An Unqualified Teacher

It was something he had not expected at all.

Yu Seha blinked.

To sever the teacher-student relationship meant they were no longer bound by an exclusive tie.

In other words, it meant returning to being merely a cadet and a professor.

Peng Jin-ah looked at the stunned Yu Seha with a sorrowful expression.

She hugged his back tighter,

stroking his soft hair and whispering.

“Do you remember what I said at <Sword Heaven Eastern Mansion>?”

“…Yes.”

“—There is no more left for me to teach you.”

“—I knew a day like this would come someday, but it arrived so quickly. Your genius dazzles like the sun; my reserves were exhausted long ago.”

“—I knew it. A great dragon like you cannot be held by a small ditch like me.”

Yu Seha nodded at the words that surfaced in his mind.

Peng Jin-ah placed her hand on his cheek and continued.

“You have long since surpassed me.”

Peng Jin-ah knew this well.

Though his strength was faint now, in only a few months Yu Seha’s power would return to its former state, and that strength would surely…

“A place I cannot reach no matter how hard I try… Truly dazzling. Your flap of wings rises higher and more beautiful than my thousand lifetimes of flight.”

“…Master.”

“My existence is no longer needed by you.”

Yu Seha firmly closed the mouth he had been about to open.

He could not bring himself to answer, ‘That’s not true…’

Because that would have been a lie.

The gap between her and him had grown too wide already.

From the start, at this point in Yu Seha’s development, there could no longer be a teacher.

His Five Stars had already reached the ‘Apex’, and his body had been reconfigured as a transcendent species capable of fully containing his talent.

In practice, his strength was definitively something that should not exist among mortals.

From now on, the path he would walk was one that only Yu Seha himself had to pioneer.

Peng Jin-ah looked at him with a bittersweet gaze.

Deep down she accepted it.

The reason she had clung to the teacher identity.

Was because it was her only link to him,

because it gave her a legitimate reason to be by his side.

“Sigh… how foolish.”

Peng Jin-ah…

loved Yu Seha.

She did now, and she would forever.

She wouldn’t glance at any other man.

She would hold only Yu Seha in her heart for life.

All the more because of that…

She planned to lay down the name of ‘teacher.’

She intended only to watch him from afar.

Yu Seha saw all of Peng Jin-ah’s thoughts from A to Z.

‘……’

He couldn’t not know.

He was not that oblivious,

and also, well.

Ahem!

Peng Jin-ah could not hear it, because there was a presence shouting loudly here and there.

‘-Ah, I know that too! Just leave me alone a bit!’

From the start, I’m the one who…

The most…

‘I have no intention of releasing Master… or Peng Jin-ah.’

Yu Seha grumbled.

Soon, a deep voice interjected.

Yu Seha nodded slightly.

From the beginning, even if the two of them said nothing, he had no intention whatsoever of granting permission.

‘I won’t let go.’

Peng Jin-ah was already his person.

She was someone precious within his fence.

And Yu Seha intended that anyone who entered his embrace,

without exception, would be made happy.

‘Never…’

He would never let go.

A few days before, he gave thanks to Chairman Yu Neung-hae, who had foreshadowed today’s events.

She rose from her seat.

“Yu Seha?”

“Will you come with me for a moment?”

Peng Jin-ah, humming ‘hmm?’, followed Yu Seha into a training room.

She looked surprised at the items prepared in a small unused side room.

On a neat little table, there lay a crystal orb that looked like something a fortune-teller would use.

Seeing it, she was flustered.

Because she knew exactly what it was.

“Yu Seha… cadet?”

“……”

Yu Seha smiled faintly.

The crystal orb was a Hero-grade artifact called <Oathbound>.

It had various functions, but the most used was an effect that exchanged small portions of each other’s origin.

In short, it was a tool for an ‘adopted disciple appointment ceremony.’

Yu Seha looked at the hesitant Peng Jin-ah and pulled a remote from his pocket.

He pressed a button and a live video filled the wall-mounted TV.

A woman who had been staring blankly into the air appeared, and when their eyes met she corrected her posture and shouted.

“You’ve finally come, you two!”

Peng Jin-ah responded.

“…Chairman?”

“Yes, yes~ the appearance of the cute and capable Yu Neung-hae~”

“Uh, how…”

“How how~ I already predicted exactly what our Jin-ah would do, didn’t I?”

Yu Neung-hae chuckled.

“I see tear stains… You probably said something like, ‘Let’s break up while crying again~ I’m not worthy~ boohoo~’ Right?”

“…Ch-chairman.”

“I understand, you were crushed after all. But truly… no matter how I think about it, the teacher who should be by Yu Seha’s side is none other than our Jin-ah.”

“…But I—”

“—Does one need to be stronger to be a teacher? It’s not even law. Who says a teacher must be strictly stronger?”

“……”

“And as you know, Peng Jin-ah… many people will cling to Yu Seha from now on, you know that, right?”

Peng Jin-ah nodded.

Nothing had been officially announced, but Yu Seha’s actions suggested he possessed absurd power.

Literally, simply possessing him would be an asymmetric force capable of threatening nations.

It was only natural that such attention and fear poured in.

Some countries that worship only the strong, for example Cambodia or India, even saw the emergence of cults trying to deify Yu Seha.

