438 Chapter 438: Stowaways

"What are you kids doing here?!" I demanded, trying not to sound too astonished as I glowered at the two stowaways.

"Uh, we snuck aboard the hovercraft and hid somewhere," Adrian explained, shifting anxiously. "In the cargo compartment. Good thing it was narrow, so we didn't have any problems securing ourselves. We didn't fall around too much."

Now that I looked at them closely, I could see a couple of bruises here and there. This is why you put on your seatbelt when in a plane, ladies and gentlemen.

"What I want to know," Feng Hai said exasperatedly as he strode over. "Is how two kids managed to sneak aboard our transport without anyone noticing."

"Um…by magic?" Adrian ventured timidly. I didn't blame him. Feng Hai looked as if he was about to explode, but I feared his rage was directed more at his mercenaries for allowing a lapse in security than the kids themselves.

"We had this…" Melina nervously took out a stealth device, mistakenly thinking that Feng Hai was actually demanding a proper answer from the both of them. The mercenary leader paused for ammoment to study the stealth device, and then his jaw dropped.

"Where did you get that from?!"

"???"

All the mercenaries exchanged glances, thrown into confusion by their leader's sudden shock. I also wondered why he was making such a big deal over it. Stealth devices, while rare and expensive, weren't all that unusual – especially given how these two kids came from the ten Great Families, it was easily conceivable how they managed to get their paws on such a thing.

"This is a Tesla Tech-93 Invisible Air Enchanter," Feng Hai explained, as if that designation meant anything. Seeing the blank looks on our faces, he continued. "It's the latest and most hi-tech stealth device invented…was only released a couple of weeks ago. It was developed to fool even the senses of vetern mages and hi-tech detection scanners designed to counter such tech. Even the military doesn't have more than a handful of these devices. How did they…?"

"Eh? My father gave it to me." Poor Melina was looking extremely confused. I didn't blame her. I would be shocked too if some gadget my father gave me turned out to be the latest, state-of-the-art, hi-tech device meant to circumvent even the military's defenses. "I swear, I didn't know…"

"It's fine," Feng Hai assured her, looking frustrated. "Everyone, do another sweep. I don't want uninvited guests popping up in our midst again."

"Sir, yes, sir!"

The mercenaries were glad their leader was no long directing his rage at them, and they returned to their jobs in gusto, scanning the place several times to ensure nothing got past them. Before I could join them, Feng Hai beckoned me over.

"These kids will be your responsibility. Take care of them."

"Huh? Me?" Apparently Feng Hai wanted me to babysit them. Well, I didn't mind. I was fairly close to Adrian, and technically Melina was my student. "Um, okay. Leave them to me. I'll keep an eye on them."

"Out of all of us, you know them best, and they seem pretty attached to you." he frowned. "I'm guessing they snuck aboard and followed us because they saw you."

"That is true," Adrian admitted. He turned to me. "We actually wanted to check on you after the semifinals, but then we saw you following the Silver Wolves and…" he trailed off and shrugged sheepishly. "We got curious. We were wondering what you intended to do, leaving even though you have the third place match in a day or two."

"I've to rescue someone," I explained. "A very close friend of mine is in trouble, and we're hoping to find a receptarier who can cure her. Or at last alleviate her conditions."

"Eh? Who?"

"Anastasia. I don't know if you've met her before…"

"I think I might have…just once. The beautiful lady with long, green hair?"

"Yup, that's right." I wasn't sure how Adrian met her, and I honestly didn't care. The kid was full of mysteries. "She's an important member of the Silver Wolves, and we all want to save her. They recruited me to maximize their chances of success."

"That makes sense. So that's why you agreed to go along."

Adrian nodded. I glanced at Melina, who seemed to want to say something.

"What's the matter, Melina?"

"Uh, I…I…" she stammered nervously, her words caught in her throat. Adrian grinned and gave her an encouraging push.

"Go ahead and tell Brother Richard. We came all the way here just so you can talk to him directly, right?"

Wait, what? Oh…I see. I could roughly picture what had transpired. Adrian and Melina didn't just snuck onboard the Silver Wolves' transport and stowed away simply because they were curious, or on a childish whim. Melina had something seemingly important to talk to me about, and Adrian being Adrian, was more than happy to help her get in touch with me. Even if it meant sneaking aboard and stowing away on a mercenary's hovercraft at the risk of one's life.

…kids…

Pushing my glasses up my nose, I nodded and watched Melina, careful not to put on an irritated or intimidating expression. Kids loved me because I was friendly and approachable, and I wasn't some obnoxious edgelord scoffing at them while putting on airs about how the world was better off with 90% of the population dead, or how it was better to be alone because you couldn't trust anyone. Seriously, that sort of cynical, paranoid outlook was just insufferable…even worse when these edgelords came into the Internet and began projecting their nihilistic views on other people's stories, demanding that the protagonists be as ruthless, edgy or cynical as them.

Well, I like kids and I like hanging out with kids. I was proud not to be an edgelord who drove away people who enjoyed being in my company.

Feeling a bit more confident when I smiled warmly at her, Melina took a deep breath and responded with a timid smile of her own. Clenching her fists, she steeled herself and put her resolve into words.

"I…I don't care that you lost the semifinals! I don't know what Father told you, but I still want you to be my teacher! I still want you to teach me swordsmanship! I don't care what everyone says! Please don't mind about the defeat or whatever. In my eyes, you're still the best teacher for me! I will talk to Father and convince him to give you a chance! I won't allow him to dismiss you like he did yesterday! I don't want anyone else to teach me! I want to learn from you!"

