The Teacher of Budding Villains Suffers Today, Too - Chapter 98

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 98
Lucas carefully opened the bundle he had brought and began placing the fragments of the First Emperor’s Sword into it one by one. Rachel reached out to help, but Lucas firmly refused her.
“It might be dangerous.”
“But it’s equally dangerous for you.”
Rachel offered her own protest. Yet Lucas refused to let her touch the sword fragments until the very end.
Once all the fragments were secured in the bundle, he surveyed the cramped space. The narrow chamber still held traces of Demonic Energy.
There was nothing to gain from lingering here longer. Rachel and Lucas opened the door and made their way outside.
The staircase had been grueling on the way down—nearly unbearable. Yet this time they could ascend it with relative confidence. Perhaps it was because the matter of the First Emperor’s Sword had been resolved.
‘I’m so relieved it worked out.’
Truthfully, it had been a cause for deep worry. She had feared Lucas might be injured, and she had dreaded that they would descend into that profound Underground only to return empty-handed.
But everything had been resolved cleanly. Rachel’s mood could only be buoyant.
They climbed higher and higher, and the exit to the surface drew nearer. Lucas’s pace quickened slightly, and Rachel matched it, her own steps growing faster as well.
“Just a little more. You can do this.”
Rachel nodded at his words. The finish line was within reach.
“Teacher!”
“We’re almost there!”
Theo and Noah’s voices reached them. Spurred on by their shouts, Rachel squeezed out her remaining strength and pushed forward up the steps.
“Teacher!”
“Are you alright?!”
The two boys rushed to greet Rachel. Lucas, who had emerged first, extended his hand. Rachel grasped it and pulled herself through the doorway.
‘Is it really over?’
Was that grueling ordeal truly finished? She couldn’t quite believe it. Her mind felt somewhat stunned.
Rachel exhaled softly. Then Lucas embraced her gently.
“Without your help, I could never have succeeded.”
His voice carried unmistakable affection. Rachel smiled at him.
Together, they had managed it.
* * *
“Hmm…”
The Emperor let out a quiet groan. His mood was troubled. The reason was simple: his son, Lucas, had actually retrieved the First Emperor’s Sword.
‘This is utterly ridiculous.’
He had asked several times whether it was truly possible. No matter how he turned it over in his mind, the feat seemed nearly impossible.
‘What am I to do about this?’
It was all too obvious that if word of Lucas’s success spread, his popularity would soar even higher. The Emperor had no desire for this. He wanted Lucas to remain an unpopular, unremarkable Crown Prince.
‘Is everything falling apart?’
The Emperor ground his teeth. Ordering the retrieval of the First Emperor’s Sword had been a mistake, no matter how he looked at it.
‘But if he cannot restore the sword to completion, then it will be meaningless.’
The Emperor rested his chin on his hand. There was still one more task remaining.
The First Emperor’s Sword lay in shattered fragments. Restoring it to its original state was the duty that still fell to Lucas. It was certain to be no simple matter. And for this reason, the Emperor could take some small comfort.
‘There is no possibility he can complete it.’
The Emperor’s rigid expression began to ease slightly. He was genuinely jealous of his own son, Lucas.
While the Emperor was lost in his thoughts, Lucas was gazing upon the First Emperor’s Sword. With the Demonic Energy largely removed, it was now possible to approach it, though it remained a dangerous object. Yet neither could it be entrusted to an ordinary blacksmith.
“Lucas.”
Rachel, standing beside him, spoke up.
“I understand the Imperial Household has no blacksmith on staff. Do you know one we could hire?”
“The First Emperor’s Sword is far too dangerous for an ordinary blacksmith to handle.”
“Then what do you intend to do?”
“You are familiar with the myths of the Sun God, and particularly the legend of the Valerion Clan, are you not?”
Lucas asked.
He had no way of knowing how much Rachel truly understood about the Sun God’s mythology. Yet she possessed knowledge gleaned from books before her possession, so she nodded.
Valerion, having incurred the Sun God’s wrath through a series of events, was cursed never to see sunlight again. He retreated into a vast Cave and dwelt there, and his descendants likewise lived in darkness, maintaining their lineage within those subterranean halls.
Yet even Valerion’s descendants needed a livelihood. What they chose was blacksmithing—work that required no sunlight. Weapons forged by Valerion’s descendants were renowned for their power. Since Valerion himself was half-divine, his descendants carried Divine Blood in their veins, and so this excellence was only natural.
“I intend to seek out a descendant of Valerion.”
Rachel slowly nodded at Lucas’s words. His reasoning made sense. To handle such an extraordinary object, one would need abilities far beyond those of an ordinary blacksmith.
“I agree with that plan.”
The question was whether a descendant of Valerion would accept Lucas at all.
The Empire reveres the Sun God. A Crown Prince raised under the Sun God’s blessing could hardly appear favorable to them. They would likely respond with hostility.
“Lucas.”
For this reason, Rachel could not help but speak with concern.
“I wonder whether you’ll be able to speak with Valerion’s descendants safely.”
Rachel’s brow furrowed slightly.
“They still hate the Sun God, after all.”
“You speak truly. So I, too, must dangle terms before them that would tempt them.”
“Terms that would tempt them?”
“Indeed.”
Rachel wanted to ask what those terms might be. But the attendant’s voice came, announcing that preparations were complete, and Lucas brushed his fingertips once across her cheek before turning toward the door.
“Don’t worry yourself overmuch.”
“…I’ll try.”
Rachel summoned a smile as she saw him off, praying with all sincerity that nothing would happen to him.
Lucas rode without guard or escort—just himself upon horseback. The horse gathered speed, and after riding for half a day, he reached the Desolate Plain.
The grass there had been dead for a long time. Animal bones scattered across the ground, and the wind blew harsh with sand. Lucas narrowed his eyes.
That was when it happened.
Whistle—ting.
An arrow flew toward Lucas and lodged in the earth beside him. He drew his blade from its sheath.
“Get out of here at once!”
A voice called out. Then dozens more arrows came hurtling through the air.
Lucas swept his Mana-wrapped blade, cutting down the arrows that flew toward him.
“Quite an original greeting.”
Lucas shaped Mana into a sphere in the palm of his hand.
“I, too, am prepared to return the courtesy.”
“Who are you?!”
“Lucas Maximilian, Crown Prince of Tirnes. I’ve come to meet with your Clan Leader.”
“The Imperial Crown Prince?”
The Valerion Clan felt the shock ripple through them. Without waiting for their confusion to settle, Lucas drove his horse further into their territory.
“What brings the Imperial Crown Prince all this way?!”
“To borrow the strength of the Valerion Clan Leader.”
“If it concerns the Leader’s power…”
They understood well enough what their ability was—a blacksmith’s craft that soared far beyond mortal limits. So they lowered their voices and exchanged hurried words among themselves.
“What makes you think the Leader will see you, not knowing what you mean to do?!”
“If that’s how it stands, I’ll have to use force.”
Lucas readied himself for combat, Mana gathering in one palm, his blade held in the other. The Valerion Clan warriors’ expressions hardened like stone.
“You think you can face all of us alone?”
“I won’t know if I’m outmatched until we test it.”
Lucas answered without the slightest hesitation. The Valerion Clan, too, began their battle preparations.
A taut, suffocating silence stretched between Lucas and the Valerion warriors.
“Hold!”
A voice cut through the tension.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————