Ch.914A Rotten Apple Spoils the Barrel.

I had declared I would beat them until they could face a dragon, but that didn’t mean I could just grab them by the collar and thrash them like dogs.

People, like steel, grow stronger the more they’re beaten, but there’s a certain technique to it.

Even in a forge, if you make a mistake while hammering steel, it simply shatters. How would people be any different?

I intended to beat them within an inch of their lives, not actually beat them to death, so even if I was going to hit them, I needed to do it systematically.

“…So what exactly are you planning to do?”

“What else? I’m going to deliver customized, methodical violence.”

So how exactly should I beat them?

After turning it over in my mind repeatedly during our flight to Hestella, I finally reached a conclusion.

“I’ll divide everyone except Demian into two teams and have them compete daily. The losing team’s members will get special intensive training with me.”

Nothing motivates improvement better than competition and pain.

If I repeatedly beat the losing side half to death, both sides will fight desperately to avoid sparring with me.

Naturally, their skills would improve rapidly that way.

At first, I considered simply sparring with all of them without the hassle of dividing them into teams, but after some thought, I abandoned that idea.

If I turned all of Hestella’s elite forces into severely injured patients, there would be a temporary power vacuum until they recovered.

If monsters appeared or a dragon flew in during such a situation, I’d have to step in and eliminate them all single-handedly… which would mean I’d be monopolizing all the Karma from subjugation.

I needed to somehow develop everyone in the party to fill my absence and become reliable comrades, but if I consumed all the Karma myself, that would defeat the purpose.

So, I planned to limit my deadly sparring to no more than half their total forces at any time.

“You’re excluding Demian…? Why?”

Millia tilted her head questioningly. Her expression suggested she thought she should naturally be teamed with Demian for team battles.

“That’s the only way to maintain balance.”

With the holy sword in his possession, Demian was now the second strongest after me. Whichever team he joined would inevitably win.

That would be problematic.

My goal was for both teams to feel the crisis and urgency of being half-killed if they lost, motivating them to fight desperately to win—not for one team to secure free victories riding on Demian’s strength.

“But….”

“Don’t worry. I’ll personally take special care to teach Demian all sorts of things. Think of it as private tutoring.”

I gave Millia a gentle smile to reassure her.

I wanted to convey that Demian wasn’t missing out on team training, but rather gaining an opportunity for more challenging yet effective special training.

“It might hurt a little at first… but eventually, Demian will be satisfied too. I’m something of an expert in these matters, after all.”

I even added that she needn’t worry about the pain Demian would experience.

“I’ll be careful to control myself so I don’t accidentally send him away. Don’t worry.”

This should be enough to reassure Millia.

“Um… Haschal? Are you saying…?”

Apparently not.

Despite patting my chest reassuringly with a smile, Millia seemed not just unsoothed but increasingly anxious.

Her pupils seemed to have quadrupled in number. Her lips curled awkwardly. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly.

Just like a childhood friend in a common-law relationship, she couldn’t completely dispel her anxiety despite my safety guarantees.

…Am I really that untrustworthy? That’s a bit hurtful.

“You’re… talking about training, right? You are talking about training…?”

“Huh? Of course. What else would I be talking about?”

What an odd question out of nowhere.

“What else… well…”

In response to my question, Millia trailed off, swallowing dryly before sighing deeply and shaking her head.

“Never mind. It’s nothing.”

“How dull.”

Her reaction was puzzlingly ambiguous about whatever she’d wanted to say.

“Sigh… You really…”

Frider, who had been listening, sighed.

“I think you need to learn to keep your mouth shut sometimes. I can’t be the only one who thinks so, right?”

Along with an inexplicably sarcastic remark.

What’s he going on about now?

“Missing the sofa?”

“…Let’s drop it.”

When I gestured toward the sofa’s backrest with my chin, Frider sighed again and pressed his lips shut.

He seemed to have more to say, but preferred silence to being planted in the sofa like a bonsai again.

—-

After finishing all the discussions, I instructed my acquaintances, who seemed lost in various thoughts, to disperse for the day as I wanted to rest.

We had flown straight from Extrashafel to Hestella without proper rest.

Thanks to my evolved body, my physical stamina was still fine, but mental fatigue had accumulated considerably.

Flying through the sky for hours on end becomes so boring and tiring that even occasional encounters with monsters become welcome diversions.

So today, I planned to soak in warm water to wash away travel fatigue, enjoy a proper meal, and get a good night’s sleep.

