My Disciples Became Scoundrels - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I feel the creature’s scorching body heat bearing down upon me, that searing warmth rushing toward my position.
The vigor has drained from me, but not everything has been lost.
My sword is still in my hands.
Toward that ear-splitting shriek, I drove my blade forward.
Crunch!
Hot blood sprayed upward. I felt the sensation of thick, massive wings being severed clean away.
The Crystal Bat thrashed across the cavern floor, shrieking in agony. I shouted toward Chezare.
“Chezare, over here!”
At this concentration of blood-scent, he should be able to locate us. And indeed, his footsteps drew near moments later.
Crack!
The sound of flesh and bone shattering. Blood sprayed in all directions as the Crystal Bat writhed and convulsed.
While Chezare finished off the creature, I pivoted my body toward the entrance.
Roar!
I poured what little Mana remained into my blade and unleashed a sweeping strike. The Sword Wind obliterated a portion of the collapsed rubble.
My chest throbbed dully. At only one Seal, pushing beyond this is reckless.
Still, light now poured through the opening. As the surroundings brightened, I could see the Crystal Bat pinned to the stone by its own spear, lifeless.
The floor was drenched in blue blood. Chezare appeared unharmed. He retrieved his spear and brushed it clean.
“Phew, I barely blocked it with the spear as it charged. I thought it was done for. How did you manage to catch it?”
He defended well. My worries were unfounded. I shook the blood from my blade.
“It was thanks to you. We ended it cleanly because of your efforts.”
“What did I do? I only cleaned up at the end.”
Chezare laughed sheepishly, then looked toward the nest. The workers’ faces brightened as light flooded in.
“We’re alive! We’re alive!”
“Get out of here, quick!”
They began crawling out from the nest. I shouted at them urgently.
“Stop! The ground there is—!”
The moment the workers scrambled out and their feet touched solid earth, fissures began spreading across the floor.
Crystal Bats habitually nest near mica deposits, which shatter easily under impact. It was a trap—the floor would collapse the moment intruders approached the nest.
Before I could even warn them, the ground gave way. A dark abyss yawned open beneath them.
“Aaaagh!”
The workers clung to the edge of the nest, dangling helplessly. The Director barely managed to grab a branch, but his grip was failing.
He was too far. I rushed toward him desperately, but in that moment, the Director’s fingers slipped from the branch.
With a cry, he began to fall. There was no way I could catch him.
Then a spear flashed past my side in a blur.
The spear plunged into the darkness below, and Chezare appeared in its wake. One hand held the spear, the other grasped the Director.
“Got him!”
He’d squeezed out his final reserves of Mana. Now all he needed to do was return. That thought lasted only an instant.
Crack!
Chezare’s spear shattered into pieces. Hadn’t they said it could withstand his Mana twice over?
I remembered what he’d said—that he’d blocked the Crystal Bat’s attack. That must have been the damage that destroyed it.
Chezare’s expression shifted to panic. He hurled the Director toward me with all his strength. I caught him and threw him to the ground.
The Director was alive. But Chezare? The moment our eyes met, he smiled without a trace of fear.
Beyond the darkness, Chezare fell. I looked around frantically. There was nothing to hold his Mana, no living Magic Beast nearby.
There was no way for him to return.
My disciple had accepted death. And he’d smiled while doing it. Foolish student of mine. Did you think your smile would make me smile as well?
My fist clenched until it seemed it would shatter. Then my gaze fell on the red blood smeared across my palm. It hadn’t fully dried yet.
It was blood from when I’d treated Chezare earlier. My hand trembled. Frantically, I absorbed Chezare’s Mana.
“Chezare! Come to me! Right now!”
But no matter how many times I shouted, Chezare still did not appear.
“Chezare, come back!”
I still heard no sound of impact. As I moved to the edge of the hole, desperate to retrieve him somehow, I felt it.
Pain exploded through my body like it would tear me apart. The taste of blood filled my mouth, and light flashed above my head.
It was Chezare.
Thud!
I caught Chezare as he fell upon me, cradling him with my entire body. He let out a pained groan.
“Ugh, I think I’m going to throw up…”
He’s alive. He’s breathing. My disciple had come back alive.
All the strength seemed to drain from my body. Whether from the aftereffects of channeling Mana or from relief, I couldn’t tell. Chezare breathed heavily.
“Whew, I thought I was done for. Master, are you all right? Does the Mana hurt…? Ack!”
I flicked Chezare on the forehead. He yelped, his lips puckering in protest.
“Master, that hurts! My head’s already bad enough without making it worse!”
I struck him again, several times over. Drinking, cursing, acting the fool—those I could forgive.
But this I could not. Neglecting himself. Abandoning himself. Seeking death.
“Why did you try to kill yourself?”
“I didn’t know the spear would break!”
“Then you should have asked me to absorb your Mana!”
Chezare blinked, then looked away.
“No, it was just—I thought it might hurt you… and besides, I heard water sounds from below.”
“Water sounds?”
“Like a river. The current sounded pretty strong… Agh!”
