My days at my new job passed slowly and uneventfully...

***

"How, read?"

"Like this Hokuto".

"Thank you, Falay".

"Your Talkian sucks Hugo".

"Don't be mean with him. Is good for a beginner".

"Master, what does this word means?"

"I'll answer if you use this when cleaning the bathroom fufu..."

"Falay, help! A pervert is attacking me!"

***

"Kyaa!"

"I am sorry Falay! It was an accident!"

"Not again you damn pervert!"

THUD.

"Milady, help! Wys just killed Hokuto!"

***

"What is this crap Master!"

"A nightsuit. A special dress for serving drinks at night"

"You damn liar! Give me back my original uniform!

***

"Kyaa!"

"Again you pervert!?"

"It was an accident!"

"An accident doesn't occur six time in a week!"

THUD.

"Hokuto! Wake up Hokuto! Hokutoooo!"

***

"Another incredible lunch"

"Yeah, this soft meat tastes similar to potatoes. Just what kind of meat is this Hinata-san?"

"I don't know. It is an original dish made by Falay... urg!"

This is the first time that I am regretting that my Appraisal is automatic.

"Hehe, I made it by slowly roasting Fur worms!"

"PTSUU!" (Translator note: This is a spitting sfx, I know is lame)

"PTHEE!" (Translator note: This is another spitting sfx, I know is more lame)

"Why!? Is my cooking without Wys help that horrible!?"

***

THUD.

"Hokutooo! Why Wys!? He didn't do anything this time!"

"Nothing to you. This idiot gave Master the idea of a naked apron!"

"Hokuto..."

"Is a misunderstanding!"

"Just die, you pervert!"

THUD THUD CRASH.

***

"Master, where is the third volume of  “The musician and the butterfly”?"

"It ended at volume two".

"Ah? Why? If it ended at such a cliffhanger?"

"The author is dead".

"Huh?"

"He was a Talkian soldier".

"I hate this war! Gasp, don't tell me that the author of “Dungeon Master princess Lan” also died?"

"Lord Aioh is just a lazy bum who ran out of idea and gave up on the story".

"Where does he live?"

"Hoh, I like that look on your face".

"Milady, Wys. Stop. Whatever you two are planning to do, just stop!"

"Don't worry Falay. We aren't planning anything bad".

"We just want to give Lord Aioh some encouragement to keep writing".

"Your murderous faces doesn't look encouraging at all!"

***

"Uwah! Pervert!"

"What the hell man. It was an accident. Besides nobody wishes to see you naked anyways".

"Eh? Wys!? What are you doing peeping at Hokuto!?"

"Ah no. I am not peeping, it was an accident".

"Pervert! Help Falay. Hinata-san is a pervert!"

"Even though you scolded Hokuto that much... you are not that much better".

"Wait, it was really an accident! Besides why should I wish to peep on a guy!"

"Pervert!"

"Shut up Hugo!"

"Don't avoid this. This is your just desserts".

THUD.

I saw in the corner of my eyes Hugo's triumphant smile. Don't ever think that I am going to forget this.

***

"Hmm. Right there."

"What about around here?"

"Ah! You are really good at this

"There is nothing that I am not good at. And for the final touch..."

"This why you hired Wys!? Milady... you are... you are... You are dirty!"

Falay ran away while crying.

This was just a simple massage...

***

"Fufu. Full house!"

"Too naive Wys, too naive. Poker".

"Aren't you too good at this Master?"

"Don't be humble. Until now you were the one leading in chips".

"Erm... what is this hand?"

"... A royal flush".

"Is it good?"

"Is the best possible hand Falay".

"Yay! I am the one leading now right?"

"Yes, you are. Your luck is amazing".

"As expected of my Falay".

"The level of you three is too high for me".

"That's just because you are an idiot Hugo".

"I have to agree. He is a total idiot".

"You two! Stop treating Hokuto like an idiot! He may not be the best at studying, but he is someone who always tries his best!".

Hugo didn’t got cheered at all by what Falay said.

***

"Hehehe♪"

"It seems you are happy that your hair has recovered so fast".

"Is it that obvious?"

"Fufu. Of course!"

"Falay, Hinata-san! Look at this, I can finally use magic with this tool!"

"Oy where did you find that? Be careful, Is my prototype fire wand. Is still unstable..."

"Ops! What do I do! It activated by itself!"

"You idiot! Just use your soul skill... Waah my hair!"

"Fiu. It finally stopped... Hinata-san? Sorry! Forgive me... Eh? I wasn't beaten this time".

"Uhh... Snif... Uhhh... Uwaaa!"

"Tears!? Sorry, I am really sorry. Stop crying!"

"Is okay. Your hair recovers at an amazing speed. Is going to be okay".

"..."

"Wys?"

"I'll kill you"

"Stop Wys! Run Hokuto, run! I'll hold him back!"

"As if I could abandon you and run by myself".

"Hokuto..."

Mana Bullet, loaded. Ice Stake = 20. Recharging with my hair's mana, complete. Boulder Cannon = 3. Mana empty. Ready to fire.

CRASH. THUD. BOOM.

"Help Milady!"

"Rechiaaaa!"

***

"Hm?"

"What is it, Master?"

"This is a letter for you".

"Eh? for me? ... A love letter!"

"Really? Did you really got a love letter Hinata-san?"

"Heh. Why are you so surprised? This is obvious for someone like me".

"Urg. The confidence of a popular guy".

"Have some confidence in yourself. You also have some good points Hokuto".

"But, not enough to receive love letters like me, hehe."

I bragged all day, until I found out that it was sent by a man. I should have expected that. It was the first time in a long time that I wished to bury myself.

***

Now that I am reminiscing, this month wasn't uneventful at all, and I haven't remembered even a half of what happened. Most of the stupid situations were Hugo's fault, is he the main character of those comics that Carla loves so much?

Well, I have to admit that this month wasn't boring because of his antics, but I will never thank him for most of them, specially that fire incident. If I didn't had the divine protection that restores my hair this quickly I would have cooked him in the oven.

Anyways, I can't lose focus now or I am going to make a huge mess.

"♪Hmm♫ Hm Hm Hm♪" I was happily humming while manipulating my mana.

Beating eggs, melting butter, extracting sugar from shetas. Since I only have two hands, it will be normally be impossible to do all this at the same time, but since my mastery of magic has improved a lot in this month this kind of feat is possible now.

The toll it takes from my mana amount is a little high though, specially the part where I have to extract sugar, since it is a complex water magic.

The eggs are being beaten with a stick I made with ice magic. I could do it with barrier magic, but I want to train my control in ice too.

The butter is being melt with fire magic. I have to be careful to not evaporate it.

The eggs are ready so now I am mixing it with flour. Barrier magic and water magic are perfect for this task. Now mixing them with butter and milk. Okay, now to separate the batter in small amounts using a mix of water and barrier magic.

The difficult part starts now. I don't have baking soda so I have to carefully use wind magic to make the dough fluffy while baking it with fire magic.

What I am currently making are pancakes infused with sheta extract. If I only had found some honey this morning, well at least I prepared some marmalade the other day.

