Episode 182. School Trip (1)

As the weather gradually cools and winter approaches,

The school atmosphere, which had been heated up by the victory celebration, was about to cool down with the cold wind blowing. I headed to the place I had promised to meet Lanes.

“Huh?”

Even though I arrived 30 minutes early, I saw Lanes already waiting there.

“Ah… D-Dale. You’re here?”

Lanes, who noticed me, shyly waved her hand.

“How long have you been waiting?”

“Uh, not long.”

“How long is ‘not long’?”

“About… three hours?”

“……”

How early did she come to wait?

As I looked at her with a dumbfounded expression, Lanes blushed and fidgeted with her index finger.

“Don’t come too early to wait next time.”

“Y-yes. Okay.”

“By the way…”

I glanced up and down at Lanes.

A white dress with a thin beige cardigan and slightly heeled shoes.

With a touch of makeup, Lanes looked so beautiful that it was hard to believe she was the same gloomy witch-like person.

“Pretty.”

“…Really?”

Lanes, with an excited expression like a miner who struck gold, fidgeted.

“Yeah. It suits you really well.”

“Hehe. Thank you.”

“But… I’m sorry, even though you dressed up so nicely.”

I placed my hand on Lanes’ shoulder and continued.

“You should probably take that off.”

“…What?”

Lanes’ eyes widened in shock.

She gulped and nodded with a red face.

“Y-yes. If Dale wants… I’m ready.”

Lanes slowly took off her cardigan.

“No. Don’t take it off here, go change.”

“…Huh?”

“Here, training clothes.”

“……”

“We agreed to train with Blessings today, right?”

You can’t train in a dress and cardigan.

“…Tch.”

Lanes pouted as she took the unfashionable training clothes.

After changing in the nearby public restroom,

Lanes and I headed to the school’s back mountain.

Normally, it’s a place you can’t enter without a class schedule, but with the entry permit from Professor Elisha, we easily entered the back mountain.

“Ready?”

“Y-yes.”

Lanes nodded with a nervous expression.

“Don’t worry too much. Slowly try to draw out the power of the Blessing.”

“Hoo.”

Lanes took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

The Holy Mark glowed, covering the surroundings with white frost.

Crack, crackle.

The bushes that touched the frost instantly froze and crumbled like cookies.

A scene that evoked awe beyond fear.

The power of the witch who had turned half a continent into a snowy field slowly awakened.

“Haa.”

White breath flowed from Lanes’ lips.

She carefully raised her arm and pointed at a nearby tree.

The white frost, which had spread like fog, gathered into a single point and transformed into a spear.

Whoosh!

The frost spear shot at an incredible speed, piercing the tree.

And.

Crash!

The tree froze in an instant.

But that wasn’t all.

The frost spear exploded, swallowing not only the tree but also the surrounding plants, rocks, and small insects.

The explosion radius was a whopping 20 meters.

A deathly land was created around the tree in an instant.

“Ah…”

Lanes let out a low exclamation as she looked at the scene she had created.

She looked at me with a frightened expression, like a child who had broken an expensive dish.

“S-sorry.”

“Hmm.”

I had only aimed for the tree the frost spear had pierced.

But due to the overwhelming power of the Blessing, not only the tree but the surrounding land had frozen.

‘She’s still not good at controlling her power.’

If this were a battle, the party members would have been caught up in it too.

“I-I’ll do better next time!”

She shot a few more frost spears, but the result was the same.

“Ugh…”

Lanes looked at the frozen surroundings with a pout.

“…Sorry, Dale.”

I gently patted her head, which was scrunched up in fear.

“No, it’s okay. Don’t worry. I suggested this training because I expected this.”

“But…”

“It’s fine. You can’t do well from the start, right?”

Having been a slow learner myself, I understood her feelings well.

“…Thank you.”

Lanes smiled brightly, clutching my clothes.

“Now, let’s try this.”

“Huh? How… Ah!”

I went behind Lanes and hugged her from behind.

Due to the height difference, the back of her head touched my chest.

“D-D-D-Dale?”

Lanes flustered, fidgeting.

“Focus and try using the Blessing again.”

I gently tightened my arms around her and ignited Ash Fire.

Whoosh.

The ash-colored flames enveloped us, but it wasn’t hot, and our clothes didn’t burn.

I adjusted the output so that only a faint warmth was felt.

I watched as Lanes used the Blessing of Frost.

“Ah…”

Lanes closed her eyes, her face red.

She slowly drew out her magic power and activated the Blessing.

Whoooosh.

White frost spread around.

Unlike before, where everything it touched froze, the plants touched by the thick frost remained unharmed.

“…Huh?”

Lanes’ eyes widened.

She pointed at a nearby tree and slowly raised her arm.

Whoooosh!

