Chapter 101
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 101
Chapter Title: Arrival of the Saintess
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(1)
1.
Early June.
Summer had arrived at Arsen Academy.
Surrounded by towering mountains and dense forests in a basin, Arsen's summers were notoriously hotter than anywhere else.
And perhaps because of that...
Every year around this time, the students' outfits became incredibly light and simple. You could see it just looking at the black-haired girl who had just stepped out of the magic department building.
"Ugh, it's finally over."
The girl stretched with a weary face.
It was Noa. Instead of her usual fur clothes, she was wearing a white blouse and a navy long skirt.
It looked refreshingly cool at a glance. But there was something that looked even cooler than Noa.
"Hot."
The red-eyed barbarian who had followed her out.
It was Ullan.
Even after stripping off his upper garment, he was still fanning himself vigorously with his hand. At the sight, Noa asked in a bewildered tone.
"And you're still hot like that?"
"My body runs hot."
After giving his bold reply...
Ullan glanced back at the magic department building.
"At least it all worked out smoothly."
"Phew, yeah. We really dodged a bullet."
Noa let out a sigh of relief as well.
There was a good reason Ullan and Noa had come to the magic department building. They were looking for a lecture to replace their original "Mana Detection" class.
If you're wondering why they were replacing a perfectly fine class, it was due to an incident from about a month ago.
'When the Abyss rift opened.'
During the subjugation of the Frost Dragon.
Professor Direk Orminu, who had been teaching Mana Detection, had turned into a monster and met his end.
Afterward, the magic department searched for a professor to take over the class, but no one stepped up.
'And so...'
The class was naturally canceled.
The enrolled students scattered to find replacement lectures on their own.
Ullan and Noa were no different, but after some twists and turns, they found a class they could take together and had just successfully enrolled.
"But it was kind of unexpected."
"What was?"
"The lecture earlier. It seemed pretty complex for someone clueless about shamanistic knowledge, but you actually followed along surprisingly well."
Noa said, looking intrigued.
The replacement class Ullan and Noa had signed up for was called "Understanding Ancient Shamanism."
For a shaman like Noa, absorbing and understanding the teachings was natural. But Ullan seemed to be keeping up surprisingly well too.
So she mentioned it out of curiosity, but Ullan just calmly shook his head.
"I didn't understand a thing."
"Huh? But you were taking notes diligently."
"So I could ask you about it later."
Right after his matter-of-fact response...
Noa gave an awkward smile.
She had an instinctual feeling the moment she heard him. Another grueling path of study was about to begin.
"Though one thing was a bit odd."
"What?"
"The writing looked just like pictures, didn't it?"
"Well, from a distance, yeah. But once you memorize the characters, it's pretty convenient to use."
Unlike modern magic, which was translated into various national languages, shamanism used its own unique script systems.
So it was understandable if an outsider like Ullan mistook it for pictures.
"And the writing being blue was weird too."
"Pardon? What did you say?"
"The writing was blue too..."
"The writing was white."
"...What?"
"The blue was just the blank space."
Ullan clamped his mouth shut.
A moment later, he pulled out his notebook and opened the page where he had taken notes. Peering over with him, Noa added awkwardly.
"Um, well, taking notes on the blank spaces is a talent in its own way, I guess. Ahaha."
"......"
An awkward silence hung in the air.
Ullan soon closed his notebook.
Then, in a somewhat deflated voice, he summed up his current situation briefly.
"I'm screwed."
"I-it's okay! Even if you bomb the exam, as long as you keep attending, they won't give you an F!"
Noa hurriedly added words of comfort.
It was a solid fact.
It was a special privilege given to all students who had been in Professor Direk's class.
Since the class had changed through no fault of their own, as long as attendance was confirmed, they had decided never to assign an F grade.
"Of course, since you got warnings three times regardless of exams, it's like you already have one strike, so you can't completely relax."
Three or more warnings were treated the same as academic probation. And since enrolling, Ullan had received exactly three warnings so far.
The first was for causing a disturbance at the entrance ceremony and injuring multiple people.
The second was for breaking rules in the preliminary matches and turning Himmel Deorg into a bloody mess.
