Bab 4: Choices!
Chapter 4 - Choices!
"Have you thought about what you're going to do next?"
Torajirou Nangou stared intensely at Shiro, as if trying to see through his exterior to his inner soul.
"What do you mean?"
Torajirou Shiro was puzzled by the old man's question.
"Well, I told you about Desperado now for you to make a choice. You must understand, the mana of a Desperado is ever-increasing. This means the speed at which you control your magic may not keep up with the rate at which your power increases."
The sun was slowly setting, making the room dim as the lights were off.
"To put it simply, if you don't gain quick and precise control over your magic, every time you summon your Device to fight, you'll hurt yourself, and there's a chance you might even self-destruct."
Torajirou Shiro fell silent upon hearing the old man's words, who didn't rush him and started peeling an apple.
The sky slowly turned black.
Tonight's moon was a waxing crescent, looking like a mouth high above, mocking the people below with their overreaching ambitions.
The clear moonlight shining on people made it easier for the moon to witness the performance humans offered, just like a beautiful yet cruel joke played by destiny.
Torajirou Nangou finished cutting the apples and placed them in front of Shiro.
"Honestly, although it might sound cruel, I hope you don't continue on the path to be a Blazer. If you weren't a Desperado or if your magic reserve wasn't so immense to begin with, you could catch up through effort. But now, every time you train, you will suffer agonizing pain and need to be hospitalized afterward."
Torajirou Nangou remembered that Shiro always found everything uninteresting.
He had even bought toys for the boy, hoping he would play joyfully like other children.
However, Torajirou Shiro found them childish and bluntly stated he didn't need such things, showing a lack of interest.
It was only a few years ago when Torajirou Nangou casually mentioned Blazers and magic that Shiro first made a request to him, showing a glint in his eyes for the first time.
So Torajirou Nangou understood the boy's longing to be a Blazer.
Knowing this, he felt even more compelled to persuade him to give up.
He had never seen a natural-born Desperado before.
Initially, he thought Torajirou Shiro's mana reserves would only be slightly larger than normal, but over the years, without any training, his reserves had accumulated to an astonishing level.
"I still want to become a Blazer," firmly said Torajirou Shiro, lifting his head.
"Are you sure? This is a path of Shura, fraught with dangers that can harm yourself and others. So I ask you again, do you really want to embark on this path that only a madman would tread?"
Torajirou Nangou's face was extremely serious, but Shiro responded unexpectedly.
"I trust you, old man."
Torajirou Nangou was taken aback by the boy's answer.
"To be honest, I'm scared of falling into the abyss, but I believe in Touka and in you, Torajirou Nangou, known as the 'God of War' in the outside world, to pull me up if I fail."
Moonlight washed over the hospital blanket, catching on Torajirou Shiro's head and illuminating half of his face.
A faint smile played on his lips, and his eyes gleamed with unwavering determination.
"Really, getting old makes one worry about this and that. There's no youthful energy left."
Torajirou Nangou touched his head and stood up to walk towards the door.
"Go ahead and do what you want, but don't go thinking you can stay down if you fall. Don't make an old man like me pick you up again! Rest well, because it's your last bit of easy living. Once you're healed, I'm gonna put you through hell. But the kind of hell that forges strong men."
As he spoke, Torajirou Nangou left the room, carefully closing the door behind him.
Torajirou Shiro stared at the closed door and fell silent, as if suppressing something, until after a short while, a voice came from the room.
"Wuhu—Ah, it hurts!"
It seemed like Torajirou Shiro was barely suppressing a shout of pain.
…
After being discharged, Torajirou Shiro's life lost its previous leisure.
Torajirou Nangou had planned to send him to kindergarten, but that plan was abandoned due to Shiro's mature demeanor.
The white-haired boy used to spend his days cooped up at home.
Now, having a significant goal, Torajirou Shiro spent his mornings exercising and practicing swordsmanship, his afternoons controlling magic, and his evenings tearfully treating his wounds in the hospital, while also finding time to learn about the world.
Surprisingly, Torajirou Shiro was very talented.
In just a few years, he had mastered the sword techniques taught by Torajirou Nangou.
When he asked for more powerful sword techniques, the old man told him that a truly great swordsman needs to create moves that suit themselves.
Then one day, out of nowhere, a legal loli showed up.
"Hoh~ Are you the new disciple that stinky old man took in?"
Hearing the voice, Torajirou Shiro, who was practicing his sword, turned to look at the guest.
Black hair, black eyes, less than 1.6 meters in height, dressed in a red kimono adorned with small green leaves, holding a green folding fan, and most notably, a red butterfly bow almost as large as her head on top.
"What's wrong, stunned by my looks~ Instead of causing trouble for other girls, how about you let me have a taste~" She said, instantly getting handsy with Torajirou Shiro.
The first thing Torajirou Shiro realized was not the overtly indecent words, but the movement method of the black-haired loli.
"Nukiashi?"
"Huh, you know about 'Nukiashi' at such a young age, huh? My interest in you has just increased~ Too bad you're too young to 'eat,' so let's start with introductions. I'm also a disciple of that old man, my name is Saikyou Nene, but I'd prefer you call me 'senpai.' How about it, if you call me senpai, I can give you special lessons~"
"No need, I've already learned 'Nukiashi,' Nene."
"Eh!? Calling me by my first name right away~ You're really passionate~" Saikyou Nene covered her face with the folding fan.
"Yo! You're here to see your kouhai, huh, Nene!" At this moment, Torajirou Nangou's voice came from behind.
"Eh...! Why... why did you come back so soon?!" Saikyou Nene widened her eyes.
"I came back as soon as I knew you were here~"
"Why are you pretending to be young, you stinky old man!" Saikyou Nene's voice sounded somewhat imperious.
'Turns out she's just all talk...' Torajirou Shiro thought so, but he was very curious about Saikyou Nene's arrival.
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