Chapter 19: Boss and assistant

After being selected as Arie and Yulia’s teacher, several days passed.

I had planned to take them to the forest in my free time, but it was harder than expected to make time.

Of course, I was mostly free outside of class hours, but Arie and Yulia were not.

They were called here and there with many tasks to attend to.

Since they were high-ranking members of the Holy Order, it was unavoidable, so I had to understand.

Anyway, on a day when I finally had some free time.

I took Arie and Yulia to the northern forest of the academy.

This was the same place I had come to with Elisha during the last ‘Comprehensive Combat’ practical.

Arie and Yulia, who were quietly following behind me, conversed in hushed whispers.

“Yulia.”

“Yes, Holy Maiden.”

“Do you know why we’re coming all the way here?”

“…Honestly, I don’t quite know either.”

“Are you saying it’s hard to grasp his intention?”

“Yes. But there’s also a possibility he harbors ill intentions, so I’ll be as vigilant as possible.”

‘Seriously, I can hear everything… What kind of talk is that about your teacher?!’

‘…Though I desperately wanted to argue, what power did I, a mere academy student, possess?’

‘There was no other way but to pretend I hadn’t heard anything.’

“Ahem, we’ve arrived.”

“This is…?”

“This is where we came for the Comprehensive Combat practical class. Lady Arie and Ms. Yulia don’t attend this class, so you’ve probably never been here before.”

‘…H-how dare you casually call the Holy Maiden by her name…!!!’

“Y-Yulia, calm down!”

“……”

‘Today is peaceful too.’

I waited briefly until Arie calmed Yulia down.

While Yulia did tend to overreact a bit, there was probably no one else besides me and the Regressor, Elisha, who could so casually call the Holy Maiden by her given name in front of her.

Even if I was a special case, Elisha still likely considered Arie a friend.

Come to think of it, I had seen Elisha and Hestia together a few times recently.

It was a bit late, but I was glad to see their relationship seemed to have grown closer.

Since Elisha had become famous after the spar, no one around them said anything when she walked with Hestia.

In the last timeline, people had gossiped incessantly, saying things like, ‘Why is someone like you always with the Hero…?’

It seemed Elisha’s impressive performance in the spar had worked out for the best.

Oh, and Elisha rarely brought up anything related to the spar with me personally.

Just recently, I happened to run into her and had a brief chance to talk…

‘Your spar was cool.’

‘Thank you for seeing it that way. Ms. Elisha was amazing too. You were almost on par with Lady Hestia, weren’t you?’

‘Hestia… Lady…? Oh, no, that’s not important. What was that technique you used then? It looked new to me.’

‘Ah, that… I just thought of it suddenly and created it. I must have hit my head on the practical day, because since then, brilliant ideas just pop into my mind sometimes…’

‘Y-you hit your head? Let me see…!!!’

‘I’m fine now… P-please don’t pull my hair.’

The conversation ended inconclusively like that.

‘It’s a relief that it passed without issue, but sometimes, that woman… seems to lack suspicion towards me too much.’

‘It makes me wonder if she’s truly the same person who ferociously demanded I hand over the necklace.’

‘Could this also be a side effect of regression…?’

“Hey~.”

At that moment, Arie’s voice brought me back to reality.

The conversation seemed to be over, as the now subdued Yulia glared at me with a cold gaze.

“Don’t even dream of trying anything foolish.”

“Yes, well… I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Hehe, Yulia. Don’t be too harsh. He’s still going to be our teacher.”

‘…I wish she’d stop saying things she doesn’t mean and just focus.’

“Since we’ve arrived, let’s begin the lesson.”

“……”

“Hehe.”

I turned away from Arie, who was smiling unpleasantly, and continued my explanation.

“What we’ll be doing today isn’t particularly difficult. I’ll start first, and after a short while, you’ll follow the path I took, beginning from where you’re standing now.”

“Is it hide-and-seek?”

“It’s similar, but I won’t be moving from the destination.”

“Hmm… I don’t understand the intention.”

Yulia analyzing the task, her listening posture was excellent, as expected. On the other hand, Arie…

‘Indeed… Hehe…’

‘I don’t know what scheme she’s cooking up, but she seems to be in a good mood.’

‘Seeing that does make me worry, but I probably don’t need to be concerned about their safety.’

‘There’s no way any creature capable of harming Arie and Yulia exists in this northern forest, which is practically a beginner’s hunting ground.’

“You can follow after 10 minutes have passed since I started.”

“So, we just need to find where you are?”

“Yes, however…”

I said with a wide smile.

“You must not use divine power.”

****

Leaving Yulia, who was about to argue about how ridiculous that was, I immediately set off.

I didn’t not understand her reaction.

They had probably spent their entire lives in the Holy Order learning only how to wield divine power, so suddenly being told not to use it… they would likely find it an absurd demand.

There was a reason I was preventing them from using divine power.

One easy-to-understand reason was to teach them how to cope in situations where divine power was useless, but how often would a Holy Maiden genuinely be unable to use divine power in the first place?

The bigger reason was to help Arie and Yulia become more accustomed to handling mana.

