Chapter 9 TRG Vol. 1 Chapter 3 Part 2

Chapter 3 (The Inside Story)

“White hair brings misfortune.”

The first lesson I ever learned in life is that it is nothing but a series of irrational cruelties. At the very least, what happened to my sister and me was nothing short of irrational.

Her hair was a different color from the other villagers. That was all. And for that alone, Norn was persecuted. After our mother, who had protected her, died, even our father ignored her. In that world, I was the only one who acknowledged her, and she was the only one who trusted me.

The harsh glares turned on me, too, for defending her, but I would never abandon Norn. We were two halves of a whole.

The village adults, perhaps because they were fine with her wasting away so long as they didn’t have to get their hands dirty, or perhaps because they were reluctant to harm me just to get to her, never did more than scold me. I would share my food with Norn, and we would huddle together under the stars, and we made a promise.

“Someday, when we’re bigger, we’ll leave this village. We’ll find a place where we can be together, with no one to bother us.”

This world granted that wish in the cruelest way imaginable.

Burning homes. Spreading pools of blood. This new, irrational event that had descended upon our quiet (except for Norn) village was more terrifying than anything I had ever seen. And yet, at the same time, it was more beautiful than anything I had ever seen.

The monster was a wolf. Its magnificent body, which would have matched a grown man on its hind legs, was covered in fur that seemed to be spun from liquid moonlight. And in its eyes… in its eyes, there was a cruel intelligence. That intelligence was not just in its gaze.

“A-New… Silver…”

In the center of the village, with everyone else dead, Norn and I huddled together, shaking. And a voice descended upon us. It was high-pitched, grating… and yet, somehow, we understood what it meant.

“A-Sacrifice… for-Her. The-Black-One… Not-Needed.”

The sound was coming from the demon wolf that was staring us down. Its mouth, split open in what looked like a grin, bypassed Norn and slammed the meaning of its words directly into me.

It’s going to kill me.

But what would happen to Norn? I couldn’t imagine any future for her that was better than my own death. We just huddled on the ground, desperate to look away from the suffering.

“Why…?” Norn’s voice was full of despair. “What did we do…? Is it because of this white hair?”

I couldn’t say anything. I just held her.

And that’s when it appeared. A true, overwhelming irrationality that trampled all other irrationalities underfoot.

“So, there were survivors.”

A man walked toward us, his footsteps completely casual, as if he weren’t surrounded by a pack of wolves. He was wearing rough leather armor and had a sword at his hip. He stopped and just… looked down at us. He seemed so calm, as if he’d just stumbled upon us during a daily walk. He had to see the demon wolf, but he didn’t show a single trace of fear.

Maybe… maybe this person… He was a thin thread of hope, lowered to us at the very moment of our deaths. We grabbed onto it.

“H-Help… please, help us!”

“We’ll do… anything!”

He just stared down at us for a moment, his eyes unreadable, and then… he gently peeled us off him and turned to face the demon wolf. He hadn’t responded to our pleas. We despaired. We’ve been abandoned again. The wolf let out a sticky, mocking sneer, as if it were watching a comedy.

It took only a second to realize how wrong we were.

“Rr—”

“—ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAGH!“

The sound that ripped from his throat was so loud we had to cover our ears. With that single war cry, he drew his sword and charged the demon wolf.

We thought he’d abandoned us? What a joke. His furious scream, his trembling hands… his entire being was an expression of pure, unadulterated rage at the monsters.

The demon wolf tried to send its pack to stop him, but nothing could stop his charge. He punched, dodged, and tore through the lesser wolves, and slammed his blade against the leader, again and again.

The first blow bounced off. The second, too. But on the third, the sound changed. It went from a high-pitched clang to a dull, heavy thud. On the fourth, the monster’s fur began to fly. The hard hair was torn away, revealing the tough hide beneath. And with even more strikes, he cut that, too, until he finally drew blood from its neck.

Before we knew it, the pack wolves had all been ground to dust by his storm of fury. All that remained was the wounded demon wolf, and him… a man so battered and bloody, we couldn’t find a single spot on him that wasn’t injured.

At a glance, the wolf had the overwhelming advantage. But… why? Why couldn’t I imagine him losing?

The demon wolf let out a great howl, opened its maw, and leaped at him. In response, he… leaned forward, as if he were offering his head to be bitten off. But he wouldn’t do that. I knew it.

And I was right. By leaning so far forward, he’d created a blind spot, and from that blind spot, his sword shot up, aimed directly at the monster’s wide-open mouth.

