Aida ran into Caleb the next rest day morning as both grabbed an early breakfast. Like Aida, Caleb was freshly showered, his hair damp and sweetly tousled.
“Morning Caleb, just finished a workout?” Aida greeted.
“Yes,” he said, smiling as he combed his fingers through his hair. “You finish a workout too?”
“Yeah, a nice run around the school grounds. Followed the torches Professor Kozu planted as the safe zone.”
They caught up on pleasantries as they waited for their breakfast trays; Caleb took the opportunity to ask after her wellbeing after what had happened earlier that week, and she reassured him she was fine.
“But how is your mom doing?” she asked quickly, to deter him from the topic of the unknown monster.
“Oh! She’s doing well, actually - we’ve gotten some more customers, to the point that rest days are starting to become busy now. I was actually going to head to Buddington after breakfast.” Caleb hesitated, pausing the conversation as Nolem brought them their trays. With a quick smile and thanks, Aida and Caleb headed for a booth.
“So, I know this is very last-minute…but would you like to come to Buddington Town with me?” Caleb asked cautiously. He added very quickly, “my mother keeps telling me I should invite you over again.”
“Oh, that’s so nice of her,” Aida said, surprised. Before she could continue, Caleb soldiered on.
“She says since you expressed an interest in her mana arts last time, she’d be more than happy to teach you her techniques…and if you got good enough, and you liked it, you could maybe help out at the spa whenever you’re available,” he said, avoiding her gaze. “Of course, we’d pay you for your time,” he added quickly. “It won’t be too much though…”
“I’d be more than happy to!” Aida interrupted, before his face turned completely red. “The fact that she wants to teach me is already such a privilege. I’d love to learn from her!”
Caleb flushed anyway at the compliment. “My mother will be very pleased to hear that.”
“So when are you leaving?” Aida asked cheerfully.
“Ah…I was actually planning on leaving after breakfast. I did mention it was very last-minute,” Caleb said apologetically. “Are you still able to come? If not, we can arrange another time.”
“No, that should be okay,” Aida said after a brief pause. She didn’t have anything too critical; it wasn’t like Maglica Academy was too focused on scholastic performance, so the very little written homework there was (courtesy of Professor Havi’s History and Theory class) had already been turned in for the week. Since Maglica was focused on practical application and ability, she was basically practicing her abilities on a daily basis. “How long are you staying in town? When are you planning on coming back?”
“Um…I was going to stay for the entirety of the rest days,” Caleb mumbled. He shifted even more uncomfortably. “And…I don’t have a passenger golem either, so…” he seemed to shrink into himself. “Maybe this was a bad idea…”
“What’s wrong?” Aida prodded. “So how were you going to get to town?”
“I was going to run,” he confessed. “But…I don’t think it’s right to make you run with me, and it’s too late to arrange for a public carrier golem, so maybe we should postpone the visit…”
“Well, I guess I could use the training,” Aida said, stifling her surprise. Caleb looked so miserably embarrassed, and it wasn’t his fault that he didn’t have a vehicle for her to freeload off of like she did with Sue and Ezra. “How long does it take to run to Buddington?”
“About an hour for me, with Mana Surge,” Caleb said, abashed. “It’s a three-hour walk…”
Aida struggled not to let the dismay show on her face. “Well, if I go with you, it will certainly take more than an hour, since I will need to take a break,” she said lightly.
“That’s okay,” Caleb said very quickly. “We can go next rest day, or whenever you’re free.”
Aida hesitated, picking at the remnants of her porridge. But if I stay, I’ll just be distracted by coming up with a conspiracy theory. Or wallowing in my thoughts about the future I can’t control. She perked up. Maglica Academy was a fairly isolated establishment. If she went to Buddington Town with Caleb for the weekend, then she would be among regular citizens. She could get a feel of how the general populace felt, which would be a better gauge of public opinion and provide her a basis to anchor her analyses and predictions of what was happening. No matter how she sliced it, she would get a lot more benefit out of going to Buddington Town than staying at school. Plus, I get to see Connie again, and might be able to get a discounted hot spring session in addition to learning whatever she’ll teach me.
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“Let’s go!”
Caleb looked up at her questioningly.
“Let’s go to Buddington Town,” Aida said enthusiastically. “If you don’t mind taking a break during the middle…but at least it would still take less than three hours to get there, right?” she asked jokingly. “If I can keep up with you for at least half an hour, then…” Caleb was looking at her in disbelief.
