalistic beastmen. Those who look like humanoid animals instead of humans with animal features. Human beastmen weren’t liked, but the animal beastmen had it the worst, rarely did anybody show any sympathy for the latter group.”
I sighed. “Fear of the ‘others.’ The less similar somebody is to you, the less you are willing to put yourself in their place. Also, they are thugs, they pick on anybody vulnerable. Even if they have superior physical stats, if they are not a bear or a rhinoceros, any untrained civilian will lose against a group of fighters.”
At the end of the day, that was the truth, right? That was how the world worked.
“Still, somebody has to do something, Sensei. Hestia-chan’s job in this world is to reform Goddess Aurena’s church, right? She told us that this very Goddess hadn’t summoned us, that somebody else did, but their intentions are completely foreign to us. We can’t even fully trust that the church will send us back to Earth at this rate. At the very least, I want to use this heroic status of mine for something more meaningful than being a propaganda and religious tool. ‘A katzune helping the heroes’ sounds cool.”
Kazumi wasn’t the only one who shared this worry. After what Hestia told my students, it only made me more anxious what their next choices would be.
I can’t help but feel glad the kids haven’t changed too drastically. It’s a relief. Yet, Kazumi’s answer was still what I wanted to hear. I was glad this world hadn’t changed them too much, unlike me.
In the end, she bought [Beastialize] from the SP shop and tried it out for the first time. Unlike my progression which made me less furry with every level, Kazumi only received sharper nails and canines with her [Beastialize Lv. 1]. Her disappointment was entertaining to watch, to be honest.
“I wanted some cat ears …” I could hear her mumble. She needed to level it up to level three for the skill to change her race to katzune, giving her sound-sensitive cat ears, better night vision, claws, and a tail. She still looked like a cosplayer to me.
After a while of her playing around with her new body, testing out if she became more nimble or not, the others returned from their hunt, all riding on the backs of my garms. Unlike Aurora, The Magical Biscuit was a responsible adventurer party who frequently accepted Quests and fulfilled them for money and guild points.
“We’re back,” Nishio announced as he dismounted Song.
“Riding Uno and the others has been amazing, Sensei!” Tamae proclaimed, ruffling the horse-sized, scarred garm’s fur. Despite being giant wolves, my supposedly “normal” students were acting more comfortable around them than most hunters I met inside this dungeon.
Kohaku, Kazumi’s best friend, also expressed her liking of the garms, but immediately burst into laughter when she first saw Kazumi. “Ahahahahahaha! I-I can’t believe you’re actually cosplaying as a katzune inside a dungeon, Kohaku-chan! Ehehe, when did you prepare all of them, where did you put your tail and why is it moving like th—Ooooooh.”
My former students were as lively as always.
Since they finished the Quests they took for today, we decided to have some lunch. Tamae, deciding I should rest up more, began preparations for a dish using the local knopbries as the main ingredient. Having been taught cooking by her two professional chef parents who love traveling to taste a foreign country’s cuisine and inheriting this trait from them, Tamae believed that trying out various different Peolyncian ingredients would help her step out of the shadows of her parents to become a first-rate chef who was standing on her own feet.
Well, I welcomed her offer. Honestly, it felt good to have somebody else cook for me.
Hmm, it’s been a while. Let’s check on the garms’ levels, I thought as I opened up my party bracelet and accessed a new function in it: the tamer menu.
_______________________________________________________________
Name: Uno Level: 13 Race: Shadow Garm
Health: 3841/3841 Mana: 1194/1194 Stamina: 2126/2126
_______________________________________________________________
Name: Song Level: 12 Race: Shadow Garm
Health: 3663/3663 Mana: 1309/1309 Stamina: 1964/1964
_______________________________________________________________
Name: Sarasa Level: 13 Race: Shadow Garm
Health: 4058/4058 Mana: 967/967 Stamina: 2371/2371
_______________________________________________________________
Name: Quatre Level: 9 Race: Shadow Garm
Health: 3666/3666 Mana: 1045/1045 Stamina: 2389/2389
_______________________________________________________________
The garms, minus Quatre, have been with me ever since our fight against the Alchemist guild branch master, Davison. Quatre joined us after my [Shadow Pack] leveled up, allowing me to turn him into a shadow beast after his faefolk form was injured by Davison.
Of course, their levels seemed quite low after everything we’ve done, defeating three rank Bs in the form of the High Ogre, the Volchark, and the Rachonoid Queen. However, it seemed normal to me. It was the unfortunate truth of a rank C monster without Hestia’s or my experience booster; leveling up naturally was hard, making me respect people with high levels even more.
Although the garms called me the Alpha of the pack, since I descended from Belzac the rank S fenrir, I was also the tamer in our relationship. The tamer’s collars around their neck, white and well-decorated by me to contrast their black fur, weren’t just there to inform city officials and guards that they weren’t feral monsters. They also allowed a party system similar to the party bracelets. I was able to monitor my garms’ health while also allowing experience to be shared amongst us.
I’d already experimented with these functions when I first tried it out and already set a good percentage between us. This meant the experience I gained through Aurora was sent to me and then divided amongst my garms, and vice versa—any experience my garms gained would be sent to me before being divided amongst Aurora. It was, to say the least, pretty confusing at first.
Of course, all of this could only work while I had my party bracelet on; it wouldn’t work while I was in fenrir form. It did drive my total experience gain down a bit, but my garms were also my strength. Once they evolved into rank B monsters, the amount of power Aurora would have would be massive. My training goal for them was to help them find a unique or mutation evolution like mine.
You’re so lazy, Sarasa, hehe.
Watching the garms using this downtime in whatever way they wanted really made me acknowledge these guys weren’t just mindless drones screaming “Alpha!” or “We must protect the Alpha” all the time. I honestly thought they would be that way. That was, after all, my impression of them when I first agreed to take them in.
