Chapter 20 – The Terrible Master and Disciple (3)

The Terrible Master and Disciple (3)

“…that sword.”

“Yes, that’s right. The holy sword. The hero’s weapon. Troka’s sword. You always used that sword when sparring with Master. Probably.”

Why do you have Troka’s sword?
From the shape of her mouth, it seemed she was about to say something like that.

“So, why do you have it?”

Master picked up the holy sword with her hands. With tender and pitiable hands, it wrapped around the sword. Then she looked back at me.

“He’s dead. Yes, he died. He kill the Demon Lord and then commit suicide or something.”

“No, wait, hold on. What? No. Just wait, what are you talking about?”

Then I casually threw a letter.

An orange letter. With mountains and fog in the background, it boasted an atmosphere like a painting from an old era.

“This is a letter containing Troka’s will. If you can, open it and read it; if not, just put it aside over there. I’ll collect it later.”

Master opened her mouth to say something. The sound of the leaves being crushed underfoot was irritating to the ears. Perhaps because of that, I cut her off irritably.

“You don’t have to concern yourself with a letter left by a disciple you personally expelled. However, as the only living disciple left in this world, I implore you, please open the letter.”

It was an impulsive act. There was no particular reason. Maybe I was just angry.
Had my patience run out to the point where I could no longer bear to look at Master’s face?
Or perhaps, I lacked the courage to confront the past again.

With those words, I left the dojo.

I heard Master calling me from behind, but I ignored it.

There was no particular place I wanted to go. I just wanted to cool my head. That was all.

Mt. Muak is especially dangerous when climbing up, but it’s safe if you remember the path well on the way down. After all, I knew the safest route.

As I walked thoughtlessly for a while, I found myself entering a rather secluded forest. The trees that surrounded the area made it seem like nothing would be out of place here.

When the only sound was the quiet chirping of insects, footsteps brushed past my ears.

Thud, thud. Judging by the sound of the footsteps, it was definitely not a demon. Probably a human, and if someone was following me, it could be Master, or Lumen, or maybe Nerati.

“Hey! Brother!”

But what appeared was not a demon, but a man with a bandage around his neck, waving his hand.

“…Benten?”

“It’s been a while. Uh… your name is Flan, right?”

The man’s name was Benten, and he approached with an awkward smile. His hair was disheveled, and the wounds scattered across his face couldn’t be entirely hidden by his smile, exuding an air of fatigue.

“Haha, I never expected to meet you in a place like this.”

“Was it true that you came to hunt a dragon?”

When he said he was heading straight to Mt. Muak after being seriously injured, I honestly thought it was a lie.
I assumed any sane person would go to recuperate. Was I wrong?

“Yeah, yeah, I guess I didn’t tell that lady knight before. Anyway, I heard a rather dangerous dragon had settled in, so I rushed over.”

A dragon, a dragon here. Could it really be?

Unless it was one of the few elder dragons with intelligence, dragons were only occasionally spotted near the Dragon Kingdom. Why would one be here?

“Well, seeing a dragon in the Central Continent isn’t as easy as it sounds.”

The empire that dominated the Central Continent, under the rule of the emperor, saw countless dragons slaughtered.
It was all to strengthen royal authority, or so they said.
Anyway, because of that, dragons are virtually extinct outside of a few multi-racial nations led by the Dragon Kingdom. Those that couldn’t polymorph were wiped out. The only ones left are those who can take human form and lay low.

“But isn’t it a bit reckless to hunt a dragon alone?”

For someone who nearly died at the hands of a demon beast to suddenly go dragon hunting seemed like suicide.
Even though the demon beasts and Nerati were together, without the Demon Lord, the commanders of the Demon Lord’s army can’t wield the same formidable power as before.

“The job is to report its location. Just finding it pays as much as a decent castle. Plus, I heard it was a severely injured dragon, so I could always run away if necessary.”

“An injured dragon… Is it one with a name?”

After the empire’s massacre, there are only a few dragons left active in the Central Continent.
The monstrous dragon Valkvogel, the sparrow dragon Louis, and if he’s still alive, the fang dragon Keith from tales a hundred years old.

The monstrous dragon was taken by the empire after being struck by a hero’s blow. The sparrow dragon was originally on the empire’s side. There’s no reason for dragon hunters to be called to catch it.
The fang dragon… If it had been found, the whole continent would be in an uproar, so it’s not likely to be Keith.

“I don’t know exactly, but it’s one with a missing wing and a clothed face.”

