Five days had passed since the prevention meeting, and true to her nature as a lethally fast learner, G6 was finally beginning to grasp mana control.
Her mind worked like a high-capacity storage drive. Information entered, was processed and stored, then applied with ruthless efficiency. Lord Earl had gradually adjusted the mana restraint on her earring, allowing her to release basic Wind spells such as Wind Blade and Gust at a stable, moderate output without accidentally turning every exercise into structural damage.
She still hated the restraint, but she could no longer deny that it worked.
「07:45 A.M」
G6 finished her last set of exercises and walked back toward the lower stone tier where her three servants waited.
"It is time for breakfast, Lady Reise!" Lilia chirped.
Over the past five days, only Lord Earl had remained a constant presence during her training. Prince Dio had been buried in his office managing preparations for the knight recruitment, while Lord Keith was occupied designing Miss Eliza's endurance training.
"Thanks, Lilia."
G6 sank onto the broad stone tier. A small portable table stood in front of them, already covered with breakfast.
I wonder what that old woman really wants from me…
She took a large bite of the hearty sandwich Alistair had prepared, stuffed with every healthy vegetable the palace chef apparently believed she required.
"It appears His Highness and Lord Keith are quite occupied with their new duties," Edmund remarked as he sipped his tea with an ease that had steadily grown in G6's presence.
"Yeah, better than them sitting here like a bunch of losers."
But that Queen… What is her real game?
"Good morning. Forgive my tardiness; I was finalizing the transfer documents for Brenda and Zen."
Lord Earl approached through the internal arena access, adjusting his glasses with a stressed sigh.
"You should have just come later," G6 muttered. "…you freaky taskmaster."
"On the contrary, I can see you are progressing rapidly. It seems my instructional methods are effective."
He took the remaining space beside her, immediately making the arrangement cramped with Lilia pressed against G6's left side and Lord Earl occupying her right.
"Move. It is cramped."
"Give me a break."
Lord Earl accepted a cup of tea from Tina, who then presented him with a plate carrying a sandwich identical to G6's.
"Why are you giving him my food?" G6 complained, sounding suspiciously like a child whose treat had been stolen.
"Do not be so gluttonous. I prepared this one specifically for Lord Earl," Tina chided gently.
Now this geek is sharing a portion too? Tsk.
"To the matter at hand."
Lord Earl took a bite.
"Brenda and Zen will be stationed here primarily for intelligence. However, they will also be enhancing their offensive and defensive magic. They are both B-Rank."
"Does that mean you are going to stop teaching me?"
A flicker of hope appeared in G6's eyes.
Someone, take this nerd away from me.
He was a pain in the ass—the kind of mentor trainees would hate.
"Not until you no longer require a mana restraint and can function without that ring regulating your body's stress."
Smooth.
G6's hope died.
"Ah, right. Give me those earrings for the Dimensional Vault."
She changed the subject immediately.
Lord Earl looked toward her, a smile appearing as though he had just discovered another useful lever.
"Not until you graduate from my tutelage."
"You are abusing your authority."
"One should always use the tools available. Do you not agree?"
"Give me a break, geek."
Lord Earl stopped chewing.
"Oh? Did I hear you correctly? Did you just call me a geek?"
"I said, 'geez,'" G6 lied flatly.
Fucker.
"It is good to see the two of them are not yelling at each other anymore," Tina whispered to Edmund.
"I would not celebrate prematurely. I suspect the yelling will resume once they are in the center," Edmund replied wisely.
Tina glanced toward G6 and Lord Earl.
Still, I am just happy she can be casual with them without that look of utter contempt now, Tina thought.
"Lady Reise! Did you know Alistair made me a strawberry cupcake?"
Lilia proudly presented the treat she had been protecting beside her plate.
"Really? Let me have it," G6 said.
"It was given to her, not to you. Do not steal food from a child," Lord Earl remarked.
"Shut up, mom."
Lord Earl stared at her.
"Did you just call me your mother? That is profoundly disrespectful to Duchess Worthon!"
The offense in his voice was absurdly genuine.
G6 stared back.
Seriously? I am sure something is wrong with the brain of this one.
"Yeah, go tell her all about it."
She rolled her eyes before turning back toward Lilia.
"Then, I will just take a taste."
Lilia nodded eagerly and held up the cupcake. G6 leaned down and took a bite.
"Oh."
She chewed.
"It is good! Tell Alistair to make that for me tomorrow. You eat the rest, Lilia. Thanks."