"Are you watching closely Falay?" I asked in a happy tone.

"Yes. Since everything is floating the view is very clear. It seems that pancakes are not as elaborate as Napoleons," Falay seriously answered while taking some notes with a ballpoint pen.

Yup, I am not using any bowls to hold the ingredients, instead I am holding them with barriers. It doesn't use too much mana since the ingredients are light. By the way, that pen was made by me last week after Hugo dropped an ink bottle, I should have made it before he made a mess on the floor.

"It is as you say Falay. Pancake is a simple recipe. Try to make it without my help," I said with a satisfied grin.

It smells awesome. I am preserving it's heat with fire magic since I can't start eating until Master is ready to eat. I have to be careful or I am going to run out of mana before breakfast.

"I'll try, but don't expect me to do it in your extravagant way. I can't control that many different magics at the same time," Falay said with a weak smile.

"Ah, although you can use the remains of the fruit sugar that I extracted, you need to make use of the wind magic to make the dough fluffy," I casually reminded her.

"I know, you already taught me that when baking cakes," Falay seriously answered and then she went to her usual cooking spot.

She proceeded to make the pancakes using the tools in the kitchen like the fraying pan and whisk. As she said, my cooking style is extravagant and probably there are not many people around the world who cooks like that.

Falay's handling of the ingredients are smooth. Her cooking skills have improved a lot in this month.

Right now, me and Falay are cooking together in the kitchen. Falay is using a pink apron on top of her usual grey dress while I am using a white apron on top of my stupid uniform which I still haven't got used to using it after a month has passed.

A month, twenty seven days in this world. Today is the twelfth day of the ninth month and I started working at the twelfth day of the eighth month so tomorrow is gong to be a full month of work. Tomorrow is going to be my last day.

"It is done!" Falay happily announced interrupting my thoughts.

"The smell is superb, let me take a bite to make sure," I said with the same happiness as Falay.

The texture is fluffy indeed with a slight crunchiness on the surface. Full points.

"It's perfect, you are a real chef now my young student," I pompously said.

"Thank you, master," Falay said it in a humble tone.

And then, the two of break out in laughter.

***

"This taste... I am still getting astounded, every day by your meals," Master said in an almost tranced state.

"I can't believe that I helped making this treasure," Falay said with overflowing happiness.

"Hehe, and this was without honey. Tomorrow is going to be the last meal I am going to prepare so if you want the best flavor, get ahold of some honey already Master," I smugly said while showing a huge grin.

What we are eating now is my special sugared pancakes. I usually cover them with honey, but since I still haven't found a single honeycomb I had to do it with raspberry marmalade.

"A sweet breakfast again..." Hugo muttered with a stiff voice.

"Hah? Aren't you too picky for a freeloader?" I said with a threatening voice.

Hugo flinched a little from what I said, but he slowly opened his mouth to protest.

"It's just that I think it would be good to have some more nutritious breakfast once in a while, like rice and miso soup," muttered Hugo.

Is he serious?

"Forget about miso. Do you see any paddy field around here you idiot?" I said tiredly while massaging my temples.

"I am not that stupid! It was just an example!" Hugo loudly complained.

"What is miso?" Falay cutely asked.

"It is a paste made of some specific beans. It smells awful but it is delicious as an ingredient once you get used to the smell," I gently answered her.

"I have been slowly noticing it, but why is there such a huge difference in treatment between me and Falay?" Hugo weakly asked.

"Isn't it obvious? You are a stupid guy while Falay is a cute and gentle kid," I casually answered Hugo's doubt.

"Just for that!? Also stop treating me like an idiot!" Hugo loudly complained again.

How noisy. I decided to simply ignore his useless complain and continued to eat. Hmm, even though I was the one who made it, this is delicious.

From the corner of my eyes I noticed that Hugo was eating at a slow pace, as if he was depressed. But I can't be sure since I can't see his face that is covered in bandages.

"And what about me? Even though I am not an idiot and furthermore your master, you treat me almost as harsh as Hokuto," Master lightly complained with her mouth full.

"You two, stop saying that Hokuto is an idiot! It is rude to him!" Falay loudly scolded me and Master.

Hugo suddenly nodded as if he was agreeing.

"That's why Master," I said while looking at Falay and then I continued "Falay is such a gentle child that sincerely aids an utter idiot like Hugo while in the other hand, you are a hopeless arrogant pervert," I said with a humble and respectful tone in contrast to my words.

"Wys! Stop making fun of Hokuto!" Falay scolded me again.

"What about me!?" Master pitifully yelled.

"Erm... milady, sorry. I have known you for so long that it is hard to defend you in this case," Falay weakly apologized.

Falay's word was akin to a deep sword for Master who completely froze upon hearing her.

It is no wonder that Master is not being defended, she is truly a big pervert.

She didn't stop with making me wear this exhibitionist costume as my work uniform, she also tried to make me wear more strange costumes like:

* A nightsuit when serving her drinks at night, which was basically a bunny suit.

* A two piece like swimsuit when cleaning the bathroom.

* A naked apron when cooking.

It was obvious that I never followed those stupid orders and thankfully Falay was there in those occasions to save me. Falay was okay with me wearing this shameless maid uniform since she sincerely considers it a cute outfit, but for the just mentioned costumes she clearly understood the underlying intentions that Master had in mind.

I also remember those creepy gazes she sent me on windy days, if this were Earth it wouldn't be weird if she went to prison for sexual harassment.

I glanced at Master while remembering those awful memories to see that she is still frozen as stone.

"The food is going to get cold Master," I politely said.

Hearing me, Master started to move again and resumed eating.

"Hmm, delish. I feel revived again." Master said in delight.

She seems to be truly enjoying the pancakes. It makes me happy seeing people eating so happily my food, even if it is someone like Master.

"Hey, Wys," Master casually called without properly swallowing her food like always.

"What Master?" I politely responded.

"How about you keep working here?" Master asked without dropping her casual tone.

"That joke is not funny Master," I answered with a fake polite smile.

"It is not a joke, I am serious," Master said without any noticeable seriousness.

"Then I am seriously refusing," I clearly stated.

"Why? Is it the pay? I am willing to double it." Master said with a merchant like grin.

Four hundred thousand? It is tempting, but.

"Is not the pay, it's the job," I answered.

"Huh? I thought that you were enjoying it though?" Master sincerely asked.

"As if I would enjoy working with this stupid costume" I angrily shouted.

Hearing my angry shout, Falay and Hugo flinched a little, but Master wasn't affected at all.

"Then what about I made you my butler? I think there will be a certain charm in seeing you with those kind of clothes too," Master said with a creepy grin, making me flinch a little.

It seems that Hugo was taken aback by Master's creepy gaze while Falay's face showed a mix of worry and expectations at the same time.

Considering who she is, I bet that the butler uniform she is imagining is not the one I have on mind. Well I am not going to accept it no matter what she offers anyways.

"I can't accept the job since I already have plans to leave this town when the contract is finished," I politely answered trying to calm my recent anger.

"Eh? But doesn't your job ends tomorrow?" Falay asked a little panicked.

