Chapter 162
"...?"
Simon was startled by the sudden proposal. Lete set down her plate and gave a sly smile.
"What? Are you scared?"
"No, it's not like that."
A duel with the one who had saved his parents' lives. If they were caught, it would end in more than just a scolding, but Simon felt genuinely intrigued.
The biggest assignment given by Keyzen over this vacation was "competitiveness in the Great Priest Battle"
If he could get a chance to fight Efnelle's first-year number one, wouldn't he be able to gain a lot of insight?
"Where would it be?"
He decided to ask for now.
"Miss Anna would be worried. As long as it's somewhere away from here, it shouldn't be a problem."
Lete responded in her characteristically cynical tone while wiping her plate.
"But are you sure about this? I've got a bit of a strange constitution."
"Ah—stop talking crap already."
She glared and growled.
"You're acting all smug just because you took a holiness attack and came out fine? You're so dead."
With words like that, there was no way Simon's fighting spirit wouldn't ignite.
"Maybe breaking that pride of yours will finally tame you a bit."
"Whaaat? Tame me? You come out here right no—!"
Swoosh.
Suddenly, a hand on their shoulders made both of them flinch. They slowly turned around like broken dolls.
"Just now, you two."
Anna's smiling face came into view.
"Could I hear what you were talking about?"
In the end, both of them were dragged to the master bedroom and got scolded badly.
The House of Follentia now had a new forbidden word. Even the word "duel" could no longer be mentioned under that roof.
Tap tap tap.
After a hearty dinner and cleaning up, Simon sat on the sofa in front of the fireplace, the firewood crackling as it burned. He pulled out his Darkness Dynamics homework and began working on it.
He tapped the blank space of the paper with his quill, reluctantly writing out answers.
He just couldn't focus. Maybe it was because he had just eaten, but he felt full and sleepy.
'It'd be better to finish this tomorrow.'
As Simon closed his book and let out a yawn, Lete, now in pajamas, came out into the living room.
"Huh? That outfit..."
"Yes, as you can see, Miss Anna lent it to me. Does it suit me?"
She spun in place as she said that.
Thinking that she did have more girlish qualities than he expected, Simon replied,
"Yeah. It su—"
"Shut up. I don't want compliments from trash like you."
What did she even want from him?
"Anyway, Miss Anna said she's thirsty. Go fetch two glasses of water."
Leaving only that, Lete turned on her heel and vanished into the master bedroom.
If not for the fact that she was the one who saved his parents' lives, Simon would've loved to give her a good smack. He stood up with a sigh.
"Ah."
After only a few steps, Lete poked her head out of the room again.
"Just saying, but you're not actually going to bring just water, right? Even trashy necromancers have enough sense to bring some fruit on a tray."
"…You…"
Lete disappeared again, clearly not interested in hearing any rebuttals. Beyond the wall, she could be heard whining endlessly to Anna.
"Sigh."
Lete was technically a guest of honor. Just as Simon sighed and went to get some fruit—
"Hey."
Suddenly, Lete poked her head out again.
"If you spit in the water, I'll kill you."
"..."
She pointed to her eyes with her index and middle fingers, then turned those fingers toward Simon, silently saying: I'm watching you. Then, back into the room she went.
'Moral education is urgently needed. Dear faculty of Efnelle.'
Simon obediently fetched two glasses of water and peeled some fruit nicely, then brought it into the master bedroom.
Inside, Anna was lying on the bed, smiling, and Lete, in her pajamas, was lying on her stomach with her legs swaying as she chatted away. When Anna stroked her hair, Lete beamed like a puppy.
'Why do I feel like my mom's been taken from me?'
As Simon put down the tray with a sour expression, Lete suddenly turned her head sharply.
"You enter a lady's room without knocking? Guess you necromancers skipped manners class for too long. Seems like etiquette education is more urgent than black magic at Keyzen."
"…Come on, the door was open."
"Don't be too hard on him, Lete."
"Yees~ Miss."
With astonishing speed, Lete cuddled up to Anna's chest.
Simon, used to this now, simply turned to leave the room.
"Sleep well, my son."
Anna said with a warm smile. A faint smile finally crept onto Simon's face.
"Good night, Mom."
* * *
Simon was walking through the Keyzen campus.
Familiar sights, familiar alleys, familiar uniforms.
As he strolled along thoughtlessly, someone called his name.
He looked up to see Maelyn waving at him from the second-floor window of a building. Her clubmates were beside her.
Simon raised a hand to wave back.
Boom.
The building exploded. Maelyn's body inside disintegrated without a trace.
Then came the sounds of laughing and chatting behind him.
When Simon spun around, he saw Dick rallying Class A students and giving a speech while laughing loudly. Simon ran toward them, shouting at them to run away.
Boom.
The building collapsed, burying Dick and Class A under rubble.
Simon stood frozen, staring at the scene. He couldn't do anything.
'Ah.'
From the darkness now stumbled Kamibarez, injured and staggering.
'No. Kami!'
This time, he had to save her. Simon clenched his teeth and ran to embrace her.
Chomp!
She bit into Simon's arm. Her body had already turned pale gray, she was a zombie.
