Chapter 419
Two children were caught playing hide-and-seek.
The little girl, seemingly scared at the sight of strangers, trembled slightly, while the boy, with a curious nature stronger than fear, was too busy observing Simon and Lete.
"Hi there?"
Lete bent down to get closer to the children's eye level.
"This lady and this man here are going to be your teachers~"
Simon glared at her from the side, but Lete casually ignored him and continued.
"You're going to study a lot with your teachers starting tomorrow. Were you already excited to meet us?"
She gently patted the boy's head.
"Let's have lots of fun together, okay?"
"...Teacher?"
Simon quickly noticed the girl's pupils tremble at the word "teacher". The outgoing boy, however, simply smiled, happy to be patted.
"Alright then, it's getting late, so playtime's over. Time to head home now, okay?"
"Yes, teacher!"
The boy replied energetically, grabbing the girl’s hand and heading out.
The girl glanced back several times, and when she made eye contact with Simon, she quickly lowered her head and hurried off like she was fleeing.
* * *
After unpacking and organizing their surroundings, night fell quickly.
"Hmm."
Simon recalled the girl’s reaction from earlier.
"It does seem like something strange is happening in this village."
"Scared, huh?"
The soft, gentle tone Lete had used with the children was gone, and she spoke in her usual manner.
"The Saint, Lady Israfil, said she felt a great evil. It’s only natural to be cautious."
"I'm a Saint too, y'know. No need to be scared."
Lete yawned as she spoke.
"Since today was rough climbing up the mountain, let’s skip searching for now."
"Yeah. Let’s focus on tomorrow’s observation class."
"That too, but—"
Lete's pupils sharpened like a cat’s in an instant.
"!"
At the same time, Simon saw it too.
Outside the window, in the darkness.
A woman with blood-red tears glaring at them.
‘A snow maiden?!’
In the instant his whole body froze from fear—
Shraaak!
Lete swung her arm. A holy arrow immediately shot out, shattering the window.
The ghost vanished at the same time.
"Sh-should we chase after it?"
"That was just a warning. Seems like the villagers really enjoy eavesdropping."
Of course, Lete had cast a soundproofing magic circle as soon as they arrived. That’s why Simon had mentioned Israfil’s name without worry.
"Let’s just prepare for the observation class."
She yawned again as she moved her fingers. The shards of the shattered glass floated up and reassembled.
"Seems like we’re under heavy suspicion."
"...Yeah."
Their bodies were dead tired from climbing the mountain, but somehow, sleep didn’t seem likely tonight.
In this village, they could only rely on each other.
* * *
The next morning.
The observation class began.
Unusual weather, the snow maiden from last night, the relationship between Coola and Escaille Village. All of it, combined with fatigue, left Simon a bit distracted.
"Alright, everyone! Say hello to your teachers!"
"Hello~!!"
But the moment he saw the children Petria had brought to the house, all his worries melted away.
The kids were angelically adorable.
‘This really is the cutest age.’
Plump cheeks, big round eyes, overflowing energy.
Smiling, Simon listened as Petria introduced them.
Two boys.
4-year-old Matthew, 5-year-old Ali.
Three girls.
4-year-old Sophie, 5-year-old Anda, and 5-year-old Sea.
The children who had been caught playing hide-and-seek the previous night were 4-year-olds Matthew and Sophie.
And the 5-year-olds Ali, Anda, and Sea all had gray hair—children of the village’s ruling class, the 'Mizenashi'. Their clothes clearly showed wealth.
"Hello, everyone!"
Lete greeted the children warmly.
"My name is Teacher Leah. And this is Teacher Shaun."
She placed both hands on her belly.
"Now then, shall we learn how to say hello? Try this! Hands on your belly!"
When dealing with kids, Lete’s accent and emphasis changed. As she waited with her hands on her belly, the children instinctively mimicked her.
"In this pose, when I say ‘greet!’, you all say ‘Hello, teacher~!’ Got it?"
"Yes!"
"Let’s try from the top! Hands on your belly!"
Clap! Clap!
The kids placed their hands on their bellies.
"Greet!"
"Hello~ teacher!"
Simon smiled in awe as he watched Lete's back.
‘Why is she so good at this?’
Her pronunciation was clear and pleasant, her gestures like a rhythmic dance, and her expressions perfectly exaggerated.
She was no amateur when it came to handling children.
Even the adults watching from a distance nodded silently in approval.
"Now then! Teacher Leah brought something from the city just for you all. Ta-da!"
From her backpack, she pulled out a colorful seven-color paint set and notebooks. The children’s eyes lit up.
