Breakthrough with the Forbidden Master

Chapter 368: Proof of Peace

Chapter 368 – Proof of Peace

“Although I did nothing but fight, I thought I could teach them general studies and magic, so I was entrusted with the task of taking care of the young children in this settlement…… at first, the children didn’t warm up to me because of my skin color, and especially because of my grumpy face, so it was a daily struggle…… but I thought that was not good enough, so I tried various things, and…….”

The living room of Mr. Chieftain’s house.

We decided to first talk it over among ourselves – me, Espie, Mr. Chieftain, and Larou’iph.

Larou’iph started talking about what happened from more than a decade ago until now……

“So, you’re saying that at the end of it all, you became a bunny to make the children more receptive?”

“No, it’s not just a bunny…… I also have a cat…… and then for naughty children, I …… dress up in a lion outfit and say things like, ‘I’m going to eat you’. “

“Ah!? Amicus did that too! Eh? So, Amicus was influenced by you!?”

“Well, it’s true that Amicus does sometimes use that catchphrase…”

And we laughed together as we listened to Larou’iph’s stories of the fulfilling days she had been living since then.

“I used to be so conscious of what other people thought of me and my appearance…… I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t sing out loud with the children. But that wasn’t good enough…… I had to change… I started thinking that, and… umm… by the time I realized it, I had become like that.”

“Haha, I see. But… when I saw how those little kids and Amicus treated you, I thought you had really changed.”

“In terms of popularity with children, Espie and Slayer are not to be outdone. They often come to the settlement to play and look after the children.”

“Now that I think about it, Amicus looks up to them as her older brother and sister……”

“Hmm, Slayer in particular has close ties to the region. Elves don’t come down to human settlements very often, so all the tools in this settlement come from Slayer’s equipment shop.”

“Oh, is that so…….”

“When I heard from Espie that a child was born between Hiro and Mamu of the Seven Heroes, and that its name was Earth Lagann, I was not only surprised but also realized once again that what you said was true… it made me want to live with an eye to the future.”

Larou’iph has really changed over the past decade or so.

Somehow, I felt happy and relieved about that.

“Personally, I would have liked to see you reunited with Mr. Aka right after I met him, but…… I’m sure you’ll be able to meet Mr. Aka directly now.”

“Ugh, that’s …….”

When I said that half-jokingly, Larou’iph suddenly became fidgety, even though she was not shy about the bunny.

“Well, I mean, it would probably be a bother if a woman he hasn’t seen in over a decade suddenly showed up out of nowhere…… a, and unlike over a decade ago, when it actually comes down to it, when I think about going to find him… I get… kind of nervous……”

“Ahahahaha, it can’t be helped, Big brother. One way or another, Lal has been thinking about her first love for over a decade, without any dating experience ♪. From what I’ve heard, there were people in this settlement who tried to propose to Lal because of her dedication, but Lal only has eyes for Aka…… but that’s exactly why she gets so timid.”

“Sh, sh, shut up, Espie……! Unlike you and Slayer who just ‘sort of’ go with the flow… Aka knew me back when I was covered in blood and unsightly, so… there’s a chance that he won’t accept me… if Aka rejects me, then I… I wouldn’t even have the will to go on…….”

To be honest, I don’t know how old Larou’iph is, but she has the innocence of someone who has just fallen in love…… somehow, I think she’s become really cute.

I don’t think Mr. Aka would reject her. Well, I don’t know that much about romance, and it’s all a matter of Mr. Aka’s own preferences……

“Well, that’s not the case…… I was able to reunite with Big brother, now you need to find Aka.”

“Yeah. I’d like to meet Mr. Aka too…… you should step out of your scared and timid ways, take the first step.”

“Ugh…… stop it.”

In any case, my desire to someday meet Mr. Aka again grew even stronger after I traveled back from the past.