The sword pierced its palate and burst through the back of its skull. Its fangs were embedded in his shoulder, but it couldn’t bite down. After a moment, the monster’s body went limp and collapsed. The wolf had only a few cuts on its neck, and the hole through its head. The man… was covered in wounds. But he was alive.

“…You’re safe.”

He walked back to us, knelt, and looked into our faces. Then he pulled us into a gentle hug. He was covered in the monster’s blood and his own, but… it didn’t feel disgusting at all.

“Thank… goodness.”

His voice was shaking. This man, who had been a storm of rage just moments before… was now crying.

“Gonna… sleep… a bit. The rest…”

He slumped forward, his words cut off. Norn and I tensed, but then we heard his steady breathing. We looked at each other and nodded. We couldn’t let him die. Our savior. Our light.

We ran around the village, gathering any supplies that hadn’t burned. We found the merchant at the village entrance, and when we explained, he opened his own wagon and began to treat the man’s wounds.

“He… he killed a pack and its demon wolf leader? All by himself? What kind of madman… well, I guess I’m the one who asked him to check the village, so I can’t talk…” the merchant muttered in disbelief. “But… these are bad wounds. Who knows when he’ll wake up.”

His words sent a chill down our spines.

“Well, nothing more we can do for him right now,” the merchant said, standing up. “I’m going to go bury the villagers. You two, help me.”

We followed him, and we helped bury the people who had been killed. This village… it had never been a ‘home’ to us. But we couldn’t just leave them there.

He didn’t wake up that day.

The next day, after watching over him all night, we had curled up beside him and fallen asleep. We felt him stir, and we both snapped awake, peering at his face.

“Ngh… where…?”

“H-He’s awake!”

“He’s alive!”

We both threw ourselves at him. His face twisted in pain.

“You two, give the injured man some space.” The merchant, alerted by our voices, gently scolded us. We backed off, and he knelt by the man with a steaming bowl.

“You’re awake, huh? For a minute there, I thought you were a goner.”

“…Can’t move my body.”

“You’ve been out for a whole day. Eat this, it’s easy on the stomach.”

At his words, the merchant fed him the soup. After he’d finished, he explained what had happened, and then bowed his head.

“I… I never thought it was monsters. I’m so sorry, brother.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“But still…”

“I was weak. That’s all.”

“Weak… huh.” The merchant looked confused.

This man had fought an entire pack, and not 24 hours later he was awake and talking. I didn’t know what he meant by ‘weak.’ But… I had to ask him.

“Um… c-can I… ask you something…?”

I waited for a lull in their conversation. The merchant, sensing we needed to talk, stood up. “I’ll… go finish the burials.”

“W-Why… why did you go so far to save us…?”

That’s what I needed to know. He didn’t have to save us. He could have used us as decoys and escaped. He paused, his gaze drifting.

“No adult would abandon a child.”

His answer… it was completely alien to my entire life experience.

“In fact,” he said, “you two… you didn’t abandon me. You saved me. Thank you.”

He was thanking us. For doing what anyone would have done, after the debt we owed him.

“We would never do that,” Norn answered for me. “You’re the one who saved our lives.”

He heard that, and he smiled. It was so long since anyone had looked at us with anything but contempt… we didn’t know what face to make.

We just… fumbled with his bandages, cleaning his back, taking care of his wounds. By the time we were done, he was already able to sit up on his own.

“You’re tough, brother!” the merchant said, his eyes wide as he returned. He gave us a look. “Go get more firewood.”

Norn and I didn’t want to leave him, but we ran, gathered the wood, and ran back. As we got close, we heard the merchant’s voice, low and grim.

“…it might have been better if those kids had died here. I know I’ve got no right to say it…”

Our feet froze.

“…They saved me,” the man’s voice cut in. “I’m just repaying the favor. I’ll look after them.”

“Brother, why would you go so far? You just happened to be in the village, you saved them. You’ve done more than enough.”

“Like I said. Those two saved me, so I’m saving them. We’re human, aren’t we? We have compassion. We’re not just animals. You helped me, too, didn’t you?”

“Of course, being able to do that is the best thing, no doubt,” the merchant sighed. “But it’s a rare person who has that much leeway. I can’t. I can’t be a merchant traveling with an ‘abominable child.’ If I’m attacked by monsters, it’s all over. And I might not even be able to trade in the towns and villages anymore.”

If you asked me which of them was speaking logically, it was the merchant. Norn’s white hair was shunned, at least in all the villages in this region.

“I’m not from around here,” the man said. “I don’t know anything about that superstition. Just giving us a ride to town is good enough.”

But his words… they just… shattered that ‘correct’ common sense.

