"Hey, stop pretending to be tired."

"D-Does this look like an act to you?"

"Of course. There's no way you're already tired with your body."

Whether he was giving a compliment or just saying something appropriate to keep him going.

Even though Pielott looked like he was dying, Frondier showed no mercy. Pielott had no choice but to keep moving his body.

"Breathe, breathe! Don't just think about the word 'breathe,' actually breathe!"

"What does that even mean!"

"Inhale and exhale! It's something you always pay attention to even when you're doing simple strength training!"

"I don't know! That kind of stuff!"

"Why don't you know? You don't do strength training?"

"...T-To be honest, I've often used Aura to get by."

Wham!

"Ugh!"

Pielott was hit in the ankle by Frondier's Weaving and went flying. He did a breakfall and rolled around.

Frondier's attacks wouldn't stop even if he fell, so doing a breakfall and rolling had become almost a habit.

"See, even though you looked like you were dying earlier, you're moving just fine now."

"Huff, huff..."

Pielott was catching his breath, but he didn't have anything to say. Frondier was right. He felt like he was going to die from exhaustion just a moment ago, but he had calmed down a bit.

"B-But I really was exhausted a moment ago. It wasn't an act or anything..."

"Of course you were. Your body is struggling to the point of exhaustion, so how could you not be tired? You forget to breathe, you don't raise your head, you run on instinct instead of judgment, so your muscles are shocked, and every time that happens, your breathing gets messed up. Of course you're tired."

"Why, why am I doing this? Did I develop some weird habit?"

At Pielott's words, Frondier shook his head.

"No, you're doing it because you want to quit."

"..."

Frondier's words were unforgiving.

"As you said yourself, you've always used Aura to overcome difficult situations, so first of all, your body isn't used to hardship, and you don't know how to adapt to it. Besides, most people would have let it slide. People who use Aura are generally perceived as having undergone significant training, so naturally, they assume you have too. When in reality, you're someone who mastered Aura before training, with the order reversed."

Pielott kept his mouth shut.

Actually, Pielott had already figured it out. Why Frondier kept calling him.

Frondier, who seemed indifferent and unconcerned about everything, was extremely strict only with him.

He had felt it during the skill test too, but in a good or bad way, Frondier was paying a lot of attention to Pielott.

However, until now, no one had given Pielott such harsh words.

Frondier spoke very strictly, but in fact, Pielott's current training intensity wasn't easy. He had far surpassed the level of an ordinary person.

But compared to Pielott's own body, the training intensity was actually low. That's how good Pielott's innate physical abilities were.

To improve further from here, he needed to increase the intensity, but Pielott had never actually done this much before.

In the end, even though he spoke strictly, Frondier was just stating the facts.

"...A spoiled brat, I see."

Pielott caught his breath and stood up.

"It seems like a very fitting word for me right now."

Seeing Pielott's improved gaze, Frondier raised his hand again.

"I said I'd give you a chance to challenge again once a month, right? A month is too short. If you can't handle this attack, it's not even a start."

"Yes!"

Pielott answered energetically.

Just as they were about to continue training in a good mood.

Caw-!

A crow cawed.

It was a crow cawing like any other, but Frondier lowered his hand. Whether this particular crow's caw was different, Frondier looked up at the sky.

A crow that had been gliding landed on Frondier's shoulder. Pielott stared at it blankly.

'...He really was taming them.'

Senior Sloth was not only strong, but he also had many talents.

"Come to think of it, Senior Sloth, Senior Frondier."

"That just now was an out. I'll add extra training time later."

Pielott's heart sank. Still, he had called him, so he conveyed his business.

"There seem to be some bad rumors going around about you these days, are you okay?"

"It's always been bad rumors."

...Was that how it was for Frondier?

But this particular rumor, wouldn't it be a little different from the previous ones?

"You mean the talk about me using drugs?"

"...Yes."

Pielott honestly nodded.

When he first heard the rumor, Pielott's honest impression was that it was quite plausible. Aside from whether it made sense or was logical, it was a tempting story.

"What do you think?"

"Huh?"

"Is the reason I've grown so much because of drugs? Did I become strong thanks to doping?"

At Frondier's words, Pielott thought for a moment.

For the past few days, he had been diligently rolling around according to Frondier's orders. He rolled during the skill test, he rolled in the individual training room, and he rolled like a dog every time Frondier called him to be a sparring partner.

Even though he was one of the people who had observed Frondier's strength up close for the longest time.

"...I don't know."

In the end, that was his honest impression.

"To be honest, I haven't seen all of Senior Frondier's strength, have I?"

"..."

"If you're much stronger than this, I can't help but wonder if you've become stronger with some kind of external help."

Pielott was overly honest.

Frondier smiled at his words.

"Well, it doesn't really matter either way. Even if it's an unpleasant rumor, a rumor is just a rumor. It's not something I can control one by one. It was the same in my first year."

But.

The expression on Frondier's face as he spoke the next words.

Pielott swallowed unconsciously.

"If that rumor causes harm to someone else, not me."

That wouldn't do.

It wasn't something to just let slide.

Especially this rumor, he could sense an unpleasant intention in its flow. It wasn't just a naturally created rumor, and the one who spread it probably had a separate purpose. Naturally, it wouldn't end here either.

And the source of the rumor would obviously be 'the one who actually makes the drugs.'

'The incident at the Terst Department Store, it really doesn't end there, does it?'

The mysterious terrorist act of the man named Jacob. The abnormal flow of Mana.

The situation at the time that Selena herself had even described as 'doping.'

"...Gregory."

[Yes.]

Frondier spoke to the crow next to him, and the crow replied.

With Pielott's mouth agape, Frondier said,

"I think it's better to correct the rumors a bit."

[What do you mean by that?]

Gregory, who used respectful language when someone was around.

Frondier swallowed a laugh.

The reason those guys could spread rumors was because the way they injected Mana seemed similar at first glance to Frondier's suddenly increased Mana.

Then, it would be enough to prove that it wasn't similar at all.

"I think I need to show off a bit at Constel."