Just like that, Shulim continuously darted back and forth among the golems. She didn't launch a single attack during this time, but the golems' injuries accumulated rapidly.
Once the first golem was completely knocked down by its companion, the rest also fell one after another in less than ten minutes. In the end, only one golem remained, its entire body covered in cracks and its movements extremely stiff, yet it still moved steadfastly toward Shulim.
Shulim could only expend what little remained of her mana to handle it herself.
By the time only a messy pile of golem wreckage remained on the ground, Shulim collapsed as well. She hadn't felt it during the battle, but the moment the fight ended, the aftermath hit her. Engaging in such a high-intensity, fierce battle and maintaining it for so long left every muscle in her body screaming in pain, leaving her without even the strength to lift a single finger.
“My, my, do you not even have the strength to speak~?”
Semilis continued to tease Shulim, acting as if she hadn't noticed Shulim's glare at all.
“Alright, it is time for you to get up~. Restore!”
A green light washed over Shulim. Her body, which had been too sore to move just moments ago, instantly surged with vitality, and all of her pain vanished.
“Heave-ho!”
Shulim did a kip-up, flipping right off the ground to stand.
Moving her body, she found that she had fully recovered to her original state—no, if anything, she felt even stronger than when she had started?
She glanced sideways at Semilis.
Well... ... being so reliable in this regard made her a bit less annoying.
“How is it? Fully revived~?”
Semilis said with a smug look as she watched Shulim stretch her limbs.
“... ...”
... ...Taking that back. Seeing that smiling face, the anger that had just started to die down flared right back up.
“Hey... ... Semilis,”
“Oh, what is it, Shulim? If you want to thank me, there is no need to be shy and keep it to yourself. I will gladly accept it.”
“Actually, you are really unpopular in Tiramsuin, aren't you?”
“Huh?! How did you kn—ah, no! That is not true at all! Wh-wh-where did you hear that from? It is all rumors! Rumors! Do not believe them!”
Semilis became incredibly shaken, her wings fluttering on her back at an unprecedented speed.
Shulim: “... ...So it really is true.”
“No, it is not! I told you, they are rumors—!”
Semilis defended herself vehemently.
“I—this great one is the grand Fairy Queen! The greatest existence beneath the gods! Is it not only natural that those fellows in Tiramsuin hold this great one in respect and dare not show disrespect?! It is absolutely not because I have no friends! Absolutely not—!!!”
Semilis glared intently at Shulim with an extremely intense look in her eyes.
Shulim opened her mouth, closed it quickly, and ultimately chose to copy Semilis's deadpan tone:
“Ah—, is that so... ... Yes, I understand... ... I completely get it now!”
“Really? Do you truly, completely get it?”
Semilis's eyes were filled with obvious disbelief.
“Yeah, yeah, really, really!”
Shulim continued in her deadpan tone,
“Semilis absolutely does not lack friends and suffer being disliked in Tiramsuin because her personality is too awful! It is because others respect you too much that you end up looking lonely! I understand. The books say that the strong always walk alone, so Semilis completely! Does not! Care! Right?”
“Ah... ...”
“Uh... ... Yes... ... That is right.”
“Exactly, that is indeed how it is! Who told me to be so strong! Aha, ahaha... ...”
Semilis hesitated, opening and closing her mouth several times before ultimately choosing to accept Shulim's explanation. However, her expression at this moment was—how should one put it—a complex, indescribable mix of guilt from having her secret exposed, sadness over having her sore spot touched, and stubbornness from not wanting to lose face.
Yes, she looked rather lonely.
Shulim suddenly felt like she had done something bad to Semilis, and she could not help but feel a twinge of guilt in her heart.
She knew very well that with Semilis's personality, it was impossible for her to have any friends. Scratching someone else's emotional scab just out of anger was really uncalled for, even if the result was extraordinarily effective.
Seeing Semilis's dejected appearance, Shulim chose to change the subject.
“By the way, Semilis, why did you suddenly increase the training difficulty?”
“Huh? Oh, that. I was thinking that since Shulim is already quite adept at handling monsters, it is about time you started training against some special enemies.”
“So that would be the golems?”
“Precisely. Even though golems are artificial constructs, they are surprisingly tricky to deal with. I believe you have already experienced that just now.”
“A very deep experience... ...”
“Exactly! I thought that if you could handle even such troublesome enemies, it would yield excellent training results.”
“Semilis... ... Did you ever consider the possibility of failure?”
“Failure?”
Semilis tilted her head.
“But didn't you succeed, Shulim?”
Shulim: “... ...”
Semilis: “?”
Shulim simply stared silently at Semilis.
So you really didn't consider the possibility of failure, did you? I was almost, literally, dead! It was extremely close; there were so many times I actually thought I was going to die! I was such a fool for wanting to sympathize with you just now. A fool, a hopeless fool... ...
“... ...Is it already this late?”
After a long silence, Shulim suddenly raised her head and looked up at the sky, speaking thus.
“Oh, yes!”
Semilis also glanced up at the sky, then turned her head to say to Shulim, “It is time for you to head back, Shulim!”
“Mm.” Shulim nodded, then waved to Semilis. “See you tomorrow, Semilis!”
“See you tomorrow~!”
Semilis waved as she watched Shulim's retreating figure gradually fade away. Once her silhouette completely disappeared into the thick forest, Semilis lowered her hand and suddenly mumbled to herself, “She really is growing fast... ...”
Semilis had not told Shulim that there was actually another reason for suddenly increasing the training difficulty.
And that reason was currently reflecting in Semilis's eyes.
【Shulim Hayeral
Race: Human (Female)
Age: Nine
Life: D+-Class
Mana: C-Class (new!)
Magic Aptitude:
Fire Affinity S-Class (Fairy Queen's Fire Blessing)
Water Affinity S-Class (Fairy Queen's Water Blessing)
Earth Affinity S-Class (Fairy Queen's Earth Blessing)
Wind Affinity S-Class (Fairy Queen's Wind Blessing)
Light Affinity S-Class (Fairy Queen's Light Blessing)
Dark Affinity S-Class (Fairy Queen's Dark Blessing)
Non-Elemental Affinity S-Class (Fairy Queen's Non-Elemental Blessing)
... ...
】
“My, my~. Originally, I wanted to have her understand as many monsters as possible, but with her growing this fast, is there really any need to train against anything below C-Class~?”
Semilis looked back at the golem wreckage on the ground.
“It seems... ...not quite necessary.”
Rate on N.U.
