chapter 36
036.A new beginning
Sunlight comes in through the cracks of the shabby shack.
Even though it was reinforced with wooden planks, the shack was so weak that it could not last more than two days and fell down.
Nevertheless, it was a haven where three people could go in and spend their time getting dirty and talking and laughing.
“Ugh… !”
Sunlight leaked through the crack and fell on Lilith’s face.
He was pulling Lilith’s consciousness out of the water, telling her to wake up, but the girl actually wanted to sleep a little longer.
Lilith then turned her body to her right side, where the sunlight did not shine on her.
To Lilith’s right is Han Se-yoon’s bed.
The girl tried to naturally lean against her teacher’s body while tossing and turning her body.
Unfortunately, the place where Lilith’s outstretched arm touched was the wooden wall of the shack.
Since she could not feel the touch of warm skin anywhere, only then did Lilith gently open her eyes.
The teacher’s seat was empty.
Lilith quickly got up from her seat.
The reputation of a disciple who wakes up later than his teacher was truly pathetic.
In a situation where it was not strange to hear her bitter words, Lilith rubbed her googly eyes and came out of the shack.
Then she ran straight towards the back of the shack.
The space behind the shack has always been the training ground for Han Se-yoon and Lilith.
So, Lilith thought that her teacher, who woke up early, would be waiting there, so she came running late…….
“Master… ?”
No matter where she looked, there was no one she was supposed to be with.
‘Have you already gone to the guild?’
Trudge.
Lilith returned to the shack with her weak steps and started looking for her own deck.
She unintentionally ended up sleeping in later than her teacher, but she should not be taken lightly as she practiced sincerely every time.
The moment Lilith picked up her card that was lying on the wooden table.
The girl found a small note underneath her card.
‘It looks like you wrote down a list of things to do today.’
Lilith carefully unfolds the neatly folded note.
The girl, who was convinced that it was something her teacher had left behind, read the contents step by step.
As time passed, Lilith’s eyes, whose eyes were fixed on her letter, were colored with astonishment.
[To her dear Lilith.
Did you sleep well? It probably hadn’t been that long since you woke up by the time you found this letter.
He may have gone to the back of the house when he saw that I wasn’t there.]
It was correct.
Han Se-yoon was even calculating Lilith’s visits to her backyard.
That meant that he looked at her Lilith and took it from behind her.
[I’m sorry if I did that.
I’m really sorry…….]
Anxiety surged in Lilith’s heart at the apology conveyed in her letter.
Why am I apologizing so harshly?
The person who really needs to apologize is the one who forgot to practice in the morning and overslept.
Lilith slightly lowers her head as her heart trembles.
After seeing what was written next, the girl learned why she had included her apology in her letter.
[Originally, I should have told her last night, but her greed blocked my mouth.
My desire is not to want to see you sad with my own eyes.
I’m sorry. I ended up saying goodbye to her by leaving her a letter like this…….]
Lilith’s eyes stopped somewhere.
‘Farewell’.
Tears formed in the eyes of the girl who could not accept those words.
[Me and Finesse are going to travel around the world.
From the beginning, we were wanderers wandering around the world, and the town you live in was one of the places we passed through.
I stayed for a long time because I was caught up in trouble, but I had to leave at some point, and that ended up being today.]
Even if it wasn’t today, we had to part ways anyway.
In fact, Lilith herself was vaguely aware of it.
Every time she saw her teacher looking thoughtfully outside the village, she had a feeling of separation.
I just didn’t want to accept the breakup, so I tried my best to deny it.
[Actually, I thought a lot about taking you too.
If you come with us, you won’t have to go through the pain of separation.
But I had to judge objectively.
When faced with a major crisis, will I be able to keep you safe?
After much thought, the conclusion I reached was ‘impossible.’
Right now, I am not confident that I can beat anyone.
That’s why I had to make the difficult decision to break up. I’m sorry, I wish I had been stronger…….]
Han Se-yoon took his own shortcomings as a problem, but Lilith actually thought differently.
He was truly weak and could not properly protect his own body.
If the girl was a duelist whose skills were equal to or stronger than her teacher’s, she would have been able to force her to accompany him.
However, Lilith was unable to accompany Lilith because she was still only capable of beating children of the same age.
That was the cruel reality.
[For unfortunate reasons, we are parting ways, but at least I won’t say goodbye.
When I feel that I have become strong enough through my travels, I plan to go see you again.
Until then, please grow up to be a bright and courageous duelist.]
The cruel reality gave Lilith her despair and hope at the same time.
The despair of having to separate right now and the hope that we will meet again in the distant future.
