Chapter 129
Chapter 129
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 129
Chapter Title: Visiting Hours #03
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"Alright, let's get our spirits up and go for it!"
Thanks to the visiting hours news at 1 PM that Thomas had told me about, I managed to regain my composure.
"You want me to teach you about magic and theology? Of course, I'll help! Teaching you all is part of my duty, after all."
Conveniently, the person nearby was Priest Thomas, a one-of-a-kind genius in theology as well as science, magic, and alchemy. So, I asked him for help.
Thanks to him, I was able to learn a lot about the theoretical aspects I'd been lacking.
So, all I had to do was sit cozily next to Violet, laugh and chat happily, and apologize to my teacher Marianne sitting across from us.
"I never expected to see Saintess Olga here. You could've at least sent a letter."
"I was surprised too. I never thought Miss Violet would come for a visit!"
"...Arthin, are those two usually on bad terms?"
Marianne Big Sis whispered the question softly, but I had no answer to give her, so I just shrugged.
'...What's going on? Did something happen that I don't know about?'
In my memories, Olga and Violet weren't on such bad terms...
Of course, while wandering through Violet's memories, I had seen Olga a few times.
But there were so many distorted memories that I had brushed off scenes like Violet fighting with Olga without much thought.
I should've looked into those memories more carefully back then...
"Ahaha, thanks to Violet, Big Sis, and even Al'Miraz for coming to visit me. Olga, thanks for letting Al'Miraz in at my request."
To ease the awkward atmosphere, I looked at Olga and Violet sitting across from me and tried to strike up a conversation.
"What are you talking about, Arthin? Of course I had to come! The others wanted to come too but couldn't, and they were really bummed about it!"
"Ahem, well, Agnes asked me to... And since you told me to call you Big Sis before..."
Violet turned her gaze away from Olga, and the cold expression from moments ago vanished as she smiled brightly at me with her usual gentle face.
Marianne Big Sis chimed in to lighten the mood as well, and I could feel the tension easing.
Yeah, this is what visiting hours are all about. I always envied this back when I was in the military with no one coming to visit.
"Hehe, it's no big deal. If it's a request from you, Arthin, I'd do anything."
"As expected of Olga. You're always so reliable; I can always count on you."
Since it wasn't a private moment, Olga didn't use her usual "darling" honorific, but her voice and eyes felt just as gentle as when we were alone.
Maybe I was just imagining things?
"It would've been nice if Arthin's other friends had come too... It's a shame they didn't pass the exam. At least Violet made it through on her own."
"...That sounds like there's some bite to it, Saintess Olga?"
"Oh my, no way! I really feel bad about it... I was just thinking it would've been great if the others had passed too."
Nope, definitely not my imagination.
They're glaring at each other so sharply right now—how could I miss that?
'If there's a reason... maybe it's something that happened after I died?'
Violet, who's kind to everyone, and Olga, the saintess gentle to all—if they fought, even someone as perceptive as me wouldn't miss it.
I should step in and sort this out...
"It's fine, I was surprised too! Why is someone who should be at the Northern Church's Papal Palace here at the academy?!"
"Hehe, I'd love to tell you, but it's a church secret, so I can't. Right, Arthin?"
"Uh... um? Yeah?"
"Well, if it's a mission big enough for the saintess to handle personally and important enough to keep secret... shouldn't the student council have been informed? Right, Arthin?"
"Uh... well, everyone has their own circumstances...?"
...It's too scary to ask right now, so I'll talk to Olga later.
I left the increasingly heated exchange between Olga and Violet behind and turned to Marianne Big Sis sitting next to me.
Marianne was so engrossed watching their battle of wits with fascination that she didn't even notice me looking at her.
'Why is Marianne Big Sis sitting next to me...?'
The visiting room had two sofas for two people each and one single chair.
I figured I'd sit with Violet, of course, but the two of them subtly competed over who would sit next to me and eventually agreed to let Marianne Big Sis take the spot.
For the record, Al'Miraz was sitting next to Violet, fidgeting nervously with a stiff expression. Or maybe the saintess's blessings or the barriers around this building were causing it pain.
In the end, the only one I could comfortably talk to right now was Marianne Big Sis.
"Um, Big Sis. I'm sorry about what happened last time."
"...W-Why bring that up out of nowhere? Conversations have a flow, you know?"
I went straight to apologizing for my rudeness last time.
Marianne Big Sis's face flushed as she recalled the incident, but I bowed my head without minding.
"Agnes asked you to help me, and you did... but I wasn't in my right mind at the time, and I ended up being really rude."
She might think it's sudden, but I don't know a better way to apologize.
I could gloss over it subtly or set up a proper time, but since we're here now, clearing the air directly feels best.
"Er... um... well, since you realized your mistake and brought it up first, I won't get mad anymore."
"Really, Big Sis?"
"I don't go back on my word. A-And physical contact is inevitable in sparring anyway."
Her expression as she said that looked somehow pleased.
"See? You're definitely the kind of guy worth taking as a little brother. If you hadn't apologized, I was gonna show you what happens."
"...Show me? How?"
"Breaking all ten fingers usually snaps even the biggest idiots out of it."
"..."
I quietly lowered my hands from the table.
