Within the village.
"Take this!" Tsubaki is standing behind Ram, ready to launch a surprise attack.
"Too slow."
Boom.
After a loud bang, Tsubaki lies on the ground, and a huge bulge appears on her forehead. This is the result of her sixteenth attempt to challenge Ram; only by defeating Ram can she be qualified to fight Sebastian. But for Tsubaki, Ram is an insurmountable mountain, as each battle ends in less than three seconds. Tsubaki's strength has improved a lot during this period, but to Ram, a larger ant is still just an ant after all.
Meanwhile, Kikyo and Kaede, who are beside them, stare at Tsubaki on the ground in a daze, swallowing their saliva. Although they haven't had much contact with her before, Kikyo knows what kind of character Tsubaki is: extremely strong, loves beauty to the extreme, and has very high self-esteem.
But these elements have disappeared from Tsubaki. Even if she loses every day, she still enjoys fighting Ram. Could it be that, because of being beaten every day, she has awakened some kind of indescribable characteristic? Thinking of this, Kikyo quickly shakes her head to drive away her wild thoughts.
"Have you already started a sneak attack?" Sebastian looks at Tsubaki, who is slowly getting up from the ground, smiles, and shakes her head.
"If I didn't sneak attack, I couldn't win." Tsubaki pats the dirt off her body and says, "Besides, in battle, no one cares whether you're sneak attacking or not. My skills have also improved during this time. I also saw you teaching Kikyo new skills, so I secretly learned a little bit too!"
During this week, Sebastian taught Kikyo his fighting skills and even some basic magic. Sebastian knew she was peeking from the sidelines but didn't prohibit her from observing.
"Show me." Sebastian narrows his eyes and looks at her.
Tsubaki immediately waves her hand and casts the 1st-tier magic from the world of OVERLORD. Although her magic isn't advanced, learning a new magic system in just one week demonstrates Tsubaki's talent.
"Good." Sebastian nods.
Hearing Sebastian's praise, she raises her head proudly, like a child.
"It's time to see how much you have to pay," Sebastian says with a malicious smile.
"Pay?!" Tsubaki is dumbfounded, and her earlier smile disappears.
"I will calculate the food and accommodation expenses for over a week, and by the way, my tuition fees."
"Tuition?!" Tsubaki is speechless.
"That's right. Didn't you say you learned my skills? Paying tuition is only natural."
"I... you..." Tsubaki stammers incoherently. "Who am I to you?"
"It's only natural that you pay tuition to learn art from a teacher. And do you think you can eat and drink for free during this time?"
Tsubaki is silent for a moment.
"So don't idle around every day. Take some commissions and make some money." During this period, Tsubaki has been studying Sebastian's spells and Ram's special abilities daily. She forgot her duties as a priestess and even missed out on commissions.
"I..." Her face flushes, but she has no way to refute. She nods. At this moment, she seems to remember something. "By the way, Sebastian, I set up a paper doll sentry around here every night. It seems a few monsters have been wandering around our mansion recently. They only appeared for a while and then disappeared."
"I know." Sebastian's eyes narrow.
[ ===== ]
"Is the Jewel of Four Souls you mentioned truly there?"
"It's true!" In the gray sky, the Bat yōkai fluttered its wings and hovered in front of the Death God. It looked into the great demon's eyes and swallowed subconsciously. Flying in front of the Death God, it experienced a bone-chilling coldness, and its heartbeat quickened.
It couldn't even say the flattering words it had prepared in advance, and its body couldn't stop shaking. It took a deep breath, then assumed an extremely determined look, and continued: "How dare I joke about such a thing with you, my lord?"
Although it appeared flawless, deep down, it was extremely nervous. It knew that if the Death God found out it was deceiving him, there would only be one end.
Turning its head slightly, the Death God looked at the Bat yōkai. A blast of wind gushed out, and his voice sounded like thunder. The leaves in the surrounding woods were immediately shaken down by the loud sound, like rain. The Bat yōkai, hovering in front, was blown away by the breath, fluttering its wings desperately, and didn't stop until it was far away.
"What kind of power is this..." The Wildcat yōkai and snake-like Insect yōkai standing nearby watched the Bat yōkai fly out and crash into a big tree.
The eyes of the two monsters couldn't help but look at the Death God. Because he is sealed, he can only use part of his power, but even in this state, the Death God is beyond their understanding.
"Lead the way." The voice of the Death God made them tremble with fear, and their hearts almost jumped out of their chests. It didn't care about the Bat yōkai that was knocked out by his breath; his life was worthless in its eyes.