2. The Master's Sticky Apprentice

Rion and Ludriev were about to enter the front yard of his bamboo house when he heard a shout from ahead of the pathway.

"Master!"

A young girl ran in his direction cheerfully. Her face was flushed, maybe from running all the way here, as she smiled at him. Rion was about to warn her to slow down and be careful when her feet slipped and she fell forward right into Rion's arms, who was fast enough to catch her.

"Ruby, what did I say about no running around carelessly like that?"

Ruby immediately pulled herself back from his arms. She flushed even harder. "I- I'm sorry, Master. I was too clumsy."

Honestly, Rion got worried about this apprentice of his. Ruby was too clumsy. She often stumbled around like that and fell into his arms. Even more so when he taught her a sword move. He even gave her an extra hour for a private lesson because she had difficulty learning it.

She stumbled and fell on him over a hundred times in their last private lesson.

Rion felt like he should invite Lin over to get her checked. In case Ruby had any dis-coordination in her limbs.

But that was strange. Because Ruby was the most talented apprentice he had. She learned quickly and had always been a star in his classes. She was also very good at other things like house works and reports. Rion himself was more of a free soul, which meant he was relatively bad at any chores. Ruby often helped him to keep the house clean most of the time, and even cooked for him. Her food was delicious!

So, it was quite baffling when she couldn't get this one move.

Or maybe his teaching technique was the problem? He might need to ask Ludriev to teach her later. See if she still stumbles if Lu was the one teaching her.

"It's fine, Ruby. Why are you here and not practicing your flute lesson?"

"I had memorized the song, Master," Ruby said, eyes gleaming with pride and looking as if she was practically begging for a compliment.

Rion couldn't help but chuckle lightly and patted her hair. "Ruby is indeed very smart."

At that moment, Ruby finally realized the wound on his arm. Her face went aghast, and she instantly panicked. "Master, what happened to your arm?!"

"Ah, there was a minor accident today. It isn't too bad. It's okay, it's okay. Ruby, stop making a face like your master is dying."

"Master is not dying! Don't speak like that!" Ruby daringly took his hand and pulled him into the house.

Normally, she wouldn't just do something reckless like that. She was respectful and always kept her distance cautiously. But Rion thought she might be too agitated to care about propriety at the moment since Rion was rarely getting hurt. He didn't have the heart to reprimand her.

"Who did this?" Ruby found the box of medicine and they were all sitting around the table. Ludriev was so quiet the whole time Rion almost forgot her presence. "Who did this, Master? I would go and stab them one hundred times over."

"Err...." Rion glanced at Ludriev, who was looking out of the window with a glare. "It's just a small gash. What's the use of so much fuss over it?"

Ruby looked like she would say something more, but then she pursed her lips and quietly helped him to clean and bandage the wound. Rion let her be if it could make her feel better. Also, it would be difficult to bandage his own wound with one hand.

"I will prepare dinner for Master. Do you have anything you would like to eat?" Ruby asked when she was done.

"Actually, for today I will go to the town with Ludriev. Ruby doesn't need to cook dinner for me. You can also play and went down to the mountain with your friends. Have some fun, but don't get back too late, alright?"

"Master will go with Lu- with Master Ludriev?"

"Yes. I lost in today's sparring so, I'll treat our Goddess of War something nice."

Ludriev glared at him. "If you want to go, then hurry and change. Why are you talking so much?"

"Don't speak like that to Master!" Ruby said furiously.

Ludriev gave her an unimpressed look. "Or what? I can speak all I want. What is a little kid like you going to do about that?"

Ruby was only an apprentice. She certainly didn't have any power against a sword master like Ludriev. She put on the fakest smile she could muster and said sweetly, Master Ludriev seemed to not enjoy my Master's company. So, why would you want to go with him? You can go alone."

Ludriev wasn't someone who possessed socializing skills or was good at reading people's hidden intentions. But she was a fighter. Her instinct in a fight was sharper than any knives. She could sense someone's oppressive aura when they were about to attack. And Ruby had been ticking on her instinct since day one.

"Who said I don't like his company? He made the promise himself, why is it you are the one who seems troubled?"

Rion, who watched their passive-aggressive exchange the whole time, had had enough. "You two, stop it. What are you even fighting about? Ruby, I will go down the mountain today. If you finish the flute lesson I gave, you are free to do what you want for today."

