Andreus's Holy Power Special Lecture
"My neck feels really stiff."
Well, after bowing your head all over the place like that, isn't it only natural?
The Bombardment Fairy had a point. Unleashing a full-powered bombardment had felt fantastic—right up until I punched a massive hole straight through the shooting range that had been liberally plastered with money.
That little accident had forced me to go around personally apologizing to everyone from the Pope himself down to every finance-related cleric in the Holy See.
I could have just told them to fix it and quietly slipped away, of course. But a person still needs a conscience. Causing a disaster and then offering zero apology crossed a line.
Anyway, once everything seemed settled, I figured I could finally head back to my room. The thought of having to hold back on bombardments until the range was repaired left me suddenly depressed.
I let out another long, heavy sigh and patted my throbbing shoulders as I muttered to myself.
"Looks like the aftereffects of the bombardment are still hanging around in my body."
The strain from firing that shot had been considerable. Even after receiving treatment with holy power, my whole body still felt stiff and sore.
This is going to last a few days at least. From now on, I really have to save Limit Release for true emergencies.
I made that firm resolution just as I reached for my door—only for it to swing open on its own. The Princess stood there, already changed into clothes suitable for free movement.
"Ah, Saintess. Have you finished with the urgent matters?"
"Yes. What brings you here, Princess…?"
"Oh, I heard that the teacher who will finally instruct me in the use of holy power has arrived. I was just about to go meet them."
The moment those words left her mouth, something felt off. A teacher to instruct her in holy power had arrived?
The Holy See was overflowing with holy power users. All they needed to do was pick one suitable cleric to handle the Princess's education and that would be the end of it.
"They were famous enough that even the Imperial Palace knew their name. I can hardly wait to meet them in person."
…No way.
I told myself it couldn't be, yet my instincts screamed that my worst suspicion was correct.
"…That teacher wouldn't happen to be Holy Knight Commander Andreus, would it?"
Honestly, even as I said it, the idea sounded ridiculous. No matter how much he was currently training me, the Pope's order for him to exercise restraint had never been lifted.
The reason was crystal clear: Andreus's brutal training methods remained exactly the same. As the one on the receiving end, I knew that better than anyone.
Yes. If the Church leadership still had any sense left, they would never assign Andreus as the Princess's holy power instructor.
"Oh? You already heard, Saintess? Yes, it's him—the one they call the strongest Holy Knight."
…Yeah. Apparently the Church leadership had completely lost their minds. I should have realized it the moment they coated the shooting range in Memory Mud and hauled in rare-metal targets.
If I sent the Princess to Andreus like this, there was no telling what might happen. The second he failed to hold himself back…
All right. Decision made.
"Princess?"
"Yes?"
"Would it be all right if I came along? I may be lacking, but I still hold the position of Saintess. I have no talent of my own, yet I would still like to offer whatever small help I can."
"…Yes! Of course!"
Listening to her bright, positive reply, I thought to myself: for the sake of someone this pure and kind, I absolutely had to stop Andreus from going on a rampage.
And so began Andreus's special lecture on holy power.
"Like this?"
"That is correct. The most important thing is the image. Pouring holy power while holding a clear image of healing is the absolute foundation. Once you grasp the sensation even once, treatment becomes far easier afterward."
"I'll try it."
The Princess, listening intently to Andreus's instruction, immediately began staring hard at the small cut on the back of her hand.
I watched the two of them for a moment, then quietly sidled up to Andreus and whispered.
"You're teaching surprisingly normally. I was sure you'd claim that getting wounded in a fight would make her learn it instinctively and jump straight into live combat."
"When the time comes to teach physical enhancement, I plan to instruct her in a manner similar to how I taught you, Saintess. Live combat is also under consideration if possible, so there is no need for concern."
Of course. I should have known the Spartan methods wouldn't stay buried forever. I let out a light sigh and spoke in a small but firm voice.
"No. Teach her gently—as gently as possible. Do not even think about training the Princess the way you train me."
"Would that not be discrimination? I, Andreus, have resolved never to show differential treatment toward any student who possesses the will to learn."
His mindset was truly that of an excellent teacher.
