Lephiri gazed down at Howell, who was sleeping soundly beside her.
'Hoho. The little rascal sleeps so well.'
She had carefully monitored Howell's physical condition for the past ten years, though she had never managed to discover the cause of his sleeping sickness or a way to cure it.
Those five years had truly been painful for Lephiri herself as well.
There were even times when she found herself pathetic despite being called the greatest authority on holy arts.
Even after Howell opened his eyes, she still couldn't determine whether the sleeping sickness had been completely cured.
That was why she had readily agreed when Aaron suggested building up Howell's physical strength.
Howell was the child who would one day succeed Denia as the nursing home's caretaker, as well as a precious presence who had entered the old folks' lives near the very end.
'Old people's whims are still whims, I suppose.'
Several of the elders had gotten excited and said they would pass their secret arts on to Howell.
That too was probably an extension of the same sentiment.
Naturally, Lephiri had examined not only Howell's health, but also whether he possessed any talent.
'A blank page.'
Lephiri often compared Howell's talent to a sheet of pure white paper.
For a simple example, someone with talent for fire magic would naturally give off the aura of red flames.
The density of that aura could even indicate the grade of their talent.
But nothing could be seen from Howell.
Because of that, she had always assumed there was no field in which he possessed any exceptional aptitude.
'And yet...... I was looking at it from the wrong angle.'
An error born from too much experience and too much information.
Lephiri had spent her entire life as a member of the clergy and had even educated several Holy Emperors and Holy Knight Order Commanders.
And that was far from all.
Countless clergymen had grown under her guidance through the generations.
But this time, she needed to look at things from a different angle.
'A blank page has no color of its own.'
Because it absorbed things easily, it could also be easily tainted.
But conversely, it might contain limitless possibilities.
Of course, since there was no particular talent he leaned toward, there was an even greater possibility that he lacked the ability to comprehend or learn.
That was why Lephiri had always considered Howell talentless.
'If muddied colors are smeared onto it, it will be easily contaminated. But if the right colors are applied instead......?'
There were many elders in this nursing home who could do exactly that.
People whose own colors were unmistakably distinct.
'But precisely because of that, there is something we need to make absolutely certain.'
That was why Lephiri had held a serious conversation with Aaron "about Howell."
Considering the foundation of holy arts, it was something they needed to settle clearly.
***
I couldn't hide my excitement over Elder Lephiri's gift.
That gift was—
A lesson in holy arts.
And this wasn't just learning from anyone.
I was being taught by the foremost authority in the field of holy arts education, which made it completely different.
I'd heard that even the Holy Emperor from two generations ago and the previous Holy Emperor of the Holy Kingdom of Rudran had been taught by Elder Lephiri.
That said everything.
'Focus, focus, focus. Don't miss a single word.'
People often said that a student needed the right attitude toward learning.
I hoped that was how Elder Lephiri saw me.
"Hoho. Even if you happen to have no talent, learning at least the basic holy arts will allow you to help many people in the future."
It felt as though Elder Lephiri and I wanted the same thing.
And so the impromptu lesson began.
Elder Aaron's training was hell.
Elder Lephiri's teaching was heaven.
That was exactly how it felt.
"Now, stand facing this old woman."
She emphasized that whenever one taught a junior, teacher and student should always face each other.
She said it was a matter of respect between both sides.
She was someone who had once raised countless priests in the Holy Kingdom.
It seemed as though she was recalling the fundamentals of holy arts one piece at a time, assembling fragments of long memories.
"Now, follow me. Draw in a deep breath and stimulate your lungs, then imagine connecting that energy to your heart."
"Yes."
I followed Elder Lephiri's movements and posture closely, gradually grasping the flow of holy arts.
The first step was to find the traces of holy power Elder Lephiri had previously passed into me.
Saaaaaa......
The holy power radiating throughout my body slowly gathered into my right hand.
A sphere of light rose from my palm.
"Wow."
"......Hoho. You learn quickly."
Elder Lephiri rested her chin on one hand as though pondering something, then met my eyes again.
"That is the amount you can currently operate at one time. Try maintaining it all the way to your limit."
"Yes."
I focused so the sphere of light concentrated in my right hand wouldn't disappear.
Its form was faint, as though it might crumble at any moment.
"Nngh......"
I was slowly approaching my limit.
The sphere barely maintained its opaque form before fading away.
"Haa...... Haa......"
I collapsed into the grass and panted.
"Howell, remember the sensation of using holy power."
"Haaa...... Yes."
"Rest a little longer, then try again."
Instead of answering, I nodded.
The second attempt was comparatively easier.
I gathered holy power and manifested the sphere of light again.
"Move it toward the grass you see down here."
The grass beneath us had been crushed messily because Elder Lephiri and I had been standing on it.
"Huuu."
When I brought the sphere of light to the grass, a clear glow began to ripple.
"Slowly. More than anything, put your sincere desire to heal the grass into it."
The earnest wish to heal the target.
When that sincere feeling reached its peak—
The bent blades of grass began, little by little, to return to their original state.
Elder Lephiri watched solemnly as a new blessing of light unfolded before her.
"You did very well for your first time. From now on, keep practicing while recalling that sensation. Holy arts branch in many directions, but that is their essence."
"Yes. I'll remember it."
I bowed my head in thanks.
"This old woman will enjoy her reading, so practice some more on your own."
