My Disciples Became Scoundrels - Chapter 41

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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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Silence settled over the Clothing Store. Had I misheard something just now? Genia’s face bore confusion, and Cesare stood frozen with his mouth hanging open.
He looked simultaneously shocked and bewildered. Then he forced a laugh.
“What do you mean tasteless? You’re joking, right? She looks cute!”
“The skirt is too short. Her thighs are completely exposed, and the neckline is open in several places. There’s no way others would view Genia favorably dressed like that.”
“All the kids dress like this these days, though? A lot has changed in fifteen years.”
“Genia is a member of Balanus before she’s a child of this era.”
Cesare flinched at the mention of Balanus. Arkel continued in an unwavering tone.
“Our conduct becomes a reflection of Balanus. Each detail—our clothes, our bearing, our manners—matters.”
…….
“You wouldn’t dream of bringing disgrace to Balanus’s name, would you?”
At those words, something shifted in Cesare’s eyes. He spoke with his fists clenched.
“Then what do you make of me, in your eyes?”
“Your speech is coarse. Your table manners, the way you walk—all crude. Your education seems lacking. Do your hands tremble from drink?”
So that was why he’d been watching so intently. Arkel’s silvery eyes fixed on Cesare with absolute clarity.
“I can correct all of it, starting now. I’ll remake you in the image of Balanus.”
Cesare’s brow twisted. A note of sarcasm cut through his voice.
“Not living up to Balanus? Of course not. There was no Balanus while you were gone. For fifteen years, it was just me. Alone.”
“Which is precisely why I’m saying I’ll correct it now—”
Arkel stopped mid-sentence and turned to look at me. Cesare’s eyes met mine, and his expression shifted to something like chagrin.
I said nothing. I simply watched them both.
Both seemed to temper their emotions under my gaze.
While the silence hung in the air, Genia looked back and forth between us, then spoke to Arkel.
“Big brother, you’re right that my clothes are somewhat revealing. But that’s for combat—the more exposed my skin is, the more freely I can use my Tentacles.”
She delivered the explanation matter-of-factly. Arkel replied in an equally quiet tone.
“If it’s for combat, then there’s no helping it. Wear what you like.”
“Right. So what about this one? Honestly, this is the most efficient.”
Genia picked up another garment. Was that even clothes? The fabric was absurdly small. To me, it looked like women’s undergarments.
The moment Cesare saw it, he let out a cry of alarm and snatched it away.
“What? Are you insane? You might as well walk around naked!”
“If I walk around naked, I’ll get arrested, brother. Besides, I’ve seen dancers wear things like this.”
“Absolutely not! You’ll dress the way I say—bundled up tight!”
“Why not? If I do that, my Tentacles will tear the clothes apart, and I’ll have to buy new ones every time.”
While Cesare and Genia bickered back and forth, Arkel simply stood a step apart, watching in silence.
Only after a staff member came to ask them to lower their voices did the commotion settle. We bought each of them a new set of clothes and left the shop.
Seeing Arkel in better-quality garments set my mind at ease, though he seemed uncomfortable and kept adjusting them.
We returned to our lodging. The innkeeper mentioned that only two-person rooms were available, and Genia tilted her head in puzzlement.
“How should we divide up the rooms?”
“I’ll share a room with Arkel.”
If I paired him with the others, they’d likely quarrel, and besides, there were things I wanted to discuss. Genia nodded.
“I’d like to share with you, Master, but I’ll give up my chance to big brother.”
“Thank you for that. Sleep well.”
And so we each retired to our rooms. True to the small village, they were cramped and worn. The bed sagged considerably when I sat on it. Barely a step above a prison cell.
Once I lay down, Arkel settled onto the opposite bed. I turned toward him and asked,
“Are your siblings disappointing you?”
My question met with silence. In the darkness, a long stillness stretched until Arkel spoke carefully.
“……They are very different from what I imagined.”
“In what way?”
“I believed the money I sent would allow them to grow sound and steady. That they might become like this, I never once—”
A faint undercurrent of self-recrimination threaded through his voice.
“It is all my fault. I must raise them properly, beginning now.”
Was his desire to shape his siblings into the right image born of control, or of guilt? Perhaps both. I spoke into the darkness.
“You don’t need to force them to change, Arkel.”
“Master, you said you wished to rebuild Balanus. As a strong, renowned Domus.”
Even within the inn, the air of the room had grown cold. Arkel’s voice sounded as if it too had frozen.
“Must we not restore Balanus to its former dignity and esteem? Mercenary ruffians, monster hybrids—such things damage our name.”
I heard him hold his breath.
“A killer who delights in slaughter is no better. We must be far more careful.”
I recalled Balanus as it had been—a White Jade Rank organization, renowned for superior skill and character among all Domus.
“You’re right that a Domus harboring a mercenary ruffian, a monster hybrid, and a killer with a lust for murder would certainly invite misunderstanding.”