The garms’ bodies died during the garm massacre seven or eight years ago when Davison commissioned the hunter guild to prepare an assault force against the A rank fenrir named “Grim Messenger.” That was what Farron told me. While it didn’t mean anything to me, it did seem to have affected the garms, or more specifically, the onnikai who possessed their bodies.
After talking with them a bit more, the garms admitted they had no idea of the garm’s fate when they first found them close to the edge of the Belzac forest. They were skeletons and seemed strong to the onnikai. Using Kiiro’s, their former leader, mana slime, the onnikais were able to regenerate the skeletal remains into zombies. The “lingering malice for humans,” or so they called it, made the bodies near perfect for the vengeful onnikai.
Since I wasn’t a necromancer, I couldn’t explain this malice at all, neither could the garms. They were able to feel it, similar to sensing a fellow onnikai, but they couldn’t understand it. Either way, I personally believed this might be why Ilsaphone’s plan to create a patron race sort of worked with these garms. The onnikais managed to fuse with their bodies’ memories and “become” the body’s previous owners.
Regardless of how they became the garms I had today, it was good to see them developing their personalities.
Sarasa yawned as she rested her head on my lap. I smiled as I caressed her head before turning my attention to the others.
Uno, the leader of the hunting squad, was stoic and vigilant. With a scar across his left eye, Uno seemed imposing and intimidating with how he was watching over everybody else. With everyone else resting and recuperating, Uno still had the focus to watch for ambushers or stalkers.
Song, the playful one, was currently play fighting with Quatre, blasting magic and using skills to have fun. Compared to all the other garms, she was the one most accepting of being a mount and receiving pet-like compliments. In fact, any attention she received made her happier than disgruntled.
Sarasa, the lazy fighter, was not only the biggest slacker in the pack but also the most belligerent one. If she wasn’t so loyal to Uno and me, I was sure she would just ignore everybody else and dive into fights without any hesitation. Fittingly, outside of fighting and eating, she just laid around like a cat.
Quatre, the most prideful one, was not only the youngest but the most competitive of the bunch. Knowing he was the youngest since he joined last, Quatre loved any chance to raise his skills and levels. Only problem was that he hated being a mount, although he seemed quite okay with any of the members of Aurora, aside from Grimnir, but especially with Hestia. “Alpha’s Master,” he called her.
During the Davison and High Ogre battle, I was quite annoyed by their mostly robotic responses and their insane drive to “preserve the descendant of Belzac.” While they still showed these traits once in a while, the battle with the volchark really changed my opinion of them. Able to work with strangers like Grimnir, being creative with their attack plan, not to mention, finally expressing themselves more.
“Ahh, you’re a cute one when you’re just being lazy, Sarasa,” I couldn’t help but tease her. Seeing how the kids weren’t done with lunch preparations yet, I called Uno over. I wanted to test something.
Aside from the materials we gained from the rachonoid queen, the second important spoil Hestia and I gained from the raid battle was the fact our Job skills could be bought, or at least, skills marked as “mutations.” Both [Shadow Warrior] and [Crimson-Scaled Dreadgiver] were tier two Jobs created using our unique racial skills. Specifically, [Shadow Armament] for me and [Dreadflame Dragon] for Hestia.
After finishing [Shadow Warrior], I gained the ability to buy [Penumbral Armament] from the skill shop. Only costing 1500 SP, the skill was a bargain!
With Uno sitting still before me, I cast my newly improved [Shadow Armament] on him. Shadows began to coat his body, shrouding him like a ghost. Compared to when [Penumbral Armament] was a separate skill, the shadow armor on Uno looked just like [Shadow Armament], less like armor and more like a fluid shadow.
Pulling out my dagger, I then stabbed him, only to grin when I noticed resistance. Seeing this, Song and Quatre tried to bite him in their playful mood, only to realize the [Penumbral Armament] was doing its job perfectly.
Simply put, coating my weapons in shadow armor also made their attacks stronger. [Stygian Voltage] synergized with [Shadow Armament] by being my skill’s source for dark elemental mana, turning the armament into literal electricity. The stronger my shadow coat became, the stronger my overall shadow or dark related skills became.
My first mutation purchase was a huge success. It wasn’t flashy, but it’ll help improve my base defense and overall flexibility of my shadow skills in addition to keeping my garms safer. The knowledge of mutation skills really made me crave for more, and I was aiming my sights on the Jobs created through [Stygian Voltage].
After I was done experimenting, lunch was finished. [Minced Knopbrie Bibimbap] was the name of the dish and it looked and smelled appetizing.
“A bibimbap is a Korean dish, right? A rice bowl with vegetables, meat, and egg served in a hot rock bowl. Hestia made some kimchi but she admitted not knowing how to cook a lot of Korean dishes,” I commented as I noticed how extremely hot the bowl was to hold. Not Hestia-level hot, but in general, it was too hot to comfortably hold.
“Yes, correct, Sensei.” Tamae confirmed with a smile. “There are a lot of mushrooms covering the body of a knopbrie, so I thought the meat would be dry and tough. I had to tenderize the meat for a bit but, to my surprise, it had a lot of fat, making it perfect for rice and a lot of vegetables to enjoy. I thought a bibimbap would be good to keep the meat warm and the fats sizzling. I also made some separate meat and vegetables, so this lunch party should be incredible! Please, enjoy!”
The bibimbap was a party-sized meal, large enough to feed a whole family. As our impromptu table, made from Nishio’s earth magic, was filled with dishes, it honestly felt like we were celebrating something. The garms had their own bowls of food while my former students and I all clapped our hands together.
“Itadakimasu!” All of us said before digging in.
Delicious. Tamae was still a good chef as always.
