The rest of the day went smoothly. Ayame, Deltune, and Sona had successfully managed to summon their pact weapons/familiars. Four new friends had been added to the group and the others were excited to meet the new familiars.
"Sona, bro, seriously? Not only do you posses five elemental affinities, you even have a dual familiar. How is your luck so amazing?" Jaesu whispered angrily as he elbowed Sona in the ribs.
"Oh, wow. These two look almost human. Then we have a Gryphon and a Wind Elemental. Our party just became even more diverse. Simply exhilarating," Elandeli exclaimed with joy.
"Sylphia you are so tiny. How is your chest bigger then mine?" Konotsune half pouted as she placed her hands on her own chest.
"That's because Sona rubbed them for me constantly today. They grow if a man massages them for you. It works better if that man has a crush on you," Sylphia whispered in her ear. "That's a trade secret, though. Don't tell the other girls. They already have big breasts," Sylphia continued her mischievous plan.
"Have Sona touch my chest and they will grow? Do all men prefer a bigger chest?" Kono asked hesitantly. 'Sona. How could you touch her chest? You just met her. We have kissed and you haven't tried to touch mine yet.' Konotsune thought as she fell further into Sylphia's plot.
'Oh my gods. She's falling for it. Poor thing. She's so gullible.' Sylphia thought to herself and covered her mouth to stifle a laugh.
"Sona," Konotsune had slowly walked over to Sona, twiddling her thumbs shyly.
"Hm? Is something wrong, Kono?" He smiled softly at her shy demeanor. 'She seems to be getting better at expressing her emotions.' Sona thought to himself.
"I need you to..." She paused and stood up on her tippy toes to whisper in his ear. "..touch my chest," Her voice was barely above a whisper but Sona's expression verified that he had heard her. Konotsune grabbed his wrist gently and placed it against her flat chest. Her face turned red and she let out a soft yelp.
"Ko-Konotsune? What are you doing?" Sona was in panic mode. He tried to pull his hand away but she moaned quietly.
"D-don't be so rough with me, Sona," She shut her eyes tightly as Sona kept struggling.
"Kono what's wrong? Why are you doing this?" Sona exclaimed as Konotsune kept his hand pressed on her chest. "And how are you this freaking strong?" Sona struggled to free his hand to no avail.
"Lucky," Jaesu muttered in a jealous tone and sighed.
"Konotsune! What are you doing?" Elandeli gasped and ran over to help free Sona's hand.
"You wouldn't understand, sis. You've always been bouncy. This is the only way I can grow, too," Konotsune pouted.
By this time, Sylphia had collapsed on the floor in tears. Her laughter filling the room. "Sylphia!" A stern voice called out from behind her.
"Uh-Oh," Sylphia's laughter stopped immediately as a hand shot down and grabbed hold of her tiny ear. "Owowow! Deltunnnnnneeeee!" She whined softly as her Master pulled her by her ear.
"You are such a trouble maker! Go sit in the corner!" Deltune let go of Sylphia's ear and she floated over to the corner, still snickering from her prank on Konostune.
"Kono, I'm not sure what she told you, but she was obviously picking on you," Sona spoke sweetly as he used his free hand to rub the top of her head. "I like you just the way you are, Konotsune. You don't have to change for me to like you," He moved his hand to her cheek and pulled on it gently. "Now can I have my hand back?" He asked and kept pulling on her cheek gently.
"Are you sure? Owowow. Sona that hurts!" She whined as she let go of his hand. "Alright, alright you win! Let go, Sona," She pleaded as Sona laughed softly.
He removed his hand as Junichi and Subaru walked up to him. "Well you guys sure are lively, but Sona," She turned to face him. "You should sleep soon. We have an early start tomorrow," Subaru advised him before the twins walked off to one of the empty rooms to sleep.
"Yeah, I'll head there soon. Night Subaru. Night Junichi," Sona called after them and yawned. "I wonder where Master went. She disappeared earlier and hasn't returned since then," Sona questioned and turned around to face Ellie, and the other girls. "Goodnight ladies," He walked around and gave them all a kiss on the forehead.
