The Sage that the Sword Saint is Obsessed With

7 – 2. The Tyrant (4)

1.

The offer was too abrupt.

Evan looked doubtfully at the old man.

No matter who the old man was, there was no reason for him to make such a proposal to Evan.

He knew himself that his personality was a mess, and he was not a polite and respectful person to elders. He was living a dog’s life.

“…What’s your purpose?”

The old man laughed as if he hadn’t expected this question.

“Why? Are you afraid I’ll eat you alive or something?”

“……”

“No need to worry. There’s nothing to miss out on.”

The old man straightened his waist and stretched. A creaking sound of time could be heard from his back.

“As it happens, I’ve been looking for someone to teach my magic to. I just couldn’t find anyone I wanted to teach it to.”

It became even more incomprehensible.

“Considering your skill, I would think you’d have people lining up to learn from you…?”

At Evan’s words, the old man boasted.

“That’s true. When I said I was looking for a disciple, more than ten thousand people applied.”

“Then you could just choose from among them.”

“I tried that at first, but there wasn’t a single person among the ten thousand that I liked. There were none who were truly interested in magic, and they were all too busy flattering me to look good. If they did seem to have an interest in magic, their hearts were dark.”

The old man shivered as if he were disgusted.

“But you seem different.”

The old man grinned mischievously.

“It seems like you’ve been studying magic on your own, you’re not trying to impress me, and while your personality is like trash and a damn rascal, your insides are pure white. What I personally value highly is that you told me to get lost right after seeing me.”

“……Are you taking it to heart?”

“It’s not that I’m taking it to heart, you know? Who do you think you are to be such a formidable rascal? I just found it fun to hear that kind of talk after a long time. If you keep talking like that, I will teach you some manners with my staff of justice.”

The old man laughed heartily, showing off his oak staff.

“As I said earlier, more than anything, it seems a waste to let you rot in a place like this.”

The mischievous smile turned warm, as fitting his age.

“……It reminds me of myself back in the day.”

“Did you live like a delinquent, too?”

“I wasn’t one who beat people up like you.”

The old man held out his hand to Evan.

“So what do you want to do? Would you like to learn some magic under me?”

From Evan’s point of view, there was no loss at all. Considering the level of magic the old man demonstrated, it was an absolute gain for him. There were more than ten thousand wizards who wanted to become his disciple after all.

It couldn’t be a bluff.

And it didn’t seem like a scam either.

What would the old man gain by scamming Evan?

Absolutely nothing.

At best, it would be the money saved up like a fixed deposit in his adventurer card.

Evan felt his heart race for the first time in a long while.

The anticipation of learning a new level of magic as a wizard.

If he became a wizard capable of using 10th-tier magic, no one would dare call him weak.

This opportunity wouldn’t come twice in a lifetime.

He should be grateful, even if he had to grovel.

“By any chance, what happens if I refuse?”

“If you refuse, then you refuse.”

The old man threatened Evan, holding up his staff like a club.

“But can you really refuse?”

He was subtly threatening, like an academy professor recruiting graduate students. No, not subtly, but openly?

The old man seemed to be quite fond of Evan.

Evan couldn’t tell what was so endearing about himself.

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The man’s gaze looking at Evan already seemed joyful, like a child who had discovered a new toy.

“Make your choice. Follow me and live as a wizard, or continue drinking and living like a scoundrel. What will you do?”

The old man extended his hand again.

“I don’t know what your story is, but it’s probably better than venting your anger on innocent people and getting worked up, right?”

“……”

“Anyway, if you’re under me, you won’t even be able to think about anything other than magic. I’m going to torture you terribly.”

It had been over five years already.

He couldn’t live like a scoundrel forever.

To get even a little revenge on ‘that woman’ who had played with and ignored him, he must become a man who can stand tall and strut, not someone living like a cripple.

‘I’m living well without you.’

If he ever happened to meet her again, he wanted to show her that he was living better than anyone else.

Of course, not meeting her would be best.

“…I understand.”

Evan took the old man’s hand.

“Look forward to it. I’m going to push you hard.”

Evan chuckled lightly.

“But who are you, really?”

At that question, the old man’s eyes widened.

“Do you… not know who I am?”

Evan nodded his head.

“There’s only one person I can think of. There’s only one wizard in this world who can use spatial magic. However, I cannot recognize you by your face alone.”

The old man sighed, seemingly flabbergasted.

“How can a wizard not know my face?”

He knew the sage’s name, but not the sage’s face.

He wasn’t particularly interested.

Before he became obsessed with alcohol, Evan, who had been interested in recovery magic, admired the Green Mage Tower Master who studied buff and debuff magic. To Evan, the Green Mage Tower Master was greater than the Sage.