Ah, I haven't told her about my plans yet.

"Don't worry, I won't leave immediately. I need to do some preparations for the trip," I gently said.

"Are you really ready to depart?" Master asked in a serious tone.

"Yes I am. Thank you for worrying," I answered seriously in response.

"I see, you are really fast," Master said with her usual grin as if she were truly enjoying something.

That grin again. I still can't understand what she is truly thinking.

"Where are you planning to go Wys?" Falay asked a little depressed.

That sad face. I should have told her my plans beforehand.

"I am planning to head towards Xat," I answered as gently as possible.

"So far!? That's another country!" Falay exclaimed shocked.

"Wait, aren't we returning to the capital?" Hugo asked shocked as well.

What is this idiot saying now?

"Care to explain me how the idea of returning to that damn place came to your mind?" I asked smiling with a cold voice.

"I mean, aren't we going to rescue the other guys too?" Hugo asked completely honest.

"Why do you think they need to be rescued?" I answered without dropping my smile.

"You should already know. They are going to be forced to participate in a war!" Hugo vehemntly answered

"Listen here. Those guys are many times stronger than us. We need more help than them," I explained in a slight scolding tone.

"Just because someone is strong it doesn't mean that they don't need help," Hugo seriously answered.

"Haa, I get what you are trying to say, but I am still against your idea," I said in a tired tone.

"Please. I don't think that I can achieve anything by myself," Hugo humbly begged.

But my decision is firm.

"No. Even if we work together we can't do anything for them now, not even risking our lives," I firmly answered.

Hearing me, Hugo's semblance darkened a little.

"Is it because I am too weak?" Hugo remorsefully asked.

"Is because we are too weak. We are just two people, there is no way that we can go against a whole nation," I answered without lowering my firm attitude.

I need to be harsh for him to understand.

"Then it will be alright if I get as strong as an army?" Hugo asked without a hint of joking.

If something like that was possible, I wanted to say, but.

"You just need to be as strong as a quarter part of Talkian army to have a real chance of helping the other guys," I seriously answered.

Haa, I would have scolded him for his childish ideas if it weren't for his eyes. Those eyes are dead serious. Considering that this world is ruled by different laws than Earth, then someone being as strong as an army may not be impossible.

"Master, is it possible for a person to be as strong as what Hugo is aiming?" I asked seriously.

"Fufu, yes it's possible. Especially if the one who wishes that strength is a proper hero like Hokuto," Master casually answered.

Hearing what Master said, Hugo brightened a little.

"Don't celebrate so fast. I just said that it is possible," Master playfully answered.

"We are being serious here," I said a little pissed off.

"Hm?" Master looked at me with a teasing grin.

"Um. I mean, Hugo is being serious here," I said a little embarrassed.

What is wrong with me to get so angry at her answer? Is obvious that what I just asked is ridiculous to be taken seriously.

Hugo's idiocy must be contagious.

"Is enough for me to know that it is possible," Hugo resolutely said.

"It may take a few decades," Master said with her usual grin.

"From how you said it, I know that there must be faster ways," Hugo said with a confident smile.

"Haha, you got me there. Yes there are, but the chance to find those methods are not only difficult, but also dangerous," Master answered.

"Don't tell me that you know a way to get strong faster?" Hugo asked surprised.

Wow, he is getting the right hints. Maybe all the studying that I forced on him made him a little smarter?

"Only a hint. But are you prepared to die for it?" Master asked in one of her rare serious tone.

"Of cou..." I was trying to say of course not, but Hugo interrupted me.

"Yes, I am," Hugo unwaveringly answered.

Hah?

"Hey, are you serious? Those guys are complete strangers! You haven't even passed a full day with them," I harshly scolded him.

"Wasn't I a complete stranger for you too Wys?" Hugo casually asked.

"That's different! My chances of surviving was higher with you, that's why I helped you," I coldly answered.

"Liar. You may be good at acting, but I know that you are lying. You are a kind guy deep inside after all," Hugo said with a calm smile.

"I am not kind enough to die for strangers like you think. I am not changing the plan to go to Xat. Give up on this," I said completely irritated.

"I knew that you were kind. But sorry, I am not changing my decision. I want to save them," Hugo said without breaking his calm smile.

Thud! I struck the table with my two hands with all my might.

"Do you think that just because you were summoned as a hero you need to be one!? Don't kid with me you brat! I am not letting you to go and kill yourself!" I barated him fully irritated.

Is he sick!? How can he so calmly decide to give his life for complete strangers!?

"Is not because I am a hero. Is just that I don't want to abandon those guys. If by risking my life I can save them, then I will do it" Hugo strongly rebutted me, filled with determination.

"Just why!? There are plenty of people who you can help without doing something so risky!" I angrily yelled.

"Don't you want to save them too? I know that I haven't met them even for a day nor I talked with them too much, but I can't abandon people that I already know," Hugo firmly answered.

What is with his unwavering eyes? How can he be so determined for mere strangers?

I was about to yell again, angry at his stupidity when I noticed Falay's uncomfortable expression.

Falay's face started to get filled with worry as the conversation was advancing without me noticing.

Umm, crap. I got too emotional here.

"Fuuuu," I exhaled to calm my mind.

"Sorry. Let's continue eating," I gently said.

"Ye, yes!" Falay said in a strained voice in response to my words.

This was the first time since I started to live here that the air around the dining table was so heavy.

Cold pancakes are not tasty.

***

"This test is so awful that it makes me sick," I contemptuously said while looking down.

After washing the dishes, I made Hugo and Falay to answer the tests I made yesterday night in the library. The time limit was when I finish with my morning cleaning and return to the library, which is about two hours, enough time to cool myself. The results were full marks for Falay and ten out of one hundred ponts for Hugo.

"Ugh," Hugo muttered half crying while sitting in a posture that made him look even smaller.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"How did you even managed to get wrong the name of the king of Talkia! Did you planned to go and save the other guys when you don't even know your enemies names!?"

I am regretting in thinking that he got a little smarter. He is as stupid as before.

"His name was too long, besides you mixed some stuffs from Shigley and Euth," Hugo weakly complained.

"I don't want to hear excuses!" I harshly said while gripping his head with my right hand.

"Don't be so mad. Hokuto did his best. I know since I studied with him until late at night many times," Falay softly said in defense of Hugo.

"Falay..." Hugo muttered with tears of relief.

I see. That was the problem.

"Falay. If you can't be stricter with Hugo then you shouldn't help at all," I gently said to lessen the damage of my harsh words.

"Eh?" Falay muttered confused.

"Haa," I sighed and then I explained the reason as softly as I could.

"Falay, this guy is a young man. It's impossible for a young man to concentrate on his studies if there is a cute, beautiful and gentle girl like you near him. In other words, he is a pervert so avoid him at night".

"Heh?!" Falay let out a strange scream with her face blushing a little.

It seems that Falay and Hugo are hitting off pretty well. This is bad. I can't see a dumb guy like Hugo as a good partner for the angelical Falay.

