Side Story – First Experience

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Not long after, Theo and I arrived at one of the many back alley entrances.

‘Yeah, this place hasn’t changed.’

The inside was dark with barely any light, creating a gloomy atmosphere. There were rolling piles of trash and large rats rummaging through them.

It was a place that looked like you could easily get into trouble.

The war had ended a long time ago, but the scars that hadn’t healed remained. Because of this, there were many criminals running rampant in the dark corners of the city.

In this day and age, going into a back alley without any preparation was like shouting, “Please rob me.”

‘If possible, I hope a suitable opponent shows up.’

I was about to go inside with anticipation, but Theo grabbed my arm from behind.

“Huh?”

“S, Sarah? You’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking, are you?”

“That’s right. There are plenty of opponents perfect for you in the back alley. You can beat them up without any legal problems.”

“Even so, it’s hard for me to fight with just a Wooden sword….”

Feeling the trembling, I looked down and saw Theo’s hand, which was holding my arm, shaking slightly.

So he’s still scared of the gang members.

Of course, I expected this reaction to some extent. Gang members must have been a source of terror during his time living in the back alley.

In this case, it was necessary to instill some courage in him.

“Theo, listen to me carefully.”

I put my hands on Theo’s shoulders and made eye contact.

“It’s important for you to overcome your fear on your own. You know I can’t protect you forever, right?”

“…I know.”

I knew that Theo depended on me a lot and didn’t want to be apart from me. He probably thought of me as family.

Of course, I had grown fond of Theo over the past few months.

Perhaps that’s why I felt sorry for Theo, who had slumped his shoulders.

But in the end, my relationship with Theo was just a fleeting connection.

“My goal was to make you strong enough to deal with the back alley gangs in the city. Just like you asked before you followed me.”

“Then, if I become strong enough… are you going to leave, Sarah?”

“Yeah. I have things I want to do in the future too.”

“Things you want to do…?”

“It’s nothing grand. I’m just going to travel.”

I had forgotten about the emptiness and depression I felt that day, but there were still many things I hadn’t finished as a Hero and places that needed help.

I plan to solve these problems one by one. And I’ll also track down the remnants of the Demon.

If I do that, I might be able to make new connections or find new goals like Theo.

And… if necessary, I was also thinking of enjoying some pleasure.

‘Sometimes my body feels hot, and I think it’s because of pent-up desires….’

I was holding back now because Theo was here, but I couldn’t help but accumulate desires because of the characteristics of my lewd body.

“Theo, you’ve reminded me of things I need to do. I wish I could take you on my journey, but… unfortunately, that’s difficult.”

“…Can I do well on my own?”

Did I make him weak by protecting him too much?

I ruffled Theo’s hair in frustration.

“Hey. I’m leaving when you get stronger, not now.”

“Ugh….”

“You’ve grown so much taller in the past few months, and you’ve received my training. In fact, you’re already strong enough. You just don’t realize it because you don’t have any experience. So have some confidence. Do you think I brought you here to kill you?”

“…Yes.”

“If you understand, then lead the way.”

At my words, Theo swallowed hard and slowly started walking ahead.

‘Hoo… I hope this works?’

I had a moment of hope that he had finally gained confidence.

But Theo’s steps stopped again.

“Sarah, what if I run into people who know me….”

“Haa… You’re being too self-conscious. Do you think they’ll remember you?”

The organization doesn’t manage just one or two orphans.

Even when Theo disappeared, they probably looked for him for a few days and then quickly gave up. By now, they would have completely forgotten about him.

“Um….”

I was starting to get annoyed by Theo’s attitude of resisting my words.

If he keeps resisting, I’ll have to throw him in by force.

“Theo, do you want me to drag you in by force? I don’t want to do that.”

“I, I’ll go!”

Only then did Theo hurriedly walk inside.

As I expected, a sacrifice for Theo appeared quickly.

“Hey, you there.”

A man with tattoos on his arms blocked our path with a swaggering attitude.

Theo, who was next to me, seemed to feel an instinctive fear and took a step back.

“Ugh….”

“Where do you think you’re going? Stay still.”

Soon, a muscular man appeared from behind and surrounded us.

“I don’t know what a handsome brother and sister are doing in our territory, but….”

The tattooed man pulled out the sword from his waist and swung it threateningly.