"Goodnight," The four girls called after him in unison. They all watched him leave until he was out of sight.
"I'm heading up, too. It's pretty late already. Goodnight every one," Jaesu headed up the stairs.
"Okay. We have a lot to talk about tonight. Ayame, I heard Sona telling you and the others earlier about his situation. I was awake when he told them. If Sona feels like he can trust you, then I'll put my faith in you," Deltune inhaled deeply before continuing. "You all know Sona isn't originally from this world. What he didn't tell you, is that I'm the reason he was reborn. I'm actually a Goddess of Rebirth. My father is Arzotz, God Of Beginnings. I'm one of his many children. It's my goal to find souls from other worlds. People who possess strong souls and an unshakable will. Sona met those qualifications. I'm the one who brought him here. I watched him for a long time. His heart is kind, but he was never friendly before. That is to say, he didn't have friends and he pushed away anybody who got to close. I think I fell in love with him then. When he accepted to be reborn, I chose to become mortal and follow him. That's why I have stayed by his side," Deltune finished explaining everything. The others now had the missing pieces to put together Sona and Deltune's relationship.
"I see. I'm guessing he doesn't know you fell in love with him before meeting? I'm sure you have your reasons. Don't worry, we won't say anything to him. It's not our place? Right, Konotsune?" Elandeli was the first to speak up after the silence.
"That's right. We won't tell him, it's only fair he hears it from you. However, speaking of Sona. We must discuss who his number one will be in the future," Konotsune added and looked to Ayame.
"That's right. Sona said I was to young right now, but someday I want to be his wife, too!" Ayame said happily as her tail wagged back and forth quickly. "Being with him makes me feel safe. He doesn't care that I'm not human. I've never met anyone like him," She twiddled her fingers nervously.
"Well girls, let's get to this discussion going then," Deltune and the rest of the girls began talking through the night.
The next morning came quickly. True to their word, Junichi and Subaru knocked on Sona's door before the sun was up. "Sona," Subaru whispered and shook him a few times. "Come on. We need to start your training, Master," She spoke softly as to avoid waking the girls who were asleep on his bed.
"Mm. Yeah, yeah. I'm coming," Sona yawned sleepily as he made his way through the mass of bodies on his bed. "No wonder it felt even more crowded," Sona muttered and looked down. Five girls had crawled into bed with him sometime after he fell asleep. Ellie, Kono, Deltune, Ayame, and Saphira laid sprawled out on his bed. 'Master came back last night? I wonder where she went.' Sona thought as he searched his closet for something to work out in this morning. 'I'll have to buy something that will be easier to move around in.' Sona thought as he fished out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt for now.
"It's morning already? Sona?" Ayame sat up and rubbed her eyes sleepily.
"Shh. Go back to sleep, sweetie. I'm heading out before class. You need to make sure you're rested. You start classes today, too," Sona cooed and kissed the top of her head gently. "I'll be back," He waved goodbye as Ayame curled back up and fell asleep again.
The three of them walked in silence until they had exited the dorm building. "Master, you are such a playboy," Subaru spoke up first as they walked into the woods.
"You can be so nosy sometimes, Subaru. It's not like Master can control their feelings," Junichi spoke up in Sona's defense.
"It's okay, Junichi. It's not a big deal," Sona yawned again. "They all made their own decisions. I told them to give me some time so I can learn about myself and figure out my feelings," Sona continued as the three of them came to a stop.
"Spoken like a true man, Sona," Junichi spoke with pride in his voice. "Okay. First order of business. Use your magic to clear out these trees. Make a space that's two hundred and fifty meters," Junichi instructed his master as he and Subaru took a few steps back.
'Wait. He's serious? He wants me to clear this part of the forest using only magic? Okay. Then, Wind would be the best choice, but I haven't tried to use it on this kind of scale before.' Sona's mind tried to play through all the scenarios as he raised his arms above his head. 'I guess the only way to know is to try.'
