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Chapter 251: The Unity of Teacher, King, and Parent (1)

Cain felt like he was going to lose his mind from the pressure.

Teaching a hero, a mighty warrior, in front of everyone?

While Cain was no slouch as a strong fighter himself, that was all relative.

He desperately wanted to refuse.

But no one around him seemed to care what he thought.

"Ketal is asking you personally, after all..."

"You two have a connection. It’s perfect."

"Then, we\'re counting on you."

They quickly made their exit, leaving only Cain and Ketal behind.

“…Phew.”

Cain, staring blankly into space, finally gathered himself.

"Fine, I\'ll teach you."

There was no way he could refuse at this point.

More importantly, teaching Ketal about the mysteries was a matter of great importance.

He couldn’t keep refusing out of personal feelings.

Ketal smiled politely as Cain accepted.

"Thank you, Master."

Cain shuddered at those words.

"No, stop with the formal speech. Why are you doing this?"

"You are my master."

"No, there’s no need to speak so formally."

"But one must show proper respect to their master."

Ketal replied politely.

"You’re teaching me how to handle the mysteries. It’s only natural that I show respect."

"No, stop it."

"But—"

"Stop it!"

Cain was nearly begging at this point.

\'Why does he insist on speaking so formally?\'

Every time Ketal addressed him with respect, Cain felt a chill run down his spine.

It was maddening to have someone who could overpower him in an instant calling him “Master.”

"No formal speech! As your master... it’s an order!"

Cain’s stomach twisted as soon as he uttered those words.

It wasn’t a figure of speech; his superhuman senses told him exactly what was happening inside his body.

"Hmm. If it’s your command as my master, then I’ll follow it. No, I will follow it, Master."

"And stop calling me ‘Master’! That’s also an order!"

Cain didn’t even want to be called "Master," but he knew Ketal wouldn’t budge on that.

Ketal nodded.

"Understood, Master."

"...Phew."

Cain sighed, already feeling exhausted.

"Alright, let’s move somewhere else."

"Good idea."

Ketal followed Cain with a cheerful smile as they moved to a place far from prying eyes.

"So, what exactly do you mean when you say you can’t control the mysteries? I can sense that you possess a high level of mystery. You don’t know how to control it?"

"I’ll explain."

Ketal described his situation, and the more Cain listened, the more his face contorted.

"…The mystery growls like a beast? And it thrashes about when you try to control it?"

"Yes. I feel like I need to know how to control it. Do you know a way?"

"No."

How could he know?

Mysteries were supposed to be formless power without self-awareness.

The idea of them rebelling like beasts was incomprehensible.

‘…Is this really even a mystery?’

"It does sound unusual."

After thinking for a moment, Ketal asked,

"How do you control your mystery?"

"It’s nothing special. The mystery typically resides in the heart."

Ketal knew that much.

His own beast prowled near his heart.

"You draw it out through the path of mystery. How you handle it may vary, but the basics are the same."

To control a mystery, you had to use the path of mystery.

That was fundamental.

Ketal stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"I see."

"When I first met you, I said you couldn’t control mysteries because the path of mystery didn’t exist in you. Anyway, the most important thing when handling mysteries is control."

"Control?"

"Yes. You have to draw out the mystery through the path, but the path is delicate. If you exceed the allowed amount, you’ll get internal injuries."

It was like applying too much pressure to blood vessels, causing them to burst.

You had to control the amount of mystery that your path could handle.

"But this is just general advice. It probably won’t help you much."

It wasn’t relevant to Ketal’s situation, where the mystery behaved like a rebellious beast.

Cain tried to get more details from Ketal.

"Ke…"

He suddenly stopped mid-sentence and instinctively stepped back.

Ketal had closed his eyes.

That was all, yet Cain felt an intense pressure.

‘Control.’

Ketal thought.

Cain had mentioned that you should only handle as much mystery as your path could withstand.

It was a different concept, but perhaps it could still be applied.

In other words, he just had to draw out enough mystery so that the beast couldn’t go wild.

Ketal began to draw out his mystery, trying to circulate a portion of it through the path.

Growl.

The beast within him let out a low growl.

It resisted Ketal’s attempt to control it, trying to rebel.

‘Stay still.’

Ketal bared his teeth.

You are, after all, my power.

No matter how much you dislike it, you must follow my commands.

‘Shut up and obey me.’

His will overpowered the mystery in his heart, sending ripples outward.

"Wait, hold on."

Cain’s face went pale.

Even though it was just the ripple of Ketal’s will, it was almost too much to bear.

His heart felt like it was being squeezed.

It was as if he were a child about to be punished by his parents.

Growl…

The beast let out a dissatisfied growl, but its spirit had been broken.

Finally, a portion of the mystery moved through the path Ketal controlled.

Ketal opened his eyes.

"It worked! It worked!"

"It… worked?"

"Yes! I moved the mystery! I circulated it through the path! I did it!"

Ketal rejoiced like a child.

It was a good thing, but Cain felt uneasy.

From his perspective, Ketal had suddenly managed to do something on his own and gained control.

"What did you do?"

"I suppressed the mystery just enough to extract it so that it couldn\'t resist. Just as you said. I\'m glad I learned from you."