And to advance that hope, she was firm on what Lilith had to do.
‘I have to become strong like my teacher…’ !’
Lilith wiped the moisture from her eyes and finished reading her letter.
The girl, who was distressed by her breakup, bit her lower lip tightly and tried her best to endure her pain.
Anyway, the pain passes in an instant.
At that time, she was trying to continue her training while holding her card with her tears in her eyes.
Knock knock!
Someone knocked on the door of the shack.
Just in case, Lilith opened her door without even wiping away her tears.
“I’m sorry for coming by unexpectedly. “Are you Miss Lilith?”
But unfortunately, the person standing in front of her door was not the person Lilith had hoped for.
The guest who came to Lilith’s house was a haughty woman wearing a suit and horn-rimmed glasses.
There was a badge symbolizing guild staff on her chest.
“Aren’t you Miss Lilith by any chance?”
“Oh, no. “I am Lilith.”
“Is that so? “I think I’ve come to the right place.”
The woman with a businesslike tone handed the document in her right hand to Lilith.
Lilith suddenly took the document from her, and soon the girl’s eyes widened.
Because the words ‘Dualist training and support policy’ were written in large letters at the beginning of the document.
“Hey, over there. If you are looking for a teacher….”
“I already know his whereabouts. He said he was planning to go on a trip this morning and handed over his position to Master Oriha.”
“Then why do you do this to me…” ?”
“Well, I don’t know. “I only brought it to you because he ordered me to deliver this document to Miss Lilith for the last time.”
“Ah….”
Her last gift left to her by her teacher.
Lilith gradually shed tears as she looked through her thick documents one after another.
Because everything written in the document was only policies for release.
Lilith’s thorny path, which was full of harsh discrimination, was instantly changed into a flowery path by Han Se-yoon.
She owed him a favor that she could not repay even if she devoted her whole life to him. How could she not cry?
Drop drip.
A handkerchief embroidered with flowers was handed out to Lilith, who was shedding tears.
“Shall I borrow it?”
“Huh… ! Yes… !”
Lilith, accepting her woman’s careful courtesy, wiped away her tears with her handkerchief.
Then, the stream of water that she had no intention of stopping finally stopped.
“Has his message been conveyed properly?”
“Yes… !”
“Then I’m glad. As you probably know because you just checked, as of today, the slums will begin redevelopment. The residents of the slums will be relocated as employees or students of the duelist training center built in the central district. So, I would like to ask Miss Lilith to prepare for the move as quickly as possible.”
“I think it would be okay to leave now. “I have very little that can be called a burden.”
“Is that so? Then go through the procedures right away….”
“Ah! Now, just a moment! “When I thought about it, there was something I needed to take care of!”
Lilith suddenly remembers something about her and hurries into the house.
I thought she was bringing money or valuables, but ironically, what she brought with her were two photos.
One is a family photo taken a long time ago.
The other photo was taken relatively recently and showed a girl and her lover standing side by side and smiling.
“Is it okay if I take a look around for a moment?”
“Ah…. Yes!”
“…… “That’s a good photo.”
“hehehe, it’s my precious treasure!”
Liris smiles brightly, just like in the photo.
Even though she had to say goodbye to someone precious to her, the girl believed that this feeling would not change over time.
***
A plain with warm sunlight and a calm wind blowing.
Han Se-yoon, who set off in weather suitable for travel, was walking briskly while humming his song.
On the other hand, unlike Han Se-yoon, Finesse’s expression was somber that he seemed dissatisfied with something.
“Master.”
“Huh?”
“Would you mind letting me know where our next destination is?”
“hehehe, are you that curious?”
“Of course I’m curious! “Even though I kept asking, he just gave it away.”
“I wanted to keep quiet a little longer, but what’s the point if I keep hiding it? Good! “I’ll let you know.”
Fineth flaps his wings in joy at the sound of a solution to a question that has been frustrating him all along.
Even her eyes sparkled and she listened to Han Se-yoon’s words.
“The place we are going now is a highly confidential location that we found out about through the guild… !”
“It’s a confidential place… “I’m really looking forward to it!”
“Really?”
“So where is it?”
“It’s a mansion where beast maids live!”
Beast Maid is a place where beautiful beast women wear maid uniforms and greet the owner and guests.
It was a popular theme in the world where Han Se-yoon lived, and was receiving enthusiastic support from male duelists.
Since she was able to see and talk to famous maids with her own eyes, it was natural that Han Se-yoon’s cheekbones went up.
But he was so happy that he forgot the most important fact.
“…… “Where?”
Fines, who always stayed by his side, is also a beast and is more jealous than anyone else.