Chapter 140

Chapter 112 Mother Teresa

I found an empty spot at the back of the crowd and looked toward Daisy.

“I’m fine, don’t worry,” Daisy waved her hand at me with a sweet smile. “It’s just a minor injury. It doesn’t hurt much… I’m just a bit timid; I get scared seeing blood… I’ve been mocked for being a crybaby since I was young… So… sorry for causing trouble…”

As she spoke, her cheeks turned slightly red, and she lowered her head in embarrassment. I shook my head and said to her, “It’s okay, as long as you’re fine.”

Although I did think that Daisy was a bit too delicate, what can you do? Not everyone can be as tough as me.

“Hey, wasn’t that old man Melville, the famous one?”

Sarah suddenly exclaimed excitedly, and Sophia beside her gave her an annoyed look.

“Come on, you only realized that now? You’re so slow.”

“It really is him! Will he become our teacher?”

“…He’s standing right there, what kind of stupid question is that?”

“Wow~ The Royal Academy, amazing!”

Hearing this, I couldn’t help but ask, “Is that old man very impressive?”

Though I already knew he was a professor of advanced Order Studies, I wasn’t sure how strong his Order powers were.

“He’s incredibly impressive! He was a water order genius known throughout the capital years ago. They say he can form a water vortex taller than a person in an instant. He’s the exclusive启蒙 teacher for the princes and princesses in the palace.”

Hmm… A water vortex as tall as a person… Hmm… Is that really impressive?

“Oh.”

This description isn’t impressive at all! Forget it, why should I ask her…

“Also, also! Look over there, by the Ahama Mountain team… That’s Lam, the giant, right?”

Following Sarah’s pointing, I saw a big-bearded, muscular man standing in front of the Ahama Mountain team, talking animatedly to the students.

“Who’s that?”

“That’s Lam, the one who can kill a fire bear with his bare hands! The legend says he reached the peak of physical training. Peylo, you haven’t heard of him in the empire?!”

“No, I haven’t.”

I wonder who’s stronger between him and Pagos… A fight would definitely be interesting.

“Narrow-minded… And look, look over there…”

Sarah introduced two other tower teachers to me, but I had lost interest in remembering them.

Because I noticed more and more people looking at me.

Most of them were male students, their gazes intense and dense, filled with some strong desire that made me extremely uncomfortable. Frustrated, I glared at each of them, and they scratched their faces and turned away, pretending not to care, but soon looked back again.

This made me very angry. When my temper flared up, I wanted to drag them out and beat them all up.

But I couldn’t do that… And I noticed that some of the female students were also staring at me, unsure of what they were thinking, whispering to their friends sometimes, or even showing disdain.

Without hearing, I knew they wouldn’t speak well of me.

Silently moving behind Sarah, I listened to her and Sophia chatting idly, waiting quietly for the ceremony to begin.

During this time, scattered latecomers arrived, and the teachers really made them start running laps around the training ground. I estimated that such a large training ground meant each lap was about a kilometer, twenty laps being twenty kilometers… It’s not easy for ordinary people to run that far, especially since most of the latecomers were girls.

“Lucky we weren’t late…” Sophia patted her chest, looking relieved.

“It’s really exhausting running like this.”

The two boys I had beaten up also arrived. They seemed to have washed off their bloody noses somewhere, and their faces looked quite clean.

They reluctantly joined the group running laps.

“Haha, those two fools… they shouldn’t have messed with us!”

No one echoed Sophia’s words.

Soon after, the teachers entered.

The students went wild.

“Ahh—”

“It’s Bear Frem!”

“Master Aidan!”

“Lucia, I love you—!”

“Hahaha!”

“Wow! So many impressive people! Peylo, look over here!”

Sarah beside me kept shaking my arm, her eyes sparkling with excitement. Her enthusiasm, as a young girl meeting her idols, was unmistakable.

It made sense; anyone who could teach at the Royal Academy wouldn’t be ordinary. Their presence caused a huge stir, and it was natural for the younger students to idolize these heroes, just as in the past when people chased stars. Except I didn’t recognize any of them…

Except for the headmistress, who was surrounded by the crowd.

She wobbled her way over, her small, frail body looking insignificant compared to the other teachers. Her steps were so unsteady that one couldn’t help but worry she might fall any second. At the moment, she was being supported by a woman dressed like a nun… Hm? Are there nuns among the teachers?

I nudged Sophia with my elbow. “That nun, who is she?”

“Nun?” Sophia was initially puzzled, but when she saw who I was referring to, her gaze became incredulous. “Ah! You don’t know her?!”

I shook my head. “No…”

“How can you be like Sarah…” Sophia rubbed her forehead, her expression pained. “That’s Sister Theresa! She’s a notable figure in the capital… no, renowned worldwide… how can you not know her?”

“Sister Theresa?”

This name sounded familiar. I was sure I had heard it somewhere before, but where… I couldn’t recall.

“She is…”

“Please, Sister Theresa! The famous Sister Theresa! A few years ago, she was considered the top candidate for the next Holy Maiden. Peylo, you never read the gazettes?”

A few years ago… Where would I read the gazettes…

“So, is she the Holy Maiden now?”

“No… It was supposed to be her, but something happened later on. Her position as a candidate was replaced, and now it’s Lady Margaret.”

I was suddenly surprised.

“Can the Holy Maiden be replaced?”

“Her position as a candidate, not the Holy Maiden herself… Anyway, there must have been a special reason for the replacement. I’m not entirely clear about it either…” Sophia leaned closer to my ear and lowered her voice. “There are many rumors about her. Some say Sister Theresa refused to become the Holy Maiden on the eve of her consecration for some unknown reason. Others claim she was abandoned by the gods because no one has seen her use divine power since then… These are just idle gossip circulating among the nobility, so who knows if they’re true or not.”

“Oh…”

So, refusing the gods… or being rejected by the gods?

What kind of person is she… I was curious.

“But personally, I prefer a lesser-known theory.”

Sophia twirled a strand of hair around her finger, her warm breath carrying a delicate fragrance that brushed against my ear.

“What is it?”

“Becoming the Holy Maiden means becoming the embodiment of the Church among the people, rescuing them from distress… that requires traveling to many places. But Sister Theresa loves children. She’s the head of the Cataoloma Orphanage. She refused to become the Holy Maiden because she wanted to continue taking care of the children. I like this theory because I think she’s an extraordinary person.”

Ah, I remember now.

So, Eli and Lucas coming over here means that woman is taking care of them.