Part 3

(I'm coming.)

"He's really coming…"

The next day after I got a master named Usagi-san, he came to my house as if it were natural. What's more, he even came into my garden.

Up until now, not a single monster had ever tried to break into sage-san's house, but Usagi-san had no trouble getting in… Could it be that Master Usagi is not a monster? Or did he simply get in because he has no hostility towards us?

"Woof, woof!"

"Buhi."

There are a lot of things I don't understand, but Night looked excited about Master Usagi, who came over, and Akatsuki looked pale as if he was about to vomit. A-Akatsuki-san. You don't have to be that uncomfortable…

While I was hushing Akatsuki, Master Usagi looked around sage-san's house and garden curiously.

(This place… what is it…? This is using even more magic than that Magic Saint guy…?)

"Eh?"

"…Well, whatever. Today…"

"U-um!"

(Hmm?)

I couldn't help but call out to him as the training was about to begin again.

"Um… why are you teaching us about kicking? Can you tell me about it?"

I didn't understand that point, so I decided to ask him honestly. Then Master Usagi gave an answer that was completely different from what I expected.

(It's because I chose you as my successor.)

"Your successor? And I was chosen?"

Eh? I didn't even know I was being considered as a successor, you know? Well, he just made me his apprentice out of the blue, so it's a bit late for that, isn't it?

(That's right. We who bear the name "Holy" are obligated to nurture their successors. That's why I chose you, who happened to be in this dangerous forest, as that successor.)

"Holy? And the obligation to raise a successor… it's getting more and more confusing to me…"

"Woof."

"Fugo."

Both Night and Akatsuki tilted their heads, not really understanding what Master Usagi meant. Then Master Usagi showed a dumbfounded look.

(You guys… you really don't know about "Holy"?)

"Y-yes."

"Woof."

"Buhi."

(Seriously… people usually call animals bearing the word "Holy" as "Divine Beasts" in respect… then, of course, you don't know about the "Evil", do you?)

"E-evil?"

(Alright now.)

Master Usagi let out one sigh and began to speak with a serious expression.

(There are several people in the world who bear the title "Holy" like me. That's the title this planet bestows on those who have mastered their field.)

"A title was given by… the planet?"

Aren't titles something the world gives to you on its own? A new question comes to mind, but now that I hear about "Holy", I silently encourage him to continue.

(Then why does the planet give the title "Holy"? Take it as the self-purification process of this planet.)

"Self-purification?"

(Yeah. Against "Evil". This "Evil" is an existence where the negative side of the creatures of this world crystallized and came to life.)

"The negative side?"

What a fantasy and conceptual story… I can't follow the story at all. I'm beginning to get a headache from this story that would be unthinkable on Earth.

("Evil" means the negative crystallization of us. That's why it's only harmful to us. In order to protect other living beings from such "Evil", there are beings that bear the name "Holy".)

"Ooh…"

So does that mean that Master Usagi is a hero of justice? I don't have a better analogy for it, so it's hard to say.

(But for now, do you understand what I am?)

"K-kinda… except that you wanted me to be your successor, but is that something I can't say no to?"

(You can always refuse.)

"Oh, I can, huh?"

I thought it was a non-vetoable thing, so I was a little disappointed. No, I'm grateful, though. I don't even know what it means, and even if I'm just given the responsibility, I can't do anything.

(As you can see from the flow of the story, once you obtain the title of "Holy", you will be obligated to fight against the "Evil". It will be an extremely fierce battle. And if you challenge such a battle with a half-hearted ability and feeling, you'll immediately die, which is obvious. I've chosen you as my successor candidate because you have a latent ability that even I can't see the bottom of. You would be able to resist "Evil"…)

"I see… So, when one receives the "Holy" title? Is there anything good that comes with it other than the obligation to fight an opponent who has the "Evil" title?"

(I don't know if it's a good thing or not, but only when fighting the "Evil", our "Holy" status will be doubled or more. Also, this is rather bad, but those who have the title of "Holy" are at the pinnacle of their field of expertise. And since the world has decided that this power should be used in the battle against "Evil", that means that if we are fighting against creatures other than "Evil", we usually fight with our status reduced by half. Well, even so, most enemies won't be a match for us.)

