Chapter 12 : The Second Girl (4)

The next morning, the scenery inside the cave was vastly different from before.

When I woke up, Sori was already awake, but not beside me.

Instead, she was crouched on one side of the cave wall, silently staring at Lisette, who was still asleep.

Lisette had probably clung to Sori’s arm all night, and even in her sleep, she seemed to be trying not to let go of the hem of Sori’s clothes, moving her hand restlessly.

Sori carefully detached Lisette’s hand and stood up, trying to make as little noise as possible.

Then she noticed me and gave a slight bow.

It was a greeting I had gotten fairly accustomed to.

Lisette, probably awakened by the sound of Sori moving, groggily opened her eyes.

The first thing she noticed was me, and for a moment, she held her breath and stiffened, then looked around anxiously when she realized Sori wasn’t next to her.

“Is it some kind of security blanket?”

At that age, children often have comfort objects. I used to have a comfort blanket when I was young…

Lisette, after spotting Sori standing at a distance, seemed to relax slightly.

But she still had an expression of wariness and fear.

“…Sigh.”

I sighed inwardly.

It was a natural reaction after what happened yesterday, but having to look after a scared child already made me feel exhausted.

“I need to start training Lisette soon.”

My desire to sleep was gradually taking over my body, and my eyes felt like they would redden, like my crimson scales.

Before I could start any training, I first needed to take care of breakfast.

I noticed that Lisette had moved closer to Sori, so I got up.

I took some leftover wolf meat from yesterday’s hunt and, with practiced ease, roasted it over the fire.

Sori seemed to enjoy it, but Lisette had just sat there, giving the impression she wasn’t really eating.

Maybe noble girls have different tastes…

Taste was taste, and I hoped they’d be grateful for not going hungry as I placed the roasted meat in front of the two children.

Sori, as if it was a given, sat down and started eating the meat.

She ate it while still expressing her gratitude, but she wasn’t eating like she did at first, hurriedly.

Lisette hesitated for a moment.

Maybe because of the shock from yesterday, or because of her lingering fear of me, or perhaps… because she felt uncomfortable eating the same food as a commoner like Sori.

It didn’t seem like a rejection… Considering how she stayed close to Sori, she probably felt anxious when Sori wasn’t around after the wolf incident.

I couldn’t figure out the reason, but the child just stared at the meat for quite some time.

“Eat, hurry.”

“Ugh… There’s no fork…”

Lisette explained the reason for her hesitation after Sori told her to eat.

Ah! There was no cutlery, I realized.

I could have scolded her for complaining about the lack of utensils, but as I thought for a moment, I remembered that using cutlery as a child helped with cognitive development.

It seemed like I needed to find some cutlery.

Growl—

Despite not having any utensils, Lisette’s hunger seemed to overcome everything.

Reluctantly, she picked up a piece of meat and took a tiny bite.

Then… without any change in expression, she mechanically chewed and swallowed.

She showed no sign of enjoyment like Sori did.

It felt like she was eating just to survive.

I watched the two children’s meal and waited for them to finish.

Finally, when they were done eating, I declared in a low voice.

“Training… start.”

Sori, as if it was natural, got up and started stretching lightly.

Thanks to a month of repeated practice, she was now fairly proficient at assuming the preparation position.

On the other hand, Lisette, startled by my words, stepped back.

Her face was filled with horror and fear, as if she was thinking, ‘Am I included in this?’

I flicked one of my enormous claws toward Lisette.

“45… Training.”

“No, I don’t want to! Why do I have to do that…!”

Lisette shouted instinctively.

Her voice trembled with fear, but there was still a trace of pride and resistance as a noble.

“I’m… I’m the daughter of Albrecht!”

Before Lisette’s words could even finish, I let out a low, threatening growl.

The entire cave seemed to vibrate with the echo.

It was enough to cut Lisette’s words short.

The girl shut her mouth tightly and looked up at me with a face that seemed on the verge of tears.

I thought to myself as I looked at her.

“Yes, you were a noble outside, but here that means nothing… I won’t be able to coddle you forever, so I’ll have to strip away that arrogant noble mentality.”

I decided to think of myself as a strict ‘tiger instructor.’

I didn’t want to carry out harsh training on a girl as small as my finger joint, but I felt like I’d go mad if I didn’t get some sleep.

First, I had to show this noble girl the terror of the world.

No, the terror of me, and forcibly make her develop a steel-like will and body.

Look at Sori.

Thanks to that brutal training, hasn’t she become so strong?

She even took down a wolf on her own, which is so impressive… I had to make this child like Sori.

I motioned again toward Lisette.

It was an unspoken pressure to start the training.

Lisette, with tears welling up, looked around but found no one to help her.

Even when she looked at Sori, she was already focusing on her own training, doing push-ups.

Maybe Sori wanted to ignore this situation.

In the end, Lisette seemed to give in and staggered as she tried to mimic Sori’s sloppy push-up position.

But for a girl who had been raised as a noble, she had no proper strength.

Her thin arms trembled, and her body couldn’t go down even a little bit.

The child struggled but eventually collapsed to the floor in defeat.

“Ugh! I can’t do it, no…!”

Then, perhaps overwhelmed by sorrow, she started crying loudly.

I looked down at her coldly.

Sympathy? That was a luxury.

