Sir Hero, It’s Time to Train!

Aira grimaced from the pain in her hand.

The sword she had been holding barely left the handle intact, and the intense aftermath had left a mark on her palm.

Christian, who was watching her, sighed and approached Aira.

“Good job, breaking a sword with just one swing and tearing your palm. How do you plan to fight with your hands like that?”

“Are you here to pick a fight?”

Christian’s criticism wasn’t unfounded. Despite blood dripping from her torn palm, Aira was filled with regret rather than pain in her mind.

“No.”

“…”

“I said no. I came to praise you. You did well.”

“Then why don’t you take a hit too?”

Despite the calm recognition from Christian, Aira turned her head with a pout. However, the faint blush on her cheeks hinted that she wasn’t entirely displeased.

『Hey, now’s not the time for this!』

Interrupting the siblings’ heartwarming moment, Masaya joined in. Christian went past Aira and leapt into the crater she had made.

During this time, the harpy seemed to regain its senses and got up while staggering. It spread its half-broken wings wide, glaring at Christian with a face twisted in anger.

-I will tear you to pieces!

‘Beaten by Aira, but taking it out on me?’

Despite a slight feeling of dissatisfaction, Christian smiled as if pleased with the situation.

“What is this, why so polite? Why not say you’d slice my belly open to taste what comes out, or see how long I’d last if you ripped out my heart?”

“Where do you even get these ideas from?”

“Don’t be too envious, Aira. Soon, you’ll hear a lot of kind words like these too.”

Compared to the hatred-filled words shouted by dragonkin whenever they saw him, the harpy’s snarling seemed barely angry at all to Christian.

The harpy bared its teeth in alarm as it looked at him, unsure how to approach, sensing that their attacks posed a threat.

However, the scent of blood carried by the wind seemed to give it hope, prompting the harpy to take to the skies.

-I will kill you!

Desperately, it moved its broken wings to send forth a strong gust. Though Aira squinted and shielded her face, Christian merely gazed upward, unperturbed.

“Yeah, you’re quite exhausted too.”

“Hey, are you just going to stand there? How are you planning to take it down?”

Aira, having adjusted to the wind, also looked up and asked Christian. Without even glancing at her, Christian replied indifferently.

“This happened because you didn’t completely destroy its wings.”

“My fault, is it?”

『Um, might I suggest you stop bickering and start making your escape?』

Masaya subtly interjected, seemingly accustomed to the duo sparring at any given chance.

At that moment, Aira, her eyes gleaming with inspiration, shouted as if she had thought of a brilliant idea.

“Ah, Masaya! Magic! Finish it with magic!”

『Unfortunately, the Logia Magic Tower doesn’t specialize in element-based or strike-based magic, so the power is weak.』

“What? You’re useless when it matters!”

『Who do you think allowed you to fight comfortably until now?!』

As Aira showed her disappointment, Masaya vented her frustration.

It was actually down to her that they could exchange light-hearted conversations even while facing a demon beast without getting noticed, yet here she was, being treated like this.

Knights often overlooked the supporters, ignoring the hard work and sweat put in from behind the scenes…

While Masaya lamented alone, Christian moved forward, warming up lightly.

“Christian, what are you planning?”

“I’m going to finish it. I can’t let those treasures fall into the wrong hands, can I?”

“Treasures? No, but how exactly will you finish it off?”

“Well, I’m off.”

“Wait, hey! How are you planning to get there?!”

After gauging his remaining mana, Christian kicked off the ground and leapt upwards.

Aira was caught off guard by the insufficient leap, but her surprise quickly turned to amazement.

“Hey, you!”

Fwoosh—!

Fwoosh—!

Fwoosh—!

Christian defied the laws of the world by not falling from the sky. It seemed as though solid platforms were laid beneath his feet as he kicked repeatedly, advancing toward the harpy. Aira could only gape at the sight before her.

『What on earth is with this young master? I’ve neither seen nor heard of a knight who flies on waves like this…』

Christian harnessed waves beneath his soles, propelling him through the sky.

Perhaps the first couple of times could be brushed off with a laugh, but the fact that he could alter direction at will to this degree was bewildering.

『I shouldn’t have become a mage.』

His use of basic waves to navigate through the skies defied all the conventional wisdom of mages. Masaya’s lamenting tone left Aira with no retort.

“How in the world did Laura train him?”

Christian often mentioned things like ‘Master said…,’ implying unusually rigorous training.

It seemed overly draconian, but watching Christian in action, Laura’s training methods were evidently effective.

‘But was Laura from a mercenary background?’

Christian exhibited traits more closely aligned with a mercenary than a knight.

While Garcia taught techniques focused on overpowering enemies, Christian focused on survival skills that could ensure his survival in any circumstance.

“None of it is impressive.”

The wave techniques Christian employed were far from flashy.

Applications like Adhesion, Willow Stream, and Flowing Water were bland compared to the techniques her father had demonstrated and Garcia had taught.

Yet…

“They’re practical.”

Despite being born a day apart, she found it hard to understand the disparity in their skills.

He minimized unnecessary mana expenditure, using only optimal mana for offense and defense at every moment.

Observing Christian’s fight closely, he exuded the aura of one who had seen countless battlefields.

Realizing once again the skill gap between herself and Christian, Aira let out a sigh almost without knowing.

“Should I ask him to teach me that next?”

***

She was surrounded by nothingness—a void absent of any signs of life. The brilliant light that had served as a marker was swallowed by the mist, as had the humans.