“It’s been decades since I’ve been active, but I didn’t think there’d be a magician who couldn’t recognize me. Yes, that’s why you told me to buzz off in front of me.”

It’s clear that the old man is still bothered by Evan’s earlier insult.

“Are you not the sage?”

The old man sighed again.

“I’m not the respected Sage, just a sage… hehehe.”

His personality seems refreshing but secretly narrow-minded.

“Yes, that’s right. I am the sage.”

The Sage, Arahant.

One of the five heroes who sealed the Demon King.

A man who is respected by the Tower Masters and stands at the pinnacle of wizards.

“I intended to tease you a bit, but since this happened, I should make you remember my face for a lifetime. It’s a known fact that we remember those who did wrong to us more than those who did good.”

That’s right.

He knew that all too well.

Bad memories tend to be more vivid and long-lasting than good ones.

Just like he still vividly remembers “that day.”

2.

A sword was thrust into the demon’s heart.

“Gasp…!”

As he steadied his breath and twisted the sword, the demon screamed and writhed in resistance.

He withdrew the sword.

He lowered his stance and swung the sword.

A silver streak bisected the demon’s body.

That was the last of the magical beasts.

“Whew…”

Leowen exhaled and pulled a dagger from her belt.

She immediately began butchering the magical beast’s carcass.

She stripped off anything that could be sold in the market and obtained a crystal.

With an indifferent expression, she gathered her load and returned to the village.

“…Here.”

Leowen handed her load to a merchant in the village.

She handed over the items obtained from subjugating the magical beast to the merchant, who would then sell them in the city market. In this way, they made a living by distributing the earnings fairly.

“Oh, it seems like you caught quite a large one?”

The merchant admired the magical beast’s crystal.

“Really, thank you. If it weren’t for you, Leowen, our village would have disappeared from the map.”

After quitting her adventurer life and returning to her hometown, Leowen became the village’s guard captain.

Ever since the Demon Lord’s resurrection, she had been protecting the village from the rapidly increasing magical beasts. Thanks to Leowen, they had managed to defend the village from beast attacks several times, as the merchant had mentioned.

The villagers were extremely grateful to Leowen, as long as they could avoid reliving that nightmare.

“Have you eaten dinner?”

Leowen nodded her head.

“It’s not the best meat, but take this and share it with your siblings.”

Leowen gratefully bowed as she received the meat.

As the merchant watched her walk away, he thought it’s not the first time Leowen was smiling, though she had always been blunt as a child. However, he had not seen her smile once since returning to the village five years ago.

He understood the sorrow of losing one’s parents, but her sadness had been going on for too long.

It was a concern.

He feared she would destroy herself.

Not just the merchant, but all the villagers worried about her.

“Eonni!”

Leowen’s youngest sister, Lana, greeted her as she returned home.

Now seven years old, Lana hugged her older sister tightly and playfully rubbed her cheeks against Leowen’s like a puppy.

“…Are you hungry?”

Leowen gently stroked Lana’s head.

“Lana!”

A little girl with a horse-like face came running out cheerfully from inside.

“I told you not to cling to me when I come back from subjugating the demon, because I’ll be tired!”

The third one, Lea.

She turned twelve years old this year.

With her stubborn personality, she took care of Lana and was in charge of the housework.

Lea pulled Lana away from Luwen.

“… It’s okay.”

Luwen gently tapped the heads of his two younger siblings in turn.

“… This.”

He showed Lana the meat he had received from the merchant.

“Did Mr. Martin give it to you?”

Luwen nodded.

“… I’ll cook it right away.”

“I’ll help you.”

“… Yeah.”

“Me too! Me too!”

“… Yeah.”

Luwen prepared dinner with his two younger siblings. They sliced enough meat for tonight’s meal, put it in a pot, and boiled it along with cut-up potatoes and carrots for a tasty combination.

He had no talent for cooking, so he could only make dishes that involved dumping all the ingredients into a pot and boiling them.

The youngest brother usually took charge of cooking. However, like Luwen, he was a village guard and wasn’t at home because he was on night watch today. He would return tomorrow morning.

They made a simple stew and ate dinner.

After putting his younger siblings to bed, Luwen went outside.

The spring breeze was cold.

His black hair, which had grown to his waist, swayed gently in the wind.

Luwen crouched down in front of the flower bed behind the house.

Under the moonlight, a few white and yellow dandelions bloomed.

“…”

Luwen picked a white dandelion and wrapped it tightly around the ring finger of his left hand.

It was a meaningless act.

Nothing changes like this.

You can’t turn back time.

It’s self-harm.

Though well aware, I repeated the action every spring.

My heart feels heavy.

Leowen had never forgotten Evan for a single day.

The memories of Evan turned to poison and spread throughout her body. The poison gripped Leowen’s heart and wrung out her emotions.

A few dewdrops fall on dandelions under the moonlight.