Chapter 23
Everyone stared straight ahead without blinking.
They fixed their gazes on the ceiling, floor, or walls—anywhere but Karon. As if an assassin were hiding among them, the silence was deadly.
“This only happened because Captain Phecenik isn’t here. Once he returns, everything will be resolved. So, we need to go find him.”
Karon looked around at the group. No one met his eyes.
Not even the youngest of them—Erica.
“Any volunteers?”
Everyone averted their gaze with a silent, “Why me?”
It was possible there was another reason why Phecenik hadn’t returned from his ancient ruin expedition after so long.
But that didn’t mean anyone actually worried about the safety of the Southern region’s strongest monster.
They just needed to confirm whether he’d set up camp there—or, heaven forbid, started a new household—but that didn’t mean they had to do it.
“As long as it’s not me.”
“Sure, I’m curious, but someone else can go.”
Who in their right mind would go looking for Guildmaster Phecenik just because they had nothing better to do?
What if they found him and got punched for it?
Surely, he had a reason for being late. Going after him was just a waste of manpower.
Nobody wanted to go. Nobody had a reason to go.
Even without hearing them speak, their faces said it all.
Even Erica wore the same expression.
“Even Erica?!”
Did Phecenik have any idea that the disciple he cherished was staring into space just to avoid being dragged into this boring assignment?
“This won’t do.”
Karon pulled out a cylindrical container as if he’d prepared for this.
“We’ll draw lots.”
A bolt from the blue.
Eyes widened everywhere.
It was as if a top-tier monster had suddenly appeared before them—tension filled the air.
If you were unlucky enough to draw the losing stick, you were in for a three-month-long, rewardless, joyless journey with zero interesting missions.
And waiting at the end of it would be Phecenik’s nagging: “Why did you come?”
Gulp.
One by one, they each drew a stick from the container.
The cylinder made a full round.
The air was thick with tension.
“Gasp…!”
“What?! Is it you? Are you the one?”
“Nope! Not me! Wahahaha!”
Horizon was the first to open his stick and burst into laughter.
One by one, everyone cautiously opened theirs, sneaking glances.
Sounds of relief echoed around the room.
Karon clicked his tongue at how desperate these fools were to avoid this.
He himself would’ve been in the draw if he weren’t the acting guildmaster—thank goodness for small mercies.
“Hey, who is it? Who drew the short stick?”
“Not me!”
“Jeremy, was it you?”
“Not me either. I’ve got a temple request booked. Phew—if I had drawn it, I’d have been screwed.”
Jeremy even wiped fake sweat from his forehead, sighing in relief.
Even someone as calm as Jeremy being so open about his feelings meant the others were practically ready to do five backflips in celebration.
Then… who was it?
Who drew the short stick?
Everyone looked around.
Had someone not opened theirs yet?
But then they realized—someone wasn’t in their seat.
“……”
Slip.
Horizon looked up at the ceiling.
“Freeze.”
“……”
Slip.
Nine pairs of eyes followed his gaze upward.
“……”
There, stuck flat against the ceiling, was a girl.
Erica, who had tried to quietly escape through the ceiling, was caught frozen in place.
Her eyeballs rolled slowly.
All eyes were on her. A bead of sweat trickled between her brows.
“…Why, why is everyone looking at me? Is something stuck on the ceiling or—”
“Have a nice trip.”
“Wha—I-it’s not me!”
“I feel like crying. Not even the bond between teacher and student can stop the randomness of drawing lots!”
“Damn it.”
Erica couldn’t believe it.
How could she be the one out of everyone to draw the short stick? Was her master manipulating things from afar?!
“So, it’s decided. May I leave now? The temple request is urgent.”
“What kind of request? Let me in on it.”
“Alright, let’s wrap this up.”
“Who wants the Rosenstar escort mission? One month, gold pay, easy job.”
“Me.”
Everyone collectively celebrated Erica’s misfortune and wished for this boring meeting to end.
“……”
Only Erica silently dropped from the ceiling to the floor with a thud.
And lay sprawled out.
“……”
All she had to do was check her master’s whereabouts.
It wasn’t a hard job. It wasn’t dangerous.
Just boring.
An assignment a D-rank mercenary could easily handle.
Wasn’t it incredibly inefficient to send an S-rank mercenary on this?
“Go.”
“……”
As she lay on the floor, everyone offered her their support.
“Hang in there. No way the guildmaster would hit you for coming, right?”
“Exactly. Even if he does, just take it. It’s not like he’d kill you.”
Of course, that wasn’t comforting at all.
“Bring back a souvenir from the ruins!”
“……”
As everyone coldly left, Erica stayed behind and sniffled into her dry sleeve.
* * *
Erica yawned, grabbed her sword, and left the house.
“Off on a request this early?”
The merchants in Dengtus Street were always up before dawn.
“I’m going to train in the back mountain!”
“I heard at the market yesterday you were heading out to look for Guildmaster Phecenik.”
“Yes, I’m leaving this afternoon.”
“Good girl, Erica.”
It wasn’t really praise-worthy, but she smiled bashfully anyway.
“Hyaaah~”
Under the dim pre-dawn sky, she stretched and climbed the back mountain.
Erica always trained at this time of day.
Thanks to Phecenik’s rigorous training since childhood, it had become a habit.
She hadn’t done it in a while due to her busy schedule, so this felt long overdue.
The cold air.
The stillness of dawn that seeped into her bones.
“……”
She adjusted her grip on the sword and lowered her gaze.
Sometimes she practiced archery or worked on her stamina, but most often she trained in swordsmanship.
Whoosh—
The sound of her sword slicing through the crisp morning air.
The blade stretched sharp and long.
Cutting smoothly through space.
As she immersed herself in the movements, time suddenly stopped.
Even sound stopped.
She was the only one left in the world.
Even as dawn passed and morning sunlight brightened the sky, she didn’t notice. She didn’t feel the sweat pouring down her face.
Phecenik had called this “the trance state.”
“There comes a moment when you become one with the sword.”
She had felt that many times.
But that was all.
Erica never felt a true resonance in her grip.
What did it mean to become one with the sword? How do you even do that?
“One day, you’ll hear the sword calling first. The resonance is as quiet as a fairy’s whisper, so always listen closely.”
She had long given up on solving that riddle.
Phecenik always explained it in a language only he understood.
Even when he described the fullness of summoning his aura, it meant nothing to her.
It was like describing a painting to the blind, or a scent to someone with no nose.
She couldn’t even bring herself to say it aloud—it just hurt.
From the moment she first saw her master’s aura, she had always dreamed of becoming a Swordmaster.
She’d worked to the brink of death. She swore, she had never once taken the sword lightly.
Erica sometimes wondered:
They say hard work never betrays you—but then what did betray her?
“The sword.”
It was the sword that betrayed her.
“I like you so much…”
How could it not give her even a flicker of light?
Aura—what even was that?
Whoosh—
Whiiish—
Her breathing grew heavier, and her sword swings faster.
Faster.
Faster, faster!
She slashed wildly through the air as if cutting the world itself.
Then, whoosh! She spun quickly and hurled her sword.
Swish!
Thunk—!
It embedded deeply in a tree.
The thin blade trembled violently from the force.
“……”
Step.
She walked over to retrieve the sword.
Step, step.
And stared down at the boy slouched under the tree—Chaude.
“What are you looking at?”
