BDBM | Chapter 8

“…?”

The Paladin instinctively turned towards where he felt the gaze, but not a blade of grass stirred, let alone a person. Tenev, however, was looking in that same direction.

“What do you see…?”

“Ai.”

Instead of answering, Tenev sighed like an elder and gently tapped his shoulder.

“It would be best to start moving now.”

“Ah, yes, yes.”

His polite response came out reflexively, causing him some embarrassment.

‘What kind of child…’

Not only the sigh, but the look in her eyes just then didn’t seem child-like at all. How did she manage to catch his back in the first place?

‘Is the successor chosen by God really that different?’

That thought naturally occurred to him. As they arrived at the classroom where the lesson was to take place, Tenev hopped down.

“Thank you.”

“Yes…”

After Tenev swiftly entered like the wind, the still-dazed Paladin snapped back to reality. Though his colleagues would have reported the situation, the attending priestess must have been quite startled by Tenev’s disappearance, so he needed to inform her of Tenev’s whereabouts. He pressed on a device powered by divine power and spoke into it.

“Agi-nim just entered the classroom.”
-Ah, she was anxious about it being time for the lesson soon. Did you take her? Good job.

Agi-nim had asked him to, after all. Unlike the Paladin who was praised despite revealing himself against protocol, the first thing Tenev heard upon entering the classroom was a stern rebuke.

“Being late on the first day of class is disrespectful! Shouldn’t you be here at least 30 minutes before the class?”

“Hmm.”

Tenev checked the clock, which still had more than 10 minutes until 8 o’clock, then scanned the room. The person who had just shouted at her was the only adult, naturally the teacher. Despite being young and dressed in priestly garb, his slightly sly eyes were irritating. His arms were crossed firmly, but his smug expression and a student dozing among the seated children suggested that a 7:30 gathering was not usual.

“I heard that the class starts at 8 o’clock.”

“Arriving before the start time is basic courtesy. You can’t even adhere to that, do you already think you’re the Holy King? Then it’s not rudeness, it’s arrogance.”

“Royal highness…”

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

Tenev seemed to have gotten used to the attitude of treating her as if she were fragile, given her smaller than average stature among peers. The fresh way she was being treated, regardless of whether her interlocutor was a child or not, seemed amusing to her. However, the teacher was insisting on some nonsensical demands, and Tenev felt less inclined to even give him the respect of formal speech.

“From now on, just announce it as a 7:30 class. Where is my seat?”

Of course, she said this knowing full well there was no seat for her. There were six kids in the classroom, and only six desks. The teacher flinched at Tenev’s unyielding demeanor, then his irritation seemed to multiply.

‘Can’t let a kid get the better of me!’

This wasn’t just about Tenev; his future was on the line too.

‘Do they just let anyone handle divine power in the Holy Land?’

‘Indeed. Isn’t this the country with the most priests? Ha-ha.’

‘No need to scold harshly. Just guide her gently, kindly. A good-natured soul is what will lead the Holy Land properly.’

‘I will keep that in mind.’

Ambition had driven him, and a big opportunity had finally come, not just through rising in priestly ranks. Even reaching bishop and being rotated around remote, rural temples showed the clear path.

Connections mattered if you wanted to retire comfortably without hardship in your old age.

The teacher remembered the high-ranking individual who had visited him and renewed his resolve.

“You haven’t even undergone the oath ceremony! I am your teacher! Are you demeaning your teacher right now?”

That’s how a teacher behaves, like a teacher. Tenev’s eyes narrowed slightly.

‘I can tell someone sent you to break my spirit, what nonsense.’

She knew she was set up for harassment, so obvious that even without her body’s original memories, she would have noticed. But she decided to play along. It seemed more entertaining that way.

“When you speak to me, honorifics are the minimum. End your sentences with a deferential tone. Understood?”

“Understood.”

Somewhere, a “Pfft!” could be heard, but Tenev didn’t turn to look. Instead, the teacher, caught off guard by the unexpected response, regained his composure.

“Don’t use informal speech!”

“So, didn’t I say ‘Understood?’”

This time, she ended with ‘na,’ which is informal.

The teacher’s face turned beet red.

“It’s ‘da’ or ‘ka’! Not ‘da, na, ka’!”

Tenev faintly drew out her divine power and wrapped it around the stammering teacher. However, he was too heated to notice.

‘Guess he’s not even on Shelly’s level, a senior priestess.’

The teacher stubbornly refused to yield any ground to Tenev. The more he spoke, the stronger his resolve seemed to grow to break her spirit. Tenev had absolutely no intention of groveling or showing any submission to him.

‘I wonder if Estram is still around.’

After being told not to come, he was probably sneaking around since the crack of dawn, perhaps it was time to make use of him. However, as she spread her divine power far and wide, instead of Estram, a bigger fish got caught in her net. A smile played on Tenev’s lips, which the teacher saw, his eyes bulging as he rolled up his sleeves and strode towards her.

“You’re laughing? Am I a joke to you?”

“You’re rather slow to catch on.”

Finally completing her sentence with ‘ka,’ Tenev nonchalantly extended her hand. The materialized divine power shimmered, and the window burst open with a loud bang.

“…!”

The atmosphere among the students stirred at the sight. Tenev, ignoring the intensifying stares, casually sat on the windowsill.

“Wait a moment!”

“Can’t help it, I’ll make this my seat.”

“The noise you made has delayed the class, hasn’t it? Why not start the lesson?”

The teacher’s face turned pale as he finally grasped the situation.

‘It seems I’ve touched something strange.’

Despite his instincts screaming at him, his pride wouldn’t allow him to back down.

“Get down immediately!”

“If you make one more irrelevant comment, you’ll see something frightening.”

“Are you threatening me? Can’t you come down and apologize?!”

“Warnings seem to be of no use.”

Tenev then casually threw herself backward.

“Gasp!”

“Aaaah!”

As the screams echoed through the classroom and seemed to fade, a thud followed.

Strong arms caught Tenev’s small body.

“…Why is my daughter descending from the sky?”

“Ah, Father.”

Everything had gone according to plan.

Pretending to be surprised and upset, Tenev buried her face in Renard’s shoulder and smirked secretly. The plan had been set the moment she sensed Renard and his entourage approaching.

If the teacher thought he could dance with the backing of powerful patrons, Tenev was more than ready to dance a knife-dance on the back of the Holy King.

“The teacher just yelled at me.”

“…A priest yelled at my daughter? Why?”

“Tenev was accused of being late, but I entered before 8 o’clock. There’s a knight who can vouch for me.”

“Hmm. What time did he say you should arrive by?”

Renard adjusted his grip on Tenev, feeling for any injuries with his divine power. When she replied 7:30, Renard chuckled shortly and began walking.

“So why did you fall from there?”

“The teacher said Tenev lacked manners and wouldn’t give her a seat. I didn’t want to sit on the floor, and standing seemed like punishment, so I sat on the windowsill…”

No further explanation was needed.

Renard’s eyes gleamed sharply between his smiling eyelids.

‘Dirty old men.’

That was the easiest and first tactic the archbishops used to tame the Holy Kings.

From a young age, they crushed their spirits, set limits, and made them wary. It was because Holy Kings were generally marked as successors at a young age.

For Renard, who had been a Paladin before ascending to Holy King, such tactics were bound to fail.

‘And so, I thought the chain was broken… Even if by some chance they remembered, I didn’t expect any issues due to the short training period.’

He had even ensured the educational priest had no ties to the archbishops when selecting him.

Bang!

Renard, having entered the building, forcefully swung open the classroom door.