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Romantica shifted her gaze to the bus window and rested her chin on her hand softly. On the other side of the window was the scenery of the Hebrion Academy covered in the early morning fog.
Reflected in her pupils was the Starling Party’s dormitory.
As she stared out the window, she couldn’t help thinking about the conversation she had with Desir during the party training session.
* * *
“As long as Adjest is here, I guess I’m not really needed.”
* * *
Romantica’s face blushed a deep crimson.
She quickly looked away from the dorm and fixed her eyes firmly at her feet, as if intent on hiding her reddened face.
‘What was I thinking to say such a thing?’
Romantica couldn’t comprehend why she had done that, no matter how much she agonized over it.
Romantica was prideful to a fault. She hated being comforted or pitied.
This was why she always put on a brave front and hid her flaws, never revealing her weaknesses to anyone.
‘Whatever the reason was, what I said was just the pits.’
‘Why did I even mention Adjest? Depending on how they looked at it, someone might even think I dislike Adjest.’
If possible, Romantica wanted to return to the past and stop herself.
But the frustration left as quickly as it came.
* * *
“You were frustrated after finding a wall that you couldn’t climb, no matter how hard you need to, in order to protect your colleagues.”
* * *
Desir didn’t reproach her in her time of weakness; he comforted her. He saw through her and pinpointed what Romantica could not realize on her own.
-We are now stopping at the Training Grounds. Please gather all your belongings and make your way towards the exit.
Romantica was rudely awakened from her reverie by the announcement.
She was welcomed in front of the bus stop with the all too familiar ivory marble statue of a swordsman.
She slowly started to climb the stairs laid out before her.
The wind attribute training ground was on the top floor of this training facility. She strangely had a spring in her step as she made her way there.
Follow current on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt‘Was it normally this easy to get up these stairs?’
Just a few days ago, she could recall being left tired climbing the endless stairs last time she took them. She was left drained both mentally and physically.
However, her steps were surprisingly light now.
* * *
“I believe in you.”
* * *
She had always believed in herself, even if that faith had wavered slightly since the battle with the homunculus.
Desir’s simple expression had changed everything though. ‘Desir believes in my potential.’
Even when Romantica had doubted her own capabilities, Desir believed in her all the way. Knowing this truly made Romantica happy. The one simple string of words nearly washed away all of the anxieties that had been weighing down so heavily on her.
“Heh heh… ”
With the memory flashing before her eyes, Romantica smiled without realizing.
Walking while wrapped up in her thoughts, she arrived at the wind attribute training grounds in no time.
There was nobody at the training grounds at such an early hour. She was used to having no one there to bother her.
There were iron plates in the corner of the field which she had brought in advance.
With a flick of a finger, the iron plates started floating and were laid out in a circle in the middle of the field.
‘Desir told me there’s no need to hurry.’
That’s what Desir had said, while also saying that he believed in her potential. His advice was spot on. She was impatient in reaching the Fourth-Circle.
‘… It’s true that I can see my problems when I’m not rushing.’
The reason why she couldn’t attain the Fourth-Circle was due to her lack of mana control.
In order to achieve the Fourth-Circle, very precise control over mana was essential. The amount of mana she possessed and could call on was more than enough, and the image she had developed was clear. Once she was able to precisely control her mana, forming an additional circle would come naturally.
‘It was so simple.’ *Clang* *Clang*
She heard the grinding of iron crumpling. She could only handle ten plates just a couple of days ago. If she had continued training with just ten plates, she would only polish and maintain her current level of skill.
The number of iron plates now present on the training field easily exceeded ten.
This was the result of putting her heart and soul into her training. She now had a new goal and the necessary impetus to achieve it.
She quietly sat with her legs crossed in the center of the iron plates that she arranged into a perfect circle around herself.
One thing came to mind amongst the peaceful silence. ‘How did Desir completely understand how I felt anyway?’
