Chapter 100: The Land Of Artists

Thunk!

Two heads rolled on the ground. It was a clean strike that would make anyone who saw it feel uneasy as they were alive just moments ago.

"Ah, Student Aria!"

Erica, who was standing at the back, exclaimed in surprise, but Aria didn't even pay attention to her as she approached the corpses.

Erica couldn't just stand by and watch her like that without doing anything, so she hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed Aria by the shoulder.

"Why?"

It was a calm voice without a shred of nervousness.

There was no hint of hesitation despite being fully aware that she had just killed someone.

This girl would certainly repeat the same action if such a situation were to occur again.

Erica was at a loss for words in the face of Aria's collected response.

Aria was like a canvas that had already been stained; Erica was sure that no matter what happened to the girl, that appearance would never change.

"Just stay still. This is all for the sake of Professor Deus."

"Do you really think he'll be pleased with this?"

"It would be great if he is. But even if he's not, it doesn't matter."

Aria was indifferent as she coldly uttered those words, rooted in firm convictions. However, the origin of those convictions, akin to its foundation, stemmed from anxiety and trauma.

"Professor Deus must become stronger. He should become so powerful that no one, absolutely no one, can be his match."

Aria couldn't grow stronger alone. Regardless of her identity, it was impossible for her to always be around Deus to protect him.

Nor would he want that.

Therefore, Deus Verdi had to grow stronger.

He had to become strong enough to protect himself even in situations where Aria couldn't.

To the extent that no one would even dare to think of aiming for his life.

"If it's for that purpose, it doesn't matter even if it means Professor will frown for a moment."

"Just a moment? Do you see this matter as something that can be simply ignored just like that?"

"You wouldn't understand it."

Aria responded with a cunning smile.

"Professor will never abandon me. He can't do that."

Though she didn't know why.

The affection Deus Verdi had towards Aria during the first round was not because she had done anything special.

Deus had cherished Aria right from the start.

He had showered her with endless care and teachings without expecting anything in return from her. He was also someone who was able to see through her at any time.

Aria always kept that in her mind, engraved it in her heart, and would never forget it.

"I mean, even if I created a few corpses like this, he will never hate me."

Aria smiled again as she reminisced about him. She smiled contentedly as she reached out to the corpse. However, at that moment...

Crunch!

All of a sudden, the severed head opened its mouth wide and bit her hand which was hanging limp.

It was a sudden ambush.

Just like that, the head moved its teeth vigorously, seemingly trying to devour Aria's fingers, with a gnashing sound.

"Sigh!"

Aria dropped her sword and grabbed the teeth of the head with her free hand.

Crunch!

Due to the mana-infused force applied by Aria, the mouth was torn apart, splitting the face in half.

It shattered gruesomely and fell to the ground, but the decapitated bodies of the men suddenly stood upright.

The bodies then began twitching.

Soon, dozens of snake heads started pouring out from the region around the neck and rushed at the two of them.

"Damn it!"

Aria hurriedly swung her sword. She realized that she also needed to protect Professor Erica, who was nearby but was a beat too late.

The professor was nimbly using light magic to shield her body.

"A Monstrumancer! I've heard that there were a few in Dante, but I never thought he'd be one of them."

"A Monstrumancer?!"

Erica exclaimed in confusion at the unfamiliar term. But a yellow sphere had already formed in her palm, aimed at the enemy.

As if she were throwing a ball, Erica swung her hand towards the snakes that were rushing out.

The sphere melted the snakes as it penetrated deep inside them, before exploding with brilliant light in front of the main body of the enemy.

As the smoke from the explosion spread, Aria rushed forward while holding her greatsword high.

Her fighting style, when synchronized with Erica's, was not entirely satisfactory.

However, the fact that their opponent was a Monstrumancer made Aria's lips twitch.

They were undoubtedly formidable foes as they were the rare type, far more than Necromancers or Cadavermancers.

It was an expertise that required not only aptitude but also a different type of talent.

Therefore,

"It turns out that it was not just any medicine, but well-aged ginseng, wasn't it?"

Aria couldn't help but form a twisted smile.

The more formidable the foe, the more helpful it would be for Deus, who could control the dead.

"I don't know which one is the main body, so I'll take both the body and the neck!"

She swung her sword mercilessly amidst the emotion called love.

* * *

"It is okay. God will surely understand your feelings."

The white-haired nun in her habit smiled faintly. Upon seeing her, the guard blocking the way grinned broadly, looking quite pleased.

For the guard, who had watched countless people pass by here, the beauty of the nun could easily rank in the top five.

"Is that so?"

"Yes, so no need to worry."

Her gentle laughter, unlike her usual persona, was not awkward. Yet, I couldn't help but find it ridiculous and almost snorted but I managed to restrain myself.

"Pfft-"

Illuania, who was driving the carriage, couldn't help but cover her mouth with both her hands and lower her head as much as possible.

Looking at how her shoulders were trembling, she seemed to be quite amused by the sight.

I had to praise Findenai because she was able to make a pregnant woman bury her head in her lap to hold back her laughter and prevent us from getting caught.

"Now then, shall we pray for a moment?"