"It’s impossible for Falay to be a distraction! Rather, she has been a great help! Look I can even talk Talkian now!" Hugo yelled getting a bit red getting embarrassed from his desperate intent of defending Falay.

He didn't deny the pervert part though... At least that means he is an honest teenager.

"I can’t be a distraction at all…," Falay muttered a little hurt.

No, seeing Hugo’s test result, you were clearly a distraction.

"Did you say something?" Hugo honestly asked Falay.

"No-nothing!" Falay quickly answered a little flushed.

Hugo looked puzzled since he didn’t understood the reason behind Falay’s reaction.

So glad that Hugo is an idiot... no I should be worried that he is such an idiot.

"Anyways, if Falay wasn’t a distraction, then why your result sucked so much while she got all her answers right? " I quickly asked to stop Hugo from thinking too much about Falay.

"Isn’t it because I already have some knowledge since I am from this world?" Falay timidly answered.

"That’s a lame excuse," I softly reprimanded her while showing Hugo’s test.

Seeing Hugo’s test, Falay could do nothing besides looking to her side with a stiff smile.

I already took into account the fact that Hugo has only came to this world just a month ago so I made his test incredibly easy. I only asked about the name of the important cities and figures of this continent, Alra. But Hugo barely answered the stuff about Talkia and got most of them wrong.

On the other hand, Falay’s test contained questions about Alra’s important figures and cities and about their history. I also put some math questions on her test since her math knowledge is a bit lacking.

Yes, Falay’s test was way more difficult than Hugo’s, or rather, Hugo’s test was at a level where it is difficult to have more than eighty percent of it wrong.

Now, why Falay also took a test? Well, it's just that after one week of studying, my knowledge about this world surpassed Falay's.

Sadly, the problem of lack of education is not uncommon in this world. The reason is the lack of books. However, the lack of books are not a restriction for Falay, Master should have given Falay some proper education, since she has all those books. How irresponsible of her.

The lack of books is not due to not having a printing technology, but the lack of a method to mass produce paper. 

Looking at the magic tools that are present in this house like the fridge, faucets and even something like a quarantine barrier; I thought that the technology level of this world was similar to Earth, but I couldn't be more wrong.

Most magic tools are the technology of ancient civilizations unearthed by the Research State of Xat.

Two thousand years ago, this world technology was even more advanced than Earth thanks to mana, a convenient energy that doesn't exist on my former world.

But something happened. If I had to rely on myths, then it was a battle between gods. Their fight was so fierce that almost decimated humanity, leaving a handful of them alive. The survivors are the founders of the current strong nations like Shigley and Talkia.

I would consider it ridiculous, but I have a divine protection to prove the existence of divine beings.

My main grip of that myth is that the leading god from the good gods was Wion while the bad god was the Demon god. I can't trust it since this was a Talkian myth.

I am sure that if I go to other nations, I am going to find different stories about how the old civilizations disappeared since their disappearance is a fact with many proofs backing it.

I have to admit that I am curious about those myths, but there is something that I am even more curious about and is not something from the mythical era. It is from something in the current world.

This world standardized their measure system a hundred years ago. However, for some strange reason, the terms they use for counting are really familiar to me.

This current world uses meter, second, grams, kilos, gigas, mili, micro, etc.

I get that Talkian is similar to Greek, but this is too much.

Furthermore, the one who thought of those terms and spread it one hundred and fifty years ago was born in Xat.

It took one fifty years for every nation to adopt this measuring system that appeared out of nowhere because it's inventor and her followers showed how useful it was to use the same measuring system.

It was as if she already knew the advantages.

The name of the genius who standardized the measuring system was Louise d'Coligny. No matter how I see it, that name is from Earth.

I am sure that I will find a hint to return home there and even if she isn't related to a method of returning home, Xat has many academies where I can learn all kind of knowledge, including summoning magic.

Well, whether Louse is important or not, there is something more urgent right now.

"Hugo, answer me honestly. Are you really the son of a doctor?" I asked incredulously.

Yes, the urgent thing is Hugo's situation.

"I am. Is just that my younger siblings got the brains," Hugo proudly said.

I get that you are proud of your brother and sister, but you should worry more about you.

"If you aren't as smart as your brothers, you need to study harder. Brain is as important as brawns to survive," I seriously lectured him.

"I know. I clearly understood it back then in the castle. I shouldn't have tried to escape by myself," Hugo bitterly answered.

"I see," I muttered.

It seems that he still has some lingering regrets. I bet that he thought that since he is the only one targeted, then it will be safer to leave the others behind and dragged me in panic.

"Hugo, let's spar," I casually suggested.

"Huh?" Hugo let out that stupid sound.

"As I said, let's spar," I suggested again.

"Spar, it means battle right?" Hugo asked confused.

"That's right. At least your Talkian is decent," I answered with a joking tone.

"Are you serious? You know how strong I am right?" Hugo asked with a worried face.

"Unlike you, I can use magic. And I am pretty good at it," I confidently said with a provoking tone.

"While you were studying magic, I was training my Mana Freeze," Hugo defiantly said while standing up.

It seems that he finally got in the mood to do it.

"So that's how you named your soul skill, how childish," I teasingly said.

"I named it like that because that is the effect!" Hugo replied blushing a little.

The blushing face of an almost adult man like you is not cute at all.

"Erm, are you going to fight? What about studying?" Falay asked a little panicked.

"Don't worry, is just training. Guys like Hugo can't study if they don't move around," I gently answered.

"But what if you get hurt?" Falay asked worried.

"Then you can have a practical test on your healing magic" I said in a reassuring voice.

"Don't rely on me. My healing abilities are still at a beginner level," Falay said without confidence.

"Is going to be okay. I believe in you," Hugo said in a reassuring voice like me.

"The expectations of you two is too high. Just rely on Milady," Falay said a little embarrassed.

Yup. The blushing face of a girl like Falay is cute.

"Where are we having our match?" Hugo asked a little pumped up.

"On the courtyard. Falay is going to raise a barrier on the walls just in case," I aswered without a hint of tension.

"Eh? You are involving me too?" Falay asked confused.

"Of course. It will be bad if we end up damaging the house," I answered casually, but without a hint of joke.

"Why are you worrying about the house damage if it is just training?" Falay asked getting worried again.

"Because Hugo is strong enough to break bricks," I answered without removing my casual tone.

Ohh, Hugo's face just got a little tense. Is he perhaps getting nervous?

"What, you afraid?" I provoked Hugo.

"As if! I am the fastest and the third strongest of the temple and the best at fighting," Hugo answered with a bright and cheerful face.

Ahh, it wasn't nervousness. He is just a muscle head. As expected of an idiot like him.

I jumped through the window, used a mixture of barrier and wind magic to cushion my fall and landed on the courtyard. Then I called him with a hand gesture.

Okay, bring it on!

"Jumping through the third floor... Magic is amazing," Hugo commented a little surprised and then jumped down too.

What the... he really jumped!

I quickly prepared wind magic to cushion his fall, but it was unnecessary.

He landed on a protruding part of the second floor, a protruding that is big enough for just half of his foot to land on, and then jumped from there until the courtyard, rolling when he reached the ground.