'And the third warning was...'
Two weeks ago, on a weekend.
Ullan had left the academy with Ivela Elead using an outing permit but failed to return on time, even staying out overnight without permission.
There were unavoidable circumstances—a storm that halted carriage operations—but without proof, he still got a warning.
'It was total chaos.'
Dilia Arpen's reaction was especially intense.
At the time, it looked like she might have a showdown with Ivela, but fortunately, it was smoothed over somehow.
It started when it became known that nothing had happened between them. Since Ullan had sworn on a warrior's name, it had to be true.
'Though it was unexpected.'
Spending the night with Ivela?
The original Ullan would have pounced long ago. He was the perfect picture of a heroic womanizer.
Yet nothing happened.
'Well, it makes sense this time.'
The Ullan standing next to Noa now was far removed from the original.
Becoming a master at seventeen, knowing about the Abyss and its lords—these were things that never happened in the original.
'I've been investigating the reason, but...'
There hadn't been much progress so far.
He had practically lived in the freshman library for a month, but there was almost no material on the "Abyss," and nothing at all on the "lords."
Feeling stuck, perhaps...
As she sighed inwardly...
Suddenly, a group of students rushed toward the military department building. And with it, the reason came to light.
"I heard students from the Holy Kingdom arrived!"
A short while ago, a delegation from Eloden Academy in the Holy Kingdom—the sister academy they had recently partnered with—had arrived for an exchange event.
"What? From Eloden Academy?"
"Yeah, that's what I heard."
"Oh! And there was this super pretty girl."
"Really? Who?"
"I don't know her name, but she had short turquoise hair."
The moment the answer ended...
Ullan and Noa's eyes flashed simultaneously.
From Eloden Academy, short turquoise hair, and stunningly beautiful—only one person came to mind immediately.
'Saintess Laurea Ro Sharfell.'
One of the seven heroes.
The instant they thought of her, they turned in unison without a word.
No need for discussion. A glance at each other's eyes said they were interested.
And so, Ullan and Noa followed the bustling students toward the military department.
2.
Meanwhile, at around the same time.
The Eloden Academy student delegation was being given a tour of the campus as per the scheduled itinerary.
"That concludes the main facilities of the general department. Next..."
An Arsen staff member was leading the tour.
Following her was a delegation of thirty students total: ten each from first, second, and third years.
Selection criteria varied by year, but they all shared one thing in common. They were promising students worthy of representing Eloden.
In short, elites.
Perhaps because of that...
The Eloden delegation moved with rigid faces, embodying Eloden's school code of extreme restraint and discipline.
Not even glancing sideways.
Of course, not everyone was like that.
"Whoa, so this is the famous Arsen."
"It's even bigger than I thought."
"Three or four times wider than Eloden."
It was the Eloden first-years.
Not yet accustomed to the school code, they looked around Arsen curiously.
At that moment...
Suddenly, someone spoke up.
"...Who's making noise?"
A stiff, low voice.
It was the gray-haired young man at the front.
His name was Theron Schlager.
Eloden's student council president and the nominal leader of this delegation.
"We're not here to sightsee."
Glancing disapprovingly at the first-years, Theron continued in a scolding tone.
"Remember why we're here and what our mission is."
The purpose of the Eloden delegation was tied to the oracle the Holy King had received last month. The content of that oracle was as follows:
「Fragments of the Abyss have slipped through the cracks into the world, so the day the gate opens draws near. Gather the scattered stars and become the lantern to illuminate the Abyss.」
The fragments of the Abyss that slipped through the cracks were presumed to be the Abyss monsters that appeared at Mana Spring about a month ago.
But it was just a presumption.
Thus, the Eloden delegation had come to Arsen under the pretext of the exchange event to turn that presumption into certainty.
In other words, their goal was to accurately interpret the oracle and investigate information on the repeatedly mentioned "Abyss."
'With such a grave mission on our shoulders.'
Gawking around like tourists was unacceptable, especially from first-years. It was too immature and naive.
Theron frowned.
Then he pointed straight ahead.
"Look at Lady Laurea!"
His shout echoed around them.
All eyes turned to the girl at the front. The short-haired girl walking gracefully despite the commotion.