“I have no intention of letting go of the prey that has appeared before my eyes. Hand over everything you have and leave.”

“Wh, what should we do?”

“Just a moment.”

I quickly assessed the opponent’s level.

A tattooed man and a muscular man.

There was almost no mana felt inside their bodies, and the weapons they held were, at best, crude swords.

‘They must be low-level members of the organization.’

Honestly, they were too weak, which was disappointing. But they weren’t bad as Theo’s first opponents.

I hit Theo’s back, which was stiff.

-Thud.

“Wh, why?”

“You know.”

“Are you kidding? I can’t handle two armed men alone….”

“You’ve trained hard and sparred with me countless times. Now is the time to show your skills in a real fight.”

“All I remember from sparring is getting beaten up….”

“Don’t worry. They’re much slower and weaker than me. You’ll be able to see their movements clearly.”

“Hoo… I’ll try.”

Theo finally realized that he had to fight and pulled out the Wooden sword he was wearing on his waist.

“Huh? Are you saying you’re going to fight us?”

“Hahaha! What’s with that toy? Are you trying to show off in front of a woman?”

The gang members who surrounded us burst into laughter when they saw Theo.

It wasn’t a real sword, just a Wooden sword.

They seemed to find it absurd that he was trying to fight them with that.

Of course, the guys should be glad that what Theo was holding was a Wooden sword.

“I don’t want to fight you. Please step back.”

Theo raised his Wooden sword while slightly trembling his hands.

“Wow. Is he really thinking of fighting?”

“We need to finish this quickly. Hey, Tyler! You attack from the front. I’ll attack from behind.”

“Okay. I have things to do today too.”

The two men exchanged words and then surrounded Theo from the front and back.

‘I should step back for a moment.’

Taking advantage of the fact that Theo was the center of attention, I quietly stepped back. And I comfortably observed the situation.

He was surrounded from the front and back in a small space. Even if there was a difference in skill, it wasn’t an easy situation.

I was looking forward to seeing how cleanly Theo would handle this situation. After all, he was the first disciple I had raised.

**

The gang members were the first to rush at Theo.

“Here. I’ll cut off one of your arms!”

“Erya!”

The two men rushed in, and blades surged from the front and back of Theo.

If he didn’t react properly, he would be attacked from the front and back and it would be over immediately.

Theo calmly watched the attacks while trembling.

-Tap!

Theo’s instantaneous movement was fast.

Theo lightly deflected the tattooed man’s sword and instead dug forward.

“Wh, what?!”

The tattooed man was flustered by the unexpected movement and was hit in the stomach by Theo’s Wooden sword.

-Thwack!

“Keuk!”

The tattooed man grabbed his stomach and collapsed on the spot.

“You bastard!”

The muscular man who was in the back belatedly swung his sword at Theo’s back, but—

“…You’re really slow.”

Theo had already moved to the side of the muscular man and was looking at him as if he was bored.

“Wh, when?!”

Theo lightly hit the muscular man’s hand with his Wooden sword, causing him to drop his sword.

“Keuk….”

“Augh….”

The tattooed man grabbed his stomach, and the muscular man grabbed his hand and trembled on the floor.

The situation was decided in an instant. Everything was as I expected.

I approached Theo, who was standing there blankly. And I lightly stroked his head as a sign of praise.

“Theo, you did well.”

“I… I’m stronger than I thought. I can see all of their movements.”

“Of course. Who taught you?”

Theo didn’t know it, but his skills were already strong enough to easily handle the thugs in the city.

Like in the battle just now, Theo had a talent for speed and movement using mana.

Instead, he was weak in stamina, so I even considered teaching him assassination techniques.

“…I feel even more how much of a monster you are, Sarah.”

“Monster? Is that what you call someone who takes care of you and teaches you?”

Monster. I’ve heard that word a lot from the Demon, though.

“Damn it!”

The tattooed man, who was sitting down, suddenly cursed and started running away.

“Ta, take me with you!”

The muscular man who saw that also tried to run away, but—

-Thwack!

“Kyak!”

He was hit in the head by Theo’s Wooden sword and collapsed on the spot.

“Sarah, one of them escaped. Is it okay?”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s just a test of your skills, nothing more, nothing less.”

“Then what should we do with this guy?”

Theo poked the unconscious muscular man with his Wooden sword.

I was thinking of taking him to the guard, but… I was curious about Theo’s thoughts.

