uld feel the hot body heat of a living creature surging. That heat, charging straight toward me.
The blood energy within me had vanished, but not everything was gone.
There was still a sword in my hand.
I thrust my sword toward the ear-splitting shriek.
―SLASH!
Hot blood sprayed upward. I felt the sensation of a thick, massive wing being cut away.
The Crystal Bat rolled across the ground, screaming. I shouted toward Cesare.
“Cesare, this way!”
With the scent of blood this strong, Cesare should be able to find his way. Immediately after, the sound of my disciple drew closer.
―CRUNCH!
The sound of flesh and bone breaking. Blood scattered in every direction, and the Crystal Bat writhed and thrashed.
While Cesare dealt with the creature, I turned toward the entrance.
―BOOOOM!
I swung my sword, pouring in what little mana I had. Part of the collapsed stone was destroyed by the sword wind.
A sharp pain throbbed near my heart. As expected, it was too much for me in the First Engraving.
Still, the passage had collapsed enough for light to enter. As the surroundings brightened, I saw the Crystal Bat dead, pierced by a spear.
The floor was filled only with blue blood. Cesare did not seem injured. He retrieved his spear and shook it off.
“Whew, I barely blocked it with my spear when it came at me. I thought the spear was going to break. How did you catch that thing?”
So he had blocked it well. Had I worried for nothing? I shook the blood from my sword.
“It was thanks to you. Thanks to that, it ended well.”
“What did I do? I only finished it off at the end.”
Cesare gave an embarrassed smile and looked toward the nest. As the area grew brighter, the workers’ faces lit up.
“We are alive! We are finally alive!”
“Hurry and get out!”
They began crawling out of the nest. I shouted at them urgently.
“Stop! The ground there is……!”
The moment the workers poured out and stepped onto the ground, cracks began to spread across the floor.
Crystal Bats usually built their nests near mica, which shattered easily when struck. It was a trap that caused the floor to collapse the moment enemies approached the nest.
Before I could stop them, the floor crumbled. A dark abyss gaped open like a maw.
“Aaaargh!”
The workers clung to the edge of the nest. The director was barely holding on to the very end, but it was impossible for him to endure.
The distance was far too great. Just as I rushed toward him, the director lost his grip on the branch.
With a scream, he began to fall. There was no way I could reach him.
At that moment, a spear shot past me.
The spear plunged into the darkness, and Cesare appeared there. With one hand, he held the spear, and with the other, he caught the director.
“Got him!”
It seemed he had wrung out the last of his mana. Now he only needed to come back. The instant I thought that.
―CRACK!
Cesare’s spear shattered into pieces. He had said it could endure his mana up to two times.
Then I remembered what he had said about blocking the Crystal Bat’s attack earlier. It seemed that had damaged it.
Cesare’s face filled with panic, then he threw the director toward me with all his might. After catching the man, I tossed him onto the ground.
The director was alive. But what about Cesare? The moment our eyes met, he smiled without a shadow on his face.
Beyond the darkness, Cesare fell.
I hurriedly looked around. There was no object or living magic beast nearby that could hold Cesare’s mana.
There was no way for him to return.
My disciple had resolved himself to die. And yet he smiled. My foolish disciple. Did you think I would smile simply because you did?
I clenched my fist so tightly it felt as though it would shatter. Then the red blood on my hand caught my eye. It had not dried completely yet.
It was the blood that had gotten on me when I treated Cesare earlier. My hand trembled. I hurriedly absorbed Cesare’s mana.
“Cesare! Come to me! Right now!”
But no matter how many times I shouted, Cesare still did not come.
“Cesare, come back!”
I still had not heard the sound of impact. Just as I approached the edge of the hole, desperate to save Cesare somehow,
pain exploded through my body as though it would tear me apart. The taste of blood spread through my mouth, and light flashed above my head.
It was Cesare.
―THUD!
I caught Cesare, who fell on top of me, with my entire body. He let out a groan.
“Ugh, I think I am going to throw up…….”
He was alive. He was breathing. My disciple had come back alive.
It felt as though all the strength had left my body. I did not know whether it was the aftereffect of mana pain or relief. Cesare exhaled roughly.
“Wow, I thought I was going to die. Master, are you all right? Because of my mana, it must have hurt…… Argh!”
I gave Cesare a knuckle rap right on the head. He groaned and stuck out his lips.
“Master, that hurts! I am already stupid, and now I will get even stupider!”
I struck him several more times in a row. I could tolerate him drinking, swearing, or acting like a scoundrel.
But I could not forgive this. Neglecting himself. Throwing himself away. Trying to die.
“Why did you try to die?”
“I did not know the spear would break!”
“Then you should have told me to absorb your mana!”
Cesare blinked, then avoided my gaze.
“No, that seemed like it would hurt you, Master……. And I heard the sound of water below.”
“The sound of water?”
“It sounded like a river. The current sounded pretty strong…… Argh!”
I hit him again. I held on to Cesare, who looked aggrieved enough to die, and poured out my scolding.
“The sound of water? Could you judge the depth from that alone? You would risk your life on nothing but the sound of water in an uncertain situation?”
