87. Freya’s Tribulation Era

87. Freya’s Tribulation Era

“You seem to be in a good mood?”

“Do I look like it?”

Skadi lifted her head from looking at the desk and gazed at Priscilla. She saw the red-bun-haired girl sitting in the chair next to her, pulling her tail towards her and rubbing it against her cheek.

Smack.

Skadi casually kissed her cheek. The faint scent of soft, high-quality soap gently brushed past her nose. Priscilla, having received the kiss, smiled faintly and continued.

“Yes, your tail has been wagging a lot since about two days ago.”

“Aha….”

A beastman’s tail often reveals their emotions. Skadi, understanding, replied with a light smile.

“Actually, I started teaching the kids a couple of days ago, and it’s going well. Everyone’s getting along, so I guess I’m in a good mood too.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

Priscilla couldn’t quite grasp the connection between helping with training and the students getting along, but she decided it was a good thing and stopped thinking about it.

“Among them, two in particular seem to have become incredibly close. A girl with black hair and a girl with ivory hair. They stick together every day and even kiss each other.”

“Kissing? They must be very close!”

“Yes.”

Priscilla pictured the girls in her mind. Two girls kissing every day… it really looked like they were ‘close’. It reminded her of her relationship with her sister.

“I want to be like that with my sister too, kissing each other a lot… Hehe….”

Skadi waved her hand at Priscilla, who was lost in thought, and then stood up from her chair. She was about to head out of the dormitory.

“Anyway, I’m leaving now. Goodbye, Priscil….”

“Where are you going? We still have to study, right?”

“Ugh.”

Skadi was pulled back into her chair by Priscilla’s hand and collapsed onto it. Priscilla’s strength wasn’t greater than hers, but it was simply her conscience that pricked her.

Priscilla picked up a textbook from the desk and handed it to Skadi.

It was a textbook that felt like a children’s picture book, titled “Basic Demonology that Even a Puppy Can Easily Learn.” Unfortunately for Skadi, the content of a written exam that had been declared for one of her lectures was inside this very book.

Skadi muttered in a dejected voice.

“Why do I have to learn monsterology in a swordsmanship training lecture….”

“Wow, your tail suddenly drooped. I like this feeling too!”

Priscilla enjoyed the feel of the drooping tail for a moment, then opened the textbook. She turned to the 12th page, the part she had been reading until just now, or more precisely, the first true page of the book, excluding the table of contents and the author’s notes.

“You haven’t even read the first page in two hours. Come on, let’s read!”

“Ugh.”

“First! Death Knight! The Death Knight is one of the highest-ranking undead monsters, usually summoned by necromancers, but sometimes lower undead evolve as they gain power…. Skadi! Don’t fall asleep!”

“… I wasn’t sleeping.”

Skadi wiped the saliva dripping from her lips and made an excuse.

“You fell asleep a second after starting to read! You asked for help, but if you keep not studying like this… I have my ways!”

“What ways?”

Skadi tilted her head and looked at Priscilla. Priscilla, with a very solemn and determined expression, informed Skadi.

“I won’t let you eat anything but vegetables for lunch today!”

“What?!”

Wolves were carnivores. Forcing her not to eat meat was like a bolt from the blue. Skadi looked at Priscilla in shock. She didn’t seem to be lying.

“Are you perhaps thinking, ‘Even if I get punished, I can just ignore it and take the meat by force’? You shouldn’t do that! As an older sister, you need to set an example for Freya!”

“Ugh.”

Skadi trembled inwardly, her thoughts exposed. Since her beloved sister was mentioned, she had no choice but to shut her mouth and focus on her studies.

Just before reading the book, Skadi opened her mouth in a final act of rebellion.

“Priscilla, this is….”

“This is?”

“…… Animal abuse.”

“Don’t say strange things and read the book.”

Skadi’s timid rebellion was instantly blocked by Priscilla’s firm reply. Priscilla, who usually listened well, never budged on certain matters.

“Besides, the exam content is just memorizing a few monster characteristics, right? And it’s a multiple-choice question with four options, with no partial credit for correct or incorrect answers!”

“That may be true, but….”

“Didn’t you say you caught a lot of monsters in the North? At that rate, you’d probably get half of them right even without studying.”

