"Spirits?"
S-Class.
Standing at the lectern in the classroom reserved only for the S-Class otherworlder children of Free Academy, Adelio slowly nodded at the children as they tilted their heads and asked back in confusion.
"That's right. Your skills have already surpassed the elite knights of most nations. You might even be beyond that."
The swordsmanship Shizue had rebuilt by blending Adelio's style with Chronoa's had come to be known as the Ruber style.
Given that the children had learned that swordsmanship directly from Shizue, it was only natural that their abilities had grown so strong.
Even if it did not fully contain the ultimate techniques of Adelio and Chronoa, for someone who had never learned martial arts at all, there was no finer supreme sword style in this world.
The swordsmanship of two [Hero]es who had reached [Catastrophe] and obtained ultimate techniques counted among the ten greatest in the world was not something whose worth could ever be measured in ordinary terms.
'At first, I wasn't even hoping they'd reach this level, but to grow this much in just a few years...'
For a moment, Adelio worried that children still so young might have gained too much power too soon, but then he remembered once again that this world was not a gentle place even for children, and let out a dry laugh at himself.
In the first place, the reason he had taught the children martial arts was because he wanted them to be able to stand on their own someday and live without trouble.
'...Their skill is complete now, so even if they make contracts with [High Spirits], they won't end up relying only on the spirits' power.'
If they depended too heavily on the power gained through spirit contracts, they might forget their fundamental skills, so he had wanted them to reach at least the level of a knight first. Now, that condition had been more than fulfilled.
"So in about a week, we're going to a place called the [Dwelling of Spirits] for a field trip. Like I told you before, the excess magicules overflowing inside your bodies can be resolved immediately if you borrow the power of the [High Spirits] living there."
[Dwelling of Spirits].
Before Ramiris fell and became a Pixie, that place had been famous as the retreat of the [Spirit Queen], and it was a vast [Labyrinth] that could be entered through doors Ramiris opened at random.
Because it was a [Labyrinth] that could move freely between so many places, fewer than ten people in all had ever reached it directly, even counting the Demon Lords. But Adelio, one of that tiny handful, knew the location of every door she had opened.
Whenever Walpurgis was held, he was the one half-forced into guiding Milim and Ramiris there.
"...A place where spirits live...!"
"That sounds super fun!"
"Yeah, I really want to go...!"
"A field trip for the first time in a while... I'm actually excited."
"...Do they really look like animals, like the books say?"
One of the greatest concerns for otherworlders was the excessive magicule energy inside them.
But when the children heard that the day to solve that problem was drawing near, they seemed less happy about the solution itself than about getting to meet spirits.
"Hehe, no matter how much power they have, children are still children after all."
Standing beside Adelio almost like an assistant instructor, Ria lowered her eyelids lightly as she watched the excited children chatter away.
She was not quite someone the children would call a master the way they did Shizue or Adelio, but after her personality had softened, she had taught them countless spells. To her, watching the children gradually follow in Shizue's path was like watching a delightful little performance.
"Still, is there some reason we have to wait a whole week instead of leaving right away?"
Ria asked that, then added whether he was worried Viole might cause trouble.
"No, it's not that. It's just..."
Adelio turned toward her, glanced briefly at Shizue standing behind her, then shook his head.
"...I have a feeling this is going to get tangled up in something a little complicated."
The circumstances were so complicated that calling in Viole might end up seeming like the most ordinary part of it.
'Considering the time sealed inside the holy ark, about a week from now should be just right.'
Because the thought-form of Chronoa, the true leader of the [Hero Party] Adelio belonged to, was finally nearing the moment when it would be called into this world once more.
Through countless regressions, that strongest thought-form had always been regarded as nothing but the incarnation of wrath.
And now, the time to summon it again was finally right before them.
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