If the water had not been deep enough to absorb the shock of the fall, he would have died on the spot. Cesare avoided my gaze and said,
“I lived anyway, did I not?”
“You little bastard.”
I knocked him on the head until he could no longer spout nonsense. Cesare clutched his head, looking tearful.
“Master. Losing Xenia was my fault. So I was trying to take responsibility…….”
“We can find information about Xenia another way. And this is not responsibility. Never do something like this again.”
Cesare hesitated, then nodded. Whether he understood or not, I could not tell. Then, as though remembering something, Cesare held out what he had been gripping.
“Right, I hung on to the wall earlier while I was falling. Something like this was embedded in that wall. What is it?”
It was a crystal shining in a deep, dark blue. I could feel intense mana from it. To think he had found something like this while falling.
“It has been a long time since I last saw one as well. It is a Spirit Mana Crystal, which takes several hundred years to form.”
“What is that?”
“It is a crystal that can never be destroyed by mana. It also blocks most physical damage.”
It was a gem sold for a high price because of its outstanding properties. Any magic tool maker would go mad for such a thing.
Cesare stared blankly at the Spirit Mana Crystal. Then he infused the gem with his mana and handed it to me.
“Then please keep it with you, Master. So that I can come back anytime.”
I looked at him silently, then nodded. I accepted the crystal, now tinged red from the mana it held. Cesare grinned.
“Then shall we handle our original business now?”
I saw the director groaning on the floor. The man who had sold off an orphanage for no more than gambling. I met his eyes and said.
“Do you remember Xenia?”
“Xenia? What on earth is that……. Did you perhaps come looking for one of the orphans?”
“Yes.”
The look in the director’s eyes changed for an instant. The greed that briefly showed was clear. He spoke as if bargaining.
“There were many orphans, so I cannot quite remember……. Once we go outside, there should be documents. I think I will remember if I see them.”
In the end, it meant he wanted me to get him out. I grabbed him by the collar and rose.
There was something I had realized after living for many years. Some humans did not need kindness.
I dragged the director to the edge of the hole and stood him there. If I let go of his collar, he would fall.
“At least lie properly. You sold off the orphanage, yet you kept the documents?”
At those words, the director could not argue. When I loosened my grip slightly, he grabbed my wrist.
“I-I remember! A red-haired boy brought her in. She was adopted about half a year before the orphanage went under!”
Only then did the director confess the truth. I gestured for Cesare, whose expression had stiffened, not to come closer.
“Where was she adopted?”
“I do not know the exact address, but she was adopted to Whistleton!”
Whistleton. It was a rural village some distance from here. At least it was fortunate that she had not simply been scattered onto the streets.
Judging by his expression, he did not seem to know anything more. I slapped the director hard across the cheek.
He fainted without even making a sound. Leaving the collapsed director behind, I headed toward the exit, and Cesare came up beside me.
“Do you not have to beat him more?”
“If Xenia is not in Whistleton, we can come back and deal with him again.”
If that man had not gambled away the orphanage, Xenia would have been safe there.
If Cesare had died while saving that piece of trash……. As we silently left the crystal cave, I spoke to Cesare.
“Cesare.”
“Yes.”
“Do not die. Do not take risks or go on reckless adventures either.”
I remembered Cesare’s smile from a little while ago. The sight of him smiling even as he fell through the darkness.
Cesare stopped for a moment and looked at me. His green eyes were still.
“Master. I am a scoundrel of a mercenary. It was my job to rush into death for a few coins. My life was cheap.”
“…….”
“But if I could die for Xenia, then it would have sold for a high price. Enough that I would have no regrets.”
His voice was simply calm. As though he were discussing an obvious fact. How many times had Cesare weighed his own life on a scale until now?
“Do you think you have no value?”
“Yes. I am not a good man, am I? My hands tremble like this, and even the smell of alcohol makes me feel as if I am going to lose my mind.”
He raised his hand. It was trembling visibly.
“I am also someone who does not belong in Balanus. Even guilds or mercenary companies would throw someone like me out.”
After saying it with a mocking tone, Cesare put his hand into his pocket. I seized his wrist.
“Mercenary companies and guilds may care about such things. But we do not.”
“Then what do you care about?”
“What we want is you. Cesare. No matter what kind of person you are.”
The young Cesare who had not yet known how to fight, the mercenary Cesare from the dogfighting pit, and the broken Cesare drowned in alcohol.
He had always been my precious disciple. My disciple, whom I would not trade even for tens of billions.
Cesare said nothing. Only his wrist trembled faintly. I could not tell whether it was because of alcohol or emotion.
“You will be disappointed because of me. Is that still all right?”
“Yes. I cannot say I will never be disappointed, but the fact that you are precious to me will not change.”
Cesare said nothing for a long while, and then I heard him give a faint laugh. He took his hand out of his pocket.
“……You said things like this when I was little too. You used to say things like this often.”
His hand was still trembling. Without hiding that hand, Cesare smiled at me.
“I had forgotten. Because I had not heard it in far too long.”