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Tl: Sam

…

“He was still a terrible old man, …….”

　I muttered to myself as I headed out of the Ministry of Monster Control with Rin.

　 I thought he had rounded out a bit since becoming minister, but he was still the same man he was before. He still had the same sense of honor, the same dynamic, the same competitive spirit,……, and nothing had changed.

　I thought the last blow was a good one, but it didn’t seem to do much damage.
　I guess I still have a long way to go.

　I was thinking things like this, and in no time at all, I reached the entrance to the Ministry.

　Rin stopped and looked at me. She is now the ace of the Subjugation Unit, and unlike me, she probably has a lot of work to do.

“…… Sensei. I had a good time today.”

“I’m glad you had a good time today. I had fun too.”

　When I said that, Rin said something like, “Um, ……” and stuttered.

　I wonder what’s going on.

“What’s wrong?”

” Umm, you’re a ‘returnee,’ aren’t you?”

“Oh, ……, that’s right. Just as Dojima-san said.”

　Only a few people really knew that I was a survivor of the Imperial Palace dungeon, or what is commonly referred to as a “returnee”. I didn’t even tell my student, Rin, about it.

　It was natural to be puzzled. Perhaps she felt betrayed.

　That old man. ……

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. It’s not that I didn’t trust Rin. It’s just that…… I haven’t been able to accept what happened.”

　I was able to come back alive, but I lost an important friend and mentor.

　In order to forget my grief, I immersed myself in my work more than ever. As a result, I found myself diving deep into the depths alone.

　It was partly Suda’s fault, but it was also my fault for being desperate.

“Oh no, please don’t apologize. I am thankful of you, Sensei.”

“Thankful?”

　I tilted my head to the side, as I hadn’t imagined those words.

　I thought she was shocked that I hadn’t told her.

“As you know, I lost my family in the Great Monster Disaster at the Imperial Palace. I can still vividly remember that time. I was scared and lonely and my …… chest felt crushed.”

　When the monsters flooded out of the Imperial Palace dungeon in large numbers, Rin was very close to the damage. I can’t imagine how scary that must have been for Rin, who was not an awakened person and was still very young.

　I can’t even imagine.

“I cried for a long time after I was protected at the shelter. I was only able to stop crying and look forward to that day when …… that dungeon was conquered and the monsters stopped coming out. You returnees are my saviors.”

　A ray of light streamed down from Rin’s eyes as she recalled that moment.

“I am so grateful to you, Sensei. Thank you so much.”

　Rin suddenly rushes out and jumps into my chest.

　I catch her with a panicked, “Whoa!” Rin’s small shoulders were trembling slightly.

　I had no idea that Rin felt that way about the returnees.

　I gently stroke her silky hair to calm her down as she still leans her weight on me. The eyes of the people around me are quite painful, but I’m patient.

　The most important thing right now is to be close to Rin’s feelings.

“You are my teacher, my precious person and …… savior. Thank you so …… much.”

　Rin says this and buries her face in my chest for a moment before slowly pulling away.

　There were no more tears on her face and she was back to her usual self.

“I’m sorry I made an ugly scene in front of people.”

“I don’t care. If anything, it was a bonus to witness a rare sight of Rin’”

　When I tell her this, Rin smiled for a moment.

　She is usually expressionless, so her smile is very charming.

“Thank you too, Rin. If you feel that way, it was worth all the effort I put in that day.”

　There were countless times I regretted going into the dungeon that day.

　But if there are people who were saved by that, I can find meaning in what I went through. I’m grateful to Dojima-san for telling the secret. I won’t tell him though.

“I’m going to go now. See you again, Rin.”

“Uh, ah, …… okay.”

　The moment I was about to leave, Rin’s hand wandered in the air for a few seconds.

　I immediately pulled my hand back, but Rin had a sad look in her eyes. She didn’t say it out loud, but maybe she wanted to spend a little more time with me.

　I guess she loves me like an older brother. If that’s the case, it would be sad to say goodbye after just a short meeting.

　However, it’s a good time of day and Rin has things to do.

　I thought about it for a while and came up with a …… good idea.

“Oh, yeah, Rin. Are you free next Sunday?”

“Well, …… yes. I think I’ll probably be free that day.”

“Then why don’t we go shopping together?　I have some places I want to go. ……”

“I’ll be there.”

　Rin suddenly pulled her face towards me while saying that with an eager look on her face.

　Ah, the pressure is great. Were you such an enthusiastic person?

“Well, tell me if I’m bothering you, I’m not forcing you to go.”

“I’ll go. I’ll go even if I have orders to mobilize.”

“Please give priority to that. ……”

　It was hard to tell if Rin was joking or serious.

　Well, anyway, I’m glad she’s going to come.

　The fact is, there are still some things I haven’t told her about. ……I’ll leave that as a surprise for the day.

I’ll be in touch. Did you change your email address?

“Yes, it’s the same address. Yes, I haven’t changed my address so that you can contact me anytime you want.”

“I’m honored to hear from you.”

　Rin continues to crack jokes without changing her expression at all.

　She’s a funny person.

“I’ll see you on Sunday.”

“Yes. I’ll be looking forward to it counting the days on my fingers.”

　I parted from Rin, who seemed to be really looking forward to it, and headed home.

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