Chapter 184: Rabbit and Slime (2)

Swish— Pop pop pop—

Hearing a distracting sound nearby along with the swift movement of someone approaching the carriage, I lowered the window slightly to peek outside. Right next to the carriage, waving her hand while hopping along, was Bella.

'When she said she could keep up with the carriage, she really meant it.'

Of course, if I activated my mana circuits, I could temporarily match the carriage's speed, but that would last only about 5 to 10 seconds at most.

However, Bella was easily keeping pace with the carriage by bending her long legs and leaping 7 to 10 meters at a time, alternating from left to right. Unlike usual, her perky rabbit ears were serving as heat dissipators, allowing her to run without even sweating a drop.

"Impressive."

Even the military dog handlers I had previously brought along could keep up with the carriage by running, but that was only because the winding roads forced the carriage to take a longer route while they sprinted directly across the terrain. They also took breaks in between. This was different—Bella was matching the carriage's speed under the same conditions.

"The physical abilities of beastkin are beyond reason even by demi-human standards. Most monsters wouldn’t stand a chance against them. Maybe an orc could match them in raw physical strength, but even then, some beastkin have specialized abilities that surpass even orcs."

"Would it be different against an ogre?"

"Ogres aren’t demi-humans, are they?"

Well, ogres were much bigger than humans, so there was a difference in size class as well.

"Nowadays, in this peaceful era, they restrain themselves, but in the past, beastkin were practically just animals that resembled humans. They preserved the traits of their respective animals. In harsh environments, a beast’s physique was more advantageous for survival than human intelligence."

"That’s the story about how they received the blessing of the Wild God and fused with animals, right?"

"Once you start getting into theology, everything turns into a fairy tale, so it doesn’t mean much to researchers like us. Based on our current studies, ancient beastkin had snouts and fur covering their faces. They were essentially bipedal animals. Over time, they found that resembling the dominant demi-human species of the continent was more beneficial for survival, so they gradually lost their fur and evolved to become more human-like."

Even now, Professor Pandel seemed intent on lecturing.

Well, I usually spent my time playing with Shuru and Mollang, or if I was bored, chatting with the coachman about how the transportation business was doing, how much money I could make by entering the logistics industry, and whether his descriptions of his "toad-like daughter and rabbit-like son" were just a poor choice of words or if his daughter was actually a sturdy, warrior-like woman while his son was a delicate, pretty boy. Those were fun distractions. But for Professor Pandel, reading books or teaching me random knowledge seemed to be his idea of fun.

"Most theoretical knowledge is drilled into the trainees' heads in the first year. Later, they either start skipping classes, daydreaming, or in some cases, their brains turn into pure muscle. But I must say, your enthusiasm for monster ecology was quite impressive."

"If you're going to compliment me, just do it. Why are you trailing off?"

"Because the only time you really paid attention was when I explained breeding and reproductive organs. It was hard not to notice."

Honestly, it wasn’t just me. Most students probably woke up the moment breeding came up in anatomy lessons.

That’s just how knights are. Well, men in general.

Even female knights… If Cassandra is any indication, then they probably weren’t much different from us. They just hid it better.

"Speaking of beastkin evolution, this is a good time to bring up the theological perspective. Are you familiar with divine blessings?"

"Are you talking about beings like the Saint?"

"That’s an extreme example, but it’s the most well-known one."

Mana circuits also required talent—only those born with them could wield their full potential. However, very few people were completely incapable of forming mana circuits. Most, especially humans, had at least some talent for it.

Granted, only a rare few were born with mana circuits strong enough to become knights, but through training, most people could at least develop them enough to improve their physical health.

Only in extremely rare cases did someone have absolutely no talent for mana circuits at all.

But divine power was different.

It was purely something one was born with or received as a blessing from a god after demonstrating deep faith. In ancient times, this was more common due to constant warfare, but in today's peaceful era, it was almost impossible.

There were legends of knights who were both devout and exceptionally skilled in battle, receiving a divine sword directly from their god in front of a crowd and using it to slay the Demon King's army.

In other words, the ones who wield divine power today are mostly those with an innate affinity for it—holy knights and priests. The most extreme example would be a Saint, someone personally chosen by the goddess, who can effortlessly use high-level divine magic that even the most disciplined priests cannot achieve after decades of training.

"In essence, divine magic is a standardized way to share a god’s blessing in a structured manner. Holy Aura, which protects paladins from evil sorcery, or Holy Weapon, which blesses their blades to cut down the impure—these are all examples of that system."

"I see."

"But true divine blessings go beyond that."

Honestly, I never thought Professor Pandel, an expert in monster ecology and various branches of biology, would have much interest in theology or divine power. But given his long life and curiosity, he had accumulated quite a bit of general knowledge.