-What petty tricks…

Faced with the fog disrupting its hunt at crucial moments, the harpy seemed determined to block Christian’s approach by stirring up the wind.

Whoosh— Whooosh—

No life signals were detected nearby. The harpy began plucking its relatively intact feathers and scattered them in a circle around itself, using them as a sort of biological radar.

-Even in flight, you’re just a goblin!

The feathers expanded their range from above to below, attempting to locate Christian. But…

“What are you looking at?”

-What?!

The harpy turned its gaze toward the voice’s source.

Witnessing a human, who was supposed to be ground-bound, floating over its head with the moon as a backdrop was an experience the harpy had never encountered.

Always accustomed to looking down upon its prey, the sensation was entirely foreign.

It wanted to flee, but its broken wings and exhausted body betrayed its intentions, unable to generate the necessary speed.

Especially after locking eyes with Christian’s striking blue gaze, the harpy found itself immobilized as if bound by chains.

-Aaaaargh!

In a desperate act, the harpy fired off every feather it had left. Christian, meanwhile, powered through without regard for defense.

Bam, bam, bam—!

Feathers pierced through Christian’s entire body, soaking him in blood almost instantly. The harpy smirked, delighted that its attack had finally hit, but the glee was short-lived.

“This is the end.”

-You…human…

Despite his body being a wreck, Christian swung his sword.

The look of astonishment on the harpy’s face before its body and head separated was directed at Christian.

In a solemn tone, Christian mumbled to himself.

“Oops, I didn’t save enough mana for landing. Hope I make it in time.”

The remnants of mana supporting the harpy’s form still lingered, slowing his fall temporarily but not for long.

With a sigh, Christian urgently clutched the harpy’s lifeless body.

***

“Huh, huh?! Masaya, Christian is falling!”

『Miss, humans normally don’t fly.』

Watching the sky intently, Aira flinched upon seeing a familiar figure fall through the moonlight.

Her tone became urgent toward Masaya, whose response came too placid for her taste.

“Masaya, now’s not the time for remarks like that!”

『He’ll ask for help if he needs it.』

While the two bickered, Christian’s proximity to the ground rapidly decreased.

Just before crashing, he used the harpy’s body as a platform to spring up, slowing his descent with waves until he landed softly.

Aira, having observed the event dumbfounded, rushed over when she realized Christian’s body was drenched in crimson.

“Hey, what happened to you?!”

“What do you mean, out of nowhere.”

“No, what’s all that stuck in you?! And what are you holding?!”

“Oh, this?”

Impaled with feathers from his limbs to his abdomen and chest—his vital points—Christian, showing Aira the harpy’s head he was holding out, approached her.

Christian intended for her to inspect it closer, but the head resembled a human closely enough to instill a sense of revulsion in Aira, prompting her to instinctively retreat.

Christian, baffled by her reaction, shook the head slightly.

“I brought you a gift. And don’t worry, this isn’t dangerous.”

“What do you mean don’t worry?! Gifting a harpy’s head indicates you’ve lost it! Pull out the things stuck in you! Get them out and bandage up, drink a potion! Masaya, potions now!”

The fright wasn’t limited to Aira; it seemed Masaya also felt similar, as she hurriedly came forward, visibly shaken.

Christian was alarmed by the sudden behavior of the two women and stepped back.

“I’m telling you, it’s fine! Pulling them out will make it worse.”

“It’ll be okay! I learned basic bleeding control from Sir Garcia!”

“No, that guy would probably tell you to endure with guts instead of bleeding control…”

Christian waved his hands, even using the one holding the harpy’s head. But Aira rushed at him with the potion, ready to pull the feathers out immediately.

‘No, pulling these out would actually cause big trouble.’

As Christian quickly retreated, he used the harpy’s head as a makeshift shield to calm down the approaching Aira.

It was indeed difficult to explain to her of what this all entailed without alarming either her or Masaya.

‘If I tell her I’m absorbing the demon beast’s mana, she might think I’m desperate and berate me for consuming something weird due to poverty.’

However, he didn’t have the ability to explain more deeply or adequately at that moment.

The truth was that, on his second life, he bore an Ether Weapon inside him, and the harpy had come seeking him out to confront it.

He was currently absorbing the Spirit Stone from the harpy.

If he revealed everything as it was, regardless of the truth, he’d certainly be captured by priests and confined to a temple.

‘Still, I need these until the Spirit Stone’s power is fully absorbed.’

The harpy’s mana, lost and unanchored, was being drawn into the Essence of Mana belonging to the Wings of Zephrys within him.

Thankfully, Masaya, preoccupied by Christian’s injuries, hadn’t noticed the peculiar mana flow yet. But she would, given time.

‘Sorry, but I need to keep this for its original owner.’

In his previous life, maybe he could have left it, but now, he belonged to the “Worden” family.

Originally, the harpy’s Spirit Stone should legally belong to the family, acquired through proper procedures.

Yet, as Christian kept the Wings of Zephrys temporarily, like he did with Aira, someday he’d return it to its rightful owner.

“Aira, here! Give this to Aunt.”

“Ack! Why throw a head at me?! And why give this to mother anyway?!”

“It’s proof of hunting the demon beast. You should bring it back.”

“No one said I should carry a harpy’s head back!”

As he sighed, staring into the dimly glowing eyes of the harpy, Christian realized that until the Spirit Stone’s power was entirely absorbed, he’d have to keep distracting them.