My Disciples Became Scoundrels - Chapter 28

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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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Cesare’s eyes went wide with shock, so startled he could barely form words, stammering over them.
Meanwhile, Jenia looked at him with unmistakable envy.
“Cesare, you’re so lucky. You got something amazing.”
“Jenia, I have something for you too.”
I drew the Transcendent Stone from my robes and pressed it into her hands. Her expression mirrored Cesare’s exactly as she stared at me.
“But Master, didn’t you say you were going to consume this yourself?”
“You’re still growing. It will serve you better than it would me.”
I’d never intended to use it for myself anyway. I spoke to my bewildered disciples. “You’ve both been diligent in protecting Zik. More than that—when we faced Clayborn, things would have gone very badly without you both. You did well.”
“I stepped away from my post and Zik got kidnapped. Are you sure you’re not upset?”
Cesare asked tentatively, watching my reaction. For all his recklessness at times, he could still be childlike in his concern.
“Strictly speaking, that wasn’t your fault. That was Zik’s mistake.”
Zik let out a self-conscious cough. I suppressed a smile watching my awkward disciples.
I’d wanted to give them gifts now that we’d brought this matter to a good close. It was reassuring to see them pleased.
“Well then, shall we head back? Thank you for your hospitality.”
We left the Blacksmith Workshop. Each of us walked the sunlit path clutching something in hand. As we walked on, Cesare, keeping pace beside me, spoke up.
“Master, you said something like this during the Special Lecture. That we must learn from the past and make it our present. That’s how we should determine our own path forward.”
“I did.”
“Do you think of yourself as our past?”
A person is simultaneously past, present, and future. Which one they become is a choice they must make themselves.
I chose to be the past. To become the past so I could be the present for my disciples. Then Jenia spoke.
“You’re not our past, Master. And we’re not your present or your future either.”
She gripped my hand firmly and looked up at me.
“We are each other’s eternity.”
Stars glimmered overhead. Cesare gazed at me too, his expression showing he agreed with Jenia’s words.
Both of them had grown so much without my noticing.
I neither affirmed nor denied her words, simply walking with my disciples. Though it was night, the path ahead wasn’t dark. Perhaps it was the starlight.
* * *
After returning.
Daine crossed the threshold of the Herbert Mansion. The baron’s house, which he visited for the first time in nearly two weeks, carried the same gloomy air as before.
The Baroness wore a black dress as she had the last time. Beyond her black veil, she parted her lips to speak.
“You’ve come alone today.”
“Yes. I thought my report on the commission would suffice without the others.”
Daine handed over the sword still in its sheath. She drew it and examined it carefully as she spoke.
“How beautiful it is. My husband would have rejoiced greatly, had he still lived.”
Her voice carried faint satisfaction, underlaid by profound sorrow. She resheathed the blade and spoke again.
“Thank you. You can collect your payment from the butler.”
Yet Daine did not leave, standing quietly in place. His gaze was composed.
“Is there something more you wish to say? Or do you require additional compensation?”
Daine smiled quietly. A youth scarcely twenty, yet there was something weighty about him. He spoke in an even, measured tone.
“There is something I desire, but it is not monetary.”
The Baroness instinctively sensed that he was asking for something more troublesome, more precious than money.
Daine’s golden eyes fixed upon the Baroness.
“Fifteen years ago, Aspenherl was invaded. The city was half-destroyed and many died.”
At this somewhat abrupt turn in the conversation, the Baroness furrowed her brow. She already knew this story. And it was one she did not wish to hear.
“Why are you bringing this up? You know as well as anyone that I lost both my children that day.”
“Yes, I know. I also lost my family that day, and I suspect you harbored the same thoughts I did.”
In the darkness, Daine’s eyes gleamed with quiet intensity.
“You wanted to discover who did this. You wanted to find them and have your revenge, did you not?”
The Baroness flinched. She could not deny the words. The endless questions she had asked herself since losing her children.
Who had done this?
Why had they invaded the city?
“After that day, you must have searched to learn the identity of the invaders. Have you not?”
The Baroness fell silent for a moment. She and Daine had only crossed paths briefly because of the previous commission.
Yet this young man, scarcely twenty, seemed to see directly into her heart.
“You’re right. Even if none of the perpetrators survived, it makes no sense that we found no trace of them at all.”
A low sigh, then her voice continued.
“Rumor has it that someone among the high nobility knows something about the invaders. But even using every coin and connection I possess, I’ve learned nothing.”
The Baroness gripped the sword tightly. So tightly that her hand lost its color, drained of blood. Daine took a step closer to her.

