30 Years After Reincarnating, It Turns Out This World Was A Rofan?! novel Chapter 257

Bzzz!

The bees welcomed their master with a buzzing that seemed to demand, "Where have you been all this time?!"

It had only been five days since he last saw them, yet—perhaps it was just his imagination—they looked a bit bigger than before.

“No, it’s not my imagination! These damn bees actually got bigger! What kind of bee grows to the size of a puppy? Damn it...!”

...Correction. It wasn’t an illusion—the bees had truly grown to monstrous proportions.

At this point, the name Tiger Bees no longer seemed an exaggeration. Their growth rate was absurdly fitting for such a mighty title.

“Quit looking so pleased with yourself and do something about them! Why do they keep trying to attack me?!”

“Maybe because you seem unfamiliar to them. But more importantly, where have you been all this time, assistant? I haven’t seen you around lately.”

“I was taking shifts in your place! Filling out paperwork...!!”

“Is that so? ...Keep up the good work.”

“!?!!”

Damien Follet—officially known as the swordsmanship department's slave, unofficially titled master of paperwork—turned red with fury. His face was contorted with frustration as he stomped the ground.

All while gripping his signature warhammer.

“Is this treason?”

“This is a damn revolution!!”

With a defiant roar, Damien raised the Hammer of Revolution high above his head.

He had made up his mind.

No matter what, he would land at least one hit on his opponent.

FWOOOSH!

He was fast. Whether it was pure rage boosting his abilities or some other factor, Damien’s hammer swung with nearly twice its usual strength and speed.

It wasn’t sword resonance—it was hammer resonance!

A truly grand moment. Perhaps it marked the beginning of the legendary Hammer Knight!

But—

CRACK!

“...Huh?”

“Did you take some kind of enhancement potion? You’re stronger than yesterday.”

“???”

—The hammer was effortlessly blocked.

No, blocked wasn’t the right word.

The man before him had merely flicked it away with the back of his hand, as if blocking wasn’t even necessary. And as a result—

—The hammer broke due to the sheer elasticity of the opponent’s hand muscles.

And to top it off, his opponent kindly informed him:

“My body got a little tougher.”

“Y-you’re even tougher than before?!”

“It just sort of happened.”

“...This is ridiculous. Even a giant beast wouldn’t be this absurd.”

“Anyway. That was decent.”

Tap.

“Keep working harder.”

“...Damn it.”

Damien barely had time to see the approaching flick of a finger before—

THWACK!

—He lost consciousness.

‘Even the Light is cruel...’

As his vision faded, he weakly raised his middle finger toward the sky, silently cursing.

The guy was already absurdly tough—why the hell did he need to get even tougher?!

***

Ihan looked down at the unconscious assistant with genuine admiration.

“That was impressive.”

“I heard Damien used his savings from helping other departments to buy a mid-grade enhancement potion. Looks like it worked.”

“So he really did dope himself up?”

Hearing that Damien had resorted to doping just to land a hit on him, Ihan briefly wondered if he had pushed him too hard.

But as he felt the lingering weight of the hammer’s impact, that feeling of guilt quickly disappeared.

“No, pushing him is the right call. He’s the type that grows stronger through pressure.”

“...Are you serious?”

“You saw that hammer resonance just now, didn’t you? If that’s not proof, what is?”

“...So you’re planning to keep pushing him like this?”

“It’s the pain of growth.”

“......”

Derrick couldn’t help but feel both pity and admiration for Damien.

It was obvious that he’d have to continue enduring this hellish training in the future.

And strangely enough... even this bizarre method of getting stronger was a kind of talent.

...A rather unfortunate talent, but still.

Though, compared to those who were willing to sell their very souls for power, Damien might actually be fortunate.

“...But why are you still here? Shouldn’t you be at home?”

“...Lady Karin is at my house.”

“......”

Was he... was he bragging?

Ihan clenched his fist slightly, but he forced himself to respond in the gentlest way possible.

“Then go to your girlfriend.”

Again—he was being gentle.

“...I, I can’t.”

“Why?”

“I, I got kicked out.”

“?”

“I, uh... got seriously injured the other day, and I... kind of didn’t tell Lady Karin about it.”

“That’s your own damn fault. Go beg for forgiveness.”

“If I apologize, she’ll start following me into dangerous places. I can’t let that happen.”

“...You’re more of a romantic than you look, huh?”

“Haha...”

“Don’t laugh. That wasn’t a compliment.”

“...Yes, sir....”

Taechang looked dejected, but Ihan wasn’t softhearted enough to console the bastard.

After all, this was just a lover’s quarrel.

‘There are levels to rubbing salt in the wound...’

Ihan seriously considered flicking the guy’s forehead.

Because no matter how he looked at it—this was annoying.

And then—

“...Instructor, after thinking about it for a while, I’m convinced. The reason Iliad is still alive is because of you.”

“...Are you changing the subject?”

“No, I mean it.”

“Then why bring up this nonsense all of a sudden?”

Ihan had already saved Iliad. What was this guy even talking about?

“In the original timeline, Iliad should have died before the first semester ended. But not only is he alive, he’s completely safe. And I think that’s all thanks to you.”

“What, do you think I’m some omnipotent being?”

Ihan was dumbfounded.

He had never even met the guy back then—how the hell could he have been responsible for saving him?

Was Taechang suffering from some kind of delusion? Should he start treating him for mind demons?

“...What if the monster attack hadn’t been stopped?”

“?”

Taechang started making an oddly convincing argument.

“If you hadn’t been there, and if the cadets you trained hadn’t fought back, the monsters would have overrun the capital. They could have even reached House Offen’s estate.”

“......”

“And what if you hadn’t caught those illegal mages hiding in the academy? Who knows what kind of sinister plans they were plotting? Maybe they were even in league with traitors like Gardin or Elza.”

“...Isn’t your imagination running a little wild?”

“I admit it’s speculation. But doesn’t it show how far-reaching your influence has been? And let’s not forget—you spent three years as a knight hunting down illegal mages and slavers. That alone must have caused countless ripple effects.”

“...I get what you’re saying, but why does it even matter now?”

“By analyzing the past, we can predict how it affects the present. That’s how we gather valuable information.”

...That was unexpectedly insightful.

Was this bastard becoming smarter just because his girlfriend was?

“—Actually, Karin once told me that. She said it’s important to look at the bigger picture.”

“...You bastard!”

The moment of admiration shattered instantly.

Ihan shot him a chilling glare, and Taechang awkwardly realized his mistake.

He shouldn’t have added that last part.

It was an unintentional flex, but still—a flex nonetheless.

Realizing Ihan’s expression had darkened—

“I-I just wanted to say that someone out there owes you their life! And, uh... I thought you should know! Th-that’s all!”

Taechang immediately fled before he could be punished, and Ihan clicked his tongue.

“That bastard worries about the weirdest things.”

He briefly considered chasing after him, but unfortunately—

“—He’s probably just concerned about your sacrifices.”

A visitor had arrived.

“...Eavesdropping on people’s conversations—is that fun for you?”

“I-it’s not like I did it on purpose! I was just wondering when to step in... I swear.”

“Your excuses are getting longer.”

“...It’s not an excuse.”

Ihan had already noticed the bees going silent and hiding away, so he’d sensed her presence.

But seeing it for himself made him narrow his eyes.

“Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be spending time with your family?”

“I was going to. But there’s something I still haven’t done.”

Felicia smiled—floating in midair atop her sword.

***