By Zephyria 
“May grace, favor, and virtue overflow upon this continent. La Prira Et-sa.”
I opened my closed eyes and sat up straight.
It was the third Tuesday of October, Professor Blanc Cooper’s Growth and Reflection class. I had grown accustomed to clasping my hands in prayer before each class began.
Thanks to the prayers, I learned to think deeply about what I wished for and what I needed to do.
However, neither in the Central Plains nor in my current life did I know how to follow or revere any kind of anthropomorphic deity.
Vague, grand, and ambiguous concepts often confused me. I would sometimes wonder if it was the work of a supreme being that brought me to this land, only to then consider what if it all happened without any purpose.
Blanc Cooper was a truly gentle man. He conducted most of his lectures without writing anything down, weaving tales like ancient stories from a single book placed before him. Because of this, all of us children, myself included, sat quietly and listened without picking up our pens.
As he raised his arm, his sleeve rustled and slid down his wrist.
“Today, we will talk about Divine Power. Here in Shierun, it is not easy to meet priests who possess Divine Power. This is because Divine Power is not a force awakened through learning, but one cultivated through long years of discipline.”
Cooper raised both hands to shoulder-width apart, palms facing outward. Everyone focused their gaze on his empty palms. He then brought his hands together and placed them on his chest. He tilted his head up, looking towards the sky. He moved his clasped hands from his chest up to his chin, then his nose, and finally touched his forehead once before pulling away.
Then, light appeared.
There was no other way to describe it but ‘appeared.’ A sphere of light, only about a finger’s length, rolled from Blanc Cooper’s forehead to his hand, and from his hand to his palm. I watched without blinking.
It was a force gentler and purer than Mana. A light weaker and kinder than Aura.
I had thought I was familiar with the various forms and shapes of this land’s energies after learning about Mana and Aura, but that was a mistake.
That pure force resembled internal energy.
If I hadn’t compared and examined Mana, Aura, and internal energy each time, it would have been difficult to distinguish.
I understood why Boulder and Douglas hadn’t probed the origins of internal energy. They must have thought it wasn’t an evil force.
With a renewed sense of gratitude, I focused my gaze on Blanc Cooper’s fingertips.
“In our last class, we discussed the ranks of priests. Priests and Paladins who have received the title of ‘La’ can use Divine Power. This noble energy, which vanishes the moment faith is broken, possesses the power of blessing and healing.”
Blanc Cooper calmly spoke of the efficacy of sincere faith. His gentle voice was filled with unwavering belief and praise for the god he served.
From my perspective, priests who could use Divine Power seemed to be those who had awakened their Upper Dantian first.
I had been greatly surprised and amazed when I saw a Wizard who had awakened their Middle Dantian without their Lower Dantian, but a cleric who awakened their Upper Dantian directly, bypassing both the Lower and Middle Dantians, seemed even more extraordinary.
I, who had only just learned how to use my Middle Dantian, could not yet use internal energy and Aura together.
While I could use internal energy and Aura separately, using Aura distinctly put a strain on my body. This remained the case even after repeated experiments. I suspected the solution might lie in this Divine Power.
Blanc Cooper, who had dispersed the faint light by bringing it to his lips and swallowing it, continued speaking kindly.
“It is said that the root of religion lies in the center of the continent, in Felix. The Grand Temple of Felix is home to hundreds of priests and Paladins. If you ever have the chance, I hope you will tread upon the holy land yourself and feel the grace of God.”
Felix.
I decided I should visit that kingdom, said to be closest to the Shatun Desert, someday.
As soon as I thought that, I remembered Bill Brown pestering me to go on a trip. I decided to take things easy.
The Growth and Reflection class was also a class that all my close friends attended together.
As a result, after class on Tuesdays, we would often have dinner together, talking and laughing. It was the same today. We sat around the round table at our usual restaurant, raising our voices in laughter and chatter.
“If I were, uh, just a 6th Circle, I could be a Count!”
“Marianne, you’ll fall if you lean like that.”
“I will surely repay this enemy eightfold!”
“Will eightfold be enough? Let’s repay them twentyfold. Sit down, sit down.”
The other children all knew what had happened to Marianne. Not a single one of them tried to stop her when she said she would go to the Yuil Mountains right after graduation.
Marianne had declared her grand dream of becoming an Archmage within five years.
Now, with the second year of academy almost over, the children all had concrete dreams they wanted to pursue after graduation. Most of the children at Shierun Academy were like that.
They were children accustomed to constantly being asked and answering questions like “What do you like?” and “What do you want to be when you grow up?” from a very young age.
These were children who, after endless thought and deliberation, chose one of the six faculties based on what they liked, and then carefully navigated the continuing branching paths within it.