“What do you want to do?”

“To be honest… I think it’s better to kill him.”

“…That’s unexpected?”

I didn’t expect him to try to kill him at all. Did he have a bigger grudge against the organization than I thought?

“I thought you would say that we should take him to the guard.”

“Even if the gang members are caught by the guard, they often get released quickly. Judging by the way he swung his sword at people without hesitation, he must have committed countless robberies and murders. I think killing him here is a way to prevent greater sacrifices.”

“Well, it’s close to self-defense, so it wouldn’t be a big problem even if you killed him. But I want you to think carefully about killing someone.”

I put my hand on the back of Theo’s hand, which was holding the Wooden sword.

“You’ve never killed anyone before, have you?”

“…No.”

“First of all, I didn’t train you to kill people with force. I wanted you to use it to help people.”

“I remember. You always told me not to use my strength recklessly.”

“That’s good. But as you live, you’ll fight people countless times, and there may be times when you have to kill.”

The world is cruel. Especially in a chaotic situation after the war.

It would be a big problem if Theo became twisted and became a vicious criminal in that difficult process. So it’s always necessary to educate him about these things.

“I want you to think carefully every time. Whether it’s something that will help the world. You used to pickpocket and harm people, right? You should at least atone for that, shouldn’t you?”

“…That’s right.”

Theo was silent for a moment as if he was pondering my words.

At that moment. The voice of the tattooed man who had escaped nearby was heard.

“They’re over there!”

-Thud thud thud.

Led by the tattooed man, six gang members appeared before our eyes.

“Who are these guys?”

I could feel mana wriggling inside the bodies of the newly appeared gang members.

One of them had a mana level that seemed to be around 4-Star.

He was probably the leader of the organization.

‘A large number of opponents who can freely use mana.’

It was still too dangerous to leave it to Theo.

“Theo.”

“Yes?”

“Training is over for today. Go home first.”

“Wh, what about you, Sarah?”

“I have to deal with those guys. It’ll be annoying if they chase after us.”

“Even so….”

“Theo, you know how strong I am, right?”

He still didn’t trust me.

I didn’t tell him that I was a former Hero, but Theo probably felt that I was close to a superhuman. He’s seen a lot of what I’ve shown him while living together.

“Don’t worry about unnecessary things. I know how you feel, but it’ll be more of a hindrance if you’re with me.”

“…Still, be careful.”

“Hehe, of course. Go and prepare dinner.”

“Yes. I’ll prepare something as delicious as possible.”

Theo nodded vigorously and turned around and quickly left.

Only after Theo had completely disappeared did I turn around and pay attention to the gang members.

The gang members were wary of me, not rushing in rashly. Perhaps because their fellow gang member had been defeated, they didn’t seem to be thinking of letting their guard down.

“Is that all of you? There are a few less than I expected.”

“Is this bitch crazy?”

“Calm down. Judging by her attitude, she’s not an ordinary bitch. Use everything you have.”

“Yes, sir!”

At the leader’s command, one of the subordinates immediately threw something.

-Whoosh.

I lightly snatched the projectile that was flying towards me.

It was a round sphere.

I didn’t feel any magic power in it—

-Bang!

“Cough, cough!”

…It exploded.

My skin felt a little tingly from the purple gas that covered my eyes. My whole body seemed to be numb.

‘Is it Paralysis poison? The effect is quite strong.’

They’re just a back alley gang, but they use all sorts of things.

But it’s useless.

-Whoosh.

I lightly circulated mana to drive out the poison in my body.

If they wanted to harm me with poison, they would have to bring tens of liters of Basilisk poison and pour it down my throat.

“Is that all?”

“E, even after being covered in that….”

“Wasn’t that Paralysis poison for Monster?”

The gang members all looked flustered at my appearance, even after being covered in poison.

“B, boss, I think we messed with the wrong person?”

“I know, so throw everything you have!”

““Yes, sir!””

At the command of the guy who seemed to be the leader, the subordinates started throwing the spheres they had at random.

“Haa….”

They should have run away after seeing the result. Why were they doing something meaningless again?

Well, I didn’t expect these guys to have the ability to learn in the first place.

I didn’t bother dodging the flying balls and walked towards them while getting hit. It was better to instill more fear this way.

-Bang! Bang! Bang!

After all, this is useless…

“Heuh…?”