How to Survive at the Academy Chapter 124

Joint Combat Practice 2 (10)

The next saintess, Adele Seris.

Among the high-ranking priests of Seonghwangdo, the name circulated.

Talent to fill the position of the next saintess who had been vacant for a long time after the death of the former saintess of Elnir. Her reputation was already high, so no one called her name lightly.

The qualification to become a saint who receives the protection of Telos from the peak of the saints is not given to just anyone. It is basic to be pure and beautiful like drawing paper, yet exuding noble grace, and she had to be born with enormous divine power and be able to accept the blessing of the Holy Law without difficulty.

Adele is… Its divine power was so great that rumors circulated that it might be the reincarnation of Mr. Telos, who had given it to the exaggeration.

Rumors even circulated that the mysterious spell magic, which twisted divine power and used it like magic, was at a level that exceeded the realm of Astral Magic.

It is because the foresight to pull the timeline and peek into the future was a miracle that twisted the providence no matter what anyone said.

Dignity emanates from the way he plays the lute, with his pale yellow hair hanging down, always smiling softly. Even in the burnt blouse and shabby skirt she wears as she rolls on the ghetto floor, there is a divine aura about Adele that can’t be described in words.

However, even she is not without flaws.

The fact that he came from a humble orphanage in the commercial city of Oldek, and that he has enormous divine powers enough to foresee the future, but that he cannot control himself.

Those things would sometimes hold her back. However, no matter how much her shortcomings were taken into account, there was no one more suitable than she to take over her vacant position as a saintess.

Adele, who was eventually baptized as a saint and was endowed with the protection of the Holy Law, went to the brink of becoming the next saint.

With the consent of the Holy Emperor and the archbishop, and even the support of the bishops, only the last stigma of baptism is left.

The ceremony of piercing my finger with a dagger and dripping the blood into the holy water while bathing in the midday light in the plaza in front of the Holy Palace.

With all preparations for becoming a saint already completed, it was a ceremony to reveal her face in front of the public and publicize it to the world.

– ‘… … .’

One day before the stigmata baptism, Adele sat alone on the top of the spire of the Holy See and looked at the night sky, gently closing her eyes.

From Oldek’s orphanage to the top of the success chart. It was an unbelievable level of status improvement in just a few months. Although the speed is not for everyone, Adele managed to live according to the flow of the world.

However, after receiving the saint’s baptism, I felt the power of my body growing higher than usual… Every now and then a new future is seen.

Feeling that a twig of the future that hadn’t been vaguely grasped had barely reached her hand, Adele immediately opened her eyes and focused her mind.

The thing that rises above the night sky has never been seen since sometime… It was Adele’s own future.

-bang!

―Kudangtang!

The next morning, the door to the archbishop’s office was thrown open.

The priest rushed in and conveyed the report to the Archbishop in an urgent voice.

Verdio, who was already in the position of archbishop at the time, narrowed his eyes as if embarrassed to hear that.

― ‘――――! ―――!’

All plans were already in place. After today’s stigmata baptism, the birth of a new saint is announced to the public, and the existence of the next saint, known only to the clergy of the Holy Emperor, is finally revealed to the world.

However, Adele Ceris, who was tentatively appointed as the next saintess… The day before, she gave up trying to become a saint.

There was a commotion for a while. Conflicts also occurred several times, but in the end, Adele does not rise to the position of a saint in the Holy City.

As much as that enormous divine power is recognized as a teacher, Seonghwangdo is also given the position of the torch manager at the top of the spire… It was a job that didn’t have much to do.

In the end, the girl lived as a secluded poet who sat on top of the Seonghwangdo and played a lute while singing.

Like that, the seat of the saintess remained vacant for a while.

Rumors that the next saintess might be born slowly subside… It was dismissed as mere rumors.

It’s just that at the top of the spire of Seonghwangdo, there exists a romantic song that recites elegantly. Only rumors were circulating among the lower priests.

5 years after that happened.

It was the time it took for Saint Clarisse, who was revered by all the believers in the Saints, to be enshrined.

Enormous divine power that is believed to have monopolized the love of the gods. The ability to adapt to the s*x law to accept the protection of the s*x law casually. And from her innate personality to her mysterious and holy appearance.

Sitting at the top of the spire, watching Clarisse baptized with stigmata in the plaza in front of the Holy Palace… Adele put her lute down beside her.

The lofty noon sky. An enormous number of believers cheered and blessed the birth of the saintess.

If a god in the sky looked down on the human world, would it look like this?

Adele looked down at Clarisse with sad eyes while having such fleeting imaginations.

* * *

“I didn’t know you would have such a desire to show off, senior Ed.”

It was like a thrown word.

The place was the carriage depot at the beginning of the Maxes Bridge. Most of the wagons coming and going through the Maxes Bridge stop here, so it was actually considered a meeting place among merchants.