It was a thought that distracted her from focusing on mana manipulation. However, she couldn’t let it go. She had to make sure. She recalled what Desir told her.
* * *
“Because I was the same.”
* * *
Desir said he was left frustrated at his powerlessness in front of his dying colleagues.
She realized what he said wasn’t out of an attempt to comfort her. No, she had to realize it. His words were sincere with a lot of feelings mixed in.
A talented merchant was supposed to be able to read someone’s feelings proficiently.
When it came to bargaining, reading a customer’s emotions was very important. Growing up and being trained strictly as the first daughter of the leader of a great merchant association, she was sensitive to other people’s feelings.
Hence, she knew it.
* * *
“I once blamed myself for the sacrifice of my colleagues too.”
* * *
Romantica could read a lot of things from it.
An expression, devoid of all emotion.
A profound and deep sadness.
‘What kind of past did Desir experience to be affected like that?’ Come to think of it, yesterday was the second time.
Desir had shown Romantica the same kind of emotion one other time.
By the Eastakar Sea at the golden sunset before the Prillecha terrorist attack happened.
* * *
“I want you to survive.”
* * *
Profound gloom.
Eyes that clearly expressed a huge sense of loss.
Back then, Desir had the same eyes as he had yesterday. ‘I have a pile of things I want to ask him.’
She couldn’t help thinking that what she knew about Desir must only be the tip of the iceberg.
‘I won’t, though.’ Romantica shook her head.
Follow current on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAs Desir believed in her, she decided to believe in Desir.
He wasn’t the type of person who would deceive others to serve his own greed. When the time was right, he would tell her.
‘And while I wait for that time to come, I need to get stronger.’
The time will come where Desir opened his heart to Romantica and relied on her. And at that time, she decided she would wholeheartedly support him.
‘To be of help to him, I must get much stronger.’ Romantica started circulating her mana gradually. A breeze picked up in the room.
‘They reason why I must get stronger is simple.’
She stuck her hand out. Floating around her were numerous iron plates the size of her palm. The number of plates floating kept increasing, and before too long all of the plates were floating. In mere moments, they numbered a hundred.
‘The first reason is to protect my colleagues.’ The iron plates started rotating around her.
Her forehead was beaded with sweat. It wasn’t easy, even for Romantica, to control the airstream that moved all of the iron plates.
‘The second reason is to support Desir.’ She clenched her hand into a fist. *Clang*
*Clang*
The training ground was filled with the sound of iron plates crumpling.
* * *
Desir’s room was a mess. Numerous books were strewn across the floor. They were mainly about mana circles and resonant frequency.
Right in the center of the mess, Desir sat with his legs crossed. *Pant*
As he breathed heavily, blue particles fluttered around him, in sync with his breathing. ‘I will get the homunculus’s mana circle implanted.’
Desir made up his mind. While talking with Romantica, he realized why he needed to be strong.
He wanted to protect his colleagues that stood next to him. For that purpose, he had to be far stronger.
Desir did not take this decision lightly. In preparation for it, he had done two things. The first was what he was doing now.
He had reinforced his mana circle, ensuring it was as solid as possible.
This had nothing to do with improving his skills. Generally speaking, reinforcing mana circles had no benefit and made it more difficult to develop additional circles in the future.
He continued to do what other people would find incomprehensible. This was all so that he could endure a little longer if the mana flooded his body.
“So that’s it for today.”
Desir relaxed his posture and took out a mana stone from his set of drawers. He had purchased a large number of them using a significant chunk of his savings in the process.
He closed his eyes, holding the mana stone in his hand.
“… ”
After about three minutes, some disparate noise resounded from the mana stone. The distinct frequency inside the mana stone slowly started resonating with the frequency of Desir’s mana circle.
It was a form of practice to adjust another distinct frequency to match the frequency of his mana circle.
There were five days left until he saw Zod again.
By continuing in this manner, he readied himself to the full extent of his ability for the circle implant.