The gratitude still sounded slightly foreign coming from G6, but no longer so unusual that the three servants froze every time they heard it.
"Shall we begin, Reise?"
Lord Earl had already finished his food and tea.
Ah. This insufferable nerd. Back to work.
"Fine."
G6 pushed herself to her feet.
They walked toward the center of the Training Arena, where Lord Earl stopped several paces away and immediately fell into the lecturing tone G6 had grown to despise.
"Right. You have mastered the correct output for novice-level attacks and stabilized them at a mid-tier potency."
What he meant was not that Reise possessed a novice affinity. The spell structures themselves were basic. The difficulty lay in forcing someone with Reise's excessive output to produce them at a controlled, deliberately limited strength.
"Perhaps it is time to expand your repertoire. Would you like to attempt a new spell?"
Hmm. A new spell? Actually, there is.
G6's eyes sharpened.
I know exactly what I need.
"There's a flying spell for Wind Affinity, right?"
Lord Earl looked at her with pure confusion, as though she had asked whether water was wet. The question was so fundamental that it once again exposed how bizarrely incomplete her knowledge of her own family's magical tradition appeared to be.
"You are right, but there is no sustained flight spell. There is, however, a specific incantation that can grant a moment of aerial movement. It is called 'Gust Step.' It is considered an advanced application."
Temporary? That is not what I want. Tsk. Useless.
"How does it work?"
Lord Earl sighed yet again at the strange gaps in what Reise should have known.
"You focus mana toward your feet and release a controlled, powerful gust beneath you. It can be a single thrust to propel yourself upward or across a gap, or a brief continuous stream to slow a fall."
He gestured toward her stance.
"Keep your center stable. Do not simply throw mana downward. Direct the pressure beneath your weight and visualize where you intend the force to carry you."
G6 listened.
Wind. Pressure. Body mass. Direction.
That was considerably easier to understand than whatever mystical explanation she had expected.
She closed her eyes.
In her mind, she did not merely imagine a gust.
She calculated it.
Body weight. Angle. Required upward force. Expected loss in pressure. Balance.
A concentrated current formed beneath both boots, stirring the packed sand.
Then the compressed air released.
—WHOOSH!
G6 shot upward several meters.
Lord Earl's head snapped back.
For the first instant, the thrust was powerful enough to carry her cleanly upward, but the pressure beneath her feet quickly began to weaken.
Oh. Shit. Thrust is decaying. I am landing.
The spell sputtered out.
Gravity reclaimed her.
Lord Earl stepped forward instinctively, his arms already lifting in preparation to catch what he clearly expected to be an ugly descent.
G6 did not fall helplessly.
As she dropped, her body rotated slightly to place her feet beneath her center. One leg reached the sand first, the ball of her foot taking the initial contact before her knee bent to absorb the impact. Her other foot followed immediately, momentum folding her naturally into a low crouch.
One hand touched the sand for less than a second before she rose again.
The landing had been smooth, controlled, and practiced—not a product of magic, but of someone who had spent years learning how to hit the ground without breaking herself.
Lord Earl remained standing with his arms half-extended, his expression blank.
Did she just execute a perfect three-point landing without a hint of magic or a combat skill? Lord Earl thought.
His analytical mind immediately began searching through every noble combat style he knew.
Nothing matched.
G6 merely brushed the sand from her palm.
"Five seconds."
"Pardon?"
Lord Earl was still processing the landing.
"That is all the lift time it gives. Not even close to enough."
Her dismissal was immediate, but the attempt had already given her something more useful.
Thanks to it, I have got an idea.
Her mind began racing.
I will make my grapnel gun here.
She stared across the open arena without truly seeing it.
I do not need to fly. I need to swing.
The original idea shifted almost immediately.
No cable.
No physical grapnel.
But the principle remained: controlled propulsion, directional force, changing momentum while airborne.
I will focus the gust not just for a push, but for a pull. A continuous, thin stream of compressed air I can anchor to a point.
She could use it to swing, change direction in mid-air, and make her body lighter for acrobatics—not through literal weight reduction, but through enough opposing force to reduce how violently gravity pulled her down.
I will coat myself in the wind to reduce drag. That is how I will move.
Lord Earl watched her stand with her arms crossed, grey eyes distant as calculations passed rapidly behind them. She appeared to be looking through the arena rather than at it.
"Hmm, okay. Let us try it."
A new idea had already formed.
"Earl, I am going to try something. Just in case, brace for my fall."
"Must I?"
His dry tone referred directly to the perfect landing he had just witnessed.
