272. Sword Emperor (2)
Step.
Step. Step.
Alice walked ahead.
And behind her, Kang Do-hee and Lee Yu-ri followed.
The two of them kept glancing back as they walked, bothered by having left Jin Yu-ha alone with the Sword Emperor.
"......Seriously, can we really trust that woman?"
"Hmph, you can't exactly call someone normal when they start groping you the moment they see you....... To think a woman like that is the rumored Sword Emperor. Honestly, I don't know what to think."
"She's seriously shady......."
"I'm debating whether we should turn back right now."
The moment the two of them started talking behind the Sword Emperor's back like that.
Alice, who had been walking ahead, whipped around and glared at them.
Flinch.
No matter what, badmouthing a family member right in front of their granddaughter wasn't exactly a noble act.
Kang Do-hee and Lee Yu-ri subtly averted their gazes.
"......What're your attributes."
She opened her mouth in a voice laced with frost.
"Attributes?"
Nod.
'Why's she suddenly asking about our attributes?'
Well, it's easier to answer than having her pick a fight over the Sword Emperor gossip.
Since she asked, it wasn't hard to give her an answer.
"I'm earth."
Lee Yu-ri was born with the earth attribute.
An attribute usually found in Tanks.
Her sturdy body, ideal for planting her feet and holding the line, was the influence of the earth attribute.
"I'm fire."
Kang Do-hee was fire.
It was a common attribute she shared with Shin Se-hee.
But unlike Shin Se-hee's fire, which burned long and wide over a large area,
Kang Do-hee's fire was a destructive fire demon that blazed intensely in a single instant.
At that, Alice pointed a finger at Lee Yu-ri and then indicated one direction.
"The one with the earth attribute, go that way."
Then she pointed another direction for Kang Do-hee.
"And the one with the fire attribute, go this way."
Alice bit her lip hard and spoke in a cold voice.
'So annoying. That damn hag never taught me the sword no matter how much I asked!'
But here she was, clinging to some random pretty-faced man, offering to teach him the sword and begging him to become her disciple.
She didn't like it.
She really didn't.
* * *
"Why on earth do you refuse to become my disciple? Is it because you doubt my skill......?"
"Huh?"
"I am the Sword Emperor. There is none who can surpass me with the sword, and I have never permitted myself a single defeat. Though it is a past glory, I pride myself that even now, when it comes to the sword, I will not lose to anyone."
Desperate at Jin Yu-ha's firm refusal, the Sword Emperor began to recount her achievements in detail.
Honestly, being forced to praise herself like this was deeply embarrassing.
"If you serve me as your master, your sword will reach heights incomparable to your current level."
( Hah, how pathetic. Sword Emperor....... Did she think I would be such an easy disciple? )
Even though the Sword Emperor said all that, Jin Yu-ha's expression remained subtly awkward.
"Um, yes. Since Chairwoman Rina introduced you, I fully understand that you are no ordinary person. And that you are not a bad person, either."
"Then, why on earth......."
"I already have someone I serve as my master."
( ......Hmm. What a truly splendid answer, no matter whose disciple he is. )
Ah.
In that instant, the Sword Emperor realized she had been hasty.
'I rashly judged that an academy student would have no separate master.'
Since it was instructors, not masters, who taught the sword at Rina's academy.
She had naturally assumed it was the same for this child.
An instructor was not a master.
Master and disciple.
A relationship that connects the progression of a swordsman, willingly engraving their master's sword into one's own body.
She had briefly wondered if Jin Yu-ha was simply mistaking an instructor for a master.
But seeing those resolute eyes, this child seemed to understand the weight of the word 'master'.
"Ahem."
The Sword Emperor cleared her throat and spoke in a much softer voice.
"I see. Your heart in honoring your master so is truly admirable and commendable. But, do you not wish to become stronger?"
"I do want to become stronger. That is exactly why I came to learn the sword from you, Sword Emperor."
( Disciple. Forgive me, but you don't need to force yourself to learn the sword of such a woman. You can become strong enough on your own. You must realize this. )
"Then, how about serving two masters at the same time? Wouldn't that not be a betrayal as such? Do you not have multiple instructors at the academy?"
( What the hell is this crazy woman talking about. )
The Sword Emperor said that knowing full well what it meant.
Meddling with another's disciple.
Of course, she knew perfectly well just how shameless an act this was.
But she couldn't help it.
