The Master's Dagger
111. I’ll do it! As we reached the road leading to the Royal Capital, something lined up along the side caught my eye.
“…She really does walk around like that.”
Just as Iris and I had expected. The scene that would haunt my nightmares was the work of my seventh disciple, Ester Marigold. I roughly knew why the timid, perpetually cowering girl would do such a thing. According to the game’s setting, after hearing something unpleasant from the Demon God Worshippers, she would display their corpses like this whenever she entered battle. It wasn’t because she had yandere tendencies or was a psychopath. The enemies had simply insulted something far more precious to her than her own life. So she was merely displaying them as an act of revenge. It wasn’t a pleasant sight. I hated the Demon God Worshippers too, but not to this extent. I quickly moved past the area and arrived at a relatively intact spot.
“…”
I stopped and quietly surveyed my surroundings. Among my disciples, Ester had the most exceptional detection abilities. By now, she would have already sensed my arrival. The reason she still hadn’t shown herself was half embarrassment and half a desire to play a prank—something she only ever showed to me.
Rustle! Thud, thud.
Look at that. If she were truly hiding for an ambush, she wouldn’t make a single sound stepping on the ground. Yet she was deliberately shaking the grass as if shouting, “I’m right here!” Of course, I couldn’t find her right away. If I did, the already timid girl would be disappointed and shrink back even more. Like playing tag with children, I needed to stall for time, pretend I couldn’t find her, and only discover her at the very last moment.
“I know you’re there, kid. Come on out.”
I walked toward the spot where I sensed Ester’s presence. The important thing wasn’t to find her exact location. It was to show her that I was diligently searching nearby.
“It’s only proper for my disciple to come out when her master calls… Huh, not here?”
Even I wanted to slap myself for such terrible acting. If my master had seen this, she would’ve yelled at me to quit being a teacher. But right now, sincerity mattered more than flawless performance. It wasn’t about teasing her—it was about playing with her.
“What? Did I sense wrong?”
Muttering to myself, I deliberately turned my back and walked in the opposite direction of where I felt her presence.
Rustle!
As if waiting for that exact moment, the bushes shook. The next instant, something soft pressed against my side. Even though it should have taken time for her to move, before I could even react, a horned cat had already latched onto me.
“Ester.”
Rub.
“Ester Marigold.”
Rub, rub.
Instead of calling her again, I simply stroked her soft hair in silence. Carefully, so as not to touch her horns. Just like in the old days when I used to soothe this ultimate coward.
“Master.”
After rubbing her cheek against me for nearly five minutes, Ester finally spoke in a cautious voice.
“Did I do well?”
“Hm?”
“I knew a fierce battle was happening in the Royal Capital. I wanted to join, but… I couldn’t.”
“I understand. If you went there, there would’ve been many obstacles to using your specialty—poison.”
Ester’s abilities weren’t limited to wielding daggers. Being of the demon race, she excelled at creating and using poison. She could even store certain toxins in her body and release them later. Paralytic poison, hallucinogenic poison—few warriors above a certain level could withstand them. If she had used those poisons in the Royal Capital battle, the human soldiers would have collapsed as well. Poison was powerful, but it couldn’t distinguish between friend and foe. The Poison Hero herself could have become the biggest problem for maintaining the front lines. That was why Ester had stayed one step away from the Royal Capital battle.
“And your judgment was clearly correct. If the enemies you dealt with had joined the fight unscathed, no one knows how the battle might have turned. They could have been a significant variable.”
“I’m glad. Hearing you say that… really…”
“But that’s as far as it goes. From now on, acting alone is forbidden, Ester. It’s dangerous by yourself.”
“Could it be what you mentioned…”
I nodded in affirmation. The Enemy’s Will directed at the world, the Fragment of the Demon God—it had finally crawled out beyond the world’s boundaries. It wasn’t recklessly charging in to kill the Heroes either. It knew when to retreat when at a disadvantage and even analyzed our forces in the process. I had hoped for a simple, brutish enemy that only knew how to fight. This meant I had several times more reasons to be cautious.
“Of course, I know you’re more comfortable operating alone.”
“…”
“But now we have no choice. You need to receive at least minimal support. The situation isn’t lenient. Ester Marigold. Can you follow your master’s words?”
“O-of course. I’m your disciple! What would I do if I didn’t listen to you?”
“Good, good. Hearing you say that puts me at ease. Thank you, my disciple.”