Then it must be the monstrous dragon.
Its appearance, with a face covered in cloth and a wing cut by a holy sword, is unique. I’ve seen few other dragons, but only one wears a cloth.
It seems to have escaped the empire’s surveillance network.
…I’ll have to visit the Dragon Kingdom at some point.

“But why are you at Mt. Muak, brother? The pay for postal delivery doesn’t seem to match up.”

I found myself lost in thought for a moment. With a sheepish smile, I scrambled for a decent excuse.

“It’s tough to make a living, so when a job like this comes up, I have to jump on it right away to make ends meet.”

“Hmm…, the delivery work must be quite hard on you.”

Benten began to rummage through the bundle slung over his shoulder. I wondered what he was up to as my gaze followed him intently.
He handed me a handful of herbs.

“This is in lieu of a proper thank you for last time.”

“Why give me this?”

What I meant was, why give me something so useless and bulky?

“I don’t have anything special to give, but just in case, please accept these humble items. You never know, you might encounter a dragon.”

What Benten handed me were herbs known to weaken dragons.
In truth, they don’t really have much effect; they’re an ambiguous sort of plant, difficult to categorize as either particularly useful or entirely useless, almost superstitious in nature.

“Well…, I’ll make good use of them.”

Still, it’s better to have a few on hand for the future. If I ever come face to face with a dragon, they might serve as a distraction. I’ll keep them in my pocket like a talisman; a situation to use them might arise someday.

He then began to dust off his clothes and started cutting branches from nearby trees.

“And brother, try to relax your face a bit. Did you kill a few people or something?”

Benten’s words made my body freeze momentarily without resistance. Murder, that’s a story unrelated to a porter.
Right, unrelated to a porter.

I ran my fingers slowly over my hand. Naturally, there was no abnormality. All the wounds had already been healed, so it would be strange if there were any remnants. Yes…, that’s right.

“…You didn’t really kill anyone, did you?”

“How could someone who looks as weak as me commit murder?”

He scanned me with a puzzled look for a moment. But when I gestured that it was nothing, he finally shook his head and smiled.

“Phew…, fortunately, I won’t get stabbed in the back twice. I’m not very lucky with people… But you seem alright, so that’s good.”

Ha ha ha! See you next time.
With a hearty laugh, Benten set off to find the dragon. He moved so quickly that fallen leaves lifted into the air.

In this shitty world, how can he wear such a joyful smile?

And how did he manage to kill the demons while climbing Mt. Muak?
It should be impossible to deal with invisible monsters in conventional ways.

…Well, it doesn’t matter. Enough time has passed.

I’m the scum in the first place. It’s my fault, not the world’s.

As the sun slowly sank along the ridge, it was time to return and check the letters.

I wonder if master opened the letters alone.
Or maybe she threw them into a pit.

No matter what happens, it doesn’t concern me. After all, master is obsessed with Troka. In the end, she’ll try whatever method she can to open the letters.

As always, the dojo was quiet and eerie.
Judging by the shoes at the entrance, it seems master was inside. Facing the person to whom you’ve poured out your emotions requires more courage than I usually have.

But I have always been someone who can put on a thick face.

Put nicely, you could say I’m bold; put negatively, I’m shameless. Embarrassingly enough, I’m the latter.

“May I come in?”

There was no answer.

“…I will now descend the mountain.”

Even after sharing a bond between master and disciple, I couldn’t leave without a word.
I’ve long since discarded the minimum duties of being human, but still, it felt right to leave behind at least a word before departing.

It’s fine to dismiss it as a simple change of heart. After all, the heart is prone to unexpected changes at any moment.

Master remained silent.

Such a clear signal. Continuing to speak in the face of such a resolute attitude to refuse dialogue would be difficult for anyone, no matter how thick-faced.
And I am not someone with skin that thick.

“Well, in any case. I’ll be back soon.”

Of course, I’ll return before long. There’s someone I need to find on Mt. Muak, and I’m only leaving for a while. I have to open the letters and reclaim the power of the goddess. After all, the primary goal is to return to my original world, safe and sound.

“…Wait.”

Suddenly, orange hair rested on my shoulder. Thin but blunt fingertips brushed my back, stopping me in my tracks.

“F, Flan, by any chance, that…”

Something about the atmosphere was off.

I turned around without thinking. At the end of my long questioning and curiosity, what I faced was.

“…Have you ever thought about, seriously learning my martial arts?”

A sentence I had never heard before, yet it was the one I wanted to hear the most. But now, it’s nothing more than a meaningless conversation, words that fail to reach my ears and dissipate instead.

I can feel the corners of my mouth slowly lowering.
Really.
It’s a bitter feeling.