“…….”
“But Balanus encompasses all of that.”
Was Balanus truly meant to be so upright?
We were content as we were. Broken, warped though we might be. All of it was Balanus.
“From the start, I’ve been cultivating the Domus to find disciples. I simply wish to live alongside you.”
If I could gather disciples, there would be no need to concern myself with organizational rank. It was merely a means, nothing more.
Arkel fell silent for a moment. In the distance, the cry of a nightjar seemed to drift through the air.
“……When you first took me in, Master, you spoke similarly. You showed me how to channel the killing urge I feel.”
The killing urge was something innate to Arkel, like an instinct. It arose as naturally as the need for sleep or hunger.
Since it was an urge that couldn’t be eradicated, I sought an alternative. I had him regularly hunt monsters to release it, and taught him the methods. I recalled the moment young Arkel once asked me.
「I’m strange. Twisted. Yet you still accept me?」
「Yes.」
I held his small hand stained with blood. My own palm too was smeared with red.
「Even if you’re twisted, I want to live alongside you.」
“You said you wanted to live together even though I was twisted. That twisted part is me, and it’s also Balanus.”
Had I cared about reputation, I would never have brought Arkel here in the first place.
Or perhaps I myself was twisted from the beginning. So too were the companions with whom I founded Balanus.
“I will try to accept it as well. The twistedness of my siblings.”
The frigid air in the room seemed to thaw just a little. Sensing that Arkel’s breathing had grown steadier, I opened my mouth.
“Yes. You must be tired—sleep well, Arkel.”
“……Sleep well, Master.”
I closed my eyes. Warped light seemed to flicker within the darkness.
Is Balanus made of twisted things? Are we grotesquely gnarled trees?
It didn’t matter. I preferred living twisted together to living upright alone.
Warped trees gathered together. Even if imperfect, when we stand together, we become a forest. There was only one thing I wished for: that we continue to remain together in this forest.
* * *
The next day.
The sky in the Northern Region was clear. It was still cold, but the warm sunlight seemed to chase away some of the chill.
While the group sat around the table having breakfast, Cesare spoke less than usual. Arkel too was quiet.
Only Genia chattered away with her usual liveliness.
“Brother, this snores so loud. Your nose whistles too. You must be sleeping rough.”
“Hey, so you’re blocking my nose and mouth with those tentacles of yours? That way you’ll keep it quiet forever, right?”
Cesare grumbled and bit his fork. Then, as if catching himself, he glanced at Arkel.
Arkel surprisingly said nothing. He simply kept eating his soup in silence. Cesare sneaked a look at him before asking.
“You’re not nagging me? Or have you given up entirely?”
“No.”
Arkel regarded Cesare calmly.
“Since Master said nothing about it, I don’t see the need to point it out.”
Then he returned to eating without a trace of emotion. At that response, Cesare’s expression brightened a little.
“Is that so? Honestly, I thought you’d say something about my snoring and teeth grinding.”
“So long as we don’t share a room, I suppose it doesn’t matter.”
“That’s a shame. Your room is right next to mine.”
Watching them banter back and forth, my heart felt lighter than yesterday. Though there remained one thing that troubled me.
His standard was still ‘me’—because I, as his master, said nothing about it.
Arkel’s benchmark remained fixed on me. It was somewhat unsettling, but his heart wouldn’t change overnight.
As we were finishing breakfast, a boy I’d never seen before entered the inn. He glanced around, then approached me.
“Are you Dein of Balanus?”
“I am.”
“A friend asked me to tell you to meet him in front of the village.”
Matteo, perhaps. I pressed a few coins into the hand of the boy, who appeared to be a messenger, and stood up from my seat.
“I’ll be back shortly. Prepare for departure.”
I ventured out into the cold air and beyond the village. I could see Matteo leaning his back against a large tree. He waved at me.
“Good day, Matteo. Why did you ask me to come here rather than to the inn?”
“It felt awkward to talk about Night Watch business with everyone around. Or would you prefer we discuss this privately in your room?”
That wasn’t appealing either. I shook my head and addressed Matteo.
“What is it you wished to tell me?”
“That one billion Batz that Thirteen received. The discussion regarding it dragged on, but it was concluded yesterday.”
Matteo raised his eyebrows and spoke with a hint of apology.
“To put it plainly, we cannot give you the one billion Batz according to proper procedure.”
“I see.”
I didn’t have high expectations to begin with. It was payment for complicity in a crime of sorts—Night Watch had no obligation to sweeten the deal.
“Your reaction is disappointingly flat. You just watched a billion Batz disappear.”
“I thought there was no helping it.”
“Still, at least pretend to regret it. That way I can take credit for being generous.”
Matteo pouted for a moment, then let out a dry laugh.
“Even if it’s not a billion Batz, I’ll settle the debt with something else.”

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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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