Extra Chapter: Eliza’s Honor Guard
For over two years now, in Winter Valley there has existed a rather peculiar group known as the Eliza’s Honor Guard. Its membership: a mere four men. All of them middle-aged, all of them ordinary citizens with no noble titles to their names.
It all began when they first saw Eliza give a presentation at the cultural festival, nearly in tears from nerves. That was her very first year as a teacher, right after graduating from the academy. She was still unaccustomed to lecturing, and because dwarves as a race are known to be poor with magic, the students sometimes underestimated her. The stress and pressure weighed heavily on her. On top of that, this was her first public presentation at the festival. To expect her not to be nervous would have been unreasonable.
She quivered from fear, her voice so small it was difficult to hear. Soon, thoughtless words from the audience—practically jeers—began to fly her way.
Two men, both born and raised in Winter Valley, had watched the cultural festival year after year. They’d seen plenty of presentations from incredible magicians. Naturally, they had not held very high expectations for a rookie like Eliza.
Still—even with low expectations—her presentation could not exactly be called “entertaining.” Truthfully, the two men probably sat there, heads tilted, wondering what they were watching.
(Even so… jeers and heckling? That’s just cruel.)
Watching Eliza tremble as her shoulders shook, the two men grew irritated with the crowd’s attitude. They had never spoken to each other before, but as though in perfect sync, they both opened their mouths.
“Do your best!”
“Stay calm!”
At the same moment, both shouted encouragement. Then they looked at each other in surprise.
And somehow, in that instant their eyes met, they understood one another. They both chuckled, then immediately turned their focus back to cheering for Eliza.
“You’re fine, you’re fine!”
“Take it slow, it’s okay!”
Hearing their loud voices, Eliza seemed to calm down just a little.
And so, she managed to finish her presentation without disaster.
“That concludes my presentation. Thank you very much.”
When Eliza said this and bowed deeply, the two men were the first to clap. Drawn in, others in the audience followed with scattered applause.
Eliza, blushing and bowing again and again with an awkward smile, made the two men exhale in relief.
“Uh, um…”
Not sure what to do, one of the men gathered his courage and spoke to her. At the sound, Eliza turned around as she was tidying up.
“Y-Yes? Ah—you’re the ones who were cheering for me earlier!”
Though she turned nervously, when she recognized their faces Eliza lit up like a flower blooming.
“Thank you so much!”
The two men grinned at her energetic gratitude.
“No, really, you were great.”
“We’ll be looking forward to next year too.”
With that, the two left the hall.
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That earnest, good kid—we should cheer her on every year. They went out for drinks together, like a little celebration, and parted ways after agreeing on just that.
The following year, as though prearranged, the two met again at the venue where Eliza’s presentation would be held. They were happy to see each other again and struck up lively conversation even before Eliza appeared. Soon, it was time for her presentation, and the two deliberately acted boisterous so no jeers would reach her.
“Do your best!”
“Stay calm!”
Their timely shouts of encouragement caught the interest of two other men nearby.
“Are you her family or something?”
Asked like that, one of the original two briefly explained the situation. They weren’t family, but since Eliza was still just a second-year teacher and so nervous, they wanted to cheer her on. Hearing this, the other two men nodded in understanding—and immediately said they wanted to cheer as well.
The result? Eliza’s presentation drew far more energy and excitement than any of the other teachers’. True, that was only because four men were now shouting enthusiastic support at the top of their lungs—but still, the atmosphere warmed considerably.
Thus, the Eliza’s Honor Guard was born—a small group that only assembled during the cultural festival to cheer for her. By the third year, Eliza had grown enough to speak with a decent volume, no longer on the verge of tears from nerves.
Even so, she still made little mistakes—stumbling over lines, forgetting props here and there. Seeing this, the Eliza’s Honor Guard resolved to continue their support.
“Yeah, Eliza-chan really needs us cheering her on.”
“There’s no other kid that earnest.”
“It’s great how hard she always tries.”
“And when she messes up, the way she panics is just adorable.”
Like doting fathers, the four would talk about Eliza. Each year, cheering her on was both fun and nerve-wracking, never knowing when she might slip up.
But this year’s presentation was different.
They had heard rumors that a phenomenal teacher named Aoi had joined. Maybe that influence showed, because Eliza’s presentation this year blew all four men away. It had a clear theme, real usefulness, and she presented it beautifully. They were overjoyed, showering her with cheers.
But then—at the end of her presentation—a man appeared claiming to be the King of the Gransanz Kingdom, and suddenly a fight broke out. Naturally, the Guard knew exactly who they were cheering for. But since the opponent was the king of Eliza’s homeland, it was awkward to shout too loudly.
Nervously, the four watched Eliza fight. Their tension soon transformed into shock and awe.
Against soldiers clad in intimidating full armor, Eliza didn’t back down an inch, countering with flawless magic and defeating them completely. For the four men who had once cheered for the half-crying girl trembling on stage, her gallant figure now shone blindingly bright.
This time, instead of cheering so she could simply finish her presentation with a smile, the four found themselves shouting with tears in their eyes.
“S-She’s amazing…”
“Eliza-chan…”
“She’s so strong.”
“Eliza-chaaaaan!”
Their voices cracked as they cheered, overcome with emotion. In recent years they had often teared up, watching her like proud parents, but today more than ever. Surely, when they gathered later for drinks, their celebration would be louder than ever before.
But what they didn’t know—was that Eliza herself, having received their cheers year after year, had also come to think of the four of them… like beloved uncles.
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