episode_0049

‘Let’s see how you deal with me.’

Aion thought as he approached them.

Of course, he had no intention of dealing with the young girls sincerely. He didn’t want to see them get hurt, and if he did, they would never be reconciled, so he moved to see their instantaneous judgment and coping skills.

The first one to react to his movements was Haru.

As expected from a girl who had trained her body by fighting many demons since childhood, she was the first to react and rushed to Aion when he approached them.

She blocked his attack by bringing the sharp part of her blade towards her, as if worried that Aion might get hurt.

‘As expected… it’s just as I thought.’

Aion looked at her, impressed by her quick judgment, and then advised her on one thing.

“I thought you would react the fastest to my movements. But it was a mistake to point the sword at you. I think you did it because you thought I wouldn’t get hurt, but I’m not that weak, so hit me with all your might.”

Aion said so and pushed her away carefully.

Hine, who was watching this, jumped high and swung his fist with his gauntlet towards Aion.

“Master, here you go!!”

Hine spat out a curse at Aion.

Aion did not back down from her attack and instead clashed his fists with hers. Hine and Aion exchanged punches.

“Wow?!”

Hine exchanged blows with Aion for a moment, then she stepped back, startled by the vibrations she felt from her fists through the gauntlet.

“Master’s power… is amazing…”

After exchanging blows with Aion for a moment, Hine looked at his gauntlet, surprised by the vibration he felt through it.

Looking at her like that, Aion said.

“The link you just made with Haru was really good. However, telling your opponent that you are going to attack before you attack is the worst thing to do. Your opponent might hear this and dodge.”

“Ugh…”

“Well done anyway.”

“Thank you, master..!”

Hine seemed to be taken aback by Aion’s advice, but was pleased by his praise.

While he was talking to Hine like that, Dana, who was holding a magic wand behind Aion’s back, started running towards him.

Even though she had chosen the staff, she was not fighting from a distance, but was coming towards Aion.

Seeing her behavior like that, Aion said.

“The will to attack itself is good. But you chose a staff used by wizards. Since ancient times, wizards have a role of supporting their teammates from afar.”

“I can’t even use magic, what can I do!”

Dana swung her staff wildly at Aion and shouted.

When I thought about it, Dana’s words also made sense.

Since she had not yet formally learned magic, she could neither use nor cast magic, so she approached Aion swinging her staff.

Aion didn’t make any special attacks against Dana and was preparing a weak honey chestnut to calm her down.

I don’t know why, but Dana was a little excited.

When Aion saw this, he carefully placed his hand on her head to calm her down.

“Sister!”

Frega, who had been watching this, quickly approached Dana.

He used the shield he was holding in his hand to protect her, while lowering his posture as if trying to avoid damage, and blocked his fist.

“………!”

When Aion saw this, he was so surprised that he couldn’t say anything.

“Ah.. Sir, are you okay?!”

And when Frere saw Aion like that, he worried that Aion might be sick and unable to speak, so he spoke.

The reason Aion couldn’t say anything was not because he was speechless from the pain he felt as his fist hit the shield.

That’s how their overall evaluation came to an end.

***

“Then I’ll tell you your strengths and weaknesses in general.”

If it’s that short, then they’ve just finished their short training.

After finishing his training with them, Aion looked at them and said.

The first thing he said was his evaluation of the day he first stopped Aion’s rush.

“First of all, Haru has excellent basic combat sense and intuition. When I approached, Haru was the one who reacted the fastest, and if he had wanted to, he could have attacked me additionally later, right?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah, but you gave up your turn to Heene. When you move with your team, you have to think of the team as well as yourself. And if there’s one thing you can fix, it’s that you still seem a little hesitant about using your power, right?”

“Yes….”

“Let’s start by practicing controlling the power we have.”

After finishing speaking, Aion patted her on the head as if giving her a reward. Next in line was Hine, who looked at Haru with envy.

Aion called Hine by that name and said:

“Next is Hine.”

“Yes..! Yes, master!”

“First of all, it was very good that you followed up your previous attack with a follow-up attack.”

“Yay!”

“But you revealed your presence before attacking. Of course, it’s okay to do that during my training now, but you shouldn’t act like that in the future.”

“Yep..”

“And most of all, since Hine uses his fists, let’s train with a focus on strength. I’ll help you from the side.”

“Yes, I will work hard, Master!”

Hine repeated that she was depressed and happy while being hit with Aion’s carrot and stick.

After finishing his feedback to her, Aion patted her head.

“Hehe..”

Hine wagged her tail in delight at the warmth she felt from Aion’s hand.

When he approached Dana, who was next in line, she greeted Aion with a slightly embarrassed look on her face.

“Dana hasn’t learned magic yet, so I can’t really give her a proper evaluation.”

“………”

“But if there’s one thing that’s good, it’s that even though there’s no way to attack, they tried to attack me. Wizards mainly use mana and magic to confront monsters and enemies, but if there’s a case where they can’t use magic, they’re literally finished. That’s why there are wizards who actually died because they couldn’t use magic.”

“So I’ll teach you magic and self-defense.”

“…..Yes..?!”

As soon as the words that he would teach her magic came out of Aion’s mouth, Dana’s sullen expression disappeared and she looked at him with a lively expression.

“Really?”

Dana’s eyes sparkled as she heard Aion say that he would give her magic, and she asked Aion back.

Aion responded with a big laugh at her change in expression.

“Of course. I’ll teach you any magic you want.”

Aion said that while stroking Dana’s head.

Dana felt the touch of Aion and was delighted as she put on her hat for the first time in a long while.

“And finally, Fre.”

“Yes..Yes..!”

Aion, who had been stroking Dana’s head like that, looked at Fre, who had been trembling since the first time he judged them, and said.

At Aion’s words, Frey flinched in surprise.

“First of all, unlike the three before, Frere picked up a shield instead of a weapon, right?”

“Yes..”

“The reason is because they are afraid of attacking other people.”

“That’s right..”

At Aion’s words, she trembled as if she were a child who had done something wrong.

Frere closed her eyes and shook her body as if she thought Aion was teasing her.

Aion, who had been watching her like that, silently placed his hand on her head. And when he sensed Aion’s presence, Frey shrank back.

“……..!”

“But you. You did your job as a tank perfectly. When your comrade was in danger, you stepped forward and blocked me with your shield. Whether it was intentional or coincidental, your defensive stance was really good. Even if it was coincidental, that was the result of your own efforts. I think you’re good at holding a shield.”

Contrary to her expectations, Aion praised her and patted her on the head.

At such praise from Aion, Freya relaxed and felt his warmth.

“Thank you all for your hard work in training today.”

After completing such a simple training, Aion looked at them and lightly clapped his hands.

The first training session with them, so brief and intense, came to an end.

Thanks to Aion, who didn’t push them too hard on the first day, they all entered the house with light steps.

Looking at them like that, Aion smiled with satisfaction.

Although they may be immature children now, they will grow into full-fledged adults as time goes by.

Aion, who was watching them like that, spoke softly as if he was making a promise to himself.

“Now there’s only one left.”

After saying that, Aion went into the house where they were waiting.

Aion chuckled at the thought of training with them in the future, and thought that he should make even more delicious food for them in the future.