Chapter 52: Master, Disciple, and Companion

Passing through the southern gate of Reservoir, a single road stretched endlessly before us.

From here on, our journey to Vaide as a group of three would truly begin.

I turned to Chris, walking beside me.

“Listen carefully, Chris. Don’t misunderstand. I have no intention of teaching you sword forms. Your sword is yours alone. What I’ll teach you is how to survive—and how to navigate this world.”

“Yes…!”

“When we’re in combat, you take the front. I’ll stay behind, protecting Rowena and giving instructions. Understood?”

“Yes, Master! Leave it to me!”

Rowena looked up at our tense exchange with a puzzled expression.

That night, during our first camp.

Chris struggled to start a fire, striking the flint over and over, but the spark refused to catch.

“Damn it… why won’t it light…! Cooking too… my companions always handled that…”

Seeing this, I lightly tapped Rowena on the shoulder.

“Rowena, teach Chris how to start a fire. Review what you learned. If there’s anything he doesn’t understand, I’ll step in.”

She nodded and timidly approached Chris, explaining with gestures what she had learned.

“Chris, no… like this… softly.”

“Stone… here.”

Though embarrassed to be taught by a younger girl, Chris listened earnestly.

“Ah… I see. Sorry, Rowena. So that’s how you do it…”

Eventually, the fire crackled to life, and as we sat around it, the three of us shared our first real moment of connection.

Along the road, my practical instruction began in earnest.

“Chris, don’t just watch the road ahead. Look at the terrain, the wind, the sun. Everything can be your weapon—or your enemy. What if someone hides behind that hill?”

“Yes! But that’s not part of any sword form…”

“Forms are just basics. No enemy will fight you by the book. Look at footprints. Are they fresh or old? One enemy or a group? What can you read from that?”

Chris clung to every word, jotting everything down in his notebook.

As I spent more time training Chris, Rowena began to feel left out—though she never said it.

She held onto the hem of my coat more tightly when we walked, and during camp, she quietly stayed by my side more often.

I noticed.

One afternoon, while Chris practiced reading a map, I crouched down in front of her.

“Rowena, what does that cloud look like? To me, it’s a big loaf of bread.”

“…fish.”

“I see. You must be tired. Today’s special.”

I lifted her onto my shoulders.

Her face lit up at the higher view, and her laughter rang along the road.

A few days later, in a forest off the main road, we encountered a group of orcs.

As promised, I did not step forward. I stayed behind, shielding Rowena while observing the situation.

“Damn… even if I take one down, more keep coming…!”

Chris struggled against the coordinated group, trying to apply what he had learned.

“Lure the one on the right into the sunlight! It’ll slow him down!”

“Don’t get surrounded! Trip them with the roots—stop their movement first!”

Following my instructions, Chris managed to take one down.

But another orc he had missed charged straight toward us.

Without moving from my position, I drew my sword and cut it down in a single stroke.

Then I continued giving orders as if nothing had happened.

Chris barely managed to defeat the rest.

As he gasped for breath, I pointed out his mistakes without mercy.

“Why didn’t you notice the one circling behind you? Don’t see enemies as individual points. See the group as a whole. There won’t be a next time.”

That night, I handed Rowena a smoke bomb and a set of noise traps.

“Listen, Rowena. These aren’t for fighting. They’re for buying time to escape. Learn how to protect yourself.”

Midway through the journey, I gave Chris a new role.

“Teaching others is the best way to learn. From today on, you’ll handle Rowena’s reading lessons.”

“Me!? I… understood!”

Though nervous, Chris began teaching her carefully.

“Rowena, this is the character for ‘flower.’ Like the ones blooming by the roadside.”

“Flower…”

“Different… from Ed. Fun.”

Perhaps because his method was different from mine, Rowena gradually grew attached to him.

By the campfire, Chris would write letters in the dirt, and Rowena would copy them earnestly.

When she succeeded, he would pat her head and praise her.

It became a nightly routine.

Over the weeks, all three of us grew.

Chris’s combat awareness improved dramatically, and Rowena learned more words, even speaking naturally with Chris.

At the end of the long journey, we finally saw it—

On the distant horizon, the massive walls of the great city of Vaide, spreading across a vast plain.

“We can see it, Master! That’s Vaide!”

“Wow! Big!”

After overcoming the long journey, our faces lit up with excitement and accomplishment.

“Well then, we’ve arrived. As promised—first thing we do is eat some good meat.”

When I smiled at them, Chris and Rowena replied with bright grins.

“Yes!”

“Meat!”