"Shut up and do as I say."
G6 stepped farther into the open floor to give herself enough room.
This time, she kept her eyes open while constructing the movement in stages.
Primary pressure beneath the soles.
A smaller stabilizing current around her back and shoulders.
Continuous adjustment instead of one violent release.
Direction first.
Force second.
She fed mana toward her feet.
Wind compressed beneath both boots, stirring a circle of sand around them. A second, lighter current wrapped around her torso—not armor, merely a thin moving sheath of air intended to stabilize her once she left the ground.
Then G6 bent her knees and jumped.
The leap began physically. Her legs drove her upward, and at the exact instant her boots left the sand, the concentrated gust beneath them released.
The added thrust accelerated her sharply into the air.
Lord Earl tilted his head upward.
"This is… different."
His scholarly curiosity instantly overrode everything else.
G6 continued rising.
Instead of allowing the first burst to die like Gust Step, she kept feeding a controlled stream beneath her feet, altering its angle in small increments whenever her body drifted from the intended course.
At the peak of the ascent, she reduced the upward pressure.
Her knees tucked toward her chest.
Her shoulders rotated.
G6 performed a tight, controlled backflip in open air, an acrobatic maneuver born entirely from Akira's physical training while the surrounding wind kept her trajectory from collapsing.
As she completed the rotation, she redirected the current downward again—not enough to push herself higher, but enough to resist part of the fall.
Her descent slowed.
The closer she came to the ground, the more precisely she reduced the pressure until both boots touched the sand with a soft tap.
Her knees bent.
No stumble.
No uncontrolled impact.
G6 straightened.
"This is what I am talking about."
A spark of genuine satisfaction lit her expression.
Lord Earl approached immediately.
"What was that?"
His voice carried complete confusion and rapidly growing academic excitement.
"What?" G6 played dumb.
"That was not the Gust Step spell. I have never seen any member of House Worthon—no, any mage—execute a maneuver like that."
He gestured upward.
"You sustained the pressure after the original thrust, then altered its direction while airborne. That was not a momentary deflection. You were continuously correcting your own trajectory."
His words began accelerating as his analytical mind overtook his composure.
"You turned a temporary burst into… sustained propulsion!"
G6's mouth curved.
"It is my own spell. Give me a break."
A sharp, wicked smile spread across her lips.
"I am calling it 'Reaper's Ascent.'"
I cannot wait to try this with attacks integrated.
She looked upward again.
The mobility… the angles… It is perfect.
「G6'S OFFICE」
G6 ended her session with Lord Earl early and retreated to her office.
She sat behind the large desk with both boots propped shamelessly across the polished wood, a thick tome on Wind Magic open in her hands.
Now that Reaper's Ascent worked, she wanted attacks capable of exploiting the angles it gave her.
Hmm, Cyclone?
Her eyes moved down the page.
Is this what Earl meant for me to do last time? More defensive, with a little offense.
She turned another page.
What else…? So far, I have only got Gust, Wind Blade, and now Cyclone—a smaller, weaker tornado. Tsk.
Her mouth twitched.
Ah, right. I already have the Classic F5. Not exactly subtle.
"It looks like Lady Reise is very focused on her reading," Lilia observed from one of the plush couches.
On the adjacent couch, Tina had opened the daily gazette.
"Let her be. It is far preferable to her spreading havoc across the training grounds."
Tina continued reading until her expression tightened.
"This serial killer is still at large? It has been two years. Five innocent commoners murdered."
Disapproval sharpened her tone.
"Indeed," Edmund added from an armchair, marking his place in his own book. "The palace guard is on high alert. The people are beginning to criticize what they see as a poor response."
The atmosphere in G6's office had changed considerably over the past several days. Tina read the paper, Lilia lounged on the couch, and Edmund sat with a book. Rigid status still existed outside these walls, but in here, G6 tolerated a degree of informality that would have scandalized most noble households.
G6 glanced up from her spellbook at their conversation.
Meh. They are just not good at catching him. What a bunch of novices.
She returned to the page.
Air Cushion? Aura of Zephyr? These are all defensive! What a useless book.
Another page.
Whisper of the Gale? Eavesdropping from a distance. Meh, I can do that with my Eclipse-Step. I could stand right behind them without a sound.
She turned another.
Her gaze paused.
Hmm… this one: The Breeze of Blade. It functions like a Wind Blade, but the cuts are delivered by a gentle breeze that touches the skin.
Her brows rose.
What psycho invented this? It is pure torture. Designed to maximize pain.