"…"

I wasn't sure how to respond to that at first. I had to confess to feeling very touched. Melina, despite her ususally diminutive and shy nature, had mustered the courage to sneak aboard a mercenary's hovercraft and follow me all the way to an unknown destination just so she could tell me that. Undoubtedly she thought the thing I needed the most right now was to hear that people still believed in me. That my defeat did not define me, that she still had the utmost confidence in me no matter the outcome of the semifinal. She was worried that I was feeling down after my loss, and when she saw me leaving instead of staying to participate in the third place match, she must have gotten even more concerned and panicked, believing that I had given up on the tournament totally just because of a single loss. Not to mention, her father had spoken to me yesterday, and she probably was not privy to the contents of that conversation.

So, in order to ensure that I didn't remain depressed and mope around forever, she had taken the huge risk of stowing away on the Silver Wolves' transport to tell me that, to lift my spirits and assure me that her faith in her teacher was unbroken.

All this, and I hadn't even officially started teaching her yet.

"Thank you." I then chuckled slightly. "Actually, you don't have to worry aout your father. I'm not sure where you heard that from, but your father did not dismiss me yesterday. In fact, he personally came to assure me that he has no intention of firing me, and still very much wants me to teach you. He shares the same exact sentiments as you."

Like father, like daughter. I swear, I could almost see her father in her. Even though they didn't resemble each other physically, they were almost identical in terms of spirit and personality. She really took after him a lot.

"Eh?! EEEEEEEEEEH?!"

"See, this is why I told you to get your facts right first," Adrian muttered under his breath. "We could have avoided all this trouble if you listened to me and spoke to your father first."

"But…but how would I know?"

"Like I said, you should have spoken to your father first…"

"Impossible, impossible, impossible!" Melina was frantically shaking her head. "My father is not someone you can just walk up to and converse with! He…he's the Duke of the Franklin family, you know?!"

"And you're the heiress," Adrian pointed out dryly. "His daughter."

"No, no. I mean, yes, I'm Father's daughter, but I'm not the heiress. Cousin Kureha is. She'll be taking over as the next family head. Not me…" her voice faltered. It was evident that she believed that her father was disappointed in her and didn't want to talk to her. She had this idea that she was the shame of her family, and thus did not have the right to even speak to her father.

I sighed. For some reason, she reminded me of myself, and I could really empathize with her. Reaching out, I placed a hand on her shoulder and gripped it firmly.

"Before he is the Duke, he is your father. And I can guarantee that your father doesn't think of you as a shame. He told me himself, that he is watching you, and is proud of your achievements. He doesn't care about the Franklin family and their baggage o whatever. He is proud of your personal achievements in magic. He is proud of you, not as an heiress of the Franklin family, but as his own daughter. So hold your head up high. If anything, I think your father wants nothing more than to have a heart-to-heart talk with you, but is a little too awkward to approach you himself."

"That's…" Melina hung her head, falling silent. I smiled comfortingly.

"Here's your first-ever homework…if you really want me to be your teacher. When we get home, I want you to talk to your father. And I mean have a proper talk to him. Tell him how you feel, confide in him your insecurities. Then…ask for his advice. Consult him. He'll open up, I guarantee it."

At least I believed he would, based on what I could gather from him so far.

Melina still looked very uncertain, but she nodded, determined not to let me down. She clasped her hands tightly and kept her eyes down, but I could tell that she was steeling herself.

"I will…do my best."

"You do that. That's all anyone can ask for, honestly."

"By the way, Brother Richard." It was Adrian this time. He was raising his hand, wanting to jump in and ask a question. "I know you said that you're here to help a friend, but what exactly happened? You said the sister with green hair is sick, and you're looking for a receptarier to cure her?"

"That's the gist of it," I replied. "What other details do you want?"

"What kind of disease is that? It can't be cured by healing magic?"

"No, it can't. Well…it's not so much a disease as it is a condition, actually." I contemplated telling Adrian about the Poison Woeful Body, then decided against him. I wasn't sure how much he would understand. "Basically her magic is running wild, and we're hoping that this heavenly receptarier can concoct a medicine to keep it under control."

Adrian stared at me blankly, disbelief written all over his features.

"Uh, I don't mean to pour water over your parade, but since when will something convenient happen? That sounds like a plot device ripped out of a story. Suffering from something that only a miracle doctor who lives in the middle of nowhere can cure, and all he needs to do is conveniently whip out a medicine that only he can make…as if such cure-all medicine conveniently exists in the first place."

Now that he pointed that out, I realized just how accurate he was. Such miracles didn't happen so conveniently in reality…

"You're right," I admitted, unable to keep a note of bitterness out of my voice. "It's extremely unlikely. But…we don't have a choice. If there's even the slightest possibility that we can get some medicine to alleviate her condition, we're willing to try. It's better than not doing anything at all. We don't want to regret anything at all."

"That's true." Adrian nodded. "I probably would do the same if I were you."

Melina took a deep breath. "All right, Sensei. Let us know if there's anything we can do to help. We'll do our best, as recompense for sneaking aboard the Silver Wolves' ship and stowing away."

"Um, well…honestly?" I pushed my glasses up as I considered, and then shrugged helplessly. "I personally don't care, but I think the Silver Wolves will probably just tell us to not get in their way."