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After the Spell Tools were made, things went smoothly without a hitch. The marks of the Offering that appeared on the children’s bodies were stamped with seals made by Sophia, and once the seals were applied, the influence of the marks disappeared without exception, making it impossible to see the marks with the naked eye anymore.

Then, the children were handled in two ways. Either they were reunited with their lost parents through the Church Order, or, if they had no family to return to, they were taken in by the Church Order based on their personal wishes or circumstances.

Exceptionally, children from Bordeaux were entirely taken in by the Church Order. This was because most of these children had lost their parents, and due to political reasons, the city of Bordeaux was deemed untrustworthy.

Normally, handling such matters without the consent of local administrative bodies would lead to discord, but this time, the situation was different. Bishop Lefebvre of the Bordeaux Church complied with the group’s request without complaint.

“Phew, even if I were to be ordained as a bishop in the future, I would never want to be assigned to a big city.”

“Same here…”

After wrapping up everything, Esiocles and Hildegard slumped back in their chairs and sighed. Seeing this, Sophia grinned and said, “Honestly, no matter how many times I experience it, I just can’t seem to get along with politics. Those who thrive in the political arena must naturally have thicker skin and a shameless streak.”

Anyway, with the urgent matters taken care of, the group moved to the dormitory of the Bordeaux Church. It was dinner time, and the dormitory cafeteria still had some unserved meals left.

As they ate onion soup, salted peas, roasted parsnips, and pickled butterbur stems, Sophia cautiously asked Priest Clomang, “Excuse me, but could I borrow your disciple after dinner?”

“Agnès? What for?”

“She seemed unfamiliar with fully utilizing her abilities when I saw her earlier. I thought I could give her some helpful advice.”

At Sophia’s words, Priest Clomang’s expression brightened. He had been worrying about the same issue.

Agnès was originally from the Oblige family, a lineage of shrine maidens. Although Priest Clomang had taken her as a disciple, it was more as a clergy member rather than someone who could develop her shrine maiden abilities.

In truth, even the Oblige family hadn’t provided Agnès with education corresponding to her innate blessings, so the outcome wouldn’t have been much different either way. However, unaware of this, Priest Clomang couldn’t help but feel a sense of responsibility every time he thought about it.

“Could you really help her?”

“Of course. Agnès is your disciple, Priest Clomang, so naturally, she will serve you wherever she goes. It seems you’ll continue to seek out dangerous and challenging tasks, so it’s essential for her to better fulfill her role to give you peace of mind.”

“Ugh, your words seem a bit pointed, but thank you. Now Agnès might finally gain some confidence.”

Priest Clomang smiled weakly and repeatedly expressed his gratitude.

After dinner, the group gathered in the open space in front of the dormitory and began their training as if by prior agreement.

As usual, Sophia brought out training equipment like barbells, dumbbells, bench presses, kettlebells, wooden dummies, and sandbags, and the group trained using them. Conra stood in a horse stance, deep in meditation and image training, while Maria practiced Sphere Exercises. The material of the ball in Maria’s hands was gradually becoming heavier.

Hildegard’s latissimus dorsi muscles spread like wings as she worked out on the lat pulldown machine, her back muscles clearly defined, while Esiocles, just pumped from his workout, struck a slightly tilted abdominal and thigh pose. Meanwhile, the spirit Saraswati clapped joyfully at the sight of the two.

Sophia stood Agnès aside and gave her separate advice on martial arts.

“Above all, you need to build strength, especially endurance. If you’ve gained the blessing of invincibility, you should make good use of it, right? Let me teach you some good endurance training methods.”

“If you teach me, I’ll gratefully learn!”

Agnès’s response was more enthusiastic than Sophia expected. Having felt her limits while serving Priest Clomang, the advice from a master like Sophia was as precious as gold to her.

“The core and lower body are crucial. Additionally, the muscles for endurance need both explosive power and stamina.”

Sophia emphasized the importance of mixing high-weight, low-repetition exercises with low-weight, high-repetition ones and began teaching Agnès some training methods. It was reminiscent of a 21st-century fitness trainer instructing a new client.

Just as she had diligently taught weight training to Karl Hector Meyer in Bryumatt, Sophia began imparting all aspects of weight training to Agnès with vibrant energy.

“You might find it hard to access training equipment for a while. I’ve left a backpack with some equipment over there, so make sure to take it with you later.”

Sophia pointed to a space-expanded, lightweight backpack, showing the same consideration to Agnès as she had to Karl Hector Meyer.

“While you’re at it, why not invite Priest Clomang to join the training? He’s at an age where he needs to start taking care of his body.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Indeed, Priest Clomang was approaching his late thirties, an age where exercise was necessary. Agnès nodded firmly, her eyes shining with a sense of duty.

After strength training, Sophia also corrected Agnès’s martial arts techniques.

After about half a day of advice and demonstrations, Agnès’s self-developed hybrid martial arts, a mix of the Oblige family’s techniques and the Saint Manuel Sisterhood’s techniques, had transformed from an incomplete mess into a refined form. Agnès had a natural talent for remembering what she saw and heard.