Since both had grown up in the Holy Kingdom from a young age, they would already be masters at wielding divine power.

But mana was different.

The knack for handling mana varied from person to person, and its properties were also incredibly diverse.

Typically, beings below the Transcendent stage would gather mana spread throughout the world and convert it into a form suitable for themselves using their bodies as conduits.

The fact that each person’s mana had a different color was due to this very reason.

And only when that conversion could be done freely could one proudly call themselves an academy student.

‘More than anything, it’s very helpful when ascending to Transcendence…’

It was a bit cumbersome, but once one became a Transcendent and their ‘mental image’ was firmly established, the difficulty of handling mana would significantly decrease.

I hoped they would think of this as a rehearsal for that time.

It would be good if their senses also improved along the way.

So, I don’t know who will arrive first, but for now, let’s wait a bit.

****

Yulia, left alone with Arie, pointed an accusatory finger in the direction the so-called teacher had disappeared.

“What exactly is this all about? He should have at least given us a proper explanation before leaving.”

“……”

“Haa… Not to use divine power? Then how are we supposed to find the way…?”

“……”

Yulia had grown up with divine power her entire life.

For her, who always carried divine power within her body, a lesson that excluded divine power was unimaginable.

Yulia simply could not understand the teacher’s intention.

“I don’t know what he’s trying to do at all.”

“……”

“Holy Maiden, why would you specifically choose someone like him as a teacher…? Holy Maiden?”

Yulia, who had been fuming for a while, suddenly realized that Arie had been quiet for quite some time.

Feeling an instinctive premonition, she frantically looked back at where Arie should have been.

“Ah, Holy Maiden, please…!”

And there, as if it were obvious, Arie’s figure had completely vanished.

“Where have you gone off to alone again…?”

Yulia pressed her increasingly aching forehead and thought.

‘Perhaps the practical lesson would be difficult not because of the teacher, but because of the Holy Maiden…’

****

A little time passed, and as I was momentarily lost in thought…

I heard someone’s footsteps from behind.

“Hehe…”

Along with the laughter I had heard enough to be tired of.

“…Lady Arie?”

“It seems I arrived before Yulia.”

‘What, she’s here already?’

‘I thought it would take a bit longer if she didn’t use divine power, but she arrived surprisingly quickly.’

“Please take a short rest. You didn’t use divine power, did you?”

“What do you take me for? I don’t engage in such dirty tricks. I merely followed the path faintly imbued with mana.”

“Haha, I was just saying. You truly are amazing.”

‘It wasn’t empty flattery; I genuinely thought so.’

‘The current Arie would have learned mana purely through theory, so she should have had some difficulty finding the faint traces I left behind.’

‘Yet, she arrived so early, which means…’

‘Has there been significant growth without my knowledge?’

Then, a sudden question came to mind, and I asked her.

“By the way, where did Ms. Yulia go? Weren’t you coming together?”

“Hehe, well… We suddenly got separated, so I don’t really know.”

“……”

I inwardly sent a small cheer to Yulia, who was likely wandering alone somewhere, searching for Arie.

Though not as strong as Arie, she was a considerably capable guard, so in an emergency, she could use divine power to safely escape the forest.

There wasn’t much to worry about, but if she took too long, she might get lost, so I’d have to go pick her up…

Just then, as I was thinking of Yulia, Arie, who was resting beside me, called out to me.

“I have something I want to talk to you about.”

“Yes, please speak.”

“Hmm… I don’t know what you’ll think, but I tend to like dark things.”

“Is it alright for the Holy Maiden to say such things?”

“……”

Arie glared at me with a somewhat displeased expression.

It was as if she was frustrated that I couldn’t understand her.

“So…”

“Yes.”

“…I’ve been recruiting subordinates recently.”

“Are the Holy Kingdom’s guards not enough for you?”

“Not those old-fashioned types, but someone who can help me build a faction.”

“Is that so.”

“……”

Arie’s expression was slowly beginning to show annoyance.

‘Alright, let’s stop teasing here.’

“Lady Arie, you mean you’re recruiting subordinates to build a faction together.”

“Hehe, that’s right.”

“And bringing this up to me means…”

“That’s right. I want you to be my subordinate… no, even higher, my sole assistant.”

It was a proposal I had already anticipated, though it had been delayed somewhat due to various incidents…

It was Arie’s first official recruitment offer, stemming from her admiration for the ‘shadow ruler’ archetype, and her first move in her own way.

Of course, it was an offer I had been waiting for, so there was no reason to refuse.

“I consider it a gracious offer, but may I ask why me?”

“Hehe, let’s just say… it’s a hunch.”

Arie, with a bright smile, extended her hand to me.

“…Surely you’re not going to refuse, are you?”

“Yes. From now on, I will serve you as my Boss.”

“Boss, huh… I like it. Still, in front of others, please call me Arie as usual. I’ll call you my assistant.”

“Understood, Lady Arie.”

Thus, a grand-scale game, unique to Arie and me, began.

“By the way, Lady Arie, should we go get Ms. Yulia soon?”

“Oh…!”

‘Surely, she hadn’t genuinely forgotten, had she…?’