Priscilla recalled the stories Skadi often told about the North. Besides the stories about touching bodies as if it were common sense in the North, she often heard that she hunted monsters frequently.

“Well….”

Skadi hesitated and then said.

“Usually, I just split them in half with my sword before they could do anything, so I don’t know much about their characteristics other than their appearance.”

“….”

“Ah, I’ve seen a skeleton that shoots lasers. If shooting lasers is a characteristic of skeletons, then I think I know that pretty well. It’s a laser that splits in half when you cut it with a sword, and it’s a little hot if you touch it….”

“No, that’s not a skeleton, it’s a Lich. And it’s not a laser, it’s fire magic.”

Priscilla sighed and buried her face in Skadi’s tail, inhaling deeply. The addictive and, at the same time, stimulating, savory and nutty scent filled her lungs. It felt like her confidence was also being filled.

“Alright! Let’s move on to the next topic!”

Priscilla, having recharged her energy, shouted loudly and turned the page.

“The second is… a succubus! They are highly intelligent monsters that lure people and steal their vital energy. They resemble humans and primarily use mental magic, so many people die without realizing their vital energy has been stolen. Or, even if they don’t die, they become subjects of vital energy exploitation!”

“That sounds scary.”

After speaking, Priscilla stared intently at Skadi for a moment. The textbook’s description of luring people and stealing vital energy, for some unknown reason, caught her eye.

“What’s wrong? Is something on my cheek?”

“… No. Anyway, it says here how to deal with them. Succubi have very weak physical abilities, so if you have sufficient mental barriers, there should be no major problem dealing with them.”

“What’s a mental… barrier?”

“It’s a magic that defends against magic that interferes with the mind. Shall I show you?”

Priscilla pulled out a staff from somewhere. It was an ordinary, common-looking staff with a spherical crystal at the end. Skadi, hearing about the new magic, nodded with a pounding heart.

“Yes, show me. I’m curious.”

“Yes, so… like this!”

A red light flashed from the tip of Priscilla’s staff. The bright red light formed a line and touched Skadi’s head. After a moment, seeing the subsided red light, Skadi tilted her head.

“What… changed?”

“Now, if you receive mental interference, it will automatically counterattack the opponent while blocking the attack. With a ‘pop!’ It’s disposable, though.”

“Hmm. I see. It’s rather boring.”

“Alright! Shall we start studying again? Next is….”

… About an hour later, after finally finishing today’s studies, Skadi sighed and complained to Priscilla. Priscilla said.

“See, you did it quickly, didn’t you?”

“… My head hurts. I think training with my father would be better.”

“Then I’ll be going to my lecture! Skadi, don’t forget what you learned today!”

“Goodbye, Priscilla.”

Skadi watched Priscilla’s retreating back after she rubbed her face against Skadi’s tail one last time. Whether it was because she was showing off her expertise in her domain of study after a long time, or because she had petted her tail so much, she seemed quite excited.

“Hoo….”

Turning to the side, Skadi saw Henir playing with Iris while she was studying. They seemed to be having fun, as they didn’t notice Skadi watching them.

“I-Iris, if you touch tails like that, Ahh!”

-Skadi unnie said it’s okay to touch them… hehe.

“Huhu, she’s playing well.”

The silver-haired girl, stroking the brown fur with all her might. Skadi thought it was just her imagination that Iris’s red eyes looked strangely alluring, and looked up at the ceiling.

Perhaps her head was heated from studying, but it was so hot. She was also tired, and felt like she could just fall asleep like this.

Skadi closed her eyes. Her consciousness gradually sank into the darkness.

Into a deep, deep abyss…….

“Sister!!!!”

Until the voice of her beloved sister reached her ears.

“Ugh…? Freya?”

Freya, the black wolf, burst through the dormitory door, holding a staff in her hand. It was the old wooden staff she had used since she was very young.

“Freya? Why all of a sudden….”

The moment Skadi looked at her, a green light flashed from the tip of the staff. It was the color of her magic, which had shimmered whenever Freya used magic.

The light, flying in a straight line, instantly reached Skadi’s forehead. As the light seeped into Skadi’s mind, Freya opened her mouth with an expectant face.

“Sister! It’s an order, from now on, listen to me….”

Kua-ang!!!

And so, an explosion occurred towards Freya.