“Mhmm, the meat is amazing for such an ugly-looking monster,” Kohaku commented, munching onto everything with no reserve. “Mhmm! Now that I think about it, sitting here, eating a hot bowl of meat, vegetables, and rice together really reminds me that we haven’t done this in a while, now. Like, as a class. I-I know we’re not all super close but this has been something we’ve always done during our class trips.”
“Oh my, that is true,” Misaki agreed, placing her chopsticks down to think. “Sensei, you usually organize a large restaurant trip with a lot of food where our whole class would eat together. In the three years together, you’ve done it twice and I can imagine you would have done it again in our last class trip together. Also, you would always push for the most expensive trips. A contrast to your usually stingy nature.”
I twitched a bit when she said that, making me feel embarrassed. “Well, you know, it is not something I can enjoy every day. I have always thought of our class trips more like vacations for myself, even if I had to work with my senpais to organize and plan them. Taking care of the whole class was worth the food and location.”
“Hehe, I guess everybody’s suggestion was correct. Sorry we made fun of your financial situation, Sensei,” Tamae apologized with a wry smile. Whether she was feeling bad for me or not, I had no idea.
“Well, it isn’t a real issue with how the majority of the student body have either well-off or even wealthy parents. The class trips are designed for us students to enjoy them and build bonds together, so if we’re enjoying them, a teacher enjoying themselves isn’t something to be ashamed of,” Nishio supported me. “With how large our class trip budget has been the last two years, everybody should have voted to go outside Japan instead of choosing beach and hot spring locations. We could have enjoyed some foreign cultures! Train our English!”
Kazumi, wiggling her cat ears around, sighed in disappointment. “Oh, come on, Nishio-kun, most of us just wanted to have a good time and enjoy it with our friends. Like in an anime. If we went to the USA, Europe, or Singapore, we’d have to speak English.”
“That’s the point!” Nishio retorted loudly.
“Yeah, that’s exactly the point why nearly everybody just wanted to stay in Japan. Learning English for exams is a bore and I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of a good-looking foreigner by having to think about my sentences every time I want to speak with them. That’s annoying.”
“Hahaha!” I couldn’t help but laugh, inviting the others to laugh at Kazumi’s and Nishio’s argument.
It’s good to meet them again. We couldn’t have our last class trip, but I guess Peolynca is kind of a substitute, although a far more annoying one.
When we were almost done with the meal, Nishio suddenly raised a question I’ve been dreading having to answer. “Sensei, will you join us?”
I kept my silence, looking at him with a frown. I was gulping some dry spit as I reluctantly anticipated his next words.
“We … After hearing everything from Hestia-san, we took the time to speak with Yorshka yesterday. It seems Hestia-san entrusted her with all the information she told us, about how we weren’t summoned by the Goddess of Light and that this very Goddess is asking Hestia-san to rebuild her church. Yorshka assured us that she was still on our side, but we still can’t break away from the church’s influence without getting into a lot of trouble.”
Nishio’s statement caused everybody to start looking at each other warily. The situation was unnerving me also, seeing as I didn’t want to see them in danger.
Tamae continued for Nishio, “We need to inform Tatsuya-kun, Kyouya-kun, Asaka-san, Haruka-chan, and Daichi-san about all of this. And, while it would help if you could come, Sensei, we mostly just need somebody around us who we could trust. Lady Yorshka might say she’s allied with Hestia-chan, but we don’t know that yet. Although we do believe Hestia-chan, she can’t be sure Lady Yorshka is somebody we can trust for the long term.”
Even if they are aunt and niece? I wanted to argue, but kept that to myself.
“With all the information we’ve gained during this trip, we can’t be sure we can trust anybody outside our circles at this point, Sensei. Even if you aren’t technically ‘Segawa Saori’ anymore, you still are our sensei to us. You still have the memories we shared together, the personality we all have come to love. Sensei, we need your help.”
All five of them were watching me anxiously, waiting nervously for an answer. I … was torn. These were the students whom I have been creating memories with for the last three years of my Earth life. Although my teaching position was just something to earn money with, I still felt pride as a teacher whenever they did well on an exam. Even watching them now made my heart beat happily.
So it felt horrible to have to seriously consider their question.
“I …”
While being with my students did make me happy … On the other side, there was Aurora, people who I have barely known for more than a year. As much as I liked Hestia, Tasianna, and Ellaine, they were girls who I have known less than the people before me. I made numerous memories together with Aurora, just like I did with my students, but I couldn’t lie and say the ones I experienced with my students were lesser ones—not as important.
I mean, could you compare these sorts of things? In three years, I came to learn so much about my students. Their interests, ambitions, fears, and also all the drama they caused over the years. High school wasn’t just an experience for the students, but it was also an amazing adventure for the teachers themselves. It helped that I was quite young when I became their teacher, so we could relate to a lot of things.
Yet … in less than a year, I made memories with Hestia and Tasianna that were extremely precious to me. We laughed and celebrated over victories, having fun through the days and nights. Moments of sadness where we cried and allowed each other to be weak in front of each other, knowing we would allow each other to cry on their shoulders.
I learned about Hestia’s insecurities as an idol, about her weakness to overcome her past, her fear of hurting us and sacrificing her own happiness for others. I learned about Tasianna’s personality-changing trauma, her reluctance to embrace the bloody goals she thought she wanted, and I heard her silent tears under the blanket of the night. Although our time has been short, I even learned about Ellaine’s inferiority complex and her jealous drive to either improve herself or silently complain about herself in a corner.
It was hard. It was heart-wrenching when I considered all of this four nights ago. Meeting my students again, I knew this question would eventually come, so I gave myself enough time to think it through. At the end of the day, what would make me happy?
“… I can’t. I’m sorry.” I decided to stay with Aurora.
As I’d expected, my students looked at me with surprise. Even without them needing to ask me, I explained.
“I am no longer your teacher, that was one of the reasons for my answer. I asked myself, ‘Which option would make me happier?’ And the answer made me choose Aurora.”
