kscans

Chapter 666 - Tying and Opening

There was one unavoidable problem I had while my master was away.

It wasn't something emotional, like being lonely or anything… well, to be honest, there might have been a little bit of that, a hint of it here and there, but it was more in a practical sense.

Namely,

“...? This is quite different from the state I had imagined.”

It was about the maintenance of [Samidorizuki], which was now being inspected on her small lap for the first time in a month, from my special seat on the dojo’s veranda.

Of course, it wasn't as if it was completely impossible to maintain just because Ui-san was away. I am now a novice magitech engineer… or rather, a novice of a novice, so I have no problem with restoring the durability of my equipment. And if not, I could just ask Kagura-san.

—But, however.

“Haru-kun?”

“Well… um…”

It's different from the state I had imagined. Murmuring this, my master tilted her head curiously, then turned to me sitting beside her with a rare, scolding half-glare.

Of course she would. After all, the sword's durability had barely decreased from the state it was in when she had maintained it the day before her departure, and there were no signs of any additional maintenance.

Well, I don't know if 'signs of maintenance' are something that even remain, but if her eyes could see them, I wouldn't be surprised at this point.

You know, they say top-class artisans can read steel. Anyway—

““………………””

Whether she was asking for the true meaning or something else, I couldn't escape the gaze of the [Sword Saint]. As much as I hated to admit it, even to her, this was something I'd rather not say, so I remained silent, fidgeting…

“…………Haa. How should I put this?”

“N-No, it’s fine. Please don't worry about it.”

“I suppose it is not so unexpected—you are quite the spoiled child, aren't you, Haru-kun?”

“I am so, so sorry, please have mercy…!!!”

No, I knew.

I was prepared for it.

I knew she would see right through me.

Upon her departure, she, who had monopolized the right to maintain it until now, had lectured me on how to care for [Samidorizuki], saying, “It can’t be helped.” She had also said it was fine to ask my trusted 'personal magitech engineer.'

So, the reason I had been semi-consciously treating [Samidorizuki] as an even more ‘precious thing’ lately, and not using it except in crucial moments…

And the reason I hadn't entrusted the sword’s maintenance to my own hands or anyone else’s… was all, well, that is to say, it was my disciple’s spoiled, selfish whim—

“Honestly… what is a swordsman to do, hoarding his sword away?”

“I am ashamed from the bottom of my heart.”

Her words sounded like a lecture, but her fond and slightly teasing gaze pierced my entire body like needles of shame. There was nothing I could do.

If I tried to make an excuse, it would be death.

There’s no way I could say that I didn’t even want to entrust this jade blade to my own hands.

Do I love my master that much? To be so childish at eighteen is pathetic, and I’m well aware that it’s a thought that could even warrant being pushed away.

So, there was only one path left for me.

“—………Heh, fufu…!”

I pulled on my hood, turned away, and assumed a defensive stance. And what echoed was my master’s soft laughter. There was no winning, so I could only try to minimize the damage.

I feel like I'm only getting hurt more, but I don't care. In this situation, there’s no escaping the label of ‘spoiled disciple,’ so they might as well just kill me.

“My, my, this child…”

Her not-so-displeased voice from beside me was my only salvation and my greatest weapon. As she spoke, her hands never stopped, and she continued the restoration work smoothly.

“There, it is done.”

With a soft clink, she placed the sheathed sword on the lap of my pouting, childish self.

She placed it there, and then, without a sound.

“? —Hk…………”

Of course, I wouldn't neglect my manners. Just as I raised my head to turn sideways, my master was no longer there. I only realized her presence was behind me when I felt warmth against my back.

Through my hood, I felt a soft bump, probably her forehead against mine. I saw her small hands clasp tightly as her arms wrapped around my neck.

As I held my breath, her own breath was nothing but calm.

“—Please decide whether you are being uncute or cute.”

As if chiding, as if praising, as if complaining, as if prompting. My master, who always spoils her disciple rotten, said with a troubled… yet amused tone.

“If you toy with my heart so much, I too may lose my self-control.”

“..., …………Ui-san, you’re not really the type to restrain yourself in the first place, are you?”

“That is true, but.”

“So that is true…”

The words I managed to squeeze out in my confusion were met with a soft giggle, and that was that.

Uh, what, what am I supposed to do here—and while I was truly frozen solid, a few seconds later, her hands unclasped, and the warmth departed.

And so, the ‘what do I do here’ continued. I can’t move, I can’t turn around, there’s no way I can turn around. As I embodied ‘perfectly still’ more than ever before,

“...When you blush that much, I too feel a little, embarrassed.”

“That comment included is a total overkill, so please, I’m begging you, have mercy…”

Even between a close master and disciple, we were still of the opposite sex.

Confessing such a thing would be terrifyingly impossible, but as I swore an oath of atonement to the three faces that appeared in my mind as a matter of penance, I raised my head.

And when I did, the face of the [Sword Saint] who had moved to stand in front of me… was, contrary to her words, simply serene. Honestly, I was relieved from the bottom of my heart.

I couldn't quite put into words what I was relieved about, unfortunately.

“...Well then, now that the sword’s maintenance is finished—shall we go?”

“...Understood. As you wish.”

I was also mysteriously relieved that I could naturally take her offered hand. Led by her, I stood up, and together, we walked through the familiar interior.

We turned around at the same time. We slowly looked around at the same time. As if by unspoken agreement, our movements synchronized, as if to burn the scene into our minds.

“I feel a little sad, to be honest.”

“Fufu… We can come back anytime, you know.”

As I made another childish remark, deciding it was too late to stop now, my master by my side smiled once more.

“Open forth—[Yueltemis, Cradle of the Divine Hall]”

What appeared in her hand was a single ‘key’ that shone with a light so brilliant I hesitated to look at it directly.

She gently pressed it against her own chest—

And the world vanished, and a new world opened.

The wind that caressed my cheek was slightly cooler than a moment ago. In the distance was the unmistakable great forest surrounding the [Safe Area]. We were standing on fresh earth.

The other world was closed, and we had returned to the stage of our adventures.

“Now then, Haru-kun. I leave the escort to you.”

“Haha… I have been entrusted with a great responsibility.”

Side-by-side… no. With the great honor of showing my master the way.

My feet moved forward, toward our ‘home.’”