Monster. He is definitely a monster. I am recognizing him as a human because Appraisal must not be working due to his Mana Freeze. There is no way for a human to jump from that height as easily as him.

"Don't hurt yourselves too much," Falay weakly muttered while going down through the stairs like a normal person should do.

***

Me, Hugo and Falay are on the grass covered courtyard of the house. Me and Hugo are facing at each other at a distance of three meters.

"Should I give you a handicap?" I asked while touching my face.

"Don't worry, the bandages doesn't hinder my vision too much," Hugo answered while readying his fighting stance.

His fighting stance is similar to a wrestling one, having his body a little crouched with his palms and feet evenly spaced, ready to jump at me and react to any sudden movements.

It seems that he already has an idea about my fighting style. Even though he only saw it once when we fought against that green haired girl and those times I beat him whenever he accidentally peeped on Falay.

"Are you two ready?" Falay asked nervously.

"Of course," I casually answered, without looking away from Hugo.

"Are you sure?" Hugo asked with a casual tone, but with a serious look towards me.

"Yes, I am. Why are you asking?" I said with a casual tone again.

Well, is obvoius why he is asking.

While I properly changed my maid uniform into the training uniform that Master gave me, braided my hair and tied it around my body inside the clothes to avoid it from getting in my way; my fighting stance is just me standing normally, with my hands down and my feet separated at shoulder length.

"Nothing," Hugo answered as casually as me.

He is looking as relaxed as me. As expected, of someone with fighting experience. He knows that I am not as defenseless as it normally looks.

"Then, F...F..." Falay was stuttering.

It seems that she is the most nervous between us.

"Fufu, is alright. Just relax," I gently said. Of course, I didn't lost sight of Hugo. This is a spar, but in a real fight the opponent is not going to be nice enough to wait for the battle signal.

Falay nodded, took a breath and opened her cute mouth.

"Fight!" Falay screamed.

From her explosive statement, Hugo and I, didn't move at all.

He is being too cautious for a brat. But he is being naive, maintaining his distance is not the right choice here.

I formed three Air Ball around me and fired them in succession.

Hugo leapt at the same time that I fired. He leapt towards me.

He lowered his body a little, just enough to avoid the first Air Ball, then he spun his body to avoid the other two and kept approaching me without losing his speed.

How he did it! Don't tell me that he already learned to sense mana!

A fired magic has some lingering mana inside them and I bet that he felt those to avoid it. I was the one being naive.

When he reached at his punching distance he shot a left jab from his still low position.

Quick. His speed is slower than the green haired girl we fought before, but his movement that doesn't waste any movement is quicker.

I kicked with my right leg to deviate his attack, but it was a trap. He opened his fist and grabbed my right leg.

Crap. I was underestimating him too much.

Hugo pulled my leg and slammed his shoulder onto my stomach to knock me down.

"Buf!" Air escaped from my lungs due to the impact.

While I was halfway from falling, I did a karate chop with my left arm towards Hugo's nape. At that moment, Hugo released my leg and jumped to his right, avoiding my attack by a hair's breath.

Then Hugo quickly got behind me and tried to attack me with his knee before I could recover my stance.

In response to his attack, I grabbed my left hand that missed its target with my right hand and pushed it while spinning with my left leg to attack Hugo who was behind me with my left elbow.

My attack was luckily heading towards Hugo's face, but it ended up being blocked by his two arms.

I used the clash to stabilize my stance and jumped forwards to make distance.

Hugo followed after me with a jump. To shorten the gap in our jumping ability due to the difference of raw muscle power, I used Air Blast on my back. Air Blast is a wind magic that makes the air to expand instantaneously, similar to what happens in an explosion but without the heat.

The Air Blast was to impulse my jump and halt Hugo's jump. Fighting in close quarter with the kind of monster who can casually jump from a third floor is beyond stupid.

I started to make two Air Balls while trying to maintain my distance. It took me one second to deploy the two Air Balls, but I didn't fired them immediately since the result will be Hugo avoiding them again.

Hugo was shortening our distance little by little while I was running backwards to not lose sight of Hugo. When Hugo was just a jump away from entering his punching range, I slipped due to the moist lawn.

Hugo took that chance and leapt towards me.

"Hehe" I let out a small laugh.

You are not the only one who can make a trap.

My inhuman reflexes let me react at the short interval where Hugo's both legs are not on the ground. He can't avoid the attacks in the air.

I fired my two Air Balls towards Hugo's chest, having one behind the other.

Hugo blocked the first Air Ball with his arms crossed, but he lost his equilibrium. The second Air Ball also intercepted his arm guard, but it was enough to make him float backwards in the air.

I put my two hands on the ground to stabilize myself from and leapt at Hugo using my four limbs. I used Air Blast to impulse my jump.

I immediately got into my own punching range and did a palm strike towards Hugo's left leg with my right hand.

At the same time that I performed a palm strike, Hugo kicked with his left leg towards my right palm and what I did was the same thing that he did to me in the beginning, I grabbed that leg.

I pulled his left leg to get closer to him and did a downward punch with my left fist towards his groin. I noticed that Hugo's face paled a little.

Hugo quickly stomped the ground with his free leg and swung it to shake me off.

I weight forty five kilograms, so is no wonder that he was able to swing the leg that I was grabbing so easily.

My punch ended up landing on his left thigh instead of his groin. I used the punch I just did to impulse my backward jump and made distance with Hugo again.

"You devil! You were aiming at a sacred place!" Hugo yelled in Japanese with a half crying face.

"Only an idiot wouldn't aim at the opponent's weak point," I said in a tone that denoted that I was stating the obvious.

"But the groin is foul play! There are tons of different vital points that you could have aimed!" Hugo yelled in Japanese again.

"Do you think that I have the leisure to choose the weak point? Look at my small body, I can't make a noticeable danger if I don't pick vital points so I can't be too picky in choosing them," I calmly answered.

"Also, I still haven't gave you permission to talk in Japanese," I coldly scolded him.

"Sorry... Wait don't change the subject. You can't aim at a men's testicle you deplorable bastard!" Hugo insulted me in Talkian with a lot of anger.

Falay's face that was pale until now, blushed a little from Hugo's words.

"Careful with your words in front of a lady," I scolded Hugo coldly again.

"It's okay," Falay said a little embarrassed.

Hugo just awkwardly lowered his head as an apology, but it was counter-effective. Falay's face got even redder than before. Hugo is such an idiot with zero delicacy,

By the way, I wasn't doing nothing in our little skit. I was deploying three Air Balls while talking.

"Tanaka Hokuto. Do you really think that you can be a hero with that amount of strength?" I asked in a serious tone in Japanese.

Hugo got surprised by what I asked, but before he could answer I fired one of the Air Balls that I had made towards his face.

The result, the Air Balls besides the one I just fired disappeared.

Hugo flashed a smug grin and ran towards me, easily avoiding the Air Ball that I fired

What Hugo did was to expand his Mana Freeze until where I was, cutting my connection with the Air Balls that I deployed.

The range was two meters, but I bet that the range of his Mana Freeze is longer.

