The Retired Supporting Character Wants to Live Quietly

Chapter 105 - Ismera’s Great Forest (4)

I hurried to the meeting room to share this good news.

I planned to announce Ismera’s appointment as Vice-Headmaster and celebrate it with everyone.

Vice-Headmaster—it’s not bad.

After all, the things Ismera has been doing are all tasks that a Vice-Headmaster should handle.

Even if they couldn’t change the Headmaster because of the Emperor, creating a new Vice-Headmaster position specifically for Ismera means that even the Second Princess acknowledges her in her own way.

For Ismera, who has been desperate to make an impression on the Second Princess, there’s nothing better than this.

As I headed to the main building, I thought about how happy Ismera would be, and it already made me feel warm inside.

Let’s be honest.

Ismera is a good person.

At first, she was unlikable, but that was because of the innate arrogance of her elf race and the complex situation she was in.

As Kaiden said, her resentment wasn’t directed at me, Dian, but at the Head Combat Professor who suddenly appeared to block her path.

And although Ismera is ambitious and wants to become Headmaster, she’s not someone who only focuses on that to the exclusion of everything else.

She’s capable, works harder than anyone for the academy, and is incredibly kind and caring toward the students.

There’s even that charming contrast between her striking elven beauty and her prickly attitude toward me.

“Good morning, Head Professor. A letter has arrived for you.”

As I entered the main building, a combat assistant handed me a letter.

It was from Linus.

When I opened it, it said he wanted to go together to the Tiraellen Forest this weekend.

It’s one of the Great Forests of the elves that was burned down by the Demon King’s army, where Linus and I were deployed.

It’s one of the places Linus has been involved in rebuilding after the war.

Normally, I’d hesitate to decide right away, but today’s a good day, so I’ll go.

But that’s for later.

I waved the appointment order and entered the meeting room, shouting.

“Professor Ismera!”

But Ismera wasn’t in the meeting room.

Normally, she’d arrive about twenty minutes early and glare at our Combat Department for arriving on time like we’re insects.

Not only Ismera, but none of the Theoretical Department professors were there.

That’s strange. This has never happened before.

Professor Ismera has never been late, no matter what.

But now she’s late? Did something happen?

“Good morning, Head Professor.”

The Combat Department professors greeted me.

“The Theoretical Department isn’t here?”

“Who knows? They’re unusually late today.”

Just then, the professors from the Theoretical Department entered the meeting room and shouted.

“Has anyone seen Professor Ismera?!”

“That’s what I’d like to ask you.”

“Ah….”

At my response, the faces of the Theoretical professors darkened.

“Did something happen?”

“Well… Professor Ismera didn’t come to work today.”

At this, a few of the Combat professors gasped in shock.

Ismera not late but absent?!

That’s as unbelievable as hearing that the Demon King has been resurrected.

“She’s not in her office?”

“All we found on her desk was this….”

One of the Theoretical professors held up an envelope.

The word "resignation" was written on the front.

A resignation letter?! What on earth…?

“Did you check the dormitory?”

“We haven’t gone there yet.”

“Let’s go.”

We left the meeting room and ran to the single dormitory.

Let’s see, Ismera’s room is…

I checked the room layout on the first floor and headed straight to Ismera’s room and knocked on the door.

“Professor Ismera! Are you there?”

But there was no answer.

I turned the doorknob, but it was locked.

“I’ll climb through the window!”

Before I could break it open, Kirrin, who had followed us, ran outside and jumped straight up to the second-floor terrace.

She opened the door from the inside, and we hurried in.

“Professor Ismera!”

The room was empty except for the bed and a small dresser.

“Could she have already left?”

Kirrin anxiously stomped her feet as she looked around the room.

“I don’t know. Elves usually don’t carry much with them.”

Elves have almost no concept of personal belongings.

They can get everything they need from the forest, and within their tribes, everything is shared with no private property.

All they carry are simple toiletries and a few changes of clothes.

Since elves have no body odor and don’t care about grooming, that habit likely remains to this day, so it’s impossible to tell if Ismera has left the academy just by looking at the room.

But for the ever-punctual Ismera to be absent suggests that she’s either left the academy or…

The lifeless expression I saw during the competition suddenly came to mind.

A chill ran down my spine.

“Headmaster. Send someone to the security posts at all the gates immediately to check the entry and exit records. And instruct all faculty members who aren’t teaching to search the campus.”

“Search the campus…?”

“Including unused warehouses and abandoned buildings.”

At my words, Kirrin’s face turned pale.

“You don’t think Professor Ismera would….”

“We can’t rule anything out. Hurry!”

