Family
It was early evening, the time when a deep, indigo twilight was slowly bleeding across the sky outside the window.
Sion had descended to the training ground and was busy setting up wooden daggers. Garam watched him in silence for a moment before speaking up.
“Hey, old man, what’s the training for today?”
“It’s a drill to boost your reaction speed as efficiently as possible.”
“Boost my reaction speed?”
“That’s right. In combat, the most important thing is the ability to dodge your opponent’s attacks while landing your own.”
With those words, Sion picked up one of the daggers.
“From now on, I’m going to throw these at you. Every time I do, you dodge, then grab a dagger from the table as fast as you can and throw it back at me.”
“Just hearing the explanation makes it sound simple. Though, since the opponent is you, I’m sure it’ll be a nightmare….”
“Enough chatter. We’re starting now, so move.”
No sooner had the words left Sion’s mouth than—
Whoosh!
A dagger flew straight toward Garam’s face.
Garam instinctively twisted her body to dodge, but the blade still grazed her head, slicing off a lock of hair before embedding itself into the wall of the training ground.
Even though the wall was made of solid steel.
“Hey! Are you trying to kill me?! If you throw them that fast, I’m actually going to die!”
“I didn’t throw it so fast that you couldn’t react, so focus and dodge.”
“You jerk…!”
Garam started to complain, but a second dagger was already flying toward her.
It was slightly faster than the first.
“Hup!”
Garam momentarily arched her back with fluid grace to evade the blade, then snapped back to her original position and snatched up a dagger. Following the rules of the drill, she hurled it back at Sion as quickly as she could.
However, even though Sion didn’t bother to dodge, the dagger simply flew toward the wall and clattered to the ground upon impact.
“The speed itself was good. Your accuracy, however, is severely lacking.”
Sion evaluated her coldly as he picked up the fallen dagger. Garam, breathing heavily, grumbled in response.
“You’re throwing these like you’re actually trying to kill me, and you expect me to dodge *and* counterattack? There’s no way this is possible!”
“There’s rarely such a thing as ‘impossible’ in this world. You managed to counter, didn’t you?”
“Even though I missed?”
“If you could do this perfectly from the start, you wouldn’t be called a genius. You’d be a monster.”
Garam tilted her head slightly.
“Weren’t you a monster like that too, old man?”
“When I was your age, I was similar to you. I couldn’t do it perfectly either.”
“Then, among the people you’ve seen, is there anyone who could actually be called a monster?”
Sion fell silent for a moment before giving a slow, affirmative nod.
“There is. Two people, out of everyone I’ve ever seen.”
“Who are they?”
“One of them you probably know. Phantom.”
“Phantom?”
Garam wore an expression of disbelief at the mention of the name.
From her perspective, it was only natural to be surprised.
While most S-class killers boasted mission success rates of over 90%, Phantom’s success rate barely hovered above 50%.
“Isn’t she the one with the worst track record among the S-class killers?”
“That’s to be expected. She only puts in effort if the mission interests her. Her capricious personality plays a big part in that, too.”
“She slacks off if she’s not interested? How is that a monster?”
Garam asked, looking unimpressed. Sion rolled the dagger over his knuckles and spoke slowly.
“Change your perspective. If her success rate is that low, how could she still be an S-class killer?”
“…Now that you mention it, that is a bit strange.”
“It’s because her combat prowess is so overwhelmingly superior that it easily covers for all those shortcomings.”
Having grown up with her since their time in the training facility, Sion could speak with absolute certainty about Phantom’s strength.
If Phantom were to fight in earnest… there wasn’t a single killer, himself included, who could defeat her in a one-on-one duel.
“Hmm, I see….”
Garam nodded, then asked as if something had just occurred to her.
“Then who’s the second person? The other killer among the two you mentioned.”
Sion closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again. His pupils were filled with complex emotions.
“…A kid named Luka. Someone who isn’t here anymore.”
Garam blinked.
“Not here anymore…? You mean he died?”
Sion didn’t answer. He simply stopped rolling the dagger in his hand.
Seeing that, Garam realized that Sion’s silence was a confirmation.
“…What kind of person was he?”
“He was quite similar to you. He was a chatterbox, and he kept saying he wanted to dedicate his life to the killer industry.”
Sion closed his eyes again for a brief second. His expression remained calm, but his gaze seemed to be fixed on something far away.