Ketal smiled brightly, while Cain wore a troubled expression.

\'...No, that wasn\'t quite what I meant.\'

What he had explained was only a general principle about handling mystery.

He never meant to say that one should force and subjugate the mystery into submission.

Still, if Ketal could now move the mystery, that was a good thing.

Cain opened his mouth.

"Then circulate the mystery quickly through its path. That’s the foundation of handling it."

"Understood."

Ketal closed his eyes and concentrated.

He circulated the moving mystery within his body.

It was incredibly interesting and enjoyable.

Ketal continued to handle the mystery quietly for hours.

Before he knew it, night had fallen.

"Hmm. It\'s getting late. You must be tired, so let\'s continue tomorrow."

"Understood."

Ketal nodded.

Although his mind was clear, his body felt a bit tired.

It had been a long time since he had felt any fatigue—like the exhaustion he experienced when pushing his body to its limits.

And that made Ketal very happy.

It meant the power he would handle from now on was so great that it could make him feel tired.

"Until tomorrow then."

Cain parted ways with Ketal and returned to his tent.

He lay down on his bed and sighed.

"What in the world is happening?"

He still couldn\'t believe that he was teaching a hero-class warrior how to handle mystery.

No matter how much he thought about it, it seemed absurd.

But since it was a task given to him, he had no choice but to do his best.

He closed his eyes.

Honestly, Cain didn\'t see himself as a teacher.

The idea of teaching someone as powerful as a hero and calling himself a teacher was laughable.

He firmly believed that he was only temporarily helping Ketal out.

But, unfortunately for him, Ketal didn\'t see it that way.

Ketal smiled brightly as he thought to himself.

\'Teacher and father as one.\'

The phrase meant that the grace of a ruler, a teacher, and a father were the same.

It was a saying he\'d encountered in countless martial arts stories.

And since he was learning something similar to \'Qi,\' it fit perfectly with the concept.

In that case, he should treat Cain with all the respect due to a master, right?

"This is the kind of relationship I\'ve dreamed of."

A bond between teacher and student, tighter than blood.

How beautiful that concept was.

The relationship he had with Arkamis didn\'t quite feel like that of a master and disciple, so he\'d never experienced this feeling before.

But with Cain, it truly felt like a teacher-student relationship.

Of course, in this world, the relationship between teacher and student was different from what was depicted in martial arts novels, but that wasn\'t important to Ketal.

So naturally, Ketal was determined to show all the respect of a disciple.

His eyes gleamed with determination.

* * *

"Hmm..."

The next morning.

Cain woke up from his sleep and opened his eyes.

He tried to get up.

"Oh. You\'re awake, Master."

And at that moment, Cain saw it.

Ketal was standing quietly in front of his bed, looking down at him.

"...!"

Cain jolted up as if he had been shocked.

He leaped from the bed and moved to the far side of the tent.

"W-What the—!"

Why was Ketal waiting next to him when he woke up?

Ketal spoke casually.

"I was waiting for you to wake up, Master."

"W-Why?"

"Isn\'t it a disciple\'s duty to wait until their master awakens?"

"...?"

Cain had never heard of such a duty before.

After collecting himself, he stammered out a question.

"...How long have you been there?"

"I\'ve been here for about two hours since before you woke up."

A hero-class warrior had been standing there quietly for two hours, watching him sleep.

And Cain had slept soundly without even knowing it.

He felt a chill run down his spine.

"That\'s not all."

Ketal smiled brightly as he gestured around the tent.

Only then did Cain realize how clean the tent was.

Ketal had cleaned the tent while Cain was asleep.

"And here. I also made some food. It\'s breakfast, so I prepared a stew that\'s easy on the stomach."

Ketal handed a bowl of warm stew to Cain.

Dazed, Cain accepted the stew without thinking.

\'No, wait!\'

"This isn\'t necessary!"

At this point, it was like Ketal was acting as his servant.

The thought of treating a hero-class warrior like a servant was outrageous, and he had no intention of doing so.

The problem was that Ketal had no intention of backing down either.

"This is my duty as a disciple. Please don\'t refuse."

"No!"

\'Where does such a duty even exist!\'

Cain wanted to shout.

In this world, the relationship between teacher and student was different from that in martial arts novels.

Though they were master and disciple, there was always a clear line between them.

At least, there was no expectation that a disciple would act like a servant, as Ketal was doing now.

Even if there were someone who allowed such treatment, they would be widely criticized if it became known.

"D-Don\'t do this!"

Cain was desperate.

He was terrified that someone might see this scene.

Ketal spoke calmly.

"Don\'t worry so much. Just eat. There are people waiting outside."

"Waiting?"

Cain snapped out of his daze and looked towards the entrance of the tent.

There, the archbishop of the Earth Mother was standing, looking at him with a bewildered expression.

"I have something to report."

"...Did you see everything?"

"...Yes. From start to finish."

His expression was rather strange.

He had witnessed the bizarre sight of a hero-class warrior tending to someone like a servant.

He looked at Cain with a mixture of confusion and disbelief.

"Ah, ahhh..."

Cain\'s face twisted in mortification.