Leaving the elder behind (2)

Veila returned to her division with her head hung low.

Her 'defeat' at Theo's lesson only served to agitate the girl even further.

'Now I'm even further away from taking him in than I was before!' Veila tightened her fists while the mild bout of powerless fury passed through her heart.

She wanted to make the most out of the opportunity but only ended up potentially antagonizing the target of her interest.

'I really need to shake my approach, somehow.'

Veila took a deep breath. She used the newly gained energy to raise her head and look straight ahead.

'But nothing good will come from sulking around,' the girl thought as she sped up her steps. 'That might be my loss today, but…'

Veila's thoughts all came to a stop when she reached the abode of her elder.

Her teacher was distraught by the current events on the frontier and the related policies the patriarch of the sect implemented.

But now…

Veila stepped inside the building.

A wall of heavy atmosphere struck the girl right in her face.

'Something's wrong.' Veila refocused her senses, ready to do battle at any point. She then stepped further into the building…

Only to see her elder in his full, antique armor sitting down at his usual seat with a dead expression on his face.

"There is only one way for our division to fulfill patriarch's demands." The elder stared into the distance, his eyes losing focus.

Veila swept the scene with her eyes, gathering as much information as she could.

Elder's decorative armor. His prized treasure of a sword by his side. The dead expression on his face.

Something in the girl's mind snapped, releasing a wave of realization throughout her mind.

"Don't tell me…!" Veila took in a huge breath as her eyes went wide.

"I can't afford to send a single practitioner away," the elder said. "It's high time for me to assume my responsibility."

The middle-aged man stood up, shaking himself out of his daze. He turned his head around, zeroing his eyes on Veila's face.

"Master, but…" Veila raised her voice in protest. She gave her teacher a look of denial. She still had to process the meaning of the information.

It took her only a few short seconds.

Veila closed her eyes for a few seconds more. She even lowered her head before taking a deep breath.

"I'm not going to rain down on your parade. So I will only ask once," she stated with a serious expression appearing on her face. "Elder, no, teacher, is there really no other way?"

Veila's eyes pierced through her teacher's face. She stared directly at her master of two years' face…

While she actively analyzed the situation and its implications for her down the line.

'If he really leaves, and for that losing frontier at that…' Veila bit her lips a little. 'He is likely not going to return. And that means…'

"The only other way we have as a division is to send out practically everyone." The elder lowered his eyes. He was doing a great job holding back the weight of all the responsibility that his situation put on him.

"And I'm not the sect leader to make this kind of choice," Veila's elder said.

His face calmed down. The chaotic cloud of emotions behind his eyes died out. His eyes took upon the look of someone who made his peace with his fate.

"That's why," the elder spoke up as he turned away and approached his desk. He pulled open one of the shelves within his desk before grabbing a small booklet hidden within. "This is the compilation of the secret recipes of our sect that only its master is privy to."

The elder raised his hand and reached out, passing the book over to the girl.

Veila instinctively reached out. Her fingers touched the edges of the items…

The sudden weight of the responsibility that this book implied suddenly dawned upon the girl.

"I graciously accept this gift, teacher," Veila squeezed a few words out of her throat before swallowing her saliva.

'Getting this book means… I'm now…' Veila didn't even dare to let her thoughts play out.

"I hereby appoint you an acting elder to our division." The elder's solemn voice filled the room.

'Doesn't that mean, I can now use all the resources of the division to get that guy to my side?' Veila thought, unable to hold this thought for much longer.

She didn't enjoy her idea of her teacher dying for some meaningless piece of land far away. But such was the life of a cultivator, to live off the benefits the land provides but also to die in its defense when the time comes.

Rather than focusing on her elder who already made his peace with his fate, her mind spurred to figure out how she could make the most of the changing situation!

"It is my honor, teacher!" Veila replied with the official formulae for a situation like this. She then struck her fists against the left side of her chest before nodding her head to show her respect to her elder.

"Spare no efforts to take that guy you saw," Veila's teacher suddenly changed the topic.

Veila twitched.

'Did my thoughts leak?' she freaked out a little.

"Right now, our sect really needs all the fresh blood it can get," the middle-aged man added before turning away from the girl and moving towards the doors.

The elder then stopped and turned around, taking a long look at the interior he spent several years of his life.

A chapter in his life that he would likely never return to. A reality that was quickly turning into the last fond memory of the life he will have until the end of his days.

It was his last semblance of peace before the world filled with pain, blood, and death.

"Take care of the sect for me," the elder said before pushing the doors open and leaving the place he called home to head off to a battlefield.