Chapter 71
<71> The Saint and the Hero
Sadia caught the unfavorable atmosphere among the students and was shocked.
“Oh my, how could this be? You have no compassion for others. How utterly inhuman. I’m worried about the world you people will govern as members of the upper class.”
‘No, you’ve been plenty cruel to us yourself. You’re just as lacking in compassion.’
‘We have to hear this from a demon race? Just because we didn’t pity someone who fed us such trash?’
‘It’s not that the baker lacks compassion—it’s that he lacks compassion toward us. Feeding growing youths that kind of food? He’s definitely a psychopath.’
The students were taken aback by Sadia’s verbal assault.
“Well then, from now on, you’ll all learn to value meals and cooperate in farming. It’ll also be helpful for refining life magic, so it will be of great use. Normally, this would be part of Professor Deneuve or Baroness Bulem’s curriculum, but this time I’ll be the one teaching you as a special exception.”
“….”
Everyone was fed up with Sadia speaking as if it were some kind of privilege.
Although Sadia’s appearance was outstanding and captivated everyone, her classes—where she freely drained energy—were something they preferred to avoid if possible.
Yet to speak as if she were granting them a favor for teaching them herself.
“Then I’ll teach you excavation magic. You’ve learned telekinesis from Bulemhyde, haven’t you? This is an applied form of that, but it has a well-structured basic framework, so you can dig into the ground easily with little mana.”
Sadia used illusion magic to create a large floating monitor in the air and displayed the structure of excavation magic on it.
‘It’s certainly similar to telekinesis. Aside from the fact that the direction of force is predetermined, and when mana is supplied it digs at a fixed angle, force, and support like a plow… The activation word is simple too.’
The activation word for excavation magic was “para!”.
It could be pronounced without much difference in Korean or Eldar Imperial language, so everyone adapted to the spell easily.
‘Hmm, this time there’s no Korea-specific benefit. Well, I suppose I’ve been getting things too easy all this time.’
Idenia felt a bit disappointed but focused on learning the basics properly.
“Alright, shall we form teams?”
Sadia once again grouped them according to status.
Idenia was paired again with Bolson, a student from Boreas.
Mari was also paired once more with Rudolf.
“In pairs of two, practice excavation magic and dig furrows. Not too shallow, not too deep. The owner of the field will tell you the appropriate depth.”
At Sadia’s words, a farmer who appeared to be the owner of the land stepped forward. He was an elderly man with a stern look and a gaunt complexion, reminiscent of Gibbles.
“I don’t mind helping you cultivate the field, but if you’re the ones who blew up our oven, I won’t stand by and do nothing! Our family has served the academy for generations—how could you do this to us!”
“…”
Everyone realized that this farm owner was the same person who owned the bakery.
Knowing that the oven explosion was caused by a restaurant, and that the restaurant belonged to someone at the academy, the old man harbored hostility toward the academy students.
‘No, Lorenzo Medici is the heir of an Imperial Elector family. Even if Lord Lorenzo really did blow up the oven, what could this rural old man possibly do to punish him?’
‘That old man’s temper is something else. He’s so full of spite it’s unbelievable. Is this really the person who’s been preparing our meals all this time? No wonder the food was so bad.’
Everyone was taken aback by the stubbornness of the rural elder.
At that moment, Bolson greeted Idenia.
“Oh, it’s an honor to be on the same team again, Lady Idenia. It seems Professor Sadia intends to keep this team together.”
“Ah, Bolson. Do you happen to know excavation magic?”
“Yes. I learned it during military training. It’s used for digging drainage channels as well.”
“I see. Then please watch my magic and point out anything wrong.”
Idenia said this and raised her magic wand.
“Para!”
Infusing mana into the wand and aiming at the target, the ground at the target area was swiftly dug up.
By adjusting the direction of the dig, Idenia overturned the soil forward rather than downward.
“Ah… impressive. It’s flawless. There’s nothing to criticize.”
“Thank you. Shall we work together then?”
“Haha. I’m worried I might end up being a burden to you, Lady Idenia.”
Bolson said that and raised his wand to cast his spell.
Compared to Idenia, Bolson’s digging distance was about 20% shorter.
Meanwhile…
“Para!”
When Fiona cast her spell, a considerable distance was excavated.
She dug nearly 40% more than Idenia.
“Wow!”
“Incredible!”
“As expected… a prodigy of Notos!”
Everyone admired Fiona.
“Hmm. What do you think of my skill…?”
“But the top of the grade is still Isolde, right?”
“And the second place is Rudolf…”
Now everyone’s attention naturally turned to Isolde and Rudolf.
When Isolde raised her wand and cast her spell, she dug slightly farther than Fiona.
Rudolf, however, dug significantly more than both of them.
“Hmm. It seems a bit like a competition… but this isn’t everything magic is, so don’t take it too much to heart.”
Rudolf, who unexpectedly ranked first among the students, instead felt embarrassed.
He knew better than anyone that his magical knowledge didn’t match Isolde’s and that his overall management ability didn’t match Idenia’s. So even though he had won here, he couldn’t feel happy.
Excavation magic was the simplest of all, and rather than technique, the purer one’s mana, the more advantageous it was.
‘Wait a moment. If that’s the case…’
Idenia looked toward Mari, who was teamed up with Rudolf.
Mari was also holding her wand, hesitating.
