The Disciple Departs
"Kid."
"Yes, Master."
"There's nothing more I can teach you."
"That's not true. I'm still far from ready."
"If I say there's nothing left, then there's nothing left."
I already knew. I knew my disciple was only pretending to still have things to learn. She had already mastered everything with her body, perfectly — but she had grown so attached to her master that she kept up the act of studying. And I was no different. I, too, had become hopelessly tangled up in affection for my disciple. Even knowing she was only pretending to learn, I found myself thinking things like, If this means we can stay together a little longer, isn't that enough?
But I couldn't allow it.
"You're at a critical point right now."
I hadn't endured that excruciating pain and transplanted my Aura Heart into the kid for nothing. Of course I wished my disciple didn't have to walk such a dangerous path. But that wasn't an option. In a world already so irrational and unequal, the martial path alone applied the law of equivalent exchange with absolute ruthlessness. You cannot grow strong without trials. You cannot seize true power without hardship. Just as a blade grows sharper with every strike of the hammer, the martial path can never shine without that process.
So here, as a master, no matter how desperately the disciple wanted to stay, I had to cut the bond clean — and send her away. So here, I had to…
"Then I'll get ready."
"Right. You should pack for the journey— wait, huh?"
I could only stare blankly at my disciple's back as she quietly began preparing her belongings.
Huh?
This isn't how it was supposed to go.
Even if the world ends, couldn't I just stay here?
If she could remain at her master's side until the very moment the world collapsed, she was certain she would be more than happy — more than satisfied. After all, this was the sanctuary she had finally found at the end of an impossibly long journey.
Like a castaway who had wandered the desert for ages, only to discover an oasis — and no matter how many harmful bacteria swarmed within it, that oasis would still look like sacred ground. To her, being at Jade's side mattered more than something as trivial as the end of the world.
But she couldn't stay.
It hadn't been that long, but in that time Jade had become someone precious to her. And she knew that this precious person's future held nothing but ruin and despair. She could not accept that. She could not tolerate it. Knowing that, she could not simply sit still. And so she had already steeled her heart for this.
All the while desperately hoping that moment would come as late as possible.
Fortunately, Jade had brought up her departure a little later than she had expected. From his face, Sera could easily tell that he desperately did not want her to leave. Her prediction had almost certainly been right. At that earlier timing, Jade must have thought, It's time to send the kid off. But because he hated the idea of parting, he had dragged it out. That alone was enough for Sera to feel a warm glow inside her chest.
He might not yearn for her the way she yearned for him — but if Jade, too, felt the ache of farewell toward her, that was more than precious enough.
And so—
If I needed a reason to save this world………………………………………………… I have one now.
To her, this world had been hell, pure and simple. She had never felt the slightest reason it deserved saving. No matter how hard she tried, effort never returned results. No matter how fiercely she clenched her teeth and refused to give up, only things that made her want to quit kept happening. No one ever reached out a hand to her in her despair. Trying to save the world had felt foolish, and it had felt as though she alone was struggling to save it. So she had given up. She had tried not to care anymore. She had tried not to hope anymore. She had tried not to hold any will to save the world anymore.
That was how it had been.
And then Jade had planted that will in her again. He had made her carry hope in her heart once more.
Across countless regressions, something that had never once happened — a feat no one else had ever achieved — this man named Jade had accomplished. It was a miracle. No — it was something more precious than any miracle.
An absolute presence.
To her, Jade had already taken that place in her heart.
So for the sake of that absolute presence alone, she had to save this world.
That monstrous Demon King she had never been able to defeat no matter what she tried — this time, she would destroy him without fail. How many times had she failed against that creature? How many times had she been crushed? How many times had she despaired?
And yet—
Strangely, she felt no fear at all.
Because more overwhelming than any fear of the Demon King was the fear that because of him, she might lose her sanctuary.
Above all—
I'm not alone.
Jade's Aura Heart lived inside her. With the most reliable companion of all at her side, there was no reason to feel afraid.
