After school Larian met with Mrs Grey in her hut. Here he felt comfortable, he felt at home.

He came earlier then he would usually come but it was alright, he found an excuse. He shared his findings on Ritual Magic with his master.

Sitting and talking with his master while drinking tea easily made Larian forget his complicated thoughts

"Interesting concept, you came up with this?"

Larian nodded.

"Since you shared it with me, as the Master I can't disappoint, can't I?"

Mrs Grey chuckled, but soon her expression turned into one of focus. Mrs Grey spread her Qi outwards as Larian instructed and sensed her surroundings.

Unlike Larian her "web" shot outwards thinner and tighter, it looked as if steel webs spread all around. The trees, the sky and the earth, everything was under her control.

Mrs Grey assumed the pose of the Quick draw and drew all the Qi into her blade, as it concentrated her blade glowed with a pale turquoise hue .

"Hup!"

With one fine motion Mrs Grey slashed into the sky. In that split moment, the world all around seemed to fracture like cracks in a mirror.

'It's her Qi that was spread out and formed an illusion as it gathers back into the blade. Is this the peak of the Senki Style?'

In a short moment after the fractures recovered as Mrs Grey sheathed her blade.

"Impressive, this technique is equivalent to many secret arts known in the world. Its compatibility with most weapon arts is outstanding, it is on par with the discovery of chanting magic mages are familiar with."

But Larian wasn't paying attention to that, what he was looking at was at the sky. He blinked repeatedly in disbelief, he had to squint and make sure he wasn't seeing wrongly.

'D-did the cloud just split?'

Larian almost had cold sweat, as he exclaimed.

"Master, you really are amazing."

Mrs Grey immediately laughed out in a "Ho! Ho! Ho!" as the back of her hand covered her mouth as most aristocratic ladies of Trier do. She slapped Larian on the back.

"You only realised that now? I was compared to Selarian back in my prime. Countless men would offer their entire wealth and land to court me. Fortunately I never accepted any of them."

Larian thought back to the legacy of Selarian Academy. Selarian was the leading figure of Humanity's battle against the other races.

He gathered 3 companions, Shinon the Blade Heroine, Alaster the Nightranger and Sheila the Godschosen. Of course, Selarian himself was known as the Mage ahead of his time.

'The war happened 50 years ago and 2 Years later the academy was built. And since Selarian was known to be 30 years old at the time he started building the academy, Selarian should be 80 years old now.'

Larian peeked at Mrs Grey, now taking extra caution to control his facial expression.

'Master is around 80 years-'

The sheath came down like a cane and stuck Larian's forehead.

"OUCH! What was that for?!"

Mrs Grey brows furrowed as she spoke:

"You think I don't know what you're thinking? Look at your poker face, there's definitely some

impolite thoughts in your head."

Rubbing his sore forehead, Larian asked without thinking.

"You should be compared to Shinon the Blade Heroine should you not?"

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Not hearing a reply after some silence, Larian looked at Mrs Grey's expression. He paused.

Her eyes… They looked hollow as she stared at the space in front of her, seemingly in deepthought.

"Master?"

Recovering from her daze Mrs Grey continued

"Huh? Oh nothing, let's go inside for a cup of tea."

Larian, unsure of what's happening, heeded her instructions and prepared everything.

That evening was strange, Mrs Grey didn't instruct Larian as he trained. So he trained by himself.

'Shit. Was it because of something I said? But I'm sure what I talked about was in line with the conversation. What's going on?'

For this Larian pondered seriously.

'Shinon… Blade Heroine… I initially thought that might have been Master's real identity but it seems to be more complicated than that.'

'Master has always been mysterious, even to this day she has not told me her name or mentioned anything about her past. I don't even know the reason she lives in the Deep forest of Trier with her strength. One would assume she would live in a grand mansion or castle with her skills.'

Larian's thoughts lasted for a while. Afterwards, he transitioned into his Slashes regime.

'Why am I such a busybody? Master knows nothing about me too. We both have secrets even after knowing each other for so long. If she doesn't wish to let me know I can't force her.'

Larian gripped his weapon tightly.

'Why am I so self-centered? I always keep to myself when times are important! This is the time to act.'

Having made up his mind, Larian stopped his training and entered the hut. Here Mrs Grey was still sitting in front of the table in her usual manner.

Unusually, the cup of tea was still full.

Larian sat in his usual spot and admired the beautiful scene, the moonlight illuminated the interior of the hut in a way daylight could not. I was solemn and tranquil.

"Mrs Grey."

Larian didn't call Mrs Grey Master now. He addressed her as a respected individual and to not let the student-teacher relationship affect what he wanted to say.

"My name is Luman, I was born from a rural village not far east from Trier called Croy, Croy Village. Raised by a farmer I spent my days fishing. Until sundown."

Larian paused, Mrs Grey noticing the significance of what was about to happen. looked up at Larian.

"When I was younger I met a girl. She was spirited, talkative and brave. I was the complete opposite, always shy, reserved and a coward. It may have been what drew me to her in the first place."

At this point it became unclear who Larian was referring to here. Larian or Luman? But he continued.

