I Was Reincarnated As An Instructor In An R18 Game... - Chapter 47

The three of us sit in the corner pews, watching the soldiers in the cathedral.

As the soldiers investigate inside the church, a familiar man approaches.

He looks like a decent young man, with black hair slicked back, about my age, slim, and slightly shorter than me.

His name is Taylor, the man who was my superior and vice-captain in our unit during the war.

As he gets closer, he watches my face with a questioning look and says.

“Reid?”

“…It’s been a while, Taylor.”

“Yeah… Mind if I hear the situation? Those young ladies over there too.”

Fia and Lea, who Taylor called ‘young ladies,’ look at me in silence with wry smiles, as if to say, “See?”

…Well, if it’s just by appearance, it can’t be helped, right?

I give a wry smile back, then look at Taylor and nod.

Taylor told me he currently holds the position of captain of the patrol and guard divisions.

So I explain what happened to the three songstresses, about the church, and why I’m here.

I also explain about Baron Tegagusa, who was their patron, and Baron Abonano, the church overseer in the royal capital.

Hearing my explanation, Taylor folds his arms and makes a troubled face.

“…But still, wasn’t that overdoing it?”

“Oh?”

“One of the attackers is dead, and the priest was stabbed in the right hand. Couldn’t you have waited until we arrived?”

“…”

“The one who died tried to commit rape, so it can’t be helped. But with the priest, you could’ve waited until we arrived, right?”

I give a small laugh at Taylor’s reaction.

Taylor furrows his brows and looks at me suspiciously because of my laugh.

Fia and Lea also tilt their heads and look at my smiling face curiously.

“Yeah, that’s right. What Taylor is saying isn’t wrong.”

“…Then, why didn’t you wait?”

“Let’s see… What kind of person is capable of giving orders to the soldiers?”

At the pressure released from me, Taylor stops folding his arms and takes a guarded stance with a stern expression.

The soldiers around us become wary and begin observing our actions.

I pull from my br3ast pocket one of the letters I found in the priest’s room and begin to speak.

“Let me ask you first, Taylor… Are you an ally of Baron Tegagusa?”

While the soldiers were searching the church, I checked through all the letters I had found.

Each letter was written in very short sentences, so I could read through a few of them quickly.

Among them was the fact that Baron Tegagusa and the priest were using subsidies to line their own pockets.

One phrase mentioned that even if it was reported to the soldiers, it wouldn’t be a problem.

And the name of Count Deus was mentioned only once.

In other words, if going by the letters, it wouldn’t be strange to assume the soldiers of Santoni were under Baron Tegagusa’s command.

Of course, there is another noble who governs Santoni.

But based on the contents of the letters, one might conclude that noble is also connected to Baron Tegagusa.

“Let me ask once more, Taylor… Are you my enemy, or my ally?”

“…And if I’m your enemy?”

“Hahaha. Is that the kind of thing you ask someone who was in the same unit?”

With a smile, I say with my eyes, “You remember how I was during the war, right?”

I don’t remember ever sparing someone I considered an enemy.

No matter how often they call it excessive.

Compared to putting my allies in danger and ending up in a crisis myself, criticism is nonsense.

…It’s not like I decide someone’s an enemy lightly, so I’d appreciate some understanding.

While I’m locked in a glare with Taylor for a while, Lea gently tugs on my clothes from the side.

When I look at Lea, she speaks to me in a low voice with a troubled expression.

“This person doesn’t give off a bad smell, you know?”

“…I know. Taylor, you really have a nasty personality, huh?”

“People… even former comrades, can change. I’m the cautious type.”

I respond to Lea with a wry smile, then look at Taylor and let out an exasperated laugh.

I was being doubted just like that as well.

Taylor calls my methods excessive, but he’s no better than me.

If someone is suspected of being an enemy, he investigates repeatedly, gathers evidence, and if needed, does things close to imprisonment.

He considers the risk to allies, makes a plan, and eliminates the threat.

That side of him is likely why he was trusted as vice-captain.

If I’m a man of action, he’s a man of schemes.

He calls others excessive? He should take a look in the mirror.

Taylor lets out a sigh, drops his guard, and tells his subordinates to resume the investigation.

“You haven’t changed, Reid.”

“You haven’t changed either, Taylor. Now then, let’s clear up this suspicion. If possible, I’d prefer if you were present at the guard station. There are things I’d rather not show out here.”

“…You’re willing to come to the station yourself, huh? Alright, let’s go.”

I tell Fia and Lea to meet up with Erika and the others, and also to take care of the three Sisters.

The two nod with gentle smiles, and seeing that, Taylor says, “Then let me hear their story first,” and begins speaking with them.

If Baron Tegagusa hasn’t gotten to Taylor, then has he gotten to someone else?

While I’m crossing my arms and thinking, I suddenly lock eyes with Taylor.

I feel like his eyes are telling me, “We’ll talk later,” and I let out a wry smile.

–

We finished talking at the guard post around 6 p.m.

Man, it was seriously long.

I explained everything, starting with the magic bag, then what’s been happening lately, and my ongoing problems.

Well, in exchange for talking, I did get a promise that they’d help me if anything comes up.

According to Taylor, the subordinate acting suspiciously has already been caught.

Or rather, he showed him to me.

The man in the cell, upon seeing Taylor, trembled in fear, burst into tears, begged for forgiveness, and clung to him desperately.

Honestly, it made me a bit uncomfortable… Should I be looking in the mirror too?

“Reid-san!”

“Erika, you were waiting for me?”

When I step outside the station, Erika and the three adventurer girls come running over.

As Erika approaches with a relieved smile, I pull her in by the hand and embrace her to refill my sense of peace.

I really was tired, and I just wanted to be healed.

“W-what is this, we’re outside, you know?”

“I replenished my healing.”

“Healing, geez.”

The three girls watch with smirks as Erika folds her arms and pouts, but you can tell she’s not truly upset.

On the way to the inn, she explains that the three Sisters are also staying there.

Right now, it seems Fia and Lea are by their side.

“Instructor~ everything okay~?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. It just took some time to prove my innocence to him.”

“The soldier captain named Taylor?”

“That’s right, he was my superior officer during the war.”

“Instructor’s… superior officer?”

“Now he’s a friend.”

After replying to the three girls’ words, Erika, walking beside me holding my hand, softly blushes and asks.

I wanted to tell Erika about something too, the name of Count Deus that appeared a single time in the letter.

What in the adventurer’s report was only a possibility had started to take on credibility.

“When you said they were connected before in the royal capital, you meant Baron Tegagusa and Baron Abonano, right?”

“I thought it was only that, but it’s connected to some troublesome places as well…”

Thinking it wasn’t something to say aloud, I leaned in and whispered to Erika.

When I told her about Count Deus being mentioned in the letter, she frowned and sighed.

“…It’s troublesome, isn’t it?”

“Right?”

Until we arrive at the inn, I tell the four everything except what Taylor told me to keep secret.

Then I talked about tomorrow’s plans, and we all laughed, saying how busy we’d be.

Chapter length 3036 characters.