Sir Hero, It’s Time to Train!

Christian and Aira had to lie still in bed until they received a declaration of recovery from the doctor.

Aira, having established a mana reservoir, wanted to immediately move her body and feel the improved mana efficiency, but Christian’s condition, whom she needed to follow, was not favorable.

Contemplating the lesson plans, Aira decided to first proceed with sensory adaptation training, which she could do alone. Christian’s consent was not necessary.

“Just how long do you plan to keep having me meditate?”

Unlike mages, when assessing the capabilities of a knight, the focus was on how efficiently they could utilize their body.

In other words, successfully achieving body activation qualified one with the minimum requirements to be called a ‘knight’.

Christian understood why Aira was excited, but at that moment, spoke firmly as a ‘master’.

“Trying to run before you can even walk? Don’t be too impatient. You’re progressing quickly enough as it is.”

“So, I should continue meditating? I feel I’ve done enough of that.”

“Not yet. As I’ve repeatedly said, feeling how the mana moves within your body is most important. Only then can you spread it throughout your entire body.”

“I know! I know! Even Sir Garcia said something similar before. He told me to spread the mana to all parts of my body and then confine it from escaping. But you won’t really understand it unless you move your body, right?”

“Hmm.”

“I think I’m more of a hands-on person than a theoretical one. Understanding something in your head and understanding it with your body are quite different, aren’t they?”

Christian was reminded of old memories by Aira’s confident demeanor.

‘Indeed, master was practical in approach. Never deemed theory any significant importance.’

She had created an extraordinary record by throwing him amidst a monster wave, advising the combination of physical training and practical experience, leading to a twelve-hour consecutive monster hunt.

Also proclaiming that crises could come anytime, anywhere, she had hired assassins under the guise of training to attack Christian unexpectedly.

Due to the assassins hired by his master, Christian had been under life-threatening pressure. He had wondered why such skilled individuals engaged in something so unproductive in the shadows, only to find that they were all his master’s friends.

The thrill and heart-pounding life-and-death duels experienced back then didn’t exactly become beautiful memories, but the training’s effect was indeed substantial.

“Why are you grinning so mischievously?”

“Well, you’re right. There’s nothing as important as practical experience. Hehehe.”

As Christian wore a peculiar smile, Aira instinctively sensed he was planning something strange and slowly moved away from him.

“Um, master Christian. Are you here?”

“Huh?”

Christian, who had been approaching the distancing Aira, halted his steps due to a stranger entering the training hall.

At the entrance stood a diminutive woman who gently bowed her head in greeting before approaching.

At first, Christian wondered who she was, as she was not a household member, but he quickly identified her.

He couldn’t mistake the distinct aura of mana emanating from the woman dressed in a purple robe.

“Are you from the Logia Magic Tower branch?”

“Yes. The deputy manager sent me to deliver the item you ordered, master Christian.”

“Oh, is it completed?”

The mage nodded slightly and pulled out a small box from her robe, handing it to Christian.

Christian received it, checked the contents, and then tossed it to Aira.

“Catch. It’s a gift.”

“Huh? Oh, okay.”

A gift?

Aira, catching the thrown item, looked curiously at what was in her hand.

“A ring?!”

“Just so you know, it’s quite expensive, at least from my perspective.”

Despite Christian’s words about it being pricey, it looked a bit cheap with a small red stone embedded in it. Aira closely examined the ring Christian had gifted her.

“This isn’t a ruby. Huh? A mana stone?”

“You recognize gems instantly.”

As expected of a rich young lady.

No, even if they were from the same family, she had an eye that could sense the disparity between the rich and the poor.

“Try wearing that.”

“It’s not something strange, right?”

“If you don’t like it, just forget it. Are you doubting a gift I’m giving?”

“Well, it’s just that a gift from you to me is a bit…”

We weren’t exactly in the kind of relationship where we exchanged gifts.

She almost said that out loud, but given the events of a few days ago, her liking for Christian had increased slightly, so she decided to drop her suspicion, for now.

‘Yes. He must mean well. I don’t sense anything off about it.’

Was it simply a ring meant as a gift?

Isn’t this kind of accessory usually given to a lover?

If it had been something with more meaning, like gloves for training or a special protective gear, that would have been better.

However, such complaints were short-lived. Since a gift was a gift, Aira put the ring on her finger, seeing it as a token of sincerity.

“This seems like it might be a hindrance during training.”

“Well, I also think a bracelet or necklace form would be better. But I had to ask them to make it as fast as possible, so there wasn’t a choice. I’ll change it for you soon. For now, just try using it as is.”

