A Depressed Kendo Player Possesses a Reckless Aristocrat

The Disciple’s Disciple

“I’m tired of this powerlessness… I no longer want to be someone who is protected, but someone who protects.”

A voice resounding calmly.

The boy with hair like the night sky was clearly expressing his will.

Of course, it seemed that he couldn’t completely erase the wavering in his heart, for a hot sorrow could be felt in each and every phrase he uttered.

Drops of blood were falling from his lips.

He had been biting down to restrain his emotions, until they had finally been torn.

“I want to be like my master.”

Korn stared at the boy, unblinking.

His gaze was cold, piercing, but the boy’s eyes widened, defiant, as if he wouldn’t yield.

“Like the Master who protected the academy, who bore the responsibility for the people’s peace, who was a pillar for everyone to lean on… I want to become strong too.”

There was a light in the boy’s eyes.

Faint, but there.

Korn could see it.

He could see the fragment of a star holding purity.

The boy’s gaze, stirring a slight sense of déjà vu, made Korn quietly mutter to himself.

‘…He’s similar.’

Unbidden, the thought arose.

He looked so much like his beloved disciple, who had now left his side…

That’s right.

Lukas had said something similar once.

It was a memory that remained vivid even after so long.

Korn drifted into a quiet reverie.

-Master… In the end, only I survived.

Ten years ago, the worst civil war that shook the Empire.

The so-called ‘Lukria Struggle’.

Lukas had swept across the front lines at the young age of fourteen.

People praised him as a weapon of war sent to the Empire by the Goddess, but the truth was far from it.

No matter how exceptional he was.

He was just fourteen.

It was an age where he should never have had to experience such things.

-They all died.

-Even Uncle Sven, who always teased me for being a brat, even big sister Eria, who took care of me so sweetly, even Jello hyung, who pretended to be indifferent but always lent me his shoulder… Even Kyle, with whom I promised to survive together.

-They all left without exception.

What sin did I commit in a past life that I had to bear such a cruel fate?

Even thinking about it today, a corner of his heart ached.

They were pillars that helped him endure the harsh daily life.

But the world even took that away.

Before the bodies of his comrades, rolling on the floor like corpses.

A boy with green hair was vomiting tears.

-Why do we always only lose things?

-I just wanted to protect at least the things that were by my side… I couldn’t do anything.

Despair isn’t just simple pain.

It makes you not want to imagine a future.

It makes you idly think that you want to die, out of a hope that this terrible misfortune won’t last.

That is despair.

Those who’ve lost their tomorrows live their whole lives in emptiness.

Like a flower trampled by the roadside.

Life is about withering away, wretchedly.

-Master…

When his voice calling out reached his ear.

Korn guessed.

That Lucas would be the same.

Like so many people who’d faced despair, he would break down, unable to overcome the sorrow.

He was more than entitled to.

Even after giving his best, he ultimately ended up facing tragedy.

Even if he collapsed like that and never got back up, no one could blame him.

-I want to become strong, Master.

But, that guess was wildly off the mark.

-I don’t want to lose anything anymore.

-I want to become strong enough… to protect everything I hold dear.

Lucas was a radiant person.

A person whose brilliance couldn’t be dared to be hidden by even thousands of layers of darkness.

Rather than collapsing, tormented by pain, the boy chose to move forward, embracing the pain.

His eyes were overflowing with clear vitality.

Even after 10 long years had passed, Korn still couldn’t forget that upright gaze from that time.

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

And now.

The echoes of bygone days flickered faintly.

What sat before him now was a boy with eyes so much like Lucas’s.

Though they were not green, but black.

The will contained within those clear pupils was as brilliant as ever.

Korn clenched his fist beneath the table.

His heart was flooding with an inexplicable, suffocating ache.

“Like the teacher who protected the academy, who took responsibility for the peace of the people, who became a pillar of support for everyone… I want to become strong too.”

-Like the teacher who saved my life, who defended the empire, who was a shield for the weak… I want to become strong too.

Raiden, and Lucas.

The voices of the two boys already swirled in his ears, a chaotic chorus.

It was a strange sensation.

Sadness, relief, resentment, longing.

A complex maelstrom of emotions that he couldn’t even begin to decipher.

“I’m begging you, just lend me your strength, just once.”

Raiden had already bowed his head.

Korn silently absorbed the scene.

‘…Raiden.’

The boy who had called Lucas his teacher.

Unlike the other students, he was the only one who had received private tutoring and even been taught unique magic, it seemed.

So, would that make him, his teacher’s teacher’s student?

