In the end, Ivan raised his hand first.
It meant he was cautiously beginning to share information.
Either way, he needed to save Priscilla's life first, as she was being held hostage. (Of course, it wasn't just about Priscilla's life. Ivan wasn't confident he could defeat Enrique.)
"...I heard you're training a disciple."
"Oh?"
Enrique tilted her head with a deep smile.
Ivan momentarily gripped his axe handle tightly before deliberately relaxing his grip.
That's the expression that monster makes when she's in a bad mood.
"Continue."
"I heard they'll be enrolling at Yansk University this year."
"Hmm... and?"
"'Someone' is worried. If anything were to happen to them, it would be a great loss to the nation."
Ivan's words meant the following:
-Elizabeta was worried about your disciple. She told me to protect them.
-That's what I've been doing lately. You know Elizabeta's personality.
-If you don't understand this... will you think I've sided with Alexandr?
Meanwhile, Enrique heard Ivan's words as:
-I've already identified your disciple's identity, location, and personal details.
-I was paid handsomely.
-If they get hurt somewhere... it would be sad, so watch your behavior.
How dare he.
How dare he stab the Great Teacher in the back?
Whose request did he take? Alexandr? Is that bastard finally trying to get rid of me?
No, this guy too.
If I had received a request to kill him, I would have refused or at least given him advance notice!
But he comes barging in with threats and uses my disciple to blackmail me?
And this is what he calls being a "disciple"...? What kind of monster have I raised?
If these are the only disciples who survived the last war, then what have I...
Enrique nodded with a smile spread across her face.
"I see, so that's how it is."
"Yes. It's nothing serious."
"Hmm... nothing serious, you say?"
"Mm."
Brief answers are exchanged in the chilly atmosphere.
However, Ivan felt somewhat relieved. Although she seemed displeased, she appeared to understand the current situation well enough.
Well then... the problem is solved now.
With this level of warning, even if the "tutorial" proceeds, Enrique's disciple won't be in serious danger. Enrique will protect them personally.
'Lucky me.'
Although they met unexpectedly because of Priscilla's kidnapping, he had achieved more than expected.
The "protagonists'" tutorial now had three of them left, and even the earliest one was still more than two weeks away...
"Lucia!! Lucia! Come in!!"
"Yes, Master!"
With a bright voice, someone opened the reception room door and entered.
It was a young woman in her late teens with glossy dark brown hair that swayed as she moved.
Enrique looked at Ivan with a somewhat testing gaze and smiled.
"Come, say hello. This is your senior disciple."
"I've heard so much about you, Sir Petrovich! Master always tells me to follow at least half of your example!"
No, don't praise him. This ungrateful bastard.
Enrique gritted her teeth while forcing a smile.
"She's... human?"
"Pardon? Yes. Of course..."
"Of course...? Do you know your master's species?"
"Master is human!"
Lucia straightened her chest with a confident expression.
"Master may have to live with a somewhat unique diet, but she cherishes me and protects this country as a true hero! If you ask what defines a species, I would answer 'humanity,' Sir Petrovich!"
"Oh..."
Ivan couldn't help but admire her response.
After the war with the demon race, the United Kingdom had taken an extremely hostile stance toward "different species" and "Ain race."
It was understandable. Most citizens walking the streets had lost immediate family members to the demon race. (Elves are an exception. That big-eared race is ostracized despite being part of the United Kingdom due to their detestable personalities.)
In the midst of this, her open-minded view that the condition for distinguishing "species" doesn't lie in the species itself was a way of thinking one would expect to see in 21st century Earth, not this tiresome other world!
And Enrique's expression had softened after hearing this fresh response (which was extremely "radical" by this world's standards).
"See? I've taught her everything. It might take some time to fully absorb it all, but the learning is complete. If there's another Hero Party in the next generation, she would be perfect for it."
That's certainly true. She can walk freely even under the sun, so she would actually fit better in a Hero Party.
Additionally, that statement—"taught everything but it takes time to absorb"—gave Ivan a certain conviction.
'Is she talking about the skill tree?'
In typical games, when characters grow, they automatically acquire skills along with leveling up.
It's clearly strange. Whether adventuring or doing something else, it means skills suddenly pop into their heads.
But this game seemed to work that way.
"Already learned, but lacking experience and mastery." Couldn't be a more appropriate expression.
Ivan nodded.
"She's a disciple to be proud of. A better person than me, no, than 'us.' A precious one I gained in my later years. So... I don't want to kill you, Ivan."
"Hmm...?"
Suddenly?
Ivan flinched and placed his hand on his axe handle again.
Could he guarantee victory inside Enrique's dungeon when it was already burdensome to face Enrique alone, let alone two-against-one including her disciple, and with a hostage captured?
It would be difficult. Ivan watched her hands carefully and swallowed.
"I'm asking you, for the sake of our memories together. Wash your hands of this world. This is my territory."
Enrique spoke with a sincere voice.
It meant that she alone was enough to run an assassination organization in this city.
Don't make money from bloodshed in the city's back alleys. That's not why you retired.
Alexandr is untrustworthy. If you want to get involved in politics, establish connections with Elizabeta instead.
With such meaning, very earnestly.
And then.
"So it's come to this."
Ivan stood up, firmly gripping his axe handle.
