Well-behaved female student

It was purely coincidental.

Loya had just settled his bill at the tavern “Duran River’s Nursery Rhymes” and was walking back, just reaching his doorstep.

He wasn’t so indifferent that he could ignore seeing his student hanging from a tree on the street in front of his house in the middle of the night, as if nothing was wrong.

“Hey, Timos, what are you doing up there?”

Following his gaze, the elf girl in the tree wore a light, fluttering butterfly dress.

From the upward angle, the beautiful lace trim inside the skirt was faintly visible.

She sat sideways on a tree branch, like a night fairy from a fairy tale, ready to send sweet dreams to every good child’s pillow.

“Ah?”

Seeing her teacher, a complicated expression flashed across Timos’s face, then her eyes widened, and surprise appeared on her face.

One second she was sitting steadily in the best viewing seat, and the next, she slipped and fell from the tree.

Unsurprisingly, a pair of not-so-thick but very reliable arms below caught her steadily.

“My bad, did I scare you?”

Hearing Loya’s apology, Timos took the opportunity to snuggle into his arms.

She naturally put on the expression of a well-behaved student in front of her teacher, clearly innocent, but took responsibility, saying:

“No, no, I should be the one saying sorry. I made you worry, teacher.”

Loya calmly put her down:

“Anyway, it’s good that you’re okay. But, why are you here so late…”

Before he could finish his question, he saw drops of tears wetting the lenses of Timos’s sparkling glasses.

He paused for a moment, waiting until the lenses were blurred to the point of being unclear, before she seemed to realize why her teacher wasn’t speaking and reluctantly took off her glasses:

“Teacher, I, I just wanted to take a walk to clear my head.”

Even though large tears were rolling down her cheeks, she was still trying to suppress her voice from breaking,

and anyone who saw the elf girl’s current appearance would feel sorry for her.

“Don’t lie to me.”

Loya’s voice dropped a few degrees.

However, seeing that Timos didn’t seem willing to say more, he sighed:

“Never mind… come with me.”

Timos nodded softly, following Loya.

As her teacher turned around, a smile of “sudden inspiration and successful plan” appeared on the corner of her lips.

Loya didn’t know magic.

After entering the house, he struck a match and lit the kerosene lamp hanging on the wall, and the room lit up.

“It’s a small place, just sit wherever you like.”

Although he said that, there was only a set of table and chairs in the room, and a wooden platform against the wall.

Timos glanced almost imperceptibly at the bed,

and while her teacher was turning his back to her while opening the window, she greedily took a deep breath of the air in the room before sitting on the chair,

with her legs together and her hands folded on the hem of her skirt, her sweet voice mixed with a hint of worry:

“Teacher, are you… used to living here?”

“To be honest, it’s not bad.”

Loya did not choose to sit on the edge of the bed and face his student – as he had done in the past when teaching Timos the mysteries of general knowledge, mathematics, physics, and magic.

He sat near the window, on the edge of the windowsill,

with one leg propped up and his elbow resting on his knee, enjoying the tipsy evening breeze after drinking.

The hazy moonlight fell on the side of his teacher’s face, and Timos almost forgot herself.

Loya opened his mouth as if unintentionally, continuing the question he hadn’t gotten an answer to earlier:

“So, what’s wrong?”

Timos was silent, with a hint of evasion in her eyes, obviously meaning to hide something.

“If you don’t tell me, then I’ll guess.”

Loya looked up at the night sky,

“Did Kalandria go back and lose her temper again? Or did she make some unrealistic plan again?”

Timos shook her head.

Seeming that neither was right, Loya turned his eyes and looked at her again, asking:

“Then what is it?”

When Loya’s gaze lingered long enough, Timos whispered:

“It’s Hani… Hani, she said she was going to leave the team too.”

“Oh…”

Loya pondered.

As expected.

After all, Hani had left the team halfway through in his previous reincarnation experiences.

The time nodes may have been different, but the reasons were similar.

After all, nobles are also people. Even if they are noble young ladies who came out to adventure against the wishes of their elders, it is difficult for normal people to get along with Kalandria.

In Loya’s opinion, he and Hani were not much different to Kalandria,

merely “cheap and easy-to-use tools” and “expensive and easy-to-use tools,” nothing more.

In this reincarnation, Loya took the initiative to leave first.

With one less person to share Kalandria’s burden, even if Hani’s physique was strong, she wouldn’t be able to withstand it for long.

It was only natural that she would fall out with Kalandria in advance.

“Teacher, you don’t seem surprised?”

A hint of doubt appeared in Timos’s emerald eyes, which still held tears.

“Sort of. Like an ancient saying from my hometown, all feasts must come to an end.”

Loya curled his lips, vaguely feeling a sense of “as expected.”

“In any case, the team will eventually disband.”

“Then, teacher, are you really not planning to go back anymore?”

Along with the question, one could see that the remaining tears in Timos’s eyes were still flickering with a hint of anticipation,

but even though he felt that it seemed a bit too ruthless for the girl in front of him, Loya still insisted on shaking his head:

“Yeah.”

“Really, really not going to consider it anymore?”

“No.”

——Yes!

Loya’s repeatedly firm tone almost made Timos’s little heart, agitated by desire, jump out.

If the teacher didn’t go back, it meant that at least now he was alone.

At a time when he was unfamiliar, lonely, and hanging, she would become the only woman willing to stay by his side.

From now on, the lone hero who abandoned the past would live out his remaining days with the girl who saved him.

What a wonderful and romantic story that would be!

Side characters were superfluous from the beginning and were not needed at all.

It was time to turn the page on the meaningless adventure group chapter.

But then again——

Although if she wanted to follow the teacher, she could just make up a reason, brush off that mindless human female captain, and quit. It was very simple,

but in that case, the purpose would be too superficial.

It wouldn’t highlight the necessity of being the “only one” and “indispensable.”

She must make the teacher think that only she can save and accompany him…

Timos lowered her head, not knowing which scene she had walked into in her mind, when her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Loya:

“By the way, Timos, are you still going to team up with Kalandria?”

“Huh?”

Timos raised her head with a bit of feigned bewilderment, and a trace of surprise was mixed into her unguarded eyes.

“What do you mean, teacher…”

“Ah, I’m not trying to persuade you to abandon your teammates.

You don’t have to consider my feelings, just talk about your own thoughts.

But, there’s one thing, just consider it a reminder-“

Feeling that the way he opened his mouth was a bit inappropriate, Loya tentatively patched it up.

He paused slightly, took out an invitation from the inner pocket of his clothes, and placed it casually on the table,

“Kalandria just told me tonight that she’s getting engaged.”