She turned several more pages.
Defensive techniques.
Variants of things she already knew.
Another support spell.
Tsk. There are so many spells in here, and all the basic ones are so lame and repetitive.
G6 snapped the book shut.
"I WILL BURN THIS BOOK!"
All three companions flinched.
Tina slowly lowered the gazette.
"I knew the tranquility would not last."
G6 pushed her chair back and strode toward the shelf to return the offending tome.
The decision was already made.
"Listen, I am staying here tonight."
The three servants looked toward her, and their composure vanished almost simultaneously.
"My lady, no one stays here overnight," Edmund stated. "Well, except when the knights are present."
"That is right, Lady Reise!" Lilia sat upright. "This place is completely empty at night! It is so large, and dark, and… creepy!"
"Do not overexert yourself with training. You have plenty of time," Tina added pragmatically.
"You can't change my mind. And I am not afraid. Ghosts? The dark? Please. It is nothing."
Her confidence was absolute.
When I was a child, my father left me in the forest alone to survive. I was seven.
G6 glanced around the luxurious office.
This pristine training ground is a five-star hotel in comparison.
"Then I will be staying here as well," Tina stated firmly.
"You do not have to."
"But I will."
"Me too, Lady Reise!" Lilia added with equal determination.
Edmund closed his book with a soft thump.
"Then I suppose I shall also remain."
What?
G6 stared at them.
These pets are far too tamed.
A strange irritation crawled through her.
It is suffocating.
"Suit yourselves."
She relented with a dismissive wave.
"Very well. I will return to the villa to prepare provisions. Lilia, please assist me."
Tina adjusted her glasses.
"Keep your mouths shut about this," G6 warned.
The last thing she needed was Lord Earl—or worse, Prince Dio—finding out.
"Understood."
Tina bowed before leaving with Lilia for the West Villa.
G6 watched the door shut, then looked toward Edmund.
"Edmund, fine with sleeping on the couch tonight?"
"Of course. It is no trouble. Besides, the back of this lounge is foldable. It converts into a perfectly adequate bed."
"Really?"
G6 looked genuinely intrigued.
"Yes. Many of the lounges and personnel rooms intended for extended work are furnished similarly. Scholars in Omnia and Sanctum occasionally remain through the night, and the Bastion maintains several convertible seats and rest spaces for officers or knights working irregular hours."
That made considerably more sense than every chair in the Royal Collegium secretly turning into a bed.
G6 nodded.
Then another question surfaced.
"Why does the palace not have more knights, anyway?"
It was not idle curiosity.
Numbers mattered.
Available force mattered more.
"All knights are nobles, my lady. Most hail from lower to mid-tier houses."
"And we are in the higher tier?"
"No."
Edmund's answer came immediately.
"The Three Pillars do not belong to any ordinary noble class."
G6 looked at him.
"They are the foundation itself."
She considered that.
"Why do not they hire knights from the commoners?"
"Because knighthood in Einston is part of the noble military structure."
Edmund folded his hands.
"Commoners may develop formidable Physical Enhancement and become successful Adventurers, but the Royal Knight Corps has always been drawn from the nobility."
G6 listened.
"The corps itself is relatively small. What remains under the palace is traditionally divided among the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Companies. Bronze contains many reserve knights from lower noble houses. They frequently handle gate security, routine patrols, and reinforcement duties within safer territories."
Edmund continued without interruption.
"The more active companies are often deployed elsewhere. Border patrols, military expeditions, dungeon inspections, suppression of monster populations, and dangerous territorial assignments consume a considerable portion of the corps."
That explained the empty arena.
It also explained why the palace grounds could appear strangely under-guarded despite possessing an actual military department.
"Some knights also come from houses whose inherited affinity is not particularly impressive in direct mage combat," Edmund added. "A weak affinity does not necessarily make the noble useless in battle."
G6's gaze settled on him.
"For certain combatants, channeling that affinity through a physical weapon produces far more practical results than attempting to overpower an enemy with direct spells. Magic Coating reinforces the weapon and allows the affinity to work alongside swordsmanship rather than relying entirely upon raw magical output."
Ah.
G6 remembered Prince Dio and Lord Keith.
Cinder's Edge. Neptune's Fang.
So some of these nobles compensate through weapon skill.
A sensible adaptation, especially for people whose bloodline gave them magic but not enough of it to dominate as pure mages.
"And because the Capital and palace territories are considered exceptionally secure, most serious monster work happens farther away," Edmund continued. "The borders, distant territories, dungeons, and expedition routes require far more manpower than the Capital itself."
