Chapter 6: Homecoming
I thought back to the Valanus of old.
The days when the masters and disciples spent their time together.
We had gone on countless outings as a group.
I gazed at the small lake before me.
The children used to splash around and play in a place just like this.
Back then, Cesare had been a rather timid child, so he usually sat beneath the shade of a tree.
A little boy quietly dipping his feet into the water.
Yeah…
That’s how he used to be.
Though now…
He was throwing up.
“Bleeaaagh…!”
Clutching a tree for support, Cesare emptied the contents of his stomach.
The beautiful lakeshore stretching out behind him only made the scene even more ridiculous.
“Cesare.”
“I told you not to drink so much.”
Before leaving the city, Cesare had said he wanted to say goodbye to some acquaintances and headed out.
It was early in the morning, so I hadn’t suspected anything.
Several hours later…
He returned completely drunk.
Avoiding my eyes, he mumbled,
“N-No, see…”
“I thought it was water at first.”
“Then after that… I just couldn’t stop.”
“But I’m totally fine!”
“Cesare.”
“The thing in front of you isn’t me.”
“It’s a rock.”
Cesare was kneeling respectfully before a large boulder.
He slowly turned his body toward me.
“I-I mean…”
“I can still fight just fine.”
“Seriously.”
In the end, I raised my fist.
I smacked him hard across the back—hard enough to knock every trace of alcohol out of him.
Only then did he finally seem to come to his senses.
“Ow! Aagh!”
“Okay! I get it!”
“I’ll never drink again!”
“I swear!”
He was still groaning in pain, but at least there was life back in his eyes.
He really was a good kid…
As long as he stayed away from alcohol.
“Starting today, you’re quitting.”
“Completely.”
“Rest for ten minutes, then we’ll leave.”
He still didn’t look well.
I sat beneath the shade of a tree, and Cesare quietly came over to sit beside me.
Looking out across the shimmering lake, I asked,
“How much farther until we reach the orphanage where we left Xenia?”
“About thirty more minutes.”
Xenia.
A little girl with pink hair and clear, water-colored eyes.
I wondered how much her face had changed by now.
My youngest disciple.
The last Xenia I remembered was… five years old?
Something like that.
At least, that’s how I remembered my youngest.
Rather than smiling at the mention of her, Cesare simply scratched the back of his head.
“I’m not sure we’ll find any clues.”
“The orphanage’s gone now.”
“And nobody knew where Xenia ended up.”
“Perhaps this time…”
“…things will be different.”
Then—
I sensed movement at the edge of the forest.
Crunch.
Crunch.
The sound of footsteps through the grass drew closer.
Turning my head, I saw translucent blue wolves emerge from the trees.
There were ten of them.
Slimes mimicking the forms of wolves.
Instinctively, I reached for my sword…
Then let go.
Before I could move, Cesare grabbed his spear and sprang to his feet.
A grin spread across his face.
“This kind of thing should be the disciple’s job.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
He charged straight into the middle of the pack.
The monsters all howled at once, baring their fangs.
Veins bulged across Cesare’s fist.
SPLASH!
The tip of his spear pierced straight through the first wolf’s core.
His eyes gleamed.
A savage smile tugged at his lips.
“That one’s worth about the price of a drink.”
ROOOAR!
One wolf.
Then another.
Every sweep of the spear destroyed another monster.
Blue slime splattered across Cesare’s boots.
There was nothing refined about his technique.
Nothing elegant.
It was the fighting style of someone who had survived on the streets.
Raw.
Brutal.
And because of that…
It was overwhelmingly powerful.
Grrrr…!
Just as Cesare tore another wolf apart, one more lunged from behind.
Its fangs sank deep into his right arm.
Blood burst from the wound.
The wolf twisted its head, trying to rip the arm clean off.
Given the strength of its bite, tearing off a limb should have been effortless.
But…
Cesare’s arm didn’t move an inch.
Instead, he smirked.
“Oh?”
“Using your head now?”
THRUST!
His left fist punched straight through the wolf’s chest.
Ignoring the monster’s frantic struggles, he grabbed its beating core.
CRACK!
The core shattered effortlessly.
The wolf immediately collapsed into nothing more than flowing slime.
The battle was over.
Yet Cesare remained standing with his spear in hand.
The murderous aura in his eyes hadn’t faded.
As though the fight still wasn’t enough.
Then he suddenly covered his mouth.
“Ah, damn…”
“I moved around too much.”
“I think I’m gonna throw up…”
I quietly looked away.
A moment ago he’d looked rather impressive.
I handed him my waterskin.
Without taking a breath, he drained the entire thing.
“It seems bloodlines really can’t be underestimated.”
“You’ve become this strong.”
“Hah.”
“Even if my parents were the worst…”
“I’m grateful for one thing.”
“They gave me good blood.”
His tone was sarcastic.
But only half.
Cesare understood better than anyone how important bloodlines were in this world.
A powerful body.
High-purity mana.
Even special abilities—
All were often inherited.
His teleportation ability was probably the result of his lineage as well.
Looking exhausted, he dropped heavily onto the ground.
“Whew…”
“I’m beat.”
“They weren’t exactly dangerous…”
“But they sure were annoying.”
“They won’t show up again, right?”
“Who knows?”
“You’d handle them easily.”
“Even more easily than I could.”
“Huh?”
“Me?”
“With your skills, Master, you’d wipe them out in one hit.”
Looking puzzled, Cesare asked the question as I poured healing medicine over the bite wound on his arm.
I looked up.
“In one sense…”
“I’m weaker than all of you.”
“That’s why I need your help.”
Cesare blinked several times before asking,
“…Because your bloodline sucks?”
This little brat…
