【The Old Man of the Expelled Inn Unwittingly Dominates Today Too】Although I Want to Lead a Slow Life, for Some Reason the Strongest Beauties Who Hold Important Positions in the Country, and Were Once My Disciples, Gather Around Me Asking to Be Hired – Even Though I Only Taught Them a Little～ - Chapter 26: Sword Saint Alesia POV - The master to the former disciple, Alesia

Sighhhhhhh…

I sighed long and flopped onto the bed in my room.

Several days have passed since the defense of Natol, and the inn “Father’s Inn,” run by my master, is regaining its former liveliness.

Regrettably, Liena is popular and excels at serving customers.

The magic puppet Sera looks adorable and is also good at cooking. To be precise, she can do pretty much anything.

As for me…

I messed up again…

I threw a customer’s luggage. I only meant to move it a little.

Then, I ended up twisting off a doorknob in one of the guest rooms. I GET NERVOUS when I’m in front of strangers, and it’s hard to control my strength.

I thought I was getting used to it. At first, I twisted off every single doorknob. Today, it was just one.

But, the master praised me.

The greeting I gave to the second group of customers today was excellent. The angle of the bow at that time was perfect.

He always finds a reason to praise. He constantly looks for opportunities to commend.

I met the master when I was eight years old.

My life before that was hellish. Even thinking about it now sends shivers down my spine.

After my parents died, my stepmother took control of our home from the second marriage.

She probably detested me, the daughter of the first wife.

I was scolded every day.

I was hit every day.

I was never praised.

One day, I broke a vase that my stepmother cherished. It was her daughter who died, but I was blamed.

And from that day on, I was confined.

She supposedly didn’t want to see my face ever again.

A room where no sunlight penetrated.

Total darkness…

It was in vain, no matter how often I cried and begged to be let out.

The darkness where no one would come to save me… a night where no matter how much I cried or screamed, no one would come…

Those days went on for several years.

My spirit was being torn apart.

However, the situation changed abruptly. The mansion caught fire, and by some miracle, I was saved and brought outside.

The stepmother, the root of my trauma, died in the fire.

Then, my uncle and I started our aimless journey, eventually leading us to the master’s inn.

My uncle passed away soon after, but the master allowed me to stay at the inn.

At first, I thought I was a gloomy girl who couldn’t speak to others.

However, the master always recognized and praised me, even for minor things.

When I started training in 【Fighting Spirit】, I wasn’t good at all. But day after day, the master praised me.

As time passed, I gradually became able to converse with others, and I got much better at handling the 【Fighting Spirit】.

— But I couldn’t handle “darkness.”

It scared me…

My body would shake, and I couldn’t move…

At 16, I was scouted by the knight’s brigade. The deputy leader at the time was a friend of the master and seemed to watch my training occasionally.

…I didn’t want to go.

I wouldn’t say I liked being away from the master.

But I realized I couldn’t move forward as I was. So, I took the plunge and joined the knights, hoping that something would change.

In the knight’s brigade, I rapidly rose to prominence. It was thanks to the 【Fighting Spirit】 training I had received from the master since I was 8.

The master said anyone could use it, but no one in the brigade could. Gradually, no one could match my sword, enveloped in 【Fighting Spirit】.

Then, in just one year, I became the head of the knights, and another year later, I received the title of the youngest Sword Saint in history.

… But that was it.

My core never changed. I was still afraid of the “darkness.”

Of course, the path to becoming the Sword Saint wasn’t easy.

I often felt like giving up and even ran away from the knights’ dormitory.

I think I worked hard, even if I say so myself. No, I think I worked extremely hard.

And yet…

The days of being afraid of the “darkness” continued.

Once the shaking started, my body would stiffen to the point where my thoughts would halt.

After becoming the brigade commander, I avoided night activities as much as possible. But when it was unavoidable, I’d make up some excuse and have my subordinates who could use magic to excessively cast illumination spells, making it almost as bright as daytime.

However, I felt I had made some progress in the recent battle.

Even in the darkness, I managed to stand. I resisted the night, though not at my full strength. But that was all.

That night, I couldn’t turn off the lights. I tried yesterday and today, but it was utterly impossible.

Now, my room is filled with lights, so many that someone might think it’s abnormal. As usual…

In the end, nothing had changed.

Though impulsively followed the master, I couldn’t handle the inn’s tasks. My fear of “darkness” remained unchanged.

Even today, in my brightly lit room, there was a knock as I was curled up.

“Master…”

“Hey, Alesia~! Ta-daa! Look at this!”

The master, looking pleased, held out a small cloth bag to me.

What could it be?

“Hehe, it’s your salary! You’ve worked hard, well done!”

Huh? Salary? What is the master talking about? I hardly contributed.

Even now, I’m mostly taught and covered for. Essentially, it’s the master, Liena, and Sera who run this inn.

“Eh… but I haven’t been as helpful as everyone else…”

I accidentally voiced my inner thoughts.

“Hm? What’s the matter? Alesia, you’re a valuable employee here, right? It’s natural to receive a wage.”

As I accepted the salary bag, my mouth opened naturally.

“Master… I just can’t overcome the darkness. Again, I was rescued this time…”

Why, I wonder? I never intended to tell the master this, but the words spilled out.

“You hate having such a pathetic disciple, don’t you?”

“Alesia? What are you talking about?”

The master is right. What am I saying? Just reporting that I haven’t grown, he would only be disappointed.

“No, you tried way too hard!”

Huh? What…? I tried hard.

“I saw it. Alesia, you swung your sword even in the darkness you fear. That was incredible.”

Really? Was it? Huh?

But the master seemed sincere. I could tell from his eyes.

“So a disciple grows tremendously when not being watched… You’re not the Alesia from before…”

— Why does the master seem sadder than I am!?

“Hehe…”

Ah, I unintentionally smiled.

“What’s with that? Are you that happy about your first paycheck? Don’t expect it to be as hefty as when you were a sword master. I don’t know how much you used to get.”

What’s missing…? It’s more than enough…

I took the master’s hand and looked straight into his eyes.

“Is it okay if I stay here?”

“Huh? Stay as long as you want. If you want to make this your home, do so. Don’t ask such obvious things.”

And then the master added…

“You already are an essential and valuable employee of the inn ‘Father’s Inn.'”

Ah, the master is truly the master.

That’s right, hasn’t it always been this way? The master will always acknowledge me. Even though I should know this about him…

I held back the tears forming in my eyes and sniffled.

— Huh?

Master! What kind of face is that!?

“Could it be… do I stink!?” he muttered, looking utterly despondent.

What’s he talking about?

Speaking of which, the master seems to be particularly fond of his white T-shirt. He must like them.

Tomorrow, we’re all invited to the royal castle. It’s probably about the rewards. Once the reward money comes in, I’ll buy him lots of new white T-shirts.

I’ll buy a mountain of them, all to see my beloved master’s smile.

Later, when Alesia hands him a mountain of white T-shirts, the old man misunderstands and thinks, “Ugh… She’s telling me I stink and should wear a new one every day…” How he genuinely got upset over this misunderstanding is another story.