Five winters had passed since the man had met the girl, and as the warm breeze began to blow in, the girl had grown to the height of the man’s shoulders, her beauty blooming to a point where it was no longer appropriate to call her a girl.

“…Lately, haven’t we been getting a bit too close for comfort?”

“Well, I wonder. That’s just your misunderstanding. I think I’m behaving just as I always have.”

The girl, aware of her own charm, had been increasing physical contact to show off her growth to the man.

“I thought I had become a little more adult, yet here you are acting spoiled like a child.”

“…Do you still see me as a child?”

“A child, indeed. How can I treat a novice swordsman who hasn’t even reached my level as an adult?”

Despite the time that had passed, the man continued to treat the girl like a child as he always did. Feeling a bit annoyed, the girl pouted and replied to him.

“…Let’s see how long you can keep treating me like a child.”

“Sure, I look forward to the day when you surpass me.”

The man laughed off the girl’s complaints, and today once again, he climbed to the mountain peak alongside her. Although he treated her as he always had, he had been increasingly troubled.

It was not a matter of her physical growth, but rather her growth as a swordsman.

He observed the girl swinging her sword beside him.

Her sword was sharp and swift.

Who could call her a novice after witnessing such prowess?

She had already surpassed his level from the past before even starting their ascent.

He had grown stronger too, training alongside her, which made it manageable for him to still teach her, but…

Deep down, he felt her talent far exceeded his.

He sensed that it wouldn’t be long before she would surpass him.

In that moment, when the girl paused her sword dance, the man asked her,

“What’s wrong?”

“…It’s nothing much. I’ve just been feeling like I’ve been hitting a wall lately. You put so much dedication into teaching me, yet my skills aren’t improving, and I was worried you might be disappointed…”

Noticing the girl watching him carefully, the man replied, as if to dismiss her concerns.

“Disappointed? Even if you stayed at this level for your entire life, I wouldn’t be disappointed in you. With your talent, even remaining stagnant for a while would only be temporary. You’ll soon overcome that wall.”

“…Even if you say that, if my skills don’t truly improve, you’d be disappointed.”

“Well, until you surpass that wall, I’ll just have to stay by your side and teach you for life. So, don’t worry about anything and just swing your sword.”

“…Okay, I guess. Hearing that puts my mind at ease a bit.”

Smiling in relief, the girl began to swing her sword once more.

She would break through that wall in no time.

The man imagined the moment he wouldn’t be able to teach her anymore.

He chuckled to himself out of self-deprecation regarding the emotion he felt.

It should have been a joyful occasion when a disciple surpasses their master, but instead, he felt a greater sense of loneliness.

He had thought his only remaining desire in this world was to reach that level he had seen that day.

But somehow, something else had taken a position of equal importance alongside the sword in his heart.

Without realizing it, that had happened.

The man muttered with a bitter smile.

How much longer would he have to teach her the sword?

All he could do was give his best in this moment.

*

Contrary to the man’s expectations, the girl struggled to break through the wall in front of her.

Days passed, weeks followed, and nearly a month went by.

Every time he swung his sword, the man could feel the girl’s cautious glances towards him.

Each time, he reassured her that he didn’t care at all and that everything was fine.

He had experienced something similar in the past as well.

And because he knew that the hardest part of that period was dealing with the wall himself, his worries for the girl only grew.

What could be preventing her from progressing?

Perhaps it was a psychological barrier.

The man, usually concentrating all his energy on the sword while training, found it hard to concentrate on his sword due to his worries for her.

The girl, sensing this, told him he didn’t need to worry about her, but the man’s concerns only grew deeper.

Every time training finished, he would collapse from exhaustion, yet even at midnight, he found himself unable to sleep.

Awoken at an unusual hour, he let out a deep sigh.

He thought he had trained himself to remain unshaken by trivial matters, yet here he was, troubled.

During times like these, swinging the sword without thought was the best remedy.

He gathered his sword and left the hut, aiming for the mountaintop where he always wielded his sword.

The sky was still, with dark clouds looming overhead, as if rain was about to fall.

The path up the mountain was dark, and he could barely see a step ahead, yet the man’s steps were unwavering, having traversed the same route daily for years.

However, just before reaching the summit, his pace suddenly slowed.

A strange sound echoed from what should have been an empty mountaintop.

Could it be a wild beast, or perhaps a ghost suited for such a dreary night?