G6 leaned back.
So the safe center gets the leftovers while the useful pieces are scattered around the board. Noted.
"The Einston Kingdom is feared solely on the strength of its Royals and the Three Pillars."
There was no exaggeration in Edmund's tone.
"The Royal Family and the three great houses have historically possessed enough magical power that the Crown never saw reason to maintain the kind of vast standing army other kingdoms depend upon."
G6's brows lifted slightly.
"The Three Pillars are not ceremonial titles. House Worthon guards the sky, House Nocturne the land, and House De Lune the sea. Their heads stand among the kingdom's strongest living mages."
That matched what G6 had already begun noticing.
A-Rank itself was difficult. S-Rank was worse, and above that, only a tiny handful occupied the heights of SS.
The people sitting at the top of those houses were not simply wealthy aristocrats.
They were weapons with estates.
"What do you mean, 'Worthon's multiple connections'?"
Her interest sharpened.
Edmund understood what she meant.
"You know it already. Your house has always strategically avoided marriage within the kingdom's nobility or royalty. They consistently arrange betrothals with powerful noble houses—or even royalty—from other kingdoms."
G6 leaned back.
Whoa. Political chess.
Pretty smart, though.
Foreign marriage after foreign marriage.
Connections embedded beyond Einston's own borders.
Military power inside.
Political leverage outside.
"Is that why they always say the Worthons are the strongest Pillar?"
"It is one reason. But the primary reason is their… savage innate mana reserves and their supreme dominance over Wind Magic."
Tina would later add, after returning from the West Villa, "As you may have known, Lady Reise, not all spells of Wind Affinity were recorded in that book. In short, those spells you have been reading are nothing but minor and mediocre ones. Your house likes to hide its cards well."
Oh? This explains why this book is pretty useless.
"It is the same for the other two Pillars and for the Royals," Edmund explained. "Except for these four, all nobles are required to record every spell they possess in the book and submit the information to Royal Security and the Sanctum."
G6's eyes narrowed.
So they are keeping an eye on the lowlives.
And after hearing the extent of House Worthon's political power, another possibility presented itself just as readily.
They could betray the Crown any moment they want.
Noted.
"This has, of course, bred a hidden grudge among some lesser nobles, particularly against House Worthon," Edmund added delicately. "Your House's power, both in affinity and political influence, is considered… ridiculously strong."
"That is just human nature."
G6 twirled a feather pen between her fingers.
"Greed. Jealousy. Hunger for power."
A dark, knowing smile played on her lips.
"Let those things rule you, and they will lead you straight to your doom."
It sounded less like an observation than a promise of what she would personally deliver.
"You are quite right, my lady," Edmund answered with the peculiar calm of someone who sounded as though he had witnessed exactly that before.
The comfortable silence lingered until the hour grew late and the Bastion finally emptied.
「05:45 P.M」
"It has been two hours since they left. What kind of 'preparation' takes that long?"
G6 lounged in her office.
The door opened, and Edmund stepped inside.
"Lady Reise, I have confirmed that His Highness, Lord Keith, and Lord Earl have all departed. The working hours ended forty-five minutes ago. As far as I can tell, we are the only ones left."
G6 immediately stood and cracked her neck.
"Good. I am heading to the training ground. Wait here for Lilia and Tina; they are a pair of scaredy-cats."
"Are you certain you do not require company?"
"Yes. Just wait. I will be done by 7:30. Just running a few… experiments."
She strode from the room.
The Bastion corridors had changed completely after working hours. Office doors were shut, administrative rooms had darkened, and without personnel constantly moving through the building, every distant sound carried farther.
G6's footsteps barely registered against the floor.
No magic.
No skill.
Only years of deliberate movement and the instinctive gait of someone trained to approach a target without announcing herself.
This place is a ghost town. I guess everyone clocks out right on the dot. Lazy asses.
She descended through the internal access toward the Training Arena.
The last light of evening stretched across the pale sand.
It was empty.
Perfect.
❈.❈.❈
G6 set up a single reinforced target before pacing backward.
Ten strides.
Twenty.
Thirty.
Forty.
Fifty.
She stopped.
Yes. That is far enough.
G6 extended one hand. Her index and middle fingers formed the rough shape of a gun while her thumb lifted naturally above them.
It was no childish imitation.
It was familiar aiming geometry.
In her mind, she constructed exactly what she wanted.
Not a broad Wind Blade.
Not a Gust.
A concentrated point of compressed air.
Small. Dense. Fast.
