“The headmaster of the Academy is making moves…?”
“Yeah, probably.”
Jack, having transferred almost all command of the Cheonma Church to Harang, frowned as he studied the information that Stella had gathered about the Tri-Sword.
‘…The headmaster of the Academy is making moves, huh.’
Anna Jandark.
Current headmaster of the Academy.
And a former Hero.
Although, as a former Hero, her blessings might not match the current Hero, Lucius, in terms of raw power, one cannot dismiss the decades she spent as a Hero.
Experience doesn’t just vanish.
“…Tch.”
Thus, the news of the headmaster’s movements was not good news for Jack.
With a deep sigh, he scowled and glanced at another member of the Tri-Sword, Amber.
As if demanding something, he extended his hand.
“Huh?”
Amber stared at Jack’s hand blankly before realizing something and responding.
“Oh! Sorry! You asked me to write it down!”
“…What?”
“Sorry, sorry! I totally forgot! But I remember it all, so I’ll tell you!”
With a sheepish grin, Amber began sharing what she had seen and heard as accurately as she could.
Jack’s expression soured further.
“…The head of the Mage Tower is also moving?”
“Yep!”
“Haah…”
The Empire’s Mage Tower.
Though it’s secretive, not much is known about it.
But one thing is certain.
‘A colleague who once fought alongside Anna Jandark.’
Thus, the head of the Mage Tower must also be considered on par with or even stronger than Anna.
“This is a headache.”
As Jack held his head as if in pain, Amber added with a cheerful smile.
“Well, it can’t be that bad, right?!”
“…How can you say it’s not bad?”
Amber looked at him with a puzzled expression, as if she couldn’t understand his disbelief.
“Well! We’re strong too! Besides, Cheonma and the vice-head are super strong!”
Amber raised her arms in excitement.
“Ouch!”
“Stella. We should consider ending this at our level.”
Sighing with frustration, Amber playfully hit Stella on the head, who was smiling brightly.
“Why do you always do that to me!”
Stella felt wronged in this situation.
*
“Isn’t this dreadfully boring?”
Staring aimlessly at the sky, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
‘Surely….’
It must have been some time since Jack said that.
“Why is there no news at all?”
It was so peaceful that it seemed almost too scripted.
…Of course, I didn’t particularly mind this boredom.
Saying I hated boredom?
That would come off as spoiled considering how my head was throbbing just a short while ago.
But the longer this peace lasted,
‘…The longer the execution of the plan would be delayed.’
I simply couldn’t view this dull time positively.
“…”
After a while of being lost in thought.
“Do you need something to chew on?”
“…Whoa.”
Nameless, who had previously said nothing, suddenly peeked in and said that.
‘…No, that’s not right; he hadn’t said anything up until now.’
Since returning to the hut, Nameless had failed to engage in conversation aside from the usual formal greetings.
And it was no different now.
He must have thought to alleviate my boredom by saying that since I complained about it, right?
“…Tch.”
I really didn’t like that.
He could at least come up with an interesting story or something.
‘Something to chew on?’
What kind of nonsense was that?
Did my disciple mean to say he didn’t want to have conversations with me, his master?
“Sigh…”
Honestly, raising someone raises no reward.
This is why the ancestors said not to keep a black-haired beast…
“Sigh!!!”
That was my fault for not heeding the wisdom from the past.
I wondered what Nameless thought of my deep sigh loaded with such profound worries.
“…?”
With a puzzled expression, he tilted his head and rummaged through his clothes before pulling something out.
‘…What’s this.’
My eyes were glued to whatever it was in his hand.
It was something red and seemingly emitting a sweet, tangy smell all around.
I tilted my head at it.
“…Strawberry?”
Why the sudden strawberry?
The harvest season should have already passed…
Due to that, I hadn’t had any strawberries since coming to the hut, had I?
When I voiced my confusion, Nameless nodded and added with a ‘Oh’ as if recalling something.
“I bought it from the village nearby while you were in meditation.”
