In the clearing in front of the lodging.
Aten was facing a fear like never before.
"Heck, heck… Ha! How about that!"
Sybil proudly puffed up her chest and bragged. However, her sweat-drenched face and panting breath somewhat diminished the persuasiveness of her boast.
"…That's impressive."
"Ha-ha! Right? Such things are a joke to me! Ahem!"
Sybil thought Aten was just being polite and excitedly chattered away.
To Sybil, Aten might have appeared calm, but she simply didn't know what else to say about the situation.
Sybil’s training had already nearly reached the practical stage.
The content was simple. Aten would make an ice sculpture and light a fire underneath it. Meanwhile, Sybil would infuse mana into the ice sculpture Aten made to prevent it from melting.
At first, the ice melted quickly, but then 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes… Gradually and smoothly, the time extended, and before long, Sybil had surpassed one hour.
'This isn’t just about being a genius. I see why Frondier said that.'
If Aten were to express Sybil’s talent, it would be an unfailingly accurate intuition.
Infusing mana into the created ice to prevent it from melting. Anyone could do it with mana. With enough time and practice.
However, people repeat countless failures in the process of learning something. They go through trial and error to find out what is wrong, what is right, what is efficient, and what is effective.
And then internalizing it. All these processes naturally occur.
But Sybil doesn’t go through this process of trial and error. Every intuition she has hits the mark.
Since she attempts the right method from the first try, she learns in the shortest steps possible without any brakes.
"But why does the ice sculpture look ?"
Sybil quietly examined the ice sculpture Aten had made.
At first, she didn't pay much attention, but the more she looked, the more she realized it wasn't just any ice sculpture.
"Is this a hammer? Made so tiny, it's actually quite cute."
True to Sybil's words, Aten's ice sculpture was in the shape of a hammer. It didn't quite suit Aten.
"…The handle is really short. I've seen something before."
Right after Sybil's muttering, the ice sculpture vanished.
"…I cancelled the magic. Let's try something a bit bigger next time."
"Um…? Well, alright. The barrier will be much bigger than this!"
Sybil found Aten's actions a bit odd but spoke energetically. After all, they didn't have much time.
"Ah, there you are. Both of you."
At that moment, someone approached from the direction of the mansion. It was Frondier.
Aten heaved a sigh of relief. If Frondier had seen the ice sculpture just now, well, it wouldn't really matter, but still, it felt somewhat…
"Ah! Frondier! Sending me on that weird errand without saying anything!"
"Sorry. The situation with the barrier was too urgent. I'm really grateful for your help. Truly."
"Hmm, well, hmm, okay."
Frondier was unexpectedly humble, causing Sybil to scratch her head. She had a lot to say, but it suddenly seemed irrelevant.
"Is the training going well?"
"Of course! I managed to keep the ice for an hour! It was tiny, but still."
That was achieved in just two days.
It was a story that would astonish anyone who heard it, but Frondier just nodded.
"Can't you act a bit more surprised?"
"Sorry. It's not that surprising."
For Sybil, such feats were not surprising.
Aten caught the hidden meaning and glanced at Frondier for a moment.
Frondier started to speak and then cleared his throat.
He was about to discuss his real reason for coming here.
"Sybil, you rode Cassian here, right?"
Cassian. The finest horse in the central regions.
Sybil had said she borrowed it from Constel, and that was probably true.
"Yeah, what about it?"
"Lend him to me for a bit."
"Cassian? Sure, but you've only fought on the barriers. What do you need Cassian for?"
"I think I'll need him soon."
With that, Frondier smiled casually.
Without any particular thought, Sybil nodded at his languid and relaxed face.
In other words, she was deceived by the peaceful face of Frondier.