“This means I can be relieved of my duty. I have nothing more to teach you.”
“Thank you so much, Master Yuugo. Not just for the fighting techniques, but for the more important things you taught me. I can’t express how thankful I am with words.”
After saying goodbye to Shian, Mizari made her way to Yuugo’s home, and bowed in response to his gentle smile.
Mizari already had a good grasp on the basics of her new fighting style. From this point forward, she would continue working on it, training, and polishing her strength.
She was free of her doubts and got herself a fresh start, so she was not in need of guidance anymore. Saying she possessed full mastery would be an exaggeration, but since Yuugo had nothing more to teach as a master, it was time for her to stand on her own.
“Good luck, Mizari. I’m sure you’ll become a great magic knight like your father!”
“Yes! Thank you very much! I will definitely make my dream come true!”
“…Hum, sorry to interrupt this emotional graduation mood you have going on here, but it’s not like Mizari is going anywhere, is she? She’s going to attend the Luminous Academy starting tomorrow too, so you can see each other any time, right?”
“Don’t be boorish, Melt. The parting of a master and pupil always happens when big emotions are running high…”
“…Marcos? Are you by any chance crying?”
“Don’t be stupid! The eldest son of the proud Borg family would not shed tears so easily! I have something in my eye…!”
“Hahahahahaha…! You care about Mizari like my big brother. You feel conflicted about her standing on her own, right?”
It was not as though she was leaving forever, so Phi smiled awkwardly at the emotional master, and the others like Melt who were even more emotional in a way, and Yuugo continued.
“Yes, but one last thing. I want to introduce you to someone, that I guess you already met.”
“Me? Who…?”
“It’s me! Geez, I really didn’t get to do anything right until the very end…!”
It was Hercus, who had little to do with Mizari until this point.
Mizari looked at him with a confused expression, and then turned to Yuugo as if asking what this was about. Yuugo nodded, and responded.
“You’re going to keep training and accepting requests and stuff like that, right? I think it’s easier to have a partner to do that with, and since you just learned a new fighting style, and you want to be a magic knight, you should learn how to work with other people, right?
I’m sure Hercus will be perfect for that.”
“It’s true, Mizari specializes in fast movements and attacking a single target, and I’m about big powerful swings that can hit groups of enemies, so we can make up for each other’s flaws. I just got done healing my wounds too, so it’s nice for me to have a partner.”
“I see, then I have no complaints. Thank you for having me, Hercus.”
Mizari understood that it was not about someone looking after someone else, and that Yuugo put them together because he thought they were compatible and made up for the other’s flaws. She nodded deeply, and put out her hand.
Hercus shook her hand, feeling a little nervous, and Yuugo spoke while looking at them.
“All right! Look after Hercus, Mizari!”
“Yes! Leave it to me, master!”
“…Hey, I’m the one being looked after? Isn’t that wrong? Yuugo? Hey Yuugo!?”
Hercus complained, but both Yuugo and Mizari completely ignored it.
Phi felt sorry for him and consoled him, when Mizari’s face turned serious and she faced Yuugo.
“…Thank you so much, Master Yuugo. What you have taught me is carved into my heart. I respect you from the bottom of my heart as my master and the person who helped me so much, and I will do my best to be able to repay this debt. Please keep watching as I chase my father’s back, and become a magic knight that surpasses him!”
“Ou! I’ll look forward to it!”
Yuugo gave Mizari a thumbs up with a fresh smile on his face, as he would continue to cheer for her from then on.
These past few days had been anything but calm, but Yuugo was very happy that Mizari let go of her doubts, and Mizari herself showed her best smile so far as she also gave Yuugo a thumbs up.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Ahn… What do I do with this?”
…Lost watched Yuugo and the others talk, and fiddled with the giant stinger in their hand.
The plan to amplify the darkness in Mizari’s heart and turn her into a monster armor beast was made null by introducing Yuugo into it, and Lost lamented it, even if with some amusement in their voice.
“The guy Mizari faced really was super weak. I don’t want to just give this to a random person either, so what do I do?”
Lost was left with the item that was supposed to be used in this plan.
They could just keep it, but would end up missing any chance to use it… Thought lost, as a shrill voice echoed behind them.
“Kyahahahaha! What a blunder, Lost! You really messed it up!”
“Ahh… You, Drop? What do you want? Just so you know, if you’re here to make fun of me, I’m going to be mad.”
“How cold! And here I was, thinking about helping you after your blunder!”
“I know very well you’re not that nice. What do you want?”
Drop… Was what Lost called the beautiful girl wearing a jet black gothic lolita outfit.
Half of her face was hidden behind her black hair, but the right side of her face that was visible showed a smile that housed madness.
“Can I have that? I will make it worth your while… You’re not going to use it anyway, right?”
“I guess. What are you going to do?”
“I’m putting together an interesting plan! If it goes well, it will be super fun! And we might as well add some more spice!”
Said Drop with an innocent tone, but her visible eye was filled with malice and madness.
Lost let out a light sigh, feeling that malice, and tossed the needle towards the girl.
“Fine. In return, listen to my ideas for that plan.”
“Kyahaha! Nice! Then let’s think together. Let’s make a nice game scenario to punish trash and bring misfortune!”
The masterminds behind this continued swelling with innocence, purity, and evil.
No one heard them, and they vanished into the darkness.
To be continued.
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