CH 48

"I've Got a Disciple."

Translated by Dawn

The main character often mutters this line in novels, but I never thought I would come to use it myself.

……How did this happen?

This was probably the second time I used this word in this life. The first time, I believe, was when the Count of Byreus came to inspect the Malbert territory, and for some reason, I ended up having a mock battle with the Count of Byreus.

And now, in front of me was a woman older than myself, bowing her head, looking up to me as her teacher and for some reason, she was begging me to be my disciple.

Huh? You want to be my apprentice? Why should I take someone as a disciple?

I have not yet mastered all magic. There was a song with lyrics like “the world is a small place,” but the world is both small and large. (+)

There are probably more people better at magic than me than I can hold in my hands, and there must be many wizards who can use magic that I have not mastered.

The woman in front of me, however, is begging me with a determined determination, as if to say, “You are the only one.” What is it that makes her so……?

“I’m sorry, but I’m still in training. I don’t have complete mastery of all magic. How can such a half-breed take up a disciple?”

“That’s exactly the point! I need the help of a teacher to make me even stronger!”

When I asked her about the details, I learned that she had been studying magic since meeting Gyrmzak, but her skills had not been improving recently.

Even when she asked for advice on this matter, she rarely had the opportunity to meet a wizard who was better than herself, and she had been training in her own way until now.

However, no matter how much she tried to train, she showed no sign of improving her skills, and she was in trouble when I appeared.

She sensed that I had more ability than she did, and she wanted to bow down and ask me to teach her, regardless of the fact that I was younger than her.

“If this continues, I will eventually become a liability to this party. Therefore, I need you to teach me, sensei!”

“I told you, I can’t take a disciple when I myself am inexperienced.”

“Please, I beg you. If you will take me as your disciple. I don’t mind if you do whatever you want with my body.”

Hey, hey, hey, what is this girl talking about? A girl who is about to get married shouldn’t be talking like that!

……Oops, no, I spoke with my own feelings from my previous life. Now I’m a sprightly twelve-year-old. My skin is shiny and I haven’t even grown hair there yet……wait, I don’t have to tell you this information!

I’ve gotten a little sidetracked, but let’s focus on what’s in front of me now.

While the others were puzzled by Maylene’s proposal, I made my pronouncement to her in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

“I’m not interested in such things. Give up on being my disciple.”

“Uu…gh, I was pretty sure I could do it.”

Perhaps her pride as a woman was hurt, or perhaps she was shocked by my words. Perhaps she had considerable confidence in her own proportions.

Certainly, her body was well-fleshed out, and objectively speaking, she definitely had a body that a man would love. Her face was also beautiful and impeccable, and her offer would normally be attractive enough to make a man want to ask for her.

(But hey– I don’t feel like doing that yet–)

Unfortunately, my body is probably not yet capable of doing such things, as no such desire arises from my current body.

Of course, my spirit has memories of my previous life, so my body does not respond, but my mind does. That is why it seems now that when I saw Misana for the first time in the city of Laresta, I felt a crush like a first love.

“Hey, you could at least make her your disciple!”

Akini was not happy with my attitude toward Maylene, and she was angry with me.

For me, the act of taking on a disciple was troublesome in itself, and there was no benefit to be gained by training a disciple.

In a sense, the act of having a disciple would only be a disadvantage, because if you had a competent disciple, it was highly likely that others would hear about him or her and come to you asking to become your disciple as well.

“As I said before, I myself am a trainee. I have neither the qualifications nor the time to take on a disciple.”

“Y-you!”

Akini, having been confronted with my honest opinion, tried to strike at me, but I was not going to take such an attack, and a swinging stick cut through the air.

Perhaps she didn’t expect me to avoid it, she looked stunned for a moment, but when she realized that her attack had been avoided, she turned angry and struck at me.

“Damn it, why won’t it hit you!”

“You’re an A-rank adventurer, but you resort to violence just because you can’t fight with your mouth.”

“W-when it comes to this…”

“Stop it, Akini! He’s just a kid!”

“It’s so noisy. Shut up, Gyrmzak.”

“I don’t mind, I’ll show you the difference.”

At first, she was trying to be moderate, but in the end, she became so angry that she pulled out her sword, which was her own weapon.

The first time I saw her, I thought it was a joke, and Gyrmzak went in to stop her, but Akini, whose head was on fire, would not stop and swung his sword at me.

Dodging an incoming sword, I called out to Gyrmzak.