"Woof…"

"Buhii."

Master Usagi literally told me the difference in status, and I froze in surprise.

Eh, so… the status I saw with my [Identification] skill is in a state where it's been halved? And yet he killed the [Mithril Boar] in such a state? This is exactly what it means by jaw-dropping; I could not help but be stunned by Master Usagi's extraordinary character.

(Well… I've talked on at length, but I'm not forcing you to take over the title of "Holy". Even so, the more I train you, the stronger you'll be, and the less unnecessary blood will be spilled. There's also the hope that you might be able to take care of things that we "Saints" can't reach.)

I still don't know what the opponent with the title of "Evil" looks like and what kind of abilities they have, but if Master Usagi is right, those who have the title of "Holy" will be fighting against the "Evil" together, well, even if some kind of ability of the "Evil" influences the people around me, even if I don't inherit the title of "Holy", I will still help the people around me with my power.

"So, what would you do? Will you inherit this "Holy"?"

"Well… I'll pass."

I can't take over such a position of great responsibility, no matter how hard I try. Moreover, since I'm originally from Earth, if by any chance I can't come to this world, there will be that much less power to fight, so I can't even look at it.

"Fuh… I see. Oh well, it doesn't change the fact that I'm going to give you practice."

"Um… but why me?"

(I told you. With your high potential, the rest is at your whim.)

"If that's the case, I can't afford to have you teach me for nothing… which is exactly why I think you should find someone more deserving and devote your time to that person."

(Sigh… even though I'm saying I'm fine with it. You're a stupid, honest guy.)

At my words, Master Usagi let out a sigh of amazement and looked around the house as lightly as he did when he visited my house.

(…Okay.)

"What?"

(If you don't want me to teach you something for nothing, then you should teach me magic too.)

"Eeh!"

Once again, as I froze at the unexpected request, Master Usagi continued.

(I was surprised when I came here, I've never seen such a ridiculous barrier before. This time, I didn't have any particular hostile or harmful intentions, so I entered it as is, but… this barrier, if I tried to act hostile in the slightest, I would be flung out of the barrier in an instant, and no matter how much I attacked, I wouldn't be able to scratch it. Honestly, I didn't think there was a being that could create such an extraordinary barrier. That would be an "Evil" class of monster, but… I can't even sense a sign of "Evil" from you, and I know you're not.)

As I thought, sage-san was so amazing! Although the title of "Holy" usually has half the status or is at the pinnacle of their path, Master Usagi, who holds two of them, is surprised this much. It must be quite a feat.

(Of course, there's also the "Magic Saint" who is the pinnacle of magic, but rather, until I checked you, I thought that he was the one who stands at the top in magic… That instantly fell apart. I'm rather surprised that you've remained unknown until now…)

That's because I'm from a different world. I usually live on Earth.

(Anyway, enough of the jumbled up details. If you don't want to be taught by me one-sidedly, then you can teach me this super magic. That way, we can teach each other, so all will be well.)

"Um… to begin with, can Master Usagi use magic?"

(I think I saw the skills, but I can't use them at all!)

"Even though you're so strong…"

It seems that he has excellent ears and feet, but he is incredibly bad at understanding and activating magic. More importantly, can I teach him? I just happened to find a book that looked like sage-san's diary. I only inherited the magic circuit and magic theory from it. That's why I'm not in a position to teach others so proudly.

…Even so, Master Usagi's kicks are very appealing. Just yesterday, I encountered [Mithril Boar] in the depths of the Great Devil's Nest, and it was like I couldn't stand up to it. The more ways there are to fight against them, even a little, the better.

I nodded and offered my hand to Master Usagi.

"Then… I don't know how far I can teach you, but I'll do my best."

(Umu.)

In the meantime, I don't understand magic theory myself, but I can teach it, so it won't be as miserable as I thought.

(Even so… it feels weird to be a master as well as my disciple, doesn't it?)

"S-sure."

I wasn't really aware of it, but it seems that I became a disciple and master of Master Usagi, the divine beast.

