Chapter 353

“That may be true, but to be honest, Rafia doesn’t really study hard…”

Of course, if it were a normal Holy War, Sion wouldn’t be this concerned, but wasn’t this a quiz battle where they had to answer questions correctly to attack?

Roan, finding himself short of a reply, changed the subject.

“…Let’s just watch the match.”

“Ah, yes.”

Vulcan asked the first question.

“This spiritual beast is a species commonly seen around us, primarily making a chirping sound… Tsk. Denver!”

“Yes, Professor!”

“You come down and read this instead. Man, I can’t see well now that I’m old.”

“Yes! Bill! Come here!”

Kirrr─!

─ Wow! You’re so cool, Senior!

─ Kyaah! I want to grow up to be just like Senior Denver!

At Vulcan’s call, Denver summoned Bill, the Thunder Beak Bird, who appeared from somewhere and flew down with Denver on its back.

Denver quickly received the script from Vulcan and finished asking the question.

“…makes a chirping sound, and the spiritual beast that primarily manipulates fire is…”

When he spoke up to that point, Rafia raised her hand high.

“Answer!”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Isn’t it the Ember Sparrow?”

“Oh.”

As Denver wore an impressed expression, Rafia was overjoyed.

‘Roan said only easy questions would come out, and he was right!’

Indeed, listening to Roan always brought good fortune.

However.

“The spiritual beast is indeed the Ember Sparrow. Now, please mimic the courtship call that this Ember Sparrow makes when mating.”

“…?”

Denver’s question was not yet finished.

And the question was not that easy either!

‘W-What on earth is the courtship call of an Ember Sparrow?!’

Of course, the Ember Sparrow was a very commonly seen species of spiritual beast.

But to answer something like that, one needed to have observed them with quite a bit of care.

The friends sitting around Roan let out flustered noises.

“R-Roan! How are we supposed to answer that? You said easy questions would come out.”

“I-Indeed! How are we supposed to know what kind of sound an Ember Sparrow makes?”

Yet, Roan looked back at them as if they were the strange ones and asked back,

“Isn’t it easy?”

“““…”””

They had to keep in mind that it was easy only by ‘Roan’s standards.’

The friends could not hide their bewildered expressions.

At that moment, Demona spoke in a tone as if she were looking at an odd person.

“Why wouldn’t you know that? It goes chirerret, chirerret.”

“…How do you know that, Demona?”

“““?!?!?!!!?!!”””

─ W-Wicronon knows the answer?!

Not only his friends but also the surrounding students were shocked by the fact that Demona had answered correctly.

Was it actually an easy question?

They couldn’t help but reflect deeply on their own level of general knowledge.

Meanwhile, Roan was also highly bewildered.

‘No, more than that, why do those guys always say Wicronon only speaks the truth and then get surprised at stuff like this?’

At any rate, the more he tried to understand it, the stranger this world was.

Demona shrugged her shoulders and said,

“Well~ Our mansion was full of Ember Sparrows. Every autumn, they would set the lawn on fire, so it was fun to watch. Every time they did, they went chirerret~ chirerret~ so of course I know!”

Since Ember Sparrows indeed had a habit of sparking their surroundings during their breeding season, it seemed she had observed them diligently.

─ I keep telling you, Wicronon only speaks the truth?

─ To observe even such small spiritual beasts, the family of sages really isn’t just for anyone!

In any case, Demona’s standing was solidified once more.

‘When I tell them something, they just scold me instead…’

Roan felt slightly more aggrieved.

However, the problem was that Rafia did not know the answer to the question.

And surprisingly.

“Chirerret, chirerret…”

Huki answered immediately, having lived a long life in monasteries surrounded by nature as a member of the Ebern family of druids.

“Ebern, correct! I grant you the turn to attack. Of course, Kedan can also perform basic evasion, defense maneuvers, or skills.”

Vulcan nodded and granted the turn to attack.

“Rock Thrust…”

Huki calmly ordered the Rock Lizard to attack.

Clang─!

