Chapter 15

After Ivan returned, the first training session ended.

"Today's training is over. Asaria, Lauro, good work."

"Haa, haa... Y-Yes, Brother..."

"Huff... Thank you."

Asaria was breathing heavily, while Lauro was only slightly out of breath.

Ivan, who had seen the two's abilities for the first time, found that they were both more advanced than he had imagined. Either of them could handle a group of about ten monsters on their own.

However, there were still some areas where they were lacking.

"Asaria, your physical strength is severely lacking. You have a lot of magical power and good control, but you often collapse from fatigue. You need to build up your stamina."

Asaria had never exercised before, so it was understandable that she lacked physical strength. However, if she got tired in front of a monster and made a mistake in casting a spell, it could be a matter of life and death.

While mages don't need as much physical strength as knights, they still need some.

"It seems you inherited the magic, but not the physical strength... Since you're back to how you were two years ago, I'm just glad you retained your magic..."

"Did you say something?"

"No, nothing..."

Asaria was muttering to herself, but Ivan didn't pay much attention.

(But I didn't expect Asaria to be this good at magic.)

He had thought that on the first day, he would have to teach her the basics of magic. However, Asaria had already mastered the basics and was almost perfect at advanced techniques.

Her lack of physical strength was a problem, but once she overcame that, the rest could be honed through practical experience.

(And she's quite different from what I've heard.)

Although they were brother and sister, Ivan had hardly interacted with Asaria. They had lived in different places since they were young and rarely saw each other.

However, when Asaria was still very young, Ivan had spent a few days playing and eating with her.

Asaria probably doesn't remember, but...

(Back then, I was amazed by how cute she was.)

Asaria's carefree laughter was very endearing. It was hard to believe that this angelic child was his sister.

Even as she grew up, she retained her angelic charm.

However, he often heard bad things about Asaria. People said that while she looked like an angel, she had become a little devil.

But today, after meeting and interacting with Asaria for the first time in a long while, she seemed quite different from what he had heard. She was very polite and showed no signs of being temperamental.

She took her training very seriously, and Ivan couldn't see where the "little devil" part came from.

(She's still an angel, both in appearance and in character,) Ivan thought to himself.

"Huff..."

Asaria finally caught her breath and was wiping the sweat off her face with a towel. She looked so graceful that Ivan felt like framing the scene and hanging it in his room.

"Thank you for today, Brother Ivan."

"Yeah, Asaria, you did well for your first time."

"Yes, I'll keep working hard!"

Asaria smiled, and Ivan nodded in approval.

(Yes, my sister is indeed an angel.)

Although it didn't show on his face, Ivan was a big siscon. Only his mother was aware of this.

"Lauro, your training is over for today, but you still have knight duties to attend to."

"Yes, I'm not quite sure what they are, but it seems there are patrols and such."

"Right, you might be tired from training, but that's part of being a knight. Do your best."

"Yes, thank you."

Lauro was only wiping the sweat off his shirt, and he didn't seem very tired. This shouldn't affect his duties.

"What you lack is overwhelming experience. You're already stronger than most knights, but you might lose in a fight due to lack of experience."

"Yes, I understand."

From Ivan's perspective, Lauro was already stronger than a seasoned knight.

(He's really a prodigy. I still can't believe he picked up a sword for the first time today.)

Although he said Lauro lacked experience, Ivan felt that Lauro could master things in one try that would take a normal person ten tries.

(Asaria said she found him, but I wonder how. Well, she is an angel, so it might have been easy for her.)

Ivan thought this seriously, but it didn't show on his face.

Afterward, Ivan and Asaria returned to the main house and had dinner with their father, Riero. It was a rare family dinner, with most of the conversation between Riero and Asaria, and Ivan only responding when spoken to.

"Ivan, how is the southern fortress? Is there anything unusual?"

"Father, the number and strength of the monsters haven't changed. I don't think there's a problem if I'm not there, especially since Mother is there."

"Hmm, I see. Ah, I miss Melissa... Should I go to the fortress or have her come back to the main house?"

Riero sighed and said wistfully, thinking of his beloved.

Melissa St. Spencer, Riero's wife and the duchess.

Melissa, who came from a count's family, was a rare case of a love marriage in the nobility. It was especially rare for Riero, the heir to a duchy, to have a love marriage.

Part of the reason was that Melissa was from a middle-ranking noble family, but it was also because she was very capable. She was skilled in magic and excellent at leading troops against monsters.

She could predict the movements of monsters and keep the physical and magical fatigue of knights and mages to a minimum while defending the fortress.

Because of this, Melissa was recognized as a duchess.

"I think it would be difficult for the entire duchy to leave the fortress, so perhaps you should go to the fortress, Father?"

"Ah, that might be a good idea."

Riero nodded strongly at Asaria's suggestion. If Riero went to the fortress, Ivan would likely take over his duties at the main house.

(Father can be with Mother, and I can be with the angel...)

"Father, please do. Mother has been looking forward to seeing you."

"Ah, is that so? Melissa... Hehe, you're right. I've been too focused on work here. It's been a while since I've smelled the blood of monsters."

"I don't think there will be any problems for you and Mother, but please be careful."

(That went well.)

Ivan was unexpectedly a schemer.