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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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After the sparring session, the Hero’s party enjoyed the dinner Lee Jun-woo prepared.
“Delicious! Food tastes best after working hard! Right, Hare?”
“I-I don’t know… I never got to eat after working…”
“S-Sorry!”
Luna, who had been relaxing while listening to Hare’s poignant family history, suddenly noticed Saten, her sparring partner, sitting nearby.
Her eyes lit up.
“Saten! Sorry to bother you while you’re eating, but! I have a question!”
“Go ahead.”
“Just ask! What’s with the ‘go ahead’!”
“I won’t answer if you take too long.”
“Aha!”
Such profound meaning… Luna roughly understood Saten’s intentions and formulated her question.
“Saten, how could we have defeated Mister? Was there a way?”
“Hmm, a post-mortem analysis? My family used to do that after playing chess.”
“Just answer the question! How could we have defeated Mister!?”
Luna was curious.
How could they possibly defeat that monster of a Mister?
‘Maybe Saten knows!’
She asked Saten, the smartest of the group.
Luna didn’t believe they could win, even if they were resurrected.
She ignored the Holy Sword’s question,
[Are you sure you can’t win, even if you were resurrected?]
“Anyway, Saten! Can we even defeat Mister?”
“No, we can’t.”
“That was quick! Why not?!”
“It’s simple.”
We are weak.
And Mister is strong.
Saten finished chewing her food before continuing,
“Until that gluttonous Saintess over there becomes a functioning human being, the probability of us winning is zero. Unless you’re suggesting hugging Mister and getting blown up by my magic.”
“…Would that work?”
“In that case, I would be the only survivor, so I would win.”
“Hmm, I see.”
So there’s no way right now.
Even after all that training, they were still no match for Mister.
Luna was disappointed in herself, but also secretly proud of Mister.
‘That just means Mister is strong! I’m a little proud! Just a little!’
I’ll surpass him someday, so it doesn’t matter now!
Luna suddenly felt a surge of confidence. But her confidence was quickly deflated.
“Luna, come to the courtyard when you’re done eating.”
“Hellish training! I’ll be right there, Mister! Let’s go together!”
Luna grabbed her wooden sword and followed Lee Jun-woo.
Hare muttered quietly,
“Why does Luna like training so much…?”
“I’m not sure, but I think it’s because of Mister.”
“…Mister?”
Hare’s expression turned cold at the mention of Mister.
Saten, oblivious to Hare’s gaze, continued,
“Yes, Luna’s attitude towards training changes drastically depending on whether Mister is present or not.”
She enjoyed training alone.
But she enjoyed it much more with Mister.
Saten pulled up the corners of her lips with her fingers.
“Look. This is Luna’s smile when she trains alone. And this is her smile when she trains with Mister.”
“T-They’re different… the height is different…”
‘She definitely smiles more brightly when she trains with Mister…’
Nibble~
Hare bit her nails anxiously.
“Could it be… Luna likes Mister too…?”
“I don’t know. I only know that there’s a difference in her smile.”
“…”
Nibble, nibble-!
Hare continued to bite her nails.
Had she been too complacent lately?
Noticing Luna’s change in behavior, Hare felt a pang of jealousy.
Looking at Luna and Mister in the courtyard, she whispered,
“…I hope I’m wrong, Luna.”
If I’m right…
We can’t be friends anymore.
‘We’ll be enemies…’
Hare was wary of Luna, who seemed to be getting closer to Mister.
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Hellish training.
The punishment for the lowest-performing member of the training session.
Unfortunately, Luna, partnered with Estia, had to endure it alone.
Late in the evening, I said to Luna, who was grinning while holding her wooden sword,
“…To use your wish for more training… that’s just absurd, Luna.”
“Hehe, what’s wrong with that?”
“It’s not a compliment.”
“…Really?”
Luna tilted her head, confused.
I, in turn, was confused by her confusion.
Luna, volunteering for hellish training, was beyond my comprehension.
“By the way, Luna, are you sure about this?”
“Yes! I want to train! I like training!”
“Hellish training is harder than you think. You might regret this.”
“It’s okay! All training is good!”
Training is good.
Therefore, hellish training must be good too.
Was that her logic?
“Sigh…”
I sighed.
“Do as you wish. I’m not going to try to persuade you anymore.”
“Okay, Mister! I’ll do as I wish!”
She’ll definitely regret this.
Even I had struggled with hellish training.