“But he died. He was trying to handle a dangerous mission alone, and he was caught in an explosion.”
“Ah….”
“It was my negligence. I was busy with my own work at the time, so I couldn’t go out with him.”
Sion’s voice sank as low as it could possibly go.
“That’s why, when I took you in, I decided that this time, unlike before, I would take full responsibility. I don’t want to repeat the same mistake.”
A heavy silence followed his words.
Only after some time had passed did Garam carefully open her mouth.
“Then… won’t you end up getting hurt again because of me?”
Garam’s voice was smaller than usual. It wasn’t her typical playful tone, but the voice of a child asking a truly cautious question.
Sion lowered his gaze at her question.
“…That might happen. But I won’t regret taking you in. And I won’t ever abandon you.”
Sion gently stroked Garam’s hair.
“So, try your best not to die. Struggle to survive, no matter the circumstances.”
“……Okay.”
“I’ll do my best to ensure you live, and I’ll protect you in my own way.”
Garam gave a small nod. In the quiet training ground, only the sound of their breathing echoed.
“Now that we’ve made a promise, let’s get back to training.”
“Okay. I’ll do my best. To survive.”
Garam’s voice was filled with firm resolve.
Sion’s expression softened slightly, and he offered a faint smile.
“From now on, I’m going to throw them even more unpredictably. Try to dodge well, and try to hit me back.”
“Got it. I’m ready, so bring it on.”
“Good. Let’s begin.”
Once again, Sion threw the daggers, and each time, Garam twisted her body, snatched the dagger from the table, and countered.
As the process repeated, her counterattacks became increasingly accurate. By the tenth attempt, the blade whistled past Sion’s neck by a hair’s breadth.
“That last one was good. Your dodging motion wasn’t too excessive, and your speed was fast.”
“Should I keep going with this feeling?”
“Yes. Try to develop it just a little bit more from here.”
The training continued.
As the accuracy of her counters improved, Sion increased his speed. However, perhaps because it was becoming second nature, Garam dodged and countered with increasing skill.
By the time they had traded about 200 attacks—
“That’s enough.”
Sion said, stopping his assault.
“If you can use the feeling you have right now in a real fight, you’ll be able to handle a low-to-mid-tier A-class killer with ease.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. I was attacking you at the level of a mid-tier A-class killer the whole time.”
“That’s good news….”
Garam dropped her dagger and flopped down onto the floor.
“Haa…. By the way, your stamina is truly insane, old man…. I’ve always wondered, are you even human?”
Sion, arms crossed, simply caught his breath and replied.
“I’m human. It’s just that your stamina is still lacking.”
“Is that supposed to be a consolation?”
“I’m just telling you the reality.”
Even as he said that, Sion was inwardly marveling at Garam’s growth.
Contrary to what he’d told her, he had performed the last ten attacks at the level of a high-tier A-class killer. Yet, after the very first one, Garam had effortlessly dodged and countered every single one.
Furthermore, her stamina and grit were at a level that no one her age could ever hope to match.
Sion was certain that if she kept going like this, Garam would be able to step into the world of S-class killers within two years.
“Anyway, good work. You did well today.”
“Oh. It feels good to hear a compliment from you, old man.”
Garam grinned and grabbed her water bottle, downing the contents in one go.
Watching her, a strange emotion flickered through Sion. It was because this very moment felt so similar to the last evening he had shared with Luka.
His gaze wavered subtly. Garam didn’t miss it and asked.
“Old man, you were thinking about that Luka person again, weren’t you?”
“…You’re sharp.”
“Your expression looked so down. Is it because of me?”
“No. I just remembered the past for a moment. It’s not your fault at all.”
“That person… he must have been really special to you.”
Sion closed his eyes slowly and opened them again.
“He was. To me, he was a student, and someone like family.”
Garam pressed her lips together. After a brief silence, she asked cautiously.
“Then… what about me?”
Sion’s fingertips stilled. He looked at Garam for a moment, then lifted his head and spoke firmly.
“You’re the same.”
“…Does that mean I’m family?”
“Yes. You’re annoying, you talk too much, and you’re stubborn. But since we’ve ended up living together, you’re family.”
Garam’s eyes widened slightly, and then a faint smile spread across her lips.
“Then I’ll keep being annoying from now on. I trust you’ll let it slide since we’re family.”
“I’d rather you didn’t.”
“Aww, you’re so mean~!”