Chapter 859
“Haa…”
Sheryl, leaning against the Tiger Rock like Rimmer used to, let out a heavy sigh.
“They must be leaving now.”
She bit her lip as she watched the Light Wind Division swordsmen depart from the Fifth Training Ground.
“They’re better than me.”
Roenn looked at the Light Wind Division and clasped his hands together.
“I still can’t bring myself to let Rimmer go, but it seems the Light Wind Division members have already come to terms with it, at least a little.”
He laughed awkwardly, saying he was embarrassed by his age.
“It can’t be helped. After all, we spent so much time with that damned guy…”
Sheryl furrowed her brow deeply. She, too, hadn’t yet fully accepted Rimmer’s death, her complexion still clouded with grief.
“A swordsman always lives with death on their back.”
Standing atop Tiger Rock, Glenn spoke with gravity.
“But when that swordsman dies, the death they carried on their back becomes a blade that stabs into the hearts of those left behind.”
Glenn said he was still coming to terms with the blade Rimmer had left behind, and told them to endure.
“That’s right. All those left behind can do is accept it.”
Despite saying she accepted it, Sheryl clenched her fists so tightly her arms trembled.
“That bastard.”
Unlike the strong front she showed in front of the Light Wind Division, Sheryl’s eyes reddened.
“He really was a good man.”
Roenn looked up at the blue sky, gently patting Tiger Rock.
“He used to come to my workplace all the time and stir things up before leaving.”
“…That’s not a good man, that’s just a madman, isn’t it?”
Sheryl let out a hollow laugh, incredulous.
“I worked alone a lot, so maybe he spent time with me because he thought I’d be lonely. Sometimes, when I couldn’t suppress my killing intent, he’d even spar with me.”
Roenn nodded, saying Rimmer often stopped by to help in various ways.
“Him?”
“Yes. Most would assume if he wasn’t at the Fifth Training Ground, he was at the gambling hall, but Rimmer wandered all over Zieghart, spending time with many people. He had a talent for making people happy just by being around.”
Roenn said Rimmer was lighthearted, yet deeply sincere.
“His eyes would sparkle especially when talking about the Light Wind Division. He was always boasting about Raon and the other swordsmen.”
Roenn said he knew most of the Fifth Training Ground’s news even without going there, thanks to Rimmer.
“He did the same with me. Whenever Raon accomplished even the smallest thing, he’d rush over to the head house and make a fuss all day. He was like a father bragging about his child learning to walk.”
Glenn smiled softly, saying he could relate.
“The one who would have been happiest about Raon reaching Transcendence would’ve been him. So I’m sure he left with a smile.”
He licked his lips, as if regretting not seeing that smile himself.
“……”
Sheryl bowed her head, listening to their stories.
“Oh, and there’s one more thing.”
Roenn looked at Sheryl and raised his index finger.
“When he talked about you, Sheryl, he was always really happy.”
“Huh? About me…?”
Sheryl tilted her head in confusion.
“He’d talk about what you two said to each other and how you fought, and often asked me for advice.”
Roenn lowered his eyes and then looked up again, saying the people who made Rimmer happiest were Sheryl and the Light Wind Division.
“I heard the same thing.”
Glenn nodded at Sheryl.
“Whether you embarrassed yourself or did something well, he’d come to me and chat about it.”
He told her that most of Rimmer’s chatter was about Sheryl and the Light Wind Division.
“That idiot…”
Sheryl gritted her teeth, hiding her face behind her hair.
“Why didn’t he ever say that to me…”
She muttered with a trembling voice, resentment toward Rimmer in every word.
“……”
Glenn and Roenn, sensing her feelings, simply waited silently.
“…Honestly, I wanted to go.”
Sheryl grabbed her shaking wrist as she watched the Light Wind Division leave the Fifth Training Ground.
“I wanted to deliver his last keepsake myself, but I thought it was only right to yield to the children who lost their teacher.”