It was natural for their thoughts to be so deep and detailed. Even though they were young children, there was so much to learn from them.
Ivan, who had succeeded in coaxing Marianne to sit down, brought up a soft-hearted remark.
“It’s a little lonely that three of us are going to the Yuil Mountains.”
“That’s right. We’ll barely see each other after graduation…”
“Still, I hope we can see each other once a year. The new year festival is held in the capital every year.”
“Will it be easy to make it to the new year festival while hunting monsters…? It might be better to aim for the vacation season.”
Jenny, Damian, and Shayden also couldn’t hide their disappointment.
Among them, Jenny seemed the most crestfallen. After all, she had gotten quite close to Marianne. Seeing Jenny pout, Marianne, with a melting expression, tightly grasped Jenny’s hand and spoke softly.
“It’s still a year away.”
“Still…”
“I’ll come visit often. You have to play with me when you come to the capital.”
It was heartwarming to see the children making promises by interlocking their fingers. I, too, offered my finger as usual.
❖ ❖ ❖
Thursday dawn. Marianne, who had trained diligently for a month, had significantly improved her stamina. This was thanks to her consistently coming to the training ground before me every morning, weekdays and weekends alike, and diligently doing what I instructed.
At first, she would pant as if she would vomit even after just a few laps around the training ground, but now she could run five laps in one go. It was a truly pleasing sight.
I ran with Marianne until she was out of breath and supervised her simple exercises like horse stance and push-ups to build muscle.
Training a child’s basic stamina was something I had done for over ten years in my past life. Just by looking at their breathing and posture, I could tell if a child was working hard or slacking off.
That’s why I cheered Marianne on even more. I could start having her lift heavy objects from the end of this month. I became even more affectionate towards her, finding her so commendable.
Towards the end of our morning training, we would also have brief conversations.
For the first week, Marianne struggled so much that even breathing was difficult. Now that she had gotten a little used to it, seeing her chatter away so quickly made me laugh every time I interacted with her, thinking she’d float if she fell into water.
Marianne usually brought up topics like Glotin Tenner, who had suddenly taken a leave of absence and disappeared, or curses directed at the Combine Baekjakga and Oliver Combine.
However, she would occasionally bring up interesting stories.
Today’s topic was about her own upcoming Debutante.
As my Debutante drew nearer, Marianne became even more excited, chattering about what kind of dress to wear and advising me to be polite in my demeanor.
After listening for a while, I suddenly remembered something and opened my mouth.
“Speaking of which… I heard there’s a sequence where everyone dances together.”
“Oh, right. You know about it? It’s because there might be Young Ladies and Young Masters attending the Debutante that year who don’t know anyone, so they might not be able to dance. The Dance of Spring and Summer is something everyone does.”
“Hmm.”
“Michael won’t be dancing, right? You said you hated dancing before.”
“Is it an event I can skip?”
“Uh, well… what can be done if they dislike it? Usually, everyone dances, though…”
Indeed, Rubel’s words were right. I recalled the fellow who had diligently put on a show for me and couldn’t help but smile.
“I probably will… join in.”
“Huh? You learned to dance? No, when?”
“Yes. Senior Rubel taught me.”
“Wh-what?”
Seeing Marianne’s eyes widen, I shrugged. Marianne, who seemed to be thinking about something, smiled bashfully and put on a proud expression.
“Wow, as expected. I had a feeling.”
“Hmm?”
“Well, there are many reasons, but Michael is also the opposite of Wesley Kiadris.”
“Hmph.”
“That senior always takes care of Michael, doesn’t he? To make Michael do something he dislikes, you’d probably need… someone like the Second Prince, I’ve always thought…”
Since Rubel never hid the fact that he took care of me, the first part was easy to understand. But to say that one needed to be a Prince to make me do something I disliked, did she think I was weak to power? I asked again, puzzled.
“What do you mean?”
“Well… Ah, is it okay to say this?”
Marianne pondered, then placed both hands on her cheeks, resting her chin on them. She looked at me intently, appearing both shy and mischievous, then chuckled.
“That senior likes Michael, you know.”
“…Ah.”
How did this child know that, too?
Lost in thought, I couldn’t reply and remained quiet. Marianne, observing my expression, then straightened her hands and looked down at the training ground floor, where sand lay white.
“Well, it’s just what I think.”
“To Marianne, does it seem like he likes me…?”
“Ah, well, I didn’t know before, actually.”
“…You didn’t know?”
“Before, there was a time when Michael was sighing a lot, right? That’s when I knew.”
“…How?”
Marianne now looked away, feigning ignorance.