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When we went to visit Master Tao Ran, we found a pile of large luggage stacked in front of the room he usually stayed in.

“What in the world is this…?”

Because of the luggage, there was no way to enter the room. Just as Hom murmured uneasily, a familiar voice called out from the courtyard.

“Oh! If it isn’t the young ladies!”
“Teacher!”

Of course, Hom was the first to react.

“Hom, you seem well.”
“And you too, Teacher. I’m glad to see you in good health. But… what is all this luggage about?”

Though relieved to see Master Tao Ran unharmed, Hom still couldn’t hide her unease.

“I’m leaving this place today. You see, I’ve received word that my younger brother—the one who leads our Tao tribe—has fallen ill.”

He didn’t say much more, but it was likely that he would never return here again. Stroking his long white beard, Master Tao Ran looked at us with eyes that shone like the sun.

“Our meeting here must have been fate.”
“Indeed. I must be grateful that we were able to see you again today.”

Hom gave a deep nod, then performed the Canado-style greeting known as the holding fist—pressing her right fist against her open left palm toward the master. Tao Ran returned the gesture with a smile so broad it wrinkled his entire face.

“Then, shall we have one last lesson?”
“Yes, please, Teacher.”

Bowing deeply, Hom followed Master Tao Ran out to the courtyard.

“Is the courtyard really fine?”
“You won’t lose control anymore, will you? Hohoho.”

Her question made the old man chuckle as his body swayed with amusement. When he reached the center of the courtyard, he stopped and slowly turned back.

“Now then—show me your Blitzraid.”

Calling the technique Thunder Step—his own ultimate move—Blitzraid, attributing the technique to Hom, was surely his way of honoring her. Taking a wide stance to secure their distance, Hom gripped the improved Hiraishin I had given her.

“We’ll fight in the air.”
“Yes, Teacher.”

Both of them drew their right legs back, lowering their stance. Facing each other with hands poised before them, the sight alone was strikingly beautiful—two forces in perfect symmetry. Master Tao Ran smiled faintly, and almost at the same moment as Hom, he invoked both Armament Transmutation and lightning magic without a single chant. Hom, too, activated her lightning magic through the Hiraishin and took a powerful step forward.

““Haaaaaaah!!””

The voices of Master Tao Ran and Hom overlapped, and in the next instant, steel rails rose from the ground like tracks being laid for a launch. Both of them shot into the sky at the same time.

“—!”

The world seemed to fall silent—then came a tremendous shockwave. I instinctively braced myself, but thanks to Alfe’s soft defensive barrier, I was able to watch their movements clearly.

The two had been blasted apart by the momentum of their techniques, shrinking to dots in the distance. Realizing this, Alfe quickly formed a water-magic projection disk to magnify the scene. Almost immediately after, Hom’s sharp cry rang out:

“Armament Transmutation!”

Platforms materialized in midair through Armament Transmutation, and her Hiraishin began recharging. Sparks danced violently, lightning trailing from her half-raised body like a tail.

“Amazing…”

Before I could even nod in agreement with Alfe’s whisper, both Hom and Master Tao Ran simultaneously invoked Armament Transmutation again—without any chant—creating footholds and leaping once more.

“Blitzraid!!”

Hom’s shout echoed across the sky as she launched herself along the rails. Unexpectedly, instead of using her signature kicks, she drove her power into her fist, meeting Master Tao Ran head-on.

The master responded in kind, clashing with his own fist. Their enormous, magically reinforced blows collided—and a burst of wind followed the impact, scattering fragments of shattered gauntlets that rained down like metal petals.

The double shockwaves from their Blitzraids tore apart the distant clouds, revealing the dazzling clarity of winter’s blue sky. Through that brilliance, I saw the two of them descending side by side.

“Magnificent, Hom. To face me and, in that instant, choose to meet me with your fists…”
“Thank you… Teacher.”

Master Tao Ran praised her without reservation—for meeting his full-strength strike with her own, without yielding a single step.

“To think you’d use a magic device to supplement the lightning-element aether your body could not naturally produce… clever indeed. And to see you wield it without fear or hesitation—it seems your inborn fear of lightning is nearly conquered.”
“It’s all thanks to Master.”

She never mentioned Hiraishin, yet Master Tao Ran had seen through everything in an instant. That was just like him.

Hom’s innate fear of lightning, after all, had started because I’d been electrocuted during a memory and emotion synchronization session. But hearing her say she’d overcome it thanks to me… that alone was enough to make me grateful.

Though Hom still needed Hiraishin as a sort of good-luck charm, perhaps someday she would be able to generate lightning-element aether on her own. If that day came, maybe the sense of guilt I carried would ease—just a little.

“…It seems you’ve found a fine companion.”

Master Tao Ran, pleased by Hom’s growth, showed not the slightest sign of exhaustion despite the powerful techniques he had just unleashed. Even when he returned to his homeland in the Canado region, Hom would surely have no worries. No matter how brief their time together had been, the bond forged through their training was clear. For the two of them, exchanging blows like this was likely the purest form of understanding.

“I’ll continue my training and strive to remain a disciple worthy of you, Teacher.”
“That’s the spirit, Hom.”

The old master nodded, placing his palm gently atop her head. In turn, Hom sank to one knee and bowed her head slowly, as if to tell herself—and him—that this was truly their farewell.

“…Now then, about that young lady over there—”

Having finished his sparring with Hom, Master Tao Ran slowly turned his gaze. His eyes settled squarely on Estea.

“Could it be… you’re Misora’s daughter?”
“You know my mother?”
“I did. When Misora was about your age, I spent a little time with her. You look just like she did back then.”

With a nostalgic squint, Master Tao Ran began to speak—offering fragments of stories from his wandering days as a martial artist.

With a nostalgic gleam in his eyes, Master Tao Ran began recounting fragments from his days of warrior training.

“When I was wandering the various lands on my martial pilgrimage—must’ve been over twenty years ago now—I happened to stop by a certain town. There, a young lass asked to spar with me. I held back, of course—she was about your age, after all—but she saw right through it. Said she wouldn’t go home until I took her seriously.”

“And… what did you do?”

“I did send her home that day, but after that, she waited for me outside the inn every morning at dawn, pestering me for a match. Before I knew it, sparring with her had become part of my daily routine. And she grew stronger, fast. Looking back now, it’s a fond memory.”

“My mother never mentioned any of that…”

“Well, of course she wouldn’t. Even if I was her opponent, imagine how the father would’ve felt hearing a young woman had been chasing after a young man for daily sparring. Complicated, eh?”
“Pfft—”

Understanding what the master implied, Alfe couldn’t hold back her laughter.

“Now that you say it, that does make sense,” Estea admitted, her expression softening into amusement as well.
“But knowing that my strict mother once had such a mischievous side… it makes me want to learn more about who she was before I knew her.”
“Aye, I can believe that,” the old master said, nodding gently.

From his story, it didn’t seem Estea’s mother had been born into nobility. To have later married into the Sidra family—an imperial house—must have taken no small amount of determination and hardship. Master Tao Ran likely understood that, even without words.

“So, she’s a mother herself now, eh? Time certainly does fly.”

With that, the master brought his tale of Misora—Estea’s mother—to a quiet close.