“If I say ‘no’ after all that, it just makes me the cold-hearted bastard, doesn’t it?” the merchant sighed, resigned. “Fine. You were coming with me anyway, and I’ve got room for two kids. I’ll take you to town.”

The thing that had pinned our feet to the ground was gone. My vision was blurring with tears, but his face… his face… was perfectly clear. Life is an irrational series of events. We were attacked by an irrational disaster. But we were rescued by an even greater irrationality.

When we got to town, just as the merchant warned, the adults stared at Norn’s white hair. The number of hateful eyes was so much more than the village… we were terrified. But he… he didn’t care at all. He got us a room, got us clean clothes, fed us, and protected us from their glares.

“It’s just a rare hair color,” he said. “She’s no different from anyone else.”

For him, the man who said that while resting his hand on Norn’s head, the superstition… it really meant nothing. He was protecting us. We tried to help, to do what we could… but we knew it was nowhere near enough to repay this debt. The only thing we had to offer was ourselves… our own meager bodies. But he never asked for that. So, what did he want?

When we thought that, a scene was burned into our minds, one that would never leave. The image of him, facing the demon wolf, not backing down an inch. That image told us exactly what we needed to learn from him. What we wanted to learn.

The strength to fight back against the irrationality that had assaulted our lives. The strength to walk on our own two feet.

“We want you to teach us how to fight.”

Norn and I bowed our heads.

“We can’t just be protected by you forever,” I said.

“We have to be able to stand on our own,” Norn added. “…And more than that… we can’t forgive the monsters.”

He looked at us, silent for a long moment, his gaze shifting between us.

“I don’t know any ‘gentle’ way to teach,” he said. “It will be so hard, you might literally die. Are you sure?”

His expression… it wasn’t the gentle one we were used to. It was the sharp, piercing aura of a man who lives by the sword. Even though he was unarmed, I felt like a blade was at my throat. But we managed to nod.

“We’re prepared.”

“It has to be that hard, or it’s not enough.”

At that, he smiled.

“I see… Then I’ll make you my disciples.”

He was smiling, but in that moment… he felt more terrifying than anything I had ever known.

After that, our master gave us swords, and almost immediately, he took us to face a monster.

“It’s hard to cut a tree; it’s flexible,” he said. “It’s hard to cut a rock; it’s too solid. But the hardest thing to cut is a ‘meat bag’ like a monster, which has rock-hard bones, covered in flexible muscle, wrapped in a tough hide. If you can learn to cut that, you’ll naturally be able to cut trees and rocks, no problem.”

That was his first lesson, after he’d effortlessly killed a Rat-Beast. It made no sense to us. And from there, the training began—a hell beyond our imagination. Endless swings, matching his, until our hands bled. When we finally got used to that, he added sparring.

“You two are one,” he’d say. “Alone, you can’t see, you can’t cut. But together… you can.”

He’d say that, and then, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, he’d dodge Norn’s attack from behind and rap her on the head.

“Know each other better than you know yourselves. Then you can cut an enemy stronger than you are.”

We’d try to coordinate with just a glance, but the instant I took my eyes off him, he’d sweep our legs out from under us.

“One’s weakness is covered by the other’s strength. That is the sword you must aim for.”

His blade, moving faster than our eyes could follow, would send our own swords flying from our hands with a simple downward strike.

His ‘lessons’ were rarely specific. After that first day, it was just… endless swings, and endless sparring.

And, sometimes, watching him hunt. Other times, to get us used to the fear, he’d just abandon us outside of town. It was all insane. We were prepared for it… but we could feel our eyes going dead.

But… in exchange… we were fed proper meals for the first time in our lives. We threw ourselves into training, our bodies grew, and our skill with the sword improved dramatically.

And yet, we still couldn’t even see his back. We’re twins. We don’t even need to look at each other to know what the other is thinking. A breath, a shift in weight… it’s all we need. And still, we couldn’t land a single blow on him. He just… toyed with us, like we were children.

As our bodies grew, so did our hair. Norn, who still hated how her white hair drew attention, was debating whether to cut it. I’d decided to cut mine, too, if she did.

“Cutting your hair?” he’d said, gently running his fingers through it. “But it’s beautiful. What a waste.”

“Arche’s is black, just like mine. The two of you… you’re a perfect contrast. It looks good.”

After that, the option of cutting our hair no longer existed. It was long, down to our backs. It was impossible to hide. But… his words mattered more than the stares.

Around that time, we started going to the guild with him. We saw other adventurers… men who were drinking in the middle of the day… and we realized. We were already stronger than any of them.

“An ‘abominable child’ playing at adventurer?”

