An Old Man from the Countryside Becomes a Swords Saint: I Was Just a Rural Sword Teacher, But My Successful Students Won’t Leave Me Alone! - Chapter 102

“So, what exactly are you planning to do?” I asked.

“Huh? Oh, right…” Gatoga said.

I’m walking beside Gatoga in the South District.

There is a considerable height difference between us, and Gatoga is carrying both Rose and the man I figured is Hinnis, so his silhouette is ridiculous. Even though I’m just walking beside him, there is a feeling of intimidation without a word that needed to be said. If I was terrified by such a gigantic man, I wouldn’t be able to move normally.

“Captain~,” Rose said. “Please put me down~!”

“Denied,” Gatoga said. “The bleeding may have stopped but you’re still gravely injured.”

“Aw, come on~…!” Rose whined.

She’s on the right shoulder of this giant. She isn’t bothering to hide her dissatisfaction as she’s being carried.

Yeah, for sure she’s not in good shape, and it’s definitely seriously injured. I also think she should still be carried. I can’t say anything myself because I was the one that injured her in the first place.

“Plus, if I put you down, you might try to run away,” Gatoga added.

“……… There’s no way I’d do that~?” Rose asked.

“What was with the delay?” Gatoga asked.

In a lot of ways, if Rose gets away here, there’s probably going to be a lot of people who’ll be in danger. That’s why Gatoga doesn’t dare drop her.

Well, aside from that exchange, we’re worrying over what’s going to happen to Rose.

As Gatoga said earlier, the death penalty is usually unavoidable. Or rather, it’s usually almost impossible to cover it up.

I also vaguely understand how serious of a crime a rebellion against royalty is. If you’re not careful, it wouldn’t just be Rose, there may even be a declaration that her entire family tree would be wiped out.

And adding to that, this operation was on the orders of the Pope, who was holding children hostage. It seems that how she’s going to be sentenced depends on how much we can make public.

Yeah, we can’t be upfront about this, can we? If such things come to light, the country of Supheniardvania itself could be shaken to its foundations.

That would be an outcome no one wants. Above all else, it’ll be the common people who’ll suffer the most.

“First of all, search for the children and ensure their safety,” Gatoga said. “Nothing can start without doing that.”

“Right?” I said. “But, I can’t help you with that…”

“What are you talking about? It’s our problem, not yours, you know?” Gatoga said.

If Rose’s story is true, this would involve a considerable number of senior officials in Supheniardvania. If that turns out to be true, I can’t do anything personally. To begin with, an intervention from foreigners will not be a good thing. If we proceeded like that, all manner of problems will arise regarding how the nation should be, how it’s run, and what its allies have planned for it.

“Rose, do you know where the kids are?” I asked.

“… They didn’t tell me too much~,” Rose replied. “I’m sure they were moved under the guise of protecting them.”

“Fucking hell, this is going to be a long story,” I said.

I expected it but I couldn’t help but swore now that I knew it wasn’t going to be that simple.

Well, I don’t even know if it was the Pope or someone close to him who was the mastermind. I don’t know anything about Supheniardvania, so in this matter, I’m just an outside observer. At best, I hope I can do something about Rose’s sentence.

“So, what are we going to say happened?” I asked.

“…”

Time stops for a moment.

Regardless of the background, the crime of trying to murder the Prince and endangering a Princess will not just disappear. And Rose, who confessed it almost like a full admission of guilt, cannot be overlooked as she was a top executive of the Knights of the Faith.

“… First of all, the mastermind was Hinnis,” Gatoga said. “Rose was involved in the battle and retaliated against him but was wounded. Let’s go with that..”

“Huh?” I asked. “Yeah, that’s…”

I’m at a loss.

Does that mean we’ll do a partial cover-up? Is that going to be alright? I don’t think it’s going to be alright.

“Captain~?” Rose asked, clearly dissatisfied.

Yes. Although Rose had lost, her determination did not waver. It’s hard to imagine that she wasn’t expecting to die, having done all this.

And she also understands the magnitude of consequences that comes with her actions. Even if the facts are well-concealed, it is another matter of whether Rose herself would play along with it. Even if she thinks about her self-interest, she would either confess herself or be haunted by her guilt to possibly extreme consequences.

She was just asking me to kill her. From the time she decided to take part in this coup, she must have been prepared to die. In exchange for the lives of children, who she doesn’t even know the whereabouts of as they’re being held against their wills.

“… Why would you go this far?”

But, what came out of my mouth was a different question.

To be honest, I don’t see any reason why Gatoga is trying to keep Rose alive so far. The relationship between the Captain and the Vice-Captain is too different from Hinnis.

He said he would definitely kill Hinnis himself if it came to that, and I don’t think he had time to ask for forgiveness. I couldn’t help but think why you’d have two people with the same title committing the same crime, but one could not be forgiven and the other was offered a cover-up.

“… She’s my sister, you see,” Gatoga said.

“Huh?” I asked.

“…” Rose was silent.

“Rose is my sister,” Gatoga said. “Through my in-laws, at least. I’ve known her since she was little.”

It’s just been surprises and surprises since a while ago.

Huh, seriously? Rose and Gatoga were brother and sister. I did not know that. Rose didn’t say anything about that.

When he first met them, Gatoga introduced her as his sister, but I didn’t really think they were related by familial ties. 1

“Is-Is he serious, Rose?” I asked.

“… Yes~,” Rose replied. “He’s serious~.”

And that was a confirmation from the woman herself. She seemed disappointed but it seems that even if Gatoga was her brother, she still had her sense of duty. I feel like I can understand why he’d be concerned.