“The nearby village…?”
“Yes, the village we visited right after we descended.”
“I-I see…”
Contrary to my pouty lips, my hand was already reaching toward Nameless’ hand.
‘Wait.’
I shook my head, eyes tightly closed as I continued to lean toward Nameless’ hand.
‘I shouldn’t!’
I almost mindlessly went for it…!
Just a while ago, I had been dwelling on my disciple’s annoyance, and now I was about to fall for a strawberry?
No matter how much I loved strawberries, this was a matter of pride.
After all,
I had been blatantly showing my sulkiness all this time; wouldn’t it be quite embarrassing if I gave in to a mere strawberry?
‘No way!’
With that thought, I turned my head sharply away from my disciple, puffing out my cheeks.
Nameless then showed a wry smile as if deflated.
“Sadly, it’s not in season, so it’s small… but don’t you like strawberries?”
He then brought the hand holding the strawberry towards me.
“Ugh…”
“I think my arm is going to break.”
After momentarily glaring at Nameless, who was overreacting with a playful smile.
“Okay.”
With a deep sigh, I obediently opened my mouth.
…Well, given the effort he put into this, refusing to eat would be quite rude, wouldn’t it?
Of course, it would be a huge offense to the strawberry, not him!
“Nom.”
*
“Umm…”
Nameless watched his master, whose cheeks were bulging like a squirrel as she stuffed strawberries into her mouth, and smiled softly.
‘It always crosses my mind. Master really loves strawberries.’
And the extent of that love was pretty profound.
“Hehe…”
It was a hit to his pride, but seeing his master like this made him feel a hint of jealousy towards the strawberries.
Well, more than that jealous feeling, he was just happy to see his master happy.
Thus, while Nameless smiled contentedly for a moment.
“…”
Suddenly struck by an unsettling thought, Nameless’s expression grew cold.
‘…What if, after a little more time passes…’
Would his master leave somewhere?
What would happen to him then?
If his master could take him to where she lived, he would be truly glad.
…But somehow.
He just had this feeling: would she really take him along?
It didn’t seem likely.
“…”
It was natural for Nameless to have such anxious thoughts.
Reflecting on the atmosphere of what his master had said back then or her recent actions, it didn’t seem like she wanted to take him with her.
Mixing gloominess with a sense of relief.
His master, who, since returning to the hut, hadn’t talked with him about anything, wore an expression that was neither here nor there.
…Of course, he hadn’t either.
‘Can’t be helped.’
If his master was in a mood that felt like she could snap any moment, who would have the courage to approach her?
Humans tend to fumble when dealing with something precious.
Likewise, Nameless was no different.
On top of that, the distinct change in Harang’s attitude made him even more anxious.
Thus, he ended up doing something he wouldn’t have done normally—he made a small yet significant mistake.
He was scared.
Nameless was scared, feeling uncharacteristically timid and unable to act.
This, too, stemmed from the past.
A time when a careless slip of his tongue caused both his parents to lose their lives had an unpleasant influence.
He was afraid that, just like back then, he wouldn’t be able to say anything except for the bare minimum words because he was so scared of his master leaving him.
Terrified that one minor slip-up in his words would completely turn her heart away, causing them to never meet again.
“…”
But Nameless didn’t show it.
He was also anxious that his master might dislike seeing that side of him, so he tried his hardest to maintain an expressionless demeanor.
Thus, they ended up in this awkward situation that was hardly funny.
…Of course.
With the power of strawberries aiding him now,
That awkward atmosphere was nowhere to be found.
“Slurp…”
“Master, you have something on your mouth… No, forget it…”
The strawberry was so delicious that Nameless sighed and took out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the mouth of his master, who had smudged her mouth with strawberries.
“Hmm…”
Harang seemed embarrassed by the whole thing, her face slightly reddening as she avoided Nameless’ gaze.
“…Thanks.”
“Not at all.”
The two were peaceful.
On the surface, at least.
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