Who Is Your Master? (3): The Weight of a Promise
‘…I messed up.’
Caught up in a wave of nostalgia, I’d made a promise I shouldn’t have. What is a disciple, really? Some might say it’s just a relationship of giving and receiving teachings, but for me, it’s different.
In my previous world, a disciple—especially a young child taken in by a wanderer—was seen as entering into a parent-child bond with their master. A wanderer can barely take care of themselves, let alone feed and shelter a child while passing on techniques that are essentially their own lifeblood. That’s not something you can do without an extraordinary level of affection and responsibility.
That’s why a wanderer must be more cautious than anyone else when taking on a disciple. Once you take one in, you have to value them more than your own life. And yet, doing it this easily? This simply? It’s something only a complete lunatic would do. And I’m that lunatic.
“Sigh.”
“Hum~ hum~”
Whether she knew my inner turmoil or not, a sweet, melodic voice continued to weave a tune, keeping perfect time and pitch. The melody, which seemed to paint lines with its humming, held a surprisingly coherent shape even at a glance.
“It’s a nursery rhyme.”
“Yup! Hee-hee.”
Seeing Yuna humming away with a wide grin was quite pleasant. Despite how hard it must have been to live alone, she hadn’t lost her sparkle. …She is cute, I’ll give her that. And she’s talented, too. Even if I took her on as a disciple, she wouldn’t exactly be a burden on my wallet. If we traveled together as adventurers, she might even end up bringing in money. She’d probably cause trouble from time to time, but that’s something I could endure as part of a master’s duty.
However, passing on techniques isn’t something to be taken lightly. It’s not just about fixing her shortcomings; it’s about making her a formal disciple, which means I’d have to teach her things like Ishina-ryu or Shinseonyuhwabo.
‘But I can’t just teach her those as they are…’
Yuna’s sword is a brutally wild Sal-gwi. Her sword path, which is closer to tearing things apart than slicing them, doesn’t mesh with the delicate and fluid Ishina-ryu. So, what should I do? First, I’d have to tear down her entire style. Or, I’d have to tear down Ishina-ryu and reshape it to fit her.
The first option isn’t even worth considering. Yuna’s greatest strength is her intuitive, feral sharpness and the unpredictable sword path that comes with it. To tear that down would be no different than trampling a flower that’s already blooming beautifully. That leaves the second option.
‘…This is going to be a really long fight.’
Every sword art, regardless of its quality, must have a certain flow. That flow, starting from a single movement, is the identity of the sword art and the path it pursues. What we call the Simsang is exactly that. And that path is established under the unique rules and balance inherent in the sword art. We define that as the Myori.
Low-level sword arts have faint Myori. So, it’s easy to break them down and just as easy to reshape them. But Ishina-ryu is a sword art worthy of being called a divine skill. Its foundation and Simsang are so delicate and sturdy that it doesn’t easily allow for even the slightest modification. And you want me to insert a completely different sword path into such a sword art? It would be a hundred times easier to just create a new sword art from scratch.
But then, should I just throw together something half-baked? That would be the worst thing I could do.
“Hum~ hum~”
In conclusion, taking Yuna as a disciple is not something one can do without serious resolve. That’s why I can’t lose this bet, no matter what. Sorry, Yuna.
While I was lost in these complicated thoughts, the humming reached its final melody. With a short “hum,” the sketch of the nursery rhyme was finished. There wasn’t really any coloring to speak of, and the lines were a bit wobbly, but…
“You did well.”
“Hee-hee!”
That’s enough.
♩ ♪ ♫ ♬~
“Huh?”
“?”
Just then, a soft melody flowed elegantly, following Yuna’s drawing.
“Whoa…!”
The source of the beautiful melody that made Yuna gasp was Chae-rin. Just as I was thinking that her appearance, eyes closed and fingers plucking the strings, was quite fitting, one of Chae-rin’s eyes opened slightly and turned toward Yuna.
“Want to guess?”
“…Yeah!”
♩.
“When I count to three, we start. Okay?”
“Got it!”
“…One, two, three!”
“White cherry blossoms, the flower spirits bloom. Deep inside the colorful flower garden.”
“Children running between the red and the green.”
“From laughter like bells, to shining eyes.”
“They’re all like lovely treasures.”
Colorful lyrics poured like paint onto the colorless drawing. The paint spread along with the lines Chae-rin was drawing. That slightly wayward flow met Chae-rin’s melody and sublimated into a single rule. The scene that formed was…
“…A flower garden.”
“Correct! Hee-hee.”
“So that’s the title?”
“Yup! How did you know?”
“Because Yuna sang it well.”
“? Hee-hee.”
Even if she didn’t understand what I meant, she just laughed because it was a compliment—truly like a child. I gave her a small smile, and before I knew it, we had reached the entrance of Alven.
“Yuna. Shall we get down now?”
“…Can’t we stay like this a little longer?”
Her voice, now devoid of its cheerfulness and filled with regret, brushed against my ears.
“…Then let’s go just until where you’re staying.”
“Okay!”
With Yuna still on my shoulders, we entered Alven, walking in silence unlike before. A quiet stillness settled between us.
