My Students Regret It After I Retired

51 – Bendict, Devigail

The day his father, swindled by a conman, took his own life, Bendict had gone to find that conman.

“Why did you do it?”

“Why did I do it? Who the hell are you to begin with?”

“I’m Mr. Benrag’s son.”

When Bendict remained silent, the man stroked his beard and then spoke.

“Ah… you’re that guy’s son. You look just like him. Look here, Benrag’s dead, but it’s not my fault. That moron’s the idiot for handing over all that money without checking anything.”

“My father died. He took his life because he didn’t want to pass his debts on to me. But I’m going to pay those debts. You might have conned my father, but I’m going to pay the consequence of that. If you’re at least a man, turn yourself in. Go to the Imperial Court yourself and receive your punishment.”

“Don’t talk nonsense, you worm. If you want to mourn your father, do it alone. Don’t be making noise in front of me. Ah… did I not mention it? That guy had cancer, apparently.”

“…?”

“He could’ve been cured if he’d had the money for treatment, but he couldn’t go to the hospital because he had no money. As time went on, his cancer got worse, and he even contacted me. But instead of asking for money for his treatment, the fool asked for some to pay his debts. You know what I thought when I heard that? What a pathetic fool, getting screwed over to the very end. That’s what I thought. That’s what happens to those who live so pathetic lives. Being stupid and being kind are two different things.”

“Ah…”

At that sound from the man, Bendict charged, his reason severed, heedless. The conman, perhaps from consistent training, wielded his sword, countering with surprising aggression even at close range.

They tangled, a brutal clash that nearly killed Bendict, but his last strike, by luck, landed true, and he was victorious.

Comically, at that instant, as Bendict stared at the conman’s body crumpled on the ground, a single emotion washed over him.

*I’ve avenged them.* *Because I had the strength, I could avenge my father’s grudge.*

*If that conman had been stronger than me, I’d be dead right beside my father.*

Even as the imperial investigators hauled Bendict away, he kept thinking.

He wanted to become stronger. If the world wouldn’t protect him, then only his own power could protect himself and those around him. That was what he believed.

His blind faith in strength had surged past the level of belief, into something akin to madness.

Even in prison, he began training with a manic fervor, attempting to solve everything with brute force. That became his truth, his law. But then he met Leos.

The first time he saw him, Leos was quietly in a corner, saying nothing. Bendict, at the time, approached and spoke to him.

“I heard you’re here for assaulting a disciple? You’re a fucking piece of trash. You know what I hate most? People like you.”

Bendict, believing Leos was evil, attacked him. That day, Leos beat Bendict to the brink of death.

“Guh…guh…”

Leaving Bendict gasping for air, Leos spoke quietly.

“Is there no one around you who has been wronged? Don’t judge and measure others so carelessly. I’ve never once acted against my own convictions.”

Bendict was more pained by his own foolishness than by the wounds inflicted by Leos. Even though his father had been wrongly accused as a conman and taken his own life, he had tried to punish someone who might have been innocent, under the guise of “justice,” using his own twisted standards.

“Can…can you tell me your story?”

After that, Bendict heard everything about Leos. How he had lived, how he had treated his disciple, everything that had led him to that point.

“…Brother…with all due respect…I do have a question.”

At first, Bendikt had been charging in headfirst, but after hearing Leos’s story, he started treating him with utmost respect. Almost like the way he’d treated his own father.

“Speak. What is it you’re curious about?”

“I’ve never met anyone as strong as you in my life, hyungnim. I can beat guys with knives, or guys with axes, but I could never beat you. With such strength, and after all that injustice, why didn’t you retaliate?”

“…”

“With your strength, hyungnim, you could’ve killed that b*tch Bellin no matter how many Imperial investigators came at you, right? If it were me, I’d have taken revenge, just from the bitterness of being done dirty like that. Of course… if I had your strength.”

“I’m trying to wait it out. Using force is easy, but cleaning up the aftermath is difficult.”

“That girl Bellin… they said she was smiling when she left after the trial…?”

“It’s not Bellin I’m waiting for. I’m waiting to hear from my disciples. If there’s even one person who believes in me, one person waiting for me, I’ll go back to where I belong. If my sentence is lengthened, it’ll be impossible to return when I want to.”

“No, you crazy…! You’re living too stubbornly, aren’t you? Why are you being so stupid?”

Leos glared, and Bendikt flinched, correcting himself.

“Your faith in your comrades is admirable.”

“I know I’m being foolish. There are times I want to take revenge on everyone who didn’t believe me, but then I think, ‘What did those kids who were just fooled do wrong?’ And then, I feel resentful that they wouldn’t even listen to a single word I said, despite all the time we spent together. So many emotions are warring within me. But one thing’s for sure, the bond I built over a long time must have meant more to me than I thought. I’m still holding onto the hope that they’ll believe in me.”

“…I hate to say this, but…I don’t think they’ll contact you again. There’s still a ton of news about you, Leos-nim, on the prison TVs. I even doubted you myself before I heard the story.”

“That’s not for you to know. Now get lost. I don’t want to get mixed up with a guy like you.”

“No, hyungnim… won’t you listen to my story? Aren’t you curious?”

