Chapter 38: Scoldings and Showdowns

A Quiet Reprimand

Bang!

I flung open the faculty office door.

The quiet space greeted me.

Class ended early, so the office was nearly empty.

The only instructor left was Austin.

On standby with nothing to do, he sat at an empty desk and greeted me warmly.

“Bella, how was your first class?”

He looked like he could chew bones, yet his tone felt oddly friendly.

I sighed in response.

“Got scolded.”

“With the bad blood between empire and kingdom students, that’s no surprise… wait, what?”

Austin looked confused.

I headed to my desk, searching for my cigarettes.

“Got told off for running the class like that.”

“Was it… Prince Theodosius?”

I unwrapped the cigarette pack I’d saved for after lunch.

Rolling my own was a habit I dropped after years on the battlefield.

Store-bought ones never matched my preferred density, and they cost a fortune compared to loose leaves.

“No, the saintess from the Pantheon chewed me out.”

“Saintess Isidora?”

Of course, on the battlefield, that was a luxury complaint.

No time to roll cigarettes when you barely had time to eat before charging into combat.

Thankfully, the kingdom supplied pre-rolled ones, saving smokers from despair.

Smoking those changed my taste over time.

“Yeah. She said even if training mimics real combat, there’s a line to respect.”

“Sounds like something a saintess would say.”

“Yeah. Though she exploited the rules to knock out an opponent, revive them, and knock them out again.”

I lit the cigarette with a match.

Walked to the window and exhaled smoke outside.

“That’s unexpected.”

“Right?”

I took another deep drag and exhaled.

The smoke swirled, dissipating into the air.

“Still, it was kinda cute…”

A Ruthless Victory

“I see now, Count, your passion for training.”
‘I get it—your level…’

David glared at me from the enemy court.

I smiled back.

How’d he get back in?

I threw softly on purpose, letting their side catch it.

They had no better option, so David returned.

Fifirel got hit and went out in the process, but we regained attack rights.

“Shall we end this quickly?”
‘This is so boring I wanna die.’

“Hah, Saintess, one lucky hit and you’re cocky—urgh!”

The ball hit David’s side and dropped.

I spoke softly to him as he clutched his side, head bowed.

“Getting careless in training? In real combat, you’d be dead, Count.”
‘Dodgeball’s murder to me.’

I turned to Bella with a smile.

“Instructor Bella?”
‘Do your job.’

“Uh… out!”

Bella, dazed by the scene, scrambled to call it after my prompt.

From there, it was a one-sided slaughter.

Monica dodged well, dragging it out, but she tired and gave up, ending it anticlimactically.

“Wah… Saintess Isidora, that hurt…”

“Sorry, Monica.”
‘My bad.’

I threw it gently, though.

I tiptoed to pat the spot on her head where it hit.

Monica welcomed my touch.

“Hehe… Your touch makes it hurt less.”

That’s because I’m using Healing Blessing.

I hadn’t released Divine Descent, so her injury was long gone.

Talk about causing and curing.

[Child, is this okay? You’re a saintess.]

The God of Hunting’s flat voice echoed in my head.

I shook my head.

‘Of course it’s not okay.’

Even if it’s training, a saintess beating people up doesn’t look good.

So, my choice, as always, was to face it head-on.

“Anyone injured today, please gather here.”
‘Come to me if you want healing…’

The response was cold.

My terrifying display kept people away.

But there was a way.

“Go, now!”

“Patricia, but…”

“Are you ignoring my friend Isidora?!”

“No, it’s not that…”

The first patient was a teammate pushed by Patricia.

He said his calf had a nasty bruise.

“Can you roll up your pants a bit?”
‘Show me, kid.’

“Y-Yes!”

I placed my hand on the bruise and cast Healing Blessing.

It vanished instantly.

He stammered in shock.

“W-Wow, the bruise is gone just like that?”

“Yes, though flawed, with divine aid, I can heal the afflicted—a great blessing.”
‘Heroes don’t die.’

“Thank you! I thought it’d take weeks!”

His loud gratitude drew others.

Injured students slowly gathered, and I healed them without complaint.

“Thank you.”

“Thanks, Saintess!”

This is the noble healer vibe.

No wonder parties want one.

Sure, in games, it’s a boring role, so few play it.

But here, unless you’re a cleric who can use Divine Descent, instant healing is rare, so their gratitude made sense.

The line dwindled.

Then I faced an awkward one.

“My stomach and side are killing me. Heal me quick.”

“You don’t sound that hurt, Count.”
‘You look fine, what’s with the whining?’

“That’s my heroic spirit enduring the pain. Saintess, you caused this—can’t fix it?”

David smirked.

I wanted to slug him, but I’d already hit him twice, so I let it slide.

‘Gotta clean my image too.’

[Child, you had a plan all along.]

…Obviously.

All part of my calculations.

[For real?]

I ignored the God of Hunting’s follow-up.

I moved my hands to his stomach and side.

“Healing Blessing.”
‘Healing Blessing.’

As the blessing glowed over David’s clothes, he winced slightly.

“It’s always this ticklish?”

“That’s dead flesh falling off and new flesh growing. Bear it with that heroic spirit.”
‘New flesh, whoosh~’

“Can’t even talk back, you’re scary.”

Such a whiner.

Soon, David’s treatment was done.

I lightly slapped his side.

“Getting hurt again already?”

“Just checking if the new flesh took. Looks like you’re healed.”
‘One extra smack for the jerk.’

I healed the few remaining students.

But Orphe wasn’t in line.

“Where’s Orphe?”
‘Where’s that guy?’

“Right here.”

“Eek?!”

His voice from behind made me yelp.

I whipped around to see him with our team.

“Didn’t I tell you to make some noise? You scared the saintess!”

“Old habit. Sorry, Saintess.”

Polite in front of others, huh?

I smiled at him.

“Orphe, can we talk after?”
‘Get ready for a beating.’

“…Sure.”

“What about lunch?”

Fifirel asked with anxious eyes.

‘Worried about eating late.’

I answered her.

“You all eat first. Orphe and I will join later.”

Relieved, Fifirel led the others away.

Erdike looked annoyed but got swept up in Fifirel’s flow.

“Shall we?”
‘Get ready.’

“Alright.”

Before going, I gave Bella a piece of my mind.

Even for training, keeping the injured in was too far.

She didn’t seem to take it seriously, but Orphe was the priority, so I let it go.

A Warehouse Rant

I dragged Orphe to a storage shed in the training ground’s corner.

Training gear was scattered, dusty—not pleasant, but it was the only private spot.

I shut the door and glared at Orphe in the middle of the shed.

“What?”

Instead of answering, I pulled out a notebook.

It had the academy’s emblem embossed on it.

I opened it, took out the small pen tucked inside, and wrote the harshest words I wanted to say.

The restriction filters once, so I had to use a trick.

I sighed lightly, then inhaled.

I shouted the top-tier insult from the notebook.

“StupidIdiotDogSeaCucumberSeaUrchinAnemone!”

“…What?”

Didn’t hear me?

I shouted again.

“StupidIdiotDogSeaCucumberSeaUrchinAnemone!”

[Child, in a way, you’re impressive.]