A Sudden Visit

The knocks were hurried. Henry stood up. He opened the door as Felicia was busy fiddling with her white staff.

"Judy?"

Henry saw a slightly shorter woman standing in front of the door. She smiled as soon as she saw him.

"Hello!"

Judy was very cheery. She waved at him excitedly.

"I saw the news issue. How was it?" Henry asked with a slight smile.

He guessed the reason for her visit. She must be here to thank him further. Her current fame was all thanks to him, after all.

"It was great! I've tested it before. However, it was the first time I tried it in combat."

Judy tried using a magic sword as soon as she got ahold of one. Then yesterday, she was able to use it for combat.

"I can teach you a bit."

Henry smiled a little wider, showing his teeth to her.

"Are you sure? Does your master allow you?"

Judy was surprised. It was unexpected for him to suggest teaching her. He previously expressed his disregard for her. He must be in a good mood!

"It's fine. My master doesn't care about such a thing."

Henry planned to teach Judy a bit to thank the academy. She was the best candidate to become the next Principal since she also inherited a part of his legacy.

"Thank you!"

Judy was truly grateful.

"Come inside. Let's chat first about what you understand." Henry invited her in.

Not only did Henry plan to teach her, but he also wanted to give her the chance to become his disciple. If she could pass his high standards, he would consider it.

Judy nodded and entered. She looked around the apartment.

It was the average apartment in the academy. It was not much different than the other students.

"Tell me your family background first."

Henry was curious how her family got the spell. It should be an interesting story, nonetheless.

When she heard his demand, Judy took a deep breath. Her family had a long history. Simplifying it wasn't simple.

And so, Judy talked about her family's background.

She first told him why their family lost their understanding of the sword as the crux of the spell. It was because their family was almost wiped out by a powerful clan.

It was only with the sacrifices of the higher-ranking members of the family that they survived. It was a bloody event that only left the young ones alive.

Thus, they could only research their past.

Once Judy sent the message to her family that they needed to use swords, they gained access to their lost history. It was something they previously couldn't access the archives because they couldn't use the spells.

She briefly revealed to him that their family had a magic circuit protecting their archives from invaders. It would destroy itself if accessed improperly.

Thus, she finally made sense of her history.

In the distant past, the founder of their family followed a powerful magus. This magus dominantly used the sword. He was different from other magi who only used spells.

Their founder learned a lot from that magus, and he eventually settled down and started a family. This became a clan, but they slowly declined.

Recently, they couldn't even protect themselves from another clan. If it wasn't for Henry, they would cease to exist already.

She used a spell she learned from her family's archives. It was the killing move that killed the Master-class magus.

There were more spells for her to learn, but she only had one sent for fear of it being intercepted and stolen.

After listening to her story and explanation, Henry became silent. The way he looked at Judy became complicated.

Was her family the descendants of his third disciple? He wasn't sure.

The description 'powerful magus' provided nothing substantial. It could be that this magus was someone else who inherited his legacy. Her family's connection to him was unclear either.

Unless he could remember all of his memory, he would never be sure.

Felicia had listened in on the story. She made her own guesses knowing that Judy used a sword. It reminded her of the illusion Henry gave her. He also wielded a sword in that form.

Judy stared at Henry expectantly. Her family's history was astonishing and would shock any person.

However, instead of seeing him shocked, he actually looked at her complicatedly. He seemed to want to say something but was not sure if it was correct.

She became confused as a result.

"Do you know my family?" Judy asked.

"No. I just remembered my master."

Henry faked a smile. He wasn't sure, so he kept it to himself.

"Did something similar happen to your master?"

Judy became curious now. She heard many great things about this guy's master, but she had never seen her. Or even anyone else.

"…"

Henry closed his eyes and shook his head. Remembering his master once more ached his heart. She was gone… Time was impartial and hurtful.

Judy wasn't emotionally numb. She noticed some intricacies in his reaction. It was obvious to her he hid something from her.

"Oh, right. I'm also here to inform you about an intel we found out while eradicating the Center Empire's influence in Virtue City."

Judy cleverly changed the topic.

"Tell me."

Henry paid a lot of attention to this Center Empire. He needed them to know whom they tried to assassinate. Once he gained his footing, he would visit them to claim damages.

"Is she trustworthy?" Judy pointed at Felicia.

"Yes. I trust her more than I trust you," Henry replied truthfully.

Judy's face twitched at his words. It pricked her a little.

"You need to be gentle with women, Henry." Judy pouted. She remembered how he made her cry before.

It might appear as an act, but it was the truth. His words were hurtful.

"…I've never been good with women."

Henry shook his head.

In the past, he never had any woman he could call he romantically loved. Of course, unlike some people, he didn't die a virgin.

"Listen carefully. Since you will teach me about sword magic, I will teach you about romance magic!"

"You're inventing nonsense…" Henry sighed.