“Um, if you’re not pressed for time or anything,” Aida said hastily. “Up to you, I wouldn’t want to impose…”
“N-No, that’s fine! Even if it takes the full three hours, we’ll still get there before noon,” Caleb said eagerly. “And don’t worry about accommodations - we have plenty of space.”
Aida smiled at him, equally excited. “Great! Let me go pack some things.”
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Aida met Caleb at the front gate with her rucksack, her sleeping gown and the next day’s set of clothes packed, along with her beat-up canteen. Caleb had packed similarly lightly, and like her, was dressed in the school’s athletic uniform. With a sweet smile that made the sun’s rays refract around him, Caleb headed down the road, leading the way.
“Did you let Sue know you’re leaving?”
Aida nodded. “I slipped a note under her door, since she was still sleeping.”
They reached the gate, and Caleb tightened the straps on his backpack as he kept walking. The strap buckled across his front emphasized the broadness of his chest, while the waist strap cinched his shirt against his narrow waist, emphasizing his shape. “So, you’ve gotten the hang of Mana Surge - the key behind endurance running and Mana Surging is, believe it or not, finding your optimal stride length. So less about mana usage, and more about knowing your body.”
“Okay,” Aida said slowly, trying to make sense of his words. Caleb flashed a smile at her, his confidence peeking through now that they were in his domain.
“Don’t worry, we can start slow, and you’ll see.”
Following Caleb’s instructions, Aida started at a slow jog, where he explained that the best way to train endurance - without any mana support - was to jog at a pace where she could still hold a steady conversation. After a few minutes of jogging at barely-faster-than-walking speed, where Caleb continued to call out minor things for her to pay attention to (like her breathing, making her respond to his queries, describe what she felt), he instructed her on how to utilize her mana while running.
It was much more difficult than using Mana Surge in combat. In combat, all she had to do was flood her primary muscle group with mana, and her body sorted it out for her. For endurance running, she had to provide enough mana, but also not too much; if she flooded it the way she was used to, her body would waste that mana. If she didn’t supply enough, she would begin exhausting her muscles, which took longer to recover than her mana.
They had to take a break, with Caleb watching her in amusement as she panted. “After one moon cycle - every morning - along with Gemma’s training - I thought I was getting used to running, but your instructions make it a lot harder!” she complained.
“That’s because you learned some bad habits,” Caleb countered. “I bet you don’t pay attention to your stride or your breathing during your morning jogs.”
“No,” Aida admitted reluctantly. “It’s been…kind of mindless.”
Caleb wagged his finger at her. “Remember what I said about mindless training?”
“It only makes you good at one thing,” Aida sighed. Caleb smiled triumphantly.
“As long as you know.”
“I guess it will take us the full three hours to get to Buddington anyway,” Aida said sadly as she began walking along the path. Caleb joined her, laughing softly.
“You said you needed the training, remember? Three hours of training, not three hours lost.”
“Two hours lost for you,” Aida reminded him. He smiled down at her, locks of chocolate brown hair bouncing around his eyes as he nearly blinded her with his joy.
“I’m having fun.”
Aida grunted, annoyed that the sparkles kept pace with him, framing his face even as he moved.
“Anyway, the next thing that will help with your endurance running - stride length. I know I made you jog at a slower pace than what might have been comfortable for you just to maintain your breath, but once you get the hang of breathing properly you’ll want to find your optimal stride length: the natural length your legs extend to, and feels most efficient,” Caleb explained. “This part is what would make running with me difficult. I have much longer legs than you, so no matter what, our leg lengths would make it so that I would outpace you. You can only catch up if you were to sprint, which would fatigue your body and drain your mana much more quickly.”
Aida grunted again, still focusing on Mana Cycling. It was much easier to catch her breath while Cycling, since her body fell into a natural rhythm as she focused on the meditative aspect. Was Caleb’s training/travel method what Ezra had meant when he tried to describe the exercise she had to do in order to substantially increase the size of her mana pool? A muffled crack sounded through the trees before she could even open her mouth to ask. “Did you hear that?”
Caleb frowned, stopping. They both listened. The woods were still, without any bird calls. Exchanging glances, they extended their mana senses: Aida’s flowed through the air, while Caleb’s mana burrowed into the earth. Before Aida’s mana even broke the treeline, Caleb tensed, his voice coming out in a low growl that made a shiver run down her spine.
“Be careful.”