Chapter 147 – Isekai Milf – Saintess Arc (19)
148. Isekai MILF – Saintess Arc (19)
“Haa…. Haa…!!”
On a bright afternoon, I was catching my breath after thankfully receiving sparring guidance from one of the Holy Knights of the Cathedral.
I could feel my swordsmanship and other skills steadily improving recently.
I’m no genius, so I’m not showing off some crazy performance at this age, but I was internally aware that my progress was very fast, as I was being taught by McKellen, a top-tier instructor and high-ranking knight.
As I was wiping away sweat and plopping down on the grass, McKellen approached me and sat down next to me, our hips touching.
“Haha…! Raul, that was pretty good. Your shield use wasn’t bad either, and I’d say you held up pretty well against Paril.”
“Is that so? Haa…. Thank you.”
“Yeah, yeah. But I heard you came around 11 this morning and trained a bit before leaving. Did you finish earlier than usual today? I heard the Saintess checks on your health and stuff.”
I flinched.
“Well, yeah, that’s about it. I’m working hard… so she lets me finish early.”
Don’t even mention the Saintess.
“Really? That’s a good mindset. Using divine power is very important. And I heard your body is a bit out of whack… Don’t go collapsing like before.”
“Understood.”
There’s no way people don’t know that I’m going in and out of the Saintess’s office or bedroom. The reality is different, but to the outside world, everyone knows it as McKellen said.
“But McKellen, can you show me that again today?”
“That? You mean aura?”
“Yes!”
When I looked at him with sparkling eyes full of anticipation, McKellen chuckled and began to focus his mind, injecting divine power into the wooden sword he was holding.
-Whooong….
Soon, a pure white aura blade formed on the wooden sword, rippling. The fact that he could infuse such a dense aura into an object he doesn’t usually use was proof of McKellen’s skill.
Like most of these kinds of world settings, this world was also highly developed with mana swordsmen, and they had a lineage that went from the commonly known Sword User – Expert – Master – Grandmaster.
I don’t know if a Grandmaster actually exists, though.
Especially from Master level, they can use aura blades to destroy an opponent’s weapon just by clashing, and I was curious enough to want to see it in person.
McKellen couldn’t use aura blades, but the purity of his rippling divine power was extremely high. He didn’t exactly boast about his level to others, but I was cautiously guessing that he was an upper-tier or top-tier Expert.
An aura infused with divine power instead of mana.
As I was spacing out, staring at the pure white aura, McKellen withdrew the aura and said to me casually.
“Want me to teach you?”
“R-Really?!”
“No, of course I’m lying. Do you think I’d teach you that easily? Well, if you come up to the capital with me, I might consider it. It’s practically impossible to learn aura on your own.”
He tries to take me to the main cathedral every chance he gets. Did Serena tell him to try and recruit me too?
“That’s… Well, is there anywhere I can learn aura?”
“Well… of course there is.”
He looked into the distance and then opened his lips as if muttering to himself.
“You have to enroll in the academy. …Where the nobles are swarming.”
“Do they teach swordsmanship and aura there?”
“Yeah, they teach that. Not only that, but magic, alchemy, all sorts of things. Well, if you’re not a noble, you’ll have to pay with money or something else to get in.”
There’s only one academy in this area, so Ellie couldn’t have been talking about somewhere else. Is there a separate art academy within it?
“So I can learn aura if I go there.”
“No.”
No, you just said I could.
When I looked at him with serious eyes, asking ‘Why?’, McKellen, seeing me, was about to say something but then asked me again to confirm.
“It’s a boring story, do you want to hear it?”
“Yes.”
And soon, McKellen’s explanation followed.
To summarize, it was like this.
The academy outwardly claims to uphold values such as equality and neutrality, but in reality, it is mostly under the influence of noble or royal families. They provide capital to the academy or are entangled in numerous political relationships, so it’s hard not to be influenced.
Especially in the provinces far from the capital, the influence of the royal family is weak, so the nearby noble families have considerable sway over the academy director.
There’s no way that someone’s hand wouldn’t reach ‘aura,’ one of the keywords that allows one to gain honor or a title as a swordsman.
He said that unless you’re a noble, the other academy students are judged and selected based on their suitability, but the problem was what came after.
At first, they teach the concept of aura to a certain level, but to move on to the next stage, you have to form a close relationship with the noble family that has influence over the academy. Unless you have explosive growth to become a super-minority, it was common for line-riding and tacit subordination contracts to occur.
McKellen, who was spitting out those words, looked annoyed just thinking about it.
“At first, they approach quietly and start applying pressure. If you don’t have a base of your own, you’ll end up joining them, and soon you’ll be doing all sorts of dirty and unpleasant work for their faction. And if a problem arises, they’ll cut you off, those guys with no responsibility or shame. The nobles are all just obsessed with building their own power.”
McKellen continued, muttering to himself.
