88. Freya’s Tribulation Era

88. Freya’s Tribulation Era

Debris from the wall fell with a patter, and gray smoke swirled.

Freya was caught in the explosion and flew out the door, collapsing. Her tail and ears drooped along with her lost consciousness, and Skadi, startled, ran towards her sister.

“Freya!”

“Young Lady?! What happened! There was a sudden explosion…!”

Henir, who had been playing with Iris, also startled and ran to Skadi. The interior of the dormitory, ruined by the explosion, was visible.

“Freya came in through the door, and suddenly… there was an explosion.”

“Yes?!”

Hearing the word “explosion,” Henir looked around inside her clothes, checking if the bombs were properly secured.

Fortunately, all of Henir’s bombs were in place. That meant Freya’s explosion was not Henir’s fault. Henir looked at Freya with relief.

Skadi, who had been anxiously waiting for Henir, asked with concern.

“How is she? Is Freya okay?”

“Yes, she’s breathing. There are no major external injuries… it seems she fainted due to a magical collision. But why is magic here…?”

When the word “magic,” one of the few professional terms she could understand, came out, Skadi quickly opened her mouth.

“I suspect something. Priscilla cast a spell on me earlier, and I think it went off.”

“You mean she cast an explosive spell on the Young Lady…?”

“No, it wasn’t supposed to be an explosive spell… or maybe it was?”

A spell that causes an explosion on the target when subjected to mental interference, that was the nature of the spell Priscilla cast. Strictly speaking, it was an explosive spell.

However, even if the cause of the explosion was Priscilla’s magic, questions remained. Why would her beloved sister suddenly try to do something mental to her?

Skadi thought deeply and concluded that Freya was not at fault, but Priscilla’s magic was.

“It’s fortunate that she’s not seriously injured… but I’ll have to scold Priscilla later. What if something serious had happened to Freya?”

Thinking that she would have to firmly discipline Priscilla when she met her later for casting such a dangerous spell, Skadi picked up Freya.

“I’ll take Freya to the healing room. Henir, you clean up the room in the meantime. We also need someone to watch Iris.”

“Ah, yes. I understand.”

Henir turned her head and looked at the messy room. Not to mention the entrance area that was caught in the explosion, other places were also greatly disordered by the aftermath of the powerful explosion.

The only fortunate thing was that the shock did not reach the bed where Iris was. It seemed that Skadi had taken the explosion with her body, so it did not have a proper effect behind her.

Considering that Iris was an untrained young child, it was truly a godsend.

Henir picked up a piece of paper from the messy desk, presumably a textbook, and said.

“The books are completely unusable too. I’ll buy new ones after I finish tidying up the room….”

“No, don’t do that.”

Skadi strictly instructed Henir not to buy any more books, saying that such terrible books were not needed in this world. This was because she could legally avoid studying if there were no books.

“Sister….”

“Yes? Iris, why are you like this?”

“Um… I’m scared, can I follow you?”

Just then, Iris appeared from inside. She seemed to have been crying, perhaps scared by the explosion.

Skadi, holding Freya, slightly bent her knees and stroked her hair with one hand. The silver hair flowed through her fingers.

“I’m sorry, Iris. It’s not for playing… There won’t be a second explosion, so you don’t need to be scared.”

If the explosion was indeed caused by Priscilla’s magic, it was more likely to be dangerous to be with Skadi. For safety, it was a better choice for her to be with Henir.

“Still….”

“I’m sorry. Instead, Henir will be with you, so if you’re scared, hold Henir’s hand tightly. Henir is as strong as I am, so she’ll protect you.”

“Tch.”

“Yes?”

“No! Sister, you need to go quickly, okay?”

Iris smiled brightly and saw Skadi off. Skadi smiled back and greeted her, then turned and left the room.

-Henir unnie, where is the weak spot of a beastman’s tail?

-Yes? Why are you asking that….

Hearing the two talking beyond the closed door, Skadi quickly headed to the healing room.

“Freya, I think bringing Iris here was the more righteous choice.”

Until she got lost in some unknown, secluded place.

Skadi muttered to the unconscious Freya. Even if she said this, Freya wouldn’t wake up and say, ‘As expected, Sister can’t do it alone. I’ll help you, Sister!’, but she just felt reassured.

“… If I move now, I’ll probably get more lost. Let’s just wait for someone else to come.”

Skadi stood still with Freya in her arms. And so… about ten minutes passed.

——

“Skadi?”

“Claire!”

Fortunately, after a long time, Skadi saw a light of salvation. A small blonde girl, the Third Princess Claire.

“… What are you doing here? Why is her ear twitching?”

