Episode 324
I once said this.
Our teacher is as pitiful as I am.
Just as I am bad at expressing my emotions, my teacher is also bad at expressing his emotions.
Because the Master was afraid of forming relationships with people around him.
The Master was more afraid of forming relationships with people than other people were of him.
All the heavy appearances that we see on the outside are just masks.
If you take off that mask, our teacher is a very fragile person.
[But you are different.]
He laughed bashfully.
“Is that so?”
[Yeah, you’ve never been afraid of me for a single moment. I don’t know if it’s because of your past life, but your emotions are hard to read.]
The teacher paused for a moment, climbed onto the bow, and looked me in the eye.
It was a situation where I had grown taller, and my eye level was just right.
[400 years are truly fleeting. Arthur was clearly afraid of me, just like Julius. Even at that moment when Arthur disappeared from this continent, he hid his fear of me behind his smiling face. That’s why I couldn’t catch him.]
The Master’s eyes were still clear.
But I’m sure it’s not my mistake that there’s bitterness and worry in it.
[If I had caught Arthur then, many things would have been different. The biggest change, I think, would have been that I would not have met you.]
He nodded slightly.
It was a very possible story. But it didn’t happen.
Okay, that’s it.
[Do you know what I’m thinking right now?]
“I think you are thinking about two things.”
[Tell me.]
I leaned my back against the railing next to the bow.
“First, I’m worried that I might become a monster like Arthur.”
[and?]
“Second, I am worried that if the Master extends his lifespan, he will end up like Arthur.”
[You guessed it right.]
I shrugged my shoulders at the teacher’s words.
I’m sorry to say this.
“You are worrying for nothing.”
[Useless?]
“Yes. It’s useless.”
[Why do you think so?]
“There are two reasons this time too.”
The teacher seemed genuinely curious.
So I just answered it right away.
“First, because I am different from Arthur.”
[… … .]
“The second is also simple. Just as I am different from Arthur, you are also different from Arthur.”
[That’s a pun.]
“I don’t think so.”
Arthur Gunnar was definitely a hero.
A hero who ended the era of glory together with his master.
Although he was weaker than the Master, it is true that he was helpful.
I have no intention of denying that.
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But he and the master are different.
I was different from Arthur too.
That was all.
“I have no intention of becoming a god. Furthermore, I have no intention of becoming a scumbag who plays with his own bloodline and family. The same goes for you, Master. You are not like scumbags like Arthur.”
The teacher’s worries were clearly unfounded.
“He does not know the loneliness of being left alone.”
[… … .]
“He doesn’t know the feeling of helplessness. He doesn’t know the value of family. He doesn’t know the feeling of responsibility. He became a monster, and someone had to kill him. If you, the Master, had seen Arthur instead of me, what would you have done?”
The teacher didn’t bother to answer.
Because you would have given me the same answer.
I would have killed him no matter what.
I must have killed him somehow.
The teacher slowly closes his eyes.
“So, don’t worry about that. Isn’t that what life is like?”
The teacher opened his eyes and asked me with his eyes.
What is that?
“You can’t live only seeing good things. You can fix what’s broken, and you can throw away what you can’t fix. You can recycle what can be recycled, and you can burn what can’t be burned. If it doesn’t burn, you can erase it from the world in some way. For now, I just burned it.”
After a brief pause, he spoke briefly.
“Please remember only the good memories. I killed a monster, not a hero named Arthur Gunnar.”
[… … Yeah, I see.]
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I hope that these are some of the considerate words I gave to my teacher and that they were conveyed well.
My teacher and I were silent for a while.
After a long silence, the teacher asks me.
[Did Arthur go without pain?]
I hesitated for a moment.
What kind of answer does the teacher want to hear?
By the way, our teacher is a very affectionate person.
You’ve probably lost a lot of precious things in the past, but usually, that feeling doesn’t get better no matter how many times you go through it.
It’s the same now.
400 years ago, the Master had only two companions.
Julius and Arthur.
Julius betrayed his master, and Arthur betrayed himself.
And in this time zone, the two do not exist.
Because they’re all dead.
The Master is now the only human who knows the world of 400 years ago.
You must be lonely.
Soon, when the dragons in the Demon Forest are taken care of, the Master will become the ‘only being’ in this world who has experienced an age of glory.
That’s true loneliness.
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So I just told him honestly.
“I suffered all the pain and died.”
[I see.]
“yes.”
The master sat on the bow of the ship for a while and gazed blankly at the frozen sea.
I know what kind of person the teacher is.
The ten years I spent with my Master were the first and last time I focused on someone, and as a result of those years, I learned a lot about my Master.
Before asking about what kind of life he lived, what kind of person is Valentine Milos?
It means that you know that kind of thing well.
I waited for a moment.
The teacher, who was in control of his emotions, let out a deep sigh as I expected and asked me.
[Are you feeling okay?]
I had forgotten about this topic, but it is also a topic that should not be forgotten.
He asked playfully.
“Does it look okay?”
