Chapter 26 – The First and Last Day with Master

The First and Last Day with Master

The journey ahead is expected to be even more treacherous.

It’s been tough so far, but what’s prepared ahead is an even more severe path of hardship.

It’s almost halfway, and all I’ve got are questions, so it’s a natural conclusion.

I can feel my mind twisting a little. It’s probably because of the Holy Sword. Using the power of the goddess in such an irregular route tends to strain you over time. The power of the goddess feels like radiation. If processed and used correctly, it can be a wonderful tool that offers help, but if not, it’s a perverse power that shatters people.
If you’re not worthy, don’t even look at it, is that it?
Or is it a deserved punishment for having cooperated with the Demon King?

They dropped me in the Demon Continent, completely unrelated to this world. I haven’t received any mental or physical compensation for that.
After taking everything I’ve tried to protect, now they’re even trying to prevent me from going home. Isn’t that too much?

Well, now is not the time for such laments. I have to solve the questions that arose from opening the letter.
It’s a thought that came to me only now, but there were too many questionable points about Troka’s death. It’s plausible that he committed suicide due to mental duress, but the problem is this damned will letter. There are too many suspicious points.

Firstly, the handwriting was different.
Unlike me, who was a blockhead, he grew up quite well, but still, his handwriting was pretty bad. Emotional, perhaps? Anyway, it wasn’t a beautiful handwriting.
However, the handwriting in the letter to Aliana was very elegant.
Considering her status, it’s possible that someone else wrote it, but at least the letter to Aliana was definitely not in the handwriting of Troka that I knew.

Secondly, the strangely concluded letter to Lumen.
The tone was distinctly different from Aliana’s letter, with concise sentences. This one at least matched Troka’s original handwriting.
And the fact that this letter wasn’t properly concluded means there’s either a problem with the letter or someone deliberately tampered with it.

I’m starting to grasp some clues, but it’s still just circumstantial evidence. Even if I want to find more evidence right away, I can’t. Given the place.

For now, I need to rest in a cave. In this cave.

Yes, I am now in an unnamed cave in the Muak wilderness. I was forced to stop while traversing the mountain range.

It was the rainy season.
Damn it.

You could say that when it snows in Frontis, it rains in Mt. Muak. However, this place is the southernmost tip of Mt. Muak and the cold of Frontis is blocked by the mountain range, so it has a typical climate. Typical, but not mild weather.

Of course, having experienced such crappy situations several times, I hurriedly grabbed a leather raincoat. Being soaked all over is uncomfortable in every aspect.

However, the problem wasn’t that.

Thanks to the raincoat, my clothes were dry, but with every step I took on the sticky ground, I could feel the life of my shoes being crazily worn away. If I continued like this, it was certain that my feet would be worn down before I could get out of the mountain, so I had no choice but to enter a cave.

Regrettably, I hadn’t brought boots, thinking they wouldn’t be necessary.
In truth, I had forgotten them.
I was so focused on the raincoat that I failed to prepare boots separately. This could be called a porter’s disqualification. I thought the rainy season here was short and occurred several times, so it would be safe. It was a big failure.

The cave I entered was more comfortable than I thought. It was as if someone had been taking care of it.
There were some bloodstains remaining, which made me anxious, but it seemed safe for the moment. I kept a little wary as I lit a fire and listened to the sound of water droplets falling like the ticking of a clock.

In fact, I might have continued on if I hadn’t encountered a beast while making my way through the thicket. The leather raincoat got torn in the fight with the creature, so I needed time to dry my completely soaked clothes.

It wasn’t an Invisible Beast. I could see it without using Mind’s Eye. But my damn eyes was getting the best of me.

My eyes were already suffering after using Mind’s Eye just a few times. Things close by were severely distorted, and things far away were completely blurred, with only colors barely distinguishable.
Even my shoulder made a grating noise when I tried to move it, and occasional pain surged through my arms that had been healed, causing my body to stiffen momentarily.

I feel like I’m going to become half-crippled if I keep going like this.
But inside, it’s already rotten to the core, beyond recovery.

Here I go again. Damn these negative thoughts. It might be okay occasionally, but if it continues, my already shattered mental health will break into pieces, so I should stop. But my head won’t listen.

Sigh, let’s calm down and read the letter.

I still have a long way to go before I find a cave big enough to hide a dragon. I should think of it as conserving energy.

With that in mind, I spread the orange-colored letter on top of a rock.

—-

This letter.

I wonder how you felt after receiving this letter.
I really don’t know.

Now, I will begin. Please read carefully. When you read it again, it will be easier to start from here.

Has it been almost two years? Since I’ve spoken to you like this. It really has been a long time.

I think it’s almost the first time since I was expelled.

