Ch.84OOO Is Alive!

“Isn’t that… a bit expensive?”

“It’s a reasonable price. I’ll need to pour my holy power into it for four days to suppress it, plus I’ll consume an equal amount of holy water.”

If the cost of a saint candidate’s four days is only a few hundred gold, it’s certainly not expensive… but I’m in no position to prepare such a large sum right now.

“…Could I possibly get it on credit? Honestly, I don’t have the money right now… but I’ll grant you a favor or two in exchange.”

I should be accumulating more money going forward, so I can pay it back when I have some to spare.

“Is that not possible…?”

Lacy let out a deep sigh.

“Haah… Elpinel, why……”

She closed her eyes and made the sign of the holy cross with truly devout manner.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I simply gulped down the water in my cup.

Wherever she got it from, it was unusually refreshing for plain water.

“…I suppose I have no choice. Make sure to pay it all back within a year. By next year, I’ll have to leave this place.”

Lacy reluctantly agreed to give me credit.

A year? That’s an incredibly generous deadline.

From her attitude, it doesn’t seem like it’s out of compassion or goodwill, but rather that she really has no choice.

Anyway, that works out well.

“A year is more than enough! I should thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, thank Elpinel.”

Right. Thank you, Elpinel. Can you hear my gratitude?

It’s not like you’re watching anyway.

I pretended to make the sign of the cross as I handed Frosting to her.

—-

“Come to think of it, a claw-shaped weapon with the chill of the netherworld… that Dane from before must have been defeated by you.”

What?

After putting away the case containing Frosting, Lacy suddenly dropped this bombshell statement.

It was something that made me doubt my ears. The sudden shock made my heart sink.

That Dane from before?

There’s only one Dane I’ve fought while wearing Frosting.

Knut.

“You know Knut?”

Perhaps because I was trying hard to suppress my surprise, my voice was unnervingly low, even to my own ears.

“Was his name Knut? A few months ago, a female instructor knight urgently came to find me. She brought that man who was about eighty percent a corpse. Since it was the instructor’s request, I treated him… but afterward, both of them suddenly disappeared.”

He’s alive?

That revenge-obsessed crusader whose veins flowed with anger and resentment instead of blood?

I did say he’d have a hard time surviving without treatment from someone like a saint…

But did he really survive after receiving treatment from a saint candidate? Is this what they call the guidance of the great Volberg or whatever?

It was a perplexing story.

I never even dreamed he might be alive.

…Well, he did appear in my dreams.

But if so, why hasn’t he shown himself yet?

Now would have been the perfect opportunity for him to take revenge, when I was weakened.

“I’m not sure if ‘alive’ is the right word. He lost an eye and a leg, and his life force was greatly diminished… In that state, it would be difficult for him to fight as a warrior again.”

“Is that so…?”

Certainly, with injuries of that extent, he would have to retire as a warrior.

And if he’s no longer a warrior… the blessing of the war god would no longer activate either.

Still, I should keep this in mind.

He may no longer be a match for me, but there’s no guarantee he’ll only come at me with force.

Come to think of it, it’s fortunate that I learned about his survival this way.

If I hadn’t heard it from Lacy, I wouldn’t have been able to prepare for when Knut might appear again.

“So, who was he? Why did he try to kill you?”

“Knut was… a spy from Dane. He tried to assassinate me.”

It’s not definite information, but…

Still, since he was hiding from the Empire, he was probably a spy.

“Ah, so he was indeed a spy. I suspected as much when he disappeared… unfortunate news.”

“You couldn’t have known. Let’s get back to the main topic.”

Lacy was just doing her duty, after all.

She treated an academy student at the request of an academy instructor, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Lacy nodded and poured me another glass of water.

“The first question has been addressed… let’s move on to the next one.”

“The second question? Go ahead.”

“That speech from before, were you serious about it?”

You know, that one about a single race or whatever.

It sounded like you were planning to make enemies of not just werebeasts but all non-human races.

“You mean my crusade theory? Of course I was serious.”

Lacy nodded. With a demeanor full of firm conviction.

“Securing humanity’s permanent sustainable right to survival is a core mission of our church that must eventually be achieved. Of course, we still have a long way to go. It’s impossible with just the Holy State’s power, and the current Empire… cannot project its full national power to the north.”

She paused briefly. As if carefully choosing her next words.

Well, she probably wouldn’t want to reveal all her true feelings to me. We’ve only met a few times.

