Chapter 420
“Alright, hands above your belly button! Greet!”
“Goodbye, teacher!”
The first open class had been a huge success.
“All that worry was for nothing!”
“There’s something different about these teachers.”
The adults of Escaille Village and the members of the Mizenashi family seemed satisfied.
Seeing their reactions, Simon let out a sigh of relief.
After the children and adults had all left.
“Congratulations! Leah and Shaun have been recognized by the elders!”
Petria said that there would be no more open classes going forward, and there would be no interference in the lessons.
“However, the village chief, Granny Nenia, has asked that the holiness training be continued. I think I’ll have to attend at least those sessions to confirm things myself.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Well then, get some good rest!”
Petria bowed her head and quietly closed the door as she left.
Lete snapped her fingers, activating the soundproofing magic circles drawn on the walls and ceiling, then ran to the sofa.
“I’m exhausted~”
She flopped down without care and let out a long sigh. While organizing the toys the children had scattered, Simon spoke.
“Good work, Lete.”
“You too, good work. We’ve crossed a major mountain.”
Now, they could confidently use Escaille Village as their base camp. They planned to gather information in the village, then search the mountains thoroughly beyond the barrier at dawn when everyone was asleep.
“Let’s rest in the evening and get a bit of sleep. We’ll depart right at dawn.”
Lete looked at Simon as she said so.
“Escaille may look peaceful, but the lower village, Coola, must be in hell by now with all their food supplies depleted. We need to complete this mission as fast as possible.”
“Yeah.”
Many lives were at stake.
On top of that, Israfil had said that this situation could spread beyond the Holy Federation and even to the Dark Alliance, possibly across the entire continent.
Simon clenched his fist and ignited his fighting spirit.
‘Let’s go!’
* * *
Early the next morning.
Simon and Lete slipped past the village guards and made their way outside the barrier.
Fwooooooosh!
The relentless blizzard still showed no signs of stopping, and the snowstorm poured down fiercely, turning the world into a deathly whiteout where even one step ahead couldn’t be seen.
Grrrrrrrr!
Geh-ge-geek!
And then came the attacks from the mountain monsters.
A hunched, frost-covered quadruped beast leapt out at them.
<Holy Spear>
Simon created a divine spear and targeted the monster’s weak spot—its spine—piercing it repeatedly until it collapsed. Once the monster was completely destroyed, Simon stepped closer.
“Lete.”
“What is it?”
With just a casual wave of her hand, several monsters had already turned white and shattered into pieces.
“This thing’s an undead.”
“No wonder holiness worked so well. There are even undead monsters here.”
Unknown monsters without any danger rank were roaming these snowy mountains. Lete looked up.
“This mountain really is suspicious.”
Through the blizzard, the mountain peak could be faintly seen.
“We’ve been walking so much, but looking at the summit, it doesn’t feel like we’ve come very far.”
“Yeah. It feels like we’re walking in circles. We lose track of direction quickly because of the constant monster attacks.”
“We’ll need a countermeasure to avoid getting lost.”
Breathing out white mist, Lete started thinking.
The snowflakes danced around, and her white hair fluttered with them, creating an odd atmosphere.
“No helping it.”
After some thought, she closed her eyes tightly.
“I’ll prep a big one.”
“A big one...? Don’t tell me you’re going to use the Saint’s authority here?”
Lete shook her head and fiddled with the chalk necklace hanging from her neck.
“As the Saint of Stars, my authority is purely focused on destruction. I’ll prep a grand holy magic spell, so just buy me some time. Five—no, ten minutes will do.”
“Leave it to me.”
Rustle.
Lete slowly knelt on the snow-covered ground. She brought her hands together as if in prayer and closed her eyes reverently.
“O Mother of all things.”
Shhhhh—
Ssssssshhhhhhhh—
Simon flinched and stepped back in surprise. Around the praying Lete, holiness began to rise and a magic circle started to form.
“Hear the prayer of your sinful daughter.”
The air changed.
Amid the howling cold and snowstorm, a hole opened in the gray sky, and dazzling light poured through it.
Within that light, Lete stood, praying with hands clasped in sincerity.
She looked... radiant.
Kreeee!
Gyaaaaak!
The monsters and undead, reacting to Lete’s holiness, began to converge on their location.
Simon immediately fired the Holy Spears he had preloaded.
“ⴆⴈⴇⴘⴋⴝ.”
Lete’s chanting continued. The air grew thick with abundant holiness.
“Simon.”
At that moment, Lete’s voice called out. Simon, having just subdued the monsters, turned around.
“Open your eyes wide. Watch closely.”
Fwoooooooooosh!
In an instant, the bitter cold and blizzard were completely swept away and night turned into day.
‘Wow…!’
Everything around them became perfectly clear and visible.
He was about to marvel at Lete’s spell, which changed even the climate itself, but then Simon’s eyes widened.
He couldn’t waste the moment she had created.
‘As expected.’
Behind them, the barrier-covered Escaille Village came into view.
Despite hours spent trudging through the blizzard, they were only about thirty minutes away from the village. They hadn’t made it very far.
And the peak of the mountain was now completely visible.
Just below the summit, there was a cave. From it, ominous energy was pouring out.
It wasn’t as far as they had thought.
“Lete! There!”
Simon shouted, pointing at the cave. Lete, who was focused on maintaining the holy spell, snapped her eyes open and raised both arms.
<Illumination>
A brilliant white flash burst forward.
At the same time, the bright daylight vanished, replaced once again by darkness as the blizzard and cold returned in full force.
Fwooooooosh!
That beautiful scene just moments ago vanished like a dream.
