Chapter 84

“Isn’t that… a bit expensive?”

“It’s a reasonable price. It takes me four days of pouring my holy power into it to suppress it, and that much holy water is consumed as well.”

If the cost of buying four days of a saint candidate’s time is a few hundred gold, it’s definitely not too expensive…

But right now, I’m in no position to come up with that kind of money.

“…Can’t we do it on credit? Honestly, I don’t have the money right now… But I’ll do anything you ask in return, one or two requests.”

I’ll gradually save up money from now on, so when I have some to spare, I can pay it back then.

“Not possible…?”

Lacey let out a deep sigh.

“Sigh… Elpinel, why……”

She closed her eyes and made the sign of the cross. With a truly devout attitude.

Feeling a bit awkward, I just gulped down the water in my cup.

It was surprisingly refreshing for plain water, wherever it came from.

“…Fine. Make sure to pay it all back within a year at the latest. I have to leave this place by next year.”

Lacey reluctantly agreed to let me buy on credit.

A whole year. That’s a surprisingly generous deadline.

Judging from her attitude, it doesn’t seem like it’s out of kindness or goodwill, but more like she had no choice.

Anyway, it worked out, so that’s that.

“A year is more than enough! I should say thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, thank Elpinel.”

Right. Thank you, Elpinel. I hope my gratitude reaches you.

*You’re probably watching anyway.*

I pretended to make the sign of the cross and handed her the Ice Blade.

—-

“Now that I think about it, if it’s a nail-shaped weapon with the chill of the underworld… that burn from before must have been from you.”

Huh?

Lacey, who had moved the case containing the Ice Blade aside, suddenly dropped a bombshell.

The content made me doubt my ears. I felt a sudden shock, like my heart had dropped.

That burn from before?

The only person I fought with the Ice Blade, and who got burned, was just one person.

Knut.

“Do you know Knut?”

Maybe because I tried hard to suppress my panic, my voice was surprisingly calm.

“Was his name Knut? A few months ago, a knight instructor came to me in a hurry. She brought a man who was about 80% a corpse. I healed him at the instructor’s request, but… after that, both of them suddenly disappeared.”

He’s alive?

That vengeful holy warrior who had nothing but anger and hatred flowing through his veins instead of blood?

I did say that without a saint’s healing, it would be hard for him to survive such severe injuries…

But did he really survive after being healed by a saint candidate? Is this the so-called guidance of Bølberg or something?

It was a bewildering story.

I never dreamed he would still be alive.

…Well, he did appear in my dreams.

But then, why hasn’t he shown himself yet?

Now, when I’m weakened, would have been the perfect opportunity for him to take revenge.

“I’m not sure if you can say he’s alive. He lost an eye and a leg, and his vitality has greatly diminished… It would be hard for him to fight as a warrior again.”

“Really…?”

With that level of injury, he would have to retire as a warrior.

If he’s no longer a warrior… then the blessings of the warrior god wouldn’t activate either.

Still, I should keep it in mind.

Even if he’s no match for me now, there’s no guarantee he’ll only come at me with force.

Thinking about it, it’s actually a good thing I found out about his survival like this.

If I hadn’t heard it from Lacey, I wouldn’t have been prepared at all when Knut showed up again.

“So, who was he? Why did you try to kill him?”

“Knut was… a spy from Dane. He tried to assassinate me.”

It’s not confirmed information.

But since he snuck in hiding from the Empire, he was probably a spy.

“Ah, so he was a spy after all. I had a feeling when he disappeared… That’s unfortunate news.”

“You didn’t know, so what can you do? Let’s get back to the main topic.”

Lacey was just doing her job, after all.

She healed an academy student at the request of an academy instructor, so it’s not like she did anything wrong.

Lacey nodded and poured me another glass of water.

“The first question is settled… Let’s move on to the next one.”

“The second question? Go ahead.”

“That speech from before, did you mean it?”

That thing about one race and all that.

Listening to it, it sounded like you were making not just the beastmen but all non-human races your enemies.

“Are you talking about my holy war theory? Of course, I meant it.”

Lacey nodded. With a firm conviction.

“Securing a permanent and sustainable right to survival for humanity is a core task that the Church Order must achieve someday. Of course, there’s still a long way to go. It’s impossible with just the power of the Holy Kingdom, and at this point, the Empire can’t afford to project its full strength to the north.”

She paused for a moment. As if carefully choosing her next words.

Well, she wouldn’t reveal all her thoughts to me just because we’ve met a few times.

