Chapter 45: Kidnapping

“Already left?”

In the morning, after Lin Yue went off to find Mapel, Airella rummaged through his camp, but she couldn’t find a trace of that guy.

“Really, as soon as he’s done using me, he runs off faster than anyone else. So annoying!”

She opened up Lin Yue’s tent, wanting to see if he’d hidden anything good.

That guy—he kept me up all night, and then slept soundly himself, only to head out at the crack of dawn.

So unfair…

Airella stood with her hands on her hips, lips pouting, looking extremely dissatisfied with his behavior.

“Ah… Idiot! Dummy! Lecher!”

She couldn’t find him, so she threw herself on his bed, rolling around in wild revenge, hoping to mess it up as payback for his so-called actions.

After rolling for a long while on Lin Yue’s bed, Airella sprawled out in a starfish shape, staring up at the ceiling of the tent.

Suddenly, a faint sense of loss welled up inside her.

Lin Yue’s tent was filled with his scent.

It wasn’t exactly pleasant, but for some reason, it made her feel strangely at ease, as if wrapped in sunlight.

He is, after all, a man full of energy.

Would he really do… that…?

Thinking about her inexplicable actions last night, her face flushed red with embarrassment.

Airella!

What are you thinking!

After what happened yesterday, aren’t you ashamed at all?

She’d never had the habit of treating someone around her as a side dish before—Lin Yue was the first.

But, it didn’t feel out of place.

Except for being a bit of a jerk, he was perfect in every other way.

At least, as an object of fantasy.

I wonder… what does he think about me?

Airella had misunderstood many times, and sometimes couldn’t help showing her panic.

But Lin Yue never really reacted much in that way.

He never finished his sentences, and his tone sometimes seemed like he didn’t care about women at all, making him very hard to figure out.

And yet, he was always good to her, most of the time protecting and comforting her.

A girl like me—could I ever be good enough for him…?

Besides her ability to control magical beasts, she wasn’t special at all.

Even in terms of magical combat, he could easily outshine her.

She was just an ordinary village girl—no way to compare with the girls Lin Yue’s class could mingle with.

Maybe that’s why he’s never truly looked at me…

As Airella sighed and was about to go check out the send-off ceremony ahead of time, a strange voice came from outside the tent.

“Excuse me, is Lin Yue Hawk here?”

“!”

A shy, unfamiliar girl’s voice drifted in from outside.

Airella shot up from the bed, hurriedly straightening her slightly wrinkled school uniform.

She definitely couldn’t let outsiders see her rolling around on someone else’s bed, or it’d be impossible to explain.

She lifted the tent flap, only to see a blonde, blue-eyed girl standing outside, wearing a clean white dress, carrying a small basket, and looking at the world with innocent curiosity—she gave off a gentle, inviting aura.

Isn’t she the girl Lin Yue and I followed yesterday?

What’s she doing here?

Remembering her strength from yesterday, Airella spoke cautiously, “He went out. Do you need something from him?”

“Mm, how do you know his name?”

They’d only met once, so knowing his name and identity was pretty suspicious.

“Ah, I…”

Last night, Sefina had guessed Lin Yue’s identity as the only Hawk family member at Avilena Academy, based on his looks and demeanor.

He was also a key target of the Church’s attention—a member of the Unbeliever family.

“His appearance is very distinctive, so I asked around and found out.”

“Is that so?”

Airella thought about it for a second and felt it made sense.

After all, the rumors after the last exam had spread like wildfire—probably almost everyone at the academy could recognize Lin Yue.

But how did she know where he lived…?

“By the way! Are you… Mrs. Hawk?”

Before Airella could think any further, Sefina quickly changed the topic.

She was genuinely curious why this girl had come crawling out of a boy’s bed.

In this world, sixteen was adulthood, and eighteen was the age for marriage—there were plenty who attended school with their husbands.

“Mrs. Hawk?”

Airella froze at those four words.

She had never imagined she’d be called that in her lifetime.

But since she’d just crawled out of his tent, she couldn’t blame Sefina for misunderstanding.

At once, she covered her flustered face with her hand and hurriedly waved it in denial, “N-no! You’ve got it wrong! Lin Yue and I are just friends, not that kind of relationship!”

Sefina blinked, then realized she’d said something silly.

Embarrassed, she apologized, “Oh, I see… I saw you in his tent and thought…”

She trailed off awkwardly, lowering her head and squeezing the basket even tighter.

Airella took a deep breath, forcing herself to suppress her shyness, and looked at Sefina again.

“It’s fine. But why were you looking for him? Yesterday he followed… uh, passed by and saw you fighting Allen. He was worried you two would make too much noise, so he stepped in. He didn’t scare you, did he?”

