*** Arden Estate - Courtyard
While I didn’t mind the stares from the other students, the same couldn’t be said for Vivianne.
She immediately stopped running the moment she noticed people were starting to stare. Usually, something like that would immediately make me want to stop teaching someone if something that trivial managed to disturb them.
After all, teaching someone who easily gets bothered while training was a hassle.
But I couldn’t go back on my word, especially when Bright himself had clearly helped Vivianne.
So now I clearly had to think of a better way to train her without people staring.
And I had no choice but to bring her to my estate.
"Continue running here."
"Are you serious!? We just arrived!"
"Stop complaining."
[Major Healing]
"Go."
Vivianne reluctantly began sprinting again, this time in my courtyard.
My visit back to the estate was surprisingly met with applause and concern from my servants, especially Miss Rose.
Who had more than heard enough of the rumours about me, it wasn’t like the academy was a secret institution; it was a gathering of noble heirs and children. It wasn’t out of the blue that my own servants heard about what I was doing while I was away.
"Is this really a good way to treat a lady?"
"She’s my student, Miss Rose, don’t worry, she’d stop if she actually wanted to."
"Well... as long as you say so, young master."
But even in this new location, we still couldn’t avoid being stared at, but instead of students, it was now my servants who were weirdly interested in my personal life.
"Is that the rumoured D’Arclight that the young master was supposedly dating?"
"No, you idiot! It’s the daughter of Viscount Crestwood..."
I could hear the servants whispering to each other with my enhanced hearing.
But even if the situation kind of didn’t change at all, at least my servants were better at keeping a low profile.
Vivianne didn’t even know we were still being stared at.
And that was enough for me.
"How many laps is that!?" I barked out like an army commander, treating her more like a soldier than a mage.
"T-Thirteen!"
She was already showing clear progress despite the short amount of time, the healing magic and a small hint of profaned recovery I applied to her, speeding up the process a thousandfold.
And while I could make her body immediately powerful in an instant, unlike me, she wasn’t used to something like that.
If I just gave her all that power in one go, she’d likely not be able to control it.
So I had to train her body gradually, enough that she can handle herself even without magic.
Wind attunement...
On paper, it seemed like something perfect for long-range combat.
But logically? It acted more like support magic for close-range fighting.
Both coming from my own opinion and the spellbooks themselves.
"Once you hit twenty, begin using air manipulation to enhance your legs."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
I didn’t even have to order her to call me sir...
Neat...
’I wonder how Evelina’s doing... been a long time since I saw her.’
’Even though it’s barely been two days.’
’I miss her already...’
I leaned against the stone railing of the courtyard, arms crossed as I observed her form. Sloppy, inefficient, but no longer panicked. Her breathing was still ragged, yet it wasn’t collapsing like before.
That alone was progress.
"Don’t flare it," I called out. "Air manipulation isn’t a boost button. Shape it."
She almost tripped.
"I-I am shaping it!"
"No, it just looks like you’re coating your legs with air without any effect."
That earned me a glare mid-sprint, but she corrected herself anyway. The wind around her legs tightened, less explosive, more controlled. Her steps grew lighter, faster, not stronger, just cleaner.
Better.
By the eighteenth lap, sweat had soaked through her clothes, her noble composure long gone. Hair loose, breathing harsh, face red. If anyone from the academy council saw her like this, they’d probably faint.
Honestly? Worth it.
"Why... huff... why legs first...?" she gasped.
"Because air mages like to float," I replied. "And floating gets you killed when someone closes the distance."
I wasn’t just making stuff up either, most air mages in the novel died that way, the moment Julius or any other character got close to them, it took them way too long to reposition.
She opened her mouth to argue, then shut it when her footwork stumbled again.
Smart enough to listen when it mattered.
"Wind isn’t just meant to keep you away," I continued. "It’s meant to keep you moving, repositioning, calculating, and finally, it’s one hell of a force multiplier."
Lap nineteen.
Her magic flickered, unstable, but responsive. She wasn’t forcing it anymore. She was feeling it.
Her mind was now automatically solving spell formulas on sheer instinct.
"...Twenty," she croaked, slowing to a stop.
"Good," I said. "Now stop."
She immediately collapsed onto the stone tiles.
"...I said stop running, not collapse."
[Major Healing]
Light washed over her body, easing muscle strain, stabilizing her breathing. I was careful not to overdo it, just enough to recover, not enough to erase the lesson.
She lay there for a moment, chest rising and falling, eyes unfocused.
"...This is insane," she muttered.
"Yes."
"...You’re insane."
"Also yes." I grinned.
She let out a breath that almost sounded like a laugh.
"But..." she hesitated, then pushed herself up onto her elbows. "A sane kind of insane... if that makes sense?"
I raised an eyebrow. Wow, that’s probably one of the best backhanded compliments I’ve ever heard.
"When my legs gave out," she said slowly, "I didn’t panic. I just... adjusted, I didn’t even use magic, just pure survival instinct."
Silence stretched between us.
Then I nodded once.
"That’s the point, get your body used to fighting, not just your mind."
She stared at me like I’d just admitted to something profound, then groaned and dropped back onto the ground.
"I hate this."
"You’ll hate it less tomorrow once your body gets used to the strain."
"...That’s not reassuring."
I turned toward the estate doors. "Rest five minutes. Then we move on to another body part."
Her eyes widened in horror.
"Again!?"
I glanced back at her, unimpressed.
"You wanted to stop being a damsel," I said. "This is the price."
She stared at the sky for a long second.
"...Fine."