Chapter 161
"You're a necromancer, aren't you?"
The voice was sharp and bristling with hostility.
Sensing something was off, Simon hastily added,
"Wait, I...!"
Before he could even finish his sentence, she was already in motion. Her right leg, mid-kick, hadn't even fully descended before her body lifted off the ground and her left foot came flying in.
Thwack!
Simon instantly raised both arms to guard. The sheer force pushed his body back with a dragging screech.
Woom! Woom! Woom!
The moment distance opened up, divine magic circles unfolded around her like paintings. From within them, white flashes of light began to barrage forth like machine gun fire.
"Kh!"
Simon hastily stepped onto Darkness and leapt into the air. Huge holy explosions burst across the ground in rapid succession.
'There's no room for conversation at all!'
Even as she unleashed her barrage through white magic circles, she clasped her hands in front of her chest and began to pray.
Simon could see her body being engulfed in radiant blue, green, and yellow light. His expression hardened.
'Priests' Blessings!'
The air itself changed.
If necromancers have curses, then priests have blessings. A vast, indescribable energy could be felt shaking the atmosphere.
She stretched her arms backward and unfurled another holy magic circle.
Wooooong!
The circle was the same type as before, but after being cast under divine blessing, it had grown five times larger.
A barrage of radiant beams shot from within, engulfing Simon's body and triggering a massive explosion.
Kugugugugu—
A holy bombardment spell especially devastating against necromancers and the undead. Sensing victory, she simply stared into the explosion.
At that moment, a black streak shot out from within the blast and pierced her body.
Her eyes widened in shock. The scenery around her split into three, and a wave of nausea hit her.
'A curse!'
She quickly cast a powerful divine barrier on herself, then placed a hand over her chest to begin purifying the curse.
She was a little surprised. Despite being caught in a white magic explosion, something fatal to necromancers, he still had the strength to cast a curse.
'I let my guard down. I'll dispel the curse and immediately resume combat.'
As a white glow flickered from her chest, her blurred vision returned to normal. Then, a low voice emerged from the smoke cloud.
"Anna Follentia."
Her eyes flew open. Within the smoke stood Simon, completely unharmed, without even a single defensive black magic spell.
"You're here to see my mother, aren't you?"
"...."
She froze.
Truthfully, after receiving such a preemptive attack, he had every right to fight back, but Simon made one last attempt at conversation.
Whatever the case, she was still the benefactor carrying Anna's medicine. He didn't want to fight.
"You..."
Her voice trembled.
More than surprise, it was tinged with a hint of anger.
As her robe fell away, hair as white as winter snow rippled down like waves.
"You're the son of my teacher?"
* * *
Lete, 18 years old. First-year student at Efnelle.
That's all she said to introduce herself. The two had stopped fighting and were now climbing the mountain range together.
"I'll pick up the pace a bit."
Simon pushed off the ground and leapt forward. He worried if she could keep up, but Lete followed closely, stepping onto holiness and soaring after him.
"Don't worry about me. Just go full speed, shortest route."
She spat out the words casually.
"And keep three meters distance from me. Damn necromancer."
'...Hah.'
Even after revealing that he was Anna Follentia's son, her hostility hadn't lessened one bit. It felt like she was gritting her teeth and enduring it because the situation was urgent.
He briefly considered whether it was really okay to bring this person home, but there was no other choice.
Hours passed in silence, and finally, they arrived at their destination.
"Huff, hoo, here we are."
Even with Simon gasping for air despite his transcendent stamina, Lete stood perfectly composed, staring blankly at the treehouse.
"This is where Anna is..."
With a nervous expression, she gulped and stepped toward the door.
"Excuse me."
Then, without even waiting for Simon to open it, she swung the door open and entered on her own.
"Ah, you've arrived?"
Richard, who had been sitting on the living room sofa, stood up. With a kind smile, he extended his hand.
"You must've had a tough journey. I'm Richard Follentia, Anna's husband."
Goooooo...
Simon was startled. Lete had lowered her stance like a wild animal on high alert, radiating hostility.
As though mustering every ounce of patience, she ignored Richard's outstretched hand and bowed stiffly.
"...Pleased... to meet you. I'm Lete Shardena..."
As if bowing to a necromancer was itself a humiliation, her face turned beet red and her voice trembled.
Seeing this, Richard awkwardly withdrew his hand.
"Ah, my apologies. Anna is this way."
Richard stepped aside to show the way. Lete strode into the bedroom, and Simon followed behind.
"Ah."
The bag on her shoulder slipped and fell to the floor. Upon seeing Anna lying in bed, looking haggard and frail, Lete's pupils trembled dangerously.
"Professor Annaaaa!"
She ran forward, on the verge of tears, calling out Anna's name over and over again. A completely different person from how she'd acted with Simon and Richard.
"...Lete?"
Then Anna opened her eyes. Lete grabbed her hand with eyes full of emotion.
"Yes, Professor! It's me, Lete!"
"...I'm sorry, for making you come all this way."
"Ah, ahhh."
Tears welled up in her eyes, about to spill at any moment.
"I, I'll start the treatment right away!"
Lete frantically rummaged through her backpack and pulled out a potion fortified with multiple layers of defensive spells. Then, she shot a sharp glare at the two standing nearby.
"You two, you're in the way of the treatment, so I'd appreciate it if you waited outside."
With a voice as cold and cutting as the wind, she slammed the door shut with a bang!
Simon and Richard quietly stepped out into the living room.
"Will she really be alright?"
Simon asked in a worried voice, to which Richard replied with a wide grin.
"Don't worry. That girl holds absolute respect for Anna. And of course, her skills are top-notch too."