Whew, almost said too much…

“So that boy’s name is Allen, huh.”

Sefina touched her chin thoughtfully and said, “Ah, speaking of that…”

Sefina held out the gift she’d brought.

“Yesterday I was in a hurry and it was wrong of me not to identify myself to Allen.”

“I can’t stay long, but I still need to properly apologize to you both!”

Last night, she’d barely made it back in time before her doppelganger disappeared, swapping places with her real body.

It was a close call—if any of the priests looking after her had noticed, she’d have been in big trouble.

Sefina could only achieve such perfect concealment by overlaying magic with divine arts.

Without magical control, her doppelganger would’ve just been an empty shell.

As for why, as a Saintess, she could ignore the world’s laws and wield two conflicting powers…

That was her top secret—even her parents didn’t know.

“Cookies?”

“Yes, they’re a specialty from St. Ketanm. Our livestock industry is strong, so the dairy is excellent—the cookies are especially tasty.”

Sefina seemed very proud of her hometown treats.

She ate a box every day, and though her vows called for plain meals, she couldn’t help eating a little extra.

“St. Ketanm…”

Hearing that name, Airella’s excitement faded.

“The Church’s stronghold.”

Thinking of what they’d done to her, Airella still couldn’t let go—she couldn’t possibly be at peace about it.

Even living freely at Avilena, she’d always be affected by the Church’s wanted posters whenever she traveled.

There was no way to move around as she pleased.

“Miss… are you an Unbeliever?”

Seeing Airella’s obvious distaste, Sefina’s heart skipped a beat.

Noticing Sefina’s cautious expression, Airella smiled and relaxed, thinking: Seems there are still cute followers who haven’t been brainwashed by the Church.

“Our village worships nature above all. We’re not interested in gods… Oh, and my name’s Airella. Nice to meet you.”

Airella reached out a hand to Sefina.

“My name is Sefina, nice to meet you…”

Sefina took a closer look at Airella, finding her face familiar—green eyes, chestnut hair… she’d heard about her somewhere.

Before she could figure it out, Airella had already started eating the cookies quite boldly.

“Delicious! I’ve got to ask Lin Yue to make some cookies like this next time!”

“He… can bake cookies too?”

Sefina asked with genuine curiosity.

“I don’t know, but I’ve never seen anything he couldn’t do!”

As she spoke, a hint of pride slipped into Airella’s voice—almost as if she were boasting, “I really know him well.”

She thought for a moment, then added, “He looks unreliable, but he’s actually very considerate. He can cook, fish, hunt—he doesn’t have any of those snobby noble habits, not a trace of arrogance… he just has a bad habit of flirting with girls.”

Seeing Airella ramble on, Sefina felt a tinge of envy in her heart.

If only I hadn’t been chosen by the Church, maybe I could have someone I care about and learn what I love freely, just like her.

But faith in the gods was a tradition in every family in St. Ketanm, and she’d been born a Saintess, destined to join the Church since childhood.

Not that she hated her faith—praying and meditating near the gods always brought her peace and belonging.

It was just the Church’s endless factional strife that troubled her, making it hard to find tranquility or progress.

She was starting to fall behind the other Saintesses.

That was why she came out to clear her head.

She wasn’t very clever—besides following doctrine, she didn’t excel at anything.

Though, she was rather good at fighting; the Church valued strength, and the stronger one’s faith, the stronger their power.

With her holy sword, she’d beaten countless other believers, earning the nickname “Barbarian Saintess.”

She couldn’t understand it—wasn’t this how the paladins fought?

Why did she have to learn divine arts like the previous Saintesses?

“I heard the Church’s Saintess will be attending the send-off ceremony. Aren’t you going to watch?”

At the mention of “Saintess,” Sefina stiffened, a flicker of panic in her eyes.

She quickly covered it up, replying, “O-of course I’m going. It’s just… I haven’t seen Lin Yue yet, and I feel a bit uneasy.”

“Hey, I’ll thank him for you. You’ll run into him at the ceremony anyway!”

Airella, seeing this golden-haired girl acting so bashful, couldn’t help wanting to drag her along to find Lin Yue.

“I…”

Sefina was just about to answer, when suddenly two cold voices cut through the moment, breaking the warmth: “Lady Sefina! Why have you come to a place like this? Please return with us at once!”

Both girls turned to see two men striding over in golden priest’s robes, faces stern, their presence exuding overwhelming pressure.

Sefina’s face turned pale, her grip tightening around the basket, blue eyes full of panic.

“How did you find me here?”

Her voice quivered, and she unconsciously stepped back.

“Yesterday’s little escape was overlooked by the Bishop, but if you keep causing trouble today, we’ll have to be harsh…”

Seeing this, Airella immediately stepped in front of Sefina, warily watching the two priests.