“Isn’t that Master Baldojang?”
“Who is he giving a piggyback ride to? …Isn’t that Yuna?”
“What’s their relationship?”
The voices of passersby pierced through that stillness.
“…Hee-hee.”
‘What’s so funny about that?’
I really can’t understand what goes on in children’s heads. Just then, a thought flashed through my mind.
‘…Hasn’t this concept completely fallen apart?’
Who am I? The cool and chic R-class villain, Baldojang. But what am I doing right now? Walking around giving a child a piggyback ride. Feeling anxious about that fact, I glanced at the chat window.
- Noona…
- Dduddyai ddudda…
- Wahhh, give me a piggyback ride too, baby!
As expected, my image was ruined, and I felt a sigh coming on.
‘…Well, she is a kid, after all.’
“Yuna, where’s your lodging?”
“Turn left there, then go straight!”
Following Yuna’s directions, I walked until I saw a small, shabby inn.
“Is that it?”
“Yup!”
“….”
Spiderwebs hung everywhere, and the old sign looked like it was about to fall off. I stayed silent for a moment, unable to call it a nice place, when Yuna, who had been sitting on my shoulders, did a backflip and landed on the ground.
It was a clean landing, flawless from start to finish. When I applauded the stunt, Yuna turned back to us with a confident look on her face.
“See you tomorrow, Master!”
“I’m not your master yet.”
“I’m definitely going to win, so you’re already my master!”
She looked quite bold, standing there with her hands on her hips.
“Pfft… Sure. See you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow, Yuna~”
“Hee-hee. Bye, Unnie! Master, you have to keep your promise!”
With that, Yuna opened the door to the inn and went inside.
‘She’s surprisingly straightforward.’
I thought she might wave until we were out of sight. Feeling a bit strange, I turned to look at Chae-rin, only to see her clutching her chest.
“…Unnie.”
“You play the harp very well.”
“Unnie… ah, yes? What was that?”
“Do you have perfect pitch?”
“Ah, yes, I do. I actually majored in music.”
“Aha.”
Well, that makes sense. I nodded slightly and started walking toward the Adventurer’s Guild, and Chae-rin quickly caught up.
“…Baldojang-nim.”
“Yes.”
“Can’t you just accept Yuna?”
“No.”
“Just for my sake…!”
“No.”
“I’ll make sure she eats well and changes her clothes properly!”
‘It’s not like we’re raising a puppy.’
“No means no.”
- So cold-hearted
- Bring our daughter back!!!!
“….”
The same people who were calling her creepy just a while ago when we were drinking apple wine were now completely bewitched.
“Boooo… so cold-hearted…”
“Let’s go get our reward.”
“Boooo….”
Ignoring the persistent prodding from the chat and Chae-rin, we arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild. We earned a total of 23,000 credits from the completed quest and the goblin materials we sold. So, where do I get the rest of the money?
“Chae-rin-nim, just 27,000 credits.”
“…Pay me back later.”
Score.
As soon as I got the money from Chae-rin, I went to a nearby blacksmith’s workshop. I handed the blacksmith 200,000 credits and the most expensive katana, and bought it immediately. With that, I succeeded in getting my second Chunsik. You ask how I got the first one?
“Hey, mister.”
“?”
“Buy this.”
“I don’t need it. What am I supposed to do with a broken sword?”
“100 credits.”
“Even if you gave it to me for free… wait, you! That’s my money bag! Hey!”
“I’ll just take 100 credits.”
“You little bastard!!”
“Thanks.”
- The blacksmith’s reaction is hilarious lololololol
“I took the money and gave it to you, so you bought it.”
Flipping the coin I got from the dwarf with my finger, I opened my stat window.
「Remaining Stat Points: 20」
“Hmm….”
- Attack power go go go go go
Agility 70 → 90
- Damn
- lololol Do you guys really think he’ll listen to you?
“If you know, that’s enough.”
“Only until I finish the bet with Yuna.”
Because I need to focus on agility to keep up with Yuna’s speed.
“…Probably?”
- You’re going to win, right?
My voice lacked confidence, and the chat window stirred. But it couldn’t be helped. That’s because…
“I don’t even know what level Yuna is.”
- Maybe 70?
In Livion, the levels of all entities classified as enemies appear above their heads. But Yuna has never once held hostility toward us. That’s why Yuna’s level is still unknown. Even so, if there’s one thing I’m sure of.
“She’s stronger than Yamada.”
- Then 80?
“80… I suppose that’s about right.”
“Her spirit is different.”
Spirit is the manifestation of the Simsang. And the Simsang becomes more solid as one crosses the walls of enlightenment. In other words, the firmness of one’s spirit is the height of their realm. The realms are divided into five stages: Initial Entry, Flowering, Full Bloom, Flower Extremity, and Heavenly Flower. Yamada had the spirit of someone who was at Initial Entry and on the verge of Flowering. But Yuna’s spirit is that of someone who has just entered Flowering. So, it would be appropriate to see Yuna’s level as around 80.
“…No.”
It’s a fight I can definitely handle. Because the difference in realm is as significant as the difference in level. And above all else.
“I have a card I can rely on, in my own way.”