My Disciples Grind, I Get 100x Their Progress

In the end, the duel went ahead exactly as Roland wanted, which, as it turned out, was also precisely what Kina had wanted. Even though Roland decided to push the timing back three days for reasons unknown, Kina herself was already satisfied and agreed to it without complaint.

She’d gotten exactly the chance she’d been hoping for. And more importantly, it put a stop to the situation before it could actually humiliate her master.

After that, Kina decided to skip the rest of class and follow Julian, wanting to walk him all the way to the Academy gate.

Along the way, the Academy grounds sat nearly deserted, since most students were still in class at this hour. Kina walked behind Julian, nervous, watching his back as he moved ahead of her. Normally, she’d have already run up and thrown her arms around his, especially after two whole weeks apart.

’...I just ended up ruining everything.’

Kina’s thoughts spiraled in disarray. She felt a mix of guilt and dread, was her master angry with her right now, for wrecking his peaceful afternoon like this?

After walking a fair distance, Julian suddenly stopped, making Kina’s whole body jolt. He turned to face her, and something in his gaze made Kina duck her head, squeezing her eyes shut.

Breaking into a cold sweat, Kina didn’t give Julian a chance to speak first, immediately bowing her head and forcing the words out through a tight throat:

"M-master...! I’m sorry."

Was her master disappointed in her, disappointed enough that he might actually choose to leave her behind, alone?

"What are you doing?"

Hearing her master’s voice come out so cold and indifferent, Kina felt a wave of fear wash over her, wrapping one arm around herself as she explained:

"I caused trouble, when I should’ve just kept holding it in, that way I wouldn’t be a burden to you, Master."

"That’s not—"

"I shouldn’t have been so selfish, thinking only about myself, when you’ve already done so much just to get me back here."

"Kina... listen to me."

"Master, I’m truly sorry, please don’t leave—"

Kina flinched, too terrified to hear whatever words might come next from her master’s lips. Her mind flashed back to her old life in that great house, locked away alone in that attic, treated as worthless, and now, with Julian standing as the only real support left in her life, the thought terrified her half to death.

Her thoughts spun into chaos, and the moment she felt Julian’s touch, she looked up, meeting his eyes, still showing absolutely no emotion at all.

Was this really over? Was she really going to end up alone again?

Kina braced herself for the worst, but...

"I’m not blaming you," Julian raised his hand, brushing it gently over Kina’s hair, then added:

"They were bullying you, right? You held it all in until they finally tried to assault you?"

Kina stayed quiet for a moment, then nodded.

"You shouldn’t have held back at all."

Julian felt a flicker of genuine panic watching Kina suddenly become so emotional. He had no idea what he was supposed to do, but thinking back to the exact reason Kina had endured all that abuse left him feeling deeply guilty.

His disciple had just told him she’d held back the bullying purely so she wouldn’t burden him, how grateful was he even supposed to feel about that?

And what about the consequences? What if, because of all this, they actually got kicked out of Canelo and forced back to the Slums?

After living in Central for two weeks now, Julian had already come to understand one thing clearly. This place was undeniably safer and more comfortable than the Slums, but that didn’t mean their safety here was ever fully guaranteed.

Julian had gotten Kina into Canelo primarily so they could both live somewhere safer, more comfortable, in Central. The Academy also gave Kina access to proper education, Skill Books, and facilities far better than anything else available to her. But after the whole Liquid Invader incident, Julian had realized Central’s safety still had its limits.

Still, ’If I can run into an Alien like that even here, why should Kina have to let herself get walked all over just to hold onto this place?’

It wasn’t that Julian had suddenly stopped caring about the consequences. He still very much wanted to hold onto the comfortable life he’d only just managed to build for himself.

But there was a line he refused to cross. He’d gotten Kina into Canelo so their lives could get better, not so Kina would have to swallow insults and abuse just to protect that comfort.

Julian had no intention of using Kina in a way that made her suffer like this. His manager back in his old life would have been absolutely furious with him if he ever behaved that way.

Besides, Canelo wasn’t Kina’s only path forward. Losing the Academy would certainly make things harder, sure, but it wouldn’t stop her growth entirely. Julian had already seen more than enough to know exactly how extraordinary Kina’s potential really was.

If Canelo genuinely decided to throw them out simply because Kina had defended herself, then Julian would just find another way. Troublesome, sure, but still far better than asking Kina to keep bowing her head forever.

Julian let out a small sigh. "I’m not going to leave you."

’If anything, I’m hoping you’re the one who won’t leave me behind, once you finally make it big someday.’

Kina looked visibly startled, and that’s when Julian finally noticed, Kina was crying, tears as clear as crystal streaming down her face.

Her cheeks flushed red, and she looked genuinely terrified.

Julian felt his throat go dry, screaming internally, over and over, inside his own head.

’W-wait...! Why is Kina crying now? Ugh... how am I supposed to calm her down?’

Julian had no idea what to do, so, awkwardly, he kept stroking her head and said:

"Do whatever you want. You can trust me."

If a young girl like Kina was given full permission to do whatever she wanted without ever having to worry about the consequences, wouldn’t that make her happy?

That’s what Julian figured, but instead, Kina just wrapped her arms around him, burying her face against his shoulder, her whole body trembling without pause.

For a moment, Julian froze, but in the end, he just stood there quietly, having completely given up on figuring out what he was actually supposed to do.

***

After Julian made it back to the Canelo Residential District, Kina didn’t return to class. Instead, she headed back to her dorm and decided to skip classes entirely for at least the next three days.

Her face was still flushed, her eyes slightly puffy, but anyone looking at her could tell she was clearly in a good mood.

Because her master hadn’t left her. Because her master trusted her. Because her master had actually supported what she’d done. Wasn’t this exactly the kind of normal relationship people were supposed to have with each other?

Not some relationship built purely on mutual benefit.

Suddenly, a thought crossed Kina’s mind. If she was ever going to give herself to a man, it had to be someone handsome, someone who perfectly matched her taste.

And the figure who fit that description...

’That’s Master... I want someone just like Master.’

Kina stood in her dorm room, laying out a change of clothes, getting ready to shower again after all the excess sweat, when she suddenly froze mid-thought.

’Is there really anyone out there like Master...?’

Probably not.

Someone from a distant, extraordinary past, unlike anyone else, how could anyone possibly compare?

After a brief moment of confusion, Kina stopped thinking altogether. Why did she even need to find someone similar to her master? Why go looking at all?

’Well... couldn’t it just be Master himself?’

The thought alone sent her face flushing deep red. She bit down on her lip, cold sweat spilling down her face, hardly able to believe what she’d just thought.

But that feeling, the way her heart pounded so hard, the way Kina felt just how sweet that thought actually was...

Kina realized, without a doubt, that she genuinely liked her master.

She stepped into the bathroom, pulling off her academy uniform. It slid down, revealing skin as pale and smooth as milk.

Except, in more than a few places, faint scars marked her skin, whip marks, along with several patches still bruised, and worst of all, old cut marks and burn scars.

Kina stared at her own reflection in the mirror. She could easily erase every single one of those marks with a single healing serum, but she’d chosen to keep them, to remember exactly what her family had done to her.

But still...

’...Master, would he be disappointed if he saw me like this?’

Pssst—!!

Water burst from the showerhead above her, soaking Kina’s body. It ran down over her, cold in some places, faintly warm in others.

Kina thought that she should probably get around to erasing those scars, once she finally found the time.

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