As he speculated about the source of the noise, he reached a vantage point where he could see the peak, and he discerned something moving in the shadows with his eyes gradually adjusting to the darkness.

“…Ah.”

What he saw was a beautiful dance.

A swordsman’s dance that melded with the sword, immersed in a state of nothingness.

With her hair as black as the night swirling about, the girl was dancing as if she had become one with her sword.

He could not even begin to fathom the intricacies of her movements, but he understood she had reached a level far beyond what he could have imagined.

The man could only exclaim in awe as he absorbed the sight of her dance.

And in that instant, abruptly…

The dance that he wished would last forever came to a halt.

The sword she wielded vanished, leaving only the girl staring at him with an expression of utter mortification.

“I…I didn’t mean to!”

Her cry rang out.

At that moment, the man understood.

All the clumsy displays she had shown him were a facade.

Since when had she surpassed him and reached such a level?

Perhaps it had been from the very beginning.

“I… I was just…”

The girl mumbled with a fearful expression.

Would he be angry?

Would he look down on her for hiding her true skills despite possessing such power?

She trembled in fear at the thought of her deception being exposed.

Above all else, she feared being hated by the man.

As she trembled in fear, the man reached out his hand toward her.

The girl merely closed her eyes, accepting whatever might happen.

Even if the man were to be enraged and strangle her, she was ready to accept it.

However, the man’s hand did not reach for her neck.

“…Huh?”

Startled by the warm sensation on her head, the girl slowly opened her eyes to see the large hand of the man gently ruffling her hair.

The man chuckled lightly as he said,

“Why are you so scared? Don’t worry. I might have suspected that you were hiding your true skills.”

“…You knew?”

“How many years do you think we spent together? You’ve always learned quickly. It was strange to think that you would be struggling with swordsmanship alone. I didn’t think you were this capable, though.”

The man spoke to her, unconcerned.

Hearing this, the girl murmured with a worried face.

“…You’re not angry? I deceived you.”

“Angry? Let me ask you one thing. Did you hide your abilities to mock or to enjoy it at my expense?”

“Of course not!”

“Then that’s fine. I can understand why you kept your skills hidden, so why would I be angry?”

Saying this, he stroked the girl’s hair gently.

If she had shown him her true strength without hiding it, he would surely have been hurt in his pride so shortly after their acquaintance.

The girl must have thought about that side of him and concealed her true abilities.

What a kindhearted child she was.

The man, still ruffling her hair, smiled at her and said,

“But there’s one thing that’s a bit disappointing. I was genuinely worried about you not making progress in your skills lately and lost sleep over it. To think it was all an act.”

“Ugh… That…”

“You knew how much I cared, yet you kept it hidden until the end?”

“Ugh… I don’t really have an excuse for that… But, but…!”

With a pout at his teasing, the girl shouted, turning red and mumbling in a small voice.

“If I had known I surpassed your skills… You wouldn’t have taught me anymore…”

“Ah, so you wanted to learn from me that much, even if I would fall behind my own student?”

“…Even so, I wanted to continue learning from you because I could spend time with you during those moments.”

The man smiled bitterly at her words.

He was a man who lived and died by the sword.

For a person who spent most of his time swinging a sword, the only way to spend time together would be to train together.

Yet, that relationship could no longer last.

“However, I can no longer teach you the sword. Now that you know you’re stronger.”

“…I suppose that’s impossible. Perhaps, I could teach you instead?”

“What kind of master is taught by his disciple? You’ve shown kindness, but I still have my pride as a swordsman.”

The pride of a swordsman was a foolish thing.

It might be fine for now, but if the girl was by his side, he wouldn’t be able to concentrate.

The man asked the girl,

“A student who surpasses their master usually descends from the mountain. Knowing that you have become a proper swordsman, I believe my role is done now. So, are you considering going down the mountain?”

“…Must I really?”

Upon hearing her response, the man sighed as if he had expected it.

And with a bitter smile, he muttered,

“Truly, you are still a child.”

The man asked the girl,

“I’ve forgiven you, but you deceived me, so you must still feel some guilt, right?”

“…Of course. I feel nothing but remorse towards you.”

“Well then, you can fulfill just one of my requests.”

“Uh, what… If you want, I can do anything…”

As she blushed and mumbled, the man said to her,

“Then, draw your sword.”

The girl’s face froze in confusion.