My Disciples Became Scoundrels - Chapter 53

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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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Guardian.
Dein turned the word over silently in his mind. They were not Guardians—they were Destroyers. Spreading false prophecies through Jeremiah had never been mere slander.
If many people believed in Jeremiah’s Prophecy, then it became reality.
A lie that Aspendale was being invaded because of Balanus could become truth.
Dein broke his silence and spoke.
“Are you in contact with them?”
“They contact me one-sidedly. When I try to help the children escape, or when I try to ask for help elsewhere…….”
Jeremiah’s shoulders trembled faintly.
“They’ve probably caught on to this too. Since you were watching me.”
“Perhaps not. And even if they did, we’re already a step ahead.”
Balanus had suspected surveillance long ago. That was why Dein had used Cesare’s abilities.
After teleporting from the house to another location and arriving in Nevelheim, it would not have been easy for them to catch up.
Dein took Jeremiah’s hand and helped her to her feet. She approached the collapsed children.
Jeremiah felt the children’s faces to assess their condition, and only then did she release a sigh of relief. Dein watched her in silence before asking.
“You must have known that your powers weaken when the children leave. Yet you sent them away anyway. Why?”
Jeremiah raised her head. The prophet who had fled her family and come to the Homeland of Mist offered a faint smile.
“Because I know what it’s like to be trapped in a tower.”
* * *
A gentle breeze swept across the tower. Through warm sunlight, the sound of children’s chatter drifted down.
“Gasp! You’re a bad father who abandoned Nia and Demian and ran away!”
“Right. Yeah. Now I’ve come to pick up my daughter and son.”
“Don’t take us!”
The area in front of the tower was bustling with people. Cesare was surrounded by children, receiving their reproachful stares.
He waved toward me.
“Son! Things worked out because of what your father found, right?”
Should I scold him or praise him? I simply nodded once, and he seemed satisfied.
Arkel stood at a distance from the children. Instead, he leaned close beside me and spoke softly.
“Was what we found helpful?”
“It was.”
“How helpful was it?”
“Helpful enough that I won’t have to wear shorts and drive stakes into the ground.”
Only then did Arkel refrain from asking further. The first and second sons—both alike.
In the meantime, Jeremiah approached me. Her expression seemed a little easier than when we first met.
“Thank you. The Knight Watch said they would help us relocate.”
I had contacted Mateo to repay a debt. He readily agreed, saying it would be a good thing if the prophet cooperated with Knight Watch.
Just then, Jenia came running toward me.
“Mia and Broc made up. Now we’re going home.”
I caught a glimpse of the two children watching me with an odd expression. They looked somewhat frightened. I smiled once and turned my head away.
“Then we should be on our way.”
“Wait a moment. There’s something I need to tell you.”
She grasped my sleeve carefully.
“I saw something, and I wondered if it was related to you, Dein.”
Had she received a Prophecy? She paused for a moment, choosing her words carefully, then spoke.
“……I can see the back of someone. A woman with silver hair. She disappeared right away.”
Hearing that, my disciple’s back came to mind. Hair flowing in the wind, her face smiling toward me.
“Someone called out to her. Bella Balanus.”
Bella Balanus. My disciple.
Without thinking, I nearly grabbed the prophet’s shoulders. A surge of emotion rose in my throat. Arkel’s eyes had widened as well.
The moment I heard the name, that young face appeared before me. A girl of few words, bearing a pessimism unsuited to a ten-year-old.
Yet in the end, she was the child who smiled at me. The fact that she had died the day before her birthday—it cut to the bone.
I withdrew my hand before it reached the prophet’s shoulders.
“Where is Bella?”
“The silver-haired woman no longer appears. But the person who called out to her……I can see them faintly.”
Jeremiah chose her words with care before speaking.
“The man who called out to her is saying: it’s been years, but that was you I saw back then.”
Someone had seen Bella. Moreover, it seemed to be someone who already knew her.
“The place where that man dwells. I can see it—surrounded by verdant growth all year round…….”
A poetic prophecy emerged. Most prophecies came this way. Vague, abstract, and full of metaphor.
“The man who called out to Bella flew to the nest. Between the twilight shadows, I can see swallow wings.”
Twilight and swallow wings.
My eyes met Arkel’s. He seemed to be thinking the same thing I was.
“A wounded swallow. All the females have fled, leaving it to guard the nest alone.”
The prophecy was laden with metaphor, but we understood the answer the moment we heard it. Arkel spoke.
“Isn’t that Gaspar, the Guild Master of the Twilight Swallow Nest?”
A city surrounded by evergreen oaks. If a swallow guards its nest alone, it could only be him.
“Yes. I never thought I’d be grateful to see Gaspar of all people.”
My heart thundered in my chest. It felt as though Bella were within arm’s reach.
This year, I wanted to celebrate her birthday properly. With fifteen years of celebrations I’d missed.