Because she realized that if she let Jin Yu-ha slip away here, an opportunity like this would never come again.
Her intuition was whispering more intensely now than ever before.
That it had to be this child.
'I don't know where you live or who you are....... I'm sorry for what feels like poaching a disciple....... But I'm in a bit of a hurry, so please understand. If you don't like it, come find me and challenge me to a spar.'
( Sword Emperor, draw your sword. )
A proposal to serve two masters at once.
Jin Yu-ha pondered it for a moment.
Then he smiled brightly and shook his head.
"Still, no. I must refuse."
"......What? Why!"
"My master, though she may not look it, is quite possessive. And....... She's also the jealous type."
Jin Yu-ha recalled the time he had said he respected Rina in front of Baek Seol-hee.
Back then, Baek Seol-hee had sulked for a long time with an expression like the world had collapsed.
'She was really cute then, my master.'
All it took was one word saying he respected Rina,
and his master made a face like a hurt puppy.
What would happen if she found out he had taken another master without her knowing?
'I'm a little curious....... But I can't do that.'
Jin Yu-ha thought of Baek Seol-hee and let out a silly chuckle.
( ......Disciple. )
Thus, having been refused once again, the Sword Emperor.
Twitch.
A thick vein bulged on her forehead.
Had her pride ever been so scratched in all her history?
No, it hadn't.
Countless people had come to her begging her to teach them the sword.
But she had never once taken a disciple.
"Ha. So that so-called master of yours has well and truly bewitched you!"
She even went so far as to provoke him.
"Yes, it certainly seems that way."
Jin Yu-ha nodded innocently and agreed.
( Ahem. How shameful. To fail to trust my disciple and show such an embarrassing display as a master....... )
"So, who on earth is this great master of yours? The Sword King? The Sword Sovereign? Or perhaps that young brat, the Blade Sovereign?"
The Sword Emperor asked, thinking of the fairly strong sword users she had encountered over the years.
Jin Yu-ha shook his head.
"None of them. My master is not called by such names."
"Then? Who on earth is it?"
"My master is,"
Jin Yu-ha spoke to the Sword Emperor with a proud expression.
"Baek Seol-hee. People call her the Slaughter-Crazed Woman, but personally, I don't think it suits her. She's too beautiful and cute to match such a bloody epithet."
( ......! )
A completely unexpected name suddenly popped out.
The Sword Emperor's jaw dropped.
"What....... Th-that brat, is your master!?"
"Yes, that's right."
To think that murderous brat who had visited this place long ago had grown up and become a master already.
But, at the same time, it made sense.
The people she herself evaluated as monsters could be counted on one hand.
And Baek Seol-hee was one of them.
'Wait, then doesn't this work out better?'
A thought suddenly flashed through the Sword Emperor's mind, and the corner of her mouth lifted.
"Hoh, so Baek Seol-hee was your master. Then doesn't this work out well?"
"......Huh?"
( Has this woman still not given up? What kind of nonsense is she about to spout now....... )
"Because I am right above that child."
( What......!? )
"Th-that's not what determines a master for m—"
"No, no. That's not what I mean. I'm saying that your master, Baek Seol-hee, is this Sword Emperor's disciple."
"Huh......?"
At that, Jin Yu-ha's eyes flew wide open and he stared at the Sword Emperor.
"Therefore, to you, I am your master's master. Hm. That is to say, your grandmaster."
'Well, that monster brat isn't here right now, so who cares. It's not even a lie.'
Honestly, she did feel a tiny prick of conscience calling herself a master.
But the Sword Emperor nodded to herself.
*
Thud! Thud! Thud!
( No, that's not true! She's talking nonsense! )
A short distance away.
Baek Seol-hee bit her lip until it bled and pounded on the wall.
( That woman is not my master! Don't fall for that wicked witch's trick! Disciple! )
Baek Seol-hee cried out in an agitated voice that one would never see under normal circumstances.
But.
Rina's magic barrier was far too sturdy.
No matter how she shouted until her throat bled.
Neither Jin Yu-ha nor the Sword Emperor noticed it.
Baek Seol-hee could only watch as that sly old fox prattled on before her rabbit-like disciple.
"My master's....... master? You're...... my grandmaster......?"
"Indeed. So what I'm saying is, it wouldn't be so against reason for you to inherit my sword as well."
Jin Yu-ha's pupils shook as if an earthquake had struck.