“Not at all.”

Next to Leos, who was unresponsive, Bendikt simply slowly began to tell his own life story. About living with his father, being scammed, his father taking his own life, and then killing the scammer with his own hands, leading him to this place.

Bendikt had confessed his story for the first time. Thus, he was a bit curious about what kind of reaction it would provoke. How would a third party receive this story? However, rather than giving a critique, Leos offered advice for the future.

“Bendikt, live your own life now.”

“What’s my life? Either way, I’m already branded a murderer, and I’ll rot in prison.”

Leos smacked Bendict upside the head.

“If you talk like that, what does that make me, stuck in the same damn prison?”

“No…hyungnim, you’re different from me. Honestly, if you’re that strong, you can make a living no matter what you do.”

“You’re no different.”

“…”

Bendict stared blankly for a moment at Leos’ words. Then, slowly, he opened his mouth.

“Hyungnim. Would you train me?”

“What good is learning how to fight going to do?”

“To protect.”

“…?”

“You never know, right? Maybe if I work hard, I’ll find someone I want to protect with my life. If I’m too weak to protect them when that time comes, how wretched would I feel? And there’s not much else to learn in prison anyway.”

Leos pondered for a moment before speaking.

“I can’t go easy on you.”

“Give it your all. I’m always ready.”

Leos spoke to Bendict, who was looking determined,

“You have such a harsh look and you’re so big, that kind of expression makes you look terrifying. It’s even worse with that scar on your face.”

“…Is that so? This scar was given to me by that swindler…”

“Anyway. So sometimes you should loosen up your face and act mild. If you want to get by on the outside, you need to get rid of that venom in your eyes first.”

“Hehe…is it okay if I grin like this? Hyungnim?”

“It’s not about acting like an idiot.”

“I’m not smart enough to understand that! If doing this keeps me from looking scary to anyone, isn’t that good enough!”

“Do as you please.”

After that, Benedict sparred with Leos every single day.

Covered in wounds, Benedict wiped away the blood, slowly rising as he glared at Leos with resentment.

“Hyung… aren’t you hitting me a little too hard…”

“You told me to go all out. I’m not good at holding back.”

“I almost died a few times, you know.”

“Then don’t ask to fight if you’re going to complain.”

“…But when did I ever say let’s fight! I just asked to learn how to fight…”

“You want to get stronger. You asked to learn how to fight. There’s no other way. The battles in the Empire often lead to the death of the loser. You can never get a feel for real combat with mere practice sparring.”

“I guess you’re right… Then one more time, please, Hyung. Hehe…”

The training went on for almost three years. Barely a day went by without Benedict sparring with Leos. He actually came close to death countless times. As time passed, Benedict grew stronger and stronger.

“Benedict. At least don’t use your power where I can see it.”

“Why all of a sudden, Hyung?”

“It’s just, even though I trained you emotionally, I’m starting to think you’ve become stronger than I anticipated, and I might regret it.”

“Regret? Why would you say that?”

“If you keep using your power as you please, and if it goes in the wrong direction, then to take full responsibility for raising you, I might have to kill you.”

“…Hyung, how could you say such a terrible thing?”

“Promise me. Promise not to use your power for trivial matters in front of me.”

“Hehehe… I can do that much no problem. But you know. If I get beat up, are you gonna get revenge for me? Even though you told me not to use my strength for myself?”

“We’ll see then.”

“Hmm… Anyways, brother! I won’t use my strength for my personal stuff, then. But it’s okay to use it for others, right?”

“Do as you please.”

“Yes sir!”

*

Corpses scattered everywhere.

Dozens of knights were rolling on the ground, and standing there was Benedict.

He quietly looked around and spoke.

“A lot of ’em died.”

He spoke leisurely, but Benedict was in a very disadvantageous situation. He didn’t know exactly where Leos was. He was alone, separated while on reconnaissance, and couldn’t even send word, so he thought if these guys broke through him, Leos or his group might be defenseless. To be precise, he wasn’t worried about Leos because he was strong, but he was worried about Heresia and the others.

That was why he couldn’t let them get past him under any circumstance.

“Leos! Be careful! The enemies are here!”

Benedict shouted, but the knights had already set up sound-blocking artifacts all around. The reverberated sound bounced right back to where it came from.

‘Damn it… I need to let them know, quickly…’

The humiliation of not even properly completing a simple reconnaissance mission flared up.

Soon, Benedict regained his senses and stared at the enemies in front of him.

These were guys who mercilessly slaughtered civilians just to gain his territory. There was not even a sliver of guilt or sympathy for killing them.

Benedict, with emotionless eyes, looked at the fallen knights and spoke.

“If there’s anyone who wants to die first, come at me.”

Soon, Devigail, having motioned the knights back, walked forward alone.

“If I deployed the knights all at once, killing you would be trivial, but it seems you’re drowning in arrogance, unaware of your place.”

Devigail whispered, a wry smile playing on his lips.

“I, who was once the captain of the Imperial Knights, am far beyond the likes of you, a mere street brawler. I’ll show you that face to face is an impossibility.”

Then, a surge of sword energy began to emanate from Devigail’s blade.