“…Saintess, you win.”
Shilo let out a heavy sigh, as if all the strength had been drained from his body.
Unlike him, Lintis cheerfully made a victory sign.
A smile spreading across her face, she blinked and in an instant appeared beside Shilo, giving his back a couple of firm pats.
“Alright, alright, come on, don’t look so down, Mr. Shilo… we still need to get back to class.”
Sure enough, the moment the word “class” was mentioned, Shilo’s spirits perked right back up, making Lintis cover her mouth with a hand and stifle a laugh.
Before Mr. Shilo could look over, she quickly wiped the smile off her face and put on a serious expression.
“Little Shilo, let me test you—where were we just now?”
Shilo rolled his eyes. Already exhausted from the morning, he couldn’t be bothered to complain anymore.
“Saintess, we were just discussing the extension of divine power.”
“Oh oh, right, right.”
“Then let’s continue. From the demonstration just now, did you notice anything, Mr. Shilo?”
Hearing this, Shilo lowered his head slightly in thought, then said with some uncertainty:
“It seemed like you concentrated divine power into a droplet and shot it out, but it felt like there was something connecting your fingertip and that droplet.”
Lintis blinked, a hint of surprise on her face.
“Mr. Shilo… you actually noticed that?”
“Huh?” Shilo froze, not quite understanding.
Without further explanation, Lintis circled around Shilo a few times, her eyes scanning him from head to toe as if examining a rare animal.
Only when he started to feel uncomfortable under her gaze did she step back, raise one finger, and speak slowly:
“Mr. Shilo, you’re right. There really is a connection between the droplet and the fingertip—it’s a thread formed by divine power that has been diluted several thousand times.”
“Such a thread can’t form any effective attack, but because of its flexibility, it can serve as a relay point, allowing for attacks from many tricky angles.”
“For example… like this.”
As she spoke, a golden droplet appeared at Lintis’s fingertip again. The next moment, it split into five smaller droplets.
Those five droplets detached from her fingertip, flew at high speed, dodged the falling leaves in their path at extreme angles and distances, and precisely struck the same branch.
The branch snapped with a sound, fell to the ground, and broke into several pieces.
Watching all this, Shilo’s eyes went wide. Honestly, if not for the deliberate traces left behind, he would have barely been able to track the droplets’ movement.
Seeing his stunned expression, Lintis’s lips curled upward a little more. She put her hands on her hips with a hint of pride.
“This is the Puncture Sword. Even though it’s just a basic knight-level divine technique, its properties allow it to work wonders time and again.”
“What I demonstrated was simply using divine power itself to create an effect. The Puncture Sword applies that attack trait to swordsmanship.”
“So, how about it, Mr. Shilo? Want to learn?”
He knew full well that the Saintess was teasing him with that sly smile, but Shilo couldn’t resist the desire in his heart. His face slightly red, he nodded.
That made her smile even brighter.
“Then I’ll teach you.”
…
Time passed minute by minute.
Shilo stood in the open space, holding in his hand a white longsword that looked somewhat unstable.
The tip of the sword kept extending a little, like a snake flicking its tongue, then immediately retracting.
Suddenly, the longsword stretched out by nearly a meter, and the next moment the blade shattered like glass.
Shilo frowned slightly. He didn’t dwell on the failure; he immediately gathered another white longsword in his hand.
Meanwhile, Lintis was lying back in a rocking chair, with a small table set up in front of her. She sipped juice and nibbled on cookies, occasionally calling out to interrupt and correct Shilo’s mistakes, looking very relaxed.
Why? Because the theory had already been taught. All that remained was for Mr. Shilo to work hard on his own.
Come to think of it… Mr. Shilo really is improving fast…
Swallowing another cookie, Lintis watched him curiously.
From the very beginning, he had been able to sense the threads formed by her divine power, and soon after that, he mastered the technique of [Divine Power Shaping].
With that talent, even compared to the students at Aresia University where she used to study, Mr. Shilo would be considered an honors student.
And that university was the best in all of “Aresia.”
Was this also an effect of the divine power mutation?
Lintis wasn’t sure, but it was a good thing regardless.
Then again…
Her mind drifted back to the morning’s events.
When her divine power had come into contact with Mr. Shilo’s divine power, it had shown a tendency to merge, and because of that, she had felt a difference coming from his divine power.
Just as Mr. Shilo had said, it was information…
Information of reluctance.
That had startled her at first, and just as she was about to investigate further, a strange reaction had suddenly coursed through her body.
It was like… the sensation of someone touching her skin…
Terrified, she had quickly withdrawn her divine power, only to find herself in an uncomfortably close distance with Mr. Shilo…
What was she doing?
Wasn’t that practically throwing herself into his arms?
Her mind went blank for a moment, her heart raced out of rhythm, and her cheeks burned.
Embarrassed, she had quickly pushed Mr. Shilo away, retreating several meters to calm down.
And then… that idiot!
When he spoke, what was that look of reminiscence on his face!?
Pervert! Total pervert!
Even after that, when he tried to comfort her, he acted like it wasn’t his fault at all, which made her even angrier.
But with her stomach growling, she had to come up with some excuse to drop the subject so she could enjoy her breakfast.
Hmph!
That idiot definitely didn’t notice a thing!
Her thoughts returned to the present. Lintis sat up and stretched, feeling the sunlight on her skin, letting out a comfortable sigh.
She glanced at Mr. Shilo’s progress. He could now stabilize the shape of the longsword fairly well, not as unstable as before.
The reason she had him practice forming a longsword with his own divine power was partly to help him adapt to his body, and partly to train his control over divine power output.
Precise control of divine power was the prerequisite for all divine techniques.
Given Mr. Shilo’s rate of improvement, he should be able to master the Puncture Sword by today.
With that talent, barring any accidents, he might grow to Ifreya’s level.
It’s just… Isol City is too small… If Mr. Shilo wants to grow, he’ll have to go out and see the world.
Lintis pondered, then clapped her hands.
When it was time for her to leave, she would write him a letter of recommendation!
Then Mr. Shilo could take that letter and go explore other places. Maybe they’d even run into each other again~
Hehe, well, I am the Saintess, after all~
Anyway… speaking of which, it’s already noon…
Lintis called out to Shilo, who was focused on training: “Mr. Shilo, it’s time to cook. I’m hungry!”
Hearing this, Shilo, interrupted from his training, twitched the corner of his mouth. He tightened his grip on the longsword, reluctant to let go. He felt he was just about to succeed.
“Saintess, could you trouble yourself to make something today? I feel I’m just a step away from mastering the Puncture Sword,” Shilo suggested.
Though it was a fairly reasonable suggestion, Lintis only puffed out her cheeks, looked at him with a face full of resentment, and spoke slowly, word by word, with deadly seriousness.
“I! DON’T! WANT! TO!”
“……”