But now, I can understand the reason why he’s protecting Rose.

Or rather, if Gatoga doesn’t pull Rose out of this swirling mess of conspiracies, his position would probably be in jeopardy, too. Even though he is a brother-in-law, he’s still a relative, and as I said earlier, if they decided to kill all the families of those involved in the coup, Gatoga may be caught up in the mass executions.

“… But, what if I do something like this again~?” Rose asked.

“Hey, hey, just let me trust you as your brother-in-law here,” Gatoga said.

To put it another way, Rose has reached the point where she assumed that even her family would turn against her. There’s a tremendous intensity and dedication to her mission.

It’s information from Lucy that Supheniardvania is in a light civil war, but is the domestic situation much worse than that? Well, if it’s not that bad, why would they have used such drastic tactics?

“Rose,” I said.

“… Yes~?” she replied.

However, even if I let go now, the haze inside her heart would not clear.

I don’t know how far my words will go to Rose as she is now. Still, as a teacher, I would like to give as much guidance as possible.

“Even if it took time, there may have been other means,” I said. “I want you to use that will of yours in a different place. That was the swordsmanship I was teaching you.”

“… Yes,” Rose said softly. “If you say so, Master, then it must have been so~!”

It’s all fluff from me. It makes me sad to hear it.

But I don’t know anything about politics or anything so complicated, so I can only say this. Still, I wanted to tell her that path she took was the wrong one.

“To begin with, if you didn’t talk about the kids, I would have killed outright earlier,” I said.

“… I was prepared for that, too~!” Rose said.

“Hah, hahaha…” Gatoga chuckled dryly.

Well, it doesn’t change I still cut Rose down, though.

“But could Hinnis have been the same as Rose?” I asked.

It is hard to imagine that Rose was the only mastermind of the operation that was holding children hostage.

If so, it should be no surprise that there are other people who have been forced to cooperate in this way.

“What about it, Rose?”

“… I was a collaborator with Hinnis~,” Rose said. “But, we didn’t work directly with each other. Anyone who was told the same thing as me… is already dead.”

“…… I see.”

The names that Rose whispered after I slashed her. They must have been her collaborators. They may have also been members of the Knights of the Faith. There’s no way to confirm that now, though.

If that’s the case, I wonder if Hinnis threw his lot in with the Papal Faction for his own purposes?

Assuming that’s true, he’s guilty of death without any mitigating factors, but I can’t cover him that much. I’m just a stranger to him.

“We’ll have to reexamine the Knights of the Faith from top to bottom,” Gatoga said before his expression soured. “Fucks’s sake…”

“Sorry for all the trouble…” I said with a sheepish smile.

It’s going to be trouble for him from now on. He turned out to have so many enemies both within and without. If you think about how much of a crisis that is, it’s natural to sympathize with him.

“… Come to think of it,” I said.

“Yeah? What’s up?” Gatoga asked.

I was curious, but I wonder if I can ask this.

Well, let’s go ahead and do it. If he couldn’t, he wouldn’t answer.

“Which side are you on, Sir Gatoga, the Pope or the Royal Family?”

“I’m neutral… is what I would like to say,” Gatoga replied. “I want Prince Glen to do his best. I’ve known him since he was little.”

Then, if he made a mistake, he might have crossed blades with Rose.

“But, I’m a knight who protects his country. I personally think that beliefs are secondary and I’m here to protect the state and her people.”

“… I think that’s admirable,” I said.

Due to Gatoga’s personality, even if you take into account that Rose is his sister-in-law, he exudes an air like he really would kill her if it came to that. Is that also the way of life of a knight who lives loyally to their masters? It’s a way of life that I can never imitate.

“For that reason, we have to protect the kids,” Gatoga said. “They’re our nation’s treasures.”

“… Yes, please do~!” Rose said weakly.

Rose’s wounds are deep. Even if she had healing magic, she wouldn’t be able to fight in a day or two. It should take a long stay of medical leave.

In that case, she can’t be counted on for our efforts to uncover the Papal Faction’s plan. If she failed to assassinate Prince Glen in the first place, she wouldn’t have much time left.

Under such circumstances, Gatoga, who has to gather reliable hands and move fast to ensure the safety of children, is really in a bind.

I want to help however I can. It’s not a good idea to have foreigners helping in such matters. You need to know the land because you need to move secretly and quickly.

In other words, I can’t help. There is no choice but to pray for the safety of the children captured and taken as hostages.

I don’t want to think that the Pope, the head of his country, did this by himself, but I don’t know what will happen until we blow the door open on this conspiracy.

“Well, there are power-obsessed idiots everywhere,” Gatoga said. “If I think we can wipe them out along the way, it’s not all that bad.”

Certainly, this move is quite hasty and crude.

There may be some more impatient people in the Papal Faction. If so, it will be easy to grab them by the tail. Considering the amount of blood that has flowed so far and the amount of blood that will flow in the future, it is not a good thing.

But, that’s power. Just power, right?

I didn’t think about it at all because it was unrelated to me, but I often hear that a good-natured person would change suddenly when put in a position of authority.

It’s not like you have to watch others and learn from their mistakes, but I’ve already found myself in a position I didn’t understand, like Special Instructor. I should be more aware of how to behave and the responsibilities that accompany me so nothing like that happens.

“Still… I can’t trust the current Royal Faction, either,” Rose said. “Bishop Lebios has just been tried for heinous crimes, after all~…”

“… Hmm?” I went.

As the story settles down, Rose spills her secret.

Huh, wait a minute.

Did I just hear about someone who I wasn’t supposed to hear?