With that, Elder Lephiri returned to her book.
Not wanting to disturb her, I moved some distance away and practiced restorative holy arts.
There were no clear numbers to show it, but the more I repeated the process of gathering holy power and connecting it into a restorative holy art, the more the quality of the technique changed.
Not only did the sphere of light grow larger than before, but I was also able to link the process together more quickly.
'Whew...... It feels like I've drained every last bit of energy from my body.'
Even I had to admit I'd practiced a lot.
It felt as though I'd used up even the holy power meant for tomorrow.
"Haa...... Haa......"
If I continued any further, I felt like my body would become completely exhausted.
'Just a few more times......'
I didn't particularly aspire to become a master of holy arts.
I simply wanted to become familiar with them as quickly as possible and move on to the next stage.
The path of learning that had been impossible in my previous life.
In this life, I had sworn to pursue it to my heart's content.
'I can definitely feel my motivation surging.'
My sense for holy power was already active.
'Like making it swell, then shrink.'
I clenched my fist tightly, then opened it.
I could sense the holy power more clearly.
But that was as far as it went.
'Haaa...... Smoothly casting restorative holy arts is still beyond me.'
At most, I had reached the level of recognizing holy power.
Restoring the crushed grass had been closer to a lucky success.
Even so, I didn't give up.
I continued thinking about holy arts right up until the moment I fell asleep that night.
Enough that I even reviewed them in my dreams.
***
The sun was high in the sky.
Chirp, chirp.
The voices of birds served as my alarm clock.
Warm sunlight washed over me as I opened my eyes.
"Yaaawn."
I let out a deep yawn.
Then I began filling my sluggish mind with holy-art theory again.
Even while washing my sleepy face and changing out of my pajamas into everyday clothes, my thoughts were packed with holy arts.
Before I knew it, a full week had passed since I began learning them.
I'd studied diligently all that time to improve my ability to handle holy power, but I still had many shortcomings.
I felt them most strongly when it came to innate qualities.
By the sixth day of my holy-art lessons, I'd realized that I lacked the talent necessary for holy power.
The previous night, Elder Lephiri had told me a painful truth to ease my worries.
According to her, the foundation of holy arts was naturally holy power.
And there were two major requirements for filling oneself with holy power.
'The two requirements for replenishing holy power.'
First, unconditional faith in a god.
Second, sincere goodwill toward other living beings.
Lephiri Daviha was a saint who fulfilled both conditions.
I, on the other hand, was ambiguous on both counts.
'Actually, "ambiguous" is being generous. I'm severely lacking......'
First of all, the requirement determined by the strength of one's faith was practically zero percent for me.
After all, in my previous life, I'd gone beyond being nonreligious and had even resented the gods.
The same was true in this life.
For now, it was only speculation that the being who had given me a new life through soul possession was actually a god.
In practice, I had absolutely no faith in Zerdino, the Holy God of Light, or Rubeian, the Chief God of the Sun.
Then was I kind or righteous enough to call myself an altruist?
No.
'I was called the Benevolent Count in my previous life...... but that was only because of the vicarious satisfaction it gave me......'
In the end, I was lacking in talent for holy power, so I would have to make up for it through repeated practice.
'I need to try at least one more time.'
Effort, effort, effort.
Until it was time to meet Elder Lephiri, I practiced again and again without stopping.
Then, after finishing lunch, I headed straight for the garden.
As though responding to my excited mood, Elder Lephiri welcomed me with a bright smile.
"Well then, have you practiced operating it some more?"
"Yes. Now I can gather it freely whenever I want."
I clenched my fist tightly and concentrated the holy power.
"Hoh, excellent. Can you increase the amount beyond that?"
"I'll try."
I calmly closed my eyes and focused even harder.
The scattered particles of light gradually gathered together.
But the size itself didn't change much.
"Hoho. Your process of generating holy power is excellent, but you still haven't completely fulfilled the requirements. It would shine even more brightly if faith were added as well...... but this old woman will not force that upon you."
She revered the gods more deeply than anyone in the world, yet never imposed that belief on others.
That was precisely one of the reasons I respected Elder Lephiri even more.
After that, I spent several more days immersed in restorative holy arts.
During that time, thanks to Elder Lephiri's influence, neither Elder Aaron nor the other elders interfered with me.
After all, Elder Lephiri was one of the most influential figures in the nursing home.
'Honestly, this is way better than Elder Aaron's side of things.'
I continued devoting myself to holy-art training while also doing a reasonable amount of exercise on my own.
Then, on the fifteenth day of repeating basic physical conditioning and holy-art training, an idea flashed through my mind.
'What if I use restorative holy arts on myself?'
What if I deliberately pushed my body hard enough to cause muscle soreness, used restorative holy arts on the affected muscles, then exercised again?
'Whew. Just imagining it is thrilling.'
An endless cycle of physical training and holy-art healing.
If I did it right, I might be able to grow stronger quickly.
I immediately went to find Elder Aaron.
When it came to training that could thoroughly overwork my body, nothing could beat the Mercenary King's hellish regimen.
***
"Oh? Well, look who it is. Isn't this Howell, the loser who ran off to Sister Lephiri because he couldn't handle muscle training?"
He was obviously sulking.
All right.
Now, how was I supposed to sweet-talk this muscle-bound old man?