The Saintess Arrives at the Hero Academy
It's really awkward between us two.
The Saintess had joined the Hero Academy. The news spread throughout the entire academy in no time.
“The Saintess is here? When? I hadn't heard a single rumor like that.”
“Wasn't it only a few days after receiving the revelation? Yet she's already at the academy?”
Coming to the Hero Academy without anyone knowing was already surprising, given that she was one of the two wings of the Holy Church.
But what was even more astonishing was the overwhelming skill and performance this Saintess possessed.
“It's been tough, sister.”
“Gah!”
The trainees and Hero candidates who were almost ready to head toward the Tower.
Against them, the Saintess Seria had secured a victory.
All of the opponents were seasoned warriors with solid combat experience and abilities.
They were at most a year away from receiving the Hero title and heading to the Tower.
They were close to that level, even if not quite as much as Enril.
“Kyaa!”
Against such candidates, Seria who had faced no real crisis.
“It was a narrow margin. Good match, sister.”
Despite defeating every candidate, Seria showed no sign of boasting.
Instead, she humbly claimed that the opponents had all given their best.
She even healed any small wounds perfectly as a bonus.
“...”
Rion, watching the scene from afar, scratched his cheek.
As Seria had said, the opponents had not engaged actively.
No, more accurately, they couldn't have. After all, the opponent was a Saintess.
Even in a match, any mistake would invite uncomfortable stares from the Church and Empire.
“If only someone would charge at me yelling 'Expose whether you're a Saintess or the Church!' I had some expectations.”
But unfortunately, none of them showed that side, as befitted Hero candidates.
Because of that, Seria's victory had been all the more natural.
“Even so, they weren't half-assing it. They seemed to put more weight on defense than attack? Even with that level of restraint, they were crushed with such an overwhelming gap...”
No matter how much they were young sprouts who hadn't properly learned the Mana Cultivation Technique.
When they entered the Tower, their chances of dying before even claiming their own room were extremely high.
Still, in other aspects, they should have been enough to wear the Hero title.
Seria, the Saintess wielding twin swords, had easily surpassed that.
That level was on par with Enril, or perhaps even slightly above.
“Ah, Instructor.”
Unlike yesterday, Seria who had been acting alone spotted Rion and approached.
Suddenly, the words she had spoken yesterday resurfaced in Rion's mind: “I feel a strange aura.”
Even after thoroughly checking and confirming that no small force had been revealed.
The eyes that seemed to see straight through him were very uncomfortable for Rion.
That was one reason he had not chosen Seria over Enril.
“How was it? Did I look like a Hero?”
“Seria-ssi is not lacking in being a Hero, but I can definitely say these friends are still lacking.”
Every time he saw them, he felt it. Is that a Hero? With this, the Tower would have survived for a hundred years, damn it.
Right now, he wanted to grab all of them, brutally train them, and then perform some mental adjustment.
Throw away the honor and nobility of being a Hero and arm them with evil spirit.
Then, if he injected the Mana Cultivation Technique, things might improve.
“You seem more cold-blooded than you look.”
“There's no other way. If I had been like that back home, I would have died long ago.”
“Is the world across the sea that scary? I met some people from there, and it wasn't that terrifying or cruel a place.”
At those words, Rion had no choice but to close his mouth with a groan.
Thinking about it, he had only set the setting, but he himself did not know what the world across the sea was like.
This was the danger of setting addiction. If it got hooked on the setting, it could be truly disastrous.
“Well, since you said you were safe there, it could be the same on the battlefield.”
Without knowing that he had added tension to the Tower Master.
Seria smiled, saying it was fortunate that she was not lacking.
“Next is Instructor Rion's training time?”
“Yes.”
“I'm looking forward to it. That Mana Cultivation Technique.”
To say “looking forward” was somewhat off, because the effect had only been seen by Enril.
The other students hadn't even started the circulation, let alone the technique.
It would be difficult. It would be obscure. Above all, why would one do it?
Mana was overflowing, and with the risk of failure, why bother?
Moreover, since mana existed in the Tower, was this really the way?
At moments when such doubts arose, the mind became hazy and concentration was disrupted.
Enril had been marked intensely by Rion, solidifying the trigger and will.
But the other trainees had no such thing, so they had to figure it out themselves.
“It would be better not to have high expectations. Because the one who benefited from the effect is still only Enril.”
“The fact that the only survivor benefited is actually an important part. More than that, how about we stop calling each other by name? I don't like the idea that the other trainees think I'm being treated differently.”
