By the time Ivan was sure of his escape, it had already become night.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
It was at this time Ivan had gone to speak with Aiko-sensei. Though it had become night it wasn't late enough that everyone had gone to sleep. And yet when he knocked on her door, no one answered.
Ivan thought a lot about where she could be, but the truth is that he didn't know her and she didn't know him. He had no idea what she's been doing since coming to this world, let alone where her favorite spots to visit are.
He thought about asking his classmates where she could be. And so, visiting the banquet hall where they were celebrating their return from the labyrinth, Ivan eyed the drunken soldiers who boisterously sang and moved over to his classmates who seemed as though they were about to stuff themselves into a self induced food coma.
'Now, who would know Aiko-sensei the best?' Once again Ivan was caught at a crossroad, though he observed the hierarchy of the classroom he neglected to determine the relationships between each person. And since coming to this world he had not familiarized himself with any of his classmates other than Hajime. Instead opting to lock himself in his room or ignore the world from the library.
'Maybe I should have joined those training sessions afterall… At least I wouldn't be in this situation now.'
Since the day he poisoned Hiyama, Ivan had noticed his classmates have been acting more distant than ever before. Sure they should be wary of a guy who poisoned one of their classmates for seemingly no reason, but they should at least give him a chance.
In his stupor, Ivan felt a tap on his shoulder.
When he turned around what he was met first by is a small girl with short black hair that is kept in a tiny bob. Possessing brown eyes and adorning glasses, she wore a black robe that reached her feet.
'Eri Nakamura… I've always wondered why a girl as kind and reserved as her awoke with the 'Necromancer' occupation.'
As far as Ivan could tell, Eri is a friend of almost everyone in the class. When he had asked his classmates before their fall who they'd rely on the most in emergencies, there was a resounding vote for Eri.
In his days of observing her, Ivan has not noticed any discrepancies between what he's been told and what he's seen from her. She's just a quiet girl who loves reading. He had met her in the library multiple times and yet didn't approach her because as a man of knowledge he respected the rules of the library.
Well that and he wasn't rather fond of speaking with strangers.
Now if his earlier spiel about how occupations were matched with the owner's personality was correct, why was such a kind and loved girl in possession of a job dreaded as evil.
"Hello Nakamura-san, how can I help you?" Ivan rather didn't want to antagonize the friend of everyone in the class, so he spoke to her politely.
"Mou, what are you on about Ivan-kun? It seemed like you had something you wanted help with, so I came on over to help!" Eri smiled playfully, closing her distance with Ivan as she extended her offer.
To Ivan, this was setting off alarms in his head. He had never been close with anyone other than his family so having someone act overly friendly with him gave him the creeps.
"E-Eh, yeah I was wondering if you could tell me where Aiko-sensei might be. I have something I need to discuss with her."
"Sure sure, how about I lead you there? Come on, let's go!" Eri responded cheerfully to Ivan's question, instead offering to lead him to where Aiko-sensei was.
"No it's fine, I'd just like to know where she is. You should enjoy the party, I wouldn't dare ask of you to take time away from relaxing just to lead me to Aiko-sensei."
"Hmmmm…" She was quite pensive about his request, however in the end she relented. "I have noticed that for the past week she's been sneaking off into the night. I couldn't tell you where she is but I could tell you what direction I last saw her headed."
"Yes that's fine with me, I'd be grateful if you could help me." Ivan was overjoyed at finally moving forward with his hunt.
"-But…" Ivan as an alchemist should have known that in order to receive something he must give first. "In exchange I'd like a teeny tiny favor." Eri annunciated the unimportance of her favor by squishing an invisible pea with her index finger and thumb.
"So long as it's within my ability, I wouldn't mind helping you out in exchange." Ivan complied, of course he wouldn't fully commit until he knew what she wanted.
"Yes! Alright, last time I saw her she was headed past the training grounds towards the lake in the east." Smiling happily, Eri finally gave up the information she was withholding.
"Thank you very much, see you later!" Not wanting to chat with her any longer, Ivan dashed out the banquet hall towards the direction of the training ground
Not paying any attention to Eri who only smiled while staring at him during his exit.
"Hello, Aiko-sensei." Looking at Aiko-sensei who stood at the pier of the lake, Ivan spoke to her calmly so as to not startle her.
"E-Eh!" And yet even that was enough to make her exclaim in surprise.
If Ivan had to say who he admired most in this world other than his mother, then he'd say Aiko-sensei. Even with her small stature, even though most of her students don't take her seriously, and even if she was a bit immature, she was still someone who put the safety of her students before her own.
