Chapter 775
Simon and Maelyn sat side by side, talking about this and that.
By now, Maelyn no longer seemed to suspect Simon of being Feon, and so, deep conversations about Feon came up as well.
“I told Lord Feon.”
Sweeping her sky-blue hair back, Maelyn lifted her gaze to the night sky.
The grasslands night sky was full of bright stars.
“I asked him not to break down, that I’ll always be cheering for him. It’s laughable that someone like me, just attending school normally, would try to sympathize with his hardships though.”
Was it because of the atmosphere? Or perhaps because it hadn’t been long since he had returned from time travel? Simon’s chest swelled with emotion.
As the Commander of the Traitor Legion, how long had it been since he’d received such encouragement or support from others? But he couldn’t let it show. Forcing down the surge of emotion, he lifted his head, letting the night breeze cool his flushed face.
“I think Lord Feon will be grateful to hear your words.”
“Mhm.”
Inside, Simon offered his thanks.
‘Thank you, Maelyn.’
* * *
The next morning dawned.
It was already the fourth day on the grasslands, and only a few days remained until the new semester began.
— Students! You didn’t come all this way just to waste time, right?
Hongpeng, perhaps feeling sorry for not having been able to give her disciples a good memory after bringing them here, proposed another grasslands tour.
Of course, given her poor health, she couldn’t go out as a guide herself, so volunteers from the Marlat Tribe would be assigned instead.
The students of Magical Combat and the first-years were thrilled, but the student council members were not.
That was because Simon was injured and in no condition to go outside. They were too worried about him to join the tour.
— I’m fine, so you all should go. It’s more uncomfortable for me if you miss out because of me.
Instead, it was Simon who pushed them to go.
Sasha tried to insist she’d stay behind to “nurse Simon” with ill intent, but in the end, Molly dragged her away. Waving to them as they rode off on horseback, Simon collapsed back onto the sofa in Hongpeng’s home.
“I really am sorry, Simon.”
Hongpeng approached and spoke.
“As a clan leader, I feel ashamed. Because I dragged Simon into this….”
“You know that’s the tenth time you’ve said that, right? I’m fine.”
Simon smiled as he answered.
Almost to the point of making him wonder if it was alright, she really did care for Simon wholeheartedly.
“If you’re not recovered by the time school starts, my heart will be torn to shreds.”
She sat down on the floor.
“So, from now on, we’ll begin rehabilitation training.”
“W-what, training? Here?”
“Yes!”
Hongpeng decided that, instead of letting Simon waste time while unable to join the tour, she’d teach him various techniques.
Different kinds of breathing methods.
Meditation techniques.
And even “spell arrays” which, unlike runic magic circles, could only be used by majors of Magical Combat as substitutes for magic.
She poured them out like a bargain sale. And of course, they were all techniques Simon could do without using his legs.
“Now, stretch.”
Simon closed his eyes and began meditating.
The idle thoughts in his head faded away, and his mind felt clear.
“Now!”
Simon snapped open his eyes and cast black magic. Using black magic immediately after meditation, just as Hongpeng had taught him, drastically shortened his casting time. His condition and focus surged.
“Wow!”
Experiencing it for the first time, Simon jumped around like a child, while Hongpeng smiled in satisfaction.
“But your focus is still lacking.”
Hongpeng disrupted Simon during meditation. She kept talking to break his concentration, or tickled him with something like a tuft of fur.
“Argh!”
Sometimes she even blew her breath into his ear. That, he could not tolerate.
When Simon turned back with a flushed face, Hongpeng was laughing softly.
“Professor!”
“Did I tease too much?”
Living together like this, even Hongpeng’s expression seemed to be brightening bit by bit.
He learned structured stretching, massages that relaxed muscles, and even did a bit of rehab by slowly moving his leg muscles.
At mealtimes, Hongpeng fed him herbs and foods she had been saving for herself, things said to be of unparalleled benefit to the body. He ate a ginseng the size of a human torso, and the liver of a firebird said to feed only on morning dew each day.
Thanks to that, aside from his injured leg, Simon’s entire body was brimming with vitality.
It was, in every sense, a “forced health package”. Simon refused over and over, saying such precious things shouldn’t be wasted on him, but Hongpeng was relentless.
“Now, ah—”
Dinner was a stew made from some kind of turtle monster. Hongpeng held a spoon and pressed it toward Simon’s mouth.
Sweating, Simon muttered,
“Um… the injury is in my leg, I can still use my hands, you know.”
“But Simon is still a patient. It’s my duty to nurse Simon, since you were hurt because of me.”
Simon had no choice but to open his mouth. She gently placed the carefully brewed medicinal herbs inside.
Watching Simon chew with his cheeks red and lips pursed in embarrassment, she stroked his hair proudly, as though he had done something commendable.
“One more bite!”
‘…It feels good being spoiled like this, but it’s kind of embarrassing.’
And so, after receiving his forced health package, the next morning arrived.
“Wow.”
In just a single day, the condition of his leg had improved unbelievably.
Considering that he couldn’t even stand because of the throbbing pain, this was a huge leap. Now the pain had subsided enough that he could at least lift himself up.
His complexion was glowing and his body was bursting with energy, like he could fly. How long had it been since he woke up feeling so refreshed?
“Awake already, Simon?”
As always, Hongpeng was brewing some concoction full of healthy ingredients. The whole room was filled with the aroma of tonics, the kind that made you feel healthier just by smelling them.
“Yes, good morning, Professor.”