Near Saengsaeng, a pillar-like rock abruptly shot up from the ground.

Originally, it was common to increase the destructive power by shaping it like a spike, but since it was a friendly match, he had shown consideration for his opponent.

‘It wouldn’t have mattered even if he had done it normally.’

Roan thought it was an excessive display of consideration.

And that was because.

“Saengsaeng, dodge with dream!”

Neigh─!

The Dream-Eating Thousand-Mile Horse—counted as a dream spiritual beast to paladins and one of the cheat-like spiritual beasts to players—could dodge by simply turning its body into a dream.

Saengsaeng’s body faded like a hazy purple mist.

Thud─!

Huki’s Rock Lizard’s attack ended in vain.

Rafia groaned inwardly.

‘If I knew this would happen, I would have studied a bit!’

Having lived in a remote territory, she only liked running around mountains or sweating on the training grounds; she had absolutely no aptitude for sitting down to read books.

Rafia unconsciously looked toward the spectator seats where her friends were sitting.

Over there sat Roan, wearing his usual expression, and her roommate, Sion.

‘Ah, Sion!’

If they weren’t in the middle of a pop quiz, she would have clapped her hands.

─ Sion, what are you doing? Let’s go play!

─ Ah, I have to study.

─ Until when?

─ Mmh… until I go to sleep?

─ …

Even from an objective standpoint, Sion was a massive bookworm.

At first, Rafia had tried to take her outside to play, but she soon gave up.

─ Huh? Rafia, why?

─ Hehe, I want to read some books next to you too!

─ …You?

─ …Why?

─ Oh, no. Let’s work hard.

─ Yes!

She would try to absorb some words next to Sion.

Of course.

─ Zzz…!

─ Uh, Rafia. It’s only been ten minutes since you sat down…

Those attempts were not always successful.

Regardless, among the books she had read during those times, there were a few interesting books about divine beasts!

And once, Roan had advised her in passing:

─ Paladins must always remain calm. Even if the friend next to you is an enemy, you must be able to swing your sword without hesitation.

─ What? How could anyone do that? Swinging a sword at a friend…

─ That kind of mindset… is not what you should have. Try a bit harder.

─ Yes, I understand…

She didn’t know why he had suddenly said that, but Rafia had not neglected training her composure ever since.

“Whew…”

Rafia took a long, deep breath to properly ease her tension.

She had entered a state of concentration that gave a decent bonus to her mental stats.

Roan noticed that immediately and nodded.

‘At that rate, it won’t be long before I can unlock it.’

This was a secret about the character Rafia Kedan that only true veterans of “God & Devil” knew.

Once unlocked, Rafia’s talent would shoot up from average to surpass most named NPCs in an instant.

Of course, it was still too early.

Following that, the duel between Rafia and Huki progressed in an exciting manner.

“What is the behavior of a Cloud Crawfish before it eats prey?”

“…Soaking it with a raincloud.”

“Ebern, correct!”

“What is the most likely species to be the divine beast in the fairy tale ‘The Little Prince and the Divine Beast’?”

“The Sea-Splitter!”

“Kedan, correct!”

“Sea-Splitteeeer!!!!!”

“…Hector, why are you making a scene.”

Although matching one-to-one was difficult, Rafia displayed enough skill to answer about one in three questions correctly.

Although Huki still held the advantage, the issue was.

‘In this state, the basic compatibility difference between the spiritual beasts becomes the most important factor.’

If it had been a spiritual beast that dealt magical damage, like a Rainbow Pigeon, a Black Tiger Beetle, or Sion’s Sunrise Nest Butterfly, instead of the physically specialized Rock Lizard, the match would have already been decided.

But while the Rock Lizard’s attacks were repeatedly neutralized.

Rustle─ squeeze─!

“Good job, keep squeezing!”

Saengsaeng’s attacks continued to land effectively, so even the sturdy Rock Lizard had no way to hold out.

‘The Dream-Eating Thousand-Mile Horse is the one that really should be designated as a banned beast.’