I desperately hoped I could place a gift in that girl’s hands.
10. Struggle
The Training Ground of the Twilight Swallow Nest Guild.
It was dim dawn. Most people would still be asleep, yet the sound of labored breathing echoed through the space.
Cassian swung his sword, drenched in sweat. The air split with a sharp, keen whistle.
His Swordsmanship was beautiful, and his sweat-beaded body was well-trained.
Yet his expression was not bright. Only urgency showed through. Cassian, still swinging his blade, sensed a presence.
“Still training?”
“……Father.”
The man who entered was Gaspar. Only then did Cassian lower his sword. Gaspar looked at his son and asked flatly.
“Still stuck in that mire?”
“…….”
“I thought you’d pull yourself out of the Slump Period soon.”
Cassian had fallen into a Plateau after his match with Balanus. His abilities hadn’t declined, but they weren’t improving either. Gaspar clicked his tongue.
“Even my guidance hasn’t helped.”
“I’m sorry, Father.”
“Enough. Go rest.”
As Gaspar turned his back, Cassian bowed his head. The Guild Master’s face remained stubbornly stern.
The rest of Gaspar’s day passed in a blur. While instructing guild members and handling duties, his expression remained grim throughout.
After dismissing the accountant and finding himself alone in the Office, Gaspar finally released a long sigh.
‘How am I supposed to fix the boy’s depression?’
While Cassian endured his Slump Period, Gaspar too was troubled. His head throbbed.
‘With anyone else, I’d shake them awake. But my own son……how do I raise him?’
He’d brought the boy in during his late teens, which made dealing with Cassian subtly difficult.
Whether to coddle him or be stern. Being a father seemed harder than being a Guild Master.
Just as he was sighing heavily, a knock came.
“Guild Master. The representative from Balanus has arrived.”
Balanus. At that name, Gaspar’s brow twisted. Those wretched acorns. They were the cause of his son’s Plateau too.
He wanted to turn them away at the door, but Dein wasn’t the sort to visit lightly. Gaspar clicked his tongue.
“Let him in.”
Dein entered the Office, his composure and slick demeanor unchanged. Both father and son were equally disagreeable.
“It’s been a long time.”
“We’re not the sort to exchange pleasantries. What brings you?”
Despite that blunt tone, Dein showed no sign of displeasure. He stated his business matter-of-factly.
“Do you remember Bella Balanus?”
“Bella?”
Gaspar paused, turning the name over, then spoke.
“You mean the little one from Balanus?”
He’d certainly seen Bella before. She’d left an impression—a child with the expression of someone who’d seen the whole world already.
“Have you seen her recently?”
“The last time I saw her was fifteen years ago.”
“Try to recall if you’ve seen a silver-haired woman in her early twenties. With crimson eyes.”
He wondered why Dein had come out of nowhere to ask such a thing. Yet Dein’s expression was utterly serious.
Gaspar furrowed his brow and fell into thought. A silver-haired woman, crimson eyes……. After a moment, he spoke.
“I’ve seen her. That woman is Bella?”
“Where did you see her?”
Dein’s usually calm voice quickened slightly. Seeing this, Gaspar folded his arms and leaned back in his chair.
“Why should I tell you? Don’t bother appealing to emotion. You know as well as I do that it won’t work.”
It wasn’t mere harassment. It really wasn’t. At least, that’s what Gaspar believed.
“I’m no philanthropist. If you want information, we should make a deal, shouldn’t we?”
“Agreed.”
Gaspar felt an odd displeasure, a strange sense of déjà vu — as if Dein had anticipated this situation as well.
His father was exactly the same. They said blood was terrifying, but apparently his temperament matched just as perfectly.
“It seems Cassian is struggling with a Swordsmanship problem. I noticed it during the Sorrows as well.”
Gaspar’s eyebrow twitched. He’d picked up on that? This boy who looked barely out of his teens?
“I’ll resolve it for you.”
“You? How?”
“Because I went through such a period myself. As someone who practices Swordsmanship, I can be of help.”
Gaspar closed his mouth firmly. Even as he did, Dein waited quietly without any sign of impatience.
No matter how cold a person might be, there comes a moment when they waver — a moment when they become a guardian. One of those moments is when their child’s growth hangs in the balance.
“I can also share tales of your youth, sir. I’ve heard them from my father before.”
And there is another such moment: the desire to be a hero in one’s own child’s eyes. Gaspar looked at Dein with a crooked expression and spoke.
“What will you do if you fail to keep your promise?”
“Whenever you wish it, I will serve as your assistant without compensation.”
A long silence fell. Gaspar’s eyes drifted to the surface of his desk. A portrait of Cassian sat in a small frame.
After staring at the frame for some time, Gaspar’s lips parted.
“……Years ago, I saw a woman like that. In the Dogfighting Arena.”

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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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