If I hadn't apologized by the end of this visit, I'd have needed Priest Thomas to heal me.
"Ahem, so I heard there was a big incident at the Rose Dorm... How's your body holding up?"
Marianne Big Sis scratched her cheek with an awkward expression, oblivious to how a bit spooked I was.
From what I knew of her... she scratched her cheek not just when embarrassed, but when about to ask something important.
"I've rested for over a week, so my body's fine now. Though I'm a bit weakened from taking all those elixirs."
"That's a relief. D-Did the training with me help at least?"
"...Yes. It definitely did. Thanks to what you taught me, Big Sis, I got through several crises."
Of course, surviving this regression's training was an empty compliment, but not everything I said was a lie.
In reality, without the combat techniques Big Sis taught me in the 4th cycle, I'd have died to Sirka or the flesh monster long ago.
"I heard you even sliced through mid-level magic beasts with swordsmanship. Kingdom-style combat isn't great for human fights, but it's good against magic beasts, right?"
"Yes, Imperial swordsmanship's sharpness is great, but without Kingdom swordsmanship's explosive power, it's hard to sever a regenerating magic beast's vitals."
My swordsmanship was a practical style blending the strengths of both, but after learning from Marianne Big Sis, fighting demons had become much easier.
"Really? That's good... yeah."
"...?"
Her reaction—grinning and nodding—was somehow off.
Did I miss something? It feels suspicious.
"Oh, right! I have a gift for you, Arthin! Ta-da! Wanna open it yourself?"
"Whoa... Weren't all packages being inspected by Priest Thomas? If you smuggled it in, that's trouble..."
"I got permission in advance while taking the exam! And I showed it when I came in!"
Violet stuck her tongue out at Olga and handed me a large envelope.
What is this? It feels pretty heavy inside.
"This is... letters?"
"Yep! Agnes Imperial Princess thought it'd be nice to exchange letters since we can't see you for three days! Isn't it great? It's like love letters!"
Opening the envelope revealed several letters tucked into their own envelopes.
Of course—direct visits are tough, but letters are fine!
"Love letters...? Is it okay for Agnes's fiancé to write those?"
"Uh...? Oh! Of course! I got permission from Princess Agnes! It's not real love letters anyway, right?"
Marianne Big Sis, still unaware of our harem situation, gave an uncomfortable look, but since Agnes had approved and she wasn't one to meddle in others' affairs, she didn't say much.
"That's great. You can read them while studying and write replies during breaks. Brings back old memories, huh? Right, Ol...ga...?"
As I looked at the letters, I remembered practicing love letters with Olga and glanced at her... only to see her face drain of color.
"Olga? You okay? What's wrong?"
—Slap!
As I reached out to check on her, Olga flinched and swatted my hand away, then focused when she realized it was me.
"Ah... no... sorry, Arthin. I suddenly felt unwell... it was just a reflex. I wasn't trying to hit you or anything..."
"No, I'm fine! But your face looks terrible—are you sure you're okay, Olga?"
Olga didn't have her usual relaxed expression. With wide eyes mixing panic and shock, she slowly stood from the sofa, forcing an awkward smile to look fine.
"I-I just remembered something urgent I have to take care of. You three talk among yourselves?"
"Olga? Wait a minu..."
I tried to stop her, but Olga hurriedly fled the visiting room.
The sudden turn of events left me and the other two stunned, eyes wide in confusion.
"What was that? It was just letters, right? She ran off like she'd seen a ghost..."
"R-Right! A saintess running away like she'd seen a ghost! How strange!"
"...Al'Miraz, why are you yelling awkwardly all of a sudden? Do you know something?"
"N-No? What do you mean? This is my first time seeing the saintess today!"
Haha, as Al'Miraz laughed awkwardly, I eyed it suspiciously.
"...No way..."
"Huh? Violet, do you know something too?"
"...N-No. Maybe she's just not feeling well? Priests don't mix well with demons or witches, right?"
What? For some reason, it felt like everyone except me and Marianne Big Sis knew what was going on.
I considered chasing after Olga, but Violet grabbed my wrist and shook her head.
"If she's not feeling well, it's better to let her rest alone for a bit. Talk to her later—how about that, Arthin?"
"...Yeah, maybe? You're so thoughtful, Violet."
She's right... better to talk when she's calmed down later.
Going to see her alone tonight would be good for her too, right?
...
The moment Olga left, the atmosphere turned incredibly awkward.
Marianne Big Sis, a nominal believer of the Northern Church, was stunned by the saintess's outburst, and even Violet—who'd been at odds with her moments ago—glanced worriedly at the door Olga had exited through.
"...Um, so shall we read the letters? I'm curious what everyone wrote. Did you write one too, Violet?"
"Sh-Sure? I did~ It should be in there if you look!"
To break the awkwardness, I pulled out a random letter and opened it.
"Oh, this one's from Shaomei? Let's see what she wrote."
I used a spell to tap the seal, neatly opening the envelope.
Unexpectedly, Shaomei's letter was short and to the point. But the content was anything but ordinary.
-Big Brother, when you get out of there, run away as far as you can! Or just kill yourself right there on the spot! -
Shaomei was advising me to commit suicide.
What's going on here?