I explained to them about my dream of traveling the world, something I hadn’t exactly told them about yet. I’d only mentioned wanting to leave the country to visit a foreign one when the class trip was decided by the student body to be in Japan, but never did I reveal my past and the passing of my father to them. They were my students; it would be unprofessional.
Traveling the world and learning about new cultures was my dream. Sure, I’ve only visited Artorias on Peolynca for now, but … how many cultures have I learned of while I was traveling with Aurora? Lizardmen, fae, elven, dwarven, draconic. I learned how an otherworlder managed to introduce soba to a bunch of dwarves and how sakura petals, kimonos, and samurais were a thing in Loatryx. I firmly believed that either Hestia’s idol dream or Aurena’s Divine Quest would allow me to travel through the world.
However, on the other hand, how surely would this happen if I traveled with The Magical Biscuits? They were propaganda tools for the church, which meant their travel radius would be limited unless they broke off from the church. Sure, Loatryx and Saelariel had Aurena’s church, but they weren’t related to the humans’ church of Aurena, according to Yorshka. This was Peolynca; limiting myself to humans alone would be unsatisfying.
However, there was one final reason for my decision.
“I made a promise with Hestia.”
My first promise in this world. The one which made Hestia and me true partners.
“I promised to help Hestia fulfill her dream to become an idol in this world, and in return, she promised to bring me around the world on her tours so we can see the world of Peolynca together. As I told you, she is my benefactor, the reason why I’m here with your five. That wasn’t an exaggeration.”
I couldn’t help but smile, remembering when I first gave Hestia her name. I listened to her insecurities then and I still accepted them, even forced her to make her dream come true by saying I would drag her out from her slumps if I needed to. She was such a sweet, nervous girl.
Regardless, my heart ached seeing my students disappointed at my answer, but I couldn’t show this weakness here.
That was when Tamae stood up, clapped her cheeks, and continued speaking, “Well, that’s too bad but it’s all right, Sensei. We can’t take too much of your time and we are all adults now anyways. Besides, everybody, why are we so sad? Sensei is here with us on Peolynca!”
The four others stared at Tamae, unsure what she was intending to say, so she explained her thoughts, “Well, shouldn’t it be easy to understand? Even if Sensei can’t join us now, it doesn’t mean that’s the end of it. We could also join up after we deal with the church. Just because we have to separate soon doesn’t mean it’s time to be sad, it's not like we’re leaving each other for good like the time we got kidnapped over here.”
Nishio nodded. “True, with the fact we now know Sensei is in this world, we could always count on her. I still have my reservations about Yorshka, but we have to deal with it for now. We might not be able to trust her intentions, but we can trust that her training will make us strong. Let’s do that for now.”
“True!” Kohaku stood up, excited at what was said. “Think about it, Sensei and Hestia-chan are far too incredibly strong! Like, they can level a whole city if they wanted to with their spells and abilities. The strength of B ranks! If Sensei joined us now, we'll have three people protecting us all the time. Dame Yorshka, Sir Elrick, and also Sensei! Come on guys, we’re supposed to be Heroes but all we’ve been doing is being protected by them against stronger monsters. We need to train up!”
They’ve matured … Good.
We then returned to our inn for the day. Tamae suggested we celebrate their meeting with me with an actual party and proposed to cook a huge meal for everybody. To say the least, it was amazing. Sure, I helped out a bit, but Tamae really knew her way in the kitchen. I managed to pick up a tip or two from her.
When Hestia’s group returned from the dungeon, they informed us Grimnir was staying with the local blacksmiths to craft Ellaine’s armor, and required multiple days with all the materials we gave him to create an “absolute product to make Bleidla rage out in jealousy.” It was sad to not have everybody from Aurora together, but the party was nonetheless still a success, even if it was a bit cramped as we had to celebrate everything in a single room at the inn. This might be similar to a hotel, but it wasn’t as large as Hestia’s room in Firwood.
What a feast. What a day. However, every vacation had to end eventually. It was time for restaurant Aurora to finally open up again.
AbyssRaven Happy Sensei is a good Sensei
If you guys want to support me, Hestia and "A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale" (or just read up to 20 advance chapters + any Patreon-only chapters) please check out my Patreon: Rawr
For two dollars, for the cost of a coffee, you can read up to four chapters for the whole month! You will have my eternal gratitude for any support you can give me! Please.
Thank you for reading this chapter.
“Are you actually considering transforming into a katzune, Kazumi-san?” I said. “You will need [Beastialize] and then either invest a certain amount of SP into it or spend a large amount of time transformed to level the skill to fully gain all the benefits of being a beastman. It is a substantial investment.”
Whether you were a teacher or an adventurer, knowing when you needed to take a break was an important skill to possess. While Hestia and Tasianna have criticized me for being a workaholic, it wasn’t that I enjoyed working but rather I worked a lot for financial security. Simply because we had the money now did not mean we would in the future.
Hestia’s concerts and our party’s travel and fighting funds were my job to organize. This wasn’t so easy to get even if we could receive rank C Quests that paid well, since they were always a risk. We couldn’t sell good monster materials now that we had Grimnir and Tasianna crafting equipment and brewing potions respectively.
Thankfully, Hestia’s concerts and the merchandise we sold were an amazing return on profit and our recent deal with the Sarlenzia company solved our issues selling some of our excess goods from our garden. Hestia was gaining followers and we were earning good Davi … Yet, we needed more. I wanted more. We haven’t reached financial security until we could buy ourselves a mansion on the beach!
… However, I could worry about that later. For now, I was just trying to enjoy my break after having to fight a rank B volchark and rachonoid queen in what felt like a single day.
Five days have passed since that huge raid battle. On floor five of Cedaraille’s Emerald-Flare Forest Dungeon, my garms, my former students, and I were taking it easy. Well, I was taking it easy while everybody else was doing whatever they wanted, whether hunting or playing around.
