Chapter 152: My Teacher's Grace is as High as the Sky (3)

That day…

From the moment Louis rescued his parents and revealed his teacher’s divine majesty, the eyes of the children had changed.

The change started with Kendrick.

Until now, Kendrick had been somewhat skeptical of Louis’s teachings.

This is how it’s done.

“Yes, sir!”

Do you understand?

“Yes, sir!”

”…Are you really sure you understand?”

“Yes, sir!”

Kendrick answered Louis’s questions with nothing but resounding “yeses.” It was as if he’d believe Louis even if he said, I’m making bean paste from peas.

Right, right! This is it!

Louis was pleased, as this was exactly what he’d hoped for.

However, not all the results were positive.

“Let’s go with you, mister!”

Since that day, the problem had been Tania’s clinginess to Louis. She became more dependent on him than even her own parents.

Even now, Louis scratched his cheek as he watched Tania chattering excitedly and clinging to his leg.

…Did I give her too much of a boost?

Her eyes sparkled with an intensity unbecoming of a child. Whenever Louis tried to step away, she would notice immediately and chase after him like a chick following its mother hen.

Well, at least it’s a good thing.

The sight of children relying on their mentor never bothered Louis. Especially considering what he was about to teach them next.

Until now, he had only given them a basic understanding of demonic power and its attributes, but it was time to delve deeper into advanced dark magic theory. Louis intended to teach them even the Hero King’s forbidden magic.

While some of the children were overly dependent on him—thinking of him as their savior—he believed this mindset would serve them well in the future.

There’s no need to polish just to give it to a dog.

Hadn’t he worked tirelessly to educate them only for another to swoop in and claim them? Louis couldn’t allow such ingratitude.

Several days passed since then.

Feeling the time was right, Louis gradually began to reveal the secrets of demonic power to the children. However, an unexpected obstacle arose.

“You want to go that route…?”

“Yes!”

Although Louis had intended to guide each child according to their preferences, this was the last thing he’d anticipated.

Kendrick chose the sword, just as he had in the original story. It seemed his father’s sword training since childhood had had a significant influence on him.

The problem lay with Tania.

“Hm…”

Louis looked down at Tania, who had boldly chosen to fight barehanded.

What was so wonderful that this young lady was grinning so widely? Surprisingly, she had chosen unarmed combat.

Louis asked Tania, “Martial arts without weapons is twice as difficult to learn compared to using one. Are you sure you can handle it?”

“Yes!”

“This is your choice. Even if you regret it later, you won’t be able to go back.”

The words seemed harsh for an eight-year-old child, but Tania grinned widely as if it was even better than she expected and replied.

“I’ll regret it! I want to be just like you, teacher!”

Apparently, Louis killing the ogre with his bare hands had made quite an impression on the children.

Louis nodded in response to Tania’s decision. ”…Very well.”

From that day on, Louis began teaching Demonic Scripture to the children.

And as a bonus…

“P-Please do your best!” Even Aaron, the father of the children, ended up getting involved.

To be exact, Louis’s sparring sessions with Aaron served as both training for him and practical education for the children.

Seeing the usually frozen Aaron in this new light, Louis couldn’t help but say, somewhat disapprovingly, “Just so you know, I won’t go easy on you just because the kids are watching.”

“Yes, understood! No need to pull your punches at all!”

Sparring with a tier-1 warrior was, in itself, already a tremendous opportunity for Aaron.

Absolutely certain, he thought, his conviction growing.

This was exactly what they needed to break through their current limitations. Although it might dent his image as a father before his children slightly, it was definitely worth trying. After all, he was a warrior first and foremost, with fatherhood being secondary.

“Well then, shall we begin?” Louis gestured for Aaron to enter.

Aaron nodded resolutely, his face set in a serious expression.

Shing!

His sword appeared in his hand.

“…Come at me!” With a fierce shout, Aaron launched his sword at full throttle. His smooth motion spoke of countless hours of daily practice, honing his body until these movements became second nature. Even the children could see how threatening they looked, yet Louis found them laughably slow. He easily sidestepped the sword with a slight twist of his neck and addressed his disciples:

“Pay close attention; observing this match is also part of your learning.”

“Yes!” In response to their enthusiastic answers, Louis continued aiming for Aaron.

The boy easily avoided each strike while pointing out what Louis did wrong with every attempt.

“You’re too stiff.”

Swish.

“You should change your footwork direction from here.”

Swish.

“Hold your sword loosely!”

Seeing how effortlessly Louis dodged his attacks, Aaron gritted his teeth and swung his sword even more passionately. Of course, this didn’t change the outcome at all.

Then came Louis’s keen observation:

“Your attack is too straightforward.”

Tup!

With that, Louis effortlessly knocked aside Aaron’s blade.

“Aaarrrgh!” Despite barely being touched, Aaron stumbled dramatically.

“You need to add some variety!”

As he spoke these words, Louis pulled back his fist, delivering a swift punch simultaneously:

“Attack without restraint!”

Thwack.

“He’s saying, ‘Take aim at my head!’ ‘Take aim at my arm!’ ‘Take aim at my leg!’ as the sword comes flying.”

Thwack.

“Who’s your savior now?!”

Thwack.

That made three times.

After taking blows to the face, arm, and leg, Aaron collapsed to the ground.

Louis waved his hand at the crumpled Aaron.

“Again.”

“Yes, sir!”

Aaron sprang up without hesitation and charged at Louis again.

As time passed, his attacks gradually became more stable, but the outcome remained the same.

