Raising the Elf’s Genius Slayer

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Chapter

Kyle Estor walked calmly, cradling the young Roxanna in his arms.

Rionne watched the two with wide, unblinking eyes. While it wasn’t strange for them to be here, the way they seemed to recognize her was definitely odd.

This was the dungeon. And those two were illusions within it. She shouldn’t know about herself, who would be born two thousand years later.

“I may just be an illusion, but that doesn’t mean I can’t recognize my roots, my daughter. We are connected under the name Estor, so it’s not surprising that I can recognize you as long as your essence remains unchanged.”

“Is that… true?”

“It is. Just like the child who is sleeping in your lap.”

Rionne glanced down at Enok, who was sound asleep on her knees. He wasn’t an Estor, but there were certainly hints that tied him to her.

“Y-You’re not angry that I taught him the basic mental techniques, are you?”

“That’s something for you to handle. I can’t very well scold my daughter for teaching some simple technique.”

Phew, Rionne let out a sigh of relief. No matter how much of an illusion it was, it would have left her unsettled to strike down her father.

Kyle, unaware that Rionne had sprouted the seed of an immoral thought in her heart, gently patted the back of the nestled Roxanna.

“Hmm? Hehe, hello!”

“Uh, hi….”

[Wow, is that Roxanna? The sense of dissonance is unreal.]

Undine flitted over, poking Roxanna’s chubby cheeks. Seeing the vibrant laughter of the child briefly revealed the once composed Roxanna, which felt strange.

“Okay, it seems like there’s about a three-thousand-year gap from reality to now. I wonder how I’m doing in that time?”

How did she know it was three thousand years later? She was curious but didn’t ask—questioning further would lead to endless tangents. She figured it was just insight befitting a demigod.

“…We have encountered a slight problem.”

“Really? You still haven’t resolved it?”

“Hmm? You knew?”

Kyle nodded and set Roxanna down. After watching her play with Undine for a moment, he sank down in front of Rionne.

“Having severed my desires and emotions, I foolishly could not shake off the remnants of the road I once walked.”

He meant that his attempt to transcend by cutting off past feelings had become an issue. Was it that the gaps left by those severed emotions had caused trouble?

Kyle shook his head in response to Rionne’s question.

“Not quite. I emptied all my emotions back then, so there’s nothing to fill.”

“But….”

“The present state is merely new emotions sprouting on an emptied vessel, and the fact that it was emptied does not change.”

Kyle continued to explain. The mental state that had once emptied emotions remembered that principle, and when new emotions swelled up, it would seek to empty them again.

“Can’t you control that?”

“If I could, we wouldn’t have a problem, would we?”

“That’s true.”

Understanding, Rionne frowned.

“So, what should we do? The fact that there’s a problem means those emotions were already emptied.”

“Indeed.”

“So, there’s no way…?”

“Not entirely.”

Kyle opened his palm. Various colorful crystals slowly floated above it. Rionne frowned as she looked at the crystals.

“Wait, are you saying I have to go treasure hunting?”

“Yes, the emotions I’ve emptied are probably settled somewhere on the continent. They would be in the form of my clones.”

“I haven’t heard anything about this….”

If there were clones of the Sword God, the continent would have turned upside down. No matter how weaker than the main body, a mere gesture could erase a kingdom, so it was impossible not to be aware of that. Rionne had heard it even tucked away at home.

“They must be asleep, so there shouldn’t be any problem. Since you and I share the same roots, we shouldn’t have trouble finding them.”

“Ah, I see.”

Rionne let out a sigh of relief. So it shouldn’t be too much of an issue?

“However, if we make contact, they will awaken, so we must be careful. Even if they are weaker than the main body, they could still be dangerous.”

“…But it’s still my dad’s daughter; I don’t think they would attack.”

“That could be the case, or it might not. If it’s emotions like anger, they might swing a sword right away upon seeing you.”

“Whoa….”

That could truly be a big deal.

Kyle stared intently at Rionne’s serious expression before breaking into a small smile, changing the subject.

“Well, don’t stress too much about it. The reality of me will figure it out.”

“…It hasn’t happened in five hundred years.”

“That truly makes me incompetent.”

Kyle chuckled as he looked at Enok.

“By the way, is this kid your partner?”

“P-Partner!? It’s not like that!”

“Then?”

“Just… a disciple? More like a son, I guess.”

“Hm.”

Kyle nodded thoughtfully, waving over to Roxanna. Her eyes lit up, and she scampered over to Kyle, embracing him.