Since we hadn’t met in nearly a year—or over a year, depending on who was counting—my former students and I were simply catching up. It felt good hanging out with other Japanese, and with me turning back to an 18-year-old in my wolfkin form, we’re practically the same age now. Well, sort of. All of them already had their birthdays in Peolynca and were 19 now. I was younger than them, both as a fenrir and wolfkin. How ironic.
I was currently speaking with Kazumi, a girl who managed to persuade her parents to adopt three cats that she wanted to take care of. Being the cat lover that she was, she was asking me for advice with the skill [Beastialize]. While it was a transformation skill like [Humanize], there was a rather notable difference: according to the description as well as Cernust, you were able to choose your preferred beastman race.
“Well, I will not stop you, but you have seen racism against beastman, right. My personal experience was rather tame compared to how brazen it was in the Lecartiglio Duchy when you described it,” I said.
Sure, there were a few villagers in Carine Village who didn’t like beastmen, those very people had a hard time accepting Hestia as a priestess when she gave her first sermon, but none of them resorted to violence, only mumblings. I guess knowing we were nobles and the ones responsible for stopping the bandits also helped.
It did remind me of Zeather’s warning, that the Lecartiglio duchy did not accept any beastman outside of Arvisian. Zeather’s sister, Quini, even received a scar when they were both slaves in the Kingdom of Atadoro, the country south of Artorias which bordered Lecartiglio.
Kazumi played with her hair, twisting it around as she considered my words. “If I remember correctly, the racism was usually directed to the full animalistic beastmen. Those who look like humanoid animals instead of humans with animal features. Human beastmen weren’t liked, but the animal beastmen had it the worst, rarely did anybody show any sympathy for the latter group.”
I sighed. “Fear of the ‘others.’ The less similar somebody is to you, the less you are willing to put yourself in their place. Also, they are thugs, they pick on anybody vulnerable. Even if they have superior physical stats, if they are not a bear or a rhinoceros, any untrained civilian will lose against a group of fighters.”
At the end of the day, that was the truth, right? That was how the world worked.
“Still, somebody has to do something, Sensei. Hestia-chan’s job in this world is to reform Goddess Aurena’s church, right? She told us that this very Goddess hadn’t summoned us, that somebody else did, but their intentions are completely foreign to us. We can’t even fully trust that the church will send us back to Earth at this rate. At the very least, I want to use this heroic status of mine for something more meaningful than being a propaganda and religious tool. ‘A katzune helping the heroes’ sounds cool.”
Kazumi wasn’t the only one who shared this worry. After what Hestia told my students, it only made me more anxious what their next choices would be.
I can’t help but feel glad the kids haven’t changed too drastically. It’s a relief. Yet, Kazumi’s answer was still what I wanted to hear. I was glad this world hadn’t changed them too much, unlike me.
In the end, she bought [Beastialize] from the SP shop and tried it out for the first time. Unlike my progression which made me less furry with every level, Kazumi only received sharper nails and canines with her [Beastialize Lv. 1]. Her disappointment was entertaining to watch, to be honest.
“I wanted some cat ears …” I could hear her mumble. She needed to level it up to level three for the skill to change her race to katzune, giving her sound-sensitive cat ears, better night vision, claws, and a tail. She still looked like a cosplayer to me.
After a while of her playing around with her new body, testing out if she became more nimble or not, the others returned from their hunt, all riding on the backs of my garms. Unlike Aurora, The Magical Biscuit was a responsible adventurer party who frequently accepted Quests and fulfilled them for money and guild points.
“We’re back,” Nishio announced as he dismounted Song.
“Riding Uno and the others has been amazing, Sensei!” Tamae proclaimed, ruffling the horse-sized, scarred garm’s fur. Despite being giant wolves, my supposedly “normal” students were acting more comfortable around them than most hunters I met inside this dungeon.
Kohaku, Kazumi’s best friend, also expressed her liking of the garms, but immediately burst into laughter when she first saw Kazumi. “Ahahahahahaha! I-I can’t believe you’re actually cosplaying as a katzune inside a dungeon, Kohaku-chan! Ehehe, when did you prepare all of them, where did you put your tail and why is it moving like th—Ooooooh.”
My former students were as lively as always.
Since they finished the Quests they took for today, we decided to have some lunch. Tamae, deciding I should rest up more, began preparations for a dish using the local knopbries as the main ingredient. Having been taught cooking by her two professional chef parents who love traveling to taste a foreign country’s cuisine and inheriting this trait from them, Tamae believed that trying out various different Peolyncian ingredients would help her step out of the shadows of her parents to become a first-rate chef who was standing on her own feet.
Well, I welcomed her offer. Honestly, it felt good to have somebody else cook for me.
Hmm, it’s been a while. Let’s check on the garms’ levels, I thought as I opened up my party bracelet and accessed a new function in it: the tamer menu.
_______________________________________________________________
Name: Uno Level: 13 Race: Shadow Garm
Health: 3841/3841 Mana: 1194/1194 Stamina: 2126/2126
_______________________________________________________________
Name: Song Level: 12 Race: Shadow Garm
Health: 3663/3663 Mana: 1309/1309 Stamina: 1964/1964
_______________________________________________________________
Name: Sarasa Level: 13 Race: Shadow Garm
Health: 4058/4058 Mana: 967/967 Stamina: 2371/2371
_______________________________________________________________
Name: Quatre Level: 9 Race: Shadow Garm
Health: 3666/3666 Mana: 1045/1045 Stamina: 2389/2389
_______________________________________________________________
The garms, minus Quatre, have been with me ever since our fight against the Alchemist guild branch master, Davison. Quatre joined us after my [Shadow Pack] leveled up, allowing me to turn him into a shadow beast after his faefolk form was injured by Davison.