“Okay. Do that. But what is this for?”

Wait a minute. Wearing a ring? Why?

‘Oh, don’t tell me, this mana stone!’

She then thought that if it was from poor Christian, he might have replaced a ruby with a mana stone. She didn’t sense any oddness in the mana or the pattern the stone held, so she thought even more so.

Realizing her previously lax response, Aira hurried to remove the ring.

“…”

It wouldn’t come off.

Then she saw Christian’s emotionless eyes staring at her.

Was she tricked again?

That’s what it seemed to be saying.

***

The mage from the Logia’s Magic Tower, who was overhearing the two, was flustered.

A brother gifting a ring to his sister? Given the vastness of the continent, such cases might exist if one searched extensively.

However, if the ring turned out to be a mana tool? It could be something a brother overly worried about his sister’s safety might prepare.

‘Of course, at the point where it’s a confinement mana tool rather than a protective one, I wonder.’

But there was nothing to be done.

Bound by a contract denoting roles as superior and subordinate, they simply had to do as requested when told.

And there was one additional condition.

As Christian signaled to the mage with his eyes, the mage, resigned to the situation, approached Aira, who was struggling to remove the ring.

Swiftly, he reached out and activated the magic engraved on the ring.

Even as the magic embedded within the ring activated, there was no immediate conspicuous change. The effect would only manifest when another mana tool linked to this one was also activated.

The mage glanced at Christian, who was wearing a sly, satisfied smile. Seeing him give a thumbs-up as if to say “Well done”, it seemed to please him for the time being.

“You, what did you do?! What is this thing!”

However, Aira , seemingly discontent, burst out shouting.

“A training tool.”

“A training tool? This?”

Instead of replying, Christian (he) extended his hand. In contrast to Aira’s, a ring with a blue mana stone was set on Christian’s finger.

“I received the item well. I’ll handle the rest, so please convey my thanks to Miss Masaya.”

“Huh? Oh, okay. Then……”

Although a bit surprised by Christian’s declaration to activate the magical artifact himself, if what he said was true, there was no reason for her to stay any longer.

She quietly bowed and exited the training grounds.

Watching the mage leave the training grounds, Christian spoke quietly.

“Mana Release.”

Simultaneously with Christian’s murmured words, the mana stones embedded in their rings glowed. He successfully activated the magic engraved on the rings without the aid of a mage.

“Engraving Activation.”

Along with that, a new engraving was inscribed on the mana stone. An engraving that no one could activate except the caster and those authorized by the caster, essentially a sort of lock mechanism.

And then……

“Argh?!”

“Gasp!”

An overwhelming weight began pressing on both their bodies.

“You, you, this thing!”

“I only doubled it. It’s okay, right?”

“It’s, it’s exhausting!”

Aira’s face turned crimson and grotesque, and thinking that he had made such hideous face before made Christian shiver.

Yet, despite her emotions, her body moved with unwavering honesty.

The door to the mana reservoir settled in Aira’s heart swung wide open, and the mana collected overnight spread furiously throughout her body.

Some mana escaped externally, but most of it forcibly began to protect the body against this oppressive mana.

“When humans are on the brink of death, they go beyond their limits! Your mana will do its utmost to protect your body! Body activation is ultimately a survival instinct!”

“What, what?! No way, I’m going to die for real like this!”

“That’s it! Body activation awakens the body’s potential! The more pressure you put on it, the more it will bloom its potential! The method to push it to the limit is simple!”

Christian exclaimed with wild eyes.

“Overwork the body! The more you overwork it, the harder the body becomes, and the harder the body becomes, the sturdier the mana gets!”

And perhaps because he had already adapted to this pressure, he spread his arms wide.

“A body like steel! Mana like steel! This is the thrill!”

“You, you crazy bastard, seriously!”

“Endure it! Aira! You can do it! Aira! Well done! Aira!”

Aira tried to remove the ring once more, but it wouldn’t budge.

She wanted to punch that annoying face, but her body refused to move properly.

Unlike herself, Christian seemed to have already adjusted, as he was dashing around the training grounds.

“I swear, I will kill you…”

Until now, she had merely followed the path predetermined by Liana, without any life goals to speak of.

Though it was grueling, she could endure anything to receive her mother’s attention and affection, having no leeway to be interested in anything else.

“No, I’ll beat you to my heart’s content!”

For the first time, Aira found a goal. That was to strike the face of her wretched younger brother.