After a few light sparring sessions to help her apply the advice, Sophia, though not entirely satisfied, said, “I’ve also put a wooden dummy and sandbag in the backpack, so make sure to practice whenever you have time. You know how to do image training, right?”

“Ugh, I’m not confident yet, but I’ll try.”

“That’s the spirit. These things only improve with practice. Whether you’re confident or not, rubbing your forehead against the ground will teach you how to do it without getting hurt.”

Conra, who had just finished meditating, thought Sophia’s words were truly wise. Even for someone as accustomed to Sophia’s way of speaking as he was, the old-fashioned advice from the 20-something Sophia was hard to get used to.

+++++

The next day, after breakfast, Baron de Coubertin, the port manager of Bordeaux, visited Sophia and her group. He came to report on the city council and authorities’ reactions to the Kraken incident and the attempted theft of the Replica of the Ocean’s Treasure, which the group had previously requested help with.

“After going through the process, the city authorities have decided to actively respond to the hostile sabotage by the Sphiyagons against Bordeaux.”

“That’s surprising. I thought they’d drag their feet due to the political reasons you mentioned earlier.”

“No, it’s a natural outcome. The old political enemies are all dead, and the Replica of the Ocean’s Treasure is directly tied to Bordeaux’s diplomacy and economy. It’s in their direct interest to act quickly. Especially since our Church Order has offered to handle the children’s issues, removing the last obstacle. If they didn’t act now, they’d deserve a kick in the rear.”

Sophia’s sharp tone made Conra shudder once again at his master’s unrelenting words. Even with Baron de Coubertin present, Sophia didn’t hold back… though the Baron himself seemed pleased with the group’s involvement and simply smiled, unfazed by Sophia’s comments about the city authorities.

In truth, the Baron had little to do with Bordeaux’s political upheavals. His family’s position as port managers had been inherited for generations, and his current role was based entirely on his own achievements and reputation, unrelated to the city’s political turmoil.

If anything, his only connection was his ability to navigate the situation without getting caught up in the chaos. But if one were to assign blame for the situation, hardly anyone in Bordeaux would be exempt.

In any case, the immediate urgent matter was resolved, so there was no reason to stay longer. Sophia suddenly asked Priest Clomang, “So, what are your plans now? I can guess, but I thought I’d ask.”

“We’ve discovered one of their hideouts and dealt a blow, but I don’t think we’ve completely subdued them yet. So, if possible, I’d like to continue tracking them down to uncover their roots. Once the children’s situations are settled, I plan to set out as soon as possible, even tomorrow.”

Sophia sighed at Priest Clomang’s resolute answer, saying, “I thought you’d say that. That’s why I’ve taught Agnès everything I can in this short time, but whether it’s enough will depend entirely on her talent and effort.”

Sophia’s sharp gaze then turned to Agnès. “Listen, Sister Agnès Oblige. Can you follow your mentor to the end and protect him on his journey?”

“Gladly. My mentor’s cause is my cause, and his beliefs are my beliefs. I will ensure no one harms even a hair on his head.”

“I believe you.”

Sophia nodded firmly and extended her hand, gripping Agnès’s firmly. “Then we should hurry with our plans. The ship’s departure is imminent.”

“Phew, are we leaving now? Everywhere we go, trouble seems to follow.”

“One of those troubles wasn’t entirely unrelated to you, Hilde.”

“Bringing up the past is cheating!”

“Hmm, it wasn’t that long ago, was it? The sight of Lord Wolfstein being offered as a sacrifice to the demons, stripped naked, was truly obscene.”

“Sorry, but I don’t want to hear that from someone who’s always half-naked!”

As Hildegard and Esiocles bickered, Sophia’s gaze turned to the northern sky, where she was headed.

‘The Great Demon Agnon, the demons mimicking divine retinues and spirits I met in Hispania, and the schemes of Sabnak and the Sphiyagons in Bordeaux. I still can’t figure out how they’re all connected.’

This sea route had been suggested by spirits with indescribable insight. Sophia guessed that there must be some significant causality formed in the process and outcome of this journey, though she couldn’t predict what form it would take.

Even the spirits Ariel and Gabrielle, who had first suggested the sea route, likely didn’t know. The insight of spirits wasn’t based on omniscience or foresight but on intuition and supernatural sensitivity beyond words.

In any case, the rest was now left to those who remained, and it was time for them to board the ship and set sail once more.

That day, a ship departed from the port of Bordeaux once again.

And some time later…

“Master! We’ve finally reached Caledonia!”

“Tsk tsk, I get that you’re excited, but don’t act like you’ve been hit by a preemptive strike! You’re causing a disturbance!”

“Ugh, why does a simple flick hurt so much!? I’ve been training too!”

“Did you think I was slacking off while you were training?”

A ship arrived at the port of Plymouth in the Duchy of Cornwall, Caledonia, having departed from the military port of Brest in Franquia. The boy, thrilled to set foot on a land close to his father’s homeland, was calmed down with a flick to the forehead.

 

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