Chapter 791
“Uwaaaaaaaaaaa!”
A tremendous cheer burst out.
Simon, smiling wearily, crouched down. He felt as if all strength had drained from his body.
– As expected, the rival of Ballack!
– He’s good!
All he had done was take a single test.
Yet somehow, he once again felt like he had become the center of attention.
“It’s done.”
Confirming Simon’s victory from the stands, Maelyn also dropped into her seat with a thud. Then, as if venting her frustration, she punched the ruined cursed doll with a “thump”.
“Whoever it is, just wait until I catch you.”
And as the golem collapsed and buried him in the sand, the assistant instructor tightly shut his eyes.
‘It’s all over now.’
A few days ago.
One of the newly elected officers of the student council had called him out.
– I heard recently that Professor Aron requested permission from the school to dispatch to the border, in order to obtain materials for a Death Knight.
Even though it was only the student council, they had information that should only come up in a professors’ meeting.
Could the rumors be true, that third-year professors were secretly feeding him information?
But the real problem was the man’s proposal.
– They say that for the border dispatch, only students who pass the Defense Against Holiness exam are allowed to go. When that time comes, could you help me a little?
During field training, he demanded that the assistant instructor directly face Simon and destroy his summon with holy magic.
That summon was the “Dragonian”.
The officer seemed extremely wary of Simon challenging Ballack. Especially Simon’s Dragonian, with that “Anti-Mage” ability which had once even defeated Ballack. He wanted it destroyed.
The assistant instructor refused, saying he could not get involved in matters between students, but the student council officer mentioned the younger siblings who had crossed over with him from the Holy Federation, and threatened that, for his family’s sake, he should hope never to be forced into something dreadful.
Having already heard plenty of vile rumors about the man, the assistant instructor found himself unable to refuse.
‘In the end.’
He hadn’t succeeded, though.
As the assistant instructor lowered his head, unable to rise, Farahan approached.
“So, there really was something going on.”
“P, professor.”
The assistant saw a white magic circle shimmering in Farahan’s hand.
It seemed Farahan had been preparing holy magic from the beginning. If Simon had not been able to overcome it, Farahan himself would have stepped in to stop it.
‘So it was doomed to fail from the start.’
Farahan had seen through everything.
The assistant tightly shut his eyes.
“Tell me, don’t you miss your family these days?”
Farahan suddenly asked. The assistant lifted his head.
“Y, yes?”
“Even in your sleep, you mutter about your siblings.”
He smiled gently, fanning himself.
“They’re not users of holiness, are they? If you’re worried, let them live in Rochest on Roke Island.”
At those words, the assistant shot up, only to bow his head low.
“N, no! We already owe you our lives, professor, we can’t accept another favor…!”
“It’s fine.”
He lightly patted the assistant’s shoulder.
“To follow me all the way across the continent and work here isn’t an easy thing. If anything, I’m the one indebted to you.”
Saying so, Farahan turned and walked away. The assistant’s shoulders trembled.
‘Thank you…!’
He bent low, bowing toward Farahan.
“Good grief.”
The head assistant, who had been waiting to scold him, sighed deeply as he watched.
There were still many other students left to take their turns, no time to dwell in sentiment.
He lifted the clipboard.
“Then, let’s move on to the next test. Joseph Vagra!”
* * *
Having safely passed the exam and obtained “PASS”, Simon’s border dispatch was confirmed.
Wiping his sweat with a towel and taking a short rest, he chatted with Maelyn.
“You’re saying a curse was put on me?”
“Yeah, this is it.”
Maelyn held up the cursed doll in both hands. Hanging from the grotesque straw doll was unmistakably Simon’s hair.
When Simon pulled out one of his own hairs to compare, the color and length matched perfectly.
“…Creepy.”
It wasn’t black magic, but it was the first time he’d been struck by this sort of curse.
He hadn’t even realized during the fight that he was cursed. It was so subtle he had simply thought it was a decline in condition.
“If we examine this doll, could we find out who cursed me?”
“Not likely.”
Maelyn shook her head.
“They used the cursed doll in the first place to hide their identity. There’s no trace of a magic circle, and Darkness couldn’t be detected either. I’d say it’s a fairly well-crafted cursed doll.”
“Hmm.”
As Simon sank into thought, Maelyn suddenly burst out angrily.
“There’s no proof, but isn’t it obvious who did it?”
“Who?”
“Who else? Of course it was the work of Ballack’s student council! They colluded with that assistant, and their goal was to destroy your Dragonian with holy magic! No doubt about it!”
“……”
Simon thought she had a point, but he still couldn’t jump to conclusions.
For now, he slipped the cursed doll into his pocket.
“I’ll hold onto this. It might serve as evidence later.”
“Yeah. Just in case, at least investigate it. Later, how about bringing it to Kajan? If anyone could figure something out, it’s him.”
“That’s a good idea.”
There was Kajan from the thieves’ guild, and Eshu, who was also well-versed in cursed dolls, so they might be able to ask.
As the two of them were chatting, suddenly a kindly laugh came from behind.
Farahan was approaching.
