An Old Man from the Countryside Becomes a Swords Saint: I Was Just a Rural Sword Teacher, But My Successful Students Won’t Leave Me Alone! - Chapter 15

15 - The Old Man From The Countryside Meets A Magician

It’s me, Kuruni, and a black-haired woman in a robe.

In this bustling boulevard, a strange silence envelopes us three for a few moments.

“Of, if it isn’t Thyss!” 1 Kuruni said, breaking the silence and confirming the woman’s name.

“Kuruni,” Thyss said, turning her gaze away from me and turning to her for the first time. “You are here.” 2

“That I am!” Kuruni replied.

There wasn’t a change in her expression. She acted as if she really had just noticed Kuruni.

“Kuruni, do you know her?” I asked.

The black-haired woman seemed to know me but she also seems to know Kuruni. I don’t have a clue so I’m counting on Kuruni to explain.

“… Master, don’t you remember?” Kuruni asked.

“Huh…?” I asked.

It’s really rare to see Kuruni looking at me with such surprised, blaming eyes.

“Master Beryl, you’re terrible,” the woman said. “How sad. Sob-sob.”

“E-Even if you say that…” I said.

I trail off as the woman starts imitating crying with a blank face.

Ohh, no, I really don’t know.

The same thing happened when I was reunited with Selena but I couldn’t connect who she was now with my last memories of her because then, she was very small.

On the other hand, the woman called “Thyss” doesn’t seem to be as old as Kuruni. And if she knows Kuruni and she asks me, “Don’t you remember me?”, it’s highly likely they were attending the dojo at the same time.

However, if that was the case, I should have had a good idea of who she was.

She even recognized Kuruni at first glance.

“Mmn,” Thyss grumbles in dissatisfaction, her cheeks puffed up. “Can’t be helped. How about this?” she asked as she took a sword from the back of her robes.

“Hmm…?” I hummed.

Yeah, this sword is familiar. It’s a sword I give to my top graduates.

Huh, it means that a child has mastered everything at my dojo.

Wait a minute, it’s pretty unreasonable that I couldn’t remember her. This is bad.

Her appearance… I can’t rely too much on her appearance, women around that age could change a lot in just a few years. Similarly, I can’t count on the hairstyle.

Contrasting that, hair colors don’t change as much, so there’s no doubt that her hair would have been black then. Her personality wouldn’t have changed that much, either.

A black-haired woman that speaks in a unique tempo with short, clipped sentences, and a disciple I awarded a blade to…

Thyss… Thyss…

“Ah… could you be Thyssel?” I asked. 3

“Correct,” Thyssel replied. “But, late. I am sad.”

Apparently, the woman I’ve just met again was Thyssel.

Thyssel’s still a little riled up. However, once I remembered her, the memories bubble up like hot water.

Thyssel Harveller. She was one of the disciples I’d gifted a sword to.

I was certain she was my student at the dojo alongside Kuruni. Even so, unlike Kuruni who left in 2 years, Thyssel had been there for about 5 years, so she only graduated after mastering everything I could teach her.

However, the Thyssel in my memory was rather boyish, and she didn’t look like she does now.

Even her hair was cut short and her body was slender. She wasn’t the type of child who would stretch conversations that much, so I think she was wielding her sword silently except for the bare minimum in communication.

I remember seeing her only wearing simple clothes, and she wasn’t the kind of person who’d wear good quality robes that stretched up to her knees.

My last memory of her was when I gave her her graduation sword.

After she made an unusually relaxed expression on her face, she left the dojo as if she’d realized where she was going from there, saying only, “I have something to do next.” in parting.

It’s been so long then, but it’s another unexpected reunion.

“No, I say that every time I’m reunited with a disciple… you look different, huh?” I said.

“I have grown,” Thyssel said. “But, sad you didn’t notice.”

“I-I’m really sorry…” I said.

No matter how much they change, a master must not forget their former disciples, especially one they had gifted a sword to in recognition of their mastery. I have to reflect on this.

“I haven’t had anyone tell me I look different…” Kuruni said.

“S-Sorry,” I said.

I’m so sorry. Kuruni heals best just the way she is.

“Well, moving on,” Kuruni said. “Thyss is amazing! Right now, she’s doing her best as the ace of the Magic Division!”

""

“Yes,” Thyssel said. “I did my best. The greatest.”

“What?” I asked. “The Magic Division?”

How? After learning swordsmanship at my family dojo, how did she end up joining the Magic Division?

No, that’s definitely amazing. Magicians are valuable to the world as a whole and there’s only a handful of people with an aptitude for magic.

Even if you don’t have a natural aptitude, you could still use a sword as long as you could swing it.

But magic doesn’t work that way. If you don’t have the talent, you’ll stay at zero. There was no growth here. And I don’t have any magical aptitude, either.

Only those who are invaluably talented can become magicians.

“But after learning swordsmanship at my family’s dojo, even learning magic… you really have given it your all, huh?” I said.

“Yes,” Thyssel said. “And, this is a great use of Master Beryl’s sword.”

“Ooh?” I asked.

Thyssel’s swordsmanship was more than adequate, as I’d given her a sword as a graduation gift. If she could handle magic alongside her high level of swordplay, she’d certainly be a valuable asset.

“Sword Magic,” Thyssel said. “It is my best.”

“Sword… Magic…?” I asked.

What’s that?

“Like its name,” Thyssel said. “As the sword moves, slashes of enchanted fire and ice fly.”

“O-Oh,” I said. “That’s amazing, huh…?”

Maybe Thyssel has done something incredible. My reaction slows down unconsciously.

“Are there any other Sword Magic users?” I asked.

“Here and there,” Thyssel replied. “But, most can’t handle the sword as well.”

Well, after hearing that I should have guessed as much.

Manipulating magic requires talent and it also requires effort. And the same is true for the sword.

Imbuing a sword with magic will have its foundations in swordsmanship. Naturally, those who are already proficient with blades could handle it better.

It might be more correct to describe them as Magic Swordsmen rather than Magicians.

I’ve never heard of such a profession, though.

“By the way,” Thyssel said. “Master Beryl, why are you in the capital?”

“Oh, about that,” I said.

Now that the story about Sword Magic has settled down, Thyssel asks a natural question.

I explained to her that I had become a Special Instructor for the Knights and that I’m now going sightseeing in the West District with Kuruni as my guide.

“Then, I’ll go with,” Thyssel said. “Kuruni hasn’t been in a while.”

“Huh, is that alright?” I said.

“It’s fine,” Thyssel said. “My errand is over. I’m heading out.”

“We’ll be your guides, Master!” Kuruni said as Thyssel went to my right side.

I can see a bag in one of Thyssel’s hands that seemed to be for shopping on the way home from work, but was it really fine for her to go on a walk with me? Well, if she says it’s okay, I have to take her at her word.

“… Thyssel?” I asked.

“High population in Western District,” she said as she took my hand. “Streets narrower. Harder to get separated.”

A gentle and warm feeling wraps around my left hand.

""

“… Well then, I’ll leave you as our guide, for the both of us,” I said.

“I’ll leave it all to you!” Kuruni chirped.

“Understood,” Thyssel said.

Well, alright. No reason to stop holding her hand and separate here.

Then, I was taken along by my two disciples and enjoyed sightseeing for a while.