A bullet.
Mana flowed into her hand. Wind tightened around the tip of her extended finger until the surrounding air distorted.
She released it.
—BANG!
The compressed projectile crossed the fifty paces almost instantly and slammed into the target hard enough to punch a deep crater into its surface.
G6's brows rose.
"Whoa. Just as I expected."
She fired again.
Then again.
The second projectile struck slightly left of the first, while the third landed higher.
G6 increased the pace.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Compressed air snapped repeatedly across the arena.
There was no chant and no conventional interval forcing her to pause between shots—only the time G6 herself required to shape, aim, and release each projectile.
"This is good."
A sharp smile appeared.
I can fire these consecutively. No cooldown, no reload. Unlimited ammunition. What a bliss.
Her eyes narrowed.
Now, with a skill.
<
Her posture changed.
G6 drove off the sand. The first step dug sharply beneath her boot, and the second converted her forward lean into acceleration as Perfect Assassin Form poured Akira's movement precision through Reise's strengthening body.
She crossed the fifty paces in a violent straight-line burst, each footfall landing exactly where needed to preserve momentum without sacrificing balance.
To an ordinary observer, the acceleration would have been difficult to follow.
It was not teleportation.
G6 physically covered every meter.
She decelerated only at the final instant, one boot carving a shallow line through the sand before she stopped directly in front of the target.
"Hmm. Not lethal enough."
She examined the crater closely.
The impact is significant, definitely enough to kill, but it did not penetrate cleanly. It lacks… finality.
G6 stepped back, turned toward the original firing point, and let P.A.F. Speed carry her across the distance again in another controlled burst.
Ah, that is right. Let us try that.
<
The world did not physically change.
Her focus did.
The target ceased to be a broad wooden shape fifty paces away. There was only one chosen point, and everything else became secondary.
G6 raised her finger-gun again.
Compressed air gathered.
She fired.
BANG!
Her vision narrowed.
The distant target seemed to pull closer as her enhanced perception isolated the impact point.
G6's mouth curved.
Whoa. The description was not a bluff.
The new projectile had landed almost exactly where she intended.
She shifted several paces sideways and fired again.
Another correction.
Another strike near the same chosen point despite the altered angle.
Then G6 began moving.
Forward.
Diagonal.
A sudden change of direction.
She fired between steps.
—BANG!
The aim remained centered.
Even while I am moving, the target point stays locked.
Her eyes brightened with professional satisfaction.
Perfect.
Now came the useful test.
Wind compressed beneath her boots.
Reaper's Ascent launched her upward.
G6 climbed several meters, changed direction in mid-air, and began firing while her own body was still moving.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The angles changed continuously, yet the projectiles did not scatter the way her first rapid-fire test had.
Her enhanced perception and Death's Whisper Aim continually dragged her attention back toward the chosen strike point, allowing her to correct her hand before every release.
By the time she landed, the reinforced target had been hammered repeatedly around the same damaged area.
"Very well."
An utterly wicked grin spread across her face.
"I will name you… Bullet of Death."
G6 stared at the ruined section.
Bullet of Death. The signature magic of my Death's Whisper Aim skill. You can run, but you cannot escape.
<
<
"Whoa."
The familiar punishment arrived immediately.
Cold swept through Reise's body, and her legs weakened beneath her.
G6 lowered herself rather than allowing the collapse to choose the position for her, eventually lying flat against the sand while the stabilizing ring began easing the screaming tension through her nerves.
This is not as bad as last time.
She breathed slowly.
Using two skills at once made me black out before. Now, it just feels like that humiliating crash after I forgot to deactivate my Perfect Assassin Form in front of that Snow White bastard.
The distinction mattered.
Progress.
Her fingers touched the mana-restraint earring.
This mana restraint earring is working. I am so close. I cannot wait to tear this thing off.
She remained there for fifteen minutes, breathing and allowing Reise's body to recover enough to tolerate another experiment.
Then a new idea surfaced.
G6's eyes opened.
"I should practice sword Magic Coating, too. Like Keith and Dio."
She pushed herself up and walked toward the equipment rack, pulling free a wooden practice sword.
Hmm, what should I call it? Reaper's Whisper.
G6 moved toward another reinforced target and settled into a ready stance.
This technique was different from simply throwing a Wind spell.
She needed the element to remain layered over an existing weapon.
Mana moved through her hand and into the hilt.
Wind gathered along the wooden blade.
At first, it scattered.