She too knew that if she attempted excavation, she would dig far more than Rudolf.
‘Because of my saintly mana, I feel like I’ll dig the ground more excessively than His Highness the Crown Prince. Is that really alright? I’m worried I might offend His Highness or other nobles due to my lowly status. I could limit my mana, but then I’m afraid I might lose control. My mana is strong, but I’m not good at controlling it.’
As Mari fretted, constantly worried about others’ perceptions—
“Mari!”
Idenia spoke to her.
“Y-Yes? Lady Idenia?”
“Go ahead.”
“Pardon? But….”
“It’s fine. You’re a saint candidate and a student of Euros, aren’t you? Don’t be afraid to stand out. Who knows? You might even earn house points for coming first.”
Idenia saw through Mari’s worries and what she was thinking, and encouraged her.
“Now then, if you’re feeling self-conscious alone, give it your all for the sake of Euros students. Earn points and devote yourself for their benefit. Doesn’t that give you a reason to try your best?”
At Idenia’s words, Mari burst into a smile.
‘As expected, Lady Idenia is wonderful. She understands that I’m timid and is cutting off my retreat. Yes, I can do this for the sake of Euros dorm.’
Mari gained courage and raised her wand.
“Para!”
At that moment, the ground was violently overturned, as if a massive beast were burrowing beneath the earth.
An enormous amount of soil—far too much to call a furrow—shot up into the air, carving out a stretch over ten meters long.
“Whoa!”
“That’s on a whole different level!”
“As expected… a saint candidate!”
All the students marveled at the sight.
Rudolf, Karl, and Lorenzo also watched Mari closely.
Rudolf admired the field Mari had created.
‘As expected, in simple magical competitions like this, raw mana is advantageous. Truly a saint candidate. If she is chosen as the saint, we must bring her under the Imperial Cardinal’s faction… not the Papacy.’
Rudolf was well aware of the power struggle between the Papacy and the Imperial Family. With cardinals appointed by the Papacy dying under mysterious circumstances, and bishops appointed under the Emperor’s influence becoming cardinals, placing the next saint under Cardinal Dunaise’s wing would secure a significant advantage in that conflict with the Papacy.
Rudolf, now resolved to somehow recruit Mari, approached her and offered praise directly.
“Excellent work, Lady Mari of Astraea. Just as expected of someone who has received a divine revelation.”
“You honor me with such praise, Your Highness.”
“On that note, I recall inviting you to participate in a study session at the Zephyrus dorm before?”
“Ah… yes. I’m sorry, but I must decline. Since the dorms are in competition, if I were to go to Zephyrus, it might cause unnecessary misunderstandings among Euros students.”
“Ah, of course. That didn’t occur to me. However, how about this? Would you join Isolde and me for tea time during the spare time after breakfast, during the morning routine?”
“Pardon?”
“In truth, we spoke ambitiously about holding a study session, but we haven’t secured a proper space for it, so it fell through. Haha. We still haven’t secured a place to study, but I would like to become closer with Lady Mari—would you join us for tea time tomorrow morning?”
“Oh… t-thank you very much. I’m truly honored.”
Mari was flustered by Rudolf’s enthusiastic invitation.
---
“Ch. Crown Prince Rudolf is making his move as well. Though he had been quiet due to his status, once he moves, he certainly carries the aura of a major figure.”
Karl clicked his tongue as he watched Crown Prince Rudolf move to secure Mari.
“What do you think? All of you.”
Karl asked his subordinates.
“As expected of a saint candidate. Her mana is tremendous. Normally, one would have no doubt she is the saint.”
“She is indeed a saint. However… there is another saint candidate in this generation.”
“Regardless, if we are to make use of her, Lady Idenia’s status is too high. It would be better to think of that commoner girl as the saint.”
“Whether she is the saint or not, her talent is too valuable to give away.”
Karl’s subordinates offered their advice.
“Right. I agree. But if she’s too valuable to give away, how do we obtain her?”
“…Ah, well…”
“We’ve never had girlfriends before.”
There were female students in Boreas dorm, but the students Karl brought from Ansbach were all male…
Everyone fell silent.
“No, that’s not what I meant by ‘obtain her’! We should figure out what she wants and find a way to persuade her.”
“Then what do women want?”
“Hmm… if you met a woman, what would you give her as a gift?”
At Karl’s question, the male students looked at each other.
“Well… a sharp new sword? Or maybe a hand axe?”
“Oh, I’d like that too.”
“I was the foolish one for asking.”
Karl sighed as he listened to his subordinates’ chatter.
‘As expected, we northerners lack subtlety. This is troublesome. I wish I had some of that smooth southern flair.’
Meanwhile, the southern woman herself—Fiona, the Papal envoy—was trembling as she looked at the vast field Mari had cultivated.
“Ugh… I’ve lost. As expected of a saint candidate.”
Lorenzo comforted the disheartened Fiona.
“Don’t think of it that way, Fiona. We are still in our growth phase, and mana can increase as much as we train.”
“But from what I’ve seen, even seasoned mages rarely possess mana like that. As expected, she must be the saint.”
“In that case, what about Lady Idenia?”
“She is also a saint candidate… but… well. There was a prophecy, yes, but the way she has shown herself so far is less like a saint and more like…”
“More like what?”
“A hero.”
Fiona answered—and even she was surprised by her own words.