"Staying together, we would often talk about her dreams. Her aspirations always amazed me and soon I found myself hopelessly in love with her. I did everything I could in protecting her, helping her realise her dream."

Larian thought back on Sophie, then he laughed in self pity.

"Maybe it's just what I thought, In reality I was the one who needed protection… I was desperate to improve myself but I was always held back by my fear, fear of fucking up."

Larian was getting sentimental, now he didn't seem to talk like a 16 year old farm boy, instead he talked like a 26 year old from a modern world.

"Then I got into an accident. It changed me, I felt like a walking meat bag. Always eyed from the side, I was like an exhibition on display… This really brought me to my lowest low."

"It was like the world itself had turned against me, everyone I knew looked right past me like I was worthless. People who were like Family abandoned me. Nobody wanted a cripple, especially one that would always need your help."

These words felt familiar as they rolled out his tongue, it was similar to what he said to the grey figure above the fog. But this time, he was alive and sharing it with someone he regarded closely.

"There were many times I thought to myself. If I should take everyone down with me. That there were no choices left. The girl I loved… I wanted to keep her with me. I wanted to keep her all to myself."

Larian looked down as he confessed his darkest thoughts in his darkest times, it was filled with shame and disappointment.

"But I met some people. They gave me purpose and it has helped me, alot. I feel better now."

With his Dad, his Doctor and Nurses, Mrs Grey and even Lily in mind Larian concluded:

"I have supportive people around me, so I want to keep thanking them for it. Tell them that they have changed my life forever. Thank you"

Mrs Grey's eyes widened but her expression was soft.

"Luman… Thank you too. For sharing this with me. I know it must be difficult to talk about your past…as It is filled with your insecurities and failures. To share them was not a display of weakness but a sign of strength."

Mrs Grey picked up the cold cup of tea and took a sip, she had to moisten her lips for what's to follow.

"For this trust you've placed in me, I shall reciprocate."

Larian leaned in slightly showing his attention.

"I am Shiro, named after the Snow from the winter when I was born. I come from a Family far east of here. In the land called the Forgotten Isle, my clan was known as the Snow Flowers Clan. Here I was a daughter of a prestigious family of Warriors. Shinki Style originated from this land."

"I have a sister, a twin. We were raised consort to be sent away to establish relations to the Divine family. There I met the sole prince of the time, through him I found my passion in Swordplay. I constantly requested to spar with him and he happily obliged."

"In this suitable environment, my talent for the blade Blossomed. Seemingly aware of my talent, the prince took me under his wing as one of his prized commanders. In a world where women were ridiculed and underestimated, I rose in fame as the first female warrior in our history."

"With such close ties to the Divine Family I was ready to marry the prince finally establishing our roots into Royalty. Integrating into the Divine Family was special, it would take weeks establishing sacred rites before the exchange of Marriage Sake. At the time life was good, I was satisfied with where I was ,there was peace and our family was proud of us."

"Unbeknownst to me, my sister had other plans. The Prince sent me on an odd mission that night, his face was so serious and I sensed a layer of fury under his tone. I complied and was sent to a village near our clan. There I found the village massacred with no one in sight."

"I truly was dumb and naive at the time… Worried for my family and sister, I went back home to check on them. Instead I was faced with disgust and disdain. I was quickly apprehended, and sent to the Divine Family in chains."

"Under the gaze of the acting King I was accused of adultery and murder. The accusation stated that I had slept with a childhood friend of mine in the past and had left to silence the entire village to ensure that my transition into the Divine Family had no faults. This was brought by multiple eyewitnesses who claimed to have directly seen me in my warrior grabs."

"I remembered the look the prince gave that night, he looked so sure of my transgression that he appealed for me to join a suicide squad. It was then I realised he had never loved me, and simply coveted my strength. The night I was to be sent to the battlefield my sister came to me."

"There I learned of her plot which brought my demise. She had secretly learned my style of swordplay and murdered people in our village with it. There was also a lot of information in the Divine Palace that was swapped which added further evidence to my crime."

"That night I found a different side of my sister. She showed Ruthlessness and Grand Ambition to become the Queen of the Land. Her talent in the blade and manipulating others was evident. Even I was secretly impressed."

Having talked so much, Shiro, my master, drew a breath.

"Shinon the Blade Heroine is what she is currently known for. She is the current acting queen of the Forgotten Isle. She rose to world fame as a companion of Selarian."

"..."

"..."

Larian's mouth was open wide enough that one could fit an egg in it.

'My master, Shiro, is the sister of Shinon, one of the current Heroes who brought humanity out of the dark ages?'

Scratching his head Larian was at a loss of what to say

"Wow, compared to what I've said your secret identity outshines mine several fold."

'I wonder how Master would react if she found out that I was an Author of this world… erm she would probably kill me for making it a hotbed of miserable tragedy.'

It was heavily implied that she was a public enemy of Humanity since one of its acting heroes was against her. But Larian seemed unaffected by such a revelation and spoke comfortably with her so Shiro was slightly relieved that Larian could still joke.

"Nonsense, if my disciple dares to share his insecurities how can be any lesser?"

The room was tranquil that night

On that night Larian thought to himself.

'Master Shiro… sometime in the future. When the time is right, I'll tell you my entire truth. I swear it.'