[It seems like I still have some energy left to joke around.]
I ended up laughing.
“I’m not sure if I’ll collapse right away, but I’m not sure.”
[Then let’s check it out. In the memories of your past life, you clearly fought someone. You said you used enough power to turn the world into darkness, is that possible?]
“if?”
[Is that someone Arthur?]
You were thinking the same thing I was thinking.
He immediately shook his head.
“It’s definitely not Arthur.”
[no?]
“Yes. No.”
As the Master’s expression tells us, this is no ordinary matter.
[So there’s something more.]
“Yes. I think that’s over there too.”
Let’s look at the sea with nothing visible beyond the horizon, and the Master is also looking that way.
Then he asked me.
[You said 6 months?]
It wasn’t out of the blue.
When I was in the Kingdom of Ishmael, I was told that everything would be sorted out within six months.
And those six months are limited to the continent I am currently on.
The forest of Tulcan and the Demons.
[You have more on your shoulders than you think.]
What’s new?
“Let’s start by slowly solving the problems at hand one by one.”
I turned my head towards the deck of the ship.
One big issue has been resolved, but strangely enough, it feels like there are more things to deal with.
“I don’t think I can call you Master anymore. You’ve grown up so much.”
Starting with Ron.
“… … It’s Jack, right?”
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My sister’s question, full of doubts.
“… … What on earth is happening on the island… … Why are you and the runaway master so fierce… … .”
My maternal uncle Dennis Gunnar, who still seems to not understand the situation and is confused as if he cannot believe the reality unfolding before his eyes.
“Thank you for your hard work, my lord.”
Even Thanos, whose voice sounded more powerful than before.
And the officials of the Taoist temple stood back from afar and looked at me like I was a monster.
But is there really a need to talk about this at length?
Ron brought me a cloak as I stood on the deck.
Most of my clothes were torn off while fighting Arthur, so yeah, it’s a bit much for me to stay like this no matter how hard I try.
He put on his cloak and spoke slowly.
“The man you called Runaway was Arthur Gunnar.”
“……yes?”
“……who?”
“Who are you?”
Everyone tilted their heads as they murmured.
Yeah, it makes sense not to know.
“I actually thought it might be better to just hide it, but I guess that wasn’t the case.”
He leaned against the railing and sat down.
These are people who have lived on an island called Dokwan for hundreds of years.
They deserve to know.
So, let’s talk comfortably.
By the way, did you burn that diary for nothing?
After shaking off his thoughts, he glanced at his older sister and gestured.
Come here.
My sister comes to my side and also sits down next to me.
“As you can see from the face, it’s true. It’s ‘Noah Gunnar’ who left this island about twenty years ago. That’s my mother.”
The surroundings became quiet.
Breaking the silence, he continued speaking.
“Why would my mother want to leave this island? It’s simple. She saw Arthur Gunnar devour and absorb ‘Frank Gunnar’s’ body in the place called Sanctuary. Some people don’t understand, but let’s just think about it simply. Arthur Gunnar from 400 years ago lived by borrowing the names and faces of those who were called ‘runaways’ in the past. Plank Gunnar and even the Gunnar before that, whom my mother called grandfather, were all sacrificed. Do you get it?”
I think there are still people who don’t understand, but I don’t care.
Let’s get straight to the point.
“I feel like I’ve always been loyal to the Gunnar bloodline, but I don’t need to be anymore.”
“… … .”
“Live your life doing what you want. Just know this.”
I looked up and took in everything at a glance, even those floating in the sky.
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“I’m planning on starting a war on the continent, so don’t get involved in that.”
I’m not joking, I’m serious.
“If you want to follow me, tell me. I can help you find a place to live and introduce you to a job. If you don’t, come and tell me. I will help you become independent.”
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t me who took the shit, it was that giant piece of trash called Arthur Gunnar, but I can still care about this much.
I’m different from that guy.
“Judging by their expressions, it seems like there are still some kids who don’t understand.”
They were the ones who were called great warriors and reached the level of master.
“Think of it easily. Gunnar is finished. You have no one to be loyal to.”
That was when.
A master raises his hand.
As if there was a question.
Oh, really.
“I feel like an academy instructor. Why are you raising your hand like that, not even a child?”
Then, after looking around, he slowly lowers his hand.
“Tell me. What is it?”
“We have lived by the Taoist spirit that we must protect the continent.”
I glanced at Ron and he mouthed, ‘Since birth.’
Hiya.
Were you taught that kind of spirit from a young age?
At this point, it’s almost brainwashing.
“Yeah, I’ve lived believing in that spirit, so?”
“… … To be honest, I don’t know what to do. Only a very small number of people know about the continent, and most of them have only lived on the island, so they have no idea what the outside world is like. That’s why there was internal strife.”
“So, so.”
“……sorry.”
He tilted his head.
What’s going on all of a sudden?
[I think you’re scared because of the vibe you give off.]
I ended up laughing at the words my teacher whispered softly in my ear.