"Coloring game!!"
"Please give it to us!"
"Me first!"
The kids rushed toward her. Lete quickly held the paint set over her head.
They wouldn't listen no matter what. One of the Mizenashi kids even looked toward the adults, pleading for help. At five years old, they already knew how to use parental influence—crafty little one.
But Lete wouldn’t be swayed so easily.
"Everyone! Want the coloring set?"
"Yeeees~!!"
Their shout could burst eardrums.
"Good! Then how do we ask nicely to get what we want? We ask the teacher politely, right? How do we ask?"
Brilliant.
Simply brilliant.
Soon, all the village children had their hands neatly together, pleading, "Teacher! Please!"
Smiles bloomed across their faces as they received what they wanted.
"Since it’s our first day, draw whatever you want today! Exciting, right?"
That morning was mostly spent coloring.
But of course, growing bodies need exercise too. They also played a Holy Train game with their hands on each other's shoulders.
"Train departing!"
"There’s a reindeer uncle in front! Stop!"
Every word from Lete sparked fits of laughter from the kids.
‘...Kinda embarrassing, but they’re enjoying it.’
Simon clapped his hands in rhythm enthusiastically.
It was also Simon’s job to sing the Holy Train song and act as various animal friends. He was juggling five roles on his own.
"Hey. Teacher Shaun?"
Lete snuck up and pinched Simon’s waist.
"Don’t look embarrassed, do it properly."
"I-I am doing my best!"
"Then show some professionalism, like you're a real children's teacher."
Despite her grumbling, when she turned to the kids, her expression instantly flipped to a radiant smile.
‘You're just too good at this. Really.’
Then came lunch time.
Lete had done so well that they thought the adults would be reassured and leave them be. But—
"Uh, the village elders say... they’d like to see the holy training."
Petria spoke awkwardly. Lete frowned.
"But there’s a proper order to education. Holy training right away? That’s too early for them."
"I-I’m sorry! Really! But they insisted it had to be now..."
Finally, the reason why the village had brought in external priest instructors became clear.
They wanted to raise the children as priests.
These five children, despite their young age, could already sense mana and manifest pure elemental magic.
Maybe it was because the region was rich in mana, but many geniuses were born here. Still, the adults were hoping that even just one among them would grow into a priest who could wield holiness.
Their reasoning for wanting a priest was obvious.
Every village needs a healer. Someone to treat injuries or illnesses. In the Holy Federation, this role is naturally fulfilled by priests.
But Escaille was an isolated, closed-off village.
Even if someone fell ill, the neighboring Coola, due to their hostile relationship, was unlikely to accept the patient. Traveling beyond Coola to other regions would take a lot of time and money.
If, by some chance, an epidemic were to spread, the village would be finished. It was clear the villagers desperately wanted a priest.
Before the afternoon class, Lete and Simon held an emergency strategy meeting.
"Ah~ seriously, I don't like a single one of these villagers."
Lete grumbled.
"Even if they’re geniuses, trying to make clueless little kids do that kind of thing? They never thought of becoming priests the proper way, through the 19 Tribulations and the Holy Chamber."
"Well, that would mean joining the Church of Dave and becoming affiliated with Efnelle. These people want to stay in the village."
Lete let out a sigh before speaking again.
"Since it's the parents’ request, we’ll have to go along with it. Gotta mix play and holiness together somehow."
* * *
"Okay~ everyone. What do you think this is? Ta-da!"
Just as planned, Lete combined play and holiness and showed the children, but the moment they saw the holy energy, all their expressions froze.
"N-no!"
"Scary!"
Some even reacted with strong rejection. Lete shot a cold glare at the adults.
A proper amount of holy energy isn’t harmful to ordinary people. It heals wounds, restores stamina, and provides encouragement, its positive effects far outweigh the risks.
But in the end, holiness is still foreign to ordinary people.
If too much holy energy is absorbed, the body can't withstand it. Especially for growing, sensitive children, their resistance to holiness is still very low. Even so, this reaction felt unnatural.
Eventually, after dragging Petria outside, Lete got the truth: the elders, in desperation due to illness, had forcibly exposed the children to holy energy. That’s why they were now afraid of even seeing it.
"In the end, the ones who ruin the world are always a handful of greedy old folks."
Lete said with irritation as she walked back toward Simon.
"Well?"
"Even a small amount of holiness is causing rejection... this is going to be tough."
"It’s fine in small doses, right?"
"Yes. But the psychological issue is huge. Holiness is a power born from strong faith. If a childhood trauma causes them to associate it with fear, then becoming a priest will be impossible for them forever."