One of them said that to us, when our master wasn’t around. Before, we would have just looked at the floor, helpless.

But not now. His words meant nothing. They couldn’t touch our hearts. We had our master’s words.

We were stronger. But we still didn’t understand. Every time we sparred, we’d despair… the gap was so vast, we couldn’t even glimpse his true level.

“Master… how… how do you cut stone?”

I finally asked the question that had been tormenting me. I’d waited until he finished his chore of chopping firewood.

“…About what I said before, huh.”

He murmured, looking at the branch I was holding out.

“Master? Arche? What are you doing?”

Norn must have wondered where we were, because she came out to find us.

“Norn, I was just asking Master to show us his sword.”

She understood immediately and came to stand beside me, looking up at him. He looked at me, at Norn, and at the branch. He took it.

“I wasn’t planning on showing you this yet.”

He said that, closed his eyes, and slowly raised the branch. But he stopped, holding the pose, and let out a long, thin breath. It was… like a mage, preparing a spell.

And I saw it. I’m sure Norn did, too. With every breath, a faint aura of mana began to cling to the branch. He’d told us he couldn’t use magic. Then what was this?

“Hh-YAH!“

With a sharp exhale, he swung the branch. It didn’t even touch the firewood; it just hit the ground. But… I saw it. The faint mana clinging to the branch… it formed the shape of a blade, and it passed through the wood. Not only that… the entire motion… the focus, the swing… it was mesmerizing. A flawless, pure-white trail of mana that burned itself into our eyes.

“A cut that’s too sharp… the target doesn’t even know it’s been cut. I wonder… if you could even see it.”

He tossed the branch aside, gently stroked both our heads, and went back inside. We were left alone, staring at the log.

“Norn…”

“I saw it. The silver trail.”

She’d seen it, too. I fearfully reached out… and lifted the log. There was no cut. It was just… a log. But as I held it, a hair-thin line appeared. And the next second, it split, perfectly in two. It was as if… as if the wood itself hadn’t realized it had been cut until I touched it.

“…He really is… so far beyond us,” Norn whispered, picking up the other half. “But… I think I just saw a glimpse of where he’s going.”

“Someday, I want us to get there, too. To stand by his side.”

That day, Norn and I fell even deeper under our master’s spell.

“The sword I’m teaching you isn’t some ‘elegant’ style,” he’d told us. “It’s just ‘swinging a stick.’ You can’t even call it ‘swordsmanship.’ It’s a technique for one purpose: to cut a monster’s tough hide, tear its flesh, and break its bones.”

A sword purified to a single, absolute purpose: to cut monsters. After glimpsing that truth, my sword and Norn’s became even sharper. We sharpened them until, finally, we succeeded in defeating a Rat-Beast, just the two of us.

“…Well done.”

When he saw what we’d done, he gave us that calm smile, and stroked our heads. That single phrase… I don’t know what kind of expression Norn made when she heard it… but I’m sure I had the exact same look on my face. We’ll follow this person for the rest of our lives. No matter what, we’ll never leave him. We swore it, together. But that oath would not be kept.

“You two are strong enough to survive on your own now. My job here is done. I’m traveling again. I look forward to hearing your names become famous someday.”

He left that letter, and one day, he was gone. Next to it, he’d left two porcelain-white tags, registering us as adventurers with the local guild. When we realized what it meant, Norn and I, our faces pale with anger, stormed into the guild. The man who met us was the guild master, the one our master had spoken to so often.

“He asked me to do it,” the guild master said. “I’m sponsoring you. As of today, you’re adventurers of this guild.”

We angrily demanded to know where our master had gone, but the guild master just calmly replied.

“You two know it, too. The only person who can follow him on his journey is someone just as strong as he is. If you want to chase him, get stronger. Get so strong that the monsters around here are a joke to you. Otherwise… you’ll just be baggage.”

His words were like a bucket of ice water. We… we knew it, deep down. He’d only stayed until we could stand on our own. The only person who can walk beside him… is someone who is on his level.

“It’s true,” the guild master continued. “No one in this guild… not me, not any of my adventurers… can match you two. But I’ll say it anyway. You’re still weak. Too weak to follow him.”

We couldn’t say anything. Our master was already moving on. To places we couldn’t imagine, to demonic lands we couldn’t survive. Just because we can finally kill the local monsters… it doesn’t mean we can walk beside him.

So, Norn and I made our decision. We’d do exactly as the guild master said. We’d get so strong that no one could say a word against us. Then, we’d find him. We’d get so strong we wouldn’t need these guild tags… we’d survive on our own strength. And for that… just for today… we would cry.