“Hello, professor!”
Simon and Maelyn quickly greeted him. Farahan nodded in return, then looked at Simon.
“This exam too was most excellent. To hold onto the golem’s Core until the last moment, and raise it like a natural barrier at the decisive instant, that was a fine move indeed.”
“Thank you.”
“If you don’t mind, could you stop by after class today?”
Simon had already been planning to visit Farahan’s house now that vacation was over.
Simon grinned.
“Of course, professor.”
* * *
Chrrrrrk—
Steam rose from the teapot. Fragrant herbal tea filled the neat cups.
After class, Simon and Farahan sat across from each other, talking. Whitey and Blackie, the divine beasts, lay curled on Simon’s lap, dozing peacefully.
“I apologize for what happened during the field training.”
“No, not at all. I didn’t suffer any harm.”
Simon answered while scratching under the kittens’ chins. They purred happily.
“How is your mother’s health?”
“Ah, yes! Actually, during vacation, my mom even mentioned you, professor….”
The two of them exchanged small stories about life, their conversation blooming into laughter.
Farahan was one of the very few people Simon could open his heart to and speak freely with.
“Still, during training your face was filled with worry the entire time. Is something troubling you?”
At Farahan’s question, Simon scratched the back of his neck.
‘So that’s why he called me here.’
The cursed doll incident was something he had only just learned about, but the matter Simon had been pondering deeply was something else.
“It’s not really worry, but… I feel like Professor Aron is pushing himself too far.”
“I too was surprised, when I heard Aron would take students into the Holy Federation to bring back the remains of a Paladin. He is no ordinary man. That is not a thought any common person could have.”
Simon stayed silent for a moment, then spoke.
“Is that really possible, even theoretically? That a Paladin could become a Death Knight and wield Darkness—it just doesn’t make sense to me….”
“I believe it is possible.”
Farahan stroked his beard.
“From the start, isn’t it just as nonsensical that you can wield both Darkness and Holiness?”
“Haha! W, well, that’s true.”
“So, it is natural that you would be interested in this matter.”
Indeed.
Simon was a being with an unprecedented constitution, capable of wielding both Darkness and Holiness.
And the corrupted-type Death Knights were said to be Paladins who, after death, came to wield Darkness. It might even be connected to his own secret, so of course he was interested.
“In my later years, I feel truly blessed. Though a priest, since coming to the Dark Alliance, I have realized even more. The world becomes stranger, the more you come to know.”
Farahan spoke a cryptic line, then suddenly asked.
“What do you think mana is?”
Simon replied immediately.
“The source of all things.”
“Indeed. A pebble on the road you kick with your foot, a blade of grass, a single tree—there is nothing without mana within it.”
He lifted the clay teacup shaped from soil.
“Even such crafted things hold a small amount of mana. It is not lacking, to call it the source of all things.”
“That’s true.”
“From mana arise both Darkness and Holiness. Without understanding this part first, one cannot hope to grasp Aron’s intention.”
When he set the teacup back onto its saucer, it made a pleasant click.
“Let us begin with Darkness. Do you know the principle by which Natural Undead are formed?”
“Yes, though scholars are still divided on that question.”
“Even common inanimate objects hold mana. Then, naturally, so do the corpses of plants and animals. But when mana sits long in a corpse that is defiled and decaying, the mana too rots, and its nature becomes increasingly turbid. That is—”
“Darkness.”
“Correct.”
Flutter!
He snapped open his fan and waved it. With Simon responding so well, Farahan’s voice grew all the livelier.
“Mana has the property of flowing. But within defiled, corrupted corpses, mana cannot flow as it does in nature. Thus, it changes itself, so that it can flow within the corpse.”
Farahan raised his other hand, summoning mana.
Blue energy spun endlessly in the air, tails chasing tails.
“In this way, Darkness flows within the corpse. Flow gives rise to rules, and rules to causality. Over time, Darkness naturally accumulates at the most fluid point, forming a kind of ‘nucleus’. This is the earliest stage of what we commonly call the ‘Core’.”
“Amazing.”
With a flick of his hand, Farahan scattered the mana’s flow, and it vanished into the air.
“Darkness, having reversed the flow of natural mana, can no longer leave that state. Nor can it return to what it was. It moves only within the corpse, endlessly drawing natural mana inward and multiplying itself. In that process, the corpse begins to move. That, is the birth of a Natural Undead.”
Simon nodded with shining eyes.
“Hahaha! But remember, this too is only one theory. Do not place blind faith in it. Now, then, how does Holiness exist?”
Clatter.
As they conversed, suddenly the door opened.
Startled, Simon leapt to his feet.
‘Who is it? There should be a holiness barrier set around Professor Farahan’s house….’
With the sound of clicking heels, someone stepped inside.
Platinum-blonde hair gleaming in the sunlight, emerald-green eyes, graceful bearing, and a flirtatious smile.
“Oh my, am I interrupting?”
Serne Eindark.
“Please, continue your discussion, both of you. You’ve made me curious as well.”
Simon’s pupils quivered.
‘Why is Serne here?’
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