Chapter 20: Dependence is also blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

If someone were to ask who the most esteemed person at the academy was, everyone would point to one woman.

Academy Head, Sabina.

The academy’s chief administrator, and a Transcendent with exceptional knowledge of barriers.

She is also a formidable individual who has long protected this place from numerous Transcendent beings targeting the academy, and a genius who created a barrier that even the great pioneer Paeren admired.

However, due to a major incident recently, her barrier lost trust, and students, believing they were no longer protected by a Transcendent, began leaving the academy one by one.

Fortunately, the number of dropouts significantly decreased as another Transcendent decided to stay at the academy for the time being, but trust, once broken, remained difficult to restore.

Sabina thus thought.

‘It is too soon to rest easy until I prove this place is safer.’

The Academy Head’s office, where Sabina spent her time.

She had called Paeren to discuss something important.

“…As expected, simply repairing the barrier isn’t enough.”

“Are you saying you’re going to completely overhaul the barrier now?”

“I’m just making a slight modification.”

Making the barrier stronger wouldn’t solve the problem.

‘That being’ who invaded that day simply shattered the barrier without a single strike.

Sabina, a Transcendent herself, couldn’t fathom how it was done, but one thing was certain: he hadn’t broken the barrier with brute force alone.

There was definitely something special about it.

“I have a few designs prepared. For now, a type that restrains the attacker seems best…”

“Ha, are you trying to capture him? There’s no possibility of that.”

“I know. I just want to ensure that if another intruder appears later, they can be securely held.”

Even while giving an example of another Transcendent invading, she was still thinking of him.

The chances of him reappearing weren’t high, but if, by some slim chance, he targeted this place again…

There might be casualties, like the student who fought him that day, or in the worst-case scenario, the entire academy could be in danger.

If that happened, talks of closing the academy might truly arise.

“I need to work on the barrier, so you’ll have to vacate the academy for a while.”

“…I feel like I’m being kicked out.”

“Didn’t you say you had somewhere to go anyway? You can go now that you have the chance.”

“Alright, I understand for now. I’ll clear out soon.”

With that reply, Paeren’s figure vanished without a trace.

An unknown mystery that even Sabina, a Transcendent, couldn’t perceive.

She felt it was a somewhat unreasonable power, but then she remembered the being Paeren and his comrades were searching for, and could only nod quietly.

“Indeed, to face that monster… Ugh!”

Suddenly, Sabina’s body swayed as she muttered to herself.

She immediately leaned back in her chair and pressed a hand to her forehead.

“Haa… How annoying…”

Currently, her physical condition was not good.

The academy’s barrier, while boasting powerful performance, was difficult to create, and restoring its damaged parts also required a lot of energy.

Sabina was already feeling considerable fatigue due to the recent incidents and accidents.

With one bad thing after another, even for a Transcendent like her, she was quite drained.

‘Once I properly fix the barrier, I should rest for a while.’

If she could successfully finish this work and Paeren returned to the academy, Sabina would have some free time.

At that time, she planned to take care of everything, whether it was recuperation or treatment.

However, at this moment, she couldn’t imagine.

That someone half-mad was still eyeing the academy, waiting for an opportunity…

****

“……”

“……”

“……”

An awkward silence lingered.

It was a situation where one felt hesitant to speak first.

Caught between Arie and Yulia, I walked as carefully as possible to avoid making any footsteps.

“…Uhm, Yulia?”

“…What is it, Holy Maiden?”

Arie, who disliked this kind of quietness, spoke first.

Well, since she was indeed at fault, it was right for her to concede first.

“Oh dear, are you very angry?”

“I am not swayed by emotions, Holy Maiden.”

“Hehe… Is that so…?”

Yulia maintained a nearly expressionless face, on par with Hestia.

Arie’s softly laughing expression held a hint of embarrassment.

She was probably thinking, ‘This is troublesome. She must be truly angry,’ inwardly.

Really, why did you leave Yulia alone and make her sulk…?

Unfortunately, as an outsider, there was nothing I could do between them.

The best I could do was finish the promised practical lesson and then excuse myself.

“Ahem, Yulia? May I speak a little about the practical lesson for a moment?”

“Yes, please do.”

“How did it feel to handle mana today?”

“…There was nothing particularly noticeable. But it still seems difficult to control as I wish.”

“Are you saying it’s more complex than divine power?”

“Yes. It certainly seems much easier to handle divine power.”

Just so you know, that’s not a common phenomenon.

Mana only needs to be converted to fit one’s body for use, but divine power is ‘power received’ from the gods.

Even for a cleric born and raised in the church, it’s absurd to say that handling received divine power is easier than handling mana converted to fit one’s own body.

Nevertheless, Arie’s influence is likely significant in Yulia feeling this way.

“It’s not normal for Yulia to handle divine power better than mana, but it’s not a major concern either. Such cases aren’t entirely unheard of.”