A frost spear formed in the air.

Like cells multiplying, the frost spear split, increasing in number.

From 2 to 4, from 4 to 8.

32 spears were created.

“Haa.”

Lanes let out a short breath and softly spoke.

“Freeze.”

Crash!

The 32 spears flew in different directions, piercing the trees.

The trees pierced by the spears froze instantly, but that was all.

The surrounding ground didn’t freeze, and no insects were caught in the cold.

“Huh? Huh?”

Even she couldn’t believe what she had done.

Lanes opened and closed her mouth, stomping her feet as if to show it off.

“D-Dale! I-I did it! I did it!”

“Good job.”

I patted the head of Lanes, who was jumping up and down cutely.

‘As expected, Ash Fire affects the Blessing of Frost.’

I knew it had an effect, but I didn’t expect such a dramatic change.

“Is this… because of the fire you made?”

“Probably.”

“Hehe. Then you’ll have to hug me every time from now on.”

“No.”

You can’t use the Blessing while hugging every time.

“You need to practice to use it like this without me.”

“Ugh…”

For some reason, Lanes pouted and fidgeted.

I chuckled and ruffled her hair.

“Now, shall we start again?”

“Okay!”

* * *

The Blessing control training continued until it got dark.

There were two things I newly realized about Lanes while training with her this time.

First, she was much more persistent than I thought.

Even though she trembled from the cold to the point of her lips turning blue every time she used the Blessing, she focused on the training without a single complaint.

And the second…

“Freeze!”

Whoosh!

With a clear shout, the frost spear flew.

The frost spear, shot at an incredible speed, pierced a tree so large that 2-3 adults couldn’t wrap their arms around it.

Crash!

The frost spear exploded inside the tree, instantly freezing the entire tree.

Unlike the first time she created and shot the frost spear, she didn’t scatter cold around, freezing only the tree.

“Wow, wow!”

Lanes jumped with joy as she looked at the frozen tree.

“Hehe. Dale! I did it!”

She came running to me as if asking for praise.

“Good job.”

Although it wasn’t as dramatic as when dozens of spears flew simultaneously with Ash Fire, the growth she achieved in just a day was astonishing.

‘At this rate, it’s surprising why she couldn’t control her power in her past life.’

The second thing I realized about Lanes.

Her talent was as incredible as Yurina, Berald, or Sophia.

At first, she couldn’t control her power properly without Ash Fire, but now she could use the Blessing’s power well even when I was far away.

‘At this rate, as long as her mental state doesn’t break and cause the Blessing to go out of control, there’s nothing to worry about.’

Lanes’ growth was happening at a speed that could be described as miraculous.

“Shall we stop here for today?”

I asked, looking up at the darkening sky.

“Y-yes. Okay.”

Lanes, who seemed somewhat reluctant, gently tugged at my clothes.

“I… made a lunch box. Want to eat before we go?”

“Lunch box?”

“Y-yes. I made it this morning. It’s probably cold now, though…”

Lanes took out a neatly packed lunch box from her bag.

“We can heat it up.”

I placed my hand on the cold lunch box and slowly drew out Ash Fire.

The Ash Fire enveloped the lunch box, and soon steam rose from the once cold lunch.

The side dishes inside were stir-fried Vienna sausage with vegetables, rolled omelet, and stir-fried kimchi.

Just looking at it made my mouth water.

“I… made the lunch box menu that Republic people like the most.”

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

I was already quite hungry, so I quickly emptied the lunch box.

“…Is it good?”

“The best.”

“Hehe. I’m glad.”

Lanes smiled brightly as she watched me finish the lunch box.

“Oh, right… Did you hear the news, Dale?”

“What news?”

“We’re going on a school trip next week.”

“…Huh?”

This was the first I’d heard of it.

“Ah… I guess they haven’t told the third years yet.”

“Why a school trip all of a sudden?”

In my past life, I attended the Reynaldo Hero School for four years and never went on a ‘school trip.’

“Because of the recent war, the school walls were heavily damaged… So they quickly arranged a school trip while repairing them.”

“A school trip…”

I had heard that educational institutions before adulthood often went on trips, but it was unusual for the Hero School to go on one.

“Where are we going?”

“To a place called Termal in the Holy Kingdom.”

The Termal region.

It’s where the tomb of Grace, the Light of Life, one of the Five Great Heroes, is located, and it’s a famous tourist spot in the Holy Kingdom.

‘Well, the real reason it’s famous is something else.’

What’s more famous in the Termal region than the tomb of one of the Five Great Heroes.

It’s…

“I heard the Termal region is famous for its hot springs…”

Lanes turned to me with a wide grin.

“I hope I can go into the hot springs with Dale.”

“No.”

That’s not going to happen on a school trip.