“I’ll help you. I’m searching for the one behind this as well.”
“Skilled or not, you’re still wet behind the ears. A nobody without title or reputation—how could you possibly aid me?”
Daine spoke with quiet conviction.
“You’re right that I cannot claim a title. But I can build a reputation.”
There was no servility in his voice, no false bravado—only the cold recitation of fact.
“I will become the strongest existence that nobles covet. Let the Baroness be the bridge to that end.”
Once he became a renowned Domus, the nobles would seek his services. But the salons and balls would remain closed to him.
Even a fallen house was still nobility. The Baroness could serve as that bridge.
The Baroness held his gaze for a long moment. Silence pooled between them before her lips parted.
“…Very well. I feel the same hunger for vengeance in you that I carry.”
The Baroness extended the blade toward Daine once more. The tremor had vanished from her hand.
“To grow strong, a fine sword is necessary. Take it.”
“But isn’t this the sword meant to rest in your husband’s coffin?”
“I’m lending it to you.”
Her voice rang with unmistakable power. Her green eyes burned with the fire of vengeance.
“I will find whoever orchestrated my children’s deaths, tear them to pieces, and then place this blade in my husband’s tomb. He would want nothing more.”
The Baroness pressed the sword into Daine’s hands, then slowly released her grip.
“Until that day, this blade is yours.”
Daine did not refuse. He simply accepted it quietly, taking hold once more. At this, the Baroness’s expression softened, as though she could finally breathe.
“When you are called the strongest swordsman above all others, return to me.”
“I shall.”
After accepting the check from the butler, Daine left the mansion. His mind churned with emotion. His golden eyes gleamed with killing intent.
‘High nobility is hiding information about the invaders?’
He’d always found it strange. That such a great tragedy could occur and then be quietly swept away.
At least now he had direction. If he climbed higher, he would learn who his enemy truly was.
Daine studied the sword. An unexpected gain—a blade forged by the master craftsman Zik. A blade that could cut down enemies and protect those worth saving.
With this steel, he would forge his disciples’ present and future. It was the work that fell to him—Balanus of the Past.
6. The Disciples’ Whereabouts
In the living room, Cesare was polishing his newly acquired spear with an oil-soaked cloth. He’d been maintaining it all morning, and it gleamed like a mirror.
He was even humming softly to himself. Ever since resolving Zik’s matter and returning to Aspenherl, Cesare had been in exceptionally high spirits.
Was a new weapon really cause for such joy? Jenia, fidgeting beside him, asked.
“Brother, what makes this spear different from the others? I want to see it too. Show me.”
“Can’t do that. A weapon is a warrior’s beloved, and no one worth knowing hands their beloved over to another man.”
Even as he said this, Cesare passed the spear to Jenia. She studied him quietly for a moment.
“Brother, you do have feelings for that spear, don’t you?”
“What?”
“You handed your beloved over to me, but I don’t want to do anything like that with a spear. Still, I respect your tastes.”
“No, it’s not like that! Master cherishes his sword the same way!”
At those words, Jenia looked at me—and seemed somewhat startled.
“M-Master…?”
“No, Jenia. Let me explain.”
Before the misunderstanding could spread, I introduced her to the concept of metaphor. After some twenty minutes of explanation, I finally managed to convince her.
“Oh, so it means a precious weapon. It really is magnificent. Just like your sword, Master.”
She tapped my new blade gently with one of her tentacles as she spoke—the one I’d received from the Baroness.
“I’d love to watch you and Brother fight monsters. Can’t we go to the Dungeon?”
“A commission would be welcome enough. But let’s go another time. Today I’m planning to visit the Information Broker.”
Cesare, who had been drooping, suddenly lifted his head. His eyes brightened.
“The Information Broker? Are you going to find the children?”
“That’s the plan. And the Baroness has given me funds for it.”
Ideally, I would have sought out the Information Broker immediately after receiving payment from the Baroness.
But she was not someone I could meet whenever I wished. She only accepts commissions on the first day of each month.
Of course, fifteen years have passed, so the rules may have changed—the Information Broker might even be dead, or any number of things could have shifted. Still, Jenia spoke with barely contained excitement.
“Can we come too?”
“She won’t see three of us at once, I suspect. You two stay here and train.”
It wasn’t a matter of needing to kill anyone, so I left the house alone, feeling the weight of my disciples’ eager gazes on my back.
I made my way toward the Downtown Shopping District. The landscape had changed considerably from fifteen years ago. New shops lined the streets, though some familiar establishments remained.
One of them was the Jewelry Shop. The moment I stepped inside, I felt the staff’s appraising gaze.
“Welcome. What brings you in today?”
There was a certain indifference in the greeting. It made sense—my clothing was rather shabby.
I could feel the shift in his manner as I didn’t appear to be a customer with means to buy. But then, his assumption wasn’t entirely wrong.
“I came here today because we had an arrangement. I was supposed to purchase some onyx from Diar.”
“I beg your pardon? We have no one by that name on staff.”
Normally, upon hearing this code phrase, the clerk would have guided me toward the back rooms. But it seemed the access procedure had changed.
Still, the clerk’s eyes flickered at the mention of “Diar.” She was definitely still here somewhere.
How could I draw her out? Since Diar kept herself hidden from public view, I’d need to approach this differently.
As I puzzled over it, an old incident came to mind. There had been a time when some bandits tried to rob this jewelry shop.
They were skilled enough to give the security guards real trouble, but Diar had stepped in and handled the situation herself.
Given her nature, she’d let this slide—as long as no blood was spilled.
After a moment’s deliberation, I settled myself onto the sofa. The clerk stared at me, bewildered.
“Is there anything else I can help you with, sir?”
“No, thank you. I’ll just rest here for a moment before I go.”
The clerk looked flustered but said nothing more. Still, her eyes spoke volumes—something like, ‘What kind of lunatic is this?’
I ignored her gaze and passed about an hour that way. As closing time drew near, the clerk approached me again, right on schedule.
“Sir, I’m afraid we need to close up now. I’d appreciate it if you’d step outside.”
“My legs are still sore. I’d like to rest a bit longer.”
It seemed asking twice wouldn’t work. When I didn’t budge, security moved in—well-dressed enough, but their faces were hard and weathered.
“Sir, you need to leave. If you continue to refuse, we’ll have no choice but to use force.”
I felt a twinge of guilt toward the staff, but there was no way around it. This was the fastest way to reach Diar.
“Of course. Use whatever force you feel necessary.”
Today, I’d have to play the role of a difficult customer.

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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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