A Farewell to the Little Emperor

She has the same look in her eyes as the day we had that heated argument about the fallen noble house that had plotted treason. Back then, I insisted that the seeds of insurrection must be plucked at the root; Vanessa argued that a certain level of mercy was permissible.

‘Master. Look at me properly. Do you still see me as a child who cannot fend for herself?’

As she spoke those words, Vanessa had been radiant with confidence. Her body was sturdy, her shoulders broad, and her shining eyes were fixed on the distant future.

‘I actually prefer having an opposition. If everyone agreed with me, it wouldn’t mean they support my opinion—it would mean they fear my power.’

‘That is entirely different from a rebellion.’

‘It isn’t. The method of expressing dissent simply became violent and reached an extreme. Your disciple is not so weak as to be broken by a mere coup or two.’

When I heard that, I knew the moment I had long postponed had finally arrived. The day that had been predestined since I first picked her up seventeen years ago.

“Master.”

Vanessa, now twenty-five and fully grown, pressed her fingers against her temples as if she had a splitting headache.

“You have demolished five spires and hung thirteen nobles upside down in mid-air. And yet, you ask ‘Why what?’”

“It’s no big deal.”

I meant it. I shrugged my shoulders.

“I just… caused a little scene.”

When I spoke so nonchalantly, the hand massaging her temple faltered. Vanessa slowly raised her head. The disciple who had been nursing a headache was gone; in her place remained only the absolute ruler of the Empire with razor-sharp eyes.

She really does have Emperor-tier intuition, my dear disciple. I grinned and tapped my staff against the floor.

“The promised time has come, Vanessa.”

Vanessa remained silent for a moment before beckoning with her hand. It was a gesture telling me to come closer. I walked forward slowly and stopped. Each time I did, she repeated the gesture, demanding I get nearer. Eventually, I was close enough that my shins brushed against the ornate imperial throne.

Vanessa sprang to her feet and hugged me so forcefully she practically tackled me. I barely managed to keep my wobbling body upright. Feeling the horrified gazes of the court piercing my back, I had no choice but to wrap my arms around her in return.

“I said I’m leaving, but are you trying to send me to the afterlife for real?”

“Why does a man who resurrects even if he dies worry about such things?”

“Well, you have a point.”

“To be honest… I did consider tying you up until the moment you came back to life.”

“Ahaha. What a hilarious joke.”

“…….”

Disciple? Why aren’t you answering? This master—whose liver is as fragile as a sunfish’s—is getting nervous. Please tell me it’s a joke, quickly.

As I flinched, the predatory aura Vanessa had been radiating vanished, replaced by a long, weary sigh.

“It is the end, isn’t it? You should at least indulge this much of a tantrum.”

Before I realized it, obsidian eyes glistening with moisture were looking up at me. She never cries. She has been like that since she was a child.

I had watched her entire arduous life from the sidelines, yet I had never once seen Vanessa shed a tear. She was a person incomparably stronger than someone like me, for whom running away had become a habit.

“Can you not… stay?”

“That was our promise.”

“…….”

“You just had a bad thought, didn’t you?”

Which one was it: confinement, restraint, or binding? Fess up.

“Tch.”

Vanessa looked displeased, but she soon loosened her grip. Seventeen years is by no means a short time. Just as I had come to know her well, she had also learned more about me than was perhaps necessary.

It meant she understood the reason why I was leaving so suddenly, with nothing but a one-sided notification.

Because of that, though she was grieved, she respected and accepted my choice without further protest. I truly wonder whose disciple she is to be so considerate, mature, and clever…

“Father.”

…And there she goes again.

“Hey, why do you keep doing that when your actual father is still alive and well?”

“I decide who my father is. That bastard whose brain is located in his crotch is my father? F*ck that. He should be grateful I didn’t kill him and just shoved him in the imperial villa… Why are you moving away?”

“I feel like even we need a thing called personal space.”

“You and your nonsensical talk until the very end.”

Vanessa grumbled, then her expression turned serious.

“I won’t ask twice, so answer carefully. Do you truly wish for me not to seek you out?”

She told me to answer carefully, but the answer to this question had already been decided the moment I took her in as a child.

“Yes.”

This “Sunfish” had a very long lifespan. But the human lifespan is 100 years at best. Since this was a fantasy world, I suppose Sword Masters or Great Mages could somehow last until 200, but it was still too short.

And it had already been over seventeen years since I had been with Vanessa. Some would call it short and others long, but I would call it “dangerously close.” I knew from experience what would happen if I stayed any longer.

I decided to leave without lingering attachments. Before the contents of the heart’s cup overflowed. Before I reached the point where I would want to follow her into death whenever she preceded me.

As the reality of the parting finally set in, Vanessa’s hands trembled slightly.

“If you’re going to do this, erase my memories. Mine and yours.”

“You know that’s impossible.”

Perfectly erasing the memories of a Sword Master is a difficult task even for a Sunfish Great Mage who has lived two thousand years. Even if it worked, it would eventually wear off with time, so it was practically impossible.

