Not long ago, news spread throughout the Academy that the newly transferred Saint had changed.
Recently, with Iria hanging around, it felt quiet, but in fact, the presence of Saint Klana was quite significant.
Her long, flowing silver hair was elegant, and a holy aura radiated from her.
Her innocent face, untainted by the world, was more than enough to draw the attention of the students. Furthermore, her status as a gem of the Central Church added to her prestige.
But with the famous Iria always by her side, other students couldn’t approach carelessly.
The attention drawn to her simply by being a Saint was not something to be ignored.
And then, a day passed.
It was the day after Iria had teased Klana one last time.
“Wh-Where are you looking!? D-Do you think I look easy to mess with!?”
“Are you thankful? Then, pay up! N-Nothing in this world is free!”
“D-Do you think I look easy to mess with!? If you want a duel, I’ll accept!”
Klana’s personality had become strange.
Could it be due to Iria’s alley-way manners training?
She seemed to mimic what she had seen and heard for the first time in the outside world.
However, if that was all it was, the Academy wouldn’t have been turned upside down like this. It could have been seen as a cute act from a beautiful Saint.
The reason why Klana’s antics were so loud was…
KWA-BOOM!!
“D-Don’t block my path!!”
Even she herself was unaware of it, but the Saint was much stronger than people thought.
The twisted Saint began smashing everything that blocked her path.
“Hehe, hehehe…! You have to be careful of the white things in this world!”
Klana said, her snow-white hair flowing like Iria’s.
*
Klana was a Saint blessed by the stars.
The overflowing blessings and divine power blessed her path and brought miracles to those around her.
That happened regardless of Klana’s current personality. Just by existing, she had a significant influence on her surroundings.
That’s why the Central Church cherished her like a gem.
Klana possessed the divine power of hundreds of ordinary convent inhabitants.
And as she spread blessings and miracles to those around her, the amount of blessings upon Klana herself was beyond imagination.
The divinity floating around her protected her body and enhanced her basic physical abilities.
When asked how much, she could easily demolish the walls of the Academy’s buildings with a simple body slam.
If someone were to stab her with a sword, the sword would break instead.
Thus, without any proper combat experience, she was more than enough to disrupt the order of the Academy. She was purely strong.
Her main job was to instill miracles in others as a healer, but that didn’t mean her personal power was lacking.
So, what was the main culprit of all these incidents, Iria, doing?
“… ”
She was just watching it all unfold without doing anything.
‘I didn’t expect her to take it this far based on my teachings.’
She scratched her cheek as if the outcome of her actions wasn’t as she had predicted.
But she had no regrets. Originally, learning was all about going through such experiences. After all, she used to be like that too.
What was certain was that rather than leaving Klana be, she would adapt to the outside world faster this way.
Iria was simply stimulating her to facilitate that process.
While it seemed strange at first, in the end, it wasn’t so bad.
This would also become a stepping stone for Klana’s growth.
Even though sounds of someone’s screams echoed throughout the Academy, Iria decided not to worry about it.
After all, watching a disaster unfold from afar was always the most entertaining.
Other students suffering wasn’t Iria’s part-time job anyway.
“Hmm.”
More importantly, it was about time Sera started moving.
Iria had given similar encouragements not just to Klana, but also to the now-downtrodden Sera.
It had been several days since she last left the Magic Training Ground, so Iria decided to check it out.
The Magic Training Ground was located on the opposite side of the Swordsmanship Training Ground.
During the regular lunchtime, the space typically would have been empty, but for some reason, Iria thought Sera would be there.
Just like Ariel had done.
Surely, Sera, who resembled Ariel, would do the same, Iria believed with no doubt.
As expected, Sera was stuck in the training ground, even though it was lunchtime.
The interior of the training ground was covered in flames and ice.
In the spacious area, a woman with blue hair was facing off against Sera.
The cold air settled heavily on their skin. Iria frowned at the swirling snowstorm.
Blue and red intersected and flashed. A battle was happening at this very moment.
Though, calling it a battle was somewhat embarrassing, as it was a one-sided duel.
“You’re frequently using unnecessary mana. Of course, you have enough mana to compensate for it, but that’s a strategy that only works at the student level.”
“……. ”
“Didn’t you say you’d follow the hero to the battlefield later? Then it would be wise to fix that part. To a Mage, mana is as vital as life.”
The fight, if you could even call it that, ended in Sera’s one-sided defeat.
After all, she was up against one of the Empire’s strongest forces.
Just as Freya was the supervising instructor for Ariel, Reina was Sera’s supervising professor.
Against a mage who had devastated the Seed of the Demon King alone during the incident with the Monster Invasion, even Sera was no match.
Of course, Sera didn’t seem particularly pleased with the outcome.
While Ariel gained recognition from Freya for her skills, Sera had yet to earn Reina’s approval.
Objectively, Sera’s abilities were extraordinary for her age, but her competitor was Ariel.
Sera sighed quietly and sat down.
Despite suffering a one-sided defeat, she didn’t have a single scratch, which indicated just how exceptional her opponent was.
Until Reina completely left the training ground, Iria remained far behind, motionless.
‘Was she the one who was with Albert during the invasion?’
Fortunately, it seemed she didn’t remember Iria. It was a place filled with red magical energy, and it had all happened so quickly.
At that time, she had only seen that person in a fatigued state, so she wouldn’t specifically remember. Now she realized she was a formidable opponent.
Not as powerful as Freya or Albert, but certainly close to that level.
With Sertia gone, she might even be the third strongest person in the Empire.
‘General Reina.’
She decided to at least remember the name since it could come back to haunt her later.
After mentally noting the name, Iria shifted her attention back to Sera.
It seemed like a long time since she had been defeated by magic, as she looked unusually subdued.
“What are you doing over there?”
“Oh, it’s Iria. I just finished being instructed by the professor. She was strong. I thought I had grown a lot, but apparently not strong enough for the professors.”
Sera said, flashing an awkward smile. Though her opponent was no ordinary professor.
Academy professors, after all, are just people, and their abilities vary widely, but Reina was at the top.
She was not a suitable match-up for an ordinary student to compare with.
But Sera had always been that sort of person. She looked up, not down, at others.
She always compared herself to those greater than her.
Focusing on looking up and feeling the tension rather than being satisfied with looking down helped improve her skills.
Just like Reina, who had just given her an overwhelming defeat, Sera was running forward with determination to surpass her one day.
Perhaps it was a struggle to tie herself to those who were born blessed by the stars and received their blessings.
Or maybe it was a race to stand beside those who had already moved ahead of her.
“Are you well prepared for the duel?”
Iria recalled what she had previously told Sera.
It seemed that she inadvertently became the one leading the battles between Klana and Sera, but they said that you bond through fighting during student days.
In fact, it was after the duel that Iria and Sera had cemented their friendship.
“Duel? Oh, right. That?”
Sera put on a nervous expression, but when the topic of the duel came up, her original demeanor returned.
Sera had that look.
“Of course, I’m completely ready. I just need to set a date.”
And Iria said,
“I know how to have a duel with the famous Saint.”
“Eh? What is it?”
“Just extort some money from her.”
“……Eh?”
She seemed to have changed quite a bit from the Sera Iria once knew.
