Chapter 18: Lack of experience

“……I enjoyed watching the spar.”While returning after lunch with Hestia, she suddenly brought this up.”It was a fascinating sword technique. And that blue starlight… it was truly impressive.””Ah, thank you.”‘It was a spar I deliberately tried to make impressive…’‘Judging by her reaction, I’d say it was quite successful.’‘If she hadn’t felt anything, it would have been more troublesome…’As I was silently patting myself on the back, I felt Hestia staring intently at me from beside me.”……””……””……”She hesitated, unable to open her mouth.‘What is it? What exactly does she want?’As I moved a little away from Hestia, who was giving me a burdensome look, she looked dejected.It was still a subtle change in expression, difficult to discern, but having spent a considerable amount of time with her, I could easily pick it up.‘She definitely has some kind of complaint…’”Uh, hmm… The weather’s really nice today.””Is that so.””…Is there anything else you want to eat? My treat.””No, I’m fine.”Her usual blunt response.‘It doesn’t seem like she’s feeling unwell…’‘As expected, it seems she wants something from me.’‘I can grant most requests, so I wish she would just speak freely…’Given Hestia’s personality, always holding things in, it was obvious it would be difficult to hear it directly from her.‘Then there’s no choice.’Perception.[Be honest with your emotions.]Cognition.[Feel comfortable beside a friend.]‘I don’t like using my abilities for such things, but I have to when necessary.’‘Given who she is, the effect probably won’t last long, but it doesn’t matter.’‘In fact, I’d rather she didn’t change according to my will.’”Hmm…?””Did something you want to say suddenly come to mind?””Well, that is……”‘Yes, speak up.’‘If you think of me as a friend, speak comfortably…!’Did my fervent plea reach her heart?Finally, Hestia carefully opened her mouth.”I also……””……?””I also… participated in the spar.””Of course I know that. You were right before me.””You remember?””Of course I do. How could I forget when I saw it right in front of me? You fought incredibly well… Didn’t we even make eye contact in the middle?”‘It was a spar impressive enough for even a Transcendent to witness.’‘Moreover, if I, who always keeps an eye on her, didn’t remember, that would be even stranger.’‘So, what is it that she wants…?’”Thank you.””……?”‘…Could it be that she just wanted to be praised?’Just in case, I gave her a small compliment as a test.”You were truly amazing. There’s a reason they call you the Hero, isn’t there?””Th-thank you.”Hestia replied, lowering her head slightly, as if embarrassed.‘You asked for it… What do you do when you get embarrassed yourself?’Her amusing reaction made me want to tease her a little more.I smiled playfully and said to her,”Did you want praise from me that much?””Th-that’s not…!!!””It’s alright to be a little more honest in front of me.””……”Hestia didn’t reply and just walked forward.From the side, a faint blush was visible on her cheeks.‘She seems embarrassed.’‘Well, as long as she’s satisfied, it’s fine.’‘I don’t particularly like troublesome things, but I can indulge her a little.’‘Honestly, it’s not uninteresting either…’After a while, she returned to her usual expressionless face and whispered quietly,”……My friend is quite mischievous.””Ahaha.”I couldn’t deny it.****After parting ways with Hestia, I coincidentally ran into Arie a short while later.‘……Of course, it couldn’t have been a coincidence; she must have been hiding and waiting for me to be alone.’‘From her perspective, she probably didn’t want to encounter the still-awkward Hestia.’”Huhu, it’s been a while.””……”‘It’s been a while? It hasn’t even been a week since the spar ended…’‘More than that, the familiar face beside her bothers me.’‘Why did she bring her along?’”Ah, yes, it’s been a while, Lady Arie. And the person beside you is…?””This is Yulia, my escort. Isn’t she cute?””……Please refrain from such remarks, Holy Maiden.”Yulia, the woman with orange bobbed hair.‘I wondered why they came together, but did she just bring her along to tease her because she was bored?’Indeed, one could tell Arie doted on Yulia just by observing them for a moment.”Nice to meet you, Ms. Yulia.””Yes, me too……”Yulia and I exchanged brief greetings. This was my first private meeting with her.‘After all, I hadn’t even met her when Arie came to find me on the day of the spar…’Except for when she first came to the academy, I hadn’t properly conversed with her.Even the conversation we had then was an apology, conveying Arie’s regrets for startling me…‘Come to think of it, she also goes through a lot.’”Huhu, Yulia. What do you think?””…? What do you mean?””Do you feel anything, or anything like that, when you look at him?”Yulia tilted her head and said,”Not really… I just don’t know much, except that his impression is a bit blurry.””Hmm, is that so?”Arie subtly smiled and looked at me with an expression that said, ‘You’re better than I expected.’‘When will that villainous organization test finally end?’As I quietly listened to their conversation, Arie soon approached me.”Do you have a moment?””No, I have no particular plans today……””Oh? I clearly checked that you had no plans before coming…”‘Tch.’****Arie’s business was obvious.‘She’s probably seriously thinking of making me her subordinate soon.’What she wanted was to take control of the academy from behind the scenes.