The cold and frost returned, and the snow once again swallowed the world.
“......Hhhaaaaaugh.”
Lete let out a strange sound as she rose. Simon hurried over to her.
“Lete! That was amazing, seriously—!”
Thud.
Lete collapsed into Simon’s arms.
“L-Lete?”
“......T-totally overdid... it.”
Her eyelids fluttered like they were about to shut. Simon gently spoke.
“That’s enough for today. Let’s head back to the village.”
Lete gave a soft, obedient nod.
Thinking she looked unusually cute, Simon cradled her shoulder and gently lifted her with the strength of his arms.
“Rest a bit. We’ll be at the village soo—”
Thump!
Out of nowhere, Lete’s fist came flying at Simon’s face. With a strange noise, Simon tumbled into the snow.
“W-what the hell was that for?!”
Simon shouted, clutching his cheek.
“...D-don’t just, pick me up like thaaat. It’s embarrassinggg.”
Of all things, she had a problem with how she was being carried.
As Simon stared in disbelief, Lete, her eyes half-closed with drowsiness, slowly raised her arms toward him.
‘...!’
As if asking to be held.
The tips of Simon’s ears turned slightly red.
‘...Surely she doesn’t mean to carry her face-to-face, right?’
Simon walked up and turned around, presenting his back. He soon felt her thump!—leaning her weight against him.
He stood up with Lete now on his back.
“Lete?”
She had already fallen asleep, eyes closed, breathing slow and steady. Confirming this, Simon immediately started walking back toward the village.
* * *
That dawn had been brutal.
They climbed the frozen mountains, then Simon carried Lete all the way back to Escaille Village. After returning home and moving Lete to the adjacent room, Simon collapsed into bed and fell asleep as if he had passed out.
He had a dream.
Once again, Lete had used powerful holy magic and looked drained, her expression melting as she stretched her arms toward Simon.
A little flustered, Simon hesitated before approaching and turning around, offering a piggyback just like in real life.
Smack!
But Lete’s fist struck him in the face.
“Dduu-whuuh!”
Simon let out a bizarre sound as he opened his eyes. His view was blocked by something soft.
‘A pillow?’
Apparently, he had been hit with a pillow.
The pillow lifted, and there was Lete, with her usual mix of cold indifference and sleepy expression.
“How many times do I have to beat it into you before you get up?!”
“L-Lete?”
“Hurry and get up. I even made breakfast.”
She hopped off the bed and walked out without looking back.
Simon groggily sat up and rubbed his sleep-crusted eyes. Now that he noticed, a delicious aroma was in the air.
‘I’m starving.’
He shuffled like a zombie to the dining table, where a pot of bubbling meat stew was ready and waiting.
Simon staggered into his seat.
‘Hmm.’
Lete, being a Saint, clasped her hands together and offered a prayer before eating. Once her prayer was over, Simon casually scooped a spoonful of stew and brought it to his mouth.
“How is it?”
Lete asked.
“Oh.”
Simon blinked.
“It’s... shockingly good for something so ordinary.”
“...You have a real talent for making even the most normal compliments sound like crap. Truly impressive.”
Simon took a few more spoonfuls. The more he ate, the more it reminded him of something warm and familiar.
“Wait, don’t tell me...”
“Of course, it’s Teacher Anna’s recipe.”
Lete pointed her spoon at Simon with a chk!
“Remember this. You can insult my cooking skills all you want, but I won’t stand for any insults against Teacher Anna’s recipes.”
“Why would I insult it?”
Savoring the taste of home, Simon cleaned his bowl completely.
The meat stew vanished in a flash.
“If you’re done, come outside.”
“Huh?”
“It’s lesson time.”
Thinking it was a lesson for the children, Simon stepped outside as expected.
But to his surprise—
“As promised, I’ll properly teach you about La Escrime.”
The lesson was for Simon. Lete crossed her arms and gave a slight nod.
“Go on, cast it.”
“Ah, right.”
Simon nodded and began casting La Escrime.
He used Holy Spear as the base, then wrapped bands of holiness around it to increase power and penetration.
Each band was engraved with an “output” formula. By moving the bands at maximum output, the Holy Spear spun like a drill.
“That’s enough. Now cancel it.”
Simon dispelled La Escrime.
“I was impressed that you could mimic it just from seeing it a few times, but as expected, there’s no depth to it. It’s just a knockoff spell, nothing more.”
Wagging her index finger, she launched into a flurry of explanations.
“First off, La Escrime shouldn’t use the Holy Spear as its base. It needs a spear specifically designed for La Escrime alone. And those bands wrapped around the spear? They’re not just made of holiness. They’re blessings.”
“Ah! So they weren’t bands, but blessings?”
“Correct.”
She then demonstrated by forming the bands of holiness herself.
“These are Blessing of Reinforcement, Blessing of Rotation, and Blessing of Charge. The key is to intertwine these three blessings to create synergy within Escrime.”
Lete didn’t just stop there—she taught Simon everything about Escrime: the blessings, the runes, even the formulas.
“W-wow, are you really okay with giving me all this?”
Despite asking, Simon’s face was flushed with excitement as he furiously jotted down everything she said.
Lete chuckled and placed a hand on her hip.
“I’d be ashamed to let someone use a knockoff version of my original. Besides, I can use even stronger spells now.”
“Anyway, thanks!”
After wrapping up the La Escrime lesson, Lete got to the real topic.
“Now, summon those kitten divine beasts and the bear divine beast.”
“Huh?”
“You’ve been handling your divine beasts like garbage. It’s time I teach you properly.”
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