Tale of the Fake Hero - Chapter 309
Only Krnovel
Season 3: Episode 117
Epilogue of the prequel, I, Become a warrior like you (9)
Hello, teacher. How have you been?
The waves crashing into the Tersh Archipelago ranged from clear to turbulent.
Hello, Kami!
It’s a good morning today too.
The waves that flowed from the human world and the demon world, far north and south, hit the rocky islands, wrapping around them and becoming entangled.
The human world smelled of salt, and the demon world smelled of sulfur.
At low tide, when the water was being drawn into the sea, the sea was calm and peaceful. At high tide, when the water rushed towards the land, the southern sea was once again covered with blood, screams, smoke, and volcanic ash.
This morning’s workout was a bit intense, but I also trained right after the fight ended.
I’m here, right?
I always train hard in swordsmanship at the time I promised to my master. If I’m late because of battle, I do it right away. Now, I’m a full-fledged pay querier with a corps under my command.
As always, the dawn that came to the front lines was blurred and drenched in bloody fog.
Every day was as red as a sunset.
It was not the red sunset of the setting sun, but the bloody sunset of dying things spewing out their sleep.
Is this the time when the first rays of sunlight soak the fields?
Those days always come to mind.
Those days when I talked about dreams with Kami.
Beyond the front lines, the continent’s morning broke into a misty, bitter awakening.
The birds that go out in the morning cry.
The birds that return in the evening are barking.
The sound of the waves on the continent, free of the sound of iron or the smell of blood, was clear and quiet, as if the world was breathing.
Master, what is heaven like?
Are you teaching swordsmanship to anyone there again?
Speaking of swordsmanship, there’s something I want to show you, Master.
Again, beyond the front lines, in the morning of the stolen land, the distinction between light and darkness was distorted amidst volcanic ash and lava.
The morning soon became dark.
The night was also a darker night.
Only the starlight, each shining with its own light, shining through the gaps in the volcanic ash, illuminated the world.
You say it’s a dream.
There’s something I really want to show Kami.
On mornings when waves crash against the unclaimed islands and the tip of the continent, the two women write letters that can never reach each other.
This is my swordsmanship.
Here I am. Now you can repeat all the moves infinitely, until you run out of stamina, without mixing in your moves. Aradmantel is helping you.
Just like my teacher, when he used his swordsmanship, it was like a flower blooming.
Sometimes I just laugh quietly.
And sometimes, I cry quietly.
Those are my children.
This master, you see, had children. The daughter’s name was Ratel, and the son’s name was Kaisen.
I don’t know how strong Ratel is, just like Kami.
A river is formed when two streams meet.
A letter is also something that is established only when the words of both sides meet.
The two letters ran parallel paths over several years, so they were not letters but monologues.
I hope I can show you someday.
Just like back in the old days, when I was learning the basics.
I don’t want to be praised like I was back then. I’m an adult now. I just want to show it to you.
The distance between the tip of the continent and the rocky islands was so vast that it seemed beyond the realm of perception.
Because it’s far away… … .
It’s too far… … .
It was so far away that even the echo of my monologue could not reach me…
I really hope we can meet someday. The four of us, Kami, me, Ratel, and Kai.
Do you remember what I said a long time ago?
We decided to build up favorability with the candy operation. I believe that Kami is an adult now and he realizes how great of a plan it was.
Is it natural that words, sounds, and feelings cannot cross the ocean and reach the other person?
Master, actually… … .
I don’t mind if I can’t show you my swordsmanship…
I just want to see you again, just for a moment, just once… … .
In spring, we are covered in pollen.
In summer, it gets dry from the heat.
In the fall, it gets buried under fallen leaves.
Because in winter, it gets frozen in the snowstorm.
Actually, I know that it’s greedy to have four people meet…
It’s okay if the four of us can’t meet…
Even if it’s alone, how great it would be if I could face Kami again and talk with a smile on my face…
And so the seasons passed, flowed, reached, left, and returned again, but the letter never reached.
The letters were always sealed with tears.
The summer light filled the letter that could not cross the sea.
“Senior, you are wasting your life to an excessive degree.”
“Roro, if you came here to nag me, don’t get on my nerves and just go away. If you don’t want to get in trouble.”
“That is not right. Why do you not accept disciples? As His Majesty the Qingcheng said, the war is not over, it is just a ceasefire. It is not strange if it breaks out again at any time.”
Camilla did not take any disciples until 1692 AD, when the Red Summer began.
I had no confidence.
I am confident that I will be able to raise you with the great love, generous smile, and kindness that the Master has shown me.
And then I had no confidence again.
I am confident that I will leave this world first, leaving that child with the same pain as I did, and I am confident that I will be able to endure that sadness if my disciple dies first…
‘Help me… … .’
Cut, cut again.
Kill, kill, kill again.
‘Someone, help me… … .’