I constantly jumped backwards to lengthen the time when we enter close quarters. I can't use Air Blasts to impulse myself since Hugo is placing his Mana Freeze on top of me. What an annoying soul skill.

When Hugo finally entered his punching range, he let out a barrage of punches.

He is faster, but my reaction time is quicker than him so I was able to deflect all of his punches.

They look like quick jabs, but each of those punches have some weight behind them. It may be a poor attack against bigger and resilient people, but it is a good method against small opponents like me. No, it's not good, this strategy is perfect against someone as physically weak as me. It seems that he is finally getting serious.

The attack is completely one sided since Hugo is not only faster than me, but his range is larger than me because of our height difference.

I stepped back while defending, but Hugo advanced the same step. I deflected his right straight and slided to my right, only to met his left punch head on. I can't avoid it, so I spun my head at the moment of contact to reduce the damage as much as possible, but it hurts like hell anyways.

If I can't escape, then I need to step forward.

I started to advance, but Hugo's barrage intensified.

This brat can go even faster. Is he not tired?

Hugo knowing of his height advantage is trying to stop me from entering my own range. For such an idiot, he is too good at thinking battle strategies.

I have to give up in complete defense.

One second, two seconds, three seconds. I was hit once in my right shoulder, but used that impact to spin to the left and advance one step.

Four seconds, five seconds, six seconds, seven seconds. Is he not getting tired? No, his punching speed has reduced a little. I need to endure just a little more.

Eight seconds, nine seconds, ten seconds. I perfectly deflected Hugo's left stright and managed to advance two steps.

I finally entered my punchihng range. He managed to held me off for ten seconds just by punching. Truly a monster in human skin. I am sure that my appraisal is wrong, that physical ability can't be human.

Hugo started to mix some leg attacks too in his barrage. Since I finally entered a range where I can hit, I am not going to simply defend.

A right uppercut that I avoided by slightly leaning back, I launched a left low kick, but Hugo also threw a right low kick that I barely stopped by placing the sole of my left foot which was about to kick onto his right shin. My foot got numb from the clash, his leg is as hard as steel.

I tried to attack him with a left palm strike, but Hugo's right arm that was raised after his uppercut did a elbow blow which I had to deflect with the palm strike I intended to use. Hugo continued his combo with a left hook towards my liver which I barely managed to block with my right palm and only managed to do it since I planned to attack him with a right palm strike.

UHH!!! My right shoulder dislocated since the position of the arm I used to block his punch wasn't a good one.

My reflexes and reaction time let me able to change my attack into defense in a moment, but Hugo is so fast and strong that I haven't been able to do anything besides denfending and even doing that is damaging me. The distraction that the pain my right shoulder is giving me is not helping at all in this awful situation.

Hugo's left hook was followed by a right slap towards my left ear which I barely deflected it with another upward left palm strike. I launched a right knee attack which changed to a defensive block against another left hook from Hugo.

Hugo's punch didn't seem to break after clashing with my knee. His hook was followed by a downward swing from his right fist which I avoided by half spinning, but now my back is dangerously facing Hugo's right side.

I instictively threw myself to the ground and Hugo's left roundhouse kick passed above me.

Fiu, dangerous. Fighting Hugo at close distance is almost suicidal, what the hell I was thinking in closing the distance even more. The current Hugo who can control his Mana Freeze to this level can probably beat that green haired girl in a one versus one.

In my position where I am lying face down on the ground, I used my two legs to sweep Hugo's right leg. He tried to stomp me with his left leg, but thanks to my sweeping, he had to use his left leg to support himself and avoid falling to the ground, stepping a few centimeters to the right from my body, a close call indeed.

I rolled to the left and quickly stood up, just to meet Hugo's left backhand strike. I didn't fully stood up to evade his attack and head-butted the left side of his ribcage.

"Hu!" Hugo let out a pained voice while the air escaped from his lungs.

Yes! A clean hit! This may be my last chance.

Hugo launched a right hook towards my head which I deflected with another upward left palm strike. This time's palm strike was slightly different, since I jumped adding a little more power. This move placed my left elbow near Hugo's face and his right arm wasn't in position to protect his face in time. I unhesitatingly hit his defenseless face with my left elbow.

Hugo couldn't avoid that hit and fell down backwards, but he didn't fell unconscious. He swung his two arms backwards, placing them on the ground and used them as the base of his body to lift up his two legs, kicking me on my unguarded chin.

Uhh! It hurt a lot! I almost fell unconscious from that strike.

I can taste the blood on my mouth. Is easy to kill someone with a blow like that, but I guess that Hugo knows how to avoid a mortal hit.

This last exchange, left the two of us unsteady for a moment which I used it to quickly widen our distance again by jumping behind.

Hugo's Mana Freeze was no longer surrounding me, so I took the chance to use an Air Blast to widen the distance even more. It seems that he can't control it very well if he receives damage. Unfortunately, the disorientation caused by Hugo's kick made me jump back near the wall of the house. Hugo didn't miss that opportunity and quickly advanced to avoid me escaping again.

Sadly for Hugo, a wall is not a huge restriction for me. I faced the wall, ran at full speed, jumped towards it, stepped with my left foot on the wall and did a back flip on the air, landing behind Hugo who was chasing after me. What I saw while I was in the air was Hugo launching a right straight without hesitation towards the place where my head was a moment ago.

His fist hit the wall and I am sure that this time his fist must have some damage, but I didn't had the leisure to worry about that and quickly chopped the back of his neck to make him fall unconscious.

Hugo didn't had the time to react to it and my attack landed beautifully on his nape.

The result: Hugo fell to the ground like a puppet whose string was cut.

I waited for a moment, just to be sure if he isn't faking it, but judging from his breathing, he truly seems to be unconscious.

"Huff, huff, huff," I was roughly breathing after I finally relaxed my tense body.

I won. I think I understand how David felt when he defeat Goliath.

It was a close call. If Hugo hadn't held back when he kicked my chin I would have lost here.

"Wys! How is this a simple training!?" Falay scolded me with an angry face while checking on Hugo's condition.

"Eh?" I asked a little dumbfounded.

"What is with that eh? This was way too far for a simple training!" Falay said without relenting on her anger.

"Uuh, believe or not, we really held back," I said while releasing my hair from under my clothes.

"Do you call that fierce fight holding back!? Look, you are bleeding through your mouth and Hokuto is unconscious!" Falay kept scolding me.

"Okay, okay. I admit that we went a little too far, but I had a reason for this," I said a without an apologetic tone.

"Hah? A reason?" Falay asked confused this time.

"Yes, I had a reason. But before explaining can you take care of my injury? My right shoulder hurts a lot," I asked with a gentle tone this time.

My mouth has just healed thanks to the divine protection that heals any superficial wounds, but a dislocated shoulder is another story.

"Wait until I take care of Hokuto," Falay said.

"I will take care of this," said Master who appeared out of nowhere.

"Milady? When did you arrive?" Falay asked surprised.

"She came in the middle of the battle," I casually answered.

"You noticed? Even though I came as silently as possible to not be a distraction," Master commented a little surprised.

