The word teacher bounced around Michael's mind.
"I used to be a student, you know," Stefan continued. "I had good parents that worked enough money to enroll me into the Allux academy, the school for the gifted. Through there, you could achieve more than just becoming an adventurer. I was just lucky that I was smart enough to pull through the classes and even managed to score as the top student."
It was hard to imagine Stefan as some type of scholar. He was far from that type of demeanor.
"Cerra was one of the instructors in the academy. I never knew how they would let an adventurer enter their education but nobody could argue against someone like her. She was already the captain of one of the most famous guilds so this was a free opportunity for them to hire another teacher. And man, when she showed up, I never knew how much I wanted to come back to the academy."
Michael thought he looked sort of happy telling him his story.
"I was your age, kid, just figuring out my mind about girls. She was the hottest woman that I've ever seen. Even some of the other students only came to her classes just because of that."
Michael felt a shiver down his spine.
Stefan chuckled. "Apart from that, I loved staying in her class. I remember all the scrawny boys trying to lift a sword and swinging it around as she yelled at us. I also remember trying my hardest just so she could notice me. Even if I was the top student of Allux, I was just as bad as everyone else."
"You got better."
"I did," he nodded. "It was the most fun I've ever had at the academy. They would try to drill your brain with letters and numbers while Cerra only focused on the foundation of your body. Of course, there were more curricular classes about physical activities but none of them compared to her. I wanted to impress her badly, it came to the point where I bought a sword of my own so I could practice at home. My parents were disgusted I was focused on something so primitive but attending her classes still got me some credit."
Michael couldn't imagine someone like Stefan being glued to a book.
"Year after year, her students start to drop out. They didn't like the idea of wielding a sword being relevant to their studies. Then before you know it, I was the only student that showed up to her class. It was nice, just the two of us as she taught me how to use a sword. Until she revealed that the academy was looking to cut her off because she had nobody to attend her classes. I couldn't do anything about it either, the council was nothing but old geezers that only cared about profit. Though, she promised me something. Cerra said she would continue to teach me just because I was so determined to be like her."
"To be a teacher?"
"I wanted to be a hero," Stefan said. "I wanted the people around to admire me, just like Cerra. I didn't want to be some crappy diplomat produced by the academy nor some clever mage. I wanted to hold a sword, fight for the people I care about behind me and tackle evil. The only way I could do that was if I became an adventurer like her."
Michael thought their goals were somewhat similar.
"When they revoked her contract, Cerra just went back to her duties as a captain of the Adventuring guild. It took a while for me to find her since adventuring wasn't that popular during that time. And once I came to the guild, it was nothing like you saw today. People actually cared, they worked together, and it was more formal than you could ever see. But nowadays, it just seems we're only messing around for the gold."
"Is this where you met Ellis?"
"No, not until—" he stopped himself. "I was sixteen, running to the Adventuring guild whenever I was dismissed from the academy. I remember sweating while I asked them where Cerra was. They thought I was some obsessed fan that was trying to get a piece of her. But when she assured them I was looking to learn, so it wasn't long until I became a regular."
"Did you get into any trouble?"
"I did," he chuckled to himself. "My parents were furious that I came home late, my clothes were dirty and damp with sweat. It was already hard enough to come up with an excuse on why I was doing this every night. They both suspected I was hanging around with the wrong crowd but my grades in the academy were fine, I wasn't absent during classes, and I lied to them about my aspirations."
"So, you were secretly becoming an adventurer, while you were a student?"
Stefan frowned. "I guess you could say that. I tried balancing between the two but the longer I spent with her, the more I wanted to stay. Cerra would take me along quests, show me the ropes, and teach me everything that I know now. I would even compete in the guild and train with the other members. She taught me how to fight and I was damn good at it. She showed me how to use my mana and I became stronger, even neglecting my studies at the academy so I could spend more time with her."
Michael thought this was where he started to become the same Stefan he knew now.
"I started to tag along on more quests, train harder with her, and before you know it, I was already a fledged adventurer. It was like I had a second family in the guild. Stefan Jaegen, the child prodigy—is what they called me. I learned how to swordcast at seventeen years old, the youngest ever recorded to do so. Cerra was proud of me, she said I was the best choice she had ever made. She said that I was destined to be someone greater than her."
Michael saw his smile fade and his expression became unreadable. The air almost felt cold as if the conversation had shifted its tone.
"I was the happiest I've ever been," he said. "Then I started missing days at the academy so I could follow her. I started to ignore my parents and didn't return home but stayed with Cerra. She was my teacher and I still had to learn much from her. Everyone agreed though, that I was her best student that came out of that academy. It even felt like the Adventuring guild had prospered even more once I joined them."
Michael knew this wasn't the end of the story. He sounded too defeated to make it sound like there was a happy ending.
"There was a quest. It was poorly planned. Somewhere in the uncharted, I can't remember, and I was there with Cerra with other people. We were attacked, people aiming to kill us."
Michael felt the hairs on his skin spiked.
"I couldn't…help her. They took out our party so fast, I thought that it was all over. The look on their faces when they found out she didn't return will always be ingrained in my head."
Michael wanted to stop him but his curiosity kept his mouth shut.
"Out of all the adventurers sent for the quest," he continued. "I was the only one that survived. Cerra had died so that I could live."
Michael saw his eyes turn dreary again.
"But, the past is the past," he forced a blank smile. "The Adventuring guild has just declined ever since she died. Nobody could ever fill the same shoes that Cerra Harper had, not even me and they hated me for that. Sometimes, they wished that I should have died instead."
Michael thought that was terrible to say and Stefan had shared it so casually.
"The guild is under new management by co-captains. But everyone wonders what could have been if Cerra was still alive. The guild feels like some easy and quick profession for money instead of a team of adventurers that's trying to do good. The reason why adventurers were looked down upon was because of us, because Cerra wasn't here to keep us in check so everybody had no real leader to follow."
Michael wanted to change the subject. "I think she would hate the new adventurers now."
"You bet," he chuckled. "None of this would have passed by if she was in charge. Though, there's some that still remember her. It's like they're trying to forget what it was like and blame the guild's downfall on me. But I don't hold grudges against anyone."
Michael felt like he had opened the wound even further.
"Cerra would have wanted the guild to help people, save innocent lives, and serve the duties like any normal adventurer. Even if some of the incompetent ones are here, it only matters for the work that we put in. I think she would have liked you, kid, it would have been hilarious if you two met."
"I guess you picked me for a reason."
Stefan chuckled as he picked himself up. "Let's clear our shift before we get into any trouble, right? I'm sure Ellis wouldn't like it if we spent the entire afternoon talking about our past."
Michael nodded, following behind him. They started on their trail again after he had to digest Stefan's story.
It was heartbreaking, Michael admitted, knowing Stefan had been carrying that ever since.
Cerra sounded like an amazing person that was respected by all the guild members and especially Stefan. The look on his face was unexplainable. Michael wasn't sure if he was faking a smile again or was he even smiling to begin with? Was any of his feelings genuine knowing that he's been just trying to stay positive after Cerra's death?