“Sister, me too! I want to bathe together too!”

Had she heard my murmur about taking a bath? Lena raised her hand enthusiastically, begging to join me.

Apparently considering my dispersal order as directed only at friends and subordinates, Lena showed no intention of leaving even though everyone else had left the room.

Well, I hadn’t intended to chase Lena away either, so it didn’t really matter.

“That’s an improper request.”

And Lena wasn’t the only one who remained in my room.

Seeing that Lena wasn’t leaving, Imara had turned back from the doorway, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

“If you’re aware of your position as Haschal’s ‘adopted sister,’ shouldn’t you learn the proper etiquette befitting royalty?”

And now, in her improved Imperial language, she was bickering with Lena.

“Though you don’t share a drop of blood with Sister Haschal—”

“Isn’t that an advantage?”

“…Since Sister has acknowledged you, I suppose you must be considered a member of the royal family. If you display ignorance of proper etiquette and become a laughingstock, you’ll bring shame not only to yourself but to Sister Haschal as well. Do you understand?”

Her argument was sound.

Yes, it was certainly valid, but…

“You don’t get it. Sister finds such things burdensome. What have you been observing all these years?”

As Lena said, I was the type to find royal and noble etiquette troublesome from the start.

“…Ah, right. Didn’t you say you had a bad relationship with Sister? Then you might not know. Because you had a bad relationship. I understand. You wouldn’t know. Because you had a bad relationship. Yes. Because you had a bad relationship.”

“Kuh…!”

Finding no room for rebuttal, Imara bit her lip. Lena smirked, raising one corner of her mouth crookedly.

“……”

Our Lena has changed.

They say one takes after those they spend time with. Her manner of speaking and expressions eerily reminded me of my usual demeanor.

That provocative tone designed to thoroughly irritate opponents.

[Look, look at how she speaks. She’s become just like you. Don’t you feel anything?]

‘…I should watch my language around Lena.’

I felt like a mother whose heart sinks upon hearing her young daughter imitate the careless curses she let slip.

“S-Still, at minimum, proper etiquette must be…”

“You go ahead and follow it diligently. I, who know nothing of etiquette, will just bathe with Sister.”

Do I not have the right of refusal?

Not that I was planning to refuse anyway.

“Kugh…! You, pink-hair…!”

Imara bit her lip in frustration, uttering what might or might not have been an insult, then turned her head sharply to look at me, who had been watching their verbal sparring.

“Sister Haschal! I know it’s rude of me, but please allow me to join you in the bath as well!”

“Huh? Oh, well, if you want to, go ahead.”

A tone somewhere between request and declaration.

I nodded reflexively in acceptance, feeling bewildered by her forceful demeanor that reminded me of Orhan.

“…Ha, she loves etiquette so much. She was just jealous.”

Lena chuckled dryly, muttering in such a tiny voice that Imara couldn’t hear.

But I heard it clearly.

‘What happened to our cute, pure Lena…?’

Such sharp sarcasm. At this rate, she’s not a kind nun-like sister but Haschal 2.0.

[This calamity was brought by your own mouth. Bear it.]

Hersella clicked her tongue with a smirk, as if enjoying my predicament.

It was such an annoying yet accurate fact that I had no words to refute it.

—-

The royal palace of Hestella has a hot spring bath exclusively for the queen.

Since I readily granted permission whenever Leonore, Nigel, or Millia asked to bathe together, the term “exclusive” wasn’t entirely accurate…

But officially, it was my private bath.

“Phew…”

A large bathtub carved from marble.

Hot spring water, heated after being drawn through the mouth of a wolf sculpture in the corner, gushed forth abundantly. Scented candles at the edge of the tub and flower petals floating on the water added fragrance to the thick steam.

After scooping up some water to wash away the dirt on my body, I immersed myself in the hot spring water, leaned my back against the tub wall, and let out a long sigh.

Ah, how refreshing.

The sensation of my entire body loosening in the warm heat—isn’t this the happiness of life?

For me, it was a sensation as sweet and addictive as the excitement of battle.

“Haaah…”

I closed my eyes and indulged in the luxurious hot spring bath.

“My goodness, floating like that…”

“So that’s what your clothes were holding down… *gulp*”

Amidst the splashing water sounds, I heard my sisters’ surprised voices, which I let in one ear and out the other.

I don’t understand why they’re making such a fuss about breasts floating in water. Leonore’s floated just fine too.

It’s a perfectly normal phenomenon for any adult woman.