Page 33

"Nee.. Ciel.."

"Is it just me or does the new Saintess have enough power to toy with a beast made of pure darkness?"

"If compared to the power of our different races, isn’t the power of a human very limited? Moreover, I don’t feel any magical energy coming out of Lily-chan’s body."

"It feels like Lily-chan’s movement and agility come from her body’s natural ability to move that fast."

"What do you think?"

While Ciel and Sia were performing the purification magic ritual, Sia had plenty of free time to observe Lily’s small fight.

Seeing Lily’s fairly simple and efficient fight, a big question arose in Sia’s head.

From her race’s perspective, humanity’s ability to fight only relied on equipment and magic. Seeing Lily’s ability to move and attack the black wolf’s vital points made Sia rethink her true human abilities.

It was the first time Sia had seen an efficient fight without expending much energy to perform a single complicated move in the art of swordsmanship.

All the sword art moves that Sia had ever seen from humans were meaningless. Their beauty and effectiveness were far different from Lily’s sword swings.

"Sia, have you forgotten? Lily-chan is a Saintess too. That ability maybe came from the Goddess who appointed her as a Saintess. It’s no secret that the Saintess’ abilities are beyond the comprehension of other races," Ciel replied.

"Y-Yes, I understand the Saintess’ power. It’s just that, without using magic and attacking that fast. Doesn’t that require great concentration and endurance? I might be able to imitate that fast movement but for how long? My body will break down for a while after doing that fast movement."

"A-Aree? You can do that kind of movement?" Ciel asked.

"For the dragon race, we are used to flying in a dive and enduring heavy air pressure. Such a fast movement requires great air pressure and full concentration to stay conscious. Lily-chan might have the body protection of a Saintess but…" Sia’s gaze was now focused on Mio who was standing beside Lily.

"That human makes me wonder, what trick did she do to survive the huge air pressure," Sia continued.

"Erm, I don’t know for sure but aren’t Lily-chan and that girl’s movements very harmonious? Just look at them, they seem to be competing to kill the black wolf. Kuh! I want to join that match!"

"That’s right, your observation is very sharp for such a small thing, Ciel. I almost didn’t notice the harmony of their movements."

A small wind blew past Ciel and Sia. Cherry blossom petals and the fragrant aroma of cherry blossom petals decorated the increasingly widespread purification ritual.

"Aaah.. this aroma feels very calming. Maybe I’ll fall asleep soundly after cleaning this forest area," Sia said while inhaling the aroma of cherry blossom petals that flew past her.

"Hnngg~ Kunn~ Kunn~" In response to Sia’s words, Ciel’s fox ears trembled and her nose was busy inhaling the fragrant aroma that spread around her.

"T-This aroma! I think I’ve smelled this aroma before," Ciel said.

"But.. where? Kuh! This scent feels familiar to me but I don’t remember it," A small wrinkle appeared on Ciel’s forehead, the purification magic that Ciel did fade a little because Ciel’s concentration faded a little to remember something.

"C-Ciel.. your purification magic is messed up!" Sia panicked a little because Ciel’s purification magic almost faded and failed.

"Huwaaaa~ S-Sorry, Sia," Ciel fixed her purification magic and calmed her mind to concentrate on the cleansing ritual.

"I-I almost failed to control it," Ciel managed to control her purification magic that almost failed.

"Mooo~ focus for a while," said Sia.

"Ah! About this familiar scent. I’ve smelled this scent before, if I’m not mistaken when I was undergoing sword training at my teacher’s Temple. In the past, our teacher was once good friends with a sword expert from human. Her sword skills were even recorded in the history of our race as a legendary swordsman who was able to match our race’s hero with just her sword skills."

"I thought my race was very close to the human race, it turns out you have had contact with the human race before," Sia replied in response to the information given by Ciel.

"Yes, this makes me a little nostalgic, and want to meet my teacher. Maybe I need to find some nice flowers and her favorite drink."

