"You seem to have something to say."

"...."

Shushruta looked at me with sunken eyes. Her expression remained blank. She seemed gloomy, and also as if she was contemplating something. But she kept her mouth firmly shut, as if she wasn't ready to speak yet.

I looked at her and spoke first.

"If you're not going to talk, I'll go first."

"...Do you have something to say too?"

"I do."

"Say it."

"First, take this."

I took out the Dagger of Ophosis from my pocket and slid it across the table.

Thump.

Shushruta caught the dagger as it slid towards her and looked at me.

"Why are you giving me this?"

I answered in a casual tone.

"It's yours."

"...."

Shushruta glared at me.

"About the legacy of Ophosis. As promised, you can do whatever you want with half of it. Use it as operating funds for the Thieves' Guild or swallow it whole."

"...What about the other half?"

"Give it to Uncle Hans, the Stavanger family, and the Black Prince, divided appropriately."

If it just sits in an empty tomb, gathering dust, it's just useless trash with no meaning. Any object only gains meaning when it is used by human hands. It would be even better if it were used correctly. To be honest, it's also a hassle to deal with.

"...."

Shushruta stared at the dagger silently. She fiddled with the dagger for a long time before opening her mouth.

"Ashuban."

"What."

"The one you call Master inside you. Is he your teacher?"

It was a rather random question. I couldn't understand the intention of the question, but I answered honestly.

"He is a sky-like master."

The Heavenly Demon snorted, but that didn't tarnish my sincerity. I had never hidden it in the first place. If I had wanted to hide it, I would have kept my monologues to myself. I don't remember exactly when, but... I had said many times that the Heavenly Demon was inside me. It's just that Shushruta and everyone else didn't believe my words and dismissed them as nonsense.

"Then... when you often talked to yourself like a madman, calling out 'Master,' were you talking to that master named Heavenly Demon?"

"That's right."

"Was he the one who defeated Frost?"

I stared at Shushruta blankly.

"...You. You saw?"

Shushruta nodded.

"Of course. Weren't we being chased by Frost together in the first place?"

"I told you to run away, but you were just watching, tsk..."

When I clicked my tongue in disapproval, Shushruta shamelessly retorted.

"You survived, so isn't that what matters?"

"That's true."

I looked at Shushruta carefully. Whenever I talked to the Heavenly Demon, she would say I was talking nonsense, but it seems she didn't think so inwardly. Or did she finally believe my words after seeing the Heavenly Demon possess my body and beat up Frost? Come to think of it, after that, she seemed to look at me with a strange gaze whenever I talked to the Heavenly Demon. It seems it wasn't my imagination.

Well... either way, it didn't matter much. The important thing is that someone who recognizes my sincerity has finally appeared.

"Then who was the one who came out last time?"

"Who?"

"The one who cut off both of Van Dyke's arms."

"Ah, that."

I tilted my head to one side and asked.

"What do you think? Did they look like the same person?"

Shushruta shook her head.

"No. A different person."

Her tone was firm.

"Why are you so sure?"

"Just. The class was different."

"Hmm."

How on earth did the Heavenly Demon beat up Frost? I couldn't guess.

"So? Who was it that cut off both of Van Dyke's arms?"

"That was a guy called a Heart Demon... he won't be coming out again."

Shushruta nodded.

"I see."

Heavenly Demon. Heart Demon. Saying it out loud, I felt like I had become a multiple personality case. There's someone else who fits that description, you know.

"I know you often talk to your master."

I nodded.

"That's right."

"What do you talk about with your master?"

"We talk about this and that. We chat, I get nagged, and I get advice."

"Is it helpful?"

"Of course."

"How?"

"It helps me make choices and move forward."

"Choices?"

"My master usually gives me various advice, but in the end, it's my job to make the choice. And it's my job to take responsibility for it."

"...."

Shushruta fiddled with the dagger and was lost in thought. Then she muttered softly.

"I... also have a master."

Shushruta, with a determined look on her face, stood up from her seat and took something out of her pocket. It was the old compass she had taken from Ophosis's tomb.

Shushruta opened the compass and stared at it intently, then looked at me with a resolute expression.