"My perception is quite good," I answered with a confident voice.

"Are you sure you are a human?" Master asked with a teasing voice.

"Ask that question to Hugo. Is he really human?" I seriously asked.

It is the first time that I had such a hard fight. Even when my muscle strength sucks I was always able to have a lead on the opponent thanks to my reflexes, but with Hugo was different. Hugo was controlling the flow of the battle and most of my movements were probably forced by him.

"Yes, he is. A proper hero, but a human in the end," Master answered with a dry smile.

Even Master is doubting Hugo's humanity. 

While we were talking, Falay came towards me and started to clumsily heal my dislocated shoulder with healing magic.

"Wait a moment," I gently said towards Falay.

"Hm? Why?" Falay asked with her cute voice.

Instead of answering her, I grabbed my right arm with barrier magic, clenched my teeth and then.

"Urgh!" I let out a pained moan.

"Wys!?" Falay yelled in panic.

"Is okay. I just placed my shoulder back where it should be," I gently said with some tears on the corner of my eyes.

"Why did you do that yourself?" Falay asked more confused than before.

"To help you out. Is much easier to heal a small injury than a dislocated shoulder right?" I said with a refreshing smile after the pain subdued a little.

"Even though you said that you would trust my healing skills..." Falay muttered a little sad.

Yes, I did say that. But right now I need to grab all my attention in something else so I needed to fix my shoulder fast. Sorry.

What grabbed my attention is Master healing magic. I always wondered how much she can heal in that small interval where the soul sealer is working so I sharpened my mana senses as much as I could.

Master threw a soul sealer towards Hugo and then quickly casted a healing magic on Hugo's entire body.

What the...

This is nowhere close to what Falay can do. Master's healing magic is a huge magic formation that completely surrounds its target. It has eight layers and the amount of mana poured is almost the entire mana that I have.

"Master, what is your mana level?" I politely asked.

"I am at rank 18. Since your mana level is rank 7, then my mana amount is nearly six times the amount that you have," Master haughtily answered while walking towards me with an arrogant face.

Uwah, rank 18. Also, from what Master said, the difference between rank 7 and rank 18 is too much.

"The healing is complete. Now explain your reasons for going so seriously in a simple sparring," Falay said seriously while heading towards Hugo who is laying on the ground.

"Okay," I said and then faced Master.

Falay got confused why I faced Master instead of her. Also, the reason why Falay was heading towards Hugo was to give him a lap pillow.

Master's started to realease a frightening aura when she saw that scene. I am getting a little afraid of her.

Calm down, this is important.

"Master, do you think that Hugo is ready for that strengthening method where he needs to risk his life for it?" I asked in complete seriousness.

Hearing my question, Falay showed a look as if she understood something while Master's raging aura calmed down.

"Fufu, if he is ready or not, that's something that only he can decide," Master answered with a slight laugh.

"I don't want any vague answer. Just say yes or no," I calmly and seriously said.

"Your question is meaningless. Even if I say yes your decision is not going to change right?" Master said with a teasing voice.

Hearing what Master said, I relaxed my serious mood.

"You got me there. I wasn't planning to let him do something that has a high chance of killing him if he can't even defeat a rank 7 magician," I casually answered.

Falay's showed an expression of relief after hearing what I said.

To be honest I was planning in letting Hugo do whatever he wishes to do if he can easily defeat me. In the first place, I don't have any right in stopping Hugo from whatever he wishes to do since I am not his mom, but is another story if his death is almost certain. If he can't defeat me, then I am sure that he won't survive the strengthening method that Master knew. I know that I am stronger than the average person, but I also know that I am far weaker compared to those people with hero title.

"Magicain... I haven't seen many battles, but I think that you are the only one who fights like this and claims to be a magician," Falay said in a light laughing tone.

"Fufu. He is a magician, an outrageous one," Master happily commented.

"Am I that abnormal?" I asked with a light joking tone.

"Yes you are. Is weird that someone at a mana level of rank 7 can control such a huge amount of mana like you usually do. I thought that you already knew this, but a normal mage can't control more than twenty percent of their mana amount at once without preparation" Master said with her usual mysterious smile that seemed to be enjoying something.

Also, Master was slowly approaching Hugo who was laying on Falay's lap.

"Is that true Falay?" I asked a little surprised.

"Now that I think about it, you can easily do intermediate level magic even though you are a rank 7... Are you really a rank 7?" Falay asked confused.

"You saw the glow of the mana sensor with me," I casually said.

Haa, those books are so useless. Not only they don't mention the difference between the ranks of mana level, but they also don't mention something as important as this.

"Hm?" Falay suddenly let out that cute wondering sound.

"What is it Falay?" Master gently asked, who was alrady next to her.

"Why you only used low level wind magic? Why you didn't used any intermediate level magic?" Falay curiously asked.

"Because my mana reserves was almost empty," I answered with a sincere voice.

My morning training, my morning shower, cooking and cleaning shaved a great deal of my mana amount, leaving me a little more than twenty percent of my mana remaining before the fight. Currently I have less than ten percent of my mana remaining.

"Liar, you were going easy on me," Hugo bitterly muttered.

Oh, he woke up at the best timing. To be sincere, I wasn't going easy on him at all. Even if I had my full mana amount I wouldn't have used intermediate level magic since he could have beaten me in the time I was deploying them.

Elemental level magic of the air element system like wind magic not only doesn't use too much mana, its complexity is not that high which reduces the deploying time a lot and the damage output can be high without risking a mortal wound, perfect in a sparring match like this.

But there is no reason to explain any of this to him.

"Oh, good morning Hokuto. Are you okay?" Falay gently greeted him with her angelical smile.

Hokuto's face blushed a little and he immediately sat on the ground, leaving Falay's lap.

At that same moment Master launched a kick towards him, but Hugo quickly evaded it.

"Tch," Master disappointedly clicked her tongue.

I knew that she was going there to do something childish, but to kick someone unconscious out of jealousy. She is the worst.

"If you were already awake then you should have left her lap," Master said with boiling hatred.

"I just woke up because I felt a huge killing intent!" Hugo angrily complained.

"Don't lie to me! You just faked to be unconscious to enjoy her soft legs you damn pervert!" Master refuted with anger too.

"Not you too Milady! Both Milady and Wys should stop treating Hokuto like a pervert!" Falay strongly said to defend Hugo.

"Why do you keep defending him? Do you like him more than me?" Master asked with a wimpy tone.

"Is not that! I am just defending him since usually Milady and Wys are the ones in the wrong!" Falay replied with a red face that I didn't know if it was due to embarrassment or anger.

"Yeah. You two are always quick to reach the wrong conclusions. Always treating me like an idiot or a pervert!" Hugo angrily joined Falay's protests.

"I wouldn't treat you like a pervert if you didn't had the habit of peeping on Falay when she is bathing or changing her clothes," I coldly said.

"Those were all accidents! I keep forgetting that the magic locks in this house are ineffective with me!" Hugo pitifully explained himself.

"Have you ever thought of knocking before opening doors?" I asked with a derisive tone of voice.