"Somehow it sounds like visiting your teacher’s grave. Wait a minute! Could it be that your teacher is…"

"Um! The scent of cherry blossom petals and that sword technique. I remember it... After I became a Saintess, my body forgot that sword technique. Now, where can I get a sword that can withstand such fast movements like that?" Ciel’s tears dripped down her cheeks. Ciel’s old memories that were almost forgotten returned to her heart.

Before becoming a Saintess, Ciel relied on sword techniques as her main strength. After becoming a Saintess, the holy power that dominated her body covered her sword skills and was sealed into her old memories.

"Um... I don’t know what happened to you, Ciel. But, I think Lily-chan can help you find a suitable sword. Just look at that.." Sia turned her conversation towards Lily.

Right before their eyes, Lily’s movements were unreachable to the eye and the gleam of her sword’s blade brushed aside the remaining black wolf’s head.

As Lily put her sword into the scabbard, a loud sound from the scabbard and Lily’s sword meeting caused a row of black wolves to fall with their heads detached from their bodies.

"Huuuh!!"

"Heeeh!!"

Ciel and Sia who witnessed the incident were speechless. The movement that they couldn’t see and the clean execution made their bodies tremble with awe.

"D-Did you see that, Ciel?" Sia asked to make sure.

"A-Amazing.." said Ciel who was staring at Lily.

"C-Can you do it? That movement was too fast to see!"

"What a beautiful movement.."

Ciel and Sia had two different views after seeing Lily’s abilities.

"With a movement like that, the burden on her body is very large. Is Lily-chan okay?" Sia observed Lily’s physical condition from a distance.

"Wait a minute, what are they doing now?" from a distance, Sia saw Lily teasing Mio and licking her armpit.

"Kuuh~ I want to do it too! It’s been a long time since I took a bath like that," said Ciel.

"Eh??"

"Um! That’s a lick body purification technique for the fox race. Do you want to try it?" Ciel said while glancing at Sia.

"Ah! Ciel! Let’s finish this quickly. Before the dark monster that is the main problem in this place appears!" Sia began to focus her concentration to speed up the purification ritual and avoid Ciel’s questions.

Right after Sia said that sentence, the scenery in front of them changed and showed the figure of a giant black wolf being toyed by Mio. Seen from a distance, Lily walked looking for shady trees to sleep under it.

"Eh? Hasn’t the source of this place’s problems want to be defeated by Lily-chan’s subordinates? Ah! I mean.. my soon-to-be Nee-sama?" Ciel replied.

"Huh? Haah? What just happened?" hearing Ciel’s reply, Sia looked confused by the situation that had occurred.

"Sia, the monster that was just toyed with by Lily’s subordinates is the source of the pollution problem in this forest," Ciel said to explain the situation that had occurred.

"Wait! That kind of dark monster is the cause of this forest’s pollution?"

"Uhuh! Nee-sama’s subordinates managed to defeat it in a short time. As expected of Nee-sama subordinates.."

"H-Hold on! I didn’t feel magic strange from the monster that was just toyed. Seeing that monster being toyed with so easily feels strange, doesn’t it?"

"Oh, that’s because I put up a barrier magic so that their terror magic wouldn’t interfere with our purification ritual. Maybe because of the barrier I put up, you didn’t feel the terrifying energy from that dark monster."

"Barrier magic?" Sia said with a questioning expression.

Ctaaak!!

Praaak!!

Ciel snapped her fingers and a shard of magical energy spread around them. The sensation of the air feeling heavy and the tense aura began to be felt by Sia.

"T-This is.." realizing the changes that occurred around her, Sia became more alert than before.

"Ciel.. since when did you put up barrier magic?" Sia asked.

"Eng? You didn’t notice it? Fufu~ just think of it as a specialty of my race," Ciel replied with a gentle smile.

"I didn’t even realize it," Sia replied with a smile at Ciel.

"Thank you for the compliment," Ciel said.

Ciel and Sia continued their purification task which ended in the afternoon. The forest conditions returned to normal, and the trees and small shoots came back to life in the melody of nature.