Just like that, Hyulim kept weaving between the Grem, not launching a single attack, yet the wounds on the Grem were accumulating rapidly.
Until the first Grem was finally knocked down completely by its own companion, and within less than ten minutes, the rest fell one after another, leaving only a single Grem whose entire body was covered in cracks, its movements now extremely sluggish, but still stubbornly advancing toward Hyulim.
Hyulim had no choice but to use up the last of her remaining mana and take action herself.
When only a mess of Grem remains were left on the ground, Hyulim collapsed as well. She hadn’t felt it during the battle, but the moment it ended, the side effects hit her all at once. Such an intense, prolonged fight left every muscle in her body screaming in agony, to the point where she couldn’t even lift a finger.
“Sigh, don’t tell me you’ve got no strength left to even speak~?”
Semilis seemed entirely oblivious to the look in Hyulim’s eyes and continued teasing her.
“All right, it’s time for you to get up~, recover!”
A green light washed over Hyulim. The body that had been so sore she couldn’t move was instantly reinvigorated, all the pain vanishing without a trace.
“Heave-ho!”
Hyulim gave a kick and flipped herself up from the ground.
She stretched her body a bit—she’d fully recovered to her original state. No, if anything, she felt even stronger than before.
She glanced sidelong at Semilis.
Well… when she’s this reliable, it’s hard to stay mad at her.
“So, how does it feel? Fully revived now?” Semilis watched Hyulim flexing her hands and feet, looking immensely pleased with herself.
She took back her earlier thought. Seeing that smug smile, the anger that was about to die down flared up again.
“Hey… Semilis,”
“Oh, what is it, Hyulim? If you want to thank me, don’t be shy, I’ll very generously accept it.”
“Actually, you’re pretty unpopular in Tilamshuin, aren’t you?”
“Eh?! How did you—wait, no! That’s not true! Wh-where did you hear that? It’s all rumors! Lies! Don’t believe them!”
Semilis suddenly became very flustered, her wings behind her fluttering at a speed never seen before.
Hyulim: “.”
“It’s not true, I said it’s all rumors—!” Semilis protested desperately,
“I—I am the great Fairy King, you know! The greatest existence beneath the gods! Of course those people in Tilamshuin revere me, and wouldn’t dare be disrespectful! It’s not at all because I don’t have… so it really is true.”
…friends! Absolutely not—!!!”
Semilis stared intently at Hyulim with a fiery gaze.
Hyulim opened her mouth, then quickly closed it, finally deciding to mimic Semilis’s deadpan tone:
“Ah—, I see… Mm, I get it… I totally understand!”
“Really, you really understand?” Semilis’s eyes clearly showed disbelief.
“Mm-hmm, really, I do!”
Hyulim continued in that monotone,
“Semilis definitely isn’t friendless or disliked in Tilamshuin because her personality is too nasty! It’s because people respect you, that’s why you seem alone! I get it, the books say it, the strong always walk alone, so Semilis totally! doesn’t care! Right?”
“Ah…”
“Uh… Mm… That’s right.”
“Yes, exactly! That’s how it is! After all, I’m a strong one! Ahaha, ahahaha…”
Semilis wanted to say more, then held back, then wanted to speak again, finally just going along with Hyulim’s story. But her expression at that moment—how to put it—guilt at having her secret seen through, sorrow at her sadness being exposed, and stubborn pride at not wanting to lose face, all mixed together into something impossible to describe.
Hmm, she really did look quite lonely.
Hyulim suddenly felt she’d done something bad to Semilis and couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty.
She knew perfectly well, with Semilis’s personality, she probably didn’t have any friends. Bringing up someone’s wounds just out of anger—she really shouldn’t have done that, even if it did work surprisingly well.
Seeing Semilis looking so dejected, Hyulim decided to change the subject.
“By the way, Semilis, why did you suddenly make the training so much tougher…?”
“Eh? Oh, that. I thought Hyulim, you’re already pretty skilled at dealing with monsters, so it’s about time to start training for special enemies.”
“So that’s why it was the Grem?”
“That’s right. Even though Grem are artificial, they’re surprisingly tough to deal with, aren’t they? I think you’ve just experienced that yourself.”
“A very deep experience…”
“Exactly! I figured if you could handle such difficult enemies, it’d be really good training, right?”
“Semilis… Did you never consider the possibility of failure?”
“Failure?” Semilis tilted her head,
“But didn’t you succeed, Hyulim?”
Hyulim: “… … …”
Semilis: “?”
Hyulim just quietly stared at Semilis.
So you really didn’t think about the possibility of failure, did you? I was this close to dying, you know! It was really bad, there were so many times I thought I was going to die! And here I was, actually feeling sorry for you—I’m such an idiot, a hopeless idiot…
Has it gotten this late already?”
After a long silence, Hyulim suddenly looked up at the sky and said,
“Oh, you’re right!”
Semilis also glanced up at the sky, then turned to Hyulim and said, “Hyulim, you should be heading back now!”
“Mm.” Hyulim nodded, then waved to Semilis. “See you tomorrow, Semilis!”
“See you tomorrow~!”
…Semilis waved as she watched Hyulim’s figure gradually disappear into the forest. Once Hyulim’s back was out of sight, she lowered her right hand and muttered to herself, “She really is growing so fast…”
Semilis hadn’t told Hyulim that there was another reason for suddenly ramping up the training.
And that reason was right before Semilis’s eyes now.
[Hyulim Hyeyeral
Race: Human (Female)
Age: Nine
Life: D+ Rank
Mana: C Rank (new!)
Magic Affinities:
Fire: S Rank (Fairy King’s Fire Blessing),
Water: S Rank (Fairy King’s Water Blessing),
Earth: S Rank (Fairy King’s Earth Blessing),
Wind: S Rank (Fairy King’s Wind Blessing),
Light: S Rank (Fairy King’s Light Blessing),
Dark: S Rank (Fairy King’s Dark Blessing),
None: S Rank (Fairy King’s None Blessing),]
“Sigh~, originally I wanted her to learn about more monsters, but if she’s growing this fast, is there any point training below C Rank anymore~?”
Semilis looked back at the remains of those Grem on the ground.
“Looks like… there’s not much point.”