I will kill him. Without fail.
And then she would return.
To this greatest of sanctuaries.
To the only place where she could truly rest.
She hoped for tomorrow. She dreamed of the future.
That most natural human instinct — the one she should always have possessed — Sera had reclaimed at last.
Through endless regression she had gained vast knowledge, experience, and power, but she had lost the most important thing a human being could have. And now, that essential core had returned to the Hero's hands.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes."
"Yeah?"
"Yes."
"You didn't forget anything?"
"Nothing."
"That so?"
"That's right."
"……."
"……."
I scratched the back of my head. Parting was familiar enough. For a mercenary, farewells and final goodbyes were just part of daily life. But maybe it was because she was my first disciple. Or maybe it was the guilt of having to entrust the fate of the world to a kid like this.
I had transplanted my Aura Heart into her to ease that guilt even a little — but that didn't change the fact that I had slapped the label of Hero candidate on her and condemned her to a harsh, cruel tomorrow. If I could have, I would have fought in her place. But as her master, I knew the truth. This kid would reach a level higher than any of those so-called Sword Saints with their grand titles.
Maybe she really is the true subject of the oracle.
I hoped so.
Then at least she wouldn't die on some battlefield.
In the end, all I could do for her was stay behind. All I could do was send her off. The only role left for me was to remain here and watch my departing disciple's back until she disappeared.
Maybe that was an honor, in its own way.
That someone as unremarkable as me had been given a role that almost looked respectable.
"Take this with you."
"…What is this?"
"It's nothing special."
It was special. I had cleaned out every last bit of my remaining fortune for it. People think you don't need money if you're living as a hermit. That's a delusion. Human beings are meant to form groups, build societies, and live together. Trying to go against that and live alone in quiet solitude was never going to be easy. Inconveniences cropped up constantly, and nothing solved those inconveniences more reliably than money. And I had blown all of it on my disciple.
I had no regrets.
An adult opening his wallet for a child was only natural.
I had simply done the natural thing.
"Check it later."
I never let anyone open a gift I gave them in front of me. Because I absolutely hated seeing a face that said it wasn't good enough. After all that careful thought put into a present, to be met with a look like Huh? That's it? — just imagining it made my stomach turn. So for my own sake, I made sure the wrapping never came off in front of me. It was definitely not because the atmosphere felt embarrassing. Absolutely not. If I say it's not, then it's not.
Anyway.
Now it was truly time to say goodbye.
"Sera."
"……!"
She reacted with pure shock. If she had been an elf or a beastkin, her ears would have shot straight up. That was how strong the reaction was.
"The path ahead of you will be filled with hardship and adversity. There will be times when it's so hard you'll want to curse someone. When that day comes, curse this worthless master of yours."
"……."
"You lack nothing. If anything is lacking, it's my own inability to properly guide someone as exceptional as you. So if that moment ever comes, this inadequate me—"
"That will never happen."
"Hm?"
"That will never, ever happen."
"R-Right?"
How should I put this? My battlefield-honed instincts were screaming that if I didn't nod along right here, something terrible would happen — so I just nodded for all I was worth.
"Master is the greatest master there is. I'll prove that from now on. So all you need to do is stay healthy and well. Understood?"
"…You're the one going off to fight, so you should be worrying about yourself more than me… Yeah. I'll look after my health as best I can."
Faced with the sheer intensity in Sera's eyes, I nodded so hard it practically whistled through the air. I had thought she was nothing but quiet and gentle — I never imagined such fierce heat burned inside this child. As her master, I couldn't help but be astonished.
"I'll be back."
"……."
I'll be back, she said.
So that was it.
To this child, I had become a home she needed to return to.
In that case—
There was only one answer I could give her here.
"Come back safe, Sera."
"Yes. I'll be back safely."
And so my disciple left my side.
I watched her back in silence, all the way until she was gone.
That was my role as her master.