Chapter 99: Disciple
{TL: By Creed}
Axel and Lina were surprised to see Sofia.
Sofia was also surprised to see them.
"Do you know each other?"
"Yes, we do... but let's prioritize cleaning up first."
"Oh, right."
Sofia reminded them of the monster corpses they had left lying around.
If they didn't dispose of them properly, they would attract other monsters... or worse, they might come back to life as undead. They needed to make sure to dispose of them thoroughly.
"I'll help too."
"Thank you, Licorice."
They gathered the monster corpses in one place, and then Licorice used magic to burn them.
The firepower was impressive, raising the surrounding temperature considerably. With this, there was no chance of the corpses coming back as undead.
After that, they treated the injured and explored the area just to be safe.
Once all that was done, they moved to a rest area set up midway through the tunnel. There, they reintroduced themselves and questioned Sofia about her relationship with Axel and Lina.
"My lady is indeed my lady. Also, she's my benefactor."
"She's so strong that I sometimes doubted if she was really human."
Sofia looked exasperated at their explanations.
"That explanation doesn't help at all."
Yeah. Their explanation didn't clarify anything about their relationship.
"Sofia, what do they mean?"
"Honestly, it's best if I explain... Do you remember the sword style I use?"
"The Divine King Dragon Swordsmanship, right?"
"Yes. The Divine King Dragon style has been passed down in various places, and my family, the Ascart family, is one of them. My father mastered it and was granted the title of 'Sword King.'"
'Sword King' is a title just below 'Sword Saint.' It's only given to those capable of defeating a dragon on their own.
"My father then opened a dojo in Leafland to teach the Divine King Dragon style."
"I see."
"As his daughter, I naturally learned the sword and competed and trained alongside many people. Among them were..."
"Me."
"And me."
"Got it."
Repeating the same word, I finally understood the relationship between Sofia and the two.
They learned the same sword style at the same dojo.
They were fellow disciples.
However, the master was Sofia's father. So, they called her 'my lady' out of respect.
Well, the respect for Sofia wasn't just because she was the master's daughter. It was also because she had nearly mastered the way of the sword and earned the title of 'Sword Saint.' Even though I was new to the way of the sword, I understood the greatness of her achievement.
"To think we'd meet my lady again in a place like this."
"Yeah, I didn't expect it either."
"Me neither. I thought Axel and Lina were still in Leafland... Have you mastered the style?"
"No way. We're not geniuses like you, my lady. We're still in training."
"Our master told us to travel and train as warriors. So, reluctantly, I teamed up with Axel for the journey."
"Hey, why is teaming up with me reluctant?"
"Of course it's reluctant. You're rough, inconsiderate, and reckless. Do you know how much trouble you've caused me?"
"Ugh..."
Lina let out an audible sigh of exasperation.
However, Axel couldn't argue back.
He probably had some idea of what she meant.
"Let's not fight... okay?"
Seeing Axel and Lina, Aisha said in a flustered tone.
In reality, they were just exchanging light banter, but Aisha seemed to think they were fighting.
Aisha was concerned about the two who had just met.
Yeah.
Our daughter is really kind.
"Proud parent."
Licorice sighed, seeming to read my thoughts.
"Oh... don't worry. We're not actually fighting."
"Yeah, this is just our usual banter... anyway, it's nothing for the young lady to worry about."
"I see... that's a relief."
Looking relieved, Aisha smiled.
Her smile was comforting, and Axel and Lina responded with warm smiles too.
Then, suddenly realizing something, they asked.
"By the way... who is she?"
"Could she be the young lady's daughter?"
"Haha, no way. That's impossible."
"Yeah, there's no way that could happen."
"Hahaha."
They laughed, and suddenly froze in place.
They remained frozen for about five minutes.
"D-Daughter!?"
They both snapped out of it at the same time and shouted loudly.
Aisha trembled in surprise.
Seeing her like that, Sofia glared at her with a murderous look.
"Um, sorry... but, I mean, we didn't expect the young lady to have a daughter..."
"I didn't expect it either, so I was really surprised... eh, could it be, the childhood friend you've been talking about every day?"
"If it's Fate..."
"Yeah, I'm probably the father. But she doesn't share mine and Sofia's blood."
It wasn't something that could be easily explained, so I omitted the details...
I explained that I had taken Aisha in as my adopted daughter.
"I see, I get it now... I'm surprised. Really surprised."
"Now that I look closely, she's a beastkin. Since both the young lady and Fate are normal humans, it's obvious that she's not their biological child."
"True, Aisha wasn't born from me... but that doesn't matter. It doesn't matter how much time has passed since we met. Aisha is my precious, precious daughter."
"Mm."
Sofia hugged Aisha.
Aisha smiled happily.
They were an unmistakable parent and child.
Seeing the heartwarming scene, Axel and Lina smiled...
But soon their expressions clouded.
"What's wrong?"
"Well, I'm happy that the young lady has a daughter, but..."
"If the master finds out, it could become quite troublesome..."
TL Note: We have almost reached 100 chapters.
Comments
Post a Comment