And erasing the Sunfish Great Mage’s memories was simply impossible from the start.

The [Mirror that Reflects the Inner Self] prevented any curse from invading my soul. In the much more distant past, when I had lost my mind for a certain reason, I had tried every method available to erase my own memory, and all had failed.

The nobles, who had been silenced by the Emperor’s fury, began to whisper behind their hands again.

‘I could say something like that too. And he calls himself a Great Mage?’ ‘As expected, he was just a con artist with a silver tongue.’ ‘May he fall into the Demon Realm!’

Just as I was thinking I should probably pulverize those bastards before I left, Vanessa wept.

I froze, the knights froze, and the nobles froze. The canes and fans that the nobles treated as extensions of their bodies clattered to the floor. But I was the most shocked of all. I couldn’t even close my gaping mouth.

“The memory erasure magic. Cast it.”

“No, I told you, even if I cast it, it’ll just wear off soon…”

“Cast it.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The memory-erasing spell circled above Vanessa’s head. The Red Capes—Vanessa’s direct knights—belatedly realized what was happening and rushed toward me, but it was too late.

Pop!

The magic circle scattered with a firework-like effect, signaling the completion of the spell. Vanessa’s face, which had been stoic or emotionless a moment ago, twisted into a fierce scowl.

“Who the hell are you?”

Eyes filled with sharp hostility and suspicion glared at me, just like the first time we met. I let out a laugh. This was Vanessa’s petty revenge against me for leaving her. She drew her sword immediately. The signature aura of a Sword Master wrapped the blade in a blue light.

“You’re a face I’ve never seen… How did you get in front of me without making a sound?”

My throat tightened belatedly. Seeing those obsidian eyes filled with the wariness of looking at a complete stranger, I finally realized that one story had come to an end.

“…Vanessa.”

She flinched. One of her eyebrows twitched violently. It was an old habit of hers whenever something displeased her. I smiled warmly and offered my final farewell.

I didn’t need to say anything about the infinite glory of the Empire under her reign. As long as Vanessa was the Emperor, the prosperity of the Empire was a given.

Instead, I said what I needed to say as her long-time guardian, friend, and master.

“Don’t get sick.”

“What—”

“I hope all your days are happy.”

“What… are you… talking about….”

Vanessa furrowed her brow. Seeing the sparks flying already, it truly seemed the spell wouldn’t last long. I smiled brightly and swung my staff.

Whirrr.

The wind rose, and my body floated into the air. A height unreachable by the spears of ordinary soldiers and difficult to attack even for Expert-level knights. From there, I deployed a primary magical barrier and chanted a spell.

Realizing that I was attempting a Warp spell, Vanessa shouted.

“Stop him!”

The mages receiving the order hesitated. It was partly because they had witnessed everything that had transpired, and largely because I had been their leader only five minutes ago.

However, the knights draped in red capes drew their swords and lunged the moment the order was given. We’ve been eating from the same pot for quite a while, and yet you’re being so damn cold… Cold, my ass.

These guys were always like this; it wasn’t even surprising. Seeing their murderous intent, Vanessa grew frustrated and snapped.

“You idiots! Capture him alive, don’t kill him!”

“Uh. But this bast—I mean, this person will just come back to life anyway if he—urk!”

A mana ball the size of a tennis ball slammed into the face of the blabbering knight.

“Shut it.”

Do you want the magic to wear off in two minutes?

As their comrade fell, spraying blood, the knights rushed in with narrowed eyes. I smiled brightly and served them all a mana ball equally.

“Casting Warp while maintaining Flight and attacking with Mana Bolts? Where on earth did a crazy person like that spring from?”

“Ahem.”

“Cough.”

The nobles, who had been watching with an air of resignation, cleared their throats. Vanessa glared at them with a strange look. She looked suspicious, as if she knew something was off but couldn’t pinpoint exactly what.

Vroooooom!

In the meantime, the Warp circle was completed. Sensing my impending escape, Vanessa, who had been sitting steadfastly through the chaos, jumped to her feet. She unsheathed her sword and took a stance as if she would lunge at any second.

But in the end, she didn’t spring from her seat to stop me. Her brow furrowed; she looked confused by her own inaction.

My throat felt tight, but I didn’t let it show. No matter how much my heart was rotting away inside, I smiled brightly on the outside and waved my hand.

When her memories returned later, I wanted the last image she had of me to be a smiling one.

“Goodbye, Vanessa.”

The glowing Warp circle rose into the air.

“Stand right there!”

I didn’t look back at the calling voice. I knew that if I looked back even once, I wouldn’t be able to leave. I bit my lip hard and activated the magic.

Flash!

The light of the magic circle exploded. I felt as if a giant hand made of water was shaking me up and down.

When the light faded, the crowded Imperial Palace was gone, and a vast, deserted plain stretched out before my eyes.

I looked up at the sky for a moment. It was damn clear and serene. A cool breeze blew. No tears fell.

I headed North. To the northernmost tip of the Empire, where not even elves who spend their whole lives in the woods or seasoned treasure hunters dare to set foot.

Into the Forest of Monsters.