I struck him again, grabbed hold of this fool willing to die out of pure stubbornness, and let loose a torrent of reproach.
“Water sounds? You could judge the depth from just that? Risk your life on a sound in an uncertain situation?”
If the water hadn’t been deep enough to cushion the impact of the fall, he’d be dead. Chezare avoided my gaze as he spoke.
“But I survived, didn’t I?”
“You brat.”
I pummeled him until he couldn’t spout nonsense anymore. Chezare wrapped his head in his arms, his face contorted with misery.
“Master, losing Jenia was my fault. So I was trying to take responsibility—”
“We can find Jenia’s whereabouts by other means. Moreover, this isn’t responsibility. Never do this again.”
Chezare hesitated, then nodded. Whether he understood or not was unclear. Then he seemed to remember something and held out what he’d been clutching.
“Right, I clung to the wall while falling. There was something lodged in that wall—what is this?”
It was a crystal shining with deep blue-green light. I felt powerful Mana radiating from it. To find such a thing while plummeting.
“I haven’t seen one of these in ages. It’s a Spirit Demon Crystal—takes centuries to form.”
“What does it do?”
“A crystal that can never be destroyed by Mana. It also blocks most physical damage.”
Because of its excellent properties, it was sold at a high price. Any Artifact crafter would lose their mind over such a treasure.
Chezare stared blankly at the Spirit Demon Crystal. Then he breathed his own Mana into the jewel and held it out to me.
“Then you should keep this, Master. So I can always come back to you.”
I looked at him in silence, then nodded. I accepted the crystal, now glowing red with infused Mana. Chezare smiled faintly.
“Then shall we attend to our original business?”
The Director lay on the floor, groaning. A man who’d sold the Orphanage for nothing but gambling debts. I met his eyes and spoke.
“Do you remember Jenia?”
“Jenia? What do you… Did you come looking for one of the orphans?”
“Yes.”
The Director’s eyes flickered. Greed flashed across his features. He spoke as though haggling.
“There are so many orphans I can’t recall… If you let me go outside, the records are there. Looking at them might jog my memory.”
In other words, he wanted me to release him. I grabbed him by the collar and hauled him upright.
I’ve learned something over the years. That some humans don’t deserve kindness.
I dragged the Director to the edge of the chasm. If I let go, he would plummet.
“At least lie properly. You sold off the Orphanage, yet you kept the records?”
The Director couldn’t refute that. When I loosened my grip slightly, he seized my wrist in desperation.
“I—I remember! A red-haired man brought her in. She was adopted about half a year before the Orphanage failed!”
At last, the Director spoke the truth. I raised my hand to stop Chezare, whose expression had hardened and was moving forward.
“Where was she adopted to?”
“I don’t know the exact address, but she was adopted to Wislton!”
Wislton. From here, it’s a rural village at some distance. At least she wasn’t abandoned on the streets.
His expression suggested he knew nothing more. I struck the Director hard across the face.
He lost consciousness without a sound. Leaving his unconscious form behind, I headed for the exit, and Chezare fell into step beside me.
“You’re not going to beat him anymore?”
“If Jenia isn’t in Wislton, we can come back and work on him some more.”
If that wretch hadn’t gambled away the Orphanage, Jenia would be safe where she is now.
If Chezare had died trying to rescue such garbage… As I made my way silently out of the Crystal Cave, I spoke to him.
“Chezare.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t die. Don’t court danger or take foolish risks.”
I remembered how he’d smiled just moments ago. That expression, grinning even as he fell through the darkness.
Chezare stopped and looked at me. His green eyes were quiet.
“Master, I’m a reckless Mercenary. My job was to throw myself into the fire for a few coins. My life was cheap.”
……
“But if I can die for Jenia, then I’ve been sold dear. Without a trace of regret.”
His voice was steady, as if discussing a simple fact. How many times had Chezare weighed his own life on a scale?
“Do you think you’re worthless?”
“Yes. I’m not a good man, am I? My hands shake like this, and the moment I smell alcohol I feel like I’m losing my mind.”
He lifted his hand to show me. It trembled visibly.
“I’m not suited for Balanus either. Any guild or mercenary company would throw out someone like me.”
He spoke with mockery in his voice, then stuffed his hand into his pocket. I grabbed his wrist.
“A guild or mercenary company would care about such things. But we don’t.”
“Then what?”
“What we want is you, Chezare. No matter what kind of person you are.”
The young Chezare who didn’t yet know how to fight, the Chezare of the mercenary pits, the broken Chezare drowning in alcohol—
always my precious disciple. My disciple whom no fortune in the world could replace.
Chezare was silent. Only his wrist trembled faintly. Whether from drink or emotion, I could not tell.
“You’ll end up disappointed because of me. Are you still certain?”
“Yes. I can’t say I won’t be disappointed, but the fact that you matter to me—that will never change.”
Chezare was quiet for a long time before a soft laugh escaped him. He pulled his hand from his pocket.
“……You said things like this when I was young too. You spoke of such matters often.”
His hand still trembled. Without hiding it, Chezare smiled at me.
“I’d forgotten. I haven’t heard it in so long.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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