Ironically, Yu Seha, being a ‘Apex’ being, could quite reasonably be called a god.

“Those dung flies will keep clinging to him… wouldn’t the name value and fence of <Overlord Sword> be necessary?”

Isn’t that right, Yu Seha?

Under the naturally gathering gazes, Yu Seha fiddled with her soft, childlike cheek with his delicate hand.

He then nodded resolutely and took both of Peng Jin-ah’s hands.

“I am still lacking in many ways, Master. I need your help.”

“…Y-Yu Seha, cadet…”

Yu Seha closed the distance.

He smoothed her swollen palmed hands from hard training.

“Crucially, I want Master to be by my side.”

“……!”

“You are one of the people who must be in the future I imagine.”

Please, will you continue to be my sword from now on?

A heartfelt request from Yu Seha, shown almost for the first time.

Peng Jin-ah shed jewel-like tears.

She dropped to her knees and hugged him tightly.

Then she brushed Yu Seha’s lips with her index finger.

At that sight, Yu Neung-hae, who had been snacking on popcorn, suddenly shouted.

“Ah, ah s-s-stop stop! Th-this is a crime right now! No onee-shotta stuff! You’re the teacher and they’re the student!”

“……”

It was literally a line that shattered the whole mood.

Peng Jin-ah glared at Yu Neung-hae with a more bitter look than usual and grumbled.

“What kind of delusions have you been nursing in your head…”

Peng Jin-ah huffed, then glanced at Yu Seha.

She turned her head slightly and placed a small kiss on his cheek.

Then the <Oathbound> glowed red and updated its message.

Yu Seha looked surprised, as if he had not expected to share origin in this way.

Blushing, Peng Jin-ah looked at him with affectionate intent and whispered softly.

“Hey, cadet Yu Seha.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Though my body is lacking… please continue to look after me.”

“I am the one who should be asking for your care.”

Afterward, under Yu Neung-hae’s declaration, the two finished the <Adopted Disciple Appointment Ceremony>.

Yu Seha and Peng Jin-ah sat on a training hall sofa, leaning on each other’s shoulders.

They felt each other’s warmth in silence.

Then, having made up his mind, Yu Seha spoke.

“Master.”

“Hm?”

“Actually, there is something I must tell you.”

Yu Seha explained without hesitation about the [Eyes of Reverse Heaven].

He revealed everything, hiding nothing, just as he had with the others…

Peng Jin-ah listened in silence and was not particularly surprised.

She nodded as if it were only natural.

As someone who had seen many skills, she had suspected he might have some kind of copy-like ability.

However, when he mentioned <Sharing>, she flinched involuntarily.

She replied without realizing it.

“…Cadet Yu Seha, that is a dangerous power.”

“Yes, I know. That’s why I’m telling you, Master.”

“Is that so…”

Peng Jin-ah turned her head, hiding her flushed face.

The trust she felt from Yu Seha.

The fact that she had entered the circle of what he cherished filled her with a pleasant happiness.

Even so, Yu Seha spoke calmly and steadily.

“The stronger I become, the more power I can give through <Sharing>.”

He guessed that when he returned to his original state, the power he could share might instantly elevate a civilian to A-rank hunter level.

“I want to share this power with you, Master.”

“……”

Peng Jin-ah was silent.

Indeed, receiving <Sharing> would make one strong enough to leap over barriers.

Desire arose naturally.

Dependence on Yu Seha.

An absurd strength, excellent and apparently without side effects, obtainable instantly without effort.

But…

All the more reason to refuse.

“I’m sorry, cadet Yu Seha. I do not want to receive such power.”

“…Master.”

“I may be glad to grow strong at first… but I’m certain that way I cannot overcome you.”

Of course, she knew.

That even if she stubbornly trained…

As long as it was uncertain whether a blade might be placed at that man’s throat, openly choosing the path to become strong could certainly be foolish.

No one would recognize it, and she might be mocked for not seizing the opportunity when it came.

“But I think the name <Overlord Sword> exists because I chose foolish paths until now.”

“……”

“So I’m sorry.”

“No, rather my thinking was short-sighted.”

Peng Jin-ah smiled gently, hesitated, then nodded and spoke.

“…Actually, I had intended to say it soon… but now seems like a good time.”

“Master?”

“From today onward, I plan to freeze all exclusive disciple lessons.”

“…W-What?!”

“Don’t worry, I’m not leaving your side or running away.”

Peng Jin-ah mentioned the plan she had been thinking about since the day she was miserably defeated.

Yu Seha looked surprised, then nodded in respect.

“Then in three months…”

“Yes. In three months I will leave this place, with my residence… and in the remaining time I will give you teachings that will immediately help you.”

Peng Jin-ah rose from her seat.

She drew <Great Hope> from her waist.

Soon, the blue blade of <Great Hope> was wrapped and set ablaze by gray flames.

It was the will and sword of the <Faded Ones>.

It was the [Sword of Pasa].

“Cadet Yu Seha, raise your sword.”

Considering your astonishing talent,

even if it takes time, one month should be enough.

“Now you are the last descendant.”

“…Yes!”

Time flowed on, about a year later, Yu Seha, seated cross-legged, shot his eyes open.

Yu Seha clenched his fist.

“Finally…”

The time had come.