G6 tightened the flow until the current compressed closer to the weapon, forming a violent sheath of spiraling air along its entire length. The Wind reinforced the practice blade while sharpening its effective cutting edge far beyond the wood itself.
Her eyes narrowed appreciatively.
<
<
G6 lowered her center.
Her rear foot dug into the sand.
Then she moved.
The one-second burst did not make her disappear. Her body accelerated across the distance in a straight, vicious line, one step driving her forward and the next positioning her just outside the target's center.
Her hips turned.
Her shoulders followed.
The Wind-coated wooden blade crossed horizontally through the dummy in one clean motion, G6 maintaining the edge angle all the way through rather than hacking against the target.
She passed the dummy before allowing her momentum to bleed away.
For one brief instant, nothing happened.
Then—CRACK!
The upper half of the hard wooden target slid from the cut and struck the sand behind her, sending pale grit and dust outward.
G6 turned.
"Convenient."
She examined the clean divide.
"Now that is what you call an offensive spell."
I wonder what kind of monsters are waiting in that dungeon.
The thought was enough.
She turned toward the remaining targets.
Again.
Another dash.
Another cut, this time from the opposite angle.
Then another.
G6 tested entries from the left, right, and diagonal, using P.A.F. to control the acceleration while Silent Reaper's Blade carried Akira's swordsmanship cleanly through every strike.
The Wind coating reinforced each impact.
One target became two pieces.
Another broke at the shoulder line.
A third lost its center entirely.
G6 continued until every remaining target had been reduced to splintered pieces scattered across the sand.
Only then did she deactivate her skills.
The accumulated strain hit her all at once.
Her knees buckled, and this time she simply allowed herself to collapse onto her back.
"Look how the time flies," she murmured through heavy breaths.
She turned her wrist and checked the time.
"Okay. Time to pack up. It is already 7:20."
Then she remained lying exactly where she was.
Just for another minute.
Maybe five.
「G6'S OFFICE」
"Is Lady Reise not done yet?" Lilia asked while setting plates across the low tea table.
"She will be finished any minute."
Edmund polished a set of glasses.
"I made certain Alistair prepared an excellent cut of meat. I also brought rice so she can properly replenish her energy."
Tina arranged food from the large basket they had brought from the West Villa.
"But… the Bastion is so creepy at night," Lilia murmured, looking toward the dark corridor beyond the office.
"It is. I am grateful Lady Reise's adjoining room has a bathing chamber," Tina replied.
"Lady Reise was right."
Edmund finally took a seat.
"You two are scaredy-cats."
"You are just too old to believe in ghosts!" Lilia fired back.
"Shut up, you little brat! I am still in my forties!"
Edmund's dignified composure slipped instantly.
"But I heard a story once."
Tina lowered her voice for effect, immediately capturing Lilia's full attention.
"A knight on the dawn patrol claimed he saw a woman all in black walking these halls without a single footstep."
Lilia's eyes widened.
"Really? That is terrifying!"
"That is nothing but a hoax," Edmund stated flatly.
"He said it was just this past week," Tina added ominously.
Somewhere outside, a night bird released a sudden, shrill cry.
All three jumped.
"Whoa, that scared—AHH!"
Lilia shrieked as the office door swung open.
G6 stood there in black training clothes covered by a fine layer of pale sand, her rose-gold hair partially loosened from its training knot and her expression completely flat.
"Am I that scary?"
She closed the door behind her, crossed the room, and collapsed onto the center couch.
Then she noticed the table.
"Oh. Dinner."
Edmund stared at her.
Something clicked.
"A lady dressed in black at dawn, just this week."
A smile touched his mouth.
"So the knight simply saw you, my lady?"
The tension broke.
"Tsk. I told you not to listen to hoaxes. What are you, a kid?"
G6 reached directly toward the food and grabbed a piece of meat with her fingers.
Lilia looked genuinely confused.
"I am a kid, though…"
"Let's eat. I am starving."
Tina placed a plate heaped with meat and rice on G6's lap, and she immediately began eating like someone who had returned from a week-long campaign.
To anyone raised within noble custom, the scene would have looked absurd.
Lady Reise Worthon sat with a plate balanced over her lap while her servants ate from the same spread at the same time, conversation drifting naturally around them instead of anyone waiting stiffly against a wall.
Whether G6 had deliberately created that atmosphere or merely stopped caring enough to enforce the old hierarchy was harder to determine.
Perhaps it was both.
❈.❈.❈
After dinner, G6 retreated to the adjoining bathing chamber and sank into the tub.
Her body hurt.