Enrique, have you finally sided with Alexandr?
Dealing with a Hero Party member was clearly overtime work, but it couldn't be avoided.
"What did Alexandr offer in return? People? Blood? Territory?"
"...What?"
"If you're still working with the Krasilov royal family, I'll also ask, using our memories as collateral. Where does your loyalty lie?"
"Huh...?"
After staring into Ivan's eyes for a long time, Enrique broke into a cold sweat and spoke.
"Aren't you the one who teamed up with Alexandr?"
"What are you talking about? I've never met that man with a smile on my face."
"Neither have I."
"Hmm...?"
A moment of silence descended.
"So, um... you didn't gather orphans and teach them assassination techniques?"
"Our orphanage's internal curriculum follows the standard educational guidelines."
"Then what was that? She had properly learned ambush techniques!"
"That's the residents' own effort. They train hard in various areas to find employment after graduation."
"You didn't teach her?"
"No."
Another moment of silence fell.
So she was just a teenage orphan who happened to move stealthily?
And I just kidnapped her to lure this guy out... and threatened him...?
Wait a minute.
"Then what about my disciple? Why did her name suddenly come out of your mouth?"
"Elizabeta asked me. She said many children of the 'Hero Party' are enrolling among the new students this year and asked me to secretly guard them. Haven't you heard?"
"No! That kid is really! Why would she ask you! I'm perfectly alive! Who's treating whom like a has-been!"
Enrique shouted angrily before collapsing onto the sofa.
"This is really draining. It's always like this talking with you. Why is God so fair? He should have given you some conversational skills. That's the only thing you lack."
"That is not true."
Where does this pre-modern monster get off saying such nonsense to someone with 21st century essay education?
The inner Kim Seon-woo erupted in anger before being suppressed by Ivan and sinking back down.
"See, kid? Your senior is like this. He speaks in half sentences, so conversations don't connect properly. Sigh."
"Um... yeah."
Lucia hesitated, seemingly confused by the reception room's atmosphere that suddenly intensified and then deflated.
"You two seem to get along well!"
"That is not true."
"What are you saying!"
With an "ahaha," Lucia carefully closed the door and slipped out.
After a moment of silence, Enrique picked up her tea and spoke.
"Would you like me to bring fresh tea?"
"It's fine."
Though it had cooled completely, it still tasted good. Originally from a country where people drank espresso with ice, Ivan didn't care about coffee temperature.
The parent-teacher meeting for the prospective St. Yansk University student had been successfully concluded.
"Principal!!!"
As soon as the door opened, Priscilla ran out and hugged him tightly.
Ivan carefully patted her shoulder a few times before gently removing her.
"From now on, don't look for work in deserted places."
"Yes, yes! I was really, really scared!!"
"It's okay now. Don't worry."
He took out a handkerchief from his pocket, wiped Priscilla's cheeks, and then started walking.
Leaving the reception room, Enrique's dungeon, passing through the underground waterway, and back to the surface.
Out of the back alleys and straight toward the main road.
After walking in silence for a while, they suddenly stopped.
"Um, sir."
"Mm."
"Just, just maybe..."
Priscilla clutched her skirt hem under the glow of a magic-powered streetlight.
"Are you... preparing to leave somewhere...?"
"Probably."
Once preparations were complete and the new semester at Yansk University officially began, he would inevitably have to leave the orphanage.
With a new identity as a "gardener," to protect the children of the Hero Party.
About three years. Not such a long time for him.
But not so for the orphanage residents.
For those who have lived their entire lives as war orphans, they couldn't bear to lose this sanctuary they had finally found.
It's a family they barely managed to create. A bed they barely secured, a "home" they barely won.
From the perspective of residents who had always been abandoned, though it had only been two years, this orphanage was their last bastion—a place they didn't want to be abandoned from again.
Priscilla continued speaking with a tearful voice.
"I don't, sob, don't want you to leave. If you, sniff, if you disappear, we'll again, sniff..."
"Hmm..."
Ivan took off his coat and wrapped it around Priscilla's shoulders.
He was silent for a moment.
He had no memory of comforting a young child.
He didn't even have memories of comforting a young "girl" child!
It was the same even when searching through Kim Seon-woo's old memories. Kim Seon-woo was a strange person who spent all day watching webtoons and reading web novels while writing 5,700-character hate comments every day.
The time after that goes without saying. Ivan, who had dedicated more than half his life to military service, couldn't easily recall how to speak to someone in ways other than with axes or bullets.
"Don't worry. I'll visit often."
"Where... where are you going...?"
I suppose it's okay to tell her this much. She's like my "child," and it's not sensitive information.
Ivan answered, struggling with Priscilla's tears.
"St. Yansk University."
"Do you really have to go back...?"
"I'm not leaving right away, and I'm not leaving forever."
With all the effort and attachment he had put into the orphanage.
The orphanage was like home to him. The principal's office was the only sanctuary in his heart.
He made a firm resolution, patted Priscilla's sobbing shoulders a couple of times, and turned around.
And then,
'St. Yansk University. I heard the entrance exam is difficult... The next entrance exam is in November...'
All residents of St. Vasilisha Orphanage.
Entering exam preparation mode for Yansk University admission!
Episode 4. These orphans need their principal.