A Depressed Kendo Player Possesses a Reckless Aristocrat

Will

Korn’s current whereabouts were a mystery.

More precisely, since the tragedy that happened three months ago, she hadn’t shown her face at the academy even once.

With such an event having occurred, the headmaster’s presence would be considered crucial.

But the students, and even the other faculty members, hadn’t seen her.

She had vanished without a trace.

Because of the situation, a restless atmosphere pervaded the academy.

The headmaster’s absence was being filled by nothing more than rumors from an unknown source.

-Rumor has it… the headmaster was seriously injured during the last invasion.

-The wounds are severe, apparently.

-Maybe her mysterious disappearance is all related…

Even the golden boy who had relayed this information to me seemed to firmly believe it.

Knowing all the truth, I could only feel bitter.

Well, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

Korn was indeed suffering.

But her pain wasn’t from her body, but from her heart.

It had only been four months since she lost the person she loved.

This time, the academy was invaded and even the students whom her mentor cherished so dearly had been killed.

It was enough to break anyone.

It was more strange to think that she wouldn’t be shaken.

-What? You know where the headmaster is?

-Well… how would I know something that even the other professors don’t?

What Gold-Teeth had said was true.

There weren’t even five people who knew of Korn’s current whereabouts.

At most, it’d be professors like Sharon Tayhon, Kate, or Aaron, those who’d been close to the late Master during his lifetime.

For someone in such a high position, Korn didn’t have a wide circle of acquaintances.

-In short, the headmaster is currently missing. And there’s no real way to find them either.

Just like that, my plan to bring Korn over to my side seemed to be faltering from the start.

But, I had a feeling.

I knew where she was staying.

It was a mere hunch.

Yet, I held a vivid certainty.

If it was Korn, who’d cherished Master so dearly, she would surely be there.

‘The faculty dormitory… Master’s room.’

It’s because people who are lost in grief tend to linger in the places that hold the most memories of what they’ve lost.

Just like I’d always loiter in Mother’s study.

A painful smile grazed my lips at the old thought that flashed through my mind.

A person who holds onto sorrow, is like a ghost wandering through the past.

They commemorate the moments when they shone in life.

In that sense, the dormitory where the two of them had lived together would be an all-too-desperate space.

Master’s favorite furniture, the belongings he cherished, even his distinct, refreshing scent… all those traces would remain there.

What is lost exudes a sickeningly sweet odor.

Perhaps Korn too, intoxicated by that blissful despair, was lying there, utterly listless.

‘It can’t be like this.’

I quietly bit my lip.

I couldn’t leave Korn to go this insane.

The world still needed her.

A massive chaos was slated to descend upon the continent in a few years.

The order that had been manipulating the seekers all this time would be moving to seize the empire in earnest.

And the demons, too, would be moving to revive their demon king.

To overcome the encroaching darkness, Korn had to hold his ground.

Of course, this generation had a new hero, ‘Allen.’

If she stood by them, the light of hope would surely grow much stronger.

‘……And, even beyond just that reason.’

I didn’t want to see Korn crumble.

My teacher would be saddened.

He had spent his entire life fighting fiercely in hell, and I didn’t want him to suffer even in the heavens.

Though I was a flawed student who couldn’t even call him by the simple title of ‘teacher’ while he lived.

I wanted to offer my belated respect, even in this way.

Since I couldn’t protect you, it was my heart’s desire to protect the things you loved while you lived.

And so, I could not possibly allow it.

For their story to conclude with such a wretched ending.

‘I will carry on your will.’

I slowly raised my hand, harboring a firm resolve.

Before me, a firmly closed door stood.

The name ‘Lucas’ engraved on the plaque caught my eye, but it didn’t stop my moving arm.

-Knock knock…

The knocking sound, resonating calmly.

After that, a chilling silence descends.

If I just stood still, holding my ground, a faint stir of movement could be felt before long.

-Click, creeak…

The front door opens with a slight tremble.

Following after, a woman with intense crimson hair reveals herself.

“I keep telling you, Sharon. Please don’t come here like this…”

Her voice held a hint of irritation, but it soon faded.

Our gazes met.

Her golden eyes froze for a moment, as if she had seen an unexpected person.

I took a shallow breath, then calmly opened my mouth.

“Headmaster.”

“Student Raiden…?”

“It’s been a while.”

A light greeting, casually delivered.

When I raised my head from the polite bow, a woman staring blankly in my direction came into view.

Her condition was, to put it plainly, a mess.

Her uniquely lush hair was a tangled mess, as if it hadn’t been cared for at all.

The eyes that had once shone with such noble light had lost their spark.

Even the elegant beauty that had once defined her presence was hidden by her dark complexion.

“Student… what brings you here?”

Her haggard appearance questioned me.

There was a hint of reluctance in her reaction, but I, on the contrary, spoke brazenly.

“I have something to tell the headmaster.”

“Huh…?”

Korn, who had been momentarily stunned.