Of course, since it was within the domain of Elte Firm, when Lortel entered the storage room, all the employees widened their eyes and bowed their heads.

“What… overnight… anyone who sees it will think it’s hypnotized.”

“So to speak… it’s kind of long.”

Lortel and I were consciously not looking back.

Behind it, there was a glass window blocking the entrance to the storage room, and on the other side is Saint Clarice, who is staring inside with eyes full of moisture, clinging to the window.

After that, two escort knights hesitated as if embarrassed, and behind them, there are a lot of passers-by looking at why the noble and graceful saintess is clinging to the window with such an unseemly appearance.

Even after I left the nail salon with Lortel, Clarisse clung to me at all times, and I couldn’t help but draw attention from the people around me wherever I went.

When I tried to distance myself or try to distance myself, there was nothing I could do about it because I would tear up and pull my arm.

If you go all the way to the carriage storage like this, you can’t help but notice, let alone collect information, so we decided to leave the saintess in the carriage for now… Outside the window, it was swollen like a lost puppy, so everything was silent.

Lortel sighed deeply and went to the counter to quietly call the hostess.

The hostess, who bowed like a scythe and greeted Lortel, looked at her eyes and answered, fearing that Lortel might upset her. When Lortel said something, she ran to the back of the counter in a cold sweat.

Lortel came back, grabbed my arm, and sat me down on a waiting chair in the corner of the storage room.

“I did accompany you because you said you were in a hurry. Was there a reasonable reason for me to come running here while giving up until the last couple of exercises in joint combat practice…?”

Now that you’ve moved it the way you want, I’m going to ask you to explain.

I sat hunched over and let out a sigh. It was unclear where to start explaining it, and most of all, if you look up, you can see Clarisse’s face outside the window, stamping her feet.

“I have to look at the importance of the reason, because I think I will be able to calculate how much I will charge. I’m always the type to maintain a cooperative attitude with senior Ed, but… You know that my ransom isn’t that cheap, right?”

“Yes… I know.”

Lortel was smiling, but with a strange hint of anger. Her face, with her cross veins protruding, is not consciously looking toward the window.

“I know the charm of the senior. However, I don’t quite understand how the saintess, who until yesterday was lofty and strolling around the professor-dong, turned into a sunflower in the middle of the day.”

“That’s the way it should be. Actually, I don’t understand it either.”

Time spins and turns, but I don’t remember all of it. So, from my point of view, it is difficult to know where to begin.

“What’s for sure… I don’t have much free time.”

“yes?”

“I’m sure you’ll find out sooner or later, but I’ll tell you in advance.”

I had already been guided by Clarisse to the Maxes Bridge, took a break at the entrance plaza, went back to the student center, met Lortel, and dragged Lortel to the carriage depot.

There was a lot of time wasted on the route alone. Considering the time allowed, it was only a short while until the joint combat practice was over, so soon this peaceful time would end.

Lortel was about to ask what he was talking about, but the owner of the counter hurriedly ran out to find Lortel.

The sighting information scattered around the carriage depot was gathered in an instant.

Most of the coachmen around here and the retailers who roamed every corner of the alley passed through this warehouse, so they knew the news right away.

Lortel stood up again and approached the hostess.

The landlord gave a lot of notes to Lortel while explaining something vehemently. When Lortel lightly thanked him, the host shook his hand and greeted Lortel politely.

Lortel, who had returned, spoke to me as I sat still.

“The entire sighting information was put together in an instant. Well, this entrance locker also serves as a school gate of sorts. It must have been just gathered from the back shelter.”

“Sit here for now, Lortel.”

“…Didn’t you say you didn’t have time?”

“Right, that’s why.”

“…yes?”

Lortel seemed intent on negotiating with me with the information at hand. Apparently, I was in a bit of a hurry, so I guess I thought I would be able to charge a high price. It is an accurate judgment.

However, rather than asking for anything right away, I sat Lortel next to me.

“You said you were waiting for the last match. But since it’s been quite some time since we got out of the Nail Hall and came here, the joint combat practice will be over soon.”

“Um…yes, right?”

“Then you’ll find out soon enough.”

“You know… what…?”

I just sat there with my hands clasped and started talking quickly.

“Lortel. You have an excellent ability to always understand the situation and act rationally, without panicking in any situation.”

“…Why are you saying such a trivial thing?”

“It’s just… Your temperament shines the most at times like this. So, no matter what happens… I hope you don’t panic and trust me straight away.”

Lortel sat next to me and stared at my face. I thought he would make a fuss right away asking for the information he was holding in his hand, but it seems that he felt a sense of incongruity in the way he clenched his hand tightly without any reaction.

“I’m not going to stay like this, I’m going outside…”

“No, it’s better to stay inside the building for now.”

yes?

‘, before Lortel could answer… .

