Praise and Practical Lessons
The inexperienced escort spoke up. "······I watched the sparring match quite thoroughly."
After finishing lunch with Hestia and heading back, she suddenly brought it up. "It was a fascinating swordsmanship. And that blue starlight······. It was truly impressive."
"Ah, thank you." I had deliberately put on a show during the match, after all. Judging by her reaction, it seemed I'd succeeded to some degree. If she hadn't felt anything at all, that would've been far more troublesome.
While I was quietly feeling smug about it, I sensed Hestia staring at me from the side.
"······."
"······."
"······."
She hesitated, unable to open her mouth. What was this? What exactly did she want to say? When I put a little distance between us under her burdensome gaze, she made a sulky face. Her expression was still faint and hard to read, but after spending so much time with her, I could pick up on it easily. She was clearly dissatisfied about something······.
"Uh, um······. The weather is quite nice today."
"Is that so."
"······Is there anything else you'd like to eat? I'll buy it for you."
"No, I'm fine."
The same curt response as usual. It didn't seem like she was in a bad mood······. As I thought, she wanted something from me. I would've preferred she just come out and say it, since I'd be willing to grant most requests. But given Hestia's personality of bottling everything up, hearing it directly from her was obviously going to be difficult.
In that case, I had no choice. Perception. [Becomes honest with one's own emotions.] Cognition. [Feels at ease beside a friend.] I didn't like using my ability for something like this, but when necessary, I had to. Given who she was, the effect wouldn't last long anyway, so it didn't matter. Rather, the idea of her changing according to my will was something I wanted to avoid.
"Hmm······?"
"Did you suddenly think of something you wanted to say?"
"Well······."
Yes, go ahead and speak. If you think of me as a friend, then speak comfortably······! Perhaps my fervent plea had reached her heart. Finally, Hestia cautiously opened her mouth.
"I also······."
"······?"
"I also participated in the sparring······."
"Of course I know that. You were right before my turn."
"You remember?"
"Naturally. How could I forget when I saw it right in front of me? You fought incredibly well······. Didn't we even make eye contact in the middle?"
It was a sparring match impressive enough to catch even a Transcendent's eye. Besides, if I—who was always watching her—couldn't remember it, that would be stranger. So then, what exactly did she want······?
"Thank you."
"······?"
······Don't tell me she just wanted to be praised? On a whim, I decided to test her with a light compliment. "You were really amazing. Now I understand why they call you the Hero."
"Th-thank you."
Hestia answered while slightly lowering her head, as if embarrassed. She was the one who asked for it······. What was I supposed to do if she got embarrassed herself? Her interesting reaction made me want to tease her a little more. I smiled playfully and said to her, "You wanted my praise that badly?"
"Th-that's······!!!"
"You can be a bit more honest in front of me."
"······."
Hestia didn't answer and just kept walking forward. From the side, I could see a faint red flush lingering on her cheeks. She must be embarrassed. Well, if she was satisfied, then that was enough. I didn't particularly like troublesome things, but playing along to this extent was something I could do. Honestly, it wasn't boring either······.
After some time passed, she returned to her usual expressionless face and quietly whispered, "······My friend seems quite mischievous."
"Ahaha."
I couldn't deny it.
After parting with Hestia, I happened to run into Arie shortly afterward. ······Of course, it couldn't possibly be a coincidence. She had clearly been hiding and waiting for me to be alone. From her perspective, she probably didn't want to run into the still-awkward Hestia.
"Hehe, it's been a while."
"······."
A while? It hadn't even been a week since the sparring ended······. More than that, the familiar face beside her was bothering me. Why did she bring that person along?
"Ah, yes, it's been a while. Lady Arie. The person beside you is······?"
"This is my escort, Yulia. Isn't she cute?"
"······I would prefer you refrain from such remarks, Saintess."
Yulia, the woman with short orange hair. So the reason they came together was just because she was bored and wanted to tease her? Well, even from a brief look, it was obvious that Arie found Yulia adorable.
"Nice to meet you. Miss Yulia."
"Yes, likewise······."
Yulia and I exchanged light greetings. This was the first time we'd met privately. Even on the day of the sparring, when Arie had come to find me herself, we hadn't met······. Except for when she first came to the Academy, we'd never properly conversed. Even the conversation back then had just been an apology on Arie's behalf after startling me.
Thinking about it, she must have it pretty rough too.
"Hehe, Yulia. How about it?"
"···? What do you mean?"
"Don't you feel anything when you look at him, or anything like that?"
Yulia tilted her head and said, "Not particularly······. Aside from his somewhat blurry impression, I don't really know."
"Hmm, is that so?"
Arie smiled faintly and looked at me with an expression that seemed to say I'd exceeded her expectations. When exactly was that evil organization test going to end?
As I quietly listened to their conversation, Arie soon approached me. "Do you have a moment?"