He waited until Ruby nodded. Somehow looking anguished. "Yes, Master."

"Good." Then he turned to Ludriev and tried not to sigh. Why did she look so smug, as if she won a battle? She quarreled with an eighteen-year-old kid. What was so good about it?

"Lu, wait here. I'll be back soon."

Rion disappeared into his room.

.

.

The dinner in the town was nice, Rion thought. It was difficult to see if Ludriev enjoyed it or not, since she had very little expression on her face. But Rion had been with lived with her for years, along with other siblings. He could see the subtlest change in her expression.

They were strolling the busy town street. The people had Harvest Festival right now, therefore the town was quite bustling with cheerfulness.

Ludriev was walking beside him with the same impassive face she always wore, but right now, the permanent crease between her brows eased a little. She was nibbling on a chicken skewer they bought from a stall as a snack.

"It's good, isn't it?" Rion asked with a smile.

Ludriev glanced at him and hummed in agreement.

"I heard they will have fireworks later. Do you want to see it, Lu?"

As expected, Ludriev frowned. "What's the point of fireworks? It's loud."

"It's beautiful," Rion corrected. "And pretty. Just say it, Lu, you've never seen one, have you?"

Ludriev scoffed. "It has no use."

Rion rolled his eyes. "You've never seen one. How could you just decide you would not like it? Just trust me and come with me, okay? I will show you how to enjoy life!"

Ludriev really didn't care about fireworks. But she couldn't really deny anything from Rion. The man didn't know this. But, when he smiled like that, Ludriev felt her heart doing this funny thing like beating too fast and too hard, off-tempo, and before she knew it, she agreed to whatever Rion said.

Was this some kind of disease? She might need to see Lin after this. Just in case it got worse.

They found a suitable spot to watch the fireworks. It was a small hill a little further away from the bustle of the town. The first booming sound from the firework had Ludriev clenching her teeth in surprise, body tensing for defense, prepared for an attack. It was all the reflex of her fight instinct.

Rion laugh and patted her shoulder comfortingly. "Relax, Lu. It's just fireworks."

The fireworks bloomed in the night sky in colorful bursts of light. It lit the night sky and the surroundings briefly before being replaced with another. And another. It was the myriad of colors. Beautiful, but Lu's eyes weren't on the sky.

The fireworks made it easier to see Rion's face. Ludriev saw this face every day, sometimes even to the point of being annoyed. But it was only the two of them, in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere. The light from fireworks somehow made his face feel more pleasant to see. Ludriev only could see his side profile, but his eyes were sparkling from the light, and the smile on his face was... nice.

"Pretty, isn't it?"

Rion suddenly looked at her, and Ludriev couldn't fight the blush on her face. She looked away and muttered, "Yes, very pretty."

"I know you will like it! If you have time on Summer Solstice, I'll-"

A loud explosion sounded from the direction of the town. It was clearly a different explosion from how a firework should hear. Ludriev must've noticed it too because she instantly stood up and looked at the bustling town down there. But they couldn't see much from this distance.

"Something happened in town," Ludriev said, alarmed. Her eyes squinted in the dark. The fireworks suddenly stopped, and they heard the faint screams of people.

"Let's go."

They ran all the way back to town. When they arrived, it was pure chaos. People ran headless and screaming in terror. Houses burnt and destroyed. It was difficult for them to go through.

Rion and Ludriev didn't see it at first. Upon arriving, they only spotted a small group of the apprentices of Liebu Mountain. Their swords were all unsheathed, and they stared warily ahead.

"Had someone gone to notify Master?!" One of them shouted to his friends.

"Senior Rei had gone back to the Academy!" someone else answered. "He's the fastest among us. Master would be here in no time. We just need to hold back until they arrived."

Rion was just about to ask what was it when a big, black tail swung beside him. It made Ludriev, who previously stood there, flew a few feet backward and collided with one of the house's wall until it crumbled.

"Lu!" he shouted and whipped his head in time to see their opponent.

It was a giant lizard. Very, very big. It demolished at least three houses under its body. Its entire body was black, which made it difficult to discern in the dark of the night. But, the eyes were blood red with vertical black pupils. It looked menacingly at Rion and opened its enormous mouth, ready to spit a ball of fire in his direction.

It was a demon! A Fire Spitting Lizard Demon!