Roan marveled at Saengsaeng once again as he watched the scene.

A spiritual beast that was both so practical and possessed high combat power was truly rare.

Woong─

[Ugh… Hearing you say that is a bit much.]

The False Divinity shook its head at Roan’s beautiful conscience.

Roan grumbled.

‘It would have been banned long ago if it weren’t for the Paladin Association or rare spiritual beast enthusiasts.’

Without a concrete support base, the Dream-Eating Thousand-Mile Horse’s run would have been short-lived!

[─ Master, that’s a bit…]

Bel, who was listening nearby, also shook his head.

Schlurp…

Meanwhile, Huki’s Rock Lizard slowly backed away, realizing that Saengsaeng was an opponent it could not defeat.

Seeing this, Vulcan declared the result.

“Kedan, victory! However, Ebern also solved the questions splendidly, so he passes. In the future, make sure to prepare a means to deal with enemies who have an disadvantageous compatibility.”

Though Vulcan looked like a reckless brute, he was strictly a former coach.

Once the match was over, he would offer useful advice like this.

“Yay! Huki, you really know a lot about spiritual beasts! Normally, you should have won.”

While Rafia was happy about her perfect score, she considered the feelings of Huki, who had held the upper hand throughout.

But Huki shook his head.

“…Thank you for understanding my words well. I want to be friends…”

Huki, who was usually taciturn and extremely quiet, was very pleased to meet Rafia.

However, Rafia couldn’t understand what on earth Huki was talking about.

“Why? You speak very well though?”

“…?”

Huki wondered if Rafia was lying for his sake.

‘Even so, I’m definitely not someone who speaks well, am I?’

Yet, her sparkling eyes and bright expression seemed completely genuine.

After thinking for a moment, Rafia soon said,

“I’ll introduce you to a friend later! You two will get along well!”

Naturally, that friend was Riel.

The matches continued after that.

Riel, who usually studied reasonably well, answered the questions easily.

“Snow Leopard…”

“Huh? Heilick, what did you say?”

“Snow Leopard…”

“…Huh?”

“Snow Leopard…!”

“Ah, c-correct!”

The problem was that Vulcan and Denver couldn’t hear her well.

Swish─ swish─

“Right, doing it in sign language is much better. Correct!”

In the end, they just comfortably communicated in sign language.

Demona tutted.

“My, the professor and the captain are really something~ She’s speaking so clearly, yet they can’t understand her.”

“Mmh.”

Roan agreed to some extent.

Even if it wasn’t crystal clear, they should have been able to hear her at that distance.

Regardless, Kiki completely suppressed his opponent by growing a large tree around them to keep them from moving.

“Heilick, win!”

“Thanks.”

“…Heilick, the spiritual beast is fine, just speak a bit louder.”

“That is…!”

─ Kyaah! Riel won!

─ Her sign language is cool too!

As expected of Riel, who was highly popular among the female students, many cheers poured in after her victory.

Next was Sion.

“Noeul-ie, will you help me?”

Meow──!

Noeul-ie, who usually lay down lazily or rested, cried out energetically when it was time to step forward.

Her opponent was a Stream Rabbit, a common spiritual beast.

As its name suggested, it could manipulate water to the level of a trickling stream.

In Sion’s case, since she studied an immense amount, she could have answered all questions of this level instantly.

“Uh… what was that again… I studied it…”

‘I know the answer… but I should still give my opponent a chance, right?’

She showed consideration by giving her opponent sufficient time to think of the answer if it seemed like a question they might know.

The students were deeply moved by Sion’s behavior.

─ As expected of the Saintess candidate!

─ Her consideration is truly on another level!

─ If I were Noeul-ie’s owner, I would have ended it with a hundred consecutive scratches!

‘…A lethal skill like a hundred consecutive scratches is a bit much for a friendly match, isn’t it?’

Watching the students cheer for every single action Sion took, Roan couldn’t help but question the Empire’s character education once more.

…It was absolutely not out of jealousy.