An Old Man from the Countryside Becomes a Swords Saint: I Was Just a Rural Sword Teacher, But My Successful Students Won’t Leave Me Alone!

swirling mess of conspiracies, his position would probably be in jeopardy, too.
Even though he is a brother-in-law, he’s still a relative, and as I said earlier, if they decided to kill all the families of those involved in the coup, Gatoga may be caught up in the mass executions.

“… But, what if I do something like this again~?” Rose asked.

“Hey, hey, just let me trust you as your brother-in-law here,” Gatoga said.

To put it another way, Rose has reached the point where she assumed that even her family would turn against her.
There’s a tremendous intensity and dedication to her mission.

It’s information from Lucy that Supheniardvania is in a light civil war, but is the domestic situation much worse than that? Well, if it’s not that bad, why would they have used such drastic tactics?

“Rose,” I said.

“… Yes~?” she replied.

However, even if I let go now, the haze inside her heart would not clear.

I don’t know how far my words will go to Rose as she is now.
Still, as a teacher, I would like to give as much guidance as possible.

“Even if it took time, there may have been other means,” I said.
“I want you to use that will of yours in a different place.
That was the swordsmanship I was teaching you.”

“… Yes,” Rose said softly.
“If you say so, Master, then it must have been so~!”

It’s all fluff from me.
It makes me sad to hear it.

But I don’t know anything about politics or anything so complicated, so I can only say this.
Still, I wanted to tell her that path she took was the wrong one.

“To begin with, if you didn’t talk about the kids, I would have killed outright earlier,” I said.

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“… I was prepared for that, too~!” Rose said.

“Hah, hahaha…” Gatoga chuckled dryly.

Well, it doesn’t change I still cut Rose down, though.

“But could Hinnis have been the same as Rose?” I asked.

It is hard to imagine that Rose was the only mastermind of the operation that was holding children hostage.

If so, it should be no surprise that there are other people who have been forced to cooperate in this way.

“What about it, Rose?”

“… I was a collaborator with Hinnis~,” Rose said.
“But, we didn’t work directly with each other.
Anyone who was told the same thing as me… is already dead.”

“…… I see.”

The names that Rose whispered after I slashed her.
They must have been her collaborators.
They may have also been members of the Knights of the Faith.
There’s no way to confirm that now, though.

If that’s the case, I wonder if Hinnis threw his lot in with the Papal Faction for his own purposes?

Assuming that’s true, he’s guilty of death without any mitigating factors, but I can’t cover him that much.
I’m just a stranger to him.

“We’ll have to reexamine the Knights of the Faith from top to bottom,” Gatoga said before his expression soured.
“Fucks’s sake…”

“Sorry for all the trouble…” I said with a sheepish smile.

It’s going to be trouble for him from now on.
He turned out to have so many enemies both within and without.
If you think about how much of a crisis that is, it’s natural to sympathize with him.

“… Come to think of it,” I said.

“Yeah? What’s up?” Gatoga asked.

I was curious, but I wonder if I can ask this.

Well, let’s go ahead and do it.
If he couldn’t, he wouldn’t answer.

“Which side are you on, Sir Gatoga, the Pope or the Royal Family?”

“I’m neutral… is what I would like to say,” Gatoga replied.
“I want Prince Glen to do his best.
I’ve known him since he was little.”

Then, if he made a mistake, he might have crossed blades with Rose.

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“But, I’m a knight who protects his country.
I personally think that beliefs are secondary and I’m here to protect the state and her people.”

“… I think that’s admirable,” I said.

Due to Gatoga’s personality, even if you take into account that Rose is his sister-in-law, he exudes an air like he really would kill her if it came to that.
Is that also the way of life of a knight who lives loyally to their masters? It’s a way of life that I can never imitate.

“For that reason, we have to protect the kids,” Gatoga said.
“They’re our nation’s treasures.”

“… Yes, please do~!” Rose said weakly.

Rose’s wounds are deep.
Even if she had healing magic, she wouldn’t be able to fight in a day or two.
It should take a long stay of medical leave.

In that case, she can’t be counted on for our efforts to uncover the Papal Faction’s plan.
If she failed to assassinate Prince Glen in the first place, she wouldn’t have much time left.

Under such circumstances, Gatoga, who has to gather reliable hands and move fast to ensure the safety of children, is really in a bind.

I want to help however I can.
It’s not a good idea to have foreigners helping in such matters.
You need to know the land because you need to move secretly and quickly.

In other words, I can’t help.
There is no choice but to pray for the safety of the children captured and taken as hostages.

I don’t want to think that the Pope, the head of his country, did this by himself, but I don’t know what will happen until we blow the door open on this conspiracy.

“Well, there are power-obsessed idiots everywhere,” Gatoga said.
“If I think we can wipe them out along the way, it’s not all that bad.”

Certainly, this move is quite hasty and crude.

There may be some more impatient people in the Papal Faction.
If so, it will be easy to grab them by the tail.
Considering the amount of blood that has flowed so far and the amount of blood that will flow in the future, it is not a good thing.

But, that’s power.
Just power, right?

I didn’t think about it at all because it was unrelated to me, but I often hear that a good-natured person would change suddenly when put in a position of authority.

It’s not like you have to watch others and learn from their mistakes, but I’ve already found myself in a position I didn’t understand, like Special Instructor.
I should be more aware of how to behave and the responsibilities that accompany me so nothing like that happens.

“Still… I can’t trust the current Royal Faction, either,” Rose said.
“Bishop Lebios has just been tried for heinous crimes, after all~…”

“… Hmm?” I went.

As the story settles down, Rose spills her secret.

Huh, wait a minute.

Did I just hear about someone who I wasn’t supposed to hear?

Footnotes

Beryl likely thought Gatoga meant “sister-in-arms”, considering the fraternal/sororal/familial ties fostered in a military force.