Simon greeted her, but with his keen eyes, he noticed new scratches on her shoulders and legs. Come to think of it, he had seen her sneaking out of the house at dawn yesterday.
Concerned, Simon asked,
“Professor, where did you go at dawn yesterday?”
“To the bathroom.”
She brushed it off casually as she began boiling food and medicine with all sorts of strange tools. With his leg just barely able to move again, Simon secretly raised himself up.
‘It’s morning, so why did she close the cottage curtains?’
Just as Simon carefully approached to pull back the curtain from the window—
Shaak!
Before he knew it, Hongpeng appeared like a ghost, smiling as she forcefully yanked the curtain shut. Then she picked Simon up with ease and plopped him down on the bed.
“A patient mustn’t behave like that.”
Hongpeng turned back toward the counter as she spoke.
“If you’re awake, start your healing meditation.”
“Professor, I just saw something outside….”
“Start.”
With no choice, Simon folded his legs and began meditating.
It seemed like there was a mountain of monster corpses piled in the front yard, and the surroundings were a sea of blood, but perhaps it was just his imagination, because the sight was too overwhelming.
During the short time Simon had eaten breakfast, the front yard had already been cleaned spotless. Together with Hongpeng, Simon stretched while feeling the cool breeze and the sunlight.
Then, back inside, he resumed meditation training.
He learned the basic techniques of spell arrays, and received one-on-one coaching on the movements of Magical Combat.
“You’re not using your muscles at one hundred percent. When you throw a punch, try to feel the motion of your shoulder more.”
It was close-contact coaching to an almost questionable degree. Even after training ended, she assisted with his stretching.
After that came another round of meditation and breathing exercises.
“P-professor!”
Sitting on the floor with his legs spread wide, stretching forward, Simon suddenly found Hongpeng pressing down on him from above.
“You can go a little further.”
Her voice sounded close. Her hair, hanging down, brushed against Simon’s cheek. More strength pressed down from her palms on his back.
“Just a little more.”
“W-wait! Ugh!”
But, as always, Hongpeng’s words were right. If she said he could stretch further, then he could, and if she corrected his muscle movements, he would see much better results afterward.
As Simon was pushing through his training—
“Hey, look at you!”
Bang!
The door burst open and Belya stormed in, eyes blazing.
<You still haven’t gone to Keyzen, sister?>
Hongpeng asked in the grassland tongue. Belya frowned.
<That’s right! I knew you’d do this, so I stayed behind and drank with Father! And while I looked away for just a moment, you went and hogged my cutie? You’re always like this! Pretending to be nice on the surface, while pulling tricks behind my back…!>
<What nonsense, sister. Simon is injured, and I’m responsibly helping him with rehabilitation training.>
<Oh, really? So you’re not just dazzled after realizing his true worth?>
What on earth were they talking about?
Simon sat with a blank face, listening to the strange language being exchanged between the sisters.
<You’re not the only one who gets to teach him, you know! I’ll teach him too!>
With that declaration, Belya grinned, showing her triangular teeth.
Simon shuddered involuntarily.
“Hey, Student Council President. Looks like you’re living in luxury, huh.”
She trudged over to the jars of medicinal ingredients and pots, rummaging through them. After confirming the contents, she let out a sly chuckle, gave Hongpeng a knowing look, then turned her gaze to Simon.
“These pricey tonics, medicines, foods, and all that healthy training. It’s all well and good, sure. But in the long run, it’s not so great.”
“What are you….”
Hongpeng muttered, glaring at Belya. Belya just shrugged and went on.
“Real health, ironically, comes from damaging your health.”
“Huh?”
“A body that adapts and survives under harsh conditions is a strong one. Do you know why an empire with the best weapons and physiques fell to a ragtag band of mountain survivors? It was because of plague. City folks faint and collapse easily compared to country folks, same story. When you’re young, you’ve got to eat some dirt, gnaw on raw stuff from nature, toughen yourself up that way.”
She clenched her fist.
“Especially the body of a necromancer who carries Darkness. It needs even more stress, it needs to be tempered by creating healthy antibodies through poisons and stimulants. Look at those muscle-bound oafs who only look healthy on the outside—when the rain pours down, their condition drops instantly, and under scorching sun they keel over. The one who survives is the strong one.”
“Stop spouting nonsense in front of my student, will you?”
Simon silently looked between Belya and Hongpeng.
Twin sisters, similar yet different.
Born in the same place, but raised in completely different environments, they grew into entirely different kinds of necromancers.
Hongpeng had trained her body to extremes. Solid bronze skin and a muscular frame. Endurance to go a month without food or drink. Fists that could break city walls, and leg strength to leap into the sky in a single bound.
Belya, on the other hand, did not have such a hardened body. Slender, elongated build, average frame. But no disease or outside force could shake her. She possessed a body that produced and secreted toxins, and animal-like senses so keen that she could always twist a fight into her favor.
There was no way to say one was stronger than the other.
Hongpeng had her philosophy, Belya had hers. Sisters, but with different strengths. That very difference struck Simon as deeply fascinating.
“Then let’s do this.”
Belya spoke.
“In the morning, I’ll take him and shove all sorts of nasty poisons into him, training his resistance. In the evening, you can do your meditation and breathing stuff to flush out the toxins and restore his health. That way there’s no problem, right?”
Balancing immunity and health.
Hongpeng nodded.
“Fine.”
Simon pointed to himself with a strained smile.
“…Doesn’t anyone care what I think?”
“Shut your mouth and hurry up, get dressed and get out here!”
Belya grinned.
“You want to beat Ballack, don’t you? Let’s whip you into shape before school starts!”
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