"Ashuban."

I looked at her silently.

"I'll be back in a bit."

She didn't say where she was going, but I nodded. Because I thought I knew where.

"Don't go anywhere until then. Got it?"

"Got it. Don't worry and go."

Shushruta nodded, then left the guild. She glanced at me once from outside the door, then disappeared with a whoosh.

Only then did I get up from my seat and leave the building. I looked around here and there, but there was no trace of Shushruta. She probably went to her master. Shushruta's master here is the one she calls "old man." And that old man is the head of the Thieves' Guild.

She didn't say when she would be back, but I just decided to trust and wait. As always. Or I thought it would be nice to just leave like this. Because the moment of parting is never good the longer it is.

As I was lost in thought, looking at the sky where clouds were floating gently, I heard a voice calling me from somewhere.

"Devil!"

Linda was running towards me from the other side of the street. The hat pressed down on her head looked precarious, as if it would fall off at any moment, and by the time she reached me, it was gone.

I tried to dodge until the last moment... but then I just gave up. Because I had come to the conclusion that I couldn't dodge that in my current physical condition. Come to think of it, that girl running like a dog was Mad Linda. The one with a bounty of well over 30 gold. If I tried to dodge clumsily, I would end up rolling on the street. It was better to just endure it.

I dragged my back foot back and lowered my stance. And so, having completed my preparations to receive her, I shouted heroically.

"Come on!"

Thwack!

"Ugh."

Tumble.

I rolled on the ground. Because the moment I was hit by the body slam, the strength in my legs just gave out. It hurts like hell. Even though my body had recovered a bit, I had overlooked the fact that the throbbing pain was still there.

Poof.

Dust rose. As I was inhaling the dust from the street, Linda, who had climbed on top of me, looked into my eyes.

"Devil, where have you been? I've been looking for you for a long time!"

I spotted Sir Max, who was panting as he chased after her through the hazy dust.

"Heok... heok..."

"You've been through a lot."

Sir Max, upon seeing me, barely managed to raise a hand and caught his breath.

"Heok... you too."

Sir Max, who was catching his breath with his hands on his knees, reported to me.

"Heok... I lost the Shadow Phantom. Heok... I looked back for a moment and she was gone..."

I explained in a solemn tone with Linda on my chest.

"I just met her, so you don't have to worry. She said she had some business to take care of and would be back."

Only then did Sir Max let out a long sigh.

"Heehee."

I asked Linda, who had been sitting on my upper body like a chair until then, as I pushed her off. Why does this girl cling to me so much?

"Linda. How did you know I was here?"

"Huh? I just thought you'd be here!"

This girl was a being with a mysterious ability, just like Shushruta. She finds me right away no matter where I am. How on earth does she know? She's a human compass.

I stood up, picked up the hat that had fallen on the ground, dusted it off, and asked.

"Linda."

"Yeah?"

"I'm going far away soon."

"Far away? Where to?"

"When I go, will you follow me then too?"

Linda smiled brightly and nodded.

"Yeah! I'll follow you! I can find the Devil wherever he is. I'll find you!"

"You don't have any thoughts of finding other friends?"

The girl shook her head vigorously and then clung to me like a cicada.

"For me, there's only the Devil!"

"...Alright."

I pushed Linda away and then pressed the hat firmly on her head.

"I can probably handle you."

I had a feeling that even if I left her behind, this girl would somehow find me, even if it meant climbing the Mist Cliff. There was no one whose behavior was as unpredictable as this girl's, so I was also worried about what kind of trouble she would cause if I left her behind.

"Heehee."

Seeing her smiling so brightly at me, a smile naturally formed on my lips as well. They say you can't spit on a smiling face.

"Don't smile. I'll get attached."

"Heeheehee."

I looked at Sir Max.

"Are you alright?"

Sir Max, who had caught his breath, nodded.

"Let's go."

"Yeah!"

I took the rambunctious Linda and walked into the street overflowing with the lively energy of the festival. The first and last festival I would spend in this country was thus coming to an end.

***

While I focused on recovery as I had been doing, I also poured my efforts into training. To completely conquer the realm of the Half-Moon. And thus, to make the power of the Half-Moon completely my own.

