CHAPTER 3
1054 Words
‘Upgrading the main characters is always the best way to keep yourself alive, but…’
Bang!
A glass tube that was recently filled with blue liquid blown up into fine dust. Asterlayna lousily waved her left hand a few times, creating strong waves of wind that sent the debris away and stopped from reaching her. It had only been a few days since Clara woke up in Asterlayna's body, but she was already used to using magic. Creating strong wisp of winds from magic was child's play to her now.
“This is hopeless.”
Asterlayna muttered while throwing aside the open bottle in her right hand. Before the bottle could even reach the tiled floor, a magic spell instantly enveloped the bottle and the liquid, keeping it afloat in the air. The magic spell was casted by Asterlayna of course.
“How the f*ck am I supposed to strengthen her quickly?”
Asterlayna had figured it would be best to boost Hesperia’s current abilities to a parring level with the mythical being that will help the allied kingdoms with a magic potion. But seeing how the alchemy room flipped upside down from her experiments, Asterlayna doubted she'll be able to make a decent potion in five days.
“Alchemy is harder to learn than magic spells…”
Asterlayna complained with a heavy sigh.
Open books had already piled up in a mountain like form in one corner of the room. Some overgrown shrubs and vines seeped into the room through the balcony and clear glass test tubes were scattered above the long table.
With a finger under her chin, Asterlayna's eyes then landed on the pile of books. She had spent the passing days locked up in this room, looking for ways to boost the potential of Hesperia for the upcoming war, yet she only noticed the very apparent illustration of a sword in one of the open books.
“Okay…Let's give up with those potions.”
Asterlayna then declared with a determined expression. Only then did she remember something.
“Hesperia will become a sword wielding saintess right?”
Asterlayna forced her laugh down but failed. Her shoulders heaved up and down, the scene with the nime tailed fox in the center becoming something out of a horror movie.
“M-master…”
Asterlayna immediately stopped laughing and turned her attention to the person-being behind her. The voice came from Mallo, her disciple.
“Why are you sneaking behind me like that?!”
Asterlayna's shock got the best of her and yelped in surprise after seeing Mallo.
“I wasn't sneaking…Anyway…”
Mallo diverted her sight to the messy room, especially to the pile of books.
“What happened here?”
Mallo’s sharp gaze pierced Asterlayna like a dagger.
“I was doing something.”
Asterlayna quickly retorted.
“Is that ‘something’ very important for you to lock yourself here for days?”
Mallo's suspicion raised even higher after hearing her master's response.
Her master had been acting too suspicious lately. It was as if…
‘As if she's hiding something…’
It wasn't anything rare for her master to stay in seclusion for days, however, this time, Mallo felt something odd about her master's behavior.
“Yes. I'm trying to make something.”
“Because?”
An vein popped up in Asterlayna's forehead. The keen observation of her disciple had been bothering her since day one.
“Because I want to.”
Asterlayna placed both hands on her hips and gave a ‘I can do what I want because I'm powerful’ look to Mallo.
“...Fine.”
Mallo gave up her pursuit of prying the truth from her master once again.
“Mallo.”
Asterlayna then spoke sternly. Mallo quickly turned serious once more.
“A knight brigade will arrive in the sanctuary soon.”
Mallo's face switched into a shocked one. She knew there was something fishy since the visit of the crown prince, but she couldn't imagine that it would involve military force.
“...D-did something happen?”
Mallo nervously asked.
“Hmm? No. The crown prince just said there was some dubious movement around the borders of the kingdoms so he sent a few soldiers to keep watch.”
Asterlayna tried to sound casual as possible. Now that she saw Mallo's expression by the simple mention of a knight brigade, she couldn't possibly tell her disciple now that a war is about to break out soon.
“...Then why did the crown prince…”
‘There must more to this…’
Mallo couldn't figure out the motive of the crown prince suddenly seeing the nine tailed fox in one day and sending a knight brigade to watch over the border in the next.
“He asked for my help to watch over the border for the time being…”
‘Lies…’
Mallo bit her lower lip out of spite. She knew her master was lying. Under no circumstances would a prince travel miles just to ask for a mythical being’s help in keeping the borders safe.
“You might run into them when I send you to the capital…So tell the captain of that brigade to bring an empty hilt of a sword.”
Even her master's request was beyond questionable. Nevertheless, Mallo had no choice but to obey.
“Yes.”
“And I'll be out to get something.”
——————————
“This will be the death of me…”
With a single wave of her hand, multiple light blades appeared in thin air and slashed the huge leaves bushes covering Asterlayna's path.
The last resort to strengthening Hesperia, the sword wielding saintess, was getting her good equipment.
It was an obvious solution, but it was one that Asterlayna did not like. Equipment will just break overtime, in addition, Hesperia's potential is massive. No equipment made in a hurry will ever be strong enough to handle her.
‘Why can't just Xanthos go with Hesperia all the time…’
In the novel, Hesperia was treated as an ordinary soldier during the time the crown prince sent a knight brigade to aid the sanctuary of serenity. Hesperia's abilities were only then acknowledged after the war ended.
‘Then Xanthos will take a liking to Hesperia then, they'll become best friends then…’
- Writer