One of the traces Lucas had left behind in this world.

Frankly, he was exhausted.

He was already on the brink of madness from the loss of the one he loved.

To face such similar eyes made his scars ache.

He wanted to just drive him away, but the persistent hallucination tugged at his sleeve.

-Teacher, you know, too.

-My lifespan is short. Maybe 4 years, at most.

-So, I have a favor to ask.

-It might sound cruel, but if the day ever comes when my breath leaves this world…

The foolish request that his student had left before he passed away.

– Please, take care of the students.

That guy was hopeless, just as I thought.

Not only did he leave his master behind, but he wouldn’t even allow me to give up.

Korn exhaled a fleeting breath.

“…What do you want from me?”

Yes, this is the end.

The last disciple you left behind.

Fulfilling what this one desires will be my final act to the world.

Korn spoke inwardly, rising to her feet.

Immediately, she began to move.

The tips of her feet, touching the ground, made not a single sound.

And so, with her red hair swaying, the woman stood before the boy.

“Raise your head.”

“Yes.”

Black eyes gazed back at her.

She paused, scrutinizing his face, until her gaze landed on his blood-stained lips.

“Stubborn fool.”

Korn clicked her tongue lightly and reached out a hand.

Her fingers, imbued with a subtle mana, touched his lips, erasing the blood and healing the wound.

It was healing using regeneration magic.

The woman still glared at Leiden with eyes that held no light.

“Just as you call Lucas your master… I will treat you as my disciple’s disciple.”

“Understood.”

“You are free to consider me your second master. From now on, you will call me Grand Master.”

“Yes, Grand Master.”

“He must have rubbed off on you, you are quite good at answering.”

Korn furrowed her brow, turning her back.

A flick of her fingers, indifferent.

A soft sound lingered as the flow of mana shifted, enveloping her entire body.

Following the gentle breeze, her disheveled hair was neatly arranged, and even her wrinkled clothes were smoothed.

She looked composed.

A little, but it seemed like Korn had returned to her usual self.

“……So, what do you want me to do for you?”

She asked the question with a listless voice.

*

When I first conceived the plan to bring Korn in.

I was actually a bit uneasy.

Because I wasn’t sure if I could really convince her.

How could I possibly grab hold of her, drowning in such a deep sorrow?

I worried about this for a long time.

But ultimately, no answer emerged.

I, too, had experienced the loss of a loved one.

So, more than anyone, I knew that this wasn’t the kind of problem that could be solved with some shallow game.

But giving up wasn’t an option.

Korn was essential for my plan.

For the sake of my late master, she had to live.

So, I decided to just take the plunge.

I resolved to cling to her as many times as it took for my sincerity to reach her. I went to her with that resolve…

-Since you call Lukas your master… I will also treat you as my disciple’s disciple.

Unexpectedly, Korn agreed with me.

I was a little surprised.

Korn wasn’t someone who spoke informally to just anyone.

It sounded like she was acknowledging me as my master’s disciple, and I even felt a sudden surge of emotion.

But I didn’t show it.

Because there were more important matters at hand.

I calmed my agitated heart and began to explain the plan to Korn.

She listened to the story with a blank expression, then nodded a few times as if she understood.

“Not just a vague goal of protecting people… you’re drawing a fairly systematic future.”

“That’s right.”

“To form a ‘system’ that can act as a shield, you say. That sounds plausible enough.”

“To execute the plan within the academy, I require Grand Master’s approval. Will you lend me your support?”

“Yes, I understand.”

Fortunately, Korn’s reaction was positive.

Although the lifeless, stagnant atmosphere remained unchanged.

Still, the fact that he agreed to my request seemed genuine, as he nodded.

“Will this suffice?”

“I have one more request.”

“Speak.”

“I know that in a few days, there will be a memorial service for the victims of the previous invasion.”

“Yes… Professor Sharon told me.”

A memorial service to honor the past tragedy.

Normally, it would just be a day for the students to feel their own helplessness and be crushed by grief.

But I decided against it.

To realize what I want to achieve, I intended to make that day the first step in my plan.

For those who have departed.

For those who remain.

It was a meager will to encompass the scars of everyone.

“Just like at Master’s funeral… allow me to stand in Grand Master’s place at this memorial service.”

“Are you speaking of the Headmaster’s position?”

“Yes. And this time, not just to hold the position, but I ask that you allow me to conduct the ceremony.”

“……I cannot grasp the meaning behind your words.”

Korn stared at me with a puzzled look.

I could only offer a faint smile in response to that gaze.

“There is something I must do.”