Chapter 60: The Master and Disciple in "True Heart Exchange"
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In Serie's private reception room at the Continental Magic Association branch, a routine meeting was underway.
But the meeting was only halfway through when the door to the reception room was kicked open.
When everyone looked over, the newcomer had an arrogant expression as if he was prepared to challenge someone, but... he suddenly froze, unable to finish his words.
Because the moment the door was kicked open, Ash saw, from afar, a small figure sitting untidily on the large wooden chair at the end of the room—it was clearly Serie herself.
"Huh?" Serie, who had also been startled by the loud noise of the door crashing open, raised her eyes and noticed Ash's expression gradually stiffening. The corners of her mouth curled up, revealing a wide grin. "...Huh~?"
"—Sorry, wrong room!" Ash quickly apologized, stepping forward in a flash to pick up the damaged door handle and reassemble it carefully.
After finishing all of this in one swift motion, he managed an awkward but polite smile, nodded at everyone in the room, and said, "Please, continue. Don't mind me."
With those words, and while everyone in the room was still in a daze, he closed the broken door once more.
But just as he turned around, breathed a sigh of relief, and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, ready to leave quickly...
"—Where do you think you're going, my dear disciple?" Someone pressed down firmly on his shoulder, and a familiar voice sounded very close behind him.
"...Teleportation? That's a bit unnerving…" Ash sighed, patting his face as he tried to calm himself down.
Then, he slowly turned around, wearing a smile as if meeting her for the first time, and looked at the petite figure floating slightly above the ground. With a hint of forced surprise, he said:
"—Oh! Isn't this my esteemed master, Serie? How long has it been? A thousand years, right? I never imagined I'd see you here. What a truly fortuitous encounter!"
"Tsk, still pretending," Serie clicked her tongue shamelessly. "Do you think that if you act as though you're seeing me for the first time, I'll let you off as if nothing happened?"
"Let me off? What are you talking about? Don't we have a special bond?" he tried, attempting to tap into their past connection, hoping to strike a chord.
But Serie dismissed him coldly, "A bond? We haven't seen each other for a thousand years. What bond could there be?"
"Ha, haha... Those words really sting, don't they? I missed you terribly… every day..."
"No news for a thousand years?"
"...Uh, is that really what you care about? This doesn't seem like you..."
"Indeed," Serie nodded thoughtfully, which made him smile with a sliver of hope. "Well! To celebrate our reunion as master and disciple, why don't we—"
"Don't be too pleased with yourself. Since you're here, I trust you've come prepared?"
"...Prepared for what exactly?"
"Let's see the progress you've made over the past thousand years, and then we can talk about your compensation."
"Compensation? For the door? I… I don't—wait!"
With a stiff smile, he tried to continue, but as he saw the magical energy gathering in Serie's hands, he felt a sudden, cold sweat run down his back.
A terrifying smile appeared on the face of the ancient elf at that moment, and then—
Boom—!!!
An explosion erupted in the building of the Magic Association.
Ash's figure darted through the flames, not to fight, but to escape. After all, as long as the green mountains remain, there's no fear of running out of firewood.
But the explosions continued one after another, showing no sign of stopping.
"Don't let anyone get hurt, okay? Otherwise… let's just keep going."
As the warning reached his ears, the entire building was destroyed in the blink of an eye, with even the outer walls collapsing. The barriers set up around it offered no resistance, succumbing easily to the terrifying energy.
However, when everything finally calmed down, the scene was strangely shocking.
Even if we overlook the smoke and dust, the flames that shot into the sky nearly flew over a hundred meters high. The energy impact should have turned everything within hundreds of meters into ruins, creating a horrific massacre.
But in reality, only the Magic Association was damaged, and the area outside remained unaffected.
...
As an authoritative organization that had gained fame across the continent in a short period, it seemed almost impossible for such a devastating attack to occur within the Continental Magic Association.
However, the impossible had happened, and no one even stood up to prevent this tragedy.
No—those who would truly have the courage to intervene would probably end up as pieces of meat flying through the air in the next moment.
Usually, the building was filled with staff members, yet the actual number of deaths was zero.
And the only person injured was one.