"No, I have other plans today······."
"Oh? But I checked and confirmed you had no plans······."
Tch.
Arie's business was obvious. She was probably thinking of making me her subordinate for real now. What she wanted was to control the Academy from behind the scenes. I'd heard before that she'd been inspired by a villainous mastermind character from some novel she'd read as a child. Apparently, that was the first time she'd found a dream of her own. That was why she'd forced the Church to let her enroll in the Academy.
Arie seemed to want to gradually expand her influence starting from the Academy and completely take over the dark side of the world. ···In truth, with the Saintess's status and abilities, it might actually be possible to seize control of the underworld. There might be Transcendents lurking in the deep, dark parts of the world, but if more time passed and Arie grew further to reach the realm of Transcendence, even other Transcendents would become insignificant obstacles.
But throughout all the previous rounds, she had only pretended to be a mastermind and had never once walked an evil path of her own will. Even in the first round, when she was corrupted by the Crucifix Necklace, she hadn't tried to dominate others. Her desire to become the boss of an evil organization had simply been strangely amplified and taken over by the necklace. The result hadn't been good, but since it wasn't something she had intended, I could generously overlook it.
What Arie truly desired wasn't to dominate others or control the underworld. She simply, purely(?) wanted to be the boss of an evil organization. Having only encountered masterminds through novels, Arie still hadn't properly learned about the dark parts of the world. The mastermind she pictured in her head was······ something like "a suspicious existence with an unusually large amount of money and power who does mischievous things." It wasn't entirely wrong, but it was far too romanticized.
I planned to stay by her side as her subordinate until she realized it herself. If I had my way, I'd leave it to Yulia, but unfortunately, she also lacked worldly experience, so she wasn't suited for important tasks. So in this round as well, while looking after Arie, I'd also help Yulia grow, since she might become a great help later. Just as I'd always done······.
Arie and Yulia dragged me toward a café. In the previous round, Arie had come alone, so we'd talked separately, but this time Yulia was with us. But wouldn't it be difficult to bring up topics related to the evil organization in front of Yulia? For now, I pretended not to know and asked about their business.
"Um, what did you need me for······."
The two, who had been sitting across from me choosing drinks, both turned their gazes toward me at the same time. The first to speak was Yulia.
"I will convey the matter on the Saintess's behalf."
"Ah, yes."
"First, the Saintess asked me to tell you that she watched the sparring match well."
"······Yulia? Did I say that? Though I did watch the sparring well······."
Ignoring Arie's incredulous stare, I continued. "The Saintess said that after watching the sparring, she realized the importance of practical combat experience. ···Especially after the recent incident."
······Half of it was probably because of me. Stealing the necklace was something that always happened, but this was the first time I'd shown such an impressive performance in the sparring. That seemed to have changed how Arie approached me.
"Therefore, she would like to appoint you as her practical combat instructor."
"Wouldn't it be better for Miss Yulia to do that instead of me? Or perhaps ask the professors separately······."
"Though I would very much like to teach her myself······. My own lack of practical experience is not much different from the Saintess's."
No, you're the Saintess's escort. Was it okay for you to lack practical experience?
"······More than anything, the Saintess specifically wanted you."
"Ah."
"Yulia! You didn't need to go that far······!"
Just like how Arie had forced her way into the Academy, it seemed she'd thrown a tantrum this time too. Arie, whose mask had cracked slightly from Yulia's words, looked somewhat angry······. But this seemed like Yulia's own form of revenge, so I decided not to say anything. Because of the unreasonable Arie, she must have been quite angry as well.
"I understand the gist. But why me, specifically?"
"You should ask the Saintess directly about that later. She said she was impressed by the sparring, but honestly, since I didn't see it myself, I don't know the details."
Yulia wore a complicated expression. Though she'd brought it up because of Arie, she didn't seem very enthusiastic. Well, if I were in her position, I probably wouldn't have wanted to hand over the Saintess's instructor position to just anyone either. Especially since the other party wasn't even a professor, but an ordinary student.
This······. If I kept refusing and Yulia changed her mind, it would be troublesome, so I should accept without rejecting.
"If you'll have me, I'll do my best."
"Hehe, I'll be counting on you. Oh, and Yulia will be learning together, so please look after her as well."
"Understood."
"S-Saintess? Why me······."
Yulia, flustered by the suddenly progressing conversation, tried to change the subject, but was thoroughly ignored by Arie, who wore a wicked smile. Was this Arie's revenge this time······? They were still bickering, but they seemed to get along well.
Anyway, that was how I became the practical combat instructor for Arie and Yulia. Though things had changed quite a bit from before, I had at least grown a little closer to them. As for Yulia······. Until now, we'd had no particular connection, but it seemed I'd be seeing her often from now on. Unfortunately, my free time would decrease a little······.