Chapter 12
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: About My Disciple Being a Genius (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A week had already passed since then.
Nothing particularly special had happened. Except for the Red-Haired Kid avoiding me, that is. Could she really be dodging me because of that incident? If so, it stung a little.
I admit I overdid it back then. But avoiding me for a full week? Because of that, here I was struggling to track her down again today.
I at least wanted to meet her face-to-face and hear the reason. Instead of this sudden cold shoulder. I grabbed people walking the streets and asked about the kid.
"Have you seen the Red-Haired Kid by any chance?"
"That's not the important issue right now!"
"Pardon?"
"The Royal Knights are finally making their move! To end the war!"
"Ah, that."
Seeing the man shouting in excitement, I realized my mistake. There was a good reason it was so hard to find the kid right now. Some news that had spread like wildfire through the refugee camp.
Coincidentally, a week ago, a letter had arrived at the camp. It announced that the Royal Knights would march north alongside the army to end the war.
And it wasn't just us. All the nearby refugee camps had received one too. Sure, the content was basically demanding supplies and troops—in other words, shaking us down for everything they could get.
No one hated it or opposed it. Quite the opposite—everyone welcomed the news with cheers. Acting like the Royal Knights had already won. But I couldn't join in the joy.
If my memory was right, according to the story's setup, the Royal Knights would get completely wiped out around this time. And that's when humanity's dark age would begin. Plus, this expedition felt suspiciously abrupt. Could it be...?
"...So they get wiped out?"
"Captain."
"?!"
Damn, you scared me. Please make some noise when you walk. I turned around with a scowl. As expected, Quorens stood there, staring at me with his usual blank expression.
He wasn't some assassin by trade. Why did he move around like a ghost? As I glared at him with those thoughts, Quorens—who'd been staring right back—finally spoke up.
"What did that mean just now?"
"Nothing."
"..."
"Just mumbling to myself. Forget it."
Had he overheard my mutter? I forced a loud laugh to brush it off. Who'd believe me if I said the Royal Knights were doomed anyway? But still, no need to poke the bear.
I didn't want to stir up unnecessary trouble. Meanwhile, as I tried to laugh it away, suspicion started flickering in Quorens' eyes. Great. I had to change the subject somehow.
"Anyway, have you seen the kid I hang around with?"
"I don't even know who that kid is."
Yeah, real clever, you smug bastard. I couldn't spit that out loud. Why? Because Quorens was stronger than me. Without my time-stop ability, I'd lose every single time.
"Then I'm off. Gotta find the kid."
"Understood. Good luck."
"Yeah, you too."
Annoying prick. Ptoo! I spat on the ground, then immediately glanced around in panic, worried Quorens might've seen. Luckily, he'd already turned away and missed it.
For some reason, Quorens rubbed me the wrong way. What was it— like he was watching my every move? And always popping up silently from behind didn't help.
No wonder he got under my skin. Guy was from the capital, some hotshot elite. And he even had his childhood sweetheart glued to his side. Fuck.
"Fuck."
I poked at my gut. It was definitely slimmer than before, but it still screamed middle-aged uncle belly. Here I was, slaving away with this body.
While he was a genius with his future wife hanging off his arm? Enough of that. Any more and I'd just feel pathetic. I let out a deep sigh.
Shaking off the gloom, I wandered the village searching for the kid. The place was in full-blown festival mode. The guards had cracked open their stash of cheap booze.
And they were throwing a feast with meat hunted from outside. Probably banking on the Royal Knights wrapping up the war soon. No surprise people believed it so fiercely.
They'd been through hell.
Starving with no food. Huddled against the brutal winter winds, wrapped in nothing but beast hides. In that misery, the dying spark of hope had roared back to life.
And not from just anyone—the Royal Knights themselves. The legendary heroes who'd held more than half the continent. Each one a champion in their own right. The undisputed strongest force.
With them leading the expedition, how could anyone not get their hopes up? But that's exactly why we needed to prepare. If they failed...
It'd drag us even lower than before. Part of me wanted to join them. But at my current level, it'd just be a pointless death. I'm no idiot.
I knew exactly when it was my time to step up. And let's be real—even if I screamed from the rooftops that the Royal Knights would be annihilated, who'd believe me?
"More importantly, gotta find the kid first."
Where the hell was this damn kid hiding? Red hair that rare—impossible to miss—yet not even a strand in a whole week.
I'd skipped training entirely today. From morning on, I'd been dead set on hunting her down. And finally, it paid off. I found her in an empty clearing, all alone.
To be precise, it wasn't always empty. It used to be full of trees, left there as a backup for when we couldn't venture out to chop wood.
That's why I'd missed it before. But now I spotted her because every tree there was reduced to a stump. I bolted straight over.
"What the...?"
"Teacher, I finally completed the assignment."
"Assignment? No way..."
"I saw the Thunder Dragon."
"???"
No way—that's what this was about? I was floored. That was just a joke. Obviously you can't actually see a Thunder Dragon? That's what I meant to say.
If the kid hadn't taken her stance. Her hand rested on the wooden stick at her waist. In that instant, the kid standing before me vanished.
For a split second, all I caught was a streak of red light. It shot forward like lightning. I couldn't even blink. Then, at the end of the flash, there she stood alone.
Somehow, the wooden stick—drawn like a sword from her waist—was already sheathed back. Right then.
A chilling shwick echoed through the air. Only then did I see it.
The massive tree that had stood firm before me, sliced clean like a sheet of paper. Not even a crackle. Perfectly straight, measured with a ruler. The cross-section gleamed smooth.
I stared in a daze. What the hell? I couldn't even cut a tree like that with a real sword. And with just a wooden stick? As I reeled, the kid turned to me with a smile.
"This is the Thunder Dragon I saw."
"..."
Thunder Dragon? What the hell was that.
I dunno. Scary.
The Royal Knights' expedition had been decided far too abruptly.
Quorens—who was stuck out in the field, getting battered—had no way of knowing the full picture. He knew infighting plagued the Royal Knights.
But they were heroes, at least in name. He could only hope it wasn't driven by personal grudges. Either way, recommendations for new candidates had been put on indefinite hold.
Surely it wasn't for political reasons? The suspicion crept in, only to be dismissed. Just as he grew weary of the endless chain of rumors...
"...So they get wiped out."
The moment he heard it, chills raced down Quorens' spine. The worst possible scenario flashed before his eyes. The Royal Knights annihilated. Followed by relentless raids.
It would be hell without question. But just before that inferno could touch him, Quorens snapped back to reality. He panted raggedly, and before him stood a single man.
Impossible. The Royal Knights, wiped out? No way. Even those who despised them acknowledged their prowess. And yet, annihilation?
"What did that mean just now?"
"Nothing."
"..."
"Just mumbling to myself. Forget it."
The man laughed far too loudly, desperately shifting the topic. It only deepened Quorens' suspicions. Was it nonsense? Or advice born from hard-earned experience?
He didn't know. For now, the right move was to consult his lord. His lord would surely provide a wise judgment. Quorens' footsteps as he turned away felt unbearably heavy.