“Church priests? Why are you bullying her?”

She had no idea what Sefina’s relationship with these priests was.

But she could sense that these two were trouble, and Sefina was clearly terrified of them.

“This isn’t your business. Stand aside!”

The lead priest’s voice was icy, his gaze sweeping over Airella with undisguised disdain.

“We’re here to escort Her Highness the Saintess back to the Church. Outsiders, do not interfere.”

“Her Highness the Saintess?”

Airella froze, looking back at Sefina in confusion.

Sefina bit her lip, not explaining, but pleaded with the priests, “I just came to thank a friend. I’ll go back soon. Please, don’t hurt her!”

“Saintess, you’ve already broken Church rules by leaving the group on your own and associating with an unknown person. Please return and reflect before the gods!”

The priest ignored her protest, reaching out to grab Sefina’s wrist.

Sefina dared not resist, just as she was about to be caught, a black, tentacle-like magical force wrapped around the priest’s hand, violently yanking him away.

“You…”

The priest looked shocked—no student had ever dared interfere with the Church’s officials like this.

“Airella!”

Sefina, seeing Airella step up, grew worried.

She would only get a scolding and maybe have to kneel for a few days if caught.

But if Airella was caught, she could be imprisoned.

“Sefina, I don’t care who you are or what your status is. As long as you’re being bullied by them, I won’t just sit by and do nothing.”

These Church people—truly infuriating!

She’d seen their arrogance and indifference over and over.

It was as if, except for their lofty god, they cared for nothing.

It made her sick!

Airella’s face darkened, thinking of that man who would protect her no matter how weak he was.

Anger overtook reason—she never wanted to see these people’s faces again.

Even if it’s like an ant trying to stop a cart—

I still want to…

“A mere second-rank mage dares to challenge a priest?”

Looking at this little girl like she was an ant, the priest sneered.

Airella gave a faint laugh.

She might not be as strong as the Valiana sisters, but she was far from an ordinary mage.

The black tentacles behind Airella swelled, then whipped out toward the priest like whips.

“So it’s you?”

The priest’s face darkened.

He slammed his staff on the ground, summoning a shield of divine power.

“Looks like it’s time to show the heretic what holy power truly is…”

His eyes glowed, a strange force filling his whole body.

If anything, it looked more eerie than sacred.

Airella knew the enemy was much stronger than her—there was no way to win head-on.

Her goal was to buy time, hoping a higher-ranked mage or Lia would notice the commotion.

Even the Church would have to pay dearly for attacking students within Avilena’s borders.

But as soon as she started to circulate her magic, the magical beast pendant on her chest began to shine wildly, its light growing more intense.

A powerful beastly force surged out, out of control.

Not good!

Again.

These past few days, whenever she tried to use her power, the pendant would be drawn by some force.

Before she could finish the thought, one of the priests suddenly acted.

A hand formed from holy light slammed down on Airella.

She barely dodged, but still caught a glancing blow on her shoulder.

The pain made her grunt, stumbling back a few steps.

“Airella!”

Sefina cried out, trying to rush to help, but the other priest gripped her shoulder, holding her fast.

“!”

Airella jerked her head around, wanting to unleash her beast power in retaliation, but Lin Yue’s warning flashed through her mind.

[Unless absolutely necessary, never reveal your power at the academy.]

She clenched her fists so hard her nails dug into her palms, forcibly suppressing her surging magic.

She’d already suffered for exposing her strength once before.

But that split second of hesitation was all the priest needed.

He struck, chopping down on Airella’s neck.

Airella’s vision went black.

Her body went limp and collapsed.

Just before she lost consciousness, she saw Sefina’s anxious face and the priests’ cold eyes.

“Take them both away!”

The leading priest ordered coldly.

“Let me go! How can you call it the gods’ mercy to use holy arts on a student!”

Seeing Airella on the ground, Sefina began to struggle, shouting at the priest.

“A normal student… Lady Saintess, you’re really naive.”

He grabbed Airella by the neck, then used divine power to reconstruct the Church’s old arrest warrant.

“Magical Beast Priestess: Airella Agresta. So, hiding out in Avilena—what are you plotting…”

…

“Is that… Airella?”

A figure in black watched from behind a tree, gray eyes full of disbelief.

Should I tell the teachers right away?

But with the expedition about to depart, no matter what, Avilena couldn’t openly fall out with the Church.

In fact, open conflict would be disastrous.

She knew Lia and Airella were close.

If Leah got angry, this might really blow up.

Who could withstand the fury of a sixth-rank Archmage?

But she couldn’t just stand by.

Was there anyone who could…

A figure of a black-haired boy surfaced in her mind.