She lowered her eyes, where longing and bitterness mingled.
“Even if others don’t, Rimmer will know.”
Glenn reassured her, patting her shoulder.
“No, that idiot wouldn’t know. For now…”
Sheryl sighed and wiped away the tears that welled in her eyes.
“I just hope those kids can overcome their sadness and come back.”
She waved her hand toward the departing Light Wind Division, as if to say goodbye.
“Yes. If it’s the Light Wind Division, I’m sure they’ll return even stronger. When that day comes, just as Rimmer hoped…”
Glenn nodded deeply, his eyes dark and heavy.
“Raon and the Light Wind Division will be able to be promoted to the front line.”
—
‘Why is that?’
Raon pulled his knees up, watching the gently burning campfire.
-What do you mean?
Wrath licked his lips, having finished his meal and a night snack during his watch.
‘I still don’t feel like I’ve truly reached Transcendence.’
Even though he’d finally reached the level he’d always wished for, he didn’t feel a sense of accomplishment at having grown stronger.
Instead, he only felt a greater urge to climb higher.
-A mountain always looks tall before you climb it, but once you’re at the top, it looks small.
Wrath waved his round finger side to side.
-You’ve already climbed the mountain called Transcendence, so of course it seems small. If you’d stayed a Grandmaster, it would still look like a massive wall.
‘I suppose that’s true.’
Raon nodded as he looked at Wrath floating like a cloud.
-Besides, since that ear guy died, you’ve only been looking straight ahead. Like a racehorse running with its blinders on.
Wrath sighed briefly.
-Because of Rimmer’s death, you’re pushing yourself, determined never to lose someone again.
He shook his head, saying that if that wasn’t the case, Raon wouldn’t have trained all night even during the party.
‘…That’s probably true.’
Raon let out a heavy breath. Just as Wrath said, he wasn’t enjoying the level of Transcendence—he was only running higher and higher.
‘Now, I don’t want to lose anyone.’
It wasn’t just the Light Wind Division—Raon didn’t want to lose anyone in Zieghart. He wanted to become as strong as Glenn and resolve everything himself.
‘That’s unexpected.’
Raon looked at Wrath and let out a small laugh.
‘I didn’t know you understood me so well.’
-This king went through it too.
Wrath turned his gaze away, as if he’d experienced something similar.
‘You went through the same thing? Now that I think about it, before…’
Just as Raon was about to ask Wrath about his past, he heard someone sobbing on his right.
He turned to see Yua, who was on night watch with him, burying her face in her knees and quietly crying.
“Yua?”
Raon approached Yua and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“What’s wrong?”
“…I was thinking about Sir Rimmer.”
Yua shook her head without lifting her face.
“When I stood watch like this, he’d always wake up in the middle of the night and come talk to me. I started crying before I even realized it, just remembering him…”
She sniffled, saying that just thinking of Rimmer made her cry.
“Don’t cry…”
Yulius, who was also on night watch, bit his lip as if he missed Rimmer too.
“We can’t let ourselves waver. We have to stay strong, so he can leave us without worrying.”
Even as he tried to comfort Yua, Yulius’s face flushed red as he fought back his own tears.
Haah.
Raon sighed softly as he looked at Yua and Yulius, both struggling to hold back their tears.
‘Come to think of it…’
I never properly congratulated them.
Yua and Yulius broke through the wall of Master out of anger over Rimmer’s death and awakened their aura.
Though they hadn’t stabilized enough to use it freely yet, they were certainly Masters now, but Raon realized he’d never congratulated them.
‘Well, same goes for me.’
He himself had reached Transcendence, but hadn’t had a chance to celebrate—and didn’t really want to.
But those two were different, and a sense of guilt crept in.
“Then just for today, let’s cry.”
Raon sat between Yua and Yulius and pulled their heads into his embrace.
They were clearly adults now, but to him, they were still young ones who needed comfort.