“More importantly, Claire, I need your help.”

Skadi released Freya’s ear, which she had been chewing on, and asked Claire for a favor. Saliva dripped down in a thin thread, but Skadi didn’t care.

“As you can see, Freya is in this situation, so we need to go to the healing room. Can you guide me?”

“The healing room is… completely in the opposite direction from here. Why did you come here?”

“Haha.”

Skadi smiled awkwardly and thrust her face towards Claire. Skadi, who had suddenly come close, whispered into Claire’s ear in a sweet voice.

“Please.”

“Ngh….”

The faint scent, the handsome face looking down at her, the still expressionless but faintly warm smile, and the soft voice echoing in her ear, all of it made Claire uncomfortable.

Claire blushed, hesitated, and then weakly nodded.

Claire led the way, guiding Skadi. In the process, something slowly wrapped around her body.

“… Is this a tail?”

The fluffy sensation, the ticklishness, and the strangely soft feeling. Even the glimpse of white in her peripheral vision added to the credibility.

Skadi was hugging Claire gently with her tail!

“Hugging someone with a tail is….”

Claire recalled the contents of a book she had read a few days ago. Realizing what it meant for a beastman to hug someone with their tail, Claire’s face turned twice as red. A golden aura faintly emanated from her turbulent emotions.

Claire didn’t realize that Skadi was hugging her golden aura to get rid of the heat.

A moment later, Claire’s happy walk ended, and the healing room was in sight.

Skadi and her party entered without hesitation. The healing room of the academy, which they expected to be quiet, was surprisingly crowded with injured people.

“You register over there.”

“Yes.”

The healing room had a systematic structure. Patients were registered, and based on the severity of their injuries, they were prioritized for treatment. This system was created because the number of healers was absolutely insufficient compared to the number of patients.

Skadi didn’t know that.

“Please treat my sister.”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t you hear me? I said, treat her!”

Skadi tilted her head. The receptionist’s face turned deathly pale at Skadi’s terrifyingly expressionless face, which seemed capable of murder if not obeyed, and quickly brought a healer to preserve her own life.

“Here you are!”

“Yes.”

The healer used healing magic after a considerable casting time. A light enveloped Freya’s body, and a moment later, she blinked and woke up.

“Freya! You’re awake!”

“… Sister?”

Having regained consciousness, Freya looked around rapidly and then quickly processed the situation in her mind.

The last thing she heard before losing consciousness was the explosion, the healing room, and her sister’s relieved sigh. The meaning was simple.

‘It failed…!’

The structure of the mental magic she saw in the textbook was terribly complex. Even Freya, who had a natural talent for magic, struggled to interpret it. Even at the moment of using the magic, Freya was half-convinced about the magic, and the fact that she was in the healing room meant that she had ultimately failed to use mental magic.

‘This damn… No, no, even if the magic failed, I can definitely use the current situation to my advantage.’

Freya asked Skadi.

“Sister, did you bring me to the healing room?”

“Yes.”

Freya’s brain spun at high speed. Her sister brought her to the healing room. A matter of help and gratitude. After finishing her analysis, Freya cheered inwardly.

“Sister, thank you so much, I love you.”

“Yes, Freya. I’m glad you’re okay.”

“So, about that….”

She created a sentimental atmosphere. She mixed moisture into her voice. Freya, looking up at Skadi with wide, innocent eyes as if to look pitiful, said.

“Can’t we kiss?”

“Freya, physical contact is forbidden right now….”

“I know that too! But Sister, think about it. This is a thank you. It’s natural to express gratitude when you receive help, but if you forbid even this, I’ll be so sad… Huh? Can’t I? I’m really grateful to you, Sister.”

“Uh, um….”

Skadi was experiencing inner turmoil. It was natural to express gratitude, but physical contact was forbidden.

As Skadi searched for a suitable method, a phrase she had heard a few days ago came to mind.

“Um, you know, if you have a close friend, it’s the most common sense to pass on your gratitude to that friend.”

It was the answer to all the problems that had been plaguing Skadi. Feeling a refreshing clarity, as if a blocked path had suddenly opened, Skadi replied to her sister.

“Yes, I understand, Freya.”

“Ha!”

Freya’s eyes lit up at Skadi’s permission, and she lunged at her sister. At that moment, Skadi picked up Claire and blocked her path.

“Kiss Claire for me instead.”

“Wh-what?!”

Both Claire and Freya looked back at Skadi in surprise. Before the two could regain their senses in their confusion, Skadi pressed their faces together.

“Ugh!”

“Ugh?!”

It was a thank-you kiss that was truly heartwarming just to see.