The road ahead was long, so there was no time to be sluggish here. I wasn't anxious, but I didn't settle either.

The Half-Moon had a strange quality. The Waning Moon and the Crescent Moon had a coldness to them, but the Half-Moon felt gentle and warm. Like... the warmth I felt from Tina's hand.

In reality, the moonlight looks different depending on the time of day, the place, and the atmosphere. On some days, it felt warm like a lighthouse shining in the dark night. On other days, it felt cold like the heartless moon of midwinter.

It's not for nothing that the moon is called the best friend of bards. It's because it has such a strange magic. Just as the goddess of the night, Ketel, is called by various names. The true protagonist of the night sky, the moon, also has various attributes and personalities.

The Night Sky Star Moon Art. Among them, the highlight, the realm of moonlight, seemed to express the magic of the moon very well. The phase change of the moon and the corresponding rise in realm. The essence of martial arts, which has integrated the various attributes of the moon and the power that suits them. A mysterious and beautiful martial art that has melted the principles of the sword into the moonlight.

Did the Heavenly Demon consider all of this? The Heavenly Demon said he had made it out of boredom while watching the night sky because he couldn't sleep... If so, the Heavenly Demon is a genius without peer in the world. No, he is a universal genius who has surpassed genius.

The Heavenly Demon snorted.

[You've only just realized?]

Although I had entered the world of martial arts through the Night Sky Star Moon Art and didn't know much about other martial arts, it seemed like a martial art that couldn't be easily created. What kind of swordsmanship could so completely contain the mystery of the mysterious moonlight? In the first place, the very act of containing the mystery of the moonlight in a sword is something that one wouldn't even dare to attempt.

[How long are you going to just sit there?]

I stood up from my seat, grasped the moonlight sword that had bloomed in my hand, and began to swing it here and there. I am originally a heartless man, so the cold moonlight suits me. So I thought I would have a hard time handling the moonlight of the Half-Moon, but as I swung the moonlight sword here and there, I got used to it, and it wasn't bad.

Of course, there were various restrictions on swinging the moonlight sword in reality. My physical condition was not good, and the same went for my internal energy situation. Therefore, I couldn't swing it for a long time. But in the inner world, it was a different story. Here, even if I shed or shot out the moonlight, the internal energy didn't scatter outside but flowed back into the pond, so I could swing the sword to my heart's content. In other words, it was a perpetual motion machine.

I corrected my posture with the advice the Heavenly Demon, who was watching from the side, threw at me, or made my movements smoother by making the outflow and manipulation of my internal energy more fluid. I swung the sword in a state of self-forgetfulness and focused on training more diligently than ever before.

When I was awake, I lightly swung the sword as a simple rehabilitation exercise to strengthen my external skills. When I was asleep, I focused on training by swinging the moonlight sword in my mindscape. In other words, I was training without a moment's rest.

There is a time to focus on training and a time to rest, but right now, it felt like a time when I had to focus solely on training.

In the meantime, I postponed Frost's invitation for a while. Because I had a feeling that if I accepted the invitation, we would not only have a simple conversation but also a conversation of swords. Therefore, I had a time of patience until my body was fully recovered and I could exchange swords without regret.

Come to think of it, the opponent I had first kindled the Full Moon against was Frost. If I talked to him, wouldn't I be able to get a clue about the Full Moon? Considering that it hadn't been long since I had reached the realm of the Half-Moon, it was definitely greedy. But it wasn't an unreasonable greed. I had kindled the Full Moon for the first time while fighting him, and I had been able to maintain it, albeit briefly...

I had such a thought. It was a very short moment, but it was a realm I had achieved once. What could stop me from reaching it again? It means it's not just baseless confidence.

While I was having such delusions, Frost often sent people to rush me, and in the end, I was able to head to Frost's mansion only after a considerable amount of time had passed since I had started training in earnest.

It was a point in time more than two months after the decisive battle.

As soon as I entered Frost's mansion, I realized why Frost had rushed me so much.

A well-built old man with completely white hair greeted me warmly.

"You've come. Devil of the Red Eyes."

(End of Chapter)