"Well, if she's attending Efnelle, that already means something…"
"She's not just any ordinary Efnelle student."
Richard leaned back into the sofa and continued speaking.
"Lete Shardena, the first-ranked entrant of Efnelle. Undisputed top student of the first-years."
Richard's gaze shifted to Simon.
"She's going to be your strongest rival moving forward."
* * *
A few hours after Lete entered the room, Anna had fully recovered.
The first thing she did after waking up and getting out of bed was roll up her sleeves and head straight to the kitchen.
"There's not much, but eat a lot!"
And soon, during the evening dinner, Simon and Lete were smiling awkwardly as they looked at the feast spread across the table.
"...This is what you call 'not much', Mom?"
The table legs looked like they might buckle under the sheer weight of the luxurious spread laid out before them.
Anna tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled shyly.
"Simon came home, and I was reunited with Lete, so I put in a little effort to celebrate."
"That's exactly what makes you amazing, Professor Anna!"
Lete, clasping her hands tightly, shouted with eyes full of admiration.
"I want to learn cooking from you too!"
"Of course, I'll teach you as much as you like. But for today, you're a guest, so just eat all you want."
"Yees~ Thank you so much!"
Lete answered sweetly, full of affection. But the moment her eyes met Simon's across the table, her face instantly turned cold again, and she muttered in a whisper.
"This meal would've been even better without a necromancer's ugly mug around."
Simon gave a bitter smile.
Being discriminated against as a necromancer wasn't pleasant, but no matter what anyone said, she was the one who saved Anna's life. He was so grateful that he decided to endure it while she stayed with them.
Anna placed a barbecue dish in the center of the table and sat down. Before eating, Lete and Anna prayed together, while Simon and Richard waited for them to finish before finally picking up their utensils.
'Wow, how long has it been since I had a home-cooked meal?'
Sure, Keyzen's meals were known for their taste, but nothing beat Anna's home cooking, he thought.
Simon carefully brought a slice of tomato omelet onto his plate.
"Simon, do you need more omelet?"
Anna asked with a warm smile.
"Ah, no! I just took one slice…"
"Wait just a moment!"
Anna sprang up from her seat and went to the kitchen, returning with an entire fresh plate of omelets and setting it down.
"Dear."
This time Richard spoke up.
"Today's meat pie is absolutely incredible."
"Oh, really? I'm so happy~ I'll go get another pan!"
"No, no! Wait a minute! I didn't mean to—!"
Even the mighty Richard couldn't stop Anna from heading back to the kitchen. A miracle was unfolding at the dinner table, where the food never seemed to run out no matter how much they ate.
Simon felt a true sense of being home and finally relaxed. The tension in his chest slowly melted away.
Feeling good, he reached out with his fork to take some cream pasta, but his eyes met Lete's. She was scrunching her face like she was utterly disgusted.
"What?"
"Nothing at all."
Lete snapped her head away. Now that he looked, she was only picking out the dishes that neither Simon nor Richard had touched.
Simon turned his fork and helped himself to another piece of the omelet he was already eating. In response, Lete swiftly spun her fork and scooped up a bundle of cream pasta.
"Oh my, Lete."
Anna, who had brought out another pan of meat pie and placed it in front of Richard, spoke up.
"Aren't you going to eat the tomato omelet? I made it with extra care since it's your favorite."
Lete hadn't touched it since Simon had taken the first slice. She flinched, her eyes shifting nervously.
"I-I was just about to...!"
"Did you not like it? Was the egg too thick? If you tell me what's wrong, I can make a fresh batch."
Simon and Richard looked at her with patient eyes.
After a long moment of fierce hesitation, Lete finally took a slice of the tomato omelet—one that Simon's utensils had touched—and forced a smile after tasting it.
"Wow, it's really delicious, Professor! This is the omelet of my life!"
"I'm glad. I'm so happy to hear you say that."
Lete sighed and touched her forehead in frustration. At that moment, Anna was walking back to the kitchen, chuckling softly.
Simon also chuckled quietly. So she had done it on purpose.
Time passed peacefully, and the meal came to an end. Everyone had eaten to the point of bursting.
There was a brief crisis when Anna announced she was going to make a seven-course dessert set, but it was a huge victory when everyone grabbed her pant legs and managed to talk her down.
"Mom, I'll do the dishes."
Simon stood up and offered.
Lete, who had been patting her full stomach without a care, immediately raised her hand high the moment she heard Simon speak.
"No! I'll do them!"
There was no way she could lose to a necromancer.
Seeing her burn with resolve, Anna smiled gently.
"Oh my, it's alright. You're a guest, Lete."
"I ate so much and everything was so delicious! Please let me help with at least the dishes~ You're not fully recovered yet, are you?"
As she said this, she glanced sideways at Simon.
Anna must have noticed the look too, because she looked back and forth between Simon and Lete, then clasped her hands together with a bright smile.
"Oh my, then it would be perfect if the two of you did it together~"
"Wh-what?"
With that decision made, Anna headed to the bedroom with Richard.
'Ah, this wasn't what I meant.'
Lete let out a small sigh. Then she rose from her seat, her face cold again.
"What are you waiting for? Let's get started."
"Uh, yeah."
The two began washing the dishes. Simon scrubbed each plate thoroughly to remove grease and stains, while Lete rinsed with water, wiped them dry with a cloth, and put them back in place.
For a while, the two stood side by side, focused on the clinking sounds of dishes.
"By the way."
Lete suddenly spoke.
"You're that special admission top-ranked student from Keyzen, right?"
"Yeah, that's right."
Setting down a plate she had just wiped, Lete quietly said,
"Once we're done with this, come outside. Let's have a match."