“Oh?” Austin asked. “Bullying a Bronze rank with a Silver rank? That’s interesting.”
“However, given the divine spell talent he’s shown, you might just capsize in a gutter if you pick him.”
Sylvia glanced at him. “And what’s your suggestion?”
“My suggestion is...” Austin said with a smile, “why not let me have him?”
Sylvia only responded with a cold sneer.
It was indeed quite immoral for a Silver rank to bully a Bronze rank.
But this was a Priest Assessment under the joint attention of His Majesty the Sage King and His Holiness the Pope. Anyone who performed exceptionally would have the chance to enter their sights and be noticed.
Faced with the temptation of such immense benefits, bullying the weak or lacking martial ethics meant nothing at all.
Why did both of them want to choose Leon?
It was naturally because Leon was the center of attention.
His extraordinary divine spell talent had made him the focus of all the Bishops and Archbishops in the stands.
Combined with his dual identity as the Prime Minister’s second son and the Hero of Solainem, Leon’s level of attention among all the priests was already at the top.
Therefore, if they could defeat him in the assessment, they could use him to significantly boost their own fame.
Sylvia and Austin both understood what the other was thinking. Sylvia asked, “Aren’t you afraid of capsizing in a gutter?”
Austin laughed. “I have confidence in myself.”
“Just as well, I have confidence in myself too,” Sylvia said coldly. “We’ll each rely on our own skills to claim him.”
Austin nodded upon hearing this.
His gaze swept over the other Silver rank priests; they were the top students of their respective academies.
Sensing Austin’s gaze, they exchanged looks, seeing a shared understanding in each other’s eyes.
His status as the Prime Minister’s second son was worth their wariness, and his status as the Hero of Solainem was worth their respect.
But this was the most highly regarded Priest Assessment, a stage for these young priests to display their strength and ambition.
If his strength was weak while his fame was great, then he couldn’t blame them for using him as a stepping stone for their promotion.
As for whether they would fail against Leon?
Austin shook his head and laughed. If they, as Silver rank priests, couldn’t even beat a Bronze rank priest, why were they even participating in the Priest Assessment?
They might as well go home and raise pigs.
Austin’s only concern at the moment was that Leon might not accept his challenge.
After all, in the upcoming combat phase, each priest only had three chances to challenge others.
With three chances and only one piece of meat for many wolves, it wouldn’t be easy to grab.
...
“Young Master, is the assessment over?”
Seeing Leon return to the ox-steed carriage, Old Hunter asked with some confusion.
“No, I came back to get some things,” Leon asked. “Are there any books?”
“Books?” Old Hunter hesitated for a moment. “There are no books prepared in the carriage. I’ll have a servant go back to the Duke’s Manor to get some right now. What kind of books would you like to read, Young Master?”
“Forget it, no need,” Leon said.
It didn't necessarily have to be a book; any other object with an allusion or a different meaning would do.
However, after scanning the inside of the carriage, Leon didn't find anything that fit his idea.
“Leon... Priest... eat... candy.”
Right then, Alicia, who had two lollipops stuffed in her mouth—one on the left and one on the right like the tusks of a wild boar—handed a lollipop to Leon.
This lollipop was something she had bought with her own wages on a street near the Duke’s Manor. It was sweet but not cloying, much better than the ordinary lollipops in Solainem.
Although the price was a bit higher, Alicia, who now had a fixed wage and no longer had to wander around begging for food, could afford it.
“Thank you for the kind offer, but I don't really feel like eating candy right now...”
Before Leon could finish his sentence, he suddenly turned his head and stared at the lollipop Alicia was holding out.
That’s it!
It didn't have to be a book; something like a lollipop would work too!
Leon’s eyes lit up, and he immediately asked, “Alicia, do you have any more lollipops?”
“Yes! Leon... Priest!”
Hearing Leon ask, Alicia reached into her waist pocket and pulled out a large handful of lollipops in various flavors.
With a smile on her face, like a child sharing her favorite candy with a companion, she said, “They’re... all... here! For... you!”
Alicia gave all the lollipops she was carrying to Leon.
“Thank you, but I don't need that many.”
Leon took two or three lollipops and then hurriedly stepped back down from the carriage.
“Young Master, do you still need the books?”
Old Hunter shouted from the carriage.
“No need, I’ve found a better image anchor!”
...
When Priest Leon returned from the entrance of the Great Sacred Light Square, the eyes of the priests gathered on him once again.
More precisely, they were gathered on the lollipop dangling from the corner of his mouth.
“A lollipop? Isn't that something children eat?”
“Fiona! Don't you think... the way Priest Leon looks with a lollipop... is a bit cute?”
“Ah? You think so too?! I felt that way the moment he walked back in! The second son of a ducal family, a hero praised by His Majesty, a genius priest with terrifying divine spell talent, and yet... he actually likes eating lollipops!”
As a genius valued even by the Archbishops, Leon’s simple act of eating a lollipop immediately sparked a flurry of discussion among the other priests.
Leon seemed completely oblivious to these discussions as he walked straight back to his original position.
“Would you like one?” At that moment, he looked at a female priest who had been staring at him since he entered the Great Sacred Light Square.
“Ah?” The female priest was stunned.
Leon pulled a blueberry-flavored lollipop from his pocket and said, “A lollipop. Would you like one?”
The female priest was instantly delighted. Looking flattered, she asked cautiously, “I... can I?”
“Of course.”
As Leon spoke, he pressed the blueberry lollipop into the female priest’s hand.
Looking at the lollipop in her hand, the female priest reflexively swallowed.
She was the daughter of a Viscount and never lacked for various delicious candies.
But at this moment, this seemingly ordinary candy made her mouth water.
“This is a candy given by Priest Leon...”
At that thought, the female priest tore off the paper wrapper and popped it into her mouth.
“So sweet!”
The female priest was instantly plunged into the joy of eating something sweet.
But the sweet was not the point.
The point was that after this interaction, the female priest suddenly felt that the divine spell genius, who had always worn a distant and lofty expression, had suddenly become a concrete, vivid, and real figure.
It was as if he had transformed from an unreachable deity into a person one could meet in daily life.
This feeling made the female priest instantly feel that the divine spell genius before her was actually not that intimidating.
Instead, she felt an... indescribable sense of closeness.
...
After a short break, the Priest Assessment continued.
The content of the third phase was the main event of the entire assessment.
This phase was called the “Divine Spell Combat Assessment.”
Rate on N.U.