That's right.

That was Findenai.

Findenai held hands with the guard and closed her eyes in prayer.

Since her usual revealing maid uniform was dirty, she wore a nun's habit that was given to her by the Elia Convent.

"Goddess Hearthia, who is responsible for the hearth and fire, and is watching over us today."

[She's surprisingly good at this, isn't she?]

"I heard that the resistance in the Clark Republic often changes their identities to disguise themselves."

[Is that so? It's fascinating how a person can change so dramatically.]

The Dark Spiritualist nodded with her arms crossed while observing Findenai with fascination.

I snuck a glance out of the carriage window before turning my gaze back inside to focus on my book.

When we almost got caught at the checkpoint, Findenai suddenly started boasting about how she would handle it, and she seemed to be confident enough.

Actually, there was no need to deceive the guards. If we just let them know that I was the Soul Whisperer, they would naturally open the gates, and the mayor would come to greet me.

However, there was a possibility that the assassins sent by the bishops and nobles were still looking for me.

Dealing with them wasn't really difficult, but there was no need to attract unnecessary attention.

In that sense, Findenai's actions proved to be helpful in her own way.

I guess she probably just wanted to do this.

Fındenai might have even preferred for the assassins to come after us, so her current actions made it look like she just wanted to try playing the role of a nun.

"The Goddess will protect you. Let the fire dwell in your sword, passion in your heart, and peace in your mind."

Once the prayer ended, the guard expressed gratitude to Findenai and tried to usher her back into the carriage.

Normally, guards wouldn't bother searching through the belongings of nuns.

This was due to the belief that it might displease the gods and that nuns wouldn't possess illegal items.

Of course, one needed a badge to prove one's nunhood, but Findenai used the excuse of forgetting it to offer a prayer.

"One more thing, Brother."

"Yes, yes?!"

Just when he thought it was over, Findenai spoke up once again.

In fact, the guard's effort to reply brightly and forcefully out of some sense of caution was actually pitiable.

"Are you a smoker? I can smell the strong odor of cigarettes from you."

"Oh! I-I'm sorry!"

As the guard began brushing his armor with his hands in a fluster, Findenai continued with a small laugh.

"God may not forbid smoking, but it is something that does more harm than good. I worry that it might harm you, Brother."

[You also have quite an amazing maid, don't you?]

"She seems to be very excited."

I wondered where exactly she learned to lie so shamelessly.

Just five minutes ago, she was whining about wanting to smoke a cigarette and even asked to stop the carriage.

Now, she was preaching about the harm caused by smoking while pretending to be a nun.

"You can give it to me. I will see to its disposal."

"Ah, but... it's a high-quality item..."

"Are you really going to make me sad?"

I heard her voice turn slightly tearful. Upon hearing that, I found myself turning my head to look out the window again.

I wondered if that woman was even crying as part of her act.

But, of course, not a single tear fell from her crimson eyes. She was just contorting her face to feign sadness.

"I-I understand. Sister, you're right. It does more harm than good."

"You are wise."

"If I keep it with me, I'll just end up smoking again. I trust Sister to deal with its disposal."

"Goddess Hearthia will also be pleased."

Findenai accepted the cigarette and turned around. After the footsteps faded away, she boarded the carriage, and it began to move again.

Findenai, who was wearing a nun's habit, proudly extended the cigarette with a smirk.

"Master Bastard! Look at this! I'm fucking lucky, right? If you're a nun, you can also get cigarettes for free!"

"...."

"Hmm! Look at this! It must be a really expensive item! It smells really good!"

She immediately brought the cigarette close to her nostrils, shut her eyes, and savored the smell. It was quite amusing to observe her.

"Ah, I'd like to get a taste of this free cigarette. Is there any place for me to smoke?"

Findenai smacked her lips and tucked the cigarette into the inner pocket where the nuns usually kept their rosaries.

[The guard from earlier would definitely cry if he saw this. His fantasy would be shattered and he might even curse the gods.]

The Dark Spiritualist shook her head in amusement.

Forget it.

Understanding Findenai was proving to be more difficult than expected, so I decided to just let it be.

She wasn't fighting against an insane country like the Clark Republic as a leader of the resistance for no reason.

The city beyond the castle gates we had just entered was called Claren.

The city was as developed as Loberne, where the academy was located, but the buildings themselves had a somewhat antiquated look.

With it mainly focusing on traditional culture and tourism, it was a land of artists where music, dance, paintings, and sculptures were always present.

In my experience, artists often had associations with evil spirits or yokai1.

I wasn't sure whether it was because they were always holed up in their studios or talked to themselves a lot.

If it weren't for Lucia's letter, my first destination wouldn't have been Elia Convent, but this place.

[Um, Deus?]

Thinking that it was the same urban landscape, I concentrated on reading a book when the Dark Spiritualist cautiously called out to me.

"Hm?"

When I glanced at her, her trembling finger was pointing directly behind the carriage.

"Oh."

The scene at the back of the carriage was chaotic to the point where I unconsciously let out a sigh.

Like stray cats roaming the streets, bizarre yokai of various shapes and sizes drooled like beasts, running towards their prey, following the carriage.