“Then I will cooperate too. Chu!”
Adding to Kent’s hands-on-two-beautiful-women situation, Elnet approached Kent from the front and kissed him, as there was only space in front or behind.
“Ah! Older Sister, it was the same during class, but it’s unfair to kiss Kent when you have the chance!”
“That’s right. But wait a minute! Elnet, did you kiss Kent during class?”
Josette and Caro, who had witnessed this, protested.
“It couldn’t be helped because there was only space in front or behind. You two embraced Kent first. So, why didn’t you go to the front? As for kissing during class, I did it intentionally because I thought Josette would be envious. Since I’m giving a class in front of Kent, I need a little reward for myself, don’t I?”
“Ugh.”
In their concern for Kent, Josette and Caro hesitated and went to his sides, but Elnet had no concept of hesitation. She went straight for him. The two couldn’t refute Elnet’s absurd reasoning.
“Older brother, it’s nice to be fawned over by three beautiful women.”
“What is it, Rachel? Are you lonely, perhaps? There’s space behind you.”
“Eh?”
Rachel intended to tease Kent, but Elnet made a strange suggestion.
“That’s right. How about you too, Rachel?”
“Rachel, let’s squeeze Kent together.”
“My escape route is gone. I-I guess I have no choice, just for a little bit.”
Saying that, Rachel hugged Kent tightly from behind.
“Older brother, cheer up.”
“Thank you all four of you for your concern.”
As Rachel whispered encouragingly in his ear, Kent seemed to calm down a little.
“Shall we leave the rest to the two of them?”
“That’s right.”
“I’ll yield this to Rachel.”
“Eh?”
When Caro said that and let go of Kent, Elnet and Josette also gently let go of him. Rachel was left alone, hugging Kent.
“W-what are you saying all of a sudden, Caro? But, I feel somehow calm like this.”
“Rachel, I think so too.”
Rachel, with a blushing face, protested to Caro while feeling the warmth from Kent’s back. Kent, feeling the softness of her chest against his back, felt a pleasant warmth.
“…”
“W-why is everyone so quiet? Okay, it’s over now.”
Rachel, noticing Elnet, Josette, and Caro watching their exchange warmly, hastily let go of Kent, feeling a little reluctant.
“Kent seems to have recovered. Well then, let’s continue. Actually, the resignation submitted by Tia was received by the academy, but it hasn’t been fully accepted yet.”
“What does that mean?”
Upon hearing from Elnet that the resignation had not been accepted, Kent asked her for an explanation.
“Acceptance of resignation requires the approval of both the Headmaster and the Principal. The Headmaster seems to have signed it, but the Principal is reportedly putting it on hold.”
“Why is it on hold?”
According to the academy’s rules, when a teacher expresses their intention to resign, the approval of both the Headmaster and the Principal is required. The Headmaster has approved, but Elnet explained that the Principal, Margaret, is holding the resignation.
“It’s because the other party is Kent. The Principal said that it is natural to show consideration as royalty if a person involved in saving royalty is implicated. If Kent can persuade her to come back, it will be overlooked this time.”
“You did it, Older Brother. You can return if you can persuade Teacher Tia.”
“I’m sure Kent-san can persuade her, just like he did with me.”
“I also believe in Kent-san. I’m sure things will move in a good direction.”
When Elnet conveyed Margaret’s thoughts, Rachel, Josette, and Caro spoke in support of Kent.
“Can I do it? No, I have to. But where did Teacher Tia go after leaving the staff dormitory?”
Kent resolved to bring Tia back, but he didn’t know her whereabouts after she had left the staff dormitory.
“According to the information I obtained, Tia seems to have left on a stagecoach to return to her hometown. Her hometown is a place called Laoshi Village.”
“That’s quite a distant place. It takes about three days by stagecoach.”
Elnet relayed the information she had obtained to Kent and his companions. According to Caro, Tia’s hometown was in a place that required about three days of travel by stagecoach.
“Then, we have to go get her now.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Eh?”
When Kent was about to take immediate action, Elnet told him it was impossible.
“You know the academy’s rules, right? You cannot take leave from the academy unless there are special circumstances such as physical reasons or a family funeral. Breaking this will result in a severe penalty. This is a rule that even the Principal cannot change.”
“Ugh, what should I do…”
“Fortunately, the day after tomorrow is a holiday, so we’ll have to resolve it in those two days. The hold won’t last much longer, so we have to resolve it during the next holiday.”
The academy is a national institution, and all residents of this country are obligated to attend for three years upon reaching a certain age, regardless of their status. Also, due to the use of national funds, there is a rule that students cannot take leave without a special reason while enrolled. While the aristocracy may have some flexibility, commoners cannot easily break these rules. Elnet stated that it could only be resolved during the next holiday.
“Older Brother, if it takes three days to get there, it will take at least six days round trip. We only have two days off, so what will you do?”
“Hmm, I can’t answer that right now. I have to think of a way by tomorrow.”
Simply calculating, it would take six days round trip if it took three days one way to Laoshi Village. This is assuming everything goes smoothly with the stagecoach connections. If the connections for the connecting stagecoaches are bad, it will take longer, and if it takes time to persuade Tia, the number of days will increase further. As Rachel said, trying to resolve this in two days was unrealistic. Therefore, Kent could not immediately come up with a solution.
“Kent-san, I’m sure you can come up with a good solution. We should probably have lunch soon or we’ll run out of time.”
“Oh, that’s right.”
“Yeah, if we don’t eat, we’ll run out of time.”
“I’ll prepare it quickly.”
“Since we’re here, I’ll have some too.”
Kent and his companions decided to put the problem aside and have lunch.
“Well then, I need to prepare for my next class, so I’ll excuse myself first.”
“Older Sister. Please be careful not to speak in your lunch break tone.”
“I’ve practiced switching tones before, so it’s fine. See you later~”
To Josette, who was worried about her slipping up, Elnet spoke in Arnet’s tone and returned to the school building as she had an upcoming class.
“As for Older Sister, I think she’ll be fine, but I’m a little worried.”
“It hasn’t been that long since I rigorously trained her, so I hope she hasn’t forgotten.”
“You two are worrying too much. Elnet is a hardworking person, so I think she’s considered all that.”
Caro said reassuringly to Josette and Rachel, who were worried. After a little more time passed, and as the lunch break for Kent and his companions was ending, they decided to return to their respective classrooms.