“There must be an academy not far from here. In this area, the Bourbon and Olton baronies have overlapping spheres of influence… You’d probably have to walk a tightrope between them. Maybe the vicious Kasamir Empire is fairer in this regard.”
The Bourbon and Olton baronies.
I overheard it when Stella’s mother, Trisha, came to the convent. She said that since those baronies weren’t here, why not aim for the position of the convent head while we’re at it.
“Damn it, Raul. I wish I could show you your face in a mirror. Is this kind of talk that interesting? Sometimes you seem like an old man.”
I scratched my chin and gave an awkward smile to McKellen, who was looking at me, and asked a few more questions.
“Yeah. It’s just kind of interesting… Oh, I heard this somewhere, but do you happen to know the Rosichester family?”
“Rosichester? I think I’ve heard of it somewhere… I don’t really know.”
He doesn’t know, so he’s just a low-level guy after all. He was so loud about it…
Typical local noble A.
Then what am I, who was beaten while being a low-level member of that family?
My head is spinning.
“Anyway, if your head hurts, it’s best to join the church like me and train in aura.”
The church provides educational benefits relatively fairly in this area. Of course, if it’s the same level of aura, the general case of infusing mana is stronger than infusing divine power, but it showed tremendous effects against monsters and demons, so it had a significant power if it wasn’t limited to human combat.
After listening to his words for a while, I slowly dusted off my butt and prepared to leave.
“What, Raul? Is that it for today?”
“Yes. I have someone to meet at the cathedral.”
It’s a shame I can’t hear more interesting stories, but I should get going.
I had something to do today.
………………
As I walked through the vast cathedral corridor, only the sound of my footsteps echoed softly inside the building.
Most of the workshops where workers came and went were located on the outskirts of the building, and since the building wasn’t very crowded considering its size, it was more secluded than I thought.
Of course, if you went further inside, you could see priests training, just like the Holy Knights training outside.
When I arrived at the large common area inside the cathedral, I could see priests lined up between the pillars. Most of the priests were women, so unsurprisingly, it was almost 8:2 in favor of women.
They were concentrating and emitting divine power, which seemed to be part of their training, as the pure and concentrated divine power was being emitted.
Then the person I’m looking for is…
Ah, there he is.
My eyes were fixed on a man far away, who was approaching a female priest and guiding her.
“The operation isn’t bad. But the middle stage seems a bit long. If you don’t mind, just for a moment…”
“Ah, y-yes. Yes…”
Ivan corrected the posture of the blonde female priest, whose hair color was similar to his own, but he didn’t touch her directly. Instead, he stood close and guided the overall flow of divine power with gentle gestures.
It was only a fleeting moment, but when they were close enough for their breaths to touch, the female priest’s ears turned red, and she couldn’t hide the flush on her face. Then, Ivan kept his distance so as not to be too burdensome and acted gently.
The female priest, on the other hand, looked disappointed, saying, “Ah…”
He’s a player, a player.
I haven’t talked to Ivan that much, but at a glance, he seemed to have a very sweet personality. And since it wasn’t a movement to gain the favor of women, but a consideration that came out naturally, his charm was even more radiant. Of course, there would be women who would say he’s boring…
A capable man who rose to the rank of high priest in his early 30s.
A handsome appearance and a calm tone and demeanor that naturally inspires trust in women.
It’s no wonder that the young female priests are falling for him.
If he were dropped into high society, the perceptive foxes would probably pounce on him, thinking, ‘This man is the real deal. I have to marry him.’
I was watching the priests from beside a pillar, waiting for the right time to go out, and luckily, Ivan, who noticed me first, tilted his head and looked at me. Then he slowly approached me.
“You’re Raul, the believer. What brings you here?”
“Ah, well… I have something to tell Priest Ivan.”
“To me? Please, feel free to speak.”
“Well, actually, it’s a bit… It’s a story related to the Saintess.”
“Related to the Saintess…”
I spoke quietly enough for only Ivan to hear. At first, he looked surprised that I wanted a private meeting, but when the name Serena came out, his face changed to one full of curiosity.
“I don’t know what it is… but let’s go to my room for now. Everyone, I’ll be away for a moment.”
“Yes, Priest.”
Following Ivan out of the common area, he walked down the corridor for a while and entered what seemed to be his room. It was about twice the size of my room, but it still felt much smaller than the Saintess’s bedroom.
The room was neatly organized, reflecting his personality.
Ivan and I sat facing each other at a reception table. He asked if I wanted to drink Hamalo tea, and I nodded in agreement.
It wouldn’t hurt to relax a bit.
The sweet tea that the Saintess had served me on the first day.
After having a short tea time, Ivan asked me in a calm tone.
“What you said earlier…”
Clap.
Before Ivan could say anything, I immediately clapped my hands together. I focused as much as possible, knowing that it might not work well on a high-ranking priest.
“Priest Ivan?”
“……………….”
Fortunately, the hypnosis seemed to have worked well.