Of course, their levels seemed quite low after everything we’ve done, defeating three rank Bs in the form of the High Ogre, the Volchark, and the Rachonoid Queen. However, it seemed normal to me. It was the unfortunate truth of a rank C monster without Hestia’s or my experience booster; leveling up naturally was hard, making me respect people with high levels even more.
Although the garms called me the Alpha of the pack, since I descended from Belzac the rank S fenrir, I was also the tamer in our relationship. The tamer’s collars around their neck, white and well-decorated by me to contrast their black fur, weren’t just there to inform city officials and guards that they weren’t feral monsters. They also allowed a party system similar to the party bracelets. I was able to monitor my garms’ health while also allowing experience to be shared amongst us.
I’d already experimented with these functions when I first tried it out and already set a good percentage between us. This meant the experience I gained through Aurora was sent to me and then divided amongst my garms, and vice versa—any experience my garms gained would be sent to me before being divided amongst Aurora. It was, to say the least, pretty confusing at first.
Of course, all of this could only work while I had my party bracelet on; it wouldn’t work while I was in fenrir form. It did drive my total experience gain down a bit, but my garms were also my strength. Once they evolved into rank B monsters, the amount of power Aurora would have would be massive. My training goal for them was to help them find a unique or mutation evolution like mine.
You’re so lazy, Sarasa, hehe.
Watching the garms using this downtime in whatever way they wanted really made me acknowledge these guys weren’t just mindless drones screaming “Alpha!” or “We must protect the Alpha” all the time. I honestly thought they would be that way. That was, after all, my impression of them when I first agreed to take them in.
The garms’ bodies died during the garm massacre seven or eight years ago when Davison commissioned the hunter guild to prepare an assault force against the A rank fenrir named “Grim Messenger.” That was what Farron told me. While it didn’t mean anything to me, it did seem to have affected the garms, or more specifically, the onnikai who possessed their bodies.
After talking with them a bit more, the garms admitted they had no idea of the garm’s fate when they first found them close to the edge of the Belzac forest. They were skeletons and seemed strong to the onnikai. Using Kiiro’s, their former leader, mana slime, the onnikais were able to regenerate the skeletal remains into zombies. The “lingering malice for humans,” or so they called it, made the bodies near perfect for the vengeful onnikai.
Since I wasn’t a necromancer, I couldn’t explain this malice at all, neither could the garms. They were able to feel it, similar to sensing a fellow onnikai, but they couldn’t understand it. Either way, I personally believed this might be why Ilsaphone’s plan to create a patron race sort of worked with these garms. The onnikais managed to fuse with their bodies’ memories and “become” the body’s previous owners.
Regardless of how they became the garms I had today, it was good to see them developing their personalities.
Sarasa yawned as she rested her head on my lap. I smiled as I caressed her head before turning my attention to the others.
Uno, the leader of the hunting squad, was stoic and vigilant. With a scar across his left eye, Uno seemed imposing and intimidating with how he was watching over everybody else. With everyone else resting and recuperating, Uno still had the focus to watch for ambushers or stalkers.
Song, the playful one, was currently play fighting with Quatre, blasting magic and using skills to have fun. Compared to all the other garms, she was the one most accepting of being a mount and receiving pet-like compliments. In fact, any attention she received made her happier than disgruntled.
Sarasa, the lazy fighter, was not only the biggest slacker in the pack but also the most belligerent one. If she wasn’t so loyal to Uno and me, I was sure she would just ignore everybody else and dive into fights without any hesitation. Fittingly, outside of fighting and eating, she just laid around like a cat.
Quatre, the most prideful one, was not only the youngest but the most competitive of the bunch. Knowing he was the youngest since he joined last, Quatre loved any chance to raise his skills and levels. Only problem was that he hated being a mount, although he seemed quite okay with any of the members of Aurora, aside from Grimnir, but especially with Hestia. “Alpha’s Master,” he called her.
During the Davison and High Ogre battle, I was quite annoyed by their mostly robotic responses and their insane drive to “preserve the descendant of Belzac.” While they still showed these traits once in a while, the battle with the volchark really changed my opinion of them. Able to work with strangers like Grimnir, being creative with their attack plan, not to mention, finally expressing themselves more.
“Ahh, you’re a cute one when you’re just being lazy, Sarasa,” I couldn’t help but tease her. Seeing how the kids weren’t done with lunch preparations yet, I called Uno over. I wanted to test something.
Aside from the materials we gained from the rachonoid queen, the second important spoil Hestia and I gained from the raid battle was the fact our Job skills could be bought, or at least, skills marked as “mutations.” Both [Shadow Warrior] and [Crimson-Scaled Dreadgiver] were tier two Jobs created using our unique racial skills. Specifically, [Shadow Armament] for me and [Dreadflame Dragon] for Hestia.
After finishing [Shadow Warrior], I gained the ability to buy [Penumbral Armament] from the skill shop. Only costing 1500 SP, the skill was a bargain!
With Uno sitting still before me, I cast my newly improved [Shadow Armament] on him. Shadows began to coat his body, shrouding him like a ghost. Compared to when [Penumbral Armament] was a separate skill, the shadow armor on Uno looked just like [Shadow Armament], less like armor and more like a fluid shadow.
Pulling out my dagger, I then stabbed him, only to grin when I noticed resistance. Seeing this, Song and Quatre tried to bite him in their playful mood, only to realize the [Penumbral Armament] was doing its job perfectly.
Simply put, coating my weapons in shadow armor also made their attacks stronger. [Stygian Voltage] synergized with [Shadow Armament] by being my skill’s source for dark elemental mana, turning the armament into literal electricity. The stronger my shadow coat became, the stronger my overall shadow or dark related skills became.
My first mutation purchase was a huge success. It wasn’t flashy, but it’ll help improve my base defense and overall flexibility of my shadow skills in addition to keeping my garms safer. The knowledge of mutation skills really made me crave for more, and I was aiming my sights on the Jobs created through [Stygian Voltage].
