A Disciple in Need of Care
The disciple who needed care. ‘Just what on earth happened to her?’ The girl from the past—young and blunt, yet so endearing with that cynical charm—where had she gone? I froze completely at the sight of her, transformed as if she were an entirely different person.
No, it was as if she had simply been waiting for the leash of “minor” to come off, and had changed into this. My brain shut down at the sight. Yet apart from my panic, the instincts of a swordsman who had once stood among the strongest on the continent had already unconsciously begun a flawless analysis of the opponent before me.
‘She’s truly… unbelievable.’
The first thing that caught my eye was the Aura enveloping her entire body without a single gap. It lay perfectly calm, without the slightest tremor, yet the flow of mana was condensed so it could erupt explosively at any moment.
The length of her steady breaths, the precise angle of her toes and shoulders pointed toward me—they formed an iron wall of a stance that could perfectly deflect and counter any attack from any direction.
She had taken the very basics I taught her first and mastered them more perfectly than I had after fifteen years of refinement, and all in just six years. On top of that, in the short span of three years she had reached a realm where she controlled her Aura as flawlessly as I had in my prime.
Even with the overwhelming advantage of experience and two whole arms, this distant achievement was something my current lame self could never touch. My swordsman’s instincts felt nothing but pure admiration.
Yet as I thoroughly analyzed her as a fellow swordsman, my gaze gradually began to slip toward a very critical problem.
‘…When did she get this big?’
Carnea, who had left me at eighteen—just when she was beginning to show the first signs of womanhood—now possessed the body of a mature woman who had completely shed every trace of her girlhood.
Her thin leather armor, modified to cling tightly to her body by stripping away unnecessary decorations and emphasizing only practicality, paradoxically revealed certain curves far too explicitly.
With every breath she took, the tough material of the armor stretched taut to a dangerous degree, and below her slender waist cinched tight by a sturdy belt, elegant and sensual lines flowed downward.
Above that, her pure white nape and indifferent eyes shone even brighter beneath the sunlight. They formed a perfect contrast with her red, moist lips. And finally, the firm, gracefully extended line of her long legs.
‘She’s seriously… no joke.’
In that brief instant, the sharp analysis I had been delivering as a swordsman’s instincts vanished without a trace. I was completely entranced by the dizzying feminine beauty that had blossomed so breathtakingly I could barely breathe.
“Ahem, hm!”
Realizing belatedly where my gaze had lingered, I hurriedly turned my head and cleared my throat. My ears and cheeks burned like fire. Cold sweat trickled down my back; I felt like some perverted old man sneaking glances at his grown disciple’s figure. Or was that wrong? There was only a seven-year age gap, and we were both adults now. It was perfectly fine. Yeah, totally fine.
“Y-you’ve grown so much that we don’t even need to spar for me to see it.”
I forced my voice into the most dignified tone I could manage, trying to hide my flustered state.
“Just from the density of the energy wrapped around your body and your stance, it’s more than enough. Carnea… you have truly become stronger than me now.”
A clean admission and compliment. At this level, I had surely given her the answer she wanted, so I thought this strangely sticky situation would be wrapped up neatly.
But as if to laugh at my naïve assumption, Carnea took another step closer.
“Ugh…”
The moment I stumbled back, startled by the seductive atmosphere that suddenly washed over me, Carnea’s hand moved faster than my eyes could follow and seized my right wrist—the one gripping the handle of my crutch. An overwhelming grip that allowed no chance of escape. At the same time, her soft palm clung stickily to the inside of my wrist.
“That is not for you to decide, Master.”
The dangerous smile on Carnea’s lips as she looked up at me deepened. Her face drew so close our noses nearly touched. Close enough to share each breath.
“It is for me to decide.”
Her voice, usually dry and flat, now carried a sticky heat and moisture. A whisper impossible to shake off. No, one that made it clear she had never intended to let me go in the first place.
“So… you will spar with me, won’t you?”
There was nowhere to run. Behind me lay the edge of the continent, and blocking my path was my disciple, now stronger than me and clearly intent on swallowing me whole.
Having painfully confirmed that no escape route remained, I let out a deep sigh and answered in a voice thick with resignation.
“…Fine. I understand.”
Above the training grounds where the morning sun had fully risen, Carnea stood across from me holding her sword yet showing not the slightest sign of tension. The way she casually brushed back her wind-tossed hair and stood there at ease made me wonder if she was even the same person as before.
“Haa… It’s been a while since I’ve been here too.”
Her relaxed tone held none of a swordsman’s gravity or fighting spirit. Her completely loose posture looked like she had simply come out for a light stroll. Yet that only made it more spine-chilling. She emitted no aura at all, but an eerie sensation crawled across my skin as if dozens of blades were grazing past it.