“When the internal and external issues of the Empire are resolved, and we regain enough national strength to go on the offensive rather than just defending, then we can finally start the northern expedition.”

“…I see.”

“Yes. When that time comes, the beastmen will also face their destined fate, just like the orcs. That is my wish.”

Hmm…

Yeah, do your best.

Though it reminds me of that mustache uncle who invaded the frozen lands and ruined the country.

—

After entrusting Lacey with the Ice Blade, I headed down to the garden.

“That’s it! Pour all your strength into each strike, but keep the attacks continuous! Make sure your movements always form a circle!”

“Got it!”

“Don’t let your feet stay idle! Twist your body with your sword, dodging and attacking at the same time!”

“Ugh…!”

In the garden, Freide was still teaching Damien.

She seemed really into it.

Since it was a practice spar, both were using wooden weapons. Though the sizes were quite different.

Damien, who had already been hit several times, was grimacing and staggering.

Meanwhile, Milia was practicing archery next to them.

It seemed like she was practicing with evasion in mind, hopping around while shooting arrows. It looked pretty amusing.

I approached them.

“Looks fun, huh?”

“Ah, Ha-shal-leur!”

Hearing my voice, Milia stopped shooting arrows and greeted me.

“What, you’re here? Let’s take a break for a bit, Damien.”

“Pant… pant… Thank you, Freide-senpai…”

Freide and Damien also stopped their sparring.

Damien plopped down, breathing heavily. He looked completely exhausted.

On the other hand, Freide, who walked over to me, seemed almost fine.

Except for her slightly heavy breathing and the beads of sweat on her forehead.

“How is it? Not bad at teaching, right?”

“Hmm, honestly, it’s fun. He’s learning quickly, just like you said.”

Of course, he’s the future hero.

Though his growth has been a bit slow since proper enemies haven’t shown up yet.

“Hit him hard. The more you do, the tougher he’ll get. That’s the kind of guy he is. He’ll probably keep getting stronger.”

“Oh?”

Freide smirked.

As if she’d found another way to tease me.

“Your tone sounds oddly confident. And the way you’re looking after him like this… Is it because you have a thing for younger guys? Huh?”

What kind of nonsense is this?

“Ha, Ha-shal-leur…?”

Milia glanced at me.

No, it’s not like that, Milia. Don’t look at me with those trembling eyes.

“Stop talking nonsense. It’s not like that.”

“Hmm? Then what is it? Honestly, you’re not the type to go out of your way to nurture someone like this.”

Well, she’s not wrong.

Normally, I’d focus on improving my own skills instead.

Freide knows my tendencies, so she must’ve found it strange.

“It’s just… the atmosphere lately has been uneasy, and there aren’t many capable first-years, so that’s why.”

“True, things have been chaotic lately… Hmm… Well, I’ll let it slide for now.”

Judging by her grin, she’s probably going to keep teasing me with this…

This isn’t good.

“Seems like you’re really happy to have more friends? Your tone is so different from before. Congratulations, lonely Freide-senpai?”

“W-what? No, that’s not…!”

Freide flinched and her shoulders shook.

Well, if you’re going to tease someone, you should be ready to get teased back.

“By the way, I heard there’s a study that says people with fewer than 65 friends are monkeys…”

“Ha, come on. Where did you hear that? I know a lot of people too! They’re just all in the north.”

Sure. Let’s go with that.

Seeing how red her face is, if I tease her any further, she might come at me with an axe.

—

“…So, what did you come here for?”

Freide, now slightly calmer, glanced at me.

There wasn’t any hostility in her gaze, so it didn’t feel particularly threatening.

…Thinking about it, this is kind of like a self-introduction. That’s exactly what my situation is like right now.

“Just came to see how you’re doing. I’ve been busy lately, so I haven’t had the chance to meet up.”

“Of course, you’ve been busy replying to love letters—”

“Monkey—”

“…Right. You’ve been busy. Walking the tightrope between two factions must be tough.”

Freide quickly changed the subject. A wise move.

Continuing that conversation would only hurt both of us…!

We chatted for a while.

Freide praised Milia’s skills.

Even during intense movements, her arrows rarely missed the target.

“That’s impressive, Milia.”

“It’s because Ha-shal-leur and Freide-senpai helped me so much.”

Milia smiled shyly.

Damien, who was resting, glanced over at us.

Whether he didn’t have the guts to join in or just wanted to rest a bit longer, he didn’t come over.