emperor chapter 28

With a calm expression, Sebek drew a dagger and sliced his palm. It wasn’t a deep wound, but the blood dripping from his hand looked alarmingly red.

I finally understood what kind of disturbance he meant.

“What are you doing! Stop…!”

“Don’t look at me like I’m crazy. I don’t have a self-harm hobby, and I don’t plan on continuing this bothersome act.”

“What?”

“Here. Heal it quickly. This is the test.”

After nonchalantly explaining the practical exam, Sebek extended his injured hand towards me. When I just stared at it, he wiggled his fingers.

“Should I pretend to be in pain? Some people want that. Ambiance is important, you know.”

“No. That’s not necessary.”

“Good. It would have been a bother.”

I knew that promotion was based on exams, but I didn’t know the specifics. I never imagined it would be this… visceral.

“I have a question. Is the lower-level priest exam also like this?”

“Minette, you’re surprisingly cold. Don’t you feel sorry for me, bleeding like this?”

“Th-that’s not it. I’m just curious.”

“Curiosity is a good thing. But if you want to know, how about getting out of apprentice status first? There’s an o-r-d-e-r to things.”

Emphasizing the word “order,” Sebek wiggled his fingers again. Carefully, I took his hand and began to gather divine power. I had tried it before in front of Lowell, though I hadn’t actually used it.

So, this was technically the first time I was using Miniel’s divine power?

“Huh…?”

In terms of divine power alone, Miniel was supposed to be a top-tier, world’s strongest type of character, but she couldn’t even heal this small wound? It didn’t make sense.

I could definitely feel the divine power gathering. I fiddled with Sebek’s hand, but the wound remained.

“Are you trying to prolong our hand-holding? If so, I welcome it. I can endure the pain.”

“What are you talking about! That’s not it at all.”

“Then what is it? Are you going to tell me the top graduate of the Divine Academy can’t do something like this?”

He spoke playfully, but his gaze was probing. Despite his casual attitude, Sebek was still the examiner.

“Um, well, please give me a moment.”

“There’s no time limit, but I have an appointment in the afternoon, so I can’t keep you company forever. Though, you’re welcome to visit me at night. And you need to finish this quickly so you can take the written exam…”

Sebek’s voice trailed off. The pain in his hand had vanished. Although it took some time, the wound on his hand had healed.

“…You pass. I was just trying to scare you. Congratulations, Minette.”

“Is it over? So, I can stay at Caro…?”

“Hmm. Actually, there’s one more part to the test. You have to hug the examiner and express your joy at passing.”

“Don’t lie.”

“Oh well. Anyway, congratulations.”

Sebek gave me a thumbs-up. It was the hand that had been injured. Seeing him make a fist without any discomfort, the healing seemed complete. The only question was why it took so long, but the result was good, so did it matter?

“Now that the practical is over, I could entertain you until the make-up exam… Ah, damn it. Who is it this time?”

Sebek’s cheerful expression hardened. He pulled out a communication device from his pocket and sighed.

“He’s such a pain. Annoying when he’s around, but I look for him when he’s not.”

“What’s wrong? Who’s calling?”

“Yeah. You’ve met him once before… Ugh. It’ll stop ringing eventually.”

His voice was drowned out by the increasing vibrations. Sebek squeezed the device in frustration, but the vibrations wouldn’t stop unless the caller hung up.

“Unfortunately, I can’t take you back to the testing grounds. You can manage on your own, right?”

“Of course. Thank you for your help, Sebek.”

“So formal. Fine, fine. I’m going, I’m going.”

It was a strangely similar parting to our last encounter. Muttering curses, Sebek flung the door open and left.

***

“So, Arima. Why did you call me using the communication device? If it’s not urgent, I’ll shove it down your throat.”

“It is urgent. We have a meeting this afternoon. High Priest Gael will be attending.”

“Ah… Well, yeah. Sorry. But isn’t it still a while before the scheduled time?”

“It is. I called you not for that, but because I needed someone to eat with.”

“I’m going to kill you.”

“I’m having steak. Sebek, you?”

“The same! Well-done!”

As Arima and Sebek headed to the dining hall, Sebek absently rubbed his palm.

Years ago, he had been injured in an accident. While the external wounds had healed and he could function normally, the internal muscle damage prevented him from making delicate movements.

As if harboring resentment towards that particular body part, he always inflicted an injury on his right hand during the exams. He had done the same just now with Minette.

‘…Should I tell the High Priest?’

Looking at his right hand, which felt strangely more mobile than usual, Sebek wore a thoughtful expression.