Chapter 44: Draven Saved from Dying by an Unexpected Interruption.

Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Draven Saved from Dying by an Unexpected Interruption.

Taliah was tired of waiting for Draven to speak, so she pressed him.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

Taliah narrowed her eyes.

"Where were you during the break?"

’I don’t think I’m getting out of this one easily.’

He had managed to make it back to the classroom after his encounter with Calenne, but now he had to deal with another problem: a Taliah Valdegrim who was thoroughly annoyed with him.

Under normal circumstances, explaining where he had been wouldn’t have been complicated.

The problem was that he had just promised one of the most dangerous people in the academy that he would keep that conversation a secret.

And, of course, he also couldn’t tell her that Calenne had discovered he was carrying the god of destruction inside his body.

’I could say I was looking into something.’

Though that would only lead to more questions.

"I went for a walk."

"A walk?"

"Yeah, it’s good for your health."

"Alone?"

"Well, there were other students in the hallways."

"That’s not what I meant."

"Then you should be more specific."

Taliah crossed her arms.

"Draven, you disappeared without telling me, so I looked for you the entire break, but nobody knew where you were, and I even thought you’d gone to the infirmary because you weren’t feeling well."

"As you can see, I’m perfectly fine."

"That doesn’t answer my question."

"I went to check out the facilities."

"What facilities?"

"The academy’s, of course."

"Which ones?"

’What an annoying interrogation.’

"The library, for example."

"You went into the library?"

"Not exactly."

"Then what did you do?"

"I looked at it from the outside."

Taliah stayed silent, and for some reason that didn’t seem to have convinced her.

"You spent the entire break staring at a library?"

"It’s an interesting building."

"Draven."

"Yes?"

"Do you think I’m an idiot?"

"No, of course not."

"Then stop making up excuses."

’Damn it.’

Draven had to admit that lying to Taliah was pretty difficult.

They had known each other for years, and unfortunately for Draven, Taliah had developed a worrying ability to tell when he was trying to hide something from her.

Though it was also true that those excuses hadn’t been particularly good.

"All right, I’ll tell you the truth."

Taliah settled in.

"I’m listening."

"I needed to go to the bathroom."

"..."

"..."

"For the entire break?"

"There were a lot of people."

"In the bathroom?"

"It’s the first day, so I guess everyone was nervous."

Taliah closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

’I think I made it worse.’

"Draven."

"Yes?"

"I’ll give you one last chance."

"How considerate."

"If you keep mocking me, I’m going to..."

CLACK!

The classroom door slammed open and every student turned their attention toward the entrance.

’Saved!’

Draven had never been so grateful for an interruption, but his relief vanished the moment he saw the person who had just walked in.

She was an adult woman with dark brown hair, quite long and completely messy, so that some strands partially covered her face while the rest fell over her shoulders without any apparent order.

She was wearing a white shirt with the top buttons undone, black pants, and a pair of leather boots that looked like they had received little maintenance.

Over her shoulders she had a jacket she hadn’t even bothered to put on properly, but the most striking thing wasn’t her clothing.

It was the bottle she was holding in her right hand, it was liquor, and from the way she was walking, there was a fairly high chance she had already drunk a good amount.

"Good morning, little monsters."

The woman raised the bottle in greeting, but no one responded. She looked at the students for a few seconds and then frowned.

"What? Don’t they teach manners at this academy anymore?"

A student sitting near the window raised his hand timidly.

"Excuse me, ma’am, are you all right?"

"Perfectly fine."

The woman took another step and stumbled slightly over one of the legs of the nearest desk, but managed to recover her balance without spilling a single drop of her drink.

"..."

"Like I said, perfectly."

’That was impressive for all the wrong reasons.’

The stranger walked up to the teacher’s desk and set the bottle on top of it.

Then she sat in the chair, stretched out her legs, and propped her feet up on the desk.

"All right, I suppose we should start with introductions."

A female student raised her hand.

"Excuse me, are you a teacher?"

"Looks like it."

"What do you mean, ’looks like it’?"