The days I spent with master were like a dream. I didn’t know it would all be in vain. Yes, I am no longer your disciple. After all, I was never recognized or loved by anyone, so my heart isn’t that hurt. Everything I did was nothing more than a fool’s errand, after all.

I can no longer endure it, the act, these dirty deed, this bullshit. If only I could kill the Demon King, everything would end. Why did master try to place such a heavy burden on me? The only thing I can do is to end it by killing the Demon King.

In the end, it’s all my fault. I was the one who sought my master’s teachings, so it’s me who should bear the consequences.

It’s time for me to leave.

I plan to end everything after I kill the Demon King. I’m scared because I haven’t told anyone.

I’m sorry to master who will continue to stay in the wild mountains, but at least Flan is still there. I’m not sure how much longer he can hold on, though. He might seem weak, but he’s actually quite strong. His mental instability is a flaw, but that’s something we’ll have to accept.

And there’s something I didn’t get to tell you. The truth is, I didn’t want your teachings. I just wanted someone to rely on.

I’m sorry for deceiving you. But back then, I was much more mentally overwhelmed than I am now. If I could go back, I probably would make the same choice.

Looking back now, I realize I was a terrible disciple.

I’ve reached a point of no return.

But my heart is at ease. After I defeat the Demon King, everything will end. I must focus solely on that. The rest of my companions probably all secretly wish for my death. I have no regrets.

If I could add one last thing, I believe that master’s dream is an unattainable illusion, at least that’s what I think.

Who knows, maybe someone will appear who can achieve master’s ideals. I don’t think so, but if there is such a person, I would be incredibly envious. They would receive all the love from master that I never got.

I did my best. But this is as far as I go.

If you ever read this letter vertically, remember, without fail. Every second──, first letter──

And please, reflect on the time you spent with me.

From your most unworthy disciple.

──written letter

—-

The content of the letter was similar in style to Lumen’s. Not in a bright tone, but rather like the words of someone about to die.

As usual, there were suspicious points.

Awkwardly written sentences and traces that seemed to have been erased.

Surely the last sentence was meant for master. He used formal language with everyone but me.
Considering that, maybe the sentence right above is a message to me. Isn’t this the first time such content has been written?

And the word ‘vertically’ pressed in deliberately. I can’t just overlook that.
It might be a simple typo, but you never know. I’ll remember it.

To summarize, the letter written to Aliana was too strange for someone about to die.
The letter to Lumen was cut off at “and…………,” as if someone wanted to say something but was stopped.
The letter to Rekke, our master, feels like it’s trying to convey information to someone else, not master. That someone is probably me.

But my letter contained just one sentence. “Please deliver these letters.” There was nothing else.

Could it be that there’s a real letter intended for me somewhere else?
If so, someone must have intercepted it along the way. No one immediately comes to mind, but does that mean it’s not the case?
While others had their letter pages filled to the brim, even that damned old man wrote more than me, so it’s a clue that can’t be ignored. Is this all I can know for now?

I still have four letters left to return home, and maybe by opening them all, I can wash away this uneasy feeling.

Yes, uncovering the secrets tied to the letters is just a bonus. There are no other emotions… none.

The next person to meet is finally the Hero Party. Now the real thing starts.
Of course, there’s someone I need to meet before that.
Not an important figure, but a dragon would be very useful to have alongside, especially since I need a guarantor to vouch for my identity to enter the Sword Kingdom. Opportunities like this don’t come often.

Let’s look again when the rain stops.
After briefly organizing the upcoming schedule, I lay down using a rock as my bed. The ground was cold and damp, piercing deep inside my chest.

How long had I been conserving my strength when the rain started to thin? The sky, once heavy with dark clouds and fog, was beginning to let in the sunlight.

It’s time to set out on the journey again.

Valkvogel. Where might you be hiding? You won’t tear me to pieces the moment we meet. I’ve accumulated many sins, but because of our past connection… No, surely you’ll try to kill me.

But there’s information that you’ve been wounded, so you’re probably not at full strength. Maybe you’re wearing a suppression stone around your neck, or something like that. Then there’s no risk of death.

My clothes should be almost dry, maybe it’s time to depart.

That’s what I was thinking as I was putting on my spread-out clothes.

It was then that I began to hear faint groans of pain coming from deep within the cave.

Could it be a person? No, that thought is too frightening. Why would there be a person in such a remote place?

…Or could it be Valkvogel?
A dragon larger than an average house in a cave of this size is not just an urban legend. And she’s not one to enjoy polymorphing.

My head tried to deny it, but my body knew. The faint traces of the past were wafting over. It was a sensation I had often felt before.

She is here.

Strangely, I wasn’t trembling. Holding the dragon grass that Benten had given me in one hand, I slowly moved towards the source of the sound.

So what am I doing now… Ah.

I was going to meet.
An old connection.