The Priest Wants to Retire

EP.228 Life is a Flower. Love is the Nectar of that Flower (15)

Just a glance, and it was grrr time.

Without Regis, these two would be busy all day throwing punches and bickering.

But were they truly filled with hatred and loathing for each other? Not quite.

If that were the case, they wouldn’t even bother fighting.

Before being bitter enemies, they were reliable comrades to lean on.

Constantly bickering was a testament that they were genuinely facing each other.

Therefore, a better choice of words for Apis and Dawna’s relationship would be that they simply didn’t get along well rather than saying they had a bad relationship.

From Dawna’s rude words and actions, Apis could see the faces of her fellow kin who had tormented her back in her hometown.

And Dawna’s irritable and angry demeanor reminded Apis of the delinquent students who used to mock her in school.

So, if these two were to mingle without any discomfort, that would be even weirder.

“Now that I think about it, isn’t this the first time? Fighting with you in such a pure fistfight!”

“····Kuh!”

With a playful grin, Apis addressed Dawna, resulting in an unpleasant crinkle forming between Dawna’s brows.

Despite her consciousness not being entirely intact, Dawna’s unpleasant feelings were on full display, in contrast to Apis, who seemed to find the situation slightly enjoyable.

“Huff!”

“Ugh!”

Thud!

Dawna barely blocked Apis’s kick that traced a menacing trajectory, and for a moment, she staggered.

Enhancing physical abilities with magic does not consume much magical power compared to directly casting spells. However, for Dawna, who was suffering from extreme magical exhaustion, even this light use of magic was quite taxing.

At a glance, it seemed like Apis was gaining the upper hand in this fight.

But Apis was also nearing her limits, struggling just as much.

Zing! Boom!

“Tch!”

Dawna’s spell, aimed precisely at Apis’s neck, brushed past her with a touch of whiz as the momentary gap in Dawna’s defense was exploited.

If Apis hadn’t scrambled to dodge, that strike would have surely pierced her vital points.

“Didn’t they say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? You were preparing sneaky moves like that even while getting beaten! Such a sly···.”

Thud!

In that moment, as Apis continued her provocation with a hearty laugh towards Dawna, she suddenly dropped to one knee.

It wasn’t because of Dawna’s magic.

The problems she was initially grappling with finally surfaced.

Even after receiving emergency treatment from Regis and getting a bit of rest, someone who had just been on the brink of death wouldn’t be back to full strength.

Her cracked ribs would snap under the slightest strain, while the tendons in her left ankle and right wrist had completely torn due to her current movements.

Her left collarbone shattered into bits, leaving her left arm unable to move and numb to any sensations other than pain.

It truly was a miracle that she was still standing.

Yet, the reason Apis charged into this fight was none other than a particular word from Dawna, which she wished to deny with all her heart.

A reason that most people wouldn’t even begin to understand, going beyond absurdity to the realm of the unbelievable.

Even Apis herself couldn’t help but feel self-deprecating about how foolish the reason was.

However, when her senses returned, her body was already moving.

“Gah!”

With her fading consciousness gnawing at her, Apis forced herself awake and quickly got back up.

Boom─!

Instinctively propelling herself backward, the spot where she had just been standing disappeared without a trace.

The explosion was the magic bolt that Dawna had fired off with a short incantation.

In comparison to her usual standards, the magical power she was outputting was laughably insufficient, and without the assistance of her staff, the spell’s quality was utterly pathetic.

But for the near-death Apis, even that was sufficiently threatening.

Igniting her dwindling fighting spirit, Apis narrowed her eyes.

What met her gaze was Dawna desperately squeezing out her remaining magical energy through the cloud of debris, looking like a poppable corpse preparing for the end.

“Huff! Huff!”

Crouched on the ground, struggling to stifle the blood welling up from her mouth, she resembled a dying person.

But the intense black eyes fixed firmly on her enemy were burning with an unprecedented clarity.

“Lowville···! Low··· Ugh! I’ll go to Lowville····! Move! Get out of the way···!”

Even while just trying to breathe steadily, Dawna’s bloodied lips continued to utter Regis’s name incessantly.

Apis, watching this astonishing sight, could only respond succinctly.

“What a load of crap.”

“····!?”

Dash!

With an explosive leap, Apis shot forward like an arrow.

The speed was unbelievable for someone whose body was more than half broken.

Thud!

“Ugh─!”

Dawna rolled on the ground like a deflated balloon, having taken Apis’s punch head-on.

“That Lowville, Lowville. I can’t stand hearing it anymore. Seriously. You sound like some newborn duckling. If your brain is half-baked, at least keep your eyes wide open. Don’t you agree, you moronic girl?”

Apis’s pointed remarks rained down on Dawna, squashed against the ground.

“Tch! ”

Dawna, who had been flattened, lifted her head sharply towards the sky.

Through her face marred with blood and mud, the intense malice was terrifyingly clear.

With each wave of Dawna’s emotion, the air around them trembled as if it wanted to momentarily forget her near-death state.

“What do you know···! What do you know···! Ah, you say you know it all! You don’t know anything about being left alone in this world!”

Her voice halted momentarily, nearly choking on rising emotions. It was the perfect opportunity for Apis to seize the dialogue, but she patiently waited for Dawna to plunge back in.

“Without that person, I can’t do anything at all····! I don’t want to be all alone anymore····! I’m sick of loneliness····! Being alone···· no more····.”

“····”

It was a lament that could seem as though it had lost everything.

That sorrow, that urgency, was so profound that even Apis, who had dabbled in fantasy book collecting, couldn’t find proper words to convey it.

How long had Dawna poured out that overflowing sorrow?

After a stretch of silently witnessing the scene, Apis gently parted her lips.

“Hey, Dawna. You know what? I’m actually a virgin, just like you.”

“····Eh?”

That low murmur was so shocking that even in her overwhelming sorrow, Dawna let out a breath of bewilderment.

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