Chapter 71

The Saintess and the Hero:

The students were clearly unhappy, and Sadia noticed it right away.

“Oh my! You all have no compassion at all. You’re heartless! I’m worried about the future if people like you are going to rule the world.”

‘You’re no better,’ the students thought. ‘You treat us harshly too. Why are you scolding us for not feeling sorry for someone who tried to feed us trash?’

‘It’s the baker who had no compassion—feeding that to growing students is crazy!’

The students were shocked by her harsh words.

“Well then,” Sadia said, “you all need to learn to appreciate your meals. That means you’ll help with farming. It’ll also help you practice basic life magic. Usually, Professor Dneuve or Lady Vurem would teach this, but I’ll do it specially this time.”

“…”

Everyone was tired of how Sadia acted like she was doing them a favor. She was beautiful, yes, but her energy-draining classes were exhausting.

“Let’s start by learning the digging spell. You’ve learned telekinesis, right? This is a type of it. It’s well-structured and uses little magic power.”

Sadia created a floating screen in the air using illusion magic and showed them the structure of the digging spell.

‘It’s like telekinesis, just with a fixed direction and force like a plow. The chant is easy too.’

The magic chant was “Para!” Everyone found it simple to pronounce, even students from different countries.

‘Huh, this time there’s no special benefit for being Korean. Oh well, I guess I’ve had it too easy until now,’ Idnia thought.

Idnia focused and studied the magic properly.

“Now let’s make teams,” Sadia said.

She once again made teams based on social status. Idnia was paired with Bolson from Boreas dorm again.

Marie was paired with Rudolf once more.

“You’ll work in pairs to practice the digging magic and make rows in the field. Not too deep or too shallow. The farm owner will tell you the right depth.”

An old, strict-looking man came out. He looked like Gibbles, the strict gatekeeper.

“If you’re really here to help, fine. But if it turns out you destroyed our oven, I won’t forgive you! My family has served the Academy for generations!”

“…”

Everyone realized this old man was the bakery owner. He was angry because he believed the students had destroyed his oven, which was actually caused by the student-owned restaurant.

‘Even if Prince Lorenzo really did it, what could this old man do to punish him?’ the students thought.

At that moment, Bolson greeted Idnia.

“It’s an honor to be your partner again, Lady Idnia. I think Professor Sadia wants to keep us together.”

“Oh, Bolson. Do you know anything about this spell?”

“Yes, I learned it during military training. We used it to dig trenches.”

“Great. Then please watch my spell and tell me if I make any mistakes.”

Idnia raised her wand.

“Para!”

With a glow, the ground in front of her opened cleanly. She used the spell to push the dirt forward.

“That was amazing. Nothing to fix at all,” said Bolson.

“Thanks. Let’s try it together.”

“Haha. I hope I don’t slow you down.”

Bolson also used the spell. His result was about 20% less than Idnia’s.

Then Fiona used the spell.

“Para!”

Her trench was even deeper and longer—over 40% more than Idnia’s.

“Wow!”

“She really is a genius from Notos!”

Then everyone turned to look at Isolde and Rudolf.

Isolde’s spell was slightly better than Fiona’s. But Rudolf’s spell was the best—much deeper and longer.

“Don’t worry, everyone. This isn’t all that magic is about,” Rudolf said shyly.

He wasn’t proud of winning this time. He knew Isolde had better knowledge and Idnia had better control and leadership. This spell only measured raw magic power.

‘Wait a second…’ Idnia thought as she looked at Marie, who was paired with Rudolf.

Marie hesitated, holding her wand.

She knew that if she used the spell, her result would be even greater than Rudolf’s.

‘Should I really do this? If I outshine the prince, will the nobles be offended? Maybe I should use less power. But I’m not good at controlling magic. I just have a lot of it…’

While Marie was overthinking everything, Idnia called out:

“Marie!”

“Yes, Lady Idnia?”

“Go ahead.”

“But…”

“It’s okay. You’re a saintess candidate and a student of Eurus. Don’t be afraid to stand out. Maybe there’ll even be a reward for the best performance!”

Idnia knew what Marie was worried about and encouraged her with a smile.

“Do it for Eurus Dorm. If you get the reward, it’ll help all of us.”

Marie smiled at that.

‘Lady Idnia is amazing. She’s giving me the courage I need. If it’s for Eurus Dorm, I can do it!’

Marie picked up her wand.

“Para!”

Suddenly, the earth exploded upward. A massive trench, over 10 meters long, was formed—like a giant monster had torn through the ground.

“Whoa?!”

“That’s on another level!”

“She really is the saintess candidate!”

Even Rudolf, Carl, and Lorenzo were amazed by her magic.

Rudolf looked at the field Marie had created and thought:

‘As expected, raw power wins in this kind of spell. She’s a real saintess. If she is chosen, I must bring her under the empire’s cardinal, not the Holy See.’

He knew about the political struggle between the emperor and the Pope. If Marie joined the emperor’s side, it would be a big advantage.

So, he approached her and praised her directly.

“Excellent work, Lady Marie of Astraea. You truly seem blessed.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“By the way, I once invited you to join the Zephyros dorm study group, didn’t I?”

“Yes… I’m sorry, but I must decline. If I join another dorm’s group, people might misunderstand.”

“I see. Then how about having tea with me and Isolde tomorrow morning after breakfast?”

“Huh?”

“I never found a proper place to hold the study session, so we didn’t do it. But I still want to get to know you better.”

“Oh! Thank you, I’d be honored.”

Marie blushed and looked nervous at his offer.

Meanwhile…

“Tsk. So Crown Prince Rudolf has started to act. I guess when he does move, he shows his true power,” Carl muttered.

He turned to his followers.

“What do you all think?”

“She’s definitely powerful. Anyone would believe she’s the true saintess.”

“She is the saintess. But there’s also another candidate.”

“In any case, Lady Idnia is too high in status. If we want someone we can use, the commoner girl is a better choice.”

“Saintess or not, she’s too talented to give away.”

Carl agreed.

“But how do we ‘get’ her?”

“…Well…”

“We’ve never dated a girl before…”

The boys from Boreas dorm, who came from the north with Carl, were all clueless.

“I didn’t mean it that way!” Carl snapped. “I meant find out what she wants and make her an offer.”

“But what do girls want?”

“If you met a girl, what would you give her?”

“Um… a brand-new sharp sword? Or a throwing axe?”

“Ooh, I’d want one too!”

“I’m an idiot for asking…”

Carl sighed deeply.

‘We northerners really aren’t good at this. I wish I were smoother like a southerner.’

At the same time…

Fiona, the papal agent from the south, stared at Marie’s trench in shock.

“Ugh… I lost. She really is a saintess candidate.”

Lorenzo comforted her.

“Don’t be discouraged. We’re still growing. Your magic can improve.”

“But even older mages rarely have her level of power. She must be the saintess.”

“What about Lady Idnia?”

“She’s a candidate too… She did receive a divine message, but… she doesn’t feel like a saintess.”

“Then what does she feel like?”

“…More like a hero.”

Fiona answered—and was surprised by her own words.