"Then... I'll reach a point you can't even hope to catch up to, to the extent that you won't be able to feel jealous of me at all. You won't need to worry about it, and all that'll be left in your heart will be pride in me, right?"
The answer he gave after apparently thinking it over made Roxy pause slightly, but she soon found herself wearing an amused expression.
"You really have the nerve to say that. How big would the gap have to be for that? Is your goal to reach the Emperor level? Or the God level?"
"Is that not allowed?"
"It's not that it's not allowed, but... hmm, for you, that really is possible."
When the gap was moderate and seemed like something that could be crossed, jealousy was easy to develop. But when the gap was too great and the other person seemed impossible to reach, even jealousy could no longer be sustained, and it would instead turn into worship and admiration... If Ash's goal was the legendary God level, Roxy found it difficult to imagine herself being jealous of him.
But even so, she couldn't help rubbing Ash's head as she lectured him:
"You really are very talented, but saying something like that at a time like this... What if you can't achieve it when the time comes? People will laugh at you. I might even use this to tease you."
"What does that matter? If I really can't do it, then what you said would simply be the truth," He laughed without a care, then looked firmly at the girl before him, "Of course, I have no intention of letting you laugh at me. Rather, I'll definitely make you proud of me, make you tell everyone that I'm your disciple, and make you proud of that."
"..."
Roxy stared blankly at her disciple before her. The heaviness in her heart and the little bit of jealousy she had felt had unknowingly been washed away without a trace by a warm current that had come from who knew where. For a moment, she couldn't say anything.
Only after a long while did the corners of her lips rise involuntarily, revealing a gentle smile as she murmured softly, "Then I'll be waiting to see it. You'd better work hard, and don't disappoint me, okay?"
"When I give someone my word, I've never intended to break it."
"That really is surprising," Roxy couldn't resist teasing him a little too, jokingly saying, "What about when you secretly eat my desserts?"
"One thing has nothing to do with the other," He refuted her with a completely serious expression, "I never promised I wouldn't eat your desserts."
"But that's not something you're supposed to have to specifically promise, is it?", Roxy couldn't help rolling her eyes at him, feeling both amused and exasperated.
She really couldn't understand what was going on with her disciple, but... at least now, she could no longer imagine herself being jealous of Ash.
'Whether he ultimately became a God-level mage or not, I definitely won't be able to make fun of this disciple who cares about me, will I?', Roxy couldn't help thinking this, and even found herself wanting to cheer him on. She also had the feeling that she had completely lost to him.
Of course, there was strangely not the slightest bit of unwillingness in that defeat. Instead, she was even a little happy.
———
The days continued to pass at an unhurried pace. After that brief interlude, the slight distance between the two of them... at least, the distance Roxy herself had thought existed, had completely disappeared.
Yesterday, she had once again couldn't help emphasizing that he should call her Master, and she was a little worried about Ash, who had been researching something day and night. But she couldn't understand the unfamiliar writing at all, only hearing that it was the writing of Ash's homeland.
And seeing how completely focused Ash was, all she could do was quietly leave him a late-night snack and leave.
Over the next half a year or so, Roxy had basically finished teaching him everything she could. Although, in the end, she had actually learned more here herself... both in magic and in housework.
This left her feeling somewhat complicated. She always felt as if she had been dragged here for further study.
Although staying here would certainly be beneficial, she was supposed to be the teacher, yet instead she was the one being taught... She really couldn't stand letting this situation continue.
So, a few days ago, after teaching him the only Saint-level magic she knew, Roxy inexplicably appeared beside Ash's desk early that morning, carrying that white suitcase, and suddenly said with an unusually serious expression, "Can I bother you for a moment?"
"Suddenly... what's wrong?", Ash couldn't help glancing at her suitcase.
Roxy, however, said solemnly, "I have nothing left to teach you, so let's leave the city together and take your graduation exam, shall we?"
"An exam is an exam. There's no need to bring luggage, is there?"
"Because it's a graduation exam. And it's about time for me to leave."
"Why? It's perfectly fine for you to keep staying here..."
"That won't do," Roxy interrupted him with a serious expression, "I have nothing left to teach you. What would it look like if I just kept staying at your place?"
"But if you leave, I'll be bored."
"You haven't forgotten that I'm your master, have you?"
"Those details don't matter," Ash expressed his opinion with great frustration, making the girl before him unable to maintain even her serious expression, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly, "You really do think of me as your master, right?"
"I'm joking. I'll remember such an important detail."
"Why is it still a detail?"
"Forget about that. Since you've already decided... let's go," Ash stood up, placed a hand on her shoulder, and simply pushed the girl forward.
"I really can't accept this...", Although Roxy let him push her along, she still wore an expression of lingering disbelief.
After leaving the city fortress, they mounted the horses they had rented.
Because of their difference in size, Ash naturally sat behind her and controlled the horse, while Roxy sat in his arms. The strange expression on her face became even harder to get rid of.
She was very bothered by it... Why was she sitting in front of her disciple? And why, at the very end, was this disciple acting like her master, making her feel as if she really were a little child?
"Wait? Why are we riding the same horse?", Roxy suddenly realized something and cried out.
"You're only noticing this now?"
"You did this on purpose?"
"What are you thinking? I just thought that since we're about to part, we could ride the same horse and have a good talk," Ash shook his head with a laugh and casually rubbed the girl's head in his arms, "We've known each other for so long and talked countless times, but I don't even know what we should talk about right now."
"Anyway, let's talk about how you're going to stop treating me like a child."
"You're still bothered by this at a time like this?"
"Of course, because I'm the teacher," Roxy pretended to be displeased and slapped his hand away, puffing her cheeks up slightly as if throwing a little tantrum.
But her dissatisfaction didn't last long. Although they had said there was nothing to talk about, the two of them ended up talking for a very, very long time along the way.
There were clearly plenty of places suitable for the exam, yet they somehow kept overlooking them and gradually traveled much farther away.
It was as if neither of them wanted to part just like this, because once the exam began, they might never see each other again afterward.