"Uhh," Hugo let out a weak sound.

"See, that's why I treat you like an idiot," I said with a derisive smile.

Hugo couldn't make a comeback this time and simply looked down.

"Stop it Wys, Hokuto is going to cry at this rate," Falay softly tried to persuade me.

"You are so kind, but don't worry. He is a big boy, he won't cry for something as small as this," I said with a gentle smile.

"This is favoritism," Hugo softly muttered.

"Now that we have concluded that Hugo is a perverted idiot, let's go inside. I prepared a few snacks beforehand for everyone," I casually said and started to enter the house.

"What do you mean with concluded! Wys! Wait, Wys!" Falay angrily shouted while following after me.

"Those snacks, were perhaps butter cookies?" Master stiffly asked.

I froze in place when Master asked that question.

"Haa, I'll bake more," I said in a defeated tone.

"Let me help you," Falay excitedly said.

"Are you no longer mad at me?" I asked in a slight teasing tone.

"I still think that you should stop treating Hokuto that harshly, but I am not mad," Falay cutely answered.

"Be honest, you just want to steal my recipe," I meanly said.

"It was that obvious?" Falay asked while showing a cute smile.

"Well, as a reward of having full scores on the test I am going to teach you most of my pastry recipes," I said with a huge grin.

"Really? Really, really?" Falay asked incredibly excited.

"Really, really," I happily said and then I changed my tone to a scolding one and said "For the guy who reproved. That idiot needs to review all the contents of the test since he is going to be examined again tomorrow morning. If he happens to reprove again he is going to suffer an unspeakable punishment".

"Punishment!? What kind of punishment!?" Hugo asked in panic.

I ignored him and resumed my walk towards the house.

"Wait Wys! Answer my question! Please!" Hugo continued yelling while following after me.

Master just silently followed after me. I bet that she is planning to steal some cookie samples.

Like this, the four of us entered that ridiculously huge house.

***

In the late hours of the night, two persons, a blonde guy with bandaged face and a beautiful mature black haired lady were talking in a lounge. Those two persons were Rechia and Hokutko.

"Rechia, you really can't tell me the method to get stronger?" asked Hokuto.

"Not until you get Wys approval," Rechia calmly answered him.

"He is never going to let me do it! From how you are saying it, I know that there is a chance of me succeeding without dying," Hokuto strongly said.

"Watching your battle, there is more chance of you dying than living through the trial," Rechia said without breaking her calmness.

"And I already said that I am willing to risk my life," Hokuto said resolutely.

"I already understand how crazy you are, but if I teach you the method Wys is never going to forgive me," Rechia said with a tired voice.

"Urg," Hokuto grumbled.

This conversation has been going for thirty minutes. Hokuto took the chance when Falay was taking a bath and Eun-Ha holed himself in his room to tinker with the magic tool he was making to ask Rechia about the way to get stronger quickly.

Eun-Ha and Hokuto battled this morning in the guise of training and in the middle of the battle, Eun-Ha asked him if his strength was worthy of being a hero. The meaning of that question was clear, Eun-Ha is completely against the idea of Hokuto taking a dangerous route to save the heroes who were summoned with them.

Having lost the battle, Hokuto lost his chance at convincing Eun-Ha and that's why he decided to ask Rechia when Eun-Ha was not present, but her answers weren't favorable for him.

"I have something I wish to ask. Why are you willing to head to danger for people that you have just met?" Rechia asked filled with curiousity.

"I already explained it this morning. I can't abandon people that I know," Hokuto answered with a straight face.

"Yes, but I feel that there is something more," Rechia said with a smile that looked as if she was enjoying something.

"Is just your imagination," Hokuto said, but his eyes wavered a little.

"Is it perhaps Wys?" Rechia asked with a lot of joy mixed in her voice.

"Are you stupid!?" Hokuto yelled with his face a little red.

Seeing his reaction, Rechia's face brightened a lot.

"Fufufu. You don't need to be shy. Is normal for a man to develop those kind of feelings towards Wys. In fact it would be weirder if that doesn't happen," Rechia said with while laughing a little.

"I said that is not that! In the first place Wys is a guy!" Hokuto refuted getting redder than before.

"Hahahaha. Okay, okay relax, I was just joking. But, judging from your reaction, it does have to do with Wys right?" Rechia said while wiping a tear from the corner of her right eye.

"Uh!" Hokuto let out a surprised sound.

"Fufu, just be honest and I may change my mind about my refusal," Rechia said with her usual enjoying grin.

Seeing Rechia like this, Hokuto looked to the side and his face looked a little reluctant.

"You are not lying?" Hokuto reluctantly asked.

"Have I ever lied until now?" Rechia said without removing her grin.

"Haa," Hokuto sighed and then he opened his mouth while his face got a little red and softly said "Is a little embarrassing so you must absolutely keep it a secret from Wys".

"That you secretly love him?" Rechia asked with a teasing voice.

"Didn't I just tell you it is not that!?" Hokuto said angrily.

"Hahaha, is so fun to tease you," Rechia said while laughing a lot.

Looking at Rechia's reaction, Hokuto's face was starting to get red in anger.

"Sorry, sorry. I promise to keep it a secret, so don't be so mad, okay? Rechia said while holding her stomach.

"Forget it. I won't tell you," Hokuto said in a pouting voice.

"If you are like that, then I don't have any other choice than to misunderstand," Rechia teasingly said.

It seems that those words affected Hokuto since his face looked as if he gave up on something.

"Grr, okay. I'll tell you," Hokuto reluctantly said.

"Fuu," Hokuto exhaled to calm himself and then he opened his mouth.

"It's admiration," Hokuto softly said while looking to his side.

"Admiration?" Rechia curiously asked.

"Yeah, admiration. The day when I was summoned I was in panic since it was the first time that I felt so much killing intent, but Wys gave me a helping hand disregarding the danger that could fall onto him. I only managed to escape thanks to Wys' help. There were many times when the situation looked hopeless, but I managed to survive thanks to him. Wys looked super cool, like a superhero and..." Hokuto explained while scratching his head and his face burning, but he couldn't finish what he wanted to say since his embarrassment won.

"I get it. You want to be like Wys right?" Rechia said in a gentle tone.

Hokuto got surprised since this was the first time that she used a gentle tone with him.

"A problem with that?" Hokuto said embarrassed.

"Is normal for a boy to wish to be like the person he admires, but is the first that I see someone willing to risk his life for it," Rechia said while smiling gently.

"Is because my childhood dream was to be a real hero. Now, fulfill your promise," Hokuto said still embarrassed.

"I just promised that I may change my mind," Rechia said teasingly.

"That's low! Too low!" Hokuto yelled angrily.

"Calm down. I really don't want to be hated by Wys, but I will help you to convince him to give his approval," Rechia said with her usual grin.

"Can we convice him if ask him together?" Hokuto asked filled with doubt.

"Well, it is certain that it will be hard, especially if your reason is because you want to be like Wys," Rechia said with a pensative tone.

"Keep that a secret! I don't want him to know that I look at him like a hero!" Hokuto quickly said, more embarrassed than before.