A roar like thunder came from outside.

Before I could really figure out what was going on… A world-shattering vibration strikes the island of Aken.

It happened all too quickly.

People in the storage room collapsed due to the shaking, and wings that covered the sky fell over Aken Island.

―Kagang! Kang! Kaga gak gak!

The windows were shattered, and papers on the tables fluttered in the lobby. The table in the bar where the customers were sitting and the bookshelf full of books collapsed.

I’ve heard a little bit of Clarisse’s story. I don’t know how many times I’ve repeated it, but at the end of the joint combat practice, the Holy Changryong, Velbroke, descended on Aken Island, destroyed half of his life with a single kick, and committed massacres by shooting scales.

-Koo Goong! Koo Goo Goo Palace!

Lortel’s pupils trembled slightly. The moment I blinked and looked around, I pulled Lortel’s arm and quickly hugged her.

“Mu-muh…!”

As it was, I rolled on the floor side by side with Lortel.

“What… Son…! Suddenly!”

―Pababababababak!

Before Lortel could answer, hundreds of scales flew through the outer walls of the storage building.

I had completely wrapped Lortel’s body and crushed her, rolling under the stone table.

―Hwaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!

―Quagagagagak!!

The ‘Blessing of the Storm’ rising around my body. A mighty wind blocks the scales from attacking me, but… I couldn’t completely block all the scales. The protection of the storm is a skill that is always activated, but of course its power is weak compared to when Merilda fully manifested.

“Ku, ugh!”

From my point of view, it was difficult to predict how powerful Velbroke’s wide-area attack would be to overwhelm the school. I thought I would be able to block it enough in this state, but Valveroke’s scales continued to fly with a time lag and pierced my body.

I was consciously crouching down, so I almost missed the vitals. There was a feeling of heat rising up around the shoulder blades and thighs, but it wasn’t so much that I couldn’t move my body.

Then, slowly, he got up. And if you look around the crowd… Half of them died instantly, and the other half suffered serious injuries and were rolling on the floor.

Moans of all kinds filled the storage lobby.

As it was, I slowly turned my gaze to Lortel under my arms.

Dripping drops of blood ran down Lortel’s cheeks. Fortunately, it wasn’t Lortel’s blood.

“Keuk… Whoa… Shit… But… I avoided all the vital points….”

Lortel’s pupils trembled as she was hit by dripping blood. The sight of me staggering and looking down at Lortel might not sound like a joke, but it was a miracle that I was hurt this much.

The outer wall of the storage room, which was neatly finished with marble, was quite strong, so it blocked about half of the scale attacks, and the stone table we rolled down was also of high quality, so it held up a little.

Thanks to that… I was able to evade Velbroke’s first attack neatly. No, it wasn’t really neat.

“Eh, de… senior…”

Lortel looked up while breathing heavily. As if hyperventilation had occurred momentarily, Lortel’s breath was also excited along with the up and down bobbing chest.

I stumbled and stood up, grabbed Lortel’s hand and quickly lifted her up.

Lortel stood up from her seat, unable to overcome the force that suddenly lifted her body… He looked at the corpses strewn around him and his eyes trembled again.

―Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

The roar of the Holy Changryong split the sky again. I too was out of breath at the rapidly changing situation, but I forced myself to hold on to my reason and put my hands on Lortel’s shoulders.

“so….”

Even in the midst of this, Lortel was clutching the delivered memos in one hand.

“…How much…?”

Lortel looked at my shoulder blade, which suffered a huge cut, and then quickly grabbed it so that no more blood would flow from the wound. When I groaned and let out a moan of pain, I put on a puzzled expression again, but quickly took care of it.

It’s a situation where it’s not strange if anyone panics and shudders.

However, even in the midst of that, Lortel held on tight and talked.

“Compared to the cost of my life… I’m sure I have quite a bit of change left over.”

Her voice subtly trembled, but just maintaining this level of reason was no longer a human’s mental strength.

“The change is gone.”

“Yes. It’s quite a profitable business. Do you have time to explain everything?”

“Unfortunately not. As you can see.”

The shadow cast by the broken windows belonged to the Holy Spear Dragon, Velbroke, that covered Aken Island.

Looking down at the bachelor while letting out a horrifying scream, one feels only awe beyond fear.

Lortel flipped open the bloodstained note and placed it in my hand.

“There are 13 sightings. Most of them seem to have come from magic supply merchants. It seems that Seonghwang and the Archbishop were wearing a cloak and led a detached corps through remote streets. Most of the other attendants went straight to Trix Hall It is said that it is headed. It may be lacking because it is information gathered in a hurry, but most of the places pointed to are one place.”

“Where are you…?”

“The Haksa Cathedral inside the faculty building. Among the students and faculty, there is a place reserved for members of the Church of Telos.”

“I’m going there… Do I really need to hide my movements…?”

