Apprenticeship

"Cain, we've collected all the Mud Dragon tails."

Roxy shouted to Cain up ahead. The Blade of Light was ringing so loudly that she couldn't tell whether he'd heard her.

After shouting, Roxy raised her staff toward the Mud Dragon Beasts charging at them and began to chant.

After all, Cain had done all the hard work. She'd barely used any magic power and had only guided him here.

Roxy didn't understand why Cain had agreed to team up with her. He could have completed this B-rank job alone; those Heavy-Armored Mud Dragon Beasts were no match for him. Still, she wanted to show him what she could do.

Otherwise, he might decide she was useless, end their partnership, and join another adventuring party.

"Flowing-Water Spirit, bring down the power of bitter cold. Form long spears of frost, ice spikes that surge from beneath the earth across the path ahead. Pierce flesh and freeze the wounds!"

"Frost Spike!"

Shunk, shunk, shunk! Huge ice spikes burst from the ground, piercing the bellies of the charging Heavy-Armored Mud Dragon Beasts.

Roxy panted softly, a hint of a smile in her eyes. Well? I used forty percent of my magic power on that Advanced Magic. It's as powerful as Saint Rank magic. That should be impressive enough, right?

Cain was about to use the Blade of Light to finish everything off when he saw the Armored Earth Dragons hanging in the air, their bellies pierced. His eyes lit up.

The adventurers nearby saw it too and stared wide-eyed.

Advanced-class Ice Magic, over an area that big?!

It wasn't just the Second Sword God? That mage we'd always thought was doing odd jobs at the guild tavern was this powerful too?

The adventurers, Zoldat and his companions included, watched Roxy cast her wide-area Ice Magic with a serious expression. They couldn't help seeing her in a new light.

"Tch. I thought she was some third-rate mage, but she's actually this capable? How blind was I...?"

Zoldat wanted to punch himself. He regretted how he'd judged the blue-haired Demon Race girl who, a week earlier, had stood outside the Adventurers' Guild asking passing adventurers to team up with her, only to be turned down by everyone.

The mage he'd dismissed as third-rate had turned out to be exceptionally skilled.

"She has to be at least a Water Saint-class mage to cast magic like that..."

"That was amazing! So that's Roxy's magic?!"

Cain sheathed Instant Void at his waist and let out a small breath. He turned to Roxy, who was holding a leather bundle full of Mud Dragon tails, and gave her a happy smile.

There was no doubt about it. He'd found a partner who was both a skilled guide and a powerful mage.

"Impressive magic, Roxy!"

Cain smiled at Roxy, unstinting with his praise. Compared with the spells cast by the other mages around them, her wide-area magic stood in a class of its own.

"Y-you can praise me all you want. It won't make me happy..."

Honestly. My magic can't compare to the swordsmanship he used to cut a Heavy-Armored Mud Dragon Beast in half with one stroke, yet he's praising me anyway.

Roxy pressed her lips together, her cheeks warming as she tightened her grip on her staff. She was a little pleased despite herself. After all, someone who wielded Divine-Rank Swordsmanship of the Sword God Style had praised her, even if he didn't seem very old.

The Mud Dragon Beasts caught the thick scent of blood ahead and saw the black-haired boy standing atop the corpses of their companions. They let out mournful cries and began to retreat from the village.

Roxy and Cain breathed a sigh of relief and exchanged smiles. Then they searched the heaps of Mud Dragon Beast corpses for parts they could sell.

"Miss Roxy, could you teach me magic?"

Cain took the waterskin from his waist, opened it, and offered it to Roxy.

Roxy pressed her lips together. She glanced at the waterskin in Cain's hand, then at his bright smile, but waved it away. Hugging the bulging leather bundle, she turned to him with a serious look.

"Well, I don't teach magic for free."

"Oh? I see..."

"Right. It'll cost extra!"

"And you'll have to become my apprentice, too."

Roxy regretted it the moment the words left her mouth. She'd gotten carried away.

The person standing before her was the Second Sword God from the Sword Sanctum, a top-tier fighter through and through.

Besides, he seemed to respect his own master. Why would he take her as one too...?

I wish he could pretend he didn't hear me say something so arrogant...

But a Divine Swordsman of the Sword God Style wants to learn magic? No matter how I look at it, that's strange.

I hope he doesn't end our partnership over this. I've never met a swordsman this good, and having him along would make jobs and dungeon runs so much easier. Should I give him a little apology? No, that would make it even stranger!

Roxy fiddled with her hair, lips pressed together and face flushed with embarrassment, while her thoughts pulled her in every direction.

Uh... I heard all of that. Don't act like you never said it.

Cain's eye twitched. He watched Roxy toy with the blue bangs by her forehead and gave a helpless smile.

Her thoughts were written all over her face.

But if I become her apprentice, she'll teach me magic?

He didn't mind. If he couldn't meet one small condition to gain the power of magic, he might as well go back to the Sword Sanctum and give up. Besides, he liked Roxy.

Having made up his mind, Cain nodded and straightened his clothes. He knelt on one knee before Roxy, placed a hand over his chest, and performed a formal royal knight's salute. He looked up at her with an earnest expression as she stood frozen in place.

Cain believed this was the most respectful and humble posture he could take. It would show the fullest respect for Roxy as his teacher and how seriously he took learning magic from her.

His master had taught him that this was the proper etiquette when asking someone important for a great favor. He was asking Roxy to teach him magic, so both conditions seemed to apply.

Wh-what is he doing in that pose?! Is he going to propose to me?! Why is he down on one knee?!

Contrary to Cain's hopes, Roxy, who was covering her burning cheeks, didn't seem to have grasped his intentions.

Her mind felt as though it had been flooded. The light left her eyes, and she stared blankly at Cain, who knelt before her with an earnest smile.

During her travels through different countries, she'd seen that gesture at weddings among nobles and knights. What she remembered most vividly, though, were the nobles' disgusting tastes.

D-don't tell me he's into little girls too...

Frightened, Roxy swallowed and decided to test the waters. If he really was proposing to her, then of course she would...

She stopped short. Cain was the Second Sword God of the Sword Sanctum. At this distance, she stood no chance against him. Oh no, oh no...

Even a Divine Rank mage would probably be cut down instantly by a swordsman of the same rank if he got close, let alone a Sword God of the Sword God Style, famed for speed and reflexes.

If I refuse, he won't fly into a rage and kill me, will he...? I don't want to die...

Roxy swallowed. Her face went pale, and she asked cautiously,

"Wh-what are you doing?"

"Hm? Asking you to teach me magic, Master Roxy."

"Phew... So that's all... Wait!"

"No, why did you start calling me that all of a sudden?!"

"Anyway, get up! That's not how you ask someone to take you on as an apprentice, idiot!"

Roxy let out a long breath of relief, and color returned to her cheeks. Yet beneath that relief was a faint disappointment. Thank goodness he wasn't proposing. Still, it stung a little that he hadn't seen her as a woman.

Wait! Cain's still so young. What am I thinking?!

Cain looked at the flustered Roxy and smiled faintly.

"So that means you agree, Master!"

"Could you stop calling me that so quickly?!"

"All right, Master Roxy!"

"..."

Delight plain on his face, Cain rose and took the leather bundle from Roxy's hands.