This is a place where the law of the jungle… No, my law rules.

If you can’t get stronger, you won’t survive when I eventually send you out.

“Again.”

My voice was low and emotionless.

“Get up.”

Lisette shook her head while crying.

It was a silent resistance to not do it.

But I had no intention of backing down.

“One hundred times.”

I reminded her of the number of push-ups.

“Until it’s filled.”

At the sound of my firm voice and the pressure emanating from my overwhelming presence, Lisette finally swallowed her tears and struggled to get up again.

She.

The child barely managed to stretch her arms from her prone position to try to lift herself, but it looked like even that was difficult for her.

She slipped and fell repeatedly.

Meanwhile, Sori was quietly going through her own training.

She was sweating, but her posture was unwavering as she did push-ups and squats.

The sight seemed to bring even greater despair to Lisette.

It wouldn’t be easy, but it had to be done.

Of course, I didn’t have high hopes from the start.

Sori had rolled on the ground screaming the first time too.

But Lisette was even worse than that.

“Again!”

I commanded in as low and emotionless a voice as I could.

I couldn’t show any weakness here.

If I wanted to fix that girl’s soft mentality, I had to uphold my dignity as a ‘tiger instructor’.

Lisette was crying and sniffling, but she didn’t dare disobey my orders.

No, rather than being unable, it was more like the fear of my very presence was so overwhelming she couldn’t even think of resisting.

Grunting, the girl lay down again and forced strength into her arms.

One… two… three four… five.

And then she collapsed flat onto the ground again.

She panted heavily, her shoulders trembling as if she might stop breathing at any moment.

‘…Five times?’

I counted in my head and was a little surprised.

I hadn’t really intended to make her do a full hundred, so I was shocked that Lisette had managed five from the start.

When Sori first tried push-ups, I don’t think she even did three properly.

This noble girl didn’t seem to be as weak as she looked.

Or maybe I was being so strict she somehow tapped into superhuman strength?

But my thoughts were shattered by the steady sound of Sori’s breathing beside me.

Sori had already breezed through her second set of 100 push-ups and was now lightly stretching her legs in preparation for squats.

She was sweating, but showed no signs of fatigue—if anything, she looked even more energized.

Lisette seemed to have seen her too.

Still gasping on the floor, her face twisted dramatically.

It was a different expression from the pain earlier—this time, a deep sense of humiliation and defeat washed over her.

Was this a rivalry forming?!

‘Though honestly, the gap is way too big for that right now…’

She had collapsed after just five reps, and yet this commoner girl was doing it with ease!

Her pride as a noble probably couldn’t tolerate such a reality.

Suddenly, Lisette sprang up.

She was still breathless, but there was a fire in her eyes that hadn’t been there before.

Good, let that fire burn brighter…

“Huff, huff… I… I can’t do stuff like this!”

She practically screamed the words.

Huh? Her sudden surrender threw me off more than I expected.

“Nobles don’t… do physical labor like this! I’ve… I’ve studied magic since I was little! I’m not like that girl!”

I was momentarily stunned by Lisette’s excuse and the arrogance within it, but at the same time, a word caught my attention.

‘Magic?’

Yes, magic.

The crown jewel of a fantasy world.

The very thing that filled the novels, comics, and games I had devoured in my previous life.

And now, I was a dragon—the very embodiment of magic in countless fantasy worlds.

But I didn’t actually know what magic was like here.

A surge of intense curiosity overwhelmed me.

I couldn’t care less about Lisette’s excuses now.

If that girl really could use magic, I wanted to see it.

It sounded like it’d be a pretty entertaining spectacle.

Without realizing it, I slipped out of my ‘tiger instructor’ mode and approached Lisette purely out of curiosity.

I lowered my massive head slightly to meet her at eye level.

“Magic?”

I echoed the word.

My voice was still low and rumbling, but it probably lacked the oppressive weight it had before.

Probably.

Lisette looked briefly flustered that I’d taken interest in her excuse, but then she seemed to think her argument had worked and tried to put on a smug expression.

Though her face still showed fear.

I ignored Lisette’s shifting expressions and got straight to the point.

“Show me.”

“…What?”

Lisette blinked, clearly not expecting that.

“Magic… show me.”

I repeated myself.

This time, a little more clearly.

Lisette’s face went pale.

She fidgeted, eyes darting around in panic.

She had no idea her own excuse would land her in deeper trouble.

“U-uh… well… magic doesn’t just happen right away…”

She stammered, trying to make excuses, but I had no intention of letting her off.

Don’t look around. Just show me already.

“Show me.”

I repeated, more firmly this time.

My red eyes stared directly into hers.

There was a silent pressure in that gaze, letting her know there’d be no more excuses.

Lisette looked like a cornered mouse.

She sweated coldly, watching me anxiously, then suddenly looked toward Sori.

Sori simply stood quietly, watching the situation unfold.

Lisette’s gaze almost seemed to beg her for help.

But Sori stayed silent.

In the end, Lisette let out a deep sigh as if giving up on everything.

And with trembling hands, she began to assume a stance.

‘Oh ho.’

I watched Lisette with great interest.

At last, I would see the magic of this world firsthand.

The air in the cave subtly changed.

Around Lisette, something faint and indescribable seemed to gather.