Simon's pupils trembled.
Squelch!
Finally—
A black cross pierced through the bodies of Simon and Kamibarez.
Simon coughed up blood and looked behind him.
Click, clack.
Footsteps echoed. A red-haired woman in a black suit stood over them.
"Excessive curiosity kills the cat."
White flames surged around her like a massive tidal wave. The pale fire devoured everything in Keyzen as it approached.
[You should have left Keyzen back then.]
As the world was engulfed in white flame, it began to obliterate everyone Simon held dear, one by one.
Simon screamed.
"...Huhuh!"
He jolted awake, gasping for breath.
Looking around, he realized he was in his room. His whole body was drenched in sweat, his back soaked through.
'It was a dream. It's already over, so why am I having such a nightmare...'
Suddenly parched, Simon climbed out of bed and headed toward the living room.
His room was on the second floor. As he walked down the creaky stairs, his face began to flush with heat.
'Why is it so hot?'
And the moment he descended the last step and stepped into the living room—
Whoooosh!
White flames spread throughout the entire living room.
It was so surreal it felt like a continuation of the dream. The ceiling collapsed, the walls of the house were consumed in flame, and through the gaping hole, the night sky could be seen.
"...Ah."
There was no doubt.
This was definitely Plema's White Flame.
In the middle of the living room, Lete sat on the floor with a dazed expression. Simon rushed over and shook her by the shoulders.
"What's wrong? Lete! What happened?"
She, trembling, pointed toward the master bedroom with a shaking finger.
"Miss Anna is...!"
"!"
Fwoooosh!
Anna was burning in White Flame. She screamed in pain and writhed as the fire consumed her. Each time she moved, the flame followed, spreading through the house.
"Mom!"
As a massive shock overwhelmed him, Simon's mind kicked into high gear.
Was Plema actually alive and launching a retaliatory attack on their home? No, Neftis wouldn't make such a mistake. And this wasn't an external attack, it looked like Anna herself was generating the White Flame.
Then, is Lete the mastermind behind it all? That didn't seem right either. The way she collapsed helplessly on the floor, sobbing and crying out for her teacher, felt entirely genuine.
"Both of you, step back."
Wuuuuuung!
A pitch-black darkness magic circle unfolded across the house.
A massive coffin emerged above the magic circle, and pitch-black cloth streamed from it like a shroud.
"Hmph!"
Richard swung both arms. The black cloth from the coffin extended toward Anna.
"Wait! Are you crazy?"
Lete lunged forward and grabbed Richard by the collar.
"Miss Anna is a priest! What do you think you're doing with Darkness?"
"The White Flame is a Saint's technique. It has the divine authority to burn Darkness."
Richard answered calmly.
"In a case like this, the only option is to inject an opposing element—Darkness—to suppress the White Flame's momentum."
"..."
Lete had already tried every kind of holy magic, blessing, and healing spell she could think of, but none had worked.
Eventually, she let go of Richard's collar and stepped back.
Shhhhhh!
Following Richard's command, the black cloth wrapped itself around Anna's body. The White Flame immediately burned the cloth away, but more continued to pour from the coffin, endlessly coiling around Anna.
The White Flame burned the cloth, the cloth wrapped around Anna, and that cycle repeated countless times.
In the end, Richard won the battle. The flames gradually subsided, and Anna's body, now only her face visible, was wrapped like a mummy in black bandages.
Her face looked utterly exhausted. Simon bit his lip, and Lete turned away, unable to watch.
"I'm sorry, Anna. I will now seal you."
Srrrrrk.
Sealing formulas were etched across the cloth binding Anna's body, and the White Flame's power began to weaken. Richard, visibly relieved, carefully laid Anna down on the floor.
"Miss Anna!!"
Lete ran over, tears streaming down her face. Though her entire body was wrapped in bandages with only her face visible, Anna was still smiling weakly.
"I'm fine, Lete."
"D-Did this happen because of me...? Was there something wrong with the medicine I brought...!"
"No, it's not your fault."
She shook her head, then looked past Lete to someone behind her.
"My son."
Thump.
Simon's legs gave out, and he dropped to one knee, staggering.
"...Mom."
"I'm sorry I showed you such a weak side, even though you came home after so long."
Simon forced a smile, doing his best to look strong.
"I'm fine. Please rest well, Mom."
Then Anna gently closed her eyes. Richard, clearly worn out, glanced around at the burnt-down house and spoke.
"Let's talk somewhere else."
* * *
Leaving behind the charred wooden house, Richard headed to Charles' home.
It was close to their place, and next to Charles' house there was a vacant building previously used as an annex. They decided to stay there for the time being.
"It must've been a sudden request, thank you for accommodating us, Charles."
"What are you saying, Milord! Please, stay as long as you like. I even did a deep clean just last week, it should be spotless!"
After chatting briefly with Charles, Richard entered the building.
Anna, completely wrapped in black bandages, was asleep in bed. Sitting by her side with worried expressions were Simon and Lete.
"Please tell us, Father."
Simon said with a firm face.
"What happened to Mom?"
"...Yes."
Richard closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. Then, with a grave expression, he spoke.
"Anna has become the Saint of Purification."