Clang, clang, clang rang the crude sound of a bell.  It was the signal for lunch.  In an instant, the students who had been sparring in the now-cleared training grounds all dashed off.

“It’s lunch tiiiiiiiiime!  Today, the cutlet sandwiches will belong to us, the Blue Dragon Class!”
“Haa!?  As if the Gold Dragon class is gonna lose! Wait, those damn Purple Dragon Class guys are fast!”
“Today’s meal is coming from the Dragon Emperor’s food distribution, hurrrryyyyyyy!”
“Hey, you lot!  I never said class was over… they’re not listening.

I suppose I’ll have to drill them again later, but I can’t say I don’t understand how they feel.  Even Jill was hungry after their intense training that morning.

Half a month had passed since the magic circle spread across the skies of the entire Rave Empire and thanks to the efforts of the Noitral Dragon Knight Order led by Elynsia, the restoration was progressing smoothly.  The escaped rebels were currently being hunted down.

At the same time, information from the citizens of Laica brought the corruption and problems of the stationed Rave military to light.  Investigations and crackdowns were presently underway.  Thanks to Elynsia’s character and the efficiency of the Noitral Dragon Knight Order, the wariness of Laica’s citizens was gradually beginning to fade.

That said, many had been injured and there were various casualties, the academy building was all but destroyed, and Maynard, believed most likely to be the ringleader of the rebellion, was missing.

The destination that Gunter, who aged overnight after seeing his years of research destroyed in an instant, provided contained nothing more than the corpse of the Grand Duke of Laica. The small dragon-controlling flute that Maynard had was no longer usable, but they wouldn’t allow him to avoid justice with only that.

They were in a situation where they couldn’t let their guards down, but the students were full of energy.  According to Elynsia, the reason the residents didn’t resist more was probably because the students were attached to the Dragon Empress, which made Jill feel embarrassed.

“Line up, no pushiiing.  Wait your turn.  It’s curry today.  One cutlet sandwich per person—”

It was also probably because the Dragon Emperor was for some reason participating in distributing the food.

Let’s just call this person the Apron Emperor from now on, for the rest of his life.

Hades and members of the Dragon Knight Order brought large pots to a makeshift cafeteria, a row of usable desks.  Of course, the students were present, but so were the townspeople.  The curry everyone is scrambling for under this blue sky must surely be delicious.

“Jill-sensei, don’t you need to line up?”
“It’s fine, I have a boxed lunch.”

Noin, not joining the crowded line, strolled over and was presented with Jill’s five-tired lunch box.  He recoiled slightly at the sight.

“Tha-that much today as well…”
“Hey, aren’t you putting way too much faith in Jill-sensei?  Here, this cancels out the loss from earlier.”

In contrast, Lutiya, having returned early from the line, tossed a paper wrapped cutlet sandwich at Noin.  Jill furrowed her brows in displeasure.

“What do you mean ‘loss’?  Don’t tell me you were gambling on that sparring match earlier?”
“No way.  We were properly, seriously paying attention in class.”

“That’s right.  We’ll be leaving soon, so we don’t have much time left to take Jill-sensei’s classes, after all”

Noin casually changed the subject.  He was undoubtably being negatively influenced by Lutiya.

“…Well, rebuilding this place would take far too long. I can’t let your time go to waste. But even if you all get separated, friends are still friends, so don’t feel lonely.”
“Eh… We’re all going to be attending Jill-sensei’s school, though.”
“He?”

Lutiya clicked his tongue as he unwrapped a paper package.

“Don’t tell her.  We were all going out of our way to keeping quiet so we could surprise Jill-sensei.”
“—Hey, hold on. My school hasn’t even been built yet.”
“You submitted the proposal, right? Vissel-aniki already seems to have allocated the budget.”

Popping his face in from above was Hades wearing an apron.  He seemed to have left the serving to some else.  Then, in front of her students, he lifted her up, but she was too surprised to resist and simply let it happen.  Seeing his face from up close, she found herself thinking, he’s handsome again today, and ended up staring.

“There’s an old school in Radea that looks like it’d be usable after renovating it.  There’s still a mountain of things to be decided, but we already have the building, so they say it should be ready to open next year.  Furthermore, everyone’s attached to you. If everyone’s transferring, they want it to be there.  These two came as representatives to directly appeal for it.”

When Jill’s gaze flew to them, Lutiya turned away while Noin gave a wry smile.

“Once this place is rebuilt, would it be a good idea to make it a sister school to the one in Radea?”
“Bu-But until the school is ready… what are you all going to do?”
“Everyone is going to be doing something different, like going back to their families and what not.  As for me, thanks to His Majesty the Emperor’s kindness, I’ll be studying abroad at a school in the imperial capital for about half a year.  I’ve been wanting to see the homeland properly at least once.  Lutiya will be in the capital too, so I’ll visit him. Ah, but meeting the Dragon Empress or members of the Rave imperial family would probably be difficult…”
“What do you mean Rave imperial family?  I’m basically a hostage for Lacia.”

With the former Grand Duke of Laica now deceased, the current Grand Duke was Lutiya.  However, using the recent rebellion as justification, Lutiya himself was to be taken into custody in the imperial capital. It was for his protection, but there was no denying the fact that he was being held as a hostage in regard to the Grand Duchy of Laica.  Until Lutiya returned, Laica would be governed by a proxy appointed by the Rave Empire.  However, if Laica were to abandon Lutiya, the action would likely be interpreted as an act of rebellion by the empire.

“There you go saying that again.  You are definitely going to be returned to Lacia.”
“Haa?  Seriously, what perspective are you even speaking from?”

Watching Noin and Lutiya banter like that made the future seem bright.  Jill almost smiled, but Lutiya glared at her before she could.  Instead, she tightened her expression and cleared her throat.

“So that means… my school… it’s really going to be built?”
“Yep.  Although with the wedding preparations also happening, things are going to get a bit hectic.”

For some reason, Hades cast a meaningful glance at Lutiya before smiling brightly.

“I’ll help too, so give it your all.”
“—Understood, I’ll give it my all!  On top of that, these kids are coming to Radea… That means I’ll be able to teach them again, right!?”
“…Well, once in a while I suppose.  You are their teacher, after all.”
“Yeah, I guess she is.  I mean, at this point I don’t want to have to start referring to Jill-sensei as gishijou (older sister-in-law)!”

Jill blinked at Lutiya’s remark.

“I see.  Once His Majesty and I get married, Lutiya would become my younger brother-in-law.”

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