Sera briefly wondered if she misheard, so she asked Iria again.
“What does it mean to, um… extort money?”
“It means to threaten or intimidate someone into giving you money.”
“I see…”
This time, Sera’s interpretation was spot on, unlike when it came to relationships. With that in mind, Sera asked,
“So how do you know about that?”
If she extorted Klana’s money, then how did Iria know about the duel? Given that she was quite oblivious to rumors, how could she possibly be aware?
She wasn’t interested in the world and let most things slip by, only listening to the information she wanted to hear.
So, Sera was curious.
Without seeming to ponder, Iria answered right away.
“I tried it myself.”
“Y-you actually extorted money? From the Saint?!”
“I took it for a week, and she started following me around with her eyes all glassy.”
Klana, who became strange after undergoing etiquette training from Iria, started chasing Iria down to return the favor.
Sera thought that after Amelia, she wouldn’t receive any more duel requests, but Klana approached her like a madwoman, challenging her to a duel.
Of course, Sera didn’t accept. Fighting against someone like Klana from the holy lineage was a bad match-up, and besides, she already had her hands full with certain opponents.
“You should try it too, Sera-senpai.”
Iria said carelessly, sharing her past experiences with Sera.
And then…
“……”
Sera’s gaze at Iria became strange.
To Sera, extorting money seemed extremely immoral and violent.
The cute junior she knew was actually a thug stealing money from others! It seemed shocking to her, and she was left speechless for a while.
After a notably long silence, Sera managed to utter a single sentence.
“Do you do that often?”
She asked the worst criminal terrorizing the Empire right now, the ‘Back Alley Monster’.
It was a little late to be surprised, but Iria didn’t deny Sera’s question.
“I don’t do it often.”
“Uh, okay… You’re surprisingly honest.”
“I’m not good at lying.”
“But still, that’s a bad thing to do. Don’t do it anymore, okay?”
Iria nodded. After all, it wasn’t like she extorted money out of necessity.
She received a scolding from Sera, who was notorious in the Academy for her habit of challenging others to duels.
*
There are many terrifying things in the world.
Someone’s untainted pure madness, or something possessing absolute power…
But the scariest thing of all is when that absolute power is coupled with pure madness.
“Hehe…”
Klana’s chaotic antics continued afterward.
If the Iria from the beginning of the semester was like a walking sex appeal, Klana was a ticking time bomb.
Students hurried to escape upon seeing her, knowing that the Saint’s power was something none could handle.
But there were still some students who boldly blocked her path.
There are always one or two foolish people with unfounded confidence, unable to grasp the difference in skill between themselves and their opponents.
“Hey, you should tone it down with the rampage. This is the Imperial Academy, the best educational institution on the continent!”
“Right? As if some holy caster can do anything when it comes down to it.”
So what happened to those students?
“Klana’s headbutt!!”
Thud!
Gack!
Ugh!
Before they even set foot in the dueling arena, they were knocked flat by Klana’s body slam.
Klana’s specialties are holy magic and healing, but regular students could easily crush someone with brute force without using their divine abilities.
Just standing still offers close to invulnerable defense. Very few students in the entire Academy could break through her defenses.
If you were to weigh the blessings surrounding Klana, they would outweigh a hundred adult men combined.
Weight equates to impact.
If you were to collide with the oncoming Klana, the sheer physical force would slam into you like a freight train.
Ultimately, those who got injured were sent flying as Klana trotted over.
“Oh! You’re hurt… I’ll heal you up right away!”
Even if someone planted a sinister thought in her mind, a Saint never forgets her duty. She took out the holy water she personally brewed.
“Even if it looks like this, I’m pretty good at healing. This is my special skill.”
“Uh, ugh…”
She claimed to be skilled, but according to the doctor’s evaluation, the injuries weren’t too serious.
Probably, students from the continent’s premier educational institution weren’t ordinary to begin with. So, a miracle healing wasn’t even necessary for such minor injuries.
One bottle of holy water was more than enough.
“Hehe… Just a moment?”
The Saint Klana offered a benevolent smile in front of the patient.
Her azure eyes shimmered softly.
Pop!
With a sound, the lid of the bottle filled with holy water came off.
Klana slowly began pouring it over the patient’s head.
“Warm, right? The bottle I made is specially treated to keep it warm… I made it myself.”
The slowly falling liquid gradually dripped onto the patient’s head and clothes.
It felt like a long time until Klana poured out all the holy water from the bottle onto the patient.
When the warm water falling from above enveloped the entire body, the patient’s wounds healed completely. Their condition improved remarkably, and they felt much lighter than before they got hit by Klana.
As the patient looked down at Klana above them, they began to notice their remarkably healthy body.
“Amazing, but… something feels off.”
The effects of the holy water were beyond expectations. However, there was an indescribable feeling of discomfort.
The blue gaze looking down at them, along with Klana’s saintly smile. The warm liquid drenching them from head to toe.
Regardless of feeling healthier, something felt… odd.
The patient thought they should quickly get out of that situation. They felt the urgent need to avoid getting entangled with the erratic Saint right in front of them.
But Klana grabbed their ankle.
“Wh-where are you going…? I healed your wounds. Aren’t you thankful? Ah, you should be thankful! Don’t you know that nothing is free in this world?”
“Y-yes?”
“D-do you know? The holy water I brew goes for quite a high price on the market. Since you received it, you must pay me a monetary… reward.”
Although Klana could make holy water as much as she wanted, the miraculous liquid imbued with the Saint’s power held immense value in the market.
That’s why the Central Church treasured her so dearly. If she really wanted to, she could rake in all the money she needed.
Klana extended a hand to the person who had just been her patient.
“Hehe, so you have to hand over your wallet to me…”
It was a scene of forced selling of holy water.
Today, those observing Klana’s antics from start to finish were Iria, the one who had made the Saint so strange, along with Sera, who was preparing to challenge this very Saint to a duel.
As Sera watched the recent events unfold, she wore a dumbfounded expression. It seemed she couldn’t believe her own eyes, despite witnessing it firsthand.
“W-what was that? Is she really like that?”
It was understandable.
Sera had been locked away training for over a week, and Klana’s odd behavior started just the day before.
From her perspective, it was bewildering.
Iria seized the opportunity to interject.
“Did you see that? The Saint was the one who extorted money from another student first. So, wouldn’t it be considered self-defense if Sera-senpai takes her money?”
“I-is that so? But that’s still bad! It’s the same bad deed!”
“……”
For a moment, Sera almost fell for Iria’s tempting words but then shouted back.
Although Sera was a combat fanatic, she was generally kind-hearted. It likely came from her resemblance to the righteous Ariel.
Still, Sera couldn’t go along with Iria’s reasoning.
She couldn’t condone such immoral acts of robbing others; it contradicted her very principles.
Seeing Sera’s reaction, Iria fell silent for a moment before speaking up.
“Then, what if we take the money that the Saint stole and return it to its original owner? That way, both the duel justification is secured, and it’s a righteous act, right?”
“Hmm…”
Sera pondered deeply over Iria’s suggestion.
Since Iria often spouted strange ideas, Sera took her time to contemplate whether her words were valid.
Silence stretched on.
“……”
“……”
Sera blinked as if weighing the morals of her actions.
And then…
“I think that sounds like a good idea. Let’s do it right now.”
Sera decided to extort Klana’s money.
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