‘I heard before that a certain villain from the underworld, who appeared as a character in a novel she read as a child, seemed too cool or something…’Anyway, she said that was when she first found a dream for herself.She forced her way into the academy with the church’s influence for that very reason.Arie seemed to want to slowly expand her influence from the academy and completely dominate the world’s dark side.‘…In fact, with the Holy Maiden’s status and abilities, it’s truly possible to control the underworld.’‘Transcendent beings might reside in the world’s deep, dark parts, but if Arie grows further and reaches the realm of transcendence, even other Transcendent obstacles could become insignificant.’However, throughout all previous timelines, she only mimicked a villain and never once acted maliciously of her own volition.Even in the first timeline, where she was corrupted by the black cross necklace, she never tried to dominate others.Her desire to become a villainous organization’s boss was simply amplified in a strange direction, causing her to be ensnared by the necklace.‘Though the result wasn’t good, let’s be lenient since it wasn’t her intention.’What Arie truly desires is not to dominate others or control the underworld.She genuinely, albeit innocently (?), just wants to be the boss of a villainous organization.Having encountered villains through novels, Arie has not yet truly learned about the world’s darker aspects.The villain she envisions in her mind is… merely an ‘unidentifiable being with suspiciously vast wealth and power, who regularly engages in mischievous acts.’‘It’s not entirely wrong, but it’s certainly overly romanticized.’I intend to stay by Arie’s side as a subordinate until she realizes it herself.‘As much as I’d like to entrust it to Yulia, unfortunately, she also lacks worldly experience, making her insufficient for important tasks.’‘So, in this timeline too, while looking after Arie, I’ll also help Yulia grow, who might be a great help later on.’‘As I always have…’****Arie and Yulia dragged me to a cafe.In the previous timeline, Arie had come alone, so we talked privately, but this time, Yulia joined us.‘But wouldn’t it be difficult to bring up topics related to a villainous organization in front of Yulia?’For now, I pretended not to know and asked about their business.”Excuse me, what was the reason you sought me out…?”The gazes of the two, who were sitting opposite me and choosing drinks, simultaneously turned towards me.Yulia was the first to speak.”I will convey the reason on her behalf.””Ah, yes.””First, the Holy Maiden asked me to tell you that she enjoyed watching the spar.””……Yulia? Did I say that? Of course, I did enjoy watching the spar, but…”Ignoring Arie, who was looking at her with a bewildered expression, Yulia continued.”The Holy Maiden said that after watching the spar, she realized the importance of practical experience. …Given the recent incident as well.”‘……Is it half my fault?’Stealing the necklace was a regular occurrence, but this was the first time I had shown such an impressive performance in a spar.Perhaps that’s why Arie seemed to have changed her approach towards me.”Therefore, she wishes to invite you as her practical training instructor.””Wouldn’t it be better for Ms. Yulia to do that directly instead of me? Or perhaps ask the professors separately……””I would very much like to teach her myself… but my own practical experience is not significantly different from the Holy Maiden’s.”‘No, you’re the Holy Maiden’s escort.’‘Is it okay to lack practical experience?’”…Above all, the Holy Maiden desired you.””Ah.””Yulia! You don’t have to say even that much…!”Just as Arie had insisted on entering the academy, it seemed she had pulled strings again this time.Arie’s facade seemed to crack slightly at Yulia’s words, and she appeared somewhat angry… but I decided not to comment, as it seemed like Yulia’s own form of revenge.It seemed she was quite annoyed due to Arie’s stubbornness.”I generally understand. But why me, of all people?””You can ask the Holy Maiden directly about that later. She said she was impressed by the spar, but honestly, I didn’t see it myself, so I don’t know much.”Yulia wore a complicated expression.Although she brought it up because of Arie, she didn’t seem particularly keen on it.Indeed, if I were her, I wouldn’t readily hand over the position of the Holy Maiden’s instructor to just anyone.Especially since the person is not even a professor, but an ordinary student.‘This… If I play hard to get and Yulia changes her mind, it’ll be troublesome, so I should accept instead of refusing.’”If I’m acceptable, I will do my best.””Huhu, I’ll be counting on you. Oh, and Yulia will also be listening in, so please look after her as well.””Understood.””H-Holy Maiden? Why am I……”Yulia, flustered by the sudden turn of events, tried to change the subject, but she was thoroughly ignored by Arie, who was wearing a wicked expression.‘Is this Arie’s revenge this time…?’Although they were still bickering, they seemed to have a good relationship.Anyway, that’s how I became Arie and Yulia’s practical combat instructor.Although things changed quite a bit from before, I still grew a little closer to them.With Yulia… I hadn’t had much contact until now, but it seems I’ll be seeing her often from now on.‘Unfortunately, my free time will decrease a bit, though…’