“……”

“Even Arie next to you handles divine power better than mana. Well… she’s quite an unusual person, so she seems to be quite skilled at handling mana too…”

Arie should be considered an exception among other clerics.

From the start, one shouldn’t compare the talent of a Holy Maiden, who is gradually approaching the realm of Transcendent beings, to that of an ordinary person.

“Yulia also faintly followed the traces I left behind, didn’t she? Considering that, her receptivity doesn’t seem to be below average. It just appears that she’s too accustomed to divine power for now.”

“Then… there’s no big problem?”

“No. If you gain a little more experience, your body will become even lighter than it is now. There’s no need to worry.”

After being recruited as Arie’s subordinate, when we went to find Yulia together, she was already walking through the forest towards me.

In other words, although she was later than Arie, she succeeded in finding the traces of mana I left and orienting herself.

Considering her current complete lack of understanding of mana, she is quite talented in her own way.

“Will future lessons also proceed like this?”

“Well, we’ll have to see about that.”

After all, things effective in practice mostly come from experience.

My diligent teaching alone can’t make her skills rapidly improve.

I can’t keep making her do only basic mana handling exercises like this, so I plan to occasionally go over combat-related things too.

Though, I don’t know how much help that will be.

“I recommend Yulia try to reduce her reliance on divine power, and as for Arie… you can just continue as you’ve been.”

“…No matter how much she permitted it, one should not casually utter the Holy Maiden’s revered name…”

“Now, now, Yulia, that’s enough of that… Anyway, thank you for everything today. It seems it will be very helpful.”

Yulia’s nagging, which I had heard to no end even in the previous regression, was naturally cut off by Arie, who interjected into the conversation.

“It is an honor to hear you say that.”

“Hehe, there’s no need to be so stiff. You can speak informally if you wish.”

“No. I’m more comfortable this way…”

I’m saying this because I feel Yulia would scold me if I actually spoke informally.

Besides, I speak formally to almost everyone…

I deliberately ignored Yulia, whose gaze was slowly turning strange, and carefully opened my mouth.

“Then, I’ll be going now.”

“Where to?”

Just as I was thinking of making my exit and was about to say goodbye and leave, Arie stopped me.

“…? Today’s lesson is over, so I’m now…”

“If you don’t have urgent business, I’d like you to stay a little longer.”

It wasn’t urgent business, but this time, I absolutely had to refuse.

“I have an important appointment, so I must return quickly.”

“Is that so? Hehe… That’s a shame.”

While saying that, Arie waved her hand as if she didn’t really mind.

“Please take care of me next time too.”

“…You’ve worked hard.”

Yulia, who was beside me, also gave a slight bow with a reluctant expression.

It still seemed she didn’t like me acting as a teacher, but perhaps she had acknowledged me a little, as she no longer made harsh remarks.

Deciding to think positively, I gently smiled and opened my mouth.

“It might be unnecessary meddling, but I wonder if the two of you could try trusting each other a little more.”

“……?”

“……?”

Leaving the two behind, who wore expressions of ‘What are you talking about?’, I quickly left the spot.

****

Returning to the dormitory, I took out ‘that outfit’ after a long time.

The black robe I hadn’t even glanced at since the day I stole the holy relic…

It always looked so gloomy.

The reason I took out this outfit again, which isn’t even to my taste, is, naturally, because I have a use for it.

I’m not trying to steal something like last time, but I need to take care of some minor aftermath.

Some time has passed since I stole the holy relic.

Since the academy is a place where people live, interest in past events diminishes, and it’s a time for things to quiet down.

Currently, even the Academy Head is lowering her guard and focusing her energy on the barrier.

Her slight carelessness will bring a major incident to the academy.

It was the first regression, when Elisha didn’t even know of the existence of regression itself.

The academy truly faced the crisis of closure once.

As you know, in the first regression, I didn’t steal Arie’s holy relic, so there were no issues with the barrier, the Academy Head didn’t lose trust, and Paeren also didn’t come to the academy.

At first glance, one might think this period was more peaceful, but reality was different.

Someone who had quietly waited for the academy’s security to become lax finally caused trouble…

On that day, all the injured students and professors were cursed, and would live with it infused in their blood for the rest of their lives.

It was a regrettable affair.

Although they would eventually walk the path of ruin, the lifespan of these individuals, who had bright futures, was significantly shortened by the curse.

The culprit was subdued by the Hero and the Holy Maiden, but the life-draining curse could not be lifted.

Due to that incident, the Academy Head quickly lost trust, and the academy faced the crisis of closure.

Fortunately, the academy was not actually decided to be closed, but significant damage to its image was unavoidable.

Since the regression, Elisha had handled things well, so it hadn’t led to a major incident like in the first regression, but her handling of affairs was still sloppy.

That’s why my job is to clean up after her.