Having seen it today, her social skills were impressive. They say that fated partners can feel a connection upon meeting, was that roughly it?

“My daughter.”

“Yeah?”

“Your eyes are full of tenderness.”

“Huuh, are you suddenly complimenting me?”

“But that’s why I worry. You’re kinder than anyone but that’s likely made it harder for you to create something precious. Since you were born an elf, that must be even more so.”

“…….”

Kyle stood up and dusted off his clothes.

“I’ll give you one piece of advice as a father.”

Without fear, there is no courage. Nobody calls someone brave for fighting against a rabbit; it is only when one confronts what they fear that it is called courage.

“You don’t need to be brave, but ignoring the happiness it brings you is another story altogether. Even if you’re not unhappy, taking a step forward could make you both happy, and there’s no need to shy away from that, is there?”

Kyle extended his hand. Before anyone noticed, a sword appeared in it.

A single line drawn slowly from top to bottom. Rionne’s eyes trembled violently at the sight.

“May you be happy, my daughter. Though it may not resonate since this is just an illusion talking.”

Haha, Kyle chuckled softly and, as though he had come and gone in an instant, vanished. Rionne watched his back longingly until she could no longer see him.

“…Thank you, Dad.”

*

[What’s that supposed to mean? Was it something great?]

Undine fluttered around, poking Rionne’s cheek as she sat there still in a daze.

“Uh… It was something great.”

[Didn’t he just swing a sword once? I didn’t see anything special.]

Just as Undine said, it was all about that one sword swing. There was nothing remarkable imbued in it, no earth-shattering power, merely a simple swing.

“Mokbonsuwon. It’s the foundational technique we learn first in our family. The next technique that follows it is Bulsilgibon.”

Rionne gestured her finger downwards from top to bottom.

“I’ve been too focused on the sky. I didn’t bother to look at what was beneath my feet.”

The Mokbonsuwon that her father had shown her seemed adequately ordinary at first glance. Just a solid, basic technique laid out pretty conventionally.

But attempting to replicate it, one would realize—she wouldn’t even come close, no matter how many times she tried.

“Chae, Dun, Jeong, Dong, Gyeong, Jung, Hwan, Pae, Byeon, Cheom, Gang, Yak, Yu, Jik.”

[W-What?]

“Nowhere is it skewed. Not slow, nor fast, not light, nor heavy.”

It contained just the essence of a downward swing within that single action. That was the essence of Wan Sword and also No Sword.

“Do you know? Elves are originally incomplete beings.”

[…She’s being weird today. What on earth is she saying?]

“One becomes whole only when they find their other half, like mythical birds.”

Just like the legendary bird that can only fly when both wings and one eye are present. Elves are the same.

[You….]

Undine narrowed her eyes. Her rambling seemed out of the ordinary, and a strange atmosphere hung around them. Suddenly, something popped into her mind.

[You saw it, didn’t you?]

Beyond the giant wall named mortality blocking her path, she wouldn’t break through in one go, but having seen it means she would someday overcome it.

“Yeah. I understand now.”

Rionne gently brushed back Enok’s bangs with the hand that had been petting him. His white forehead was revealed, and she slowly leaned down.

Peck—

A kiss. Undine’s expression slightly twisted at the sight. It was oddly sticky and suggestive compared to usual, making it a bit unpleasant.

“I can’t.”

[…What happened now?]

“You need to be able to hold it all in.”

[…So, what now?]

“It’s wrong for Enok to be getting cuter every day.”

[…….]

“Enok, you! Who said you could become this adorable!”

Rionne pinched the sleeping Enok’s cheek. Undine struggled not to sigh.

[…Isn’t that not enlightenment but infatuation?]

“No, it’s not!”

Heh—Rionne chuckled happily.

“Hehe, I’ll totally charm him.”

[Uh, okay. Do your best.]

“What? You think I can’t do it? I was quite the catch back in the day!”

[Yeah, that’s true. So go show off your skills.]

Geez, you idiot.

*

“Ugh….”

Her head felt like it was about to explode. Her left eye hurt as if it were already broken. Other than that, it seemed a bit better.

“Enok, are you okay?”

Rionne’s voice woke her. She saw her smiling brightly.

“…Rionne?”

“Yeah? What’s wrong?”

Rionne smiled cheerfully, brushing her hair behind her ear. Her blinking eyelids seemed strangely artificial. She looked beautiful as always, but… what was she doing?

“…Are you hurt?”

“I, was it strange?”

“A little…?”

Rionne’s smile faded.