“... I was already thinking of dropping the honorifics.”
Actually, Rion had thought the Saintess might be very authoritative or stiff.
But since her original affiliation was the Combat Priest Corps, there was none of that.
“Her intuition is too good, especially since she's skilled at catching demonic beasts, so I'm worried.”
Enril had worried because she fought too much with him, so she might notice.
In Seria's case, because she was too experienced, there was nothing to worry about.
Thinking that her fate was also quite tragic, Rion continued speaking.
“If you properly learn the Mana Cultivation Technique, you might become stronger than now. But...”
“But, I suppose you're worried about my special constitution.”
Saying that, Seria shrugged as if telling him to look at herself.
Unlike the trainee uniforms worn by the Hero candidates, Seria's clothes had a lot of exposure.
No matter how much she tried to reduce it, even generously, it was too provocative.
But what could be done. If the body was wrapped too tightly, efficiency would not come out, so there was no choice.
“Those candidate guys might have been completely taken in by this appearance and lost their mental string.”
Even as academy trainees, Hero candidates, in the end humans. And humans were animals that followed their instincts.
Even if they tried to hold back, if something was constantly wiggling in front of them, their eyes would naturally follow.
Not just female trainees, but male trainees probably had their share.
Anyway, the constitution that circulated mana with the skin, he had no idea what side effects it might have.
“For now, let's see. Let's not give up hope.”
“Yes. I'll see you later, Instructor Rion.”
After lightly greeting, Seria turned her body and disappeared.
Watching her, Rion let out a sigh inside.
“At first glance, she seems like a friendly Saintess... but it's awkward, it's awkward.”
If she really liked people, she wouldn't have such sharp aura.
What Seria was emitting now was the aura of a highly refined expert.
Those experts smiled outwardly but continued to search for the opponent inwardly.
You could tell from their eyes. Even if the mouth smiled, the eyes did not smile.
And right now, Seria was searching Rion without resting at all.
“What a tiring woman in many ways.”
Choosing Enril till the end had been a wise choice.
Rion crossed his arms and shook his head.
*
He felt it again. Not abandoning Enril had been the best choice.
Although she was a cheat character, divine power, her stamina was incomparable.
But what the Tower needed most was still the Mana Cultivation Technique, wasn't it?
“Uhm... This is quite difficult.”
Seria was not accepting the Mana Cultivation Technique at all.
Actually, this was the situation he had predicted.
In circulating mana, she had a 'special constitution' different from others.
Unlike the trainees who only needed to change one thing, Seria needed to change two.
Or perhaps more than two.
“If it doesn't work, bite it right away. If the Mana Heart is damaged, it's more suffering to repair it.”
Still, out of pride, Seria tried once more.
But soon, with a groan, she curled up her body.
She had to move mana in a completely different way from what she had been using.
There, the frustration came, or more than that, perhaps pain must be endured.
Right now, no matter what, it was something that could not be used in actual combat.
“Groan... The trainees are doing this difficult thing. Instructor.”
“I'm trying. No one has come near the starting line yet.”
Sadly, this was the reality of the current Hero Academy.
Rather than forcibly injecting, one's will was important.
With a willing heart, mana moved more smoothly.
He was teaching the Mana Cultivation Technique to the candidates who hoped for it, but...
“Hah!”
“Ah!”
The groans and sad sighs bursting out from here and there were clear evidence that it was not going well.
“Except for Enril.”
That's why he was not regretting choosing Seria over Enril.
Letting out an inner sigh of relief, Seria readjusted her posture.
“It would be good to rest. For now, calm the Mana Heart...”
“Just a little more. I feel a strange competitive spirit toward Enril-ssi.”
“Hey. Having a competitive spirit won't do anything.”
“But sometimes that competitive spirit acts as a great catalyst for growth. Now, I am one of the Hero candidates who has the duty to bring down the Tower, carrying that as my fate. For that reason, it seems I need to have this emotion.”
As the 'Saintess' of the Church, this was a feeling he shouldn't have.
But as a Hero who must bring down the Tower, this was the attitude he must have.
“The other candidate guys are lacking in this.”
Even while thinking Enril was great and treating her as a Hero, there was no one showing such burning competitive spirit to catch up with her.
Excessive emotion was poison, but sometimes poison became medicine!
It was not bad. It was good that someone like Enril had this kind of heart.
If it became more earnest, and more competitive spirit was burned, wasn't it all gain?
“... Then I'll teach you properly once again. Concentrate, first adjust your breathing—”
For now, it seemed Seria had clearly been outclassed in the second round.