“Well…… indeed, such revelry in matters of love and jest is but a sign of peace… and it seems, Young man, that you are exceedingly well-favored among the hearts here.”

And, Mr. Chieftain gave me a cold, narrow-eyed glare as he sipped his coffee.

“O, oh, Mr. Chieftain. By the way, thank you for continuing to write sequels to the Destiny series.”

“It’s nothing special ~…… just the keeping of a promise unto you, Young man, for all the boons you have granted us ~, and yet~,…… to think of my very own daughter thusly.”

“E, excuse me for that.”

“No, worry not ~, if things between you were earnest~, then would be between the two of you~, but well ~, you are quite the sought-after fellow, as I hear~? Were my daughter to be drawn in as another member of a harem—well, a father’s heart would take a blow at the thought ~”

“Harem, hey……”

“Huh…… I crafted the tale of Ragaan-Man as a gesture of gratitude to you, Young man…… yet never did I imagine Amicus would grow so fond of it~…… Now, should she discover that the Young man was actually Ragaan-man himself, who had journeyed to the past by way of an enchanted relic, I fear she’d be thoroughly enraptured… and so, here we find ourselves~”

He said it so naggingly that I couldn’t help but shrink back.

To be honest, there was nothing I could do about it, so what could I do now――――

――Clatter!!

“””” Hmm?””””

At that time, there was a loud rattling sound coming from under the floor of the house.

Eh? Is there something under the floor?

“…… Hmm, it looks like there’s a cat… under the floorboards.”

“Un, what a cute, pesky kitty.”

“For my part, that feline is the most precious in all the world……”

The three of them now seemed to realize what was under the floor.

Then I activated my magical radar as well… and discovered a human-shaped cat with unusually large breasts listening intently under the floorboards.

I see…… so you were eavesdropping……

“Anyway, we’ll talk about that later. There are a few things I need to discuss with Big brother. Seriously.”

“Hmm?”

“I don’t know if Big brother is aware of this or has noticed, but… even the demons have been paying close attention to your movements since the Graduation Match. It wasn’t just us who were watching that tournament, the demons of the Demon Realm were also watching.”

“Wait, this really turned into a serious conversation out of nowhere!?”

“Of course, Slayer and I will protect Big brother no matter what happens in the future, and we will stay by your side. But there are some things you need to know…”

To be honest, I thought it would be difficult for Espie to suddenly switch from talking about Bunnies to talking about something like this, but from the way she kept a straight face, I could tell from the atmosphere that she was pretty serious about it.

“Big brother is being pursued by the Empire…… La’iphant, the former Six Supremacy and current Supreme Ruler of the Demon Realm Government, is also in on the trend…… he also uses the Breakthrough, and apart from exchanging information with Hiro and the others, it seems he is also using his own people to investigate Big Brother…… well, me and Slayer would like to know why Big brother can use the Demon King’s technique…… but that can be explained another time.”

“Oh…… I see……”

“And, I got information that Hakuki is also curious about Big brother, although I don’t think Hakuki even realizes that Big brother is the same man he met a decade ago…… However, Hakuki also has connections with the remnants of the Bockmati Family, so it seems that he is trying to obtain information using even more underground people than La’iphant.”

“Hmm~…… that’s …… well.”

The story that Espie told me is certainly a serious one.

Still, it was also a story that I somehow knew.

I’ve never met La’iphant, a former Six Supremacy, but if he saw that Graduation Match, he must be interested in me, and there was also Hakuki, Jamdi’el, and Kron after all……

So, it was a serious matter, but not so surprising, so I calmed down and sipped my coffee……

“And…… Norja found out that Big brother was the Ragaan-Man she fought a decade ago…… she’s been ranting about how she’s definitely going to make you take responsibility, and the pretense of coming from the Demon Realm to investigate the Shiznautmy ruins is just an excuse, in reality she’s sneaking out and trying to kidnap Big brother.”

“Buboooooooooooh!!”

I spat out the coffee.