Chapter 18 “False face must hide what the false heart doth know.”

Roughly one month has passed since the young man fought against Yzak, the Alchemist. In the middle of a vast green meadow during the daytime, the young man was exerting all his strength in a fight against a 15-year-old boy.

Despite the boy's small stature, the force generated by the attacks of his wooden spear often pushed the young man, causing him to stumble and fall from his horse.

“Weak! Is this the ability of the Hero of Prophecy? Huh! If the teacher didn't tell me to hold back, you might have died many times over in our fights!” mocked the young boy.

“Tch!” Hearing the insult, the young man immediately began to attack using his wooden sword. Perhaps due to the training he had undergone, almost every swing of the wooden sword no longer looked like that of an amateur.

“Come on, go for it! Defeat him! Hahaha!” cheered Marie, who had been watching and sitting under the shade of a lush tree.

It doesn't feel like several weeks have passed since that incident. Because the young man kept begging Cecilia to teach him how to use magic, Cecilia reluctantly instructed one of her young students to teach him.

Although the young man felt annoyed every day with his new young instructor, he gradually realized that his physical strength had indeed become stronger than before.

“Hey, wouldn't it be better if we took a break?” asked the tired young man.

“Break!? Don't be ridiculous! Get up quickly! Do you want me to hit your head again!?” snapped the small boy.

“Cih, you brat. If only I were allowed to use my magic, I would easily defeat you...” muttered the young man.

“Hah!? What did you say!? You? defeat me? Hahaha, So funny! Hey, Marie! Can I hurt him?” the boy asked Marie.

“Well, if you want to pay extra for his treatment, then go ahead. The important thing is that Cecilia told me that young man must return home in good health and without injuries.” replied Marie.

“Umm... Wait a minute, it seems that if I use all my pocket money for this week... Hmm... I might be able to break both of your arms,” said the boy while counting the money he would spend using his fingers.

“....”

Seeing that the two people who were assigned by Cecilia to look after him were now planning something bad for him, the young man then angrily asked the two people assigned by Cecilia.

“Oi, what exactly is Cecilia telling you two to do?” asked the young man.

“Umm…? Beat you up?” said the boy.

“And heal you.” Marie continued.

“Okay, I'll die. It seems that Cecilia was wrong to entrust me to you two.” sighed the young man.

Just as the young man felt tired and wanted to rest, a middle-aged woman approached the training area with a basket of food.

“Hey, everyone! Let's eat together! I've made plenty of food for all of us!” said the woman, who was Cecilia's mother.

“Yes! Finally, I can take a break!” exclaimed the young man.

“Hah!? Who teaches whom? I am the teacher, and you are my student! As long as I don't give you permission, we still have to keep practicing until you master those foot movements!” said the small boy, while folding his hands.

“Come on, Adel, don't be too hard on him. Look at Marie; she's already eaten all her sandwich.” said Cecilia's mother.

“What!? OK then. Hey you my student! How long do you want to keep playing with your wooden sword!? Take a break, don't you know that forcing ourselves can reduce our health!?” Scolded Adel the little boy

“Playing? Who told me to keep practicing!? You stupid brat!” taunted the young man.

“What did you say! Alright, as your teacher my patience has run out! Get ready because now I'm really going to beat your ass!” Threatened Adel as he charged towards the young man.

Their duel resumed, but this time, their fight looked so different from before. The young man fought by getting close and countering all of Adel's attacks, while Adel, with his wooden spear, began to feel overwhelmed as he had to constantly create distance to launch his attacks.

“Look at those two, training all day just to achieve their goals. Hah... Watching them makes me feel really old.” said Cecilia's mother.

“Don't worry; because you are still not older than cecilia.” reassured Marie, still munching on her sandwich bread.

“Aah... Cecilia, huh? Hey Marie, approximately how old do you think Cecilia is now?” Cecilia's mother asked Marie.

“I don't know, but maybe she's now so old that she's become too nearsighted and senile.” teased Marie.

“Hey, I can hear you. Nearsightedness is not a problem, but what do you mean by saying I'm senile?” asked Cecilia, who suddenly appeared from behind the tree where Marie had been sitting.

“Did you forget the incident at the Cathedral? Weren't you the one who said you would only meet with Wallace and then bring him here?” Said Marie.