In fact it was because of these weaknesses that Ivan admired her all the same, that despite possessing lower stats than most of her students she stood up to the unfairness of their transmigration before anyone else.
And during all this time he watched her as she tried her hardest to persuade her students to quit playing hero and return to their normal lives.
"Aiko-sensei, sorry for disturbing you but may I ask you a few things."
In the face of Ivan's concern, Aiko-sensei was elated to finally being relied on. Ever since coming to this world it has been one thing after another, not being able to do anything for her students and failing to stop them from enlisting in a war was something that weighed heavily on her conscious.
So, she puffed out her chest in pride and said in assurance, "Sure! You can ask me anything! I'll do my best to help you out!"
Trying his best to not laugh at her display, Ivan went ahead with his questioning.
"Sensei, how do you feel about all this- oh and by 'all this' I mean about your students fighting for the sake of another world?" It was a question he had no idea how to relay eloquently yet one he needed to ask to gauge her feelings.
"I-I see, so that's what you wanted to talk about huh…" For Aiko this was a touchy subject. "While I'm glad my students are compassionate enough to risk their lives for the safety of others, I still feel as though this was something they decided to do on the spur of the moment."
"So you wish for them not to involve themselves in these matters, even if it means ignoring the plight of others'."
"That's not what I mean at all!" Aiko was proud of her students, but they had families and friends waiting for their safe return. "I feel responsible for their safety, and that includes yours as well."
She took a moment to calm down before continuing.
"Fighting, killing, involving themselves with dangerous people, can I even say they were the same people when we return…?"
She had a lot of doubts. Even if they returned home, she felt as though she had already failed at her responsibilities as a teacher just from not being able to stop them at all.
And in the face of these doubts, Ivan was at a standstill as to what to say. How was he to act, was he supposed to comfort her, reassure her, make false promises he wasn't even sure was possible to upkeep?
"Sensei, I'd like to thank you for everything." But he knew he couldn't stay silent, he knew he couldn't allow her to wallow in self-deprecation.
"In fact I'd say if it weren't for you most of the class would have given up on returning home. It's because of your perseverance that these students have hope."
"...Really?" Aiko-sensei looked at Ivan with hope in her eyes.
"Ahhh, I honestly believe so. In this world where everything is different I'm sure they found some relief in seeing someone who hasn't changed her ways."
As much as Ivan wanted to say they were doing everything for her, he had no way of telling what each student's intentions were for risking themselves.
Whether it was for their own justice, pity, honor, or pride, Ivan had no say in deciding if they were doing the right thing or not. Especially when he himself has made no steps to returning home, drunkening himself on the powers and abilities he's been using for his own benefit.
"So I want to ask of you, Aiko-sensei, would you please help me in providing safety to those who are too afraid to fight, too afraid of change?" Ivan sincerely pleaded with her, though not with the same intention he was sure she had been looking for a way to protect her students.
"I'd like you to join me tomorrow to meet with the King and Pope Ishtar. We wish to allow the freedom of choice to those afraid to reject the coercion of these forces. While I do not disdain those fighting, I do feel it is a bit unfortunate for those who do not wish to fight to do so out of fear of being outcasted."
Aiko-sensei looked at the hand Ivan had extended towards her, "Do you really think we have a chance? What will we do if they reject it? I don't want to make it any harsher for the students…"
"Please listen to me sensei when I say this, if we don't move now who knows what it'll take in the future just to move the Kingdom and Holy Church into doing something about it."
Aiko-sensei took the validity of Ivan's claims seriously, rather than waiting for a student to get seriously injured or worse, dead, it'd be better to act now.
And so, reaching for Ivan's hand, Aiko-sensei flashed a bright smile and said, "Alright, let's do it! We'll work together to protect the students and get them home safe and sound!"
She looked up to Ivan, only to see him brightly smiling as well.
With this the pieces to his plan can finally be in effect. If all goes the way he guesses the Kingdom already valued Aiko-sensei's 'Farmer' class to a significant degree.
So warning them that they'd miss out on both her skills and his products will hopefully be enough to deter them from just keeping them around as their resource slaves and instead see them something more akin to allies.
Ivan was already expecting hassles during tomorrow's meeting. After all, if the Kingdom really let him and his group walk away with their resources and valuable members to their 'hero' army he really would be afraid that they were planning something devious.
And so hand and hand, these two non-combat job possessors came to an agreement. Both pledging that they wouldn't let the Kingdom and Holy Church get away with whatever they wanted.