When I stroked her head again, she let out a soft “Hehehe.” It was a rare smile from Ester. Usually, she would fidget with her fingers, blush, and only move her lips. But when she did smile, it really felt like I was raising a cat. Of course, this cat was the kind that could truly “tear people apart.”
“But, Master. Why don’t you call me your youngest anymore?”
“Hm?”
“You used to say ‘our youngest, our youngest.’ Why don’t you anymore?”
…I had planned to explain later. I wanted to wait until Ester was in a better mood. But at this rate, it might be better to just tell her quickly.
“Ester Marigold.”
“Yes, Master.”
“You’re no longer the youngest.”
“…What?”
“You’re my seventh disciple. We have a new youngest now. A new disciple has joined.”
“…What?”
“You’ve probably seen her a few times. Iris. That troublemaker.”
“…So, I… I’m no longer… the youngest… right?”
“Yes. I can’t use that title anymore. But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re my disciple. I’m still your master. Nothing else has changed.”
“I’m not the youngest anymore…? I… I’m… not the youngest…?”
Tears welled up in Ester’s eyes as she muttered. She wasn’t usually expressive, but once she started, she was incredibly hard to console. That was why it was important to soothe her before she truly broke down.
“Ester Marigold.”
“…Hic. …Sniff…”
“This is also a trial I’m giving you, my disciple.”
“A trial…?”
“Yes. You can’t stay the youngest forever, nor can you remain a child forever. Ester. I want to see you become a reliable senior to someone.”
“But I…”
“You can do it, Ester. You can become an even more wonderful person than you are now. To do that, you need to break out of your shell. You have to tear through the membrane that’s tightly wrapped around you and come out. And then grow stronger, becoming someone who can help me and your fellow disciples.”
She was already helping tremendously. If only we could ease her shyness and embarrassment a little. I decided to use this opportunity to work on that.
“I want you to step out of being the youngest and become someone’s senior. Just like I did, and just like your fellow disciples. Ester, become someone who holds an umbrella over others when they’re caught in the rain.”
“Can I… really do that? I don’t think I can, Master. I… I have no confidence.”
“Who are you?”
At my question, Ester stared at me for a moment, fidgeting with her fingers. Then she spoke in a quiet voice.
“A… Hero…”
“Louder.”
“The Poison Hero…”
“Good. Then what’s the other name people call you by?”
Ester looked at me with eyes that had mostly stopped crying. She was still sad and upset about losing her spot as the youngest, but now she seemed more curious about the situation.
“They call you Dark Shadow. It means shadow and darkness.”
“Th-that’s strange. It feels weird…”
“It’s another title, just like the ones your fellow disciples have. What does that mean? It means you’ve grown that much. It means you’re that remarkable. And it means you can now have someone beneath you. You’ve earned the qualification to do so.”
“…Is that… a good thing?”
Children had a tendency to obsess over whether something was good or not. If a parent said it was good, they would instinctively try to accept it, knowing it would make both themselves and their parent happy.
“It’s not just good. It’s remarkable. Truly remarkable, Ester.”
“That kind of…”
“You might feel sad about no longer being the youngest. You will. Because you’re giving up a position to someone else. But in exchange, Ester, it means you’ve taken one more step forward in growth. Poison Hero. Dark Shadow, Ester Marigold. My quiet but lethal, swiftest dagger. My nimble horned cat.”
“M-Master’s dagger…”
“Even so, do you still want to stay as the youngest? Then you’d have to give up everything you’ve newly gained. This is a position where you can become even greater and receive more recognition from me.”
“N-no! No! I-I don’t have to be the youngest anymore! I’ll do it! I want to be Master’s dagger! I want to do it! Let me do it! Not the youngest! I’ll become Master’s dagger!”
At Ester’s near-scream, I gently covered her lips with my hand. Then I softly patted her back and whispered in her ear.
“Good, good, Ester. Well done, my seventh. You’ve truly become a proper Hero now. You’ve grown enough to step out of the youngest’s position and accept a new one. So remarkable. So very remarkable. I’m almost moved to tears.”
“Master, you’re crying?! D-don’t cry! I’m sorry! I-I was wrong! Please don’t cry!”
“That’s not it, Ester. I’m just overwhelmed because you’re so remarkable. Don’t worry.”
It really was moving. I hadn’t expected my acting skills to improve this much.
“Now then, shall we go meet the new youngest? Ester. It might be embarrassing, but bear with it. You’re no longer the youngest—you’re a proper Hero now. Don’t be nervous. Step forward with confidence. Got it?”
“Ah… Y-yes, Master! I-I’ll try!”
Poof! The silver-haired demon girl clenched her fists tightly.