Kirrin and the other professors quickly scattered.

I rushed back to the main building and found Orendi.

The Combat Department professors and remaining assistants were just coming out.

“Head Professor! What happened?!”

“Orendi! Use reconnaissance magic!”

“I already did!”

When I looked up at the sky, I saw several hazy spheres darting around like ghostly eyes.

“The rest of you, start a detailed search.”

I quickly assigned search areas to the professors on the spot.

“The range is up to half a day’s journey from the academy based on elven footsteps. Assume she’s wearing ordinary clothes. The target is Professor Ismera.”

They’re all battle-hardened veterans. Even with rough instructions, they understood immediately and led their assistants off in different directions.

“Weaber! You’re coming with me to the eastern forest!”

“Yes, Professor!”

Elves move extremely fast in the forest.

So it made sense for Weaber, an expert tracker, to head that way.

And if Ismera left the academy, the forest is the most likely place she’d go, so I’m going too.

We crossed the eastern gate and entered the forest, where Weaber immediately knelt and examined the ground.

“Head Professor. She was here.”

It didn’t take long for Weaber to find a trace.

A faint footprint barely visible to my eyes.

“It’s an elf’s footprint. It was made around dawn. There aren’t many races that leave such faint tracks of this size while walking. And among those, the only one at our academy is an elf.”

“If it’s a footprint leading from the main gate to here, then it’s not just a wandering male elf passing by.”

“Exactly. And male elves rarely come to shallow forests like this.”

We entered the guard post and checked the entry and exit records.

“Here it is. She left at dawn.”

Just as Weaber said, there was a record of Professor Ismera leaving alone through the eastern gate around dawn. The stated reason was a walk.

Was it really just a walk? I doubt it.

Ismera is always too busy with work to even think about taking walks, let alone exercise.

“There’s no sign she returned. It’s possible she entered through another gate, but it’s still best to continue tracking.”

“Right. Others are checking the other areas, so let’s keep following this trail. How far could an elf who entered the forest at dawn have gone by now?”

Weaber glanced at the sun and replied somewhat pessimistically.

“She might have already left the forest by now.”

“That’s incredibly fast. Still, let’s keep going. We at least need to know where she went.”

I instructed the sentry at the guard post to inform the others, and Weaber and I immediately started running along the trail.

But tracking wasn’t easy.

It’s summer now, the season when the forest is thick with growth, making it hard to move as we went deeper.

And elves move so quickly and lightly through the forest that the trail kept breaking off in places.

“This is tough.”

I stopped for the umpteenth time, wiping the sweat off my face and looking around.

“Head Professor. I can’t see any more traces.”

Weaber, covered in dirt and leaves, shook his head.

“By now, Professor Ismera has likely left the forest’s edge.”

Weaber wiped his sweat and looked east.

“Beyond that, there’s another forest. At this point, it’s impossible to track an elf in the forest.”

“Dammit…”

Of all times to disappear, she does it just when she’s been made Vice-Headmaster.

We even had an appointment to meet today.

“Let’s head back.”

As we returned to the eastern gate, Kirrin and the other professors ran up.

“Dian! Did you find Professor Ismera?!”

Kirrin pushed through the crowd, grabbing my collar and shaking me vigorously.

"She\'s not on campus! Are you sure she went to the eastern forest? Did you find any traces?"

"The trail has gone cold. It\'s impossible to follow now. For now, we need to investigate possible destinations where Professor Ismera might go and get there as fast as we can."

Back at the main building, we spread out the map and quickly discussed with the combat professors.

"Here\'s the Academy. The trail goes in a straight line from here to here."

"Hmph, to think one can go straight through the forest. Elves are truly impressive."

Kazadar clicked his tongue.

"There\'s no race that can follow a trail through the forest."

"So, what do you all think? What could Professor Ismera’s intentions be?"

"She’s resigned, right? And the trail continued for a long distance. It doesn\'t seem like self harm, so it could be two things: either a job change or returning home."

"If it were a job change, she would have headed towards the capital, not the eastern forest. Even if she went to another city, this route would be a big detour."

"Then it must be returning home."

"Does anyone know where Professor Ismera’s home is?"

It was a foolish question. Ismera\'s forest was burned down during the Four-Year War.

The academy\'s dormitory is Ismera\'s home.

"Or maybe which Great Forest she’s from?"

"I don’t know. She never talked about her personal life…"

"Hold on a second. I know where."

Kirrin, who had been lurking in the back, raised her hand.

"Professor Ismera is from the Tiraellen Forest. I remember seeing it on her resume when she first joined a long time ago."

The Tiraellen Forest...? Ismera is from there? Seriously?