In other words, they needed to overcome their trauma first.
"Leave it to me."
"? What are you planning?"
Simon smiled and walked toward the children.
"Hello there! I'm Teacher Shaun, everyone!"
The children, thinking they were about to be forced to touch holiness again, looked at Simon with wary eyes. Their hearts were already closed.
"There are some animal friends who want to play with you right now. Want to meet them?"
At the word “animal friends”, the children’s expressions changed instantly.
Simon opened a holy subspace and brought out the divine beasts.
None other than—
—Meowwoooo!
—Meow! Meowww!
The divine beasts, Whitey and Blackey.
The children squealed in excitement.
"Kitties!!"
"Kittyyyy!!"
Whoooosh!
The kids rushed forward, screaming with joy, petting and hugging the cats. Simon sat nearby and began his lesson.
"Anda, if you squeeze and pinch like that, the divine beast won't like it."
Anda, who was hugging Whitey, gave Simon a sulky glare as if to say "Don't interrupt me."
Simon smiled gently.
"If you keep bothering her like that, Whitey might not want to play with you anymore."
Her pupils trembled at his words.
"T-then what should I do?"
"Try gently stroking her fur with your palm, like this."
Simon demonstrated. As he softly stroked Whitey’s fur, she purred contentedly.
"Teacher! Whitey is making a funny sound!"
"Yep. She’s happy. This is how you become real friends."
Without forcing anything, he gently guided the children to realize it on their own.
The young divine beasts, having come out of subspace after so long, didn't seem to dislike these small humans giving them proper attention.
Both the divine beasts and the children were overflowing with energy. The kids were as happy as could be, but the adults didn’t look too pleased.
'Yeah, yeah. You're wondering when the holy training is going to happen, huh?'
Simon summoned holiness in his palm.
He used a modified version of the basic holy offensive spell, Holy Bolt—with no offensive power, just a condensed orb of holiness.
He placed the snowball-like orb onto a dish.
—Meow! Meow!
"Teacher! Whitey and Blackey keep crying!"
"They're hungry."
Simon smiled as he continued.
"Divine beasts eat pure holiness. Who wants to feed the kitties?"
The children hesitated, their faces uneasy at the sight of holiness.
Whitey and Blackey squirmed out of the kids’ arms and meowed by the table where the holy energy sat.
—Hurry up and feed us!
They looked longingly at Simon and the children, waving their tiny front paws.
That pitiful sight made the children waver.
"I-I want to feed them."
Then the timid hide-and-seek girl, Sophie, stepped forward.
Simon smiled and handed her the dish with the holy energy.
"Ah..."
Her eyes fixed on the holiness.
When it entered her body, it had stung and hurt—but holding it in her hands now, it felt warm and gentle like snow.
—Meow!
Perhaps sensing that she intended to feed them, the two kittens sat quietly in front of her.
Sophie first gave the holiness to Whitey.
Chomp!
Whitey swallowed it in one bite.
"Wowww!"
Her body floated gently into the air, wrapped in a glowing aura.
Her form began to change, as if she were about to transform.
'She’s definitely taking longer in that form these days.'
Maybe the divine beast’s awakening was near. Or perhaps it was just the favorable environment of the Holy Federation.
Simon allowed himself a happy little fantasy.
But in the end, the transformation faded, and she popped back into her kitten form. Landing on the ground, Whitey leapt around in excitement.
—More! More!
Blackey rubbed against Sophie’s leg, crying.
—Me too! Me too!
And seeing Whitey’s transformation, the children who had hesitated earlier suddenly rushed forward.
"Teacher Shaun! I want to feed them too!"
"Me too!"
The children flailed their arms, competing to volunteer. Simon grinned and used what he’d learned from Lete.
"What do you say when you want to ask nicely?"
The children, who had been whining moments ago, all shouted in unison.
"Teacher! Please!"
Through play with the divine beasts, the children slowly began to overcome their trauma surrounding holiness.
Of course, the one who was now suffering was Simon, who had to keep producing holiness.
Lete, arms crossed as she watched, gave a short laugh.
'...Not bad at all.'
The village elders clapped and cheered in delight.
No other external teacher had ever managed to solve this problem. Lete spoke up.
"Petria."
"Y-yes! Leah?"
"Tell those people this. If they try forcing holiness into the children one more time, we’ll cancel all holy training. From now on, leave all holiness training to us."
"Yes! I’ll tell them right away!"
The two watched, smiling, as the children played with the divine beasts, and Simon continued sweating bullets, producing holy energy.
Superb.
When are we getting more free chapters?
Thanks for the new chapters