After I was done experimenting, lunch was finished. [Minced Knopbrie Bibimbap] was the name of the dish and it looked and smelled appetizing.
“A bibimbap is a Korean dish, right? A rice bowl with vegetables, meat, and egg served in a hot rock bowl. Hestia made some kimchi but she admitted not knowing how to cook a lot of Korean dishes,” I commented as I noticed how extremely hot the bowl was to hold. Not Hestia-level hot, but in general, it was too hot to comfortably hold.
“Yes, correct, Sensei.” Tamae confirmed with a smile. “There are a lot of mushrooms covering the body of a knopbrie, so I thought the meat would be dry and tough. I had to tenderize the meat for a bit but, to my surprise, it had a lot of fat, making it perfect for rice and a lot of vegetables to enjoy. I thought a bibimbap would be good to keep the meat warm and the fats sizzling. I also made some separate meat and vegetables, so this lunch party should be incredible! Please, enjoy!”
The bibimbap was a party-sized meal, large enough to feed a whole family. As our impromptu table, made from Nishio’s earth magic, was filled with dishes, it honestly felt like we were celebrating something. The garms had their own bowls of food while my former students and I all clapped our hands together.
“Itadakimasu!” All of us said before digging in.
Delicious. Tamae was still a good chef as always.
“Mhmm, the meat is amazing for such an ugly-looking monster,” Kohaku commented, munching onto everything with no reserve. “Mhmm! Now that I think about it, sitting here, eating a hot bowl of meat, vegetables, and rice together really reminds me that we haven’t done this in a while, now. Like, as a class. I-I know we’re not all super close but this has been something we’ve always done during our class trips.”
“Oh my, that is true,” Misaki agreed, placing her chopsticks down to think. “Sensei, you usually organize a large restaurant trip with a lot of food where our whole class would eat together. In the three years together, you’ve done it twice and I can imagine you would have done it again in our last class trip together. Also, you would always push for the most expensive trips. A contrast to your usually stingy nature.”
I twitched a bit when she said that, making me feel embarrassed. “Well, you know, it is not something I can enjoy every day. I have always thought of our class trips more like vacations for myself, even if I had to work with my senpais to organize and plan them. Taking care of the whole class was worth the food and location.”
“Hehe, I guess everybody’s suggestion was correct. Sorry we made fun of your financial situation, Sensei,” Tamae apologized with a wry smile. Whether she was feeling bad for me or not, I had no idea.
“Well, it isn’t a real issue with how the majority of the student body have either well-off or even wealthy parents. The class trips are designed for us students to enjoy them and build bonds together, so if we’re enjoying them, a teacher enjoying themselves isn’t something to be ashamed of,” Nishio supported me. “With how large our class trip budget has been the last two years, everybody should have voted to go outside Japan instead of choosing beach and hot spring locations. We could have enjoyed some foreign cultures! Train our English!”
Kazumi, wiggling her cat ears around, sighed in disappointment. “Oh, come on, Nishio-kun, most of us just wanted to have a good time and enjoy it with our friends. Like in an anime. If we went to the USA, Europe, or Singapore, we’d have to speak English.”
“That’s the point!” Nishio retorted loudly.
“Yeah, that’s exactly the point why nearly everybody just wanted to stay in Japan. Learning English for exams is a bore and I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of a good-looking foreigner by having to think about my sentences every time I want to speak with them. That’s annoying.”
“Hahaha!” I couldn’t help but laugh, inviting the others to laugh at Kazumi’s and Nishio’s argument.
It’s good to meet them again. We couldn’t have our last class trip, but I guess Peolynca is kind of a substitute, although a far more annoying one.
When we were almost done with the meal, Nishio suddenly raised a question I’ve been dreading having to answer. “Sensei, will you join us?”
I kept my silence, looking at him with a frown. I was gulping some dry spit as I reluctantly anticipated his next words.
“We … After hearing everything from Hestia-san, we took the time to speak with Yorshka yesterday. It seems Hestia-san entrusted her with all the information she told us, about how we weren’t summoned by the Goddess of Light and that this very Goddess is asking Hestia-san to rebuild her church. Yorshka assured us that she was still on our side, but we still can’t break away from the church’s influence without getting into a lot of trouble.”
Nishio’s statement caused everybody to start looking at each other warily. The situation was unnerving me also, seeing as I didn’t want to see them in danger.
Tamae continued for Nishio, “We need to inform Tatsuya-kun, Kyouya-kun, Asaka-san, Haruka-chan, and Daichi-san about all of this. And, while it would help if you could come, Sensei, we mostly just need somebody around us who we could trust. Lady Yorshka might say she’s allied with Hestia-chan, but we don’t know that yet. Although we do believe Hestia-chan, she can’t be sure Lady Yorshka is somebody we can trust for the long term.”
Even if they are aunt and niece? I wanted to argue, but kept that to myself.
“With all the information we’ve gained during this trip, we can’t be sure we can trust anybody outside our circles at this point, Sensei. Even if you aren’t technically ‘Segawa Saori’ anymore, you still are our sensei to us. You still have the memories we shared together, the personality we all have come to love. Sensei, we need your help.”
All five of them were watching me anxiously, waiting nervously for an answer. I … was torn. These were the students whom I have been creating memories with for the last three years of my Earth life. Although my teaching position was just something to earn money with, I still felt pride as a teacher whenever they did well on an exam. Even watching them now made my heart beat happily.
So it felt horrible to have to seriously consider their question.
“I …”
While being with my students did make me happy … On the other side, there was Aurora, people who I have barely known for more than a year. As much as I liked Hestia, Tasianna, and Ellaine, they were girls who I have known less than the people before me. I made numerous memories together with Aurora, just like I did with my students, but I couldn’t lie and say the ones I experienced with my students were lesser ones—not as important.
