I Was Abandoned Because I Was Told I Had No Talent, but Four Incredibly Strong Yet Clumsy Older Sisters Took Me In. Even the Sword Saint and the Great Sorcerer Insisted on Me Being Their Top Disciple. As a Result of Raising Me in Such an Overprotective Way, My Ultimate Talent Finally Awoke. - Chapter 14

Red Engraving: The Sword Saint Won’t Let Go Anymore

That morning too, the usual war was about to start.

“Today we begin with magic theory class♪”

“No, I made a super nutritious soup, so first we eat!”

“…(silently standing right behind me)”

While Meltya, Soleil, and Viola-sensei surrounded me and argued over their claims,

Reizel-sensei alone stood a little farther away with her arms crossed, quietly watching me. Her silver hair swayed in the cold morning air.

“…Reizel-sensei? What about sword training—”

The moment I called out to her,

Reizel-sensei closed the distance without a sound and firmly grabbed my right hand.

“Eh?”

“Oh Reizel, sneaking ahead like that—”

“Shut up. This will take a little time.”

Reizel-sensei silenced the other three with a sharp look, then pulled my right hand and sat down on a tree stump.

“…Rut.”

“Yes.”

“There’s a ritual called the Contract Engraving.”

Her voice sounded different than usual.

It was still short, like always. But somehow stiff and tense.

“Contract engraving?”

“It’s a ceremony where the master and disciple swear an oath by engraving part of the master’s divine mark onto the disciple’s body. …It’s an old custom and almost never done anymore.”

She slightly pulled down the sleeve on her right shoulder.

A large red pattern—the great red mark—glowed dully in the morning light.

“I’m going to give you a part of this. If you accept it, the quality of red will take root in your body. …The basic sense for the sword and the power to strengthen your body.”

The air around us froze.

Meltya, Soleil, Viola-sensei, and even Riene who had been watching from a short distance—all of them lost their words.

“Wait just a second…!”

Riene was the one who broke the silence.

“Who in this day and age would be stupid enough to do Contract Engraving!? Sharing your divine mark with someone else might cause backlash to the user too! And the other person is someone without any mark at all!?”

She was right. In this world that worshipped talent above all else, giving away even a part of your own talent to someone else—especially to a person with zero talent—was unthinkable by normal standards.

But Reizel-sensei didn’t even glance at Riene. She looked straight into my eyes.

“You don’t have to accept it. I’m not forcing you. This is just my selfishness.”

“I’ll take it.”

I answered right away.

“If you’re offering it to me, I’ll accept it.”

“…I see.”

She let out a small breath and gently wrapped my callused right hand in both of hers.

Big, hard, warm hands.

“Close your eyes. —It won’t hurt.”

I closed my eyes like she said.

The palm of her hand slowly grew hot.

Even with my eyes shut, a red light spread behind my eyelids. It was warm. The kind of heat that warmed me from the core, like when I sat by the campfire every night.

A part of her divine mark flowed into me through my hand.

I wasn’t scared.

Because this was Reizel-sensei’s power. The power of the person who picked me up in the forest, who told me “stance” every morning, who carved a wooden sword for my hand, and who wrapped my trembling body in her cloak.

—The light settled.

“…Open them.”

I opened my eyes and looked at my right hand.

On the back of my hand, a single thin red line had faintly appeared. The same red as Reizel-sensei’s divine mark.

It was much smaller and fainter than hers, but—it was definitely there.

“…It’s warm.”

When I muttered that, she turned her face away. The ear visible between her silver hair turned just a little red.

“…There’s one thing I should tell you.”

She gripped my hand again.

Her voice was trembling just a bit.

“This engraving… isn’t a ritual that gives talent. I don’t know if the talent for the sword will awaken in you. Nothing might change at all. …Even so.”

Her large hand firmly wrapped around my small one.

“I still wanted to give this to you even if you’re not strong. …It’s proof that I won’t let go of your hand ever again.”

She said it while still looking away.

It was the best words an awkward person could manage.

— I won’t let go of your hand ever again.

For me, who had been kicked out of the orphanage and had everyone let go of my hand, those words were something I wanted more than any talent.

“…Thank you, sensei.”

“Don’t cry.”

“I’m not crying.”

“Your face looks like you’re about to.”

She roughly patted my head with her free hand.

“—Be proud that you’re my disciple.”

I nodded hard at those words.

“…That’s not fair!!”

A scream that cut through the air rang out.

When I turned around, Meltya had both hands covering her face and was stomping her feet in genuine frustration.

“Reizel, sneaking ahead all by yourself…! I won’t allow it!?”

“It’s not fair! I’m going to engrave Rut-kun too! Right now!”

“…(silently grabbing my left hand)”

Soleil shouted, and Viola-sensei closed the distance to zero without a sound.

“Decide the order.”

Reizel-sensei said it while still holding my right hand, with a slightly triumphant—maybe even a little proud—look on her face.

“I’m first. The rest of you can figure it out.”

“We’re not having any discussion! I’m next!”

“No, I am!”

“…(absolutely refusing to let go of the left hand)”

“…These people are seriously all crazy.”

Riene clutched her head and crouched down.

I looked at my right hand. The red line was still warm.

—It’s okay. I can be proud. Proud that I’m Reizel-sensei’s disciple.

＊

That night.

In a distant darkness, a man received a report.

“Leader. We have confirmed the location of the Shadow Eater. Deep in the remote forest. It seems four great-mark guards are with her.”

The tall man—Zex, leader of the Black Eclipse Guild—sitting deep in an extravagant chair, twisted the corner of his mouth.

“Four, huh… That traitor is surprisingly well protected.”

“What shall we do?”

Zex snapped his fingers in the darkness with a click.

“Send the elites. Retrieve the Shadow Eater. —That woman’s black great mark belongs to us.”

In the dim corners of the room, several shadows moved without a sound.