Chapter 174 — Part 1
While Dran and the others left Ibertes and the other Imperial soldiers screaming and surrounded by the residents of Elkeney, the city where the rebellion was occurring, the classmates they had parted ways with in Galois were spending their time as usual, albeit a little sadly, before they would have to say farewell too.
Having finished digesting most of the information from their classes, Fatima and the others found themselves with more and more free time on their hands, just as they did during the summer, and they would go out for leisurely picnics in the meadows at the outskirts of the city.
It was the peak of winter, but for these girls, who were skilled with magic, the changes of the temperature that came with the seasons were not that big of a problem. If it was hot, Nelneshia could just cool them off with her cold air, and if it was cold, Phenia could warm them up with hot air.
If they stayed within the Magic Academy, then they would have to deal with the scrutiny of their classmates or their underclassmen, but right now, they wanted as much time as possible on their own.
「Nell-chan, is it really okay to keep clinging to me all the time?」
Fatima was sitting on top of a fur mat and was lazily basking in the sunlight, while Nelneshia was sitting close behind her, hugging her.
Fatima had placed her hands over Nelneshia’s hands, which were on her stomach since Nell’s arms were wrapped around her, and she asked Nell that question, who had her chin resting on top of Fatima’s head. Nelneshia answered in her usual tone, with a pout on her face.
No, if one were as close to her as Fatima or Dran were, then they would never miss the slight echo of sadness in Nelneshia’s voice.
「Fatima, you don’t like it?」
「Nuh-uh, I like it. But, you said you were going to spend your days fighting mock battles with Dran, so I was just thinking, is it really okay for you to just sit here with me like this?」
「With Dran, the best way for us to deepen our friendship is to immerse ourselves in mock battles. But with you, this is the best」
With that said, Nelneshia put a little more strength into her hands which she had on Fatima’s stomach, and pulled her best friend in for a tighter hug.
Feeling the softness and warmth of Fatima’s body even through the layers of her clothing, Nelneshia closed her eyes slightly and her entire body became more relaxed.
She felt more comfortable than ever, and she looked defenseless, which was rare for Nelneshia, whose parents had ingrained into her flesh and bones to always be ready for combat.
「Yeah, you’re right. This is the best」
「Mmhm」
Fatima was so happy to be able to share the same feelings with her best friend, she leaned her back against Nelneshia with a sparkling smile on her face that shone brighter than usual. The two of them were having a truly pleasant time.
Sierra, sitting a little further away from them, couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the friendship between her master and her master’s best friend.
After she had been turned into a half-human and half-vampire, and forced to kill her family, her heart had chosen to rot from not being able to take her revenge, but thanks to her temporary master, Fatima, now she wanted to keep on living.
Sierra thinks that Fatima saved more than just her life. It was Sierra’s idea of something more important than her life; in other words, her soul. That’s why Sierra had decided to use and give everything she had for Fatima’s sake.
She knew that Fatima would never wish for her to think that way, and she also understood that she had become strongly dependent on Fatima, but Sierra could just argue that it was Fatima’s responsibility.
In any case, for Sierra, the girl named Nelneshia, who could make Fatima seem– no, actually be happy just by being with her, was someone to be treasured.
The sight of Fatima and Nelneshia was the very embodiment of the word “pleasant,” which almost made Sierra’s nose bleed, but she desperately suppressed it through sheer willpower.
It was hard to see Sierra’s expression because she was wearing a hood to shade herself from the sun, but it was lucky for Sierra that neither Fatima nor Nelneshia seemed to notice that the corners of her mouth were curving up in a smile.
She knew that if Fatima or Nell were to look back at her, what little dignity and honor she had left would be completely destroyed, so Sierra turned their attention toward the unusual scene that was taking place a short distance away.
「If this is what is best for Fatima and Nelneshia, then is that what is best for those two over there?」
Putting aside the cold winter wind and the loneliness of the dwindling number of flowers, this corner of the meadows was the same as always, but only that spot was surrounded by the Barrier Golems and ward generating equipment lent out by Dran, making the area strictly sealed off so it wouldn’t have any effects on the surrounding area.
If that hadn’t been done, then the whole area would have been scorched by a pillar of flame that would have pierced the heavens, and the earth would have been burned red by the overflowing flames, and crevices would have been carved into the earth so deeply, that the bottom wouldn’t be visible.
