Chapter 59: The Battle for Discipleship, IV

Louis shook his head slightly as he watched the two elders engage in a heated mental tug-of-war.

How old are they again?

From their bickering, it sounded like a couple of ten-year-olds fighting over something trivial.

I’ve heard men become more childish with age… Is that what’s happening here?

Louis looked at them with disdain. Unaware or uncaring about his judgmental gaze, the two continued to point fingers and argue back and forth. They had forgotten why they were there in the first place and were now busy tearing each other down by dredging up past incidents. Despite being sages who cultivated holy magic to Tier 2, possessing wisdom revered throughout the land, decades-long rivalry rendered all their accumulated maturity useless. Louis’s appearance only served to fan the flames of competition between them even further.

This might work to my advantage. What an opportunity!

Regardless of how things had unfolded, this presented Louis with a chance. As soon as their attention diverted away from him, he stealthily moved like a cat on silent paws. The two elders were completely oblivious to his departure and only noticed much later.

“Huh? L-Louis?”

“Wh-where did he go?”

Their brief search for Louis quickly turned back into an argument about who was responsible for his disappearance.

“It’s your fault that he ran off!”

“How is it my fault?! If you hadn’t shown up, I’d be having a delightful conversation with him right now, you fool!”

“A f-f-fool? You old man, you’ve run out of words!”

“I’m not done yet!”

The bickering continued for quite some time after that.

Four days later…

“Oh, Louis!”

“I can’t believe it’s you! You’re not going to be my future disciple anymore?!”

Louis frowned as Logan and Aiden suddenly appeared from one side of the ship, almost like they had been waiting for him.

Not again!

The two vice tower masters had relentlessly pursued Louis ever since that day four days ago. Despite their usual stern expressions, their faces softened whenever they saw Louis.

“How was your day today?”

“…”

“Did anyone bother you?”

“…”

While Logan and Aiden approached Louis with kindness and benevolence, irritation filled his face at the sight of them.

Dammit! These guys have ruined my peaceful routine!

Their competition over Louis had become another hot topic on the Hap Sunny.

The vice tower masters of Dawn and Dusk Magic Towers were more famous than Louis had initially realized, so it was inevitable that someone on board would recognize them. Consequently, Louis, as the object of their relentless attention, became another notable passenger—or rather, Louis and the two elders together formed quite the trio.

“Come now, Louis, try this!”

“Oh no, you can’t give him such cheap cookies! My ship’s chef made these special puddings just for Louis. Ignore those low-quality treats and take this instead.”

Louis sighed at the barrage of gifts from the two elders but didn’t refuse any of them.

Consider them small rewards for all my hard work.

With that justification, he munched happily on the cookies and pudding.

The two vice tower masters gazed at Louis with pride as if watching their own grandchild show off his talents. Had Louis’s paternal grandfather, Pamus, witnessed this scene, he would’ve been furious.

After enduring their intense stares for some time, Louis finally opened his mouth, looking annoyed. “Um, Grandfathers—”

“I’m right here, dear boy!”

“No, I think you meant me!”

“…Both of you, actually.”

“Oh.”

“So, what is it? M-maybe…?”

Louis had always brushed them off despite their persistent advances, so the unexpected reaction made both vice tower masters nervous and swallow hard. They stared intently at him, like hopeful suitors awaiting her choice.

However, Louis’s question caught them completely off guard.

“Who among you is stronger?”

“What?”

“Huh?”

The two old men blinked rapidly at Louis’s unexpected question.

Louis shrugged nonchalantly and continued. “Well, you see? Honestly, I never intended to be anyone’s disciple, but since both of you kept asking me day after day, it gave me pause.”

“It did?”

“Yes, because if I were to become your disciple, I’d have to choose between the two of you… So naturally, I wondered who would be the better choice.”

“Ha-ha-ha, what kind of dilemma is that?! The answer is obviously me, Logan!”

“Ha! Forget about this third-rate vice tower master! It should clearly be me, Aiden!”

As he watched the two elders bicker before him, Louis’s lips twitched slightly, but they didn’t notice due to his quick recovery. Instead, he put on a conflicted expression as he spoke further.

“In any case! If—if I really must choose one of you as my mentor, then I would prefer to study under the more powerful of the two.” Louis’s lips curled slightly upward at his own words.

“Heh-heh-heh!”

“Ha-ha-ha!”

The vice tower masters laughed heartily, but their expressions remained stiff and unamused.

Aiden pondered for a moment before asking, “So what you’re saying is, if forced to pick between us, you’d rather go with the stronger of the two… Correct?”

“If I had to become someone’s disciple, yes.”

“I see.”

Crackling.

As soon as Louis finished speaking, sparks flew between Logan and Aiden.

Logan chuckled lightly.

“Yes, you’re right. Asking you to choose between us was unfair.”