On the other hand, Akini was indeed an A-rank adventurer, and her movements were sophisticated. But it doesn’t reach me.

As soon as she realized that she couldn’t hit me with a sword attack alone, she activated her physical enhancement and began to show her serious moves.

The sword strike from her overwhelming speed would split my body into pieces without hesitation once I received it. Well, if I receive it, that is.

“Haa, yaa.”

“Hoo, oops.”

An attack that an ordinary person would not be able to avoid was avoided with a move that was also impossible for an ordinary person.

I could see her face becoming more and more tinted with impatience every time I avoided Akini’s attack. She seemed to feel threatened by me, who was avoiding her with a cool face despite the fact that she was already launching the highest speed and attacks she could muster.

“W-what? What is this–! Why won’t the attack hit him!?”

‘I told you, didn’t I?　I’ll show you the difference.”

“Kuh.”

I simply answered her cries in a nonchalant manner, not questioning anyone, and her face contorted. I have had enough time to gauge her ability, so it’s time to end this game.

“Uwaa– You monsteer–!”

“Oi, I’m not a monster.”

“Ha, nonsense–guha.”

I grabbed the blade of her sword with my thumb and forefinger as if I was picking ants.

Then, while she was shocked by this, I shifted my stance to the side and struck her in the stomach with my free left hand. The so-called palm strike.

Of course, I was taking it as easy as possible on Akini so that she would not die, but even so, the impact was felt in her internal organs and spit was spit out of her mouth.

The impact that traveled through her body damaged her and caused her to let go of the sword she was holding as if to leave it in her hands, and she was blown several meters to the ground.

(Wow, to be able to stand up after taking a hit like that, I guess you’re not an A-rank just for shows, huh.)

The impact of being blown away caused her to lay on the ground, but she immediately got up and showed her will to fight.

However, the damage I had inflicted on her was so severe that although she was able to stand up, she seemed to be unable to move from the spot, struggling to stay on her feet.

I walked up to her and asked her, holding up the sword she was using as I approached a few meters away.

“It’s a nice sword. I don’t know if the sword is in good condition or not, but it’s got a good core and looks very easy to use.”

“T-that’s natural. That sword is the one and only sword in the world that was forged by Atai, a master blacksmith.”

“I see. But unfortunately, you haven’t been able to harness the true power of this sword.”

“A-are you trying to tell me that I’m immature?”

“Well, that’s the short answer. I’m going to prove it to you now. This sword is …… used like this!”

The moment I said that I kicked the ground to close the distance between me and the object. Then, I instantly swung my sword in the order of diagonal slash, side slash, and reverse diagonal slash, and in the next instant, I stopped short at a distance where the tip of the sword may or may not hit the neck of Akini.

“This is how you use this sword. Have you got it?”

After saying this, I thrust the sword into the ground. At that moment, the surrounding trees fall down and logs were created in the blink of an eye.

No one but me could see when I had cut it down, and I was just staring dumbfounded at the scene in front of me.

All of them kept their mouths shut and did not move, as if they could not believe what had just happened. Then, after a few moments, the words escaped Akini’s mouth as if she was trying to squeeze them out.

“…please.”

“Hm? What did you say?”

“””Make me your disciple!!!!!!!”””

“Not you too! I mean, not you guys, too!”

I guess they saw something in my swordsmanship earlier, and in addition to Akini, Azul and Gyrmzak also got down on their knees and pleaded to me vigorously. …I’m not saying that as momentum, but they’re actually getting down on their knees.

From there, Maylene joined in, and a back-and-forth ensued, with all four of them begging to be my disciples, and me trying to persuade them not to.

Personally, I could not see any benefit in taking them as disciples, but if what I was predicting about the Orc King was true, it was not impossible that a horde of Orcs would come flooding into Rendark in the future.

I convinced myself that it would not be a bad idea to train these guys in preparation for that time, and decided to train Gyrmzak and the others.

However, since I had not yet mastered the swordsmanship and magic of this world, I decided to make certain conditions for them.

“I understand what you are saying, and I will tell you what you are lacking. But I have some conditions.”

“What are the conditions?”

“One is absolute obedience, not disobeying my instructions. You will do what I tell you to do, and I won’t let you say you can’t do it. The second is that you don’t call me master or teacher. I will teach you how to be strong, but that’s it. I’m not your master, I’m not your teacher. If you can keep this up, I will teach you.”

Since it was not that difficult, all four nodded to this condition.

Thus, at only twelve years old, after being reborn into this world, I had a disciple of sorts.