Fatima and Nell, these two people of completely opposite appearances and personality, were both drawn by Sierra’s words and turned to look at where she was pointing. There, Phenia was creating a blazing hell by spreading her wings of flame, and Christina was holding in her hands the magic sword Elspada, and Dreadnought, the weapon that had been used in the decisive final fight against the Ancient Celestial Dragon, and the two of them were facing each other at a distance of about ten paces.
「One is spirit, two is effort, three and four are enthusiasm, and five is guts! Inferno Dive!!」
At the same time that Phenia’s usual highly spirited and individualistic chanting ended, a huge mass of red-hot flames appeared above her head, and then rained down on Christina.
「Was that supposed to be spell chanting!?」
Christina knew that due to Phenia’s physical constitution, chanting wasn’t really necessary, to some extent, but she couldn’t help but raise her voice at that excessive chant.
Christina had heard the very strange chanting that put Phenia’s unique personality on full display many times before, but it still had a destructive power that made it impossible for her not to say something.
「No, Christina. I chant like that because if it’s me, then I have to do it like me, because I am me! Ohohohoho!」
「That’s true, but…!」
As Phenia laughed while hiding her mouth with her favorite fan, Christina couldn’t help but smile and think that she really hasn’t changed at all since they met, and then she cut the incoming Inferno Dive in two with a single slash of her Elspada.
That mass of flame which burned at a temperature of 4,444 degrees Celsius was nothing more than a mass of normal air in the face of Christina’s skill and her Elspada.
The slashed mass of fire then turned into countless sparks, and were immediately transformed into harmless particles of magic by Christina’s divine power.
If she had tried to intercept it, she would have had to take damage from the high heat emitted by the Inferno Dive, but for Christina, who has the spirituality of a divine being, it wouldn’t have been difficult to deal with.
「As expected of you, Christina, you become more skilled every day. With this, even when you go to Bern Village after you graduate, you won’t lag behind all the evil spirits to the north」
At the words that unconsciously spilled from Phenia’s mouth, Christina raised an eyebrow in surprise.
She had thought that Phenia was going to challenge her to an intense mock battle today, but she admitted to herself that she was happy that Phenia’s true intentions were different, and that Phenia actually liked her.
When she graduates and becomes an official baron of Bern Village, they won’t be able to engage in casual mock battle or exchange words like they do now, and when she thinks about that, she couldn’t help but feel lonely.
「Oh, so you were worried about me? Dran will be there with me, and if he’s there, then that means Selina, and Diadora, and Dramina, and Lynette will all be there too.
With such a splendid lineup of people, there’s no need to worry about anything related to military force. Doing paperwork and interacting with high society is far more frightening to me」
Those were Christina’s true feelings, without any pretenses or lies. Hearing that, Phenia’s smile changed to one of exasperation, and she sighed tiredly. Those words were just like her.
If it’s Christina, then even if she gets swept up in the stormy waves of high society, her personality itself would probably never change. And with Dran at her side, that holds even more true.
Phenia was convinced that Arkrest Kingdom would be ravaged by a storm, with those two at its center, from now on. It wasn’t just Phenia who thought so, but Fatima and Nelneshia too.
「Well, that sounds just like you to say that. Since Bern Village is at the northernmost tip of the kingdom, there’s no way you won’t be interacting with the neighboring areas.
It will take up more of your time than you think, Christina. I’m afraid you’re going to end up cowering away from it from now on. Look, just like you are now」
The gracefulness of her movements is due to the natural beauty she was born with, the discipline she had received since childhood, and the history of her bloodline that has been passed down to her to this day. The girl named Phenia was a perfect image of what can truly be called a noble.
It’s just that her way of laughing was like that, and she had a few parts of her that were a little too idealistic.
「Well, I’m resolved to face the inevitable future, and I truly believe from the heart that it will be worth it. But I hope you’ll forgive me for wanting to prepare a little more for the things I’m not good at, and let out a few complaints to a friend」
「Ohoho, for you to call me your friend so honestly, it makes all the time I’ve spent with you worth it.
Now then, putting that aside, considering your origins and all the things you and Dran have accomplished, everyone will want to make a connection with you, even if you are far from their homes. It won’t hurt you to be over prepared for that」
With her sincere warning, Phenia pulled up the heat that she had been propagating into the earth through her feet, releasing it all at once. While they had been talking, the ground around Christina’s feet had begun to boil and simmer, and the already rising temperature had begun to rise even higher.
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