The problem was that this excellent teacher's educational methods were the equivalent of dragging hell itself into the mortal world.
I had walked into that hell of my own free will, fully aware of what awaited me. So I had no real intention of picking a major fight over Andreus's training philosophy.
But the Princess was different. She had no idea how merciless his methods truly were. Even if someone told her, she wouldn't understand. Most people simply thought, "How harsh could it really be?"
I could guarantee one thing: Andreus would not go easy on her just because she was a princess. If he cared about status, he never would have put me through the wringer the way he did.
What if something happened while the Princess was enduring Andreus's brutal torture—no, education?
I wanted to believe such a thing wouldn't occur. If she sincerely asked him to stop, he would stop… right?
Would he really show the same refusal to quit even when I begged him that he had shown with me? He could easily cause a diplomatic incident with the Imperial Family.
I chose to believe that even Andreus possessed at least that much common sense.
…Still, anxiety was anxiety. I decided I would stay by her side and keep watch for at least a few days.
The moment I reached that conclusion, the Princess's voice rang out.
"Ah, I did it!"
The cut on the back of her hand had vanished. The Saintess couldn't heal a single scratch, yet the Princess could already heal?
Goddess… is this fair?
"You learn quickly. That means you have acquired the bare minimum foundation. Next comes steadily developing your healing ability while we check whether you possess talent for physical enhancement."
"…If I learn physical enhancement, can I become strong?"
"If you can use physical enhancement at all, then depending on your effort, you can become sufficiently strong."
That was true. The problem was that learning it did not guarantee you could actually use it.
In any case, the Princess seemed to hold considerable expectations for holy-power-based physical enhancement.
How did I know? It was written all over her face.
"I will do my best!!"
Andreus nodded in satisfaction at her spirited reply.
Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, he said:
"Then let us begin by lightly running ten laps around this area."
"…Excuse me?"
"On second thought, ten laps feels a bit light. Fifteen laps should be appropriate."
Manly Andreus. Princess? Status meant nothing to him. He was the manliest of manly men who simply forced his will through.
"…What?!"
The Princess's eyes shook violently. She clearly had never imagined he would suddenly order exercise right here.
If she hadn't come dressed in clothes suitable for movement, a true catastrophe would have unfolded.
I slowly approached the flustered Princess and offered a single piece of senior advice.
"Just give up. In this state, Andreus doesn't even listen to me very well."
"B-but still!"
"Don't worry. I'm here, aren't I?"
Hope immediately lit up her face. I delivered the words that would meet those expectations.
"If it gets too hard, just tell me without hesitation. I'll earnestly beg Andreus and try to shave off at least one lap."
"Saintess?!!"
I said that and was about to step back to watch her exercise from a distance when—
"Saintess? Where are you going? You will be running as well."
"…Excuse me? Me?"
"You have not been exercising much lately, have you? No matter how much of the Goddess's blessing you carry, consistent exercise never hurts."
"Well… fine."
With my current physical abilities, fifteen laps were no problem at all. I figured I could take it easy and treat it like a warm-up.
That was the thought running through my head as I prepared to stretch lightly—
"Wear these while you run."
Andreus held something out to me. The moment I took it, a heavy sensation climbed up my arms.
What he had handed me were sandbags. Extremely heavy sandbags at that.
No—I was starting to doubt whether what was inside was even sand. They felt heavy enough that even my current physical abilities registered the weight. Was it really sand in there?
"…Is 'no' an option?"
"I still have not forgotten the moment you came looking for me, Saintess."
Wow. He was pulling that card right here. I couldn't help but feel admiration on multiple levels.
The tiny scrap of conscience remaining inside me wailed. After he had gone so far as to say that, was I really going to run away?
I don't know what that means, but it seems like a complete checkmate either way.
"Saintess, let's do our best together!"
No—right now it really did feel like I had been completely checkmated.
When she said it so energetically, walking away with a "I'm not doing it. Good luck on your own" would make me no better than a psychopath.
…Yeah. Exercising with someone else was way better than doing it alone, right?
I decided to think of it that way. Otherwise I was going to get a little sad.