RATH 29

TL: Eevee

TN: Important news about the future of this project: see Release Notes for details.

4. The others stories (3)

#5 Their story: Sia nel Karuans story.

Can you hear me?

Ah.

What I saw as I opened my eyes to my familiar subordinates voice was a black ceiling.

Thats right. I came. I came

That thought kept circulating around my head.

-Once you wake up you will already be at your house.

Hes still as bad as ever.

To think hed say that to me, an orphan without a home or a place to go back to.

Theres only one place I want to go back to.

By any chance, he wasnt caught by the princess, was he?

Indeed. The person that defeated the Sword Star was deduced as Sir Ast I mean Instructor Naruan and was pursued, but was revealed as captains peer Rein.

Ha? Rein beat the Sword Saint? He was the weakest of all of us?

That was what was reported to us.

Since theyd already gotten that far, Master will already have defeated the Sword Star. Since she was unconscious enough for even Rein to carry the Sword Star probably wasnt in her most optimal condition. But shes still the Sword Star.

Since the Sword Stars an opponent that would be impossible for Rein to beat if she as awake.

In that case

He must have handed over the bat.

Huh?

It exists. Humanitys strongest weapon.

Then that makes sense.

He could probably neutralise the Sword Saint in one strike with that.

I had the help of my own secretly trained forces and the emperors direct shadows, as well as the princesss help.

The numbers were over 200.

I even had them hide their bodies in the dark and used less torches to have him underestimate our numbers.

But master was always one step ahead of me. And the unfortunate truth was that he was one step ahead of me in the critical moment as well.

To be honest I was uneasy.

Our Master who wasnt more outstanding than anyone, became the most outstanding for that reason, and our Master that was careless, became more careful than anyone because of that.

He would use any method to erase his weaknesses, and always develop new strengths.

Master always did the things that sounded easy, yet hard to actually realize.

Because of that, in all honesty this operation made me uneasy, and in some aspects it went as expected.

Casualties?

Amazingly, none. Even our allies that were hit by friendly fire in the confusion were treated. To be honest I still dont know what it was that we fought against.

Then again, that sounds about right.

Firstly, it hurts when youre hit.

Even I who endured during all sorts of training couldnt avoid that pain.

But funnily enough that was also treatment.

Once, just once when Maren suffered a critical wound during training, Master brought out the metal bat.

Ah, now that I think about it that was also the first time I saw the metal bat.

-In, instructor! Even so thats too far!

-Sending him off comfortably would be huh?

-Is he hurting him because he didnt finish training eh?

We all had to look at that scene with both our eyes wide open.

He was screaming and despairing as he hysterically laughed in pain as his sides were torn and his guts were spilling out, but we were stupefied as we saw the injury miraculously heal itself in front of our eyes as it was hit.

-Kill, kill me just, kill me

-Now, my disciples. You can get injured. Theres even a way to heal you. So rest assured.

Masters smile then made even me who loved Master more than anyone else unconsciously take a step back, and the impact of the metal bat I felt not long after that even momentarily turned my loving heart into a murderous one.

And Maren who was crawling on the ground after suffering treatment from the metal bat survived. Much too perfectly fine.

To the extent that he woke up fresher than us the next morning. For the record, because of the trauma from this incident, he rejected countless love calls from paramilitary groups, and strongly pushed for a desk job and so went into Internal Affairs. He had become afraid of getting injured.

Fu fuhu. Huhuhu. Yes, hm. You wouldnt know.

Miss Sia?

As I looked at the ceiling I ignored my laughter that leaked through my lips.

Although it might seem somewhat unbecoming of a woman to laugh like that, for some reason I just want to keep laughing like this.

Yes, Master is an enigma.

An enigma?

Yes, Master is the unknown itself! Hes someone we simply cannot understand.

I couldnt understand with any common logic. No matter how long Id been looking at him I still couldnt understand.

Whether Masters name was Naruan, Ast, Herman, Esedna.

Or maybe even something else I didnt know about. No one knew.

The territory that Master used to live in had already long been burnt to the ground by the Empire, and Masters traces that I tracked him by differed with every lead. What was more, when I stole records of someone elses observations of Master and compared them to my own, all our records were different.

Sometimes, I despaired that I knew nothing about Master.

Sometimes, I feared that I meant nothing to Master.

Sometimes, I felt an emptiness wondering if the Master I knew and loved really existed.

So I was embarrassed, but went to ask Master himself.

-Master, Master!

-Instructor.

-Yes, instructor. I wanted to ask you something.

-Your training is already more or less complete, but very well. What is it.

-What is love? Does love exist? Then why does love change?

-Whew and you suddenly came to me for this.

As if he couldnt be bothered, or perhaps thought it ridiculous, but, he answered my question seriously.

-Ones first love is always special. Something new, something fun, something different. They fall in love with these. But most of the time people dont care whether its real or fake. Do you know why?

