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“Can I come in?”

“…Yes. Please enter.”

Titania showed a surprised expression at my unexpected visit, but perhaps thinking she couldn’t just leave me standing at the door, she nodded and swung the door wide open.

In Titania’s room, there were already other guests besides me.

“Instructor Ion?”

Both Osnia and Marian turned their gazes toward me at the same time. It was understandable for Osnia to be here since she returned with Titania, but I never expected to see Marian here.

Marian walked over to me with slightly excited steps.

“Instructor! I heard you got involved in the riot? Are you okay?”

“There’s no one among us who got hurt, so no need to worry—”

“No! I mean the other side. You didn’t kill them all, did you?”

“……”

Marian looked at me as if asking whether the instigator of the riot wasn’t dead at my hands instead.

Was the Combat Practice Class that impressive?

“There were no fatalities, and all the injured are receiving treatment. Also, most of the instigators of the protest were apprehended on the spot.”

Marian smiled as if she felt relieved.

“I’m glad to hear that. No one died, and Oz and Tanya both returned safely.”

“……”

She certainly would never say she was glad I was safe, even as a mere formality. It seemed that there was no consideration in Marian’s mind for the possibility that I might have been in danger.

I exchanged glances with Marian and Osnia in turn and said, “I’d like to talk to Titania. Could you leave us for a moment?”

Marian carefully turned to look at Titania. After a bit of hesitation, Titania nodded, and confirming her intention, Marian and Osnia neatly left the room and closed the door.

Before exiting, Osnia passed by me and said in a small voice, “I’m counting on you.”

I didn’t bother to respond. It was clear who she was counting on without needing to ask.

Once the two had left, Titania smiled awkwardly and said, “…Would you like some tea? Marian just made some black tea, and though it was my first time trying it, it was quite delicious.”

Black tea….

I thought for a moment and shook my head.

“I’m good. I didn’t come to drink tea.”

“If that’s the case…”

It seemed Titania wasn’t planning to have tea herself either, as she climbed onto her bed and hugged her knees. She still appeared to be shaken as if the shock from the market incident hadn’t completely worn off.

But it felt like there was something deeper hidden beneath just the shock of witnessing a violent scene and almost being kidnapped.

The Heinkel Headmaster and Osnia seemed to hope I could calm Titania, but whatever expectations they had of me, I wasn’t skilled at comforting or soothing someone.

Hitting Titania, like slapping a soldier in panic on the battlefield, was off the table from the start, and honestly, given my lack of verbal eloquence, I doubted that whatever I said would truly comfort Titania. That was something Marian would likely do better.

So instead of offering pointless words of consolation, I decided to get straight to the point.

“I just came from a discussion about your treatment.”

“My treatment?”

“Since your safety has become a concern, there’s an opinion that you should be sent back to the forest for your protection.”

Titania’s eyes widened in surprise, but she immediately nodded slightly and grew silent. It was as if she had heard something she didn’t want to hear but had expected.

“So what happened? Do I really have to go back?”

“I decided to hear your opinion before making any decisions.”

“My opinion….”

Titania gave a wry smile and lowered her head. It seemed she was muttering to herself in a self-deprecating voice.

“It’s like you’re acting as if my opinion holds any importance. That hasn’t really happened in my life.”

I raised an eyebrow and replied, “Isn’t the reason you’re here that you strongly wanted to enroll?”

“It was my first act of rebellion in my life. If you knew what I did to try to change the stubbornness of the adults, you’d definitely be surprised, Instructor!”

Though it seemed Titania had no intention of sharing what exactly happened in the forest, if it was significant enough to break the stubbornness of the elven elders, it surely wasn’t something trivial.

Titania’s wry smile deepened.

“But it’s only been less than a week, and look what happened. If the village elders find out about this, they would definitely try to take me back, whether I want it or not.”

“You speak as if you really don’t want to go back to the forest.”

At that, Titania remained silent for a long time, neither affirming nor denying.

As the black tea on the table cooled, she awkwardly opened her mouth.

“Instructor… are there many people like that?”

It was a sudden and contextless question, but I could easily understand what she meant. She was likely talking about the Scarred Man. It seems the former soldier who harbored hatred for elves had etched deeply into Titania’s memory.

I shook my head. “No. Such humans are merely a part of it.”

“But they aren’t nonexistent.”

I couldn’t deny that.

“I’ve heard that there are humans who hate elves. But I never knew it was to this extent.”

Titania tightened her grip on her knees even more as she spoke.

“The society of elves is closed. Most are born in the forest and buried there. To me, it was no different than a prison. I wanted to see and experience a wider world with my own eyes.”

The expression on Titania’s face as she wandered through Market Street with a bright smile was undoubtedly sincere.

Perhaps thinking the same thoughts as me, she wore a faint smile before continuing.

“It was definitely the catalyst for me, but now it’s a bit different. There are those among the elves who are similar to that man. Most older elves hate humans, especially the elders. If we continue to be disconnected, without understanding each other and only harboring hatred, won’t there be more people like him?”

“If you go back to the forest, nothing will be resolved. Humans and elves have misunderstandings, but if we can’t create opportunities to resolve them, situations will only worsen. But if I’m here, maybe something can change.”

“If we could create an opportunity for elves and humans to understand each other, I wouldn’t want to give up that chance as the daughter of Ilendrin.”

“I know. I understand this is a thought akin to a dreamer’s. If I stay here and find myself in danger, it might actually make the situation worse. It could even put my friends at risk like now, so it could be a selfish choice. I’m not sure what the right choice is or what the wrong choice is….”

Titania appeared shaken by the chaos that had occurred in the market, feeling both shocked and sensing some sense of mission as a princess of the elves for her race.

It also seemed she was continuously contemplating which choice would be for the sake of her race—staying here or leaving.

But what I wanted wasn’t that.

“Just tell me one thing.”

“What?”

“Do you want to leave or do you not want to leave?”

Titania parted her lips slightly and looked at me with trembling eyes.

After a long moment of silence, she displayed a pained smile and said, “I don’t want to leave.”

“That’s enough.”

I didn’t have the answers to what the right choice was, and I couldn’t provide answers to questions without them. So as an instructor, my only duty was simple.

To respect and support the choice made by my student.

I approached Titania and placed my hand on top of her head.

“Ah…”

I wasn’t familiar with comforting someone. But I could at least awkwardly attempt it, and that was the best consolation I could offer her at the moment.

It seemed Titania didn’t fully grasp the meaning of my words, but for the time being, she didn’t reject my touch.

I gently stroked her leaf-like hair a couple of times and turned my body. Just as I placed my hand on the doorknob, Titania grabbed my arm with a frantic voice.

“Instructor Ion? Where are you going at this hour?”

“Once the ones after you have disappeared and safety is assured, the elders will lose their justification for forcibly taking you.”

“Huh? What do you mean—”

Instead of answering her question, I opened the door and left the room.

There was no need to wait for a faculty meeting. When a problem disappears, it no longer is a problem.

I thought that once I became an instructor, I wouldn’t have to stain my hands with blood anymore. However, I was reminded once more that things in this world rarely go the way you want them to.

I still didn’t know who or why someone was targeting Titania.

It didn’t matter.

After all, ‘The Future of the Empire’ would disappear today.

 

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