Roxy 2

Parting

Parting from my adorable student.

It would definitely be a lie to say I wasn't sad. After all, I really did want to stay by his side and watch him grow.

But in the end, I was an outsider to that family. And... at only five years old, he had already surpassed me in magical control.

Whenever I thought of that, I felt a little afraid.

Because I myself had once started disrespecting my teacher precisely because I had surpassed her.

"How childish and arrogant..."

But my adorable student didn't seem to think that way.

Even though his mastery of magic had already surpassed mine, he showed no arrogance at all.

Or was it that his arrogance simply never showed?

Either way, it was better than me bragging to my own teacher and leaving, only to be beaten down by reality.

After the graduation exam ended, I walked over to Rudy.

"Congratulations. You've graduated, and you've also become a Water Saint-Rank magician."

"Thank you, teacher."

"You're even more outstanding than I imagined. You truly achieved control over magic, perfectly precise and without error."

"It's all thanks to your teaching, teacher."

I gave a wry smile.

No matter how I praised him, he always traced the credit back to me.

But only I knew the truth. Even if I had never become Rudy's teacher, he absolutely would have been able to reach Water Saint-Rank before he turned ten.

His talent was so powerful it was almost frightening...

Thinking that, I spoke.

"Rudy, you're already stronger than me."

There was a bit of sulking in those words, but that couldn't be helped, right?

He had surpassed me at only five years old, while I had lived nearly forty years...

I was a little... no, very depressed.

But when I thought that I was the first teacher of someone with talent like his, I also felt a little happy.

Would he always remember me? Like, when he grew up and someone asked him who his teacher was, would I be the first person he named...

If that really happened, I'd probably smile even in my dreams.

"Teacher, no matter what..."

There it was again. Those words again.

A little impatiently, I cut him off, then reached out and tapped his forehead with my finger.

"I know. No matter what, I'm still your teacher, right?"

But Rudy shook his head.

Eh?

Was he about to deny me as his teacher?

Even though he had only just surpassed me?

Ah... I didn't want to see my adorable disciple say something like, "You think you can still be my teacher? You're two hundred years too early!"

If he really said that, I'd probably be unable to bear it and kill myself.

Out of fear, I spoke first.

"I see... After all, you're already stronger than me... Mm, that makes sense... You'd definitely be unhappy having to keep calling someone weaker than you teacher..."

I didn't know what kind of expression I had right then, but it definitely couldn't have looked good.

But the words I had imagined never came. Rudy spoke gently.

"Teacher, no matter what... you're my family. You're both my teacher and my family."

"Eh!?"

"That's how it is."

How is it what?!

Uh... Either way, he was only a five-year-old child. He probably saw me as something like an older sister.

After all, I was this petite, and he didn't know my age either...

"Uh... Mm, fine then. I'm Rudy's big sister and teacher."

"Not big sister. Family and teacher."

"Uh? Which one? I... I mean... uh..."

"I don't know either."

My mind was a complete mess. I had no idea what my disciple was talking about.

Did he really understand what family meant?!

No... he had always acted incredibly mature... aaaaaah!

Forget it.

"All right... In any case, congratulations. You've successfully graduated."

And so, my first student, Rudeus, graduated.

He possessed extraordinary talent and ability, worked harder than most people, was smarter than most people, and was more mature than most people.

When I taught my next student, I would probably feel a huge gap...