-Answering a question with a question. Unfair.

-Easily learned knowledge is just as easily forgotten.

I thought over it.

Why did I like Master.

Sure, at first, I cursed him.

-This little shit! Just why that motherfucker survive the great war and pull all this bullshit on us?!

A veteran among veterans of the Great War he was sent off to for an assignment, one of the instructors greatest legends among many.

But if you had the only recently-developed empire-style magic bombardment thrown at you not long after you began training then you couldnt not swear.

What was next.

Hm. As I thought, more curses.

-Kuaaaaaaghh! What, is that! Really! Is that little shit really human?!

Well that couldnt be helped either. The first time youre hit by the bat, you cant help but yell like that. Eh, now that I think of it just why did I come to love Master?

-Know? What? Just what do you know about me instructor! I dont even know who I am! What the hell do you know about me! Do you have any proof that you know anything about me?

Ah, it was then. Now that I think back on it was an embarrassing time, it couldnt be helped since I was in puberty.

And one day when I thought that it couldnt be helped.

And since the magical womans day also came to me, and combined with my naturally filthy personality I was very, very moody, it was the day that still haunts my dreams and makes me throw off my bedsheets.

-I dont know.

To the extent that it seemed very heartlessly, very careless. But, his answer that buried itself deep in my heart.

-I cant say I know you either. No, to begin with in an evil organization theres no need for an exchange of emotions between instructor and disciple. The only thing I have to do, is teach you, and all you have to do is learn and grow. And to begin with, truth isnt a thing that is visible to the eye. And so, I cannot show you visible proof.

Wow. Now that I think about it, he didnt understand my existence at all. Just where did I fall for him. Ah, I remember.

-So I dont know you, and you dont know me. Were the same.

Its funny.

Nothing else, but the same.

At the words that we were the same, those words were like salvation to me.

And later, when I happened to come across something as I investigated Master, the secret of my own birth that was not at all funny.

When I realised the existence of my father that was absent since my birth.

And the things that happened after that were all unimaginable.

But I felt that I understood myself better after that. But, I still dont understand Master.

-Do you not know?

What broke my thoughts were the instructors relaxed voice.

I scrambled to answer.

-Because, because I wasnt used to it?

To be honest, I didnt fall because he said that. To be honest my love for master then was the same, but I couldnt understand back then. But Master nodded.

-Yes, its because you are not used to it. People want love thats flash, elegant, that kind of love. And so they try to gain young and beautiful people in their hands, or try to make brilliant people theirs no matter their means or methods to do so. To raise your own value is the same as loving yourself. And thats why you get quickly bored, or think your partner doesnt fit with you, or find someone else then you naturally go your separate ways.

-Then is it different if you get used to love?

To my question, amazingly enough the instructor smiled gently and stroked my head.

-Indeed. Rather than getting used to it, maturing. When a person matures, they see depth in what they originally thought was simple or plain, and love what they didnt spare a glance for in the past. Even if there is no flashiness or elegance, they find the best worth in people in their own way.

-Its hard.

-Ho, and now who was the one that asked me that difficult question?

-Ma, Master?

-Instructor.

And Master who ruffled my hair was different to normal Master.

Later when I surveyed people that worked together with Master on missions, they said his personality on missions were completely different.

And although the Master I knew then was attractive, this Master was attractive in his own way.

And so I heard many stories from Master, the me back then didnt fully understand what he was saying.

Just, I really like this person as I talk with him.

Aside from realising that.

Ah, just one, these words I always kept to heart.

-Love is allowed. You are allowed to be selfish for the sake of love.

Urgent report! Instructor Naruans goal is a farmers life in a village at the end of the continent. And it seems that Her Highness herself has moved personally on this matter.

Ahh, for once in a long time.

I was remembering fond memories, but, that princess has begun to make her move.

A person who has led a life completely different to mine, but with the same end goal.

It seems like she, too, has decided to move herself.

But the instructor, a farmer. What is this feeling that it doesnt suit him yet suits him at the same time?

What will we do?

Aside from the princesss forces, each of us are to act on our own. The princesss forces are to return, tell His Majesty that Im going on holiday.

We dont have holidays.

Hm? I have lot of spare holidays saved up. The empires a place with really good social security.

Were unofficial.

Pfft. Then again. You guys dont officially exist after all. Alright. Then let me do the talking.

They were the imperial familys shadows yet their jobs were all unofficial.

I smiled brightly as I thought such things.

Your first holiday is a continent tour. The goal is the village at the end of the world.

I think our holidays will be tougher than our work.

Thats not my problem.

You just gotta do what you gotta do.

That was why His Majesty gave you guys to me.

My loving Master said this.

Love is allowed. You are allowed to be selfish for the sake of love.

So then let me be a bit selfish as well.

If you think you can run, then try to run.

Because I, in my selfishness, will capture Master.