Just what had she experienced in the last three years to learn how to constrict an opponent until they couldn’t breathe while keeping her power completely relaxed like that?
‘She really is impossible to read.’
I licked my suddenly dry lips and pressed the central button on the crutch in my hand firmly with my thumb.
Click.
With the sound of something releasing, the single crutch split in two. The half remaining in my right hand and the wide base planted on the ground continued to provide solid support for my full weight. The other half in my left hand had its thin wooden covering peel away naturally, revealing a finely honed curved sword.
It was my one-of-a-kind weapon, designed so a cripple could survive on the battlefield.
When I lowered my stance, a very faint smile spread across Carnea’s lips.
“Then I’ll go first, Master.”
“…Go on.”
Before my answer could even finish, with a sound like rustling leaves, Carnea’s figure blurred for an instant.
Clang!
By the time I regained my senses, her sword—rushing in at a speed too fast to track—had already collided with my curved sword. Its trajectory looked endlessly light, yet the impact that traveled through my wrist all the way to my shoulder was heavy enough to make my bones ache.
‘Insane… Just how much has her strength grown?’
Of course, the shock lasted only a moment. After all, I had chosen the curved sword as my main weapon precisely to prepare for situations like this. I twisted my wrist smoothly, letting her crushing force slide off at an angle. At the same time, the sensation from three years ago—our last spar—rose in my mind.
Back then Carnea had been fast but the weight behind her blade was shallow. The strike now aimed at my neck was different. Advanced sword techniques I had never taught her flowed like water, viciously digging into every opening.
Yet within those elegant, razor-sharp trajectories I saw something completely unexpected: the old basic forms I had nagged her about for the longest time, forming a solid foundation.
‘I’m genuinely touched.’
“Hmm, you dodged?”
“Of course I can read the basics I taught you when you use them right in front of me.”
“Then how about this?”
Even while our blades clashed, Carnea’s voice remained endlessly relaxed and leisurely, like someone enjoying a casual walk. Her talent and achievements had certainly far surpassed my expectations.
However, she still had not reached my level. No matter how much she had tried to mix in irregularities from her harsh experiences outside, it was nothing compared to my own experience of rolling in the filth since the age of ten, surviving with nothing but a broken wooden stick.
Above all, I knew the minor habits and fatal weaknesses of this arrogant disciple swinging her sword like a dance in front of me better than the back of my own hand.
“Ugh!”
The instant Carnea’s sword drew a large crescent aimed at my collarbone, her center of gravity shifted ever so slightly forward for the decisive blow.
‘As I thought, she still hasn’t fixed that.’
Instead of blocking with my curved sword, I slammed the crutch in my right hand hard into the ground and lifted my body slightly. At the same time, I struck the joint of the ankle she had planted with the hard end of the crutch.
Crack!
“Ugh…!”
Carnea’s perfectly controlled balance collapsed in an instant. The moment her body tilted and began to fall toward the dirt, I kicked off the ground with my remaining left foot and brought the edge of my curved sword to her slender nape. An agonizingly close distance—almost touching the soft skin where her pulse beat.
“That’s enough.”
I withdrew my blade first.
“……”
Watching my disciple sitting on the ground with her head hung low, I let out a light breath.
‘I… guess I’m not dead yet.’
It was a victory gained by exploiting the weaknesses of a disciple who had grown into a monster, but… well, so what? I was fighting with the penalty of a missing leg, after all. Just as I was feeling rather proud of myself, basking in a strange sense of elation—
“Hmm……”
Carnea, who had been sitting on the floor, slowly raised her head. Her pure white cheeks were faintly flushed, yet there was not a trace of anger or resentment at her defeat. Instead, in those languid eyes looking up at me from her kneeling position, there was a sense of accomplishment as if she had finally taken the prey she desired into her mouth.
‘…This isn’t good, is it?’
An ominous warning rang from my instincts.
“Aah… As expected, it’s no use. Master is still… this strong. At this rate I can’t do as I please.”
Her voice, murmuring slowly as if submerged in deep ecstasy, sent chills racing across my skin. The serious atmosphere of sword against sword instantly became drenched in a sweet, dangerous hue.
…This was truly dangerous.
The moment I tried to back away from the instinctive sense of crisis—
Swish.
Carnea’s seated form blurred once more. In the blink of an eye she appeared right behind me, cutting off my only path of retreat.
“C-Carnea?”
“The children are one thing, but…”
The soft, warm sensation of her lips brushing my ear as if gently biting it.
“It seems I need a little more of your care as well, Master.”
Carnea’s whisper, like a snare being spread, left no gap for escape. I could only roll my eyes, unable to push her away or accept her.