“Yes, I did say that.”

“Then why did you break all the window glasses and mess up everything inside the Cathedral? Don't you know that I and some other Holy sisters had to work for many days just to tidy up and clean all the mess!?” scolded Marie.

“Eeeng... Sorry, it seems I don't understand what you mean.” Cecilia scratched her head.

“Haven't I told you repeatedly not to make that booming sound when you want to dash! Listen, it's because that dashing sound of yours that's causing all the trouble for us!” scolded Marie.

“Umm... Sorry, I really don't understand what you mean. But if you want, I can add to your payment when I go home later.”

“Mmm-mm, I've forgiven you. Now, sit down; you must be hungry after walking around the forest, right?” said Marie.

“Thank you. Oh, by the way! Why is Mom here?” Cecilia asked her mother.

“I just wanted to see and bring some food for your two students, but unfortunately, it seems they both...”

“Don't want to eat the food made by your mother.” Marie continued.

Simultaneously with the strong gust of wind and Marie swiftly protecting her food basket, Cecilia dashed to where her two students were and then caught both of their wooden weapons and stopped their duel.

“Hah!? Teacher!?”

“Cecilia!?”

Both were surprised to see Cecilia, who stood between the two of them.

“Why don't both of you want to eat the food made by my mother?” Cecilia asked without directing her gaze towards her two students.

“I want to eat it! But Adel told me to keep practicing with him!” said the young man.

“What did you say!? I told you to rest, but you mocked me and challenge me to fight!” protested Adel.

“Umm... who do you think was the one who first attacked and stopped me from taking break?” asked the young man.

“Hah!? like said! I'm your teacher! So you have to listen and follow my orders!” replied Adel angrily.

“Hah... Whatever, I don't know what to do with both of you. The important thing now is that both of you have to eat first before you can continue playing.” Cecilia said while dragging both of her students by their collars.

Although Cecilia had a slender and not too plump body, she could easily drag both of their bodies like a horse pulling its cart.

“I've said it many times I'm not playing around!” protested the young man.

“Your words are correct, teacher. Of course, I'm playing around right now. If not, I would have defeated this great Hero of Prophecy, since the beginning.” Adel taunted while smiling cunningly at the young man.

“Hah!? that’s it! I'll really kick your ass!” said the young man, delivering a punch that hit Adel's face.

“Ouch! That hurts, Stupid!” Then Adel retaliated by hitting the face of the young man.

“Ouch! Damn it! Take this!”

And finally, they both started fighting again. Seeing her two dragged students fighting again, Cecilia immediately released her grip and forcefully hit both of their heads.

“Ouch! That hurts! Why did the teacher do that to me?” protested Adel.

“Ouch! He should be the one at fault! So why did I also end up getting hit!?” protested the young man.

“You two are in the wrong! geez! I have a headache dealing with two foolish students who can only do foolish things.” Said Cecilia while hitting her own head.

“THUD!”

Suddenly, two punches hit Cecilia's head, causing her to fall.

“Hey! What was that!? Why did both of you hit my head?” Cecilia protested.

“Eee... I saw the teacher hitting her own head, so...”

“Hah! Feel it! That's our payback!” said the young man, folding his hands and proudly raising his chin.

“Grrr!!! Both of you are...!”

Like a monster that has just awakened from its long slumber, Cecilia stood up and unsheathed one of her katana swords, directing it towards her two students.

“Adel! Change of plan! We need to retreat first to get our wooden weapons!” commanded the young man.

“Hah!? Since when did you become brave enough to give me orders! But you're right, my student; we need to retreat and get our weapons!” replied Adel.

Then the two men ran away from Cecilia and retrieved their wooden weapons that they had previously left in the middle of the grassy field.

And immediately after both of them had their weapons in hand, Cecilia, like a lion, fiercely advanced and attacked them.

“And a fierce battle unfolded between two foolish students against a teacher who equally foolish.” Marie said as she had been sitting and sipping her tea from her cup since earlier.

“Hahaha, It's not so bad to see Cecilia like that.” Cecilia's mother said while sipping her tea next to Marie.

And that bright day finally ended with a fight that concluded with laughter and jokes filling the entire green grass field.

This was a pleasant day for them, the sinners who lived joyfully in this transient land.

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