Her mind did not care.
I have a beautiful arsenal now.
A few spells, but all lethal. That is what matters.
She leaned her head back against the edge of the bath.
Quality over quantity.
Reaper's Ascent. Bullet of Death. Reaper's Whisper.
Wind Blade. Gust. Cyclone.
Her mind continued processing combinations and trajectories even while the hot water worked through her abused muscles.
Later, freshly bathed, G6 stepped back into the adjoining room and found Tina arranging an alarming amount of clothing inside the wardrobe.
G6 stared.
"Did you pack my entire villa? What am I doing, moving out?"
She flopped onto the bed.
"I merely assumed you might grow accustomed to staying here. This is a precaution."
Tina continued arranging the garments.
"However, this cannot become a habit. You must return to the villa and attend to your duties."
Tsk. You don't need me there. There is nothing for me to do anyway.
"I am exhausted," G6 muttered, ignoring the nagging.
Then another issue occurred to her.
Ah. Where are these two going to sleep?
She rolled onto one side and reached beneath the bed frame, her fingers searching along the wood until something moved beneath them.
A lever.
Hah.
G6 pulled it.
A second bed frame slid smoothly from beneath the first with a soft mechanical click. It sat slightly lower, but was broad enough to accommodate two people.
"This palace is quietly genius, huh?"
She leaned over the edge.
"Hey, Tina, look. There is another bed. You and Lilia can sleep here. Use the pillows from the couches outside—there are way too many of those damn things anyway."
Annoyance at the excessive decoration entered her voice.
"Edmund can use the pillows from the long couch."
Tina stared at her.
"But, Lady Reise, it is highly inappropriate for us to share your sleeping quarters."
"Don't give me that shit. You are the one who insisted on staying. Unless you would rather sleep out there with Edmund?"
The implication was unmistakable.
Tina immediately reconsidered every rule of propriety she had ever learned.
"Then… I would rather be 'inappropriate,'" she conceded, thoroughly defeated.
"Tsk. I am going to sleep. My body is killing me."
G6 walked to the wardrobe, pulled out two extra blankets, and tossed one toward Tina.
She carried the other into the lounge, where Edmund was already lowering the back of the long couch into its sleeping position.
He had changed into traditional noble sleepwear.
G6 stopped.
"Hey. Here. Nice jammies, by the way."
She tossed him the blanket and immediately headed back inside.
Edmund looked down at himself, then toward the closing door.
He chose not to respond.
Lilia emerged from the bathing chamber wearing her nightdress.
"Lady Reise, are we having a sleepover?"
The excitement in her voice was immediate.
"You are sleeping down there."
G6 pointed toward the pull-out bed.
"Lady Reise, I am turning out the lights out here. Please, rest well," Edmund called from the other side of the closed door.
G6 looked toward Lilia and nodded once, clearly assigning the response to her.
"Alright, Edmund! Do not let the ghosts bite!" Lilia called back teasingly.
Only the soft click of the light switch answered.
Tina emerged last in her sleeping attire.
"Then, let us all rest. I suspect we will have a very taxing day tomorrow."
She turned off the lamp.
Moonlight became the room's only illumination, spilling through the window in pale silver strips until Tina drew most of the curtains shut and left only a narrow gap.
She lay beside Lilia on the lower bed.
"Good night, Lady Reise," Lilia murmured, already thick with sleep.
"Good night, Lady Reise," Tina added more quietly.
G6 had already turned her back toward them.
Her breathing settled with almost unnatural speed, as though years of sleeping whenever and wherever circumstances allowed had taught her body to shut down the moment she decided rest was necessary.
Tina watched her silhouette for a while.
What struck her most was not that Lady Reise had allowed them into the room.
It was that G6 had turned her back on them without hesitation.
She did not watch the door or keep one eye open.
She simply slept.
Tina understood enough about the strange woman her lady had become to recognize the significance of that.
Trust.
Perhaps unconscious.
Perhaps something G6 herself would deny immediately if anyone dared mention it.
Still, it was there.
Tina smiled faintly into the darkness.
Only weeks ago, she could never have imagined spending a night like this: Lilia sleeping beside her, Edmund in the lounge beyond the door, and their mistress only a few feet away instead of separated from them by rank, silence, and locked rooms.
For one quiet night, it felt less like servants keeping watch over a noble lady and more like people who had simply decided to remain near one another.
No one needed to name it.
The Bastion remained silent around them as all four slept, unaware of how temporary such an ordinary, peaceful night might prove to be.
—To Be Continued…—