The World After Leaving the Hero’s Party

Walking down the corridor of what was commonly called White Rock Castle, I reached the princess’s chambers.

“May I ask what brings you here?”

Outside her door, as usual, stood her maids. Their outfits—white frills and black fabric—gave them the appearance of polite, well-trained attendants, but the reality was quite different.

Every one of them was a trained assassin assigned to guard the princess from the shadows.

If the need arose, they’d sacrifice their lives to protect her without hesitation.

There was a chance they’d attack me after hearing what I intended to do, but I simply smiled as I spoke to them.

“Please inform the princess that I have something to discuss with her regarding tomorrow’s lesson.”

Whatever their original roles might have been, on the surface, I was the princess’s tutor, and they were her maids.

Given our clear difference in rank, I spoke freely, and they, naturally, accepted this and knocked on the door.

A moment later, the door swung open.

“Teacher?! What brings you here at this hour?!”

She looked startled. Eyes wide, face flushed, her gaze sparkled as she looked up at me. I quickly averted my eyes and held out the robe I had been carrying over my shoulder.

“Eh?”

Was she about to go to bed? Lucille was dressed not in her usual elaborate gown but in something light and delicate, almost like a butterfly’s wing—a thin nightgown that hinted subtly at what lay beneath.

“Oh…”

Lucille’s face grew redder by the second. Her expression became one of speechless embarrassment as she instinctively tried to hide herself, sitting down on the floor in her flustered state. But she didn’t manage to take the robe I offered.

Well, I suppose I’ll have to help.

I gently draped the robe over her shoulders.

Since she was so much smaller than me, my robe covered her quite well.

“Th-thank… you…”

In a barely audible voice, Lucille mumbled her thanks, head down.

Clearly, she felt embarrassed by the state I’d caught her in, and since there was no need to press the matter, I pretended not to notice and continued.

“I’ll be taking you outside tomorrow morning. Since this will be an outdoor lesson, please be ready.”

“…Pardon? Wh-what?”

Lucille seemed unable to comprehend my words, still dazed. While she blinked in confusion, one of the maids, who had caught on, asked politely, though her tone was slightly frosty.

“Outside, you say? Sage, that would be…”

“I have the queen’s permission.”

Only then did the maids step back quietly. Having the queen’s permission meant that their surveillance would also be implicitly sanctioned.

“And I’d like it if you refrained from unnecessary interference.”

“…Understood.”

In other words, they were permitted to observe, but not interfere. For now, at least, they seemed to accept my intentions. Whether they would hold to that tomorrow, I wasn’t sure.

“Outside… you mean I’m allowed… to go outside?” Lucille asked hesitantly.

“I’ll be with you.”

“Ah… I see. So as a princess, I’ll be inspecting the kingdom…”

“No.”

I opened the bag I’d brought. I’d picked this up earlier when I went out briefly.

Inside was a robe and a staff—gear commonly used by novice mages.

Looking between the items and me, Lucille tilted her head, confused.

“Why… Do I need these?”

“I’ll explain more tomorrow. For now, have a good night.”

Lucille still seemed puzzled, but she finally managed a small nod and bade me goodnight as I waved her off.

—

The next morning, Lucille arrived at the garden in her beginner mage attire, looking shy and unsure. I’d been waiting and took her directly outside. Although we encountered a few minor hindrances and the maids, disguised, were following, there was nothing too problematic.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Let’s save that as a surprise for when we arrive.”

Lucille seemed excited and intrigued; it was likely her first time going out this early. Although there was a hint of fear, her grip on my sleeve never loosened.

The place I took her to was the Adventurers’ Guild.

“Welcome, Sage.”

“What missions are currently unclaimed?”

“Well, let’s see…”

“And I’d also like to register her as an adventurer. Her name is Lucille, and I’m the guarantor.”

“Your endorsement is more than enough, Sage. And here’s the list of unclaimed missions.”

As I selected a task with the appropriate difficulty, Lucille, who had been staring at me in bewilderment, finally gathered her thoughts and asked.

“T-Teacher? What exactly is this…”

At that moment, a loud, cheerful voice rang out, accompanied by an overwhelming amount of chatter.

“Oh! Sage! Is that really you?! Wow, what a surprise to run into you here again! I had a feeling something good would happen today! Oh, and is that in your hand… Oh! It’s a mushroom gathering quest! I signed up for that too but didn’t want to go alone. Perfect timing! Let’s go together! And who’s this? Is she your student? Wow~ she looks like she could fight really well, just like you! Hey, you know, I…”

It was enough to make anyone’s head spin—a rapid-fire torrent of words spilling out from a relentlessly upbeat wolf-boy shaman I’d previously teamed up with on a quest.

Lucille gaped, staring at him with her mouth open, while I promptly registered the quest.

“Um, T-Teacher… Is this really… an adventurer’s mission?”

“Yes.”

“Will… will I be able to do it…?”

Seeing her anxious expression, I chuckled.

“In my opinion, Princess, you’ll be better than he is.”

Lucille looked delighted, squirming shyly at the praise.

People with low self-esteem always benefit from a few words of encouragement.

Meanwhile, our ever-optimistic wolf-boy grinned and began jabbering on with endless enthusiasm.

“Oh, Sage, that was so harsh! But you know what? You have every right to say that! Oh, by the way, have you heard the latest news? Strange monsters have been appearing on the battlefield where the Hero is stationed. I wonder what kind of loot they drop! I’d love to try taking one down. Speaking of which, last time when I went with the priest…”

The boy had been prattling non-stop ever since we’d run into him, flooding the air with ceaseless positivity. Lucille, now visibly worn out, clapped her hands over her ears slightly and looked at me with a pleading expression.

See?

Wasn’t I right?