It would likely be too much for Luna, who was still young. But since she was insistent…
“Even though you have a chance to back out, if this is what you want, I’ll show you hellish training. Follow me.”
“Okay!”
I had no choice.
I led Luna to a bench in the courtyard and had her sit down.
Thud-
Luna looked up at me, puzzled.
‘…Hellish training. If I recall what Aina did to me…’
This was the first step.
I took three steps back from Luna and focused my magic power.
‘…This must be the spell.’
I couldn’t remember clearly, but… this was it. I visualized the magic circle and chanted,
“Rise, four thorns.”
Aina used to shorten the chant to “Rise, four thorns!” But with Luna watching, I enunciated clearly.
[T/N: it’s a difference in the Korean pronunciation]
Four giant, sharp thorns, as tall as me, erupted from the ground.
Luna gasped.
“Whoa…! How did you do that?! That’s amazing, Mister!”
“It’s magic.”
“Teach me-“
“You can’t use this.”
“Tsk. It’s not that amazing!”
She was sulking again.
Anyway… the hellish training had to proceed.
I couldn’t let her stay up too late, for her own good. I pointed at the sharp tips of the thorns.
“Luna.”
“Yes!”
“Now, step on them.”
“…You want me to stand on the thorns? Are you trying to kill me?”
…You won’t die.
“It’ll just sting a little.”
“Really? Just a little sting?”
“…To be honest, it’ll sting a lot if you lose your balance.”
“That means it’ll hurt!”
“That’s why it’s called hellish training. Now, get on, Luna.”
“U-Um…”
She had been so eager for training earlier.
What was wrong with her now?
Luna looked at the thorns and shook her head, as if it was impossible.
‘…No choice then.’
I stepped onto the thorns to demonstrate.
It had been a long time, and my toes ached, but the familiar sensation brought back memories.
‘Aina, this hurts.’
‘That’s why it’s called hellish training. No pain, no gain! Don’t you know that? If you can endure this for an hour, it’ll improve your concentration and patience. Try it.’
‘…I never agreed to hellish training.’
The hellish training I was forced into.
Standing on thorns with only my toes.
Impossible in my old world, but possible here.
I hid my trembling toes and said to Luna,
“Come on, Luna.”
“H-How can anyone do that?!”
“I’m doing it, aren’t I? Focus your magic power on your toes. You just have to endure for an hour. Come on, it’s getting late.”
“O-Okay! But what happens if I fail?”
“…You won’t die. I’ll help you if I see you struggling. But the timer resets.”
“I-I shouldn’t have done this!”
I told her she would regret it.
Luna immediately went into regret mode.
‘There are two more stages to this training. What is she going to do?’
Despite her protests, Luna took a deep breath and jumped.
“I-I’ll try…! Whoa…!!”
Luna landed on the sharp thorns, her eyes squeezed shut.
She braced for the pain…
“U-Um…! W-What?! I’m alive! Mister, I did it!”
“Of course you are. Now, focus on enduring. That’s the important part.”
“O-Okay!”
Luna went into focus mode, her toes gripping the thorns, her face scrunched up like a pug’s. But she was enduring surprisingly well.
‘She has an abundance of magic power, so she should be able to last for quite a while.’
Using that magic power to create a sword aura or reinforce her punches was for later. This hellish training was just the first step.
A way to improve her concentration and refine her senses by focusing her magic power.
“Can you handle it, Luna?”
“D-Don’t talk to me! And don’t touch me! I’ll scream!”
“…You’re already screaming.”
Since she was concentrating, I decided to leave her alone.
I assumed the same position as Luna.
Even though it had been a while, the familiar sensation of my senses sharpening was the same.
‘…Training together isn’t so bad.’
Luna seemed to agree.
Her face was contorted, but the corners of her lips were slightly upturned.
She seemed to be enjoying it.
When our eyes met, she blushed and barked,
“D-Don’t look at me! My face looks weird when I’m concentrating! Look somewhere else!!”
“Your face is always weird.”
“Ugh! W-What do you mean! What’s wrong with my face! Your beard is weirder!!”
Luna shouted angrily.
If the Demon Lord saw her like this, he would run away.
I chuckled.
‘The Demon Lord is coming soon, and this is the atmosphere…’
In a few days, when the Demon Lord arrived…
This peaceful atmosphere would shatter.
Knowing the dark future, I felt a tinge of regret.
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