“We’ve put you through so much with our childish rivalry. Skill, huh…? Ha-ha-ha! That’s it! Whoever loses should gracefully step aside… Heh-heh-heh. What a brilliant idea! Louis, you truly are wiser than both of us.”

Krakle.

As the two vice tower masters exchanged words, sparks flew continuously between them.

They glared at each other as they spoke.

“It’s been quite some time since we last crossed blades, Aiden.”

“All the better. I’ll make sure this old head of yours finally grasps the difference in our abilities.”

“Heh-heh, now who sounds like me?”

These longtime rivals had clashed countless times ever since their youth.

In their previous hundred and two matches, they had each won fifty-one times, making it an even split. As they aged and rose through the ranks, they suppressed their competitive natures, but Louis’s provocative suggestion reignited that fire within them.

Crackling…

The air around them crackled with hostile energy.

They then dropped their hostility and spoke gently to Louis.

“We’ll settle this before we return from this voyage.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

With that, the two men departed.

Louis grinned as he watched them leave. “I won’t see those two for a while now. Ha-ha!”

From what Louis could tell, Louis and Aiden were evenly matched, making it difficult to predict who would emerge victorious. Regardless of the outcome, though, the battle was sure to last quite some time.

This gave Louis some time to himself.

“Heh-heh-heh.” As he cackled mischievously, Fin peeked out from under his sleeve and scanned their surroundings.

“They’re gone?”

“Yes, they left.”

“Hmph! Can you believe those puny humans dared to consider our great Lord Louis as their disciple?” Fin glared fiercely at where the two elders had disappeared.

Louis gently stroked Fin’s head. “It’s all right.”

“But they have no idea of their place!”

“Well, that’s true, but…I doubt I’ll see them for quite some time. Maybe never again? Heh-heh.”

With this thought, Louis felt relieved, like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He contentedly dug into the snacks given by the vice tower masters.

At that moment, Fin scanned their surroundings and asked, “By the way, Louis?”

“Yes?”

“Where did the twins go?”

“Eh?” Louis shrugged with his mouth full of pudding.

Gulp.

The smooth dessert slid down his throat as he swallowed.

“Well…they’re probably running around somewhere again.”

“I suppose so?”

“Yeah.”

Honestly, neither Fin nor Louis was worried about the twins; they were merely curious where they had gone off to this time.

With that brief exchange concluded, they quickly lost interest in the twins and focused on finishing their snacks instead.

Meanwhile, on the ship’s deck…

“Yippee!”

“Wheee!”

As expected, the twins were energetically exploring every corner of the ship once more. However, something unexpected caught them by surprise.

“Oh? Who might those be?”

A head of gray hair framed a wrinkled face, yet the body remained surprisingly fit for someone of advanced age. A long sword hung from their waist, indicating they possessed extraordinary power.

It had been one and a half months since Hap Sunny departed from Luft Hagenn Harbor. They would arrive at the Autumn Continent within two weeks. During this time, Louis was able to enjoy his leisurely days without being pestered by the twins constantly clinging to him like glue.

“Nice.”

“It sure is.”

Louis and Fin lounged on deck chairs under the warm sun. The salty sea breeze filled their nostrils with refreshing air. Relaxed, Louis felt himself melting away under the sun’s rays. With his white hair and fair skin, he resembled a soft rice cake baking in the sunlight.

“Ahh… I’m melting, melting.”

Just as Louis’s eyes started drooping due to the pleasant warmth…

“…Huh?”

Sensing something odd, he abruptly opened his eyes and whispered while straining his ears.

“Fin… Isn’t it strange?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s too…quiet.”

“You’re right, but why— Oh!” Fin was about to ask Louis what the problem with that was when he realized what his captain meant and exclaimed, “The twins!”

Louis had let them roam freely on the ship since there wasn’t anywhere they could run off to. Normally at this hour, the twins would be running around the deck laughing, yet for some reason, it was eerily quiet now.

Frowning, Louis stood up. “Those two… What trouble are they causing now?”

He decided it was time to teach them discipline again as he set out to find them.

Ten minutes later, Louis located the twins, only to stop dead in his tracks upon seeing who else was with them.

“What?”

Louis blinked as he spotted a burly old man standing next to them.

What’s going on here?

It appeared as if they were having some kind of conversation. Louis quietly observed them from afar.

Soon, the old man took out what looked like a large chunk of dried meat from his pocket and broke it in half for the twins. They eagerly accepted the treats, nibbling at them while holding the old man’s hands tightly.

Just as the twins seemed ready to follow him—

“How dare you!” Louis fumed, his eyes ablaze with fury.

He bellowed, “Hey! Khan! Kani!”

The twins and the old man turned toward Louis’s booming voice echoing across the deck. Louis rushed over and pried their hands off the stranger.