"True divine blessings… Well, let me put it this way."

Professor Pandel smiled as if he was about to tell a very interesting story.

"I can blow your head off with a single word. It's the same kind of thing."

Hearing that, I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.

"...Are you a child?"

"That's essentially what divine blessings are. The most primitive form of absurdity made possible by divine intervention. Think back to the example of the Saint you just mentioned."

"What about it...?"

"A young girl, not even an adult yet, has received such an overwhelming divine blessing that she can surpass an entire group of high-ranking priests who have studied and trained in holy magic for decades."

Maybe it was because I had grown too used to the Saint, but while I could intellectually recognize that this was a strange comparison, emotionally, it didn't feel that odd to me.

"The Saint transcends time and possesses divine power stronger than anyone else. If you think about it, isn't that just as childish and absurd?"

"Hmm... Now that you mention it, you're right."

Logically speaking, if we were to compare knights, there would be trainees, full-fledged knights, and senior knights. Naturally, senior knights would generally be stronger, and trainee knights would be weaker.

Exceptions existed, of course, but under normal circumstances, a trainee knight was expected to be weak enough to be completely outmatched by a senior knight, even if ten of them fought together.

'I guess I never noticed because I’m one of those exceptions.'

Among the current active members of the Magic Knight Order, I was the strongest. After all, I was the one who fought Cassandra on the eastern front.

"There are differences between each Saint, but even the one considered the weakest in history still possessed enough divine power to rival an entire priesthood."

That was true. Even the previous Saint, whom I met when she was still a child, exuded a divine aura from her entire body.

Of course, her power was overshadowed by the current Saint, who had been even stronger from a young age.

"Of course, during the age of strong divine intervention, gods would create avatars and directly interfere in the world. But now, as faith has weakened and the age of reason has taken hold, their intervention has decreased."

"Then wouldn't that mean the past was a better time to live?"

"Hah... Do you really think so?"

Professor Pandel spoke in a meaningful tone.

"The temples, of course, would claim that the age of gods was a better time, but think about it carefully. The nature of gods is often far too extreme for humans to follow completely."

"Well, the goddess of love and marriage seems like a deity worth following, doesn't she?"

"What if her idea of love and marriage meant obsessing over someone, forcing them into marriage even if they didn’t reciprocate the feelings? Would you still think the same?"

Now that I think about it... That does sound disturbing.

"Anyway, it's about time for lunch. Let's take a break."

"Isn't it a bit early for that?"

"It seems our patient is having trouble."

At those words, I looked out the carriage window. Unlike earlier, Bella was staggering a bit, her face pale as she struggled to keep up with the carriage. Her movements were less precise—her legs weren’t extending properly, and she seemed to be on the verge of stumbling.

"Alright, let's stop."

Professor Pandel rang the bell to signal the coachman, who then steered the carriage off the road and into a nearby clearing.

"Haa... Haa... Haaa...!!"

Bella collapsed onto the grass at the edge of the clearing, panting heavily.

'I told her not to overdo it.'

I brought my water bottle to her lips, and she immediately gulped it down without even trying to hold it herself. She just drank whatever I gave her, making me wonder whether she was a beastkin or a pet rabbit.

"Phew... I feel alive again..."

"Are you alright?"

"At first, running after so long felt great, but then my lower back suddenly started throbbing..."

"You were tied up in a cramped space for nearly a full day, then spent more time lying down without properly stretching before sprinting like that. Of course, this would happen."

"If you knew, why didn't you stop me?"

"Patients never listen to doctors until they’re already in pain."

Professor Pandel really had a garbage personality.

I wiped Bella's sweat-covered face, watching as her rabbit ears remained perked up to let the breeze cool her down. After handing her another drink of water, I observed the fascinating way her ears twitched in the wind.

"Haaa..."

Completely drained, Bella flopped down into the grass. A classic tale popped into my mind.

A race between a rabbit and a slime. The rabbit surged ahead but got lazy, only for the slime to catch up and eat it. A fable teaching not to let your guard down.

But in this case, the rabbit didn't collapse out of laziness—she was just too weak to keep going.

"You have mild lower back pain, but it shouldn’t prevent you from running. A bit of spinal adjustment should be enough to fix it. Help her out."

"Shouldn't a medical professional like you be the one to handle this, Professor Pandel?"

"What strength do you think I have?"

In the end, all the physical work falls on me.

"Hold her pelvis steady and press along her spine from the lower back upward. There’s no bone damage, so it's likely just muscle fatigue."

"Understood."

"I’ll... be in your care..."

Bella lay face down in the grass, her face buried in it. I moved behind her and naturally placed my hands on her hips.

'Huh? Wait a second... This position...?'"