“When the Empire’s internal and external problems are resolved, and it regains sufficient national power for offense rather than defense, then we can finally begin the northern expedition.”

“…You think so?”

“Yes. When that time comes, the werebeasts, like the orcs, will meet their predetermined fate. That is my earnest wish.”

Hmm…

Well, good luck with that.

Though it does remind me of that mustached man who invaded a frigid land and ruined his country.

—-

After leaving Frosting with Lacy, I went down to the garden.

“That’s it! Put all your strength into each strike, but make your attacks continuous! Always keep your sword path circular!”

“I’m… trying!”

“Don’t let your feet stay idle! Turn your body with your sword, evade and attack simultaneously!”

“Ugh..!”

In the garden, Frider was still teaching Demian.

He seemed quite enthusiastic about it.

Since it was practice sparring, they were both using wooden weapons, though of vastly different sizes.

Demian was grimacing and staggering, apparently having been hit several times already.

Millia was practicing archery beside them.

It was quite amusing to see her hopping around while shooting arrows, presumably practicing evasive maneuvers.

I approached them.

“Looks fun?”

“Ah, Haschal!”

Hearing my voice, Millia stopped her archery practice and welcomed me.

“Oh, you’re here? Let’s take a break for a moment, Demian.”

“Huff… huff… thank you, Senior Frider…”

Frider and Demian also stopped their sparring.

Demian collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily.

He looked completely exhausted.

Meanwhile, Frider, who approached me, looked almost fine.

Except for slightly labored breathing and beads of sweat on his forehead.

“So, isn’t he quite teachable?”

“Hmm, honestly, it is fun. As you said, he learns quickly.”

As he should, being the future hero.

His growth is a bit slow since no proper enemies have appeared yet.

“Hit him as hard as you can. The more you do, the tougher he’ll get. That’s the kind of person he is. Probably… he’ll keep getting stronger in the future.”

“Oh really?”

Frider grinned.

As if he’d found another thing to tease me about.

“You sound strangely confident. And the way you’re looking after him… so you like younger guys? I see.”

What nonsense is this all of a sudden?

“Ha-Haschal…?”

Millia glanced at me.

No, it’s not like that, Millia. Don’t look at me with those trembling eyes.

“Don’t talk nonsense. It’s not like that.”

“Hmm? Then what is it? Honestly, you’re not the type to care about and nurture someone else like this.”

That’s not wrong.

Normally, I would choose to improve my own skills instead.

Frider understands my tendencies, so it must have seemed strange to him.

“It’s just… the atmosphere lately has been quite ominous, and there aren’t many useful first-years, that’s all.”

“It’s certainly been unsettling in many ways lately… hmm… well, I’ll accept that explanation for now.”

Judging by that smirk, he’s probably planning to keep teasing me about this…

This isn’t good.

“You seem very happy to have more friends? Your manner of speaking is quite different from before. Congratulations, lonely Senior Frider?”

“Wh-what? No, that’s not…!”

Frider flinched in surprise.

That’s what you get for trying to tease others—you should be prepared to be teased yourself.

“By the way, I heard there’s research saying people with fewer than 65 friends aren’t human but monkeys…”

“Oh, come on. Where did you hear such nonsense? I know plenty of people too! They’re just all in the north.”

Right. Let’s leave it at that.

Seeing how red his face has become, if I were to tease him by asking for names, he might come after me with a saw.

—-

“…So, why did you come here anyway?”

Frider, having calmed down a bit, shot me a slight glare.

There was no trace of hostility in his eyes, so I didn’t feel any particular animosity from it.

…Come to think of it, this is practically a self-introduction. That’s exactly my current situation.

“Just came to see how you were doing. I’ve been busy lately, so I haven’t been able to meet up with you.”

“Well, busy replying to love letters-“

“Monkey-“

“…Right. You’ve been busy. Walking a tightrope between two factions.”

Frider quickly changed the subject. A wise move.

Continuing down that path would only lead to a conversation that would hurt both of us…!

I chatted with the two of them for a while.

Frider praised Millia’s skills.

How her arrows rarely missed the target even during intense movements.

“That’s amazing, Millia.”

“It’s because Haschal and Senior Frider helped me a lot.”

Millia smiled shyly.

Demian, who was resting, glanced in our direction.

Either he didn’t have the courage to join in, or he wanted to rest a bit more. He didn’t approach us.