An hour later…

“Aaaaargh…”

With a fist planted solidly in his gut, Aaron crumpled to the ground.

While Aaron was a sweaty mess covered in dirt, Louis wasn’t even dusty.

Ignoring the fallen Aaron, Louis turned to address the children.

“See what happened? An overly straightforward attack is easy for your opponent to read. Remember that.”

“Yes, sir!”

“I’ll keep that in mind!”

Tania and Kendrick nodded their heads.

And then…

“Time to eat!”

Louis got up, responding to the voice calling from the backyard.

“Let’s eat first.”

As Louis turned away, the children rushed over to Aaron.

Kendrick patted the dust off his father’s shoulder. “Don’t take it too hard. It’s not that you’re weak; it’s just that our teacher is really strong.”

“…”

Kendrick’s attempt at consolation only made reality seem even harsher.

Then came Tanya’s voice. “He’s right! You’re not weak at all, Daddy! Our teacher is just super awesome! I bet you could get reborn a hundred times and still couldn’t touch even a single hair on his head!”

“…”

“Yaaah! Let’s go with Teacher Louis!”

Tania, who had just stabbed her father in the chest, chased after the departing Louis and scampered away.

“Well then, come back after you wash up.”

Without a care, Kendrick also left.

Aaron watched the retreating figures of his children with a sense of futility.

“Oh…”

He didn’t mind being soundly trounced in front of them during their sparring match. After all, he had instigated it himself, and Louis had even taken the time to teach him proper techniques, so he should be grateful.

But the emotion rising in his chest. It was the disappointment of realizing his children respected their teacher more than him.

Ohhh…

What made Aaron sad was realizing his children had already accepted reality… They’d grown up too quickly.

The practice matches between Louis and Aaron continued as before. However, things had begun to change gradually.

As their children slowly mastered demonic scripture, Aaron found himself facing off against them instead of Louis.

“Hap!”

“Hup!”

Sweat beaded on Aaron’s brow as he sparred with both his son and daughter at once.

H-how can this be…?

How did it come to this? Initially, he hadn’t felt the slightest pressure from these youngsters. After all, how long had he been wielding a sword? He’d been a master long before they were even born. It was inconceivable that he could lose to such younglings.

But his confidence eroded with each passing day as he exchanged blows with his children.

At first, he would handle them lightly, finishing the spars in about ten minutes. But the next day it took an hour, and the day after that, two hours. Each time, Aaron raised his elemental powers higher. And so three months flew by.

This is absurd!

Now, even at full tilt, Aaron was barely holding his own against the two children.

“Ha!” Kendrick, now ten years old, swung a sword as tall as he was, threatening Aaron.

“Hap!” Tania, her tiny fists clenched, looked for a opening in Aaron’s defenses.

The children’s attacks were so fierce and sharp that Aaron had to keep his wits about him at all moments. The brutal sparring match continued for some time.

“Good job!”

“Teacher! How was I?”

Kendrick gently greeted his father, but Tania ignored her dad to rush over to Louis. Aaron’s eyes darkened as he watched them.

Despite being their parent, he couldn’t help but see them as monstrous prodigies.

What… what am I going to do about this?

He had managed to keep up today, but these children improved by leaps and bounds every single day.

Tomorrow… who knows what might happen…

The thought entered his mind that he might lose against them someday. After a few more days at this rate, instead of facing them both together, he’d have to take them on one by one. And if more time passed, there might come a day when he couldn’t handle even one of these young prodigies alone. The situation was dire.

At this, Aaron cried out in his mind:

No!

How could he, with years of swordsmanship experience, be overtaken by children who had barely three months of training? As a father and as a warrior, he couldn’t accept this. His determination as a father created a miracle.

“Ah…”

Aaron felt something explode inside him, and he entered a trance-like state.

“Teacher…? Daddy?”

“Shh!” Louis signaled for quiet, watching Aaron intently.

“…I guess the time has come.”

What Aaron was experiencing now was breaking through a barrier to reach a new level of mastery.

After countless sparring matches, Louis felt it was finally time to break through the plateau his son had been stuck on. He beamed with pride as he watched Aaron make this significant leap forward.

If he reaches Tier 3 now, he should be able to hold his own for a while.

Of course, Louis knew all too well that the children would catch up to Aaron eventually…

Still, I must encourage him to keep training diligently.

With a warm smile, Louis led the youngsters away from their usual sparring spot.

That day, Aaron successfully climbed to Tier 3. Over the next few months, he assiduously trained to avoid falling behind the quick learners.

Despite his relentless efforts, after three more months of rigorous practice, Aaron suffered another defeat at the hands of his young challengers.

From then on, they switched from 2-on-1 matches to individual duels.

Three months later, Aaron lost again to Tania, and a few days after that, he was defeated by Kendrick as well.

The incredible speed at which these children were growing felt like nothing short of miraculous. As a father, Aaron couldn’t help but feel disheartened that he had little left to teach them. Yet, on another level, he felt a sense of relief.

Thank goodness Mr. Louis is here, he thought.

Even if he no longer held all the answers, his children had an excellent teacher in Louis. True to his word, under Louis’s guidance, the children continued to grow more rapidly.

Time flew by. Before long, it was the year Kendrick turned 12 and Tania turned 10.

“Sensei?”

Louis gently opened his eyes at the voice waking him up. As he emerged from sleep, surrounded by the warm rays of spring sunshine, he realized…

…it’s time.

The second sleep device had arrived.