She then sighed and furrowed her brow.

“I don’t know how you found out I was here… just go.”

A blatant refusal.

Korn tried to close the door again, but my subtly moved foot prevented it.

I couldn’t leave you in the dark like this.

“……What do you think you’re doing?”

“I apologize.”

“Move now. Or I’ll slam the door shut even if it means cutting off your foot.”

“I have something to tell you.”

“I don’t want to hear it… so, please, just leave me alone.”

Korn pushed me away with such persistence, but I held a card she couldn’t help but listen to.

“The day of your mentor’s funeral… I kept vigil in your place.”

“……”

“At that time, the headmaster said. Because you had received help this time, if the time comes when I need you, he’d do everything in his power to help me.”

Korn was a person with a quirky side, but.

She kept her word.

Especially since her mentor had been mentioned, she wouldn’t be able to ignore it.

The woman finally, reluctantly, opened the door.

“Come in.”

“Thank you.”

I stepped inside, inwardly relieved.

I’d been worried she’d be so far gone, a husk with no memory of repayment.

Luckily, that didn’t seem to be the case.

Though, I couldn’t relax just yet.

This was the most crucial part now.

From here on, I had to persuade her, the one who was drifting away from life.

*

A little later.

Korn and I sat facing each other at a large table.

While Korn moved to prepare some tea, I glanced timidly around the lodging.

The room was unexpectedly neat.

Perhaps she couldn’t stand the thought of the space she shared with Master being dirty.

Every corner showed traces of an obsessive pursuit of cleanliness.

While I was mulling over these complicated thoughts, a warm teacup was placed in front of me.

-Clink…

The gentle sloshing was of lightly brewed black tea.

Another thing Master had enjoyed while he was alive.

“So… what is it you wanted to say?”

Korn’s voice dripped with clear annoyance.

But it wasn’t quite as sharp as if she’d completely bared her fangs.

She probably couldn’t bring herself to treat a student within her territory too harshly.

Though somewhat overshadowed by Master’s light, in moments like these, I could see she was a remarkable educator.

My breathing trembled faintly.

I calmed myself, taking a steady breath, and opened my mouth.

“I have a request.”

That’s how I started.

“I want power… the kind of power that ensures I won’t lose anything anymore.”

Lost too much.

Missed too much.

Regretted too much.

I didn’t want to flounder in this weak reality any longer.

“Since Master passed, I’ve thought about it every day. If only I had been stronger, faster, more perceptive… maybe I could have prevented Master’s death.”

I once blamed myself like that.

If only I hadn’t been so careless.

If only I had moved based on the original, having designed a perfect future prepared for every danger.

Maybe I could have protected Master.

It was a thought I tried hard to shake off back then, but it still remained a painful scar.

“I realized through this invasion. That I am endlessly weak.”

I almost failed to protect something again this time.

If not for the figure known as the ‘Helper’ assisting, the rear gate’s defense line would have been breached and many more casualties would have occurred.

“I’m tired of this powerlessness… Now I want to be someone who protects, not someone who is protected.”

My tightly clenched fist held a desperate sincerity.

My throat seemed to tighten with the rising sorrow, but I bit my lip to remain unshaken.

Now was the most important part.

I couldn’t succumb to pain like this.

My lip, unable to withstand the biting force, tore, and drops of bright red blood fell steadily.

“I want to be like Master.”

The dedication with which he burned every ounce of his being to protect the ones he loved.

Even if it was a faded flame now.

The embers were still dimly glowing.

I dared to embrace the lingering embers left by Master within my heart.

“Like Master, who guarded the academy, took responsibility for the peace of the people, and was a pillar of support for everyone… I, too, want to become strong.”

After enduring this pain for so long, I came to have a single wish.

I didn’t want anyone to become like me.

I didn’t want children to despair because of unreasonable tragedies.

I wanted them to be far from misfortune and to shine with pure laughter.

If there were those who were wounded, I wished they could recover hidden in someone’s shadow.

I wanted to be their breakwater.

Just like my late master had been for me.

“I will carry on the will of the watchman.”

Before I knew it, Korn was staring directly at me.

As if not to be defeated by that gaze, I widened my eyes straight ahead.

“So that my master’s noble will does not end… I will grow in strength, expand my power, elevate my status, and stand in a position where I can protect everything I love.”

Therefore.

“I ask for your strength, just once.”

I slowly rose from the chair.

Then, I bowed deeply to the woman sitting in silence.

It was a rarely seen, perfectly perpendicular bow.

Rarely seen meant, in other words, that the meaning behind the action was all the more heavy.

“……”

Korn continued to remain silent, but.

I waited patiently.

I thought she would also need time to collect herself.

I stood there, still, waiting for several tens of minutes.

Just as my back was starting to ache, the woman’s faint voice reached my ears.

“…What do you want from me?”

Following the powerless question, I raised my head.

The golden eyes I met again were as dead as before.

Still, I could find, beyond that transparent surface, a single fragment of light.