Laurea Ro Sharfell.
She was famed as the Holy Kingdom’s next Saintess and the most talked-about figure at Eloden Academy.
Perhaps because of that, Theron's eyes quickly filled with reverence and admiration.
"Behold her form, walking straight ahead without distraction! See that noble pursuit of duty alone!"
His fervent zeal bordered on fanaticism, but the Eloden delegation accepted it as a matter of course.
"This is the attitude we must all emulate. So keep your eyes forward, take Lady Laurea as your example, and maintain a devout mindset."
Theron clasped his hands in prayer.
His peers, the second-years, and even the first-years followed suit respectfully.
But there was an exception.
The navy-haired young man walking right next to Laurea, closest to her.
"Lady Laurea."
The first-year from Eloden glanced at the ecstatic Theron praying and spoke to Laurea again.
"The student council president seems to have some serious misconceptions about you. Wouldn't it be better to set the record straight?"
But no reply came.
So he whispered again.
"Honestly telling him you're hungover from overdrinking yesterday and might puke if you turn your head too fast would be the conscientious thing..."
"...Ian."
Laurea parted her lips.
A clear voice followed. A moment later, she delicately furrowed her fine brows.
It looked like a frown at first glance, but even that was breathtakingly beautiful. Though her following words were anything but.
"Shut your trap. My head's pounding."
It was hard to believe such crude words came from the next Saintess. But Ian showed no surprise. He just shrugged as if it were par for the course.
That was when...
"Ian Marcus."
Someone called the young man's name.
It was Theron, who had just been praying devoutly.
"Your role here is especially crucial. Arsen Academy isn't just full of our allies from the Ruben Empire."
The Holy Kingdom had many enemies.
A prime example was the Rakerta Kingdom, with whom they had the worst relations. And there were several Rakerta nobles at Arsen.
In other words, there was a high risk of needless friction or fights.
"So protect Lady Laurea safely. When it comes down to it, you're the only one we can rely on."
"Sure, whatever..."
Ian made a half-hearted face.
He flashed a grin as if to say not to worry.
"I'm getting paid, so I'll do the job properly. Of course, if something bigger than the pay arises, that's another story."
As soon as Ian finished speaking...
Most of the other students grimaced.
"Tch, hard to believe he's a Holy Knight candidate. So mercenary."
"His vulgar nature never changes."
"No matter how skilled he is, why is a thug like that guarding Lady Laurea?"
A barrage of criticism and negativity poured out.
Ian, meanwhile, just kept smiling nonchalantly.
As they resumed walking...
A crowd gathered behind the delegation.
Arsen students.
They watched the Eloden group from afar like a curious spectacle. Most gazes fixed on Laurea.
"Ignore them. Just regular gawkers."
Theron said flatly.
As he instructed, the Eloden delegation paid no attention to the Arsen students.
But at that moment...
Ian's face suddenly hardened.
"...!?"
He gripped his sword hilt at the same time.
It happened right after his eyes met "something" among the gawkers.
"Lady Saintess."
A serious expression he hadn't shown before.
Hand still on his sword, Ian spoke in a stiff voice.
"Don't leave my side no matter what."
"Why all of a sudden?"
"There's a monster."
"A monster?"
Laurea frowned.
Whether from the abrupt statement or her hangover, it was unclear.
Soon, her bright yellow eyes shifted.
Toward the direction Ian was looking.
A short while later...
"Ah, I see."
Laurea's eyes darkened.
As if realizing what Ian meant by "monster."
"Definitely a monster."
"Right?"
"First time I've seen one like that."
"I've seen a few."
"What? For real? Where?"
She asked, wide-eyed in surprise.
Ian answered calmly.
"At the Holy Knight training camp. Not common, but some instructors had muscles like that."
Right after his reply...
Laurea made a strange face. Noticing, Ian asked curiously.
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"Seems like you and I have different ideas of what a monster is."
"Pardon? You mean..."
"The monster I'm talking about is next to that exhibitionist."
The direction Laurea pointed.
There stood a girl with black hair.
Noa Darshen.
25th Image. I've Come to Deliver Good Words