The more you try to fill the hole in your heart and soul with the blood and corpses of your enemies, the bigger and deeper the hole becomes.
‘Mother, Master… … .’
Blood and corpses do not fill the hole, but rather continue to pile up around it… … .
‘Breathe, I can’t breathe… … .’
Blood and corpses become a swamp… … .
‘I can’t breathe… … .’
I am sinking deeper and deeper into that swamp, deeper and deeper, deeper and deeper, to that deep bottom where I can no longer breathe and where I cannot see the surface of the water… … .
“It’s a keepsake that my mother left behind… … So give it back! That’s the only thing that’s left of my mother now!”
It’s light.
It’s a touch.
The light that shines down to the bottom of the swamp covered in darkness, and the hand that pulls it out to the surface.
‘Master’s son… … ?’
A being that existed only in the days I dreamed of laughing with my teacher, took on a physical form… … .
With the face of the Master… … .
Carrying the Master’s fragrance… … .
The person who promised to secretly give me a cookie and say, ‘It’s a secret from Mom’, is here in front of me…
– I promise. I will give everything I received from my teacher to Kami, without exception.
Let’s live.
Let’s live a little longer.
Until I return to this guy what the Master gave me.
“If you succeed in attacking even just once? Yes, if you even manage to graze me, I’ll give you back this sword and teach you swordsmanship.”
Until I teach this guy everything that the Master taught me… … .
Surviving alone… … .
Let’s live, let’s live, let’s live, to the point where we can survive alone in this cruel world…
“In the world of swords, no one will come to help you if you cry! No one will come! You have to fight through it all alone with this one sword!”
But let’s not get too attached.
Let’s make them hate me.
So that when I leave, you won’t experience this pain and sadness.
‘Let’s live, let’s live, so let’s stay by each other’s side a little longer… … .’
As I watched their growth, one by one, I came to know the Master’s heart…
That was so tearful… … .
I was so sad that I almost cried… … .
As I always cried secretly and swallowed my tears, I somehow managed to survive and get through each day…
‘What a tremendous talent… … .’
There is no way to explain this talent. What would take me three months to learn, I can do perfectly in three days.
‘What’s even scarier is that… … the acquisition speed is getting faster and faster.’
What was originally supposed to take 30 days has now taken 15 days, 10 days, and 3 days.
3 minutes later?
No, isn’t it possible to learn some basic cooking in just 3 seconds?
‘That may be impossible, but maybe this guy can do it… … .’
A talent that seems to have been created by pouring everything into the providence of creation… … .
Tars Alter Surpin once said that the size of one’s power is the size of one’s mission…
By that standard, what on earth is this guy’s mission?
– Don’t you know what’s going on? Some crazy disciple who learns ten things from watching a single piece of shit you spread around will end this crazy war?
Suddenly, Halbaron’s words came to mind.
I laughed it off back then, but with this guy, maybe.
No, no… Camilla shook her head coldly.
‘I can’t let this guy carry such a heavy burden.’
As I continued to live like that, living tenaciously, the day came when I received a letter from my teacher.
“As soon as I heard of the disaster that had struck the southern seas, I searched for Laminea, but all I could find was my daughter Ratel.”
It was not long after Kaisen was taken away that I reunited with Setsunen of Brain Fragrance at the command center.
“She cried and asked me to leave her here and find her brother, but she couldn’t find him. It must have been because of the Balkrush’s mark. It had corrupted her soul and prevented my Brain Heart Resonance Jin from reaching her.”
“Is that so?”
“So I guess I should thank you for finding that child.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I didn’t find it; it just rolled in on its own.”
“You always say that, Camilla. Maybe you could be a little more honest.”
“… … .”
“These are things I found at Laminea’s house. Not much is recognizable, as they were burned and dried up by volcanic ash.”
I couldn’t make out the contents, but my vision was blurry and I couldn’t see anything.
It wasn’t just a bunch of letters. It was the heart of a master.
Here, it was the love of a teacher who thought of him and wrote letters to him every day until the moment he was dying in the abyss. It was a love that would never change, and it would never change… … .
“I begged and begged with Elder Yoshuhar and Mir, and His Holiness Gwangryong finally opened his eyes and approved the reunion of you and Laminea, despite the opposition of the other Elders of the Five Provinces… … And then summer began.”
“Was it so?”
“Do you blame me for keeping the information about Laminea a secret?”
Nohyang hesitated for a while before speaking.
Camilla chuckled.
He quickly shook his head, surprised at himself for laughing.
“I don’t blame you. This is, what should I say, just, oh, why do I keep crying, so, what should I say? This, for giving me this letter… … .”
Thank you for saving my life, Master.
Thank you, Master, for allowing me to have children and live happily. And thank you for allowing me to meet this guy now.
Looking at my disciples, I was able to understand the feelings that my teacher had for me.
“Thank you, thank you… … .”