"Well, I’ve got an ID, they pay me a salary, and they’ve told me I have to teach you guys stuff, so I guess so."

Several students exchanged looks.

"And Professor Tormel?"

another one asked.

"The old guy in his forties? Ah, he’s probably off doing one of those boring things he likes so much."

"But he was teaching us."

"Then you should thank me."

"Why?"

"Because you’ll have to put up with him for less time."

The woman opened the bottle and drank straight from it.

’I don’t know whether to be glad or nervous that she’s showing up now...’

Draven remembered this woman from the videogame, but before he could sort those memories out, hurried footsteps approached from the hallway.

"What do you think you’re doing?!"

A man appeared in the doorway. It was Jorvan Tormel, and he looked quite worked up, but the woman slowly turned her head toward him.

"Oh, Jorvan, I was just talking about you."

"Why are you here?!"

"Because this is my classroom."

"That’s not what I mean!"

Jorvan walked up to the desk and pointed at the bottle.

"Don’t you understand that you can’t show up in front of the students in that condition?!"

"What condition?"

"You’re drunk!"

"What an unpleasant accusation."

"You have a bottle of alcohol on the desk!"

"That doesn’t prove anything."

"You were drinking it in front of everyone!"

"Well, that does prove something."

A few students let out small laughs while Jorvan brought a hand to his face.

"Torvellan Ari, please tell me you haven’t come here to teach."

’Ah!’

That was the name Draven had been trying to remember, and he couldn’t believe it had taken him so long.

Torvellan Ari was one of the most interesting secondary characters in Valkaen and a New Rebirth, though calling her secondary might not have been entirely accurate.

Depending on the player’s decisions, she could become an extremely powerful ally or one of the most troublesome adversaries in certain missions.

In the game, Ari was known for her irresponsible behavior, her fondness for alcohol, and a considerable lack of interest in the rules.

However, she was also an extraordinary swordswoman.

’I remember losing to her several times.’

And not exactly because he couldn’t figure out her attack patterns.

Ari possessed impressive speed, a highly refined technique, and an exceptional ability to control mana during combat.

Even some characters considered S-rank had trouble facing her, and the curious thing was that her appearance didn’t convey any of that at all.

If someone found her sleeping in a tavern, they would probably think she was an unemployed woman who had spent all her money on alcohol.

’Although, come to think of it, that also happened in the game.’

"I already told you I sorted everything out with the director,"

Ari replied, at which Jorvan looked surprised.

"You spoke with the director?"

"That’s right."

"And she authorized your return?"

"Exactly."

"But your suspension isn’t over yet!"

"Apparently it is."

"That’s impossible!"

Ari pulled a folded sheet of paper from her pocket.

"You can read it if you want."

Jorvan took the document and began reviewing it, his expression gradually changing.

"...No way."

"See?"

"The director actually signed this?"

"Looks like it."

"How did you manage to convince her?"

Ari smiled.

"I’ve got my charms."

Jorvan looked her up and down, his gaze finally settling on the bottle.

"I find that hard to believe."

"How rude."

"At least put that away?"

"My drink?"

"Yes!"

Ari sighed.

"Fine, fine."

She took the bottle and put it in one of the drawers, so Jorvan seemed to relax.

Until the woman opened her jacket and pulled out a second bottle, considerably smaller.

"..."

"..."

"It’s for emergencies,"

Ari explained.

"WHAT KIND OF EMERGENCIES?!"

"When I get bored."

The classroom erupted in laughter, and even Draven had to hold himself back while Jorvan looked like he was about to lose his patience.

"I’m going to speak with the director in person."

"Go ahead."

"And I hope you understand that the students need a proper education."

"Of course."

"Then act like a teacher!"

"I’ll try."

Jorvan stared at her for several more seconds, but finally turned on his heel and left the classroom while muttering something about the decline of the institution.

Ari waited until his footsteps faded and then pulled the first bottle back out of the drawer.

"What an exhausting man."

’Definitely her.’

The woman in front of them was Torvellan Ari, and if she still had her skills from the videogame, she was probably one of the most powerful people Draven had met since arriving at the academy.