I mean, could you compare these sorts of things? In three years, I came to learn so much about my students. Their interests, ambitions, fears, and also all the drama they caused over the years. High school wasn’t just an experience for the students, but it was also an amazing adventure for the teachers themselves. It helped that I was quite young when I became their teacher, so we could relate to a lot of things.
Yet … in less than a year, I made memories with Hestia and Tasianna that were extremely precious to me. We laughed and celebrated over victories, having fun through the days and nights. Moments of sadness where we cried and allowed each other to be weak in front of each other, knowing we would allow each other to cry on their shoulders.
I learned about Hestia’s insecurities as an idol, about her weakness to overcome her past, her fear of hurting us and sacrificing her own happiness for others. I learned about Tasianna’s personality-changing trauma, her reluctance to embrace the bloody goals she thought she wanted, and I heard her silent tears under the blanket of the night. Although our time has been short, I even learned about Ellaine’s inferiority complex and her jealous drive to either improve herself or silently complain about herself in a corner.
It was hard. It was heart-wrenching when I considered all of this four nights ago. Meeting my students again, I knew this question would eventually come, so I gave myself enough time to think it through. At the end of the day, what would make me happy?
“… I can’t. I’m sorry.” I decided to stay with Aurora.
As I’d expected, my students looked at me with surprise. Even without them needing to ask me, I explained.
“I am no longer your teacher, that was one of the reasons for my answer. I asked myself, ‘Which option would make me happier?’ And the answer made me choose Aurora.”
I explained to them about my dream of traveling the world, something I hadn’t exactly told them about yet. I’d only mentioned wanting to leave the country to visit a foreign one when the class trip was decided by the student body to be in Japan, but never did I reveal my past and the passing of my father to them. They were my students; it would be unprofessional.
Traveling the world and learning about new cultures was my dream. Sure, I’ve only visited Artorias on Peolynca for now, but … how many cultures have I learned of while I was traveling with Aurora? Lizardmen, fae, elven, dwarven, draconic. I learned how an otherworlder managed to introduce soba to a bunch of dwarves and how sakura petals, kimonos, and samurais were a thing in Loatryx. I firmly believed that either Hestia’s idol dream or Aurena’s Divine Quest would allow me to travel through the world.
However, on the other hand, how surely would this happen if I traveled with The Magical Biscuits? They were propaganda tools for the church, which meant their travel radius would be limited unless they broke off from the church. Sure, Loatryx and Saelariel had Aurena’s church, but they weren’t related to the humans’ church of Aurena, according to Yorshka. This was Peolynca; limiting myself to humans alone would be unsatisfying.
However, there was one final reason for my decision.
“I made a promise with Hestia.”
My first promise in this world. The one which made Hestia and me true partners.
“I promised to help Hestia fulfill her dream to become an idol in this world, and in return, she promised to bring me around the world on her tours so we can see the world of Peolynca together. As I told you, she is my benefactor, the reason why I’m here with your five. That wasn’t an exaggeration.”
I couldn’t help but smile, remembering when I first gave Hestia her name. I listened to her insecurities then and I still accepted them, even forced her to make her dream come true by saying I would drag her out from her slumps if I needed to. She was such a sweet, nervous girl.
Regardless, my heart ached seeing my students disappointed at my answer, but I couldn’t show this weakness here.
That was when Tamae stood up, clapped her cheeks, and continued speaking, “Well, that’s too bad but it’s all right, Sensei. We can’t take too much of your time and we are all adults now anyways. Besides, everybody, why are we so sad? Sensei is here with us on Peolynca!”
The four others stared at Tamae, unsure what she was intending to say, so she explained her thoughts, “Well, shouldn’t it be easy to understand? Even if Sensei can’t join us now, it doesn’t mean that’s the end of it. We could also join up after we deal with the church. Just because we have to separate soon doesn’t mean it’s time to be sad, it's not like we’re leaving each other for good like the time we got kidnapped over here.”
Nishio nodded. “True, with the fact we now know Sensei is in this world, we could always count on her. I still have my reservations about Yorshka, but we have to deal with it for now. We might not be able to trust her intentions, but we can trust that her training will make us strong. Let’s do that for now.”
“True!” Kohaku stood up, excited at what was said. “Think about it, Sensei and Hestia-chan are far too incredibly strong! Like, they can level a whole city if they wanted to with their spells and abilities. The strength of B ranks! If Sensei joined us now, we'll have three people protecting us all the time. Dame Yorshka, Sir Elrick, and also Sensei! Come on guys, we’re supposed to be Heroes but all we’ve been doing is being protected by them against stronger monsters. We need to train up!”
They’ve matured … Good.
We then returned to our inn for the day. Tamae suggested we celebrate their meeting with me with an actual party and proposed to cook a huge meal for everybody. To say the least, it was amazing. Sure, I helped out a bit, but Tamae really knew her way in the kitchen. I managed to pick up a tip or two from her.
When Hestia’s group returned from the dungeon, they informed us Grimnir was staying with the local blacksmiths to craft Ellaine’s armor, and required multiple days with all the materials we gave him to create an “absolute product to make Bleidla rage out in jealousy.” It was sad to not have everybody from Aurora together, but the party was nonetheless still a success, even if it was a bit cramped as we had to celebrate everything in a single room at the inn. This might be similar to a hotel, but it wasn’t as large as Hestia’s room in Firwood.
What a feast. What a day. However, every vacation had to end eventually. It was time for restaurant Aurora to finally open up again.
AbyssRaven Happy Sensei is a good Sensei
If you guys want to support me, Hestia and "A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale" (or just read up to 20 advance chapters + any Patreon-only chapters) please check out my Patreon: Rawr
For two dollars, for the cost of a coffee, you can read up to four chapters for the whole month! You will have my eternal gratitude for any support you can give me! Please.
Thank you for reading this chapter.
