BMPEW 15

Chapter 15

But even after quite some time had passed, I didn’t feel like I was falling to the ground.

Rather, it felt like something soft was supporting me from below.

Wondering what was going on, I opened my eyes—and beneath me, soft flames were rising, lifting me upward.

“Huh?”

This is divine fire?

But it wasn’t my own magic. Who used it?

When I lifted my head, I could see the silhouette of someone standing on the platform above.

As I rose higher, I clearly saw a woman in a white priestess robe, arms outstretched to catch me.

Finally, I landed safely in her arms.

“Th-thank you…”

My whole body was shaking so badly, I could barely get the words out.

The woman gently embraced my trembling body. Maybe because it had been so long since I had been held warmly like this, my tension melted instantly, and tears welled up.

She patted me quietly for a while, and once I had calmed down, she greeted me politely.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, miss. I am Sosia, a priestess of the goddess Vesta.”

“I… I almost died…”

“You can rest easy now. I will keep you safe.”

A white veil fluttered next to her calm face as she spoke. Only then did I realize who Sosia really was.

The High Priestess of the Temple of Vesta.

One who could directly hear the voice of the goddess, revered by noble families even more than direct blood relatives.

And in the time I came from, she was a mysterious figure long gone—only remembered in records and documents.

‘She’s so young?’

I had vaguely assumed the High Priestess would be older, but surprisingly, she wasn’t.

I stared at her face, captivated by the sacred aura she radiated.

‘She truly looks like someone who serves the Goddess of Compassion.’

In her brown eyes, I saw a deep love that expected nothing in return—but also a kind of serene detachment, like someone who had transcended all worldly things.

She had a face so similar to the goddess Vesta, and it felt like she would calmly wait for anyone to open their heart to her.

“What brings you here today?”

The priestess gently took my hand and asked.

“Ah, right! I came to see Abelnus!”

Though it wasn’t a very detailed answer, she nodded without hesitation.

“The young master is currently at the training grounds. I’ll show you the way.”

“Okay!”

With the priestess guiding me, we walked along a forest path when suddenly a question popped into my mind.

There was nothing at the platform—so why was she just standing there?

“Here we are. Go on through. I wish you luck.”

We had only walked a few minutes when a stone wall came into view, blocking the path.

Sosia let go of my hand and stepped back slightly, as if to say she couldn’t go any farther.

‘I should come back and talk with her more, if I get the chance.’

With that thought, I bowed politely to the kind priestess.

She had brought me not to the front of the training grounds, but to a narrow side path that led around the back. I slipped through a tight gap in the stone and found myself in a passage leading to the armory within the training ground.

Peeking through the piled-up shields, I spotted four children standing apart from one another, each preparing to unleash their divine power.

‘That’s Abelnus!’

He was at the far right end.

“I’ll count to a hundred. Begin activating your power!”

The power instructor shouted.

From the looks of it, they were training to maintain control over their powers for a hundred seconds using metal bowls.

“Sis… how do I do this?”

“If you just leave fire alone, of course it rises upward!”

A little boy whined, and the girl who seemed to be his sister scolded him.

“Fourteen, fifteen. Bellichia! Focus on your own power! Bellicus, you’re disqualified. Withdraw your magic and wait!”

“Aww…”

‘So those two are the Bellichia and Bellicus siblings.’

A bit apart from them were Abelnus, who was struggling with control, and another boy calmly carrying out the task.

‘That must be Scaevola.’

These were the very ones who, in the not-so-distant future, would throw Ignitus into total chaos.

That kid, Bellicus, would end up completely ruined and cast aside after conspiring with the king to seize the head of the household.

And Scaevola… well, you could say he committed nearly every evil a person could.

On the other hand, I remembered almost nothing about the girl.

Maybe she died young or married into another family early.

Either way, the fact that they were training alongside Abelnus was unsettling.

“Twenty, twenty-one—”

Boom!

The bowl in front of Abelnus exploded with a loud bang.

“…Damn.”

As he looked embarrassed, the boy sitting next to him quietly smiled.

“Ninety-nine. One hundred! That’s it!”

The instructor carved the children’s scores into a large stone tablet.

Abelus – II

Bellicus – XII

Bellichia – XLV

Scaevola – LXXVIII

I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Abelnus was dead last.

And not just that—he scored far lower than Bellicus, who was clearly much younger.

I remembered how Abelnus had struggled just to maintain the size of his flames, unlike the other kids.

‘Ah… his power must be too strong to control.’

I had always only thought of his great achievements, so I never imagined he had this kind of difficulty beneath the surface.

Then Scaevola raised his hand.

“Instructor, I object to the scores.”

Everyone’s attention immediately turned to him.

“Bellichia and Bellicus’s powers faded out. But Abelnus’s exploded inside the bowl. Right now, it’s just us here—but what if outsiders had been present? Someone could’ve gotten seriously hurt or burned.”

…What the heck is he saying?

It’s not like Abelnus did it on purpose. Why say something like that?

“This class is meant to train us to use our power to protect others, right? But the young master didn’t protect—he caused harm. I don’t think he should be given any score.”

The instructor hesitated, chalk in hand.

“You remember how we agreed to settle disputes in class, don’t you, young master?”

He spoke formally, unlike with the other children.

“Of course.”

“I’ll give you a choice. You can either accept Scaevola’s argument, or present a valid rebuttal and keep your score. What will it be?”

“Don’t take the score! That means I’ll be third place!”

“Shut up, Bellicus. Young master, can’t you just go with it? I wanna rest already!”

As the siblings piled on, Abelnus finally opened his mouth.

“I accept it. I don’t need the score.”

His voice sounded resigned, like this kind of thing had happened many times before.

He looked away indifferently as the instructor erased his score from the stone tablet.

‘Please don’t be too heartbroken, sir…’

But to become a seasoned master of fire, he had to endure this.

All I could do was pray for his strength.

“You really are wise, young master. It’s admirable that you accept others’ opinions.”

Scaevola offered a compliment that didn’t sound like one.

“…”

“Don’t be discouraged. I’m sure you’ll do better next time if you keep working hard.”

I kept a close eye on the ever-smiling Scaevola.

Why does he keep saying things he doesn’t have to?

I felt a wave of irritation—but before getting angry, I needed to stop and think.

‘Calm down… Think rationally.’

They’re still just kids. It’s more than ten years before they really start doing awful things.

So I can’t judge their current behavior with the eyes of someone looking at future villains.

Maybe he’s just a competitive kid… and kids like that can be snarky sometimes.

‘Yeah, that’s possible. Totally possible.’

I forced myself to think that way—and returned my focus to the situation.