Covered in dust and blood, looking extremely disheveled, Ash was the only casualty in this incident.
"...What have I done to deserve coming to this damn place for no reason?" he muttered, lifting the wall behind him. He felt that this level of violence was borderline abuse.
He turned around to face the elf who was leisurely walking toward him, and complained:
"—What on earth are you doing?! There has to be a limit to everything, okay? If it weren't for me, someone would've died!"
"No one died, right? And I did hold back, so let's consider this a test for you."
"...Is your Magic Association finished?"
"It's okay. Isn't it time for you to pay compensation?"
"Wait a minute! I only broke a door, right?" He looked at the Magic Association, now in ruins, and an ominous premonition rose in his mind. He eyed the "girl" standing before him warily. "You're not thinking of…"
"That's it." Serie's smile was so bright it nearly made him curse. "…No, you— I…?!"
"It was going to be demolished and expanded anyway, and now that you're here, there's someone to pay for it."
"But…"
"How about my position?" Before he could refuse, Serie threw out a great temptation:
"Although this organization was established not long ago, it's considered a good one among human organizations. What do you think? This is my compensation for accidentally injuring you. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't give away my hard work so freely."
"No, wait a minute, let me sort this out first…"
After enduring another round of Serie's unexpected attacks, Ash found himself thrown off by the sudden shift to kindness. With a hand on his forehead, he sat quietly, deep in thought. Finally, he looked up, still cautious, and voiced his suspicions. "First, you suddenly hit me, and now you're offering all these benefits… Something doesn't add up."
"Think about it," Serie replied with a charming smile, hands spread wide, her tone suddenly gentle and persuasive. "If I just hand you authority, no one under me will accept it. But if you step up and show your strength, especially by saving them, they'll respect you. I'm paving the way for you—this is the true master-disciple relationship you've always talked about, isn't it? I'm passing the organization I built to you!"
"That doesn't sound right... You're just tired of managing all of this, aren't you? So you took out your frustration on me and then pushed all your hard work onto me, calling it an 'inheritance?'"
Wiping blood and dust from his face, Ash sighed with exasperation, then glanced at her, utterly baffled. "You clearly despise all these annoying responsibilities. So why come out here yourself? Is this to honor some disciple's last wish from a thousand years ago? Since when did you become so... thoughtful?"
"Hah, only you dare to talk nonsense to me like that," Serie laughed, shaking her head, a hint of amusement dancing in her eyes.
"Nonsense? Really? And yet, I—"
"Oh?" Serie's smile turned icy, a fierce gleam in her eyes that made him stop mid-sentence and swallow his words.
"—Uh, actually, I just remembered something urgent I need to do back home. So, um, can I take my leave for today?" Ash, who had been feigning injury on the ground, suddenly straightened up, patting himself off as if to casually slip away.
Surprisingly, Serie didn't try to stop him. But as he neared a broken section of the wall, he suddenly saw her standing there, arms crossed, her gaze fixed on him. Startled, he instinctively took two steps back.
"—Are you a ghost?! How do you keep appearing out of nowhere?"
"What's the rush? We haven't seen each other in so long, and now you're running off already? That's not very reasonable, is it?"
"Uh… actually, I was planning to go into town to buy some gifts, you know, as a gesture. Since it's been so long, a bit of courtesy seems appropriate, right?"
"I don't care."
"Well, I do!"
"Nonsense."
"…Actually, I think I lost too much blood. Feeling a bit light-headed now. Ah, I'm not sure I can even stand straight." Dramatically, Ash staggered, collapsing onto the ground once more, covering his head and feigning severe weakness. "Serie… I really don't think I can keep this up. Maybe I should rest a bit first, and then we can talk about… everything."
"Oh, so you really can't hold out?"
"Yes! After all, you beat me up so badly… Not that I'm blaming you for it, of course. You're my master, right?"
"Spare me the emotional nonsense!" Serie interrupted sharply, eyeing him with a cold laugh as she pointed out, "And isn't that 'blood' mostly just chicken blood? That you smear it on yourself when I wasn't looking?"
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[T/N: Chapters were pretty long compared to previous one's about 500 words or more so for that give me some power stones!!]