“I guess I did it because it was necessary.”

The church of the Church of Telos, which is prepared inside the school building, is located in the corner of the faculty building. The scale is larger than expected, as there are quite a few Telosists among the students and faculty.

It wasn’t unusual for Seonghwang and the archbishop to visit the cathedral inside the school building.

However, he tried to enter secretly with only the detached unit. In particular, as soon as I arrived at Aken Island, it was strange that I set aside all other schedules and went to the cathedral.

Lortel looked me straight in the eye, holding back my quivering voice, clutching my wound tightly.

“Let’s go at once.”

* * *

Clarisse was forcibly pulling on the door to the vault, which was half crushed and wouldn’t open.

If you look around… It was full of people who were already covered in blood. Thanks to the protection of the Holy Law, Clarisse himself was safe, but he was unable to protect the lives of the two knights who tried to protect Clarisse.

“Ugh… Keugh…!”

With a half-crying look on her face, she tried to open the storage room door, but it was too much for Clarisse’s meager strength. In the end, the moment I tried to destroy it even with the mobilization of holy magic…

-bang!

The door was shattered and thrown out by the strong magic power emanating from inside.

It was Lortel, who was supporting Ed, who stepped out of it.

“Ed… senior…! No… no…!”

Clarisse sighed again. Ed’s death, which she had seen dozens of times, remains as a trauma to her, and she gets goosebumps again when she sees him bleeding.

Ed just raised his head and nodded that he was fine. However, despite Ed’s reaction, Clarisse ran up to him and swept his face away.

“Senior Ed… Senior Ed…”

Clarisse, not paying attention to Lortel, gropes over Ed’s body and examines the injured area. She rubbed her eyes as if she were about to cry.

“A horse can still barely move. It’s badly injured… but it should be able to make it to the Professor’s Building. It’s fortunate.”

Lortel trembled for a moment as she looked at the sky-covered Star Changryong, but then she gritted her teeth and maintained her composure again. He said that he would keep his senses under any circumstances, but he couldn’t help but feel dizzy when the situation was so urgent.

“Release the horse. I’ll ride it.”

Leaving aside the saintess who was making a fuss while watching Ed, Lortel quickly loosened the reins connected to the carriage and pulled the horse, just as Ed had said.

Then he took out a saddle from the wagon’s bed, put it on the horse’s back, and in an instant tied the frame and leather straps.

“No matter how many saddles there are… It’s hard to ride with more than two people. One of the three has to stay.”

“Me and the saintess have to go. To explain… It’s long…”

At that, Lortel opened her ax eye and looked back and forth between Clarisse and Ed. Ed clings to his wounds and grabs the saddle, and Clarice clings to him and sheds tears.

And in the sky, the Seongchangryong roars as if it would destroy the world at any moment. It was a series of dizzying situations, but Lortel finished her thoughts with a deep sigh.

“Get on quickly, saintess.”

“Ah, ah…”

Ed quickly grabbed the horse’s reins and mounted it, after which Lortel pushed the saintess up and mounted her.

After I picked them up like that, I looked up and they looked like two men and women running away from love… Lortel felt a burning sensation in her stomach.

“I’m sure senior Ed has thoughts too. The situation is going so fast and there seems to be no time to spare, so I will fully trust senior Ed.”

Lortel suddenly said that, then grabbed one side of the horse’s saddle.

“Thank you, Lortel. I’ll definitely pay this debt later.”

“No, you have to pay me now.”

Lortel put one foot on the saddle, pulled her body forward with a quick tug, and then grabbed Ed by the chest and pulled his upper body down.

And then, with a deep kiss… Quickly jump off the horse again.

“Eek… Eek…??”

Seeing that scene, Clarisse completely blushed and covered her mouth tightly… He was only groaning in embarrassment.

“It’s me second, too, senior Ed.”

It was done in an instant, as if to ask Clarice to see it.

“Well, this one also needs insurance.”

Then, with the saddle thrown back, he looked at Clarisse and laughed coquettishly.

“Saintess, everything in this world has something called a top coat, so if you carelessly cling to a product that someone else has marked on it… everything will become complicated.”

From the point of view of the naive Clarisse, she couldn’t even refute anything, and she had no choice but to hold her father.

Ed looked at Lortel with his eyes wide open, probably too embarrassed, but… Lortel smiled politely and slapped his horse on the butt.

It was a busy time. Before he could answer, the horse roared and ran away.

Watching the galloping horse, Lortel quietly turned around and looked up at the sky.

“Yes… If I hadn’t been confused… The age of catastrophe that the Holy Changryong rampaged would have ended 300 years ago…”

The majesty emanates from its gigantic figure. Looking at that figure, Lortel smiled with difficulty.

The one who laughs in the face of crisis is the one who wins in the end. May the adage hold true this time… I was sincerely hoping.