(Well, this is how we became each other's masters and disciples. I don't have a name, but tell me your names.)

"Oh, I'm Yuuya. And this is Night and Akatsuki."

"Woof."

"Fugo."

Night and Akatsuki dexterously raised their front legs to greet him, and Usagi-san nodded. Then Master Usagi and I lightly told each other what we could teach one another. Then we hunted the monsters for each other's kicking and magic training.

＊＊＊

(───Can't you think of anything more interesting to say?)

Before Yuuya and Usagi met.

Usagi had stepped into the Great Devil's Nest, which is a place he usually doesn't go near. Although it's not a problem for Usagi's abilities, there are still many powerful monsters in this Great Devil's Nest, so he doesn't often visit this Great Devil's Nest.

However, today, for some reason, Usagi had come to this Great Devil's Nest.

(…I wonder what's going on here. Normally I wouldn't even go near a place like this because it's so troublesome, but…)

As expected of an existence bearing the title of "Holy", he proceeded to the depths of the Great Devil's Nest without any hesitation. Then, Usagi's special ears did indeed pick up a faint sound.

(Hmm? Territory war?)

Usagi couldn't grasp what was going on until he could figure out what was being fought over, but with a bit of interest, he turned his feet towards the sound.

Then…

(Mm? A human?!)

The sight of a Mithril Boar, which is one of the strongest in the middle tier of this Great Devil's Nest and a human──Yuuya fighting, jumped into his eyes.

(…No, to call it a battle, the Mithril Boar hasn't been damaged, but…)

As Usagi said, Yuuya's attacks are not very effective against Mithril Boar. Mithril Boar's body is wrapped in a rare [Mithril] that shows unparalleled strength against magic attacks and even has a high resistance to physical attacks. It would be difficult for a mere human even to inflict a single wound.

And what's more, the troublesome thing about Mithril Boar was its overwhelming defensive power, as well as its rush attacks that smashed its massive body at tremendous speed. Normally, if a mere human received that attack, it would turn into a piece of meat in an instant…

(What!?!)

Yuuya was indeed blown away by Mithril Boar's rush, but he survived without causing his body to burst into pieces. He couldn't hide his surprise at that fact, and even more so at the strength of Night, who was fighting with Yuuya.

Usagi, who once again observed Yuuya carefully, broke out in a cold sweat inwardly.

(…That human is the most unreadable. No, I mean…the most invisible.)

As for Night and Akatsuki, Usagi was able to predict the strength to some extent. However, it was only a prediction, so it could change significantly with future growth. However, as for Yuuya, even Usagi, who was bearing the "Holy" title, could not foresee the limits of his growth.

(I didn't expect that other than us "Holy" holders, there was a being with this much potential…)

What Usagi felt towards Yuuya was fear and──joy.

(What if I train that guy?)

Usagi has two titles, "Holy Ears" and "Holy Kick", and when it comes to "Ears" it cannot be taught to humans. But when it comes to kicking, which he takes pride in being the best in this world, it's a different story.

If possible, he would like to raise him as the successor to "Holy Kick", but more than that, he wanted to give his skills to Yuuya, whose bottom of his potential ability is not visible.

However, due to the position of Usagi, he couldn't teach the technique so easily. That's because there might be people who would misuse those skills. That's why an existence chosen to be the successor of one who was bearing the "Holy" was required to have a certain level of integrity.

When he recalled the troublesome "Holy" restrictions, Yuuya and the others seemed to feel that they were not good enough and were trying to escape from the Mithril Boar.

However, the Mithril Boar would not be so easy to overlook and continued its attack. And in Yuuya's decision to fight Mithril Boar alone, and his willingness to sacrifice himself to protect his friends, Usagi found the final piece of his succession.

Originally, he had no intention of leaving him to die, but fortunately, Usagi decided to save Yuuya and the others as soon as possible.

──Thus, Usagi got an apprentice named Yuuya, but at this time Usagi didn't know that when he saw the barrier that was placed on Yuuya's house, he experienced a talent for magic that surpassed even the "Magic Saint" and became Yuuya's apprentice, a strange relationship of master and apprentice.