Hwaaaang.
Yua beat her chest and sobbed loudly, while Yulius, holding back as long as he could, let out big tears.
From the Light Wind Division’s tent, where the others were already sleeping, the faint sound of sobbing could also be heard.
Raon tightly gripped Rimmer’s sword and closed his eyes.
‘As expected—or rather, it’s only natural that the teacher’s absence feels this empty.’
He’d thought everyone had come to terms with the loss, but it was clear a part of everyone’s hearts still missed Rimmer deeply.
Realizing just how much Rimmer meant to the Light Wind Division made Raon both sad and, strangely, a little happy.
Feeling the cool, comforting breeze blowing for the Light Wind Division, Raon closed his eyes.
—
Hoo.
Raon let out a rough breath as he looked out at the green world. The Great Forest—Sephia, the elves’ sanctuary—spread out before his eyes.
Seeing the dense natural mana and endless undergrowth, he couldn’t help but picture Rimmer’s face.
‘He was an idiot then too.’
Back then, Rimmer had forgotten he was an elf and, for the first time, showed what it was like to communicate with the forest.
It was ridiculous, but it was such a Rimmer-like thing to do that Raon found himself smiling.
“Mmm…”
Yua trembled her lips, recalling how she’d once joked, asking Rimmer if he was really an elf.
“How do we get in here?”
Martha frowned as she looked at the forest, which seemed to offer no entry.
“They say it’s a natural maze. If we don’t have the vice leader, isn’t it impossible?”
She waved her hand, saying she hated getting lost.
“They know we’re coming, so if we wait here, someone should come to greet us.”
Burren replied calmly, folding his arms.
“…It smells nice.”
Runaan said she liked the scent of the forest and hugged the still-shivering Yua.
“Let’s wait. Like Burren said, a guardian will come.”
Raon said they should wait here and stepped back.
He was here to return Rimmer’s keepsake and didn’t want to disturb the forest needlessly.
But even after waiting for over an hour, no elves appeared, nor was there any sign of animals.
“Isn’t this strange?”
Krein frowned, saying it was taking too long.
“You’re right. The elves wouldn’t forget an appointment, even if it’s not the teacher…”
Dorian nodded, saying something felt off.
“Our teacher’s an elf too.”
“Ah!”
At Burren’s words, Dorian gasped and covered his mouth.
“Let’s go in.”
Raon rolled his wrist and stepped forward to the Great Forest.
“They say it’s a maze, so how are we supposed to find the path?”
Martha narrowed her eyes, asking if it would be okay.
“I think I can open the way.”
Raon nodded and reached toward the brush.
‘Just like master did.’
Recalling how Rimmer had opened the way, Raon summoned Garunua’s wind and used it to link up with the natural mana spread throughout the Great Forest, forming a path.
Whooosh!
As Garunua’s wind permeated the mana of the forest, the thick brush parted left and right, opening a path inside as if it had a will of its own.
Raon’s fingertips trembled as he looked at the gently swaying trees and leaves, as if they were welcoming him.
Reproducing the scene Rimmer once showed with his own strength felt strange.
“Wh-what!”
Krein’s jaw dropped.
“You could do that too, Division Leader?”
He shuddered, as if wondering if Raon had elf blood.
“Don’t be stupid!”
Martha shook her head.
“That’s…”
“There’s a scent of the vice leader.”
Runaan sniffed the air and nodded.
“That’s right. I was just copying what master did.”
Raon nodded, saying he’d opened the path just like Rimmer, using the wind.
“You really are…”
Martha let out a sigh, as if she couldn’t believe it.
“Let’s go in. We should get to Sephia before nightfall.”
Raon took the lead and was about to head into the forest.
Rumble—
From deep within the Great Forest, a massive shape rose up, big enough to block out the sky, then vanished in a flash of golden light.
Raon narrowed his eyes as the sky suddenly brightened.
“A dragon?”
