[Side: Kamui]
For the past few years, I’ve been grappling with a certain dilemma—about my daughter, Alisa.
She has talent.
The magical talent inherited from Mel and the swordsmanship talent she got from me.
It was evident from the start that if she continued her unrelenting efforts, she had the potential to become someone extraordinary.
However, as she grew stronger to a certain extent, her arrogance began to show.
She no longer put much effort into her training and started avoiding mock battles with me, always coming up with some excuse.
Just because someone has talent doesn’t mean they will grow strong.
In fact, among the people I know, many of the strongest weren’t particularly exceptional to begin with.
In the end, those who keep striving to grow stronger are the ones who truly become strong.
We probably spoiled her too much from a young age, and not having any peers her age to compete with didn’t help either.
At some point, Alisa stopped trying to make friends her age.
I understand why that happened, so I couldn’t push her too hard about it.
I knew we needed to do something about the situation. But Alisa, like me, is stubborn.
Even if I went all out and beat her down, it would only make her rebel against me even more.
I racked my brain for a solution, but there weren’t many options available to us.
Given everything that had happened, relying on old connections wasn’t an option either.
Then Mel found Kuhn.
She mentioned some stranger with an absurd amount of magical power, so I approached cautiously.
What I found was a kid who looked scruffy and worn out.
At first, I thought he might be a demon species with a mismatch between his age and appearance, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
When I asked, I learned that Kuhn had sought to study under the mages of the Kingdom of Lark—and failed spectacularly.
Seeing him half-despondent, I felt I couldn’t just leave him like that.
It’s an adult’s job to look after kids.
If children can’t live straightforward lives, then surely the world itself is at fault.
The Kingdom of Lark is a magical backwater, yet it’s filled with pompous mages.
They steal every technique they can from Hydrasia and then act like kings in their own country—what a joke.
Instead of learning from those kinds of people, I figured we could make Kuhn stronger ourselves.
I decided to bring him back with me.
I thought he might serve as a good source of motivation for Alisa—and the results exceeded my expectations.
Finding Kuhn was undoubtedly the greatest stroke of luck I’ve had in years.
He’s serious and never complains.
There’s something oddly mature about him, to the point where I sometimes feel like I’m talking to someone older than me.
This kid will become strong.
It didn’t take long for me to be certain of that.
Kuhn lacked the talent for physical enhancement.
At the time, he could only use up to intermediate-level magic.
But he had ambition and grit.
With those two traits, anyone can become strong.
Unless they’re extremely unlucky with their teacher, that is.
And since Mel and I were teaching him, there was no need to worry.
When Kuhn defeated Alisa in a fight by outsmarting her, it broke her arrogance.
Since then, her ferocity has noticeably subsided.
Lately, she’s been unusually earnest and has even started asking me for training sessions.
Thanks to that, she’s now evenly matched with Kuhn in their battles.
The initial problem has been resolved.
Mel and I wanted to thank Kuhn, but he’s oddly formal.
He still speaks to Mel with honorifics, even now.
So, we decided to throw him a grand birthday celebration.
Although he bowed his head politely as ever, by the end of the party, his demeanor seemed a little more relaxed.
I figured it was the perfect opportunity to have a more open-hearted conversation.
“How about it? Got anything bothering you lately?”
“I’ve been wondering if there’s a way to fight close-range specialists without relying on physical enhancement.”
I’d meant to ask about his personal life, but Kuhn’s mind was entirely focused on getting stronger.
Come to think of it, I’ve been pushing him hard for the past year without much rest.
Maybe it’s time to give him a break.
Still, finding a way to fight close-range specialists, huh?
“I’ve heard that on the Rakanto Continent, across the Northern Sea, there are people who use something called ki to enhance their bodies, similar to physical enhancement.”
“Ki, you say?”
“Yeah. Mind you, it’s just hearsay; I’ve never been there myself.”
The Northern Sea is vast, and travel between the continents is rare.
Occasionally, a shipwrecked vessel will drift over, but it doesn’t happen often.
I once spoke to a survivor from such a wreck. Apparently, most people on that continent can’t use magic.
Instead, they’ve developed ki, a kind of energy suited for close combat.
In terms of pure physical enhancement, they surpass us.
But since they lack magic, they’re weaker at long-range combat.
“In that case, maybe I should head to the Rakanto Continent…”
“I wouldn’t recommend it. You’d probably die in a shipwreck.”
I’ve heard of people without physical enhancement trying their luck over there, but not a single one has ever returned.
From what I’ve been told by ki users, it’s impossible to wield magic and ki simultaneously.
If you try, your body will burst from the inside.
I vaguely recall them saying something like, “A human soul can only be filled with either magical power or ki, not both.”
Hearing this, Kuhn slumped his shoulders.
It seems his inability to fight in close combat is a significant source of frustration for him.
“As I’ve said before, you’re already strong enough as a mage. On the battlefield, you could be a powerhouse by bombarding enemies from a distance.”
“No… if I’m going to fight, I want to be a swordsman. I want to be like you, Kamui—a magic swordsman.”
“…Oh? Is that so?”
Kuhn’s eyes sparkled.
The unbridled passion of a boy with a dream was shining brightly.
A magic swordsman like me, huh…
For some reason, hearing that made my heart feel light.
A memory of Mel’s words from when we first took Kuhn in came to mind.
“Oh my, I’ve always wanted a son.”
With everything going on at the time, and considering potential worst-case scenarios, we decided to only have one child.
But maybe this is what it would have felt like to have a son.
After spending a year with him, I’ve realized Kuhn is a good, earnest kid.
I’ve decided that the only people worth associating with are those who are capable, interesting, or good-natured.
Kuhn, who’s capable and interesting, well… I don’t dislike him.
Though, as a son, he might be a bit too competent for his own good.
When I was his age, I was sneaking into bars with a fake age and chasing after women’s skirts.
Once he’s grown and of age, I’d like to share a drink with him.
By then, I’ll probably understand what it’s like to drink with your son.