'Focus, Sona. Imagine your wind as blades. Mold them with your mana. Sharpen the wind with your mind. When you are ready, invoke the spell; Wind Release: Straight Edged Cutter.' Junichi's voice echoed in Sona's mind
'Okay, Junichi.' The air around them began to stir. The trees groaned and the leaves trembled. 'More.' Sona thought as he tried to draw out extra mana. Leaves were ripped from the trees. The trees creaked louder but the wind soon drowned them out. "Wind Release: Straight Edged Cutter!" Sona shouted out over the wind that surrounded him. Blades made of swirling winds shot out from all directions. The trees that had surrounded them started to fall, but before they hit the ground, they fell apart. Tiny pieces of bark littered the ground.
"Wow," Sona gasped and looked around the clearing. The trees that had surrounded them were now gone, leaving a large open area.
"You probably didn't know this, but a spells destructive force can be multiplied if you know the name and speak the Incantation. The stronger the spell, the longer the Incantation. I can grab some books for you to study when we aren't training. If you become strong enough, you could even make your own spells, but that's a topic for the future. Now, we will work on fitness training every morning for two weeks. Your first task, run seven laps around the edge of the clearing," Junichi instructed his master.
'Make my own spells? That would cool as hell.' Sona thought and paused for a second. 'Seven laps? If my math isn't wrong, that's roughly 1700 Meters. He's basically telling me to run a mile every day? Whew. Better get started.' Sona jogged to the nearest edge.
"Begin!" Subaru ordered and Sona took off at a light jog. After the first lap Subaru called out to him again. "You will start every morning with this run until you can complete it in six minutes or less. I've been timing you so far, tomorrow I want you to run faster and beat the time you set today," Subaru barked out orders like a drill sergeant.
'Six minutes, huh? She's trying to break me. My fastest time was just barely over eight minutes. I'll do it, though, plus...' Sona looked over and smiled. 'Having her talk to me like is kind of hot..' Sona blushed at his thoughts and picked up his pace after the third lap. Once he bagan sprinting, he cleared the fourth and fifth laps quickly. His body was on fire at this point, and his face was moist with sweat. 'Two more. Keep pushing.'
"He sped up more. He should clear the last lap around nine minutes. At least he's more fit then we first assumed," Junichi commented his thoughts.
"Indeed. In fact, if he could have ran like that from the beginning, he might have easily been under six minutes. He will need to improve his endurance and stamina. Other then that, he has potential," Subaru remarked as Sona rounded the final curve on his last lap.
"Nine minutes, fifteen seconds. We expect you to beat that time tomorrow. Good job, though, Master," Junichi smiled and put his fist up towards Sona.
"Whew. I haven't had to sweat like this in a long time," Sona gasped as he tried to catch his breathe. He put his fist up and bumped it against Junichi's raised fist. "I'll do my best to prove I'm worthy of your powers," Sona stood up slowly and looked to Subaru. "What next?"
"Next, start by summoning your mana. Gather as much as you can and hold onto for as long as possible," Subaru instructed and Sona looked a little confused. "It's an exercise used to strengthen your connection to your mana pool. By strengthening this connection, your body can process more mana in between rests without driving your body into Over Limit."
Once she explained the reasoning, Sona understood her intentions. 'Okay. As much as I can, for as long as I can. Let's see how far I can push my limits.'
Sona closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. 'Slowly exhale as you clear your mind. Think of only your mana.' Sona thought to himself as he exhaled slowly. His body started glowing a deep blue as his mana poured forth.
"Summon more mana, Sona. You have so much potential, you are only barely scratching the surface of your true power" Subaru encouraged her Master.
Sona let his friends faces fill his mind. 'I will protect them all.' Something inside him snapped, as it did, his mana output tripled. The ground trembled at this new release of mana.
"Good! Maintain that output! Shoot for twenty seconds!" Junichi demanded.
"This...is incredibly difficult...How can people maintain this...?" Sona forced these words out as he tried to focus on maintaining this level.
"Years of practice, but none have your seemingly endless supply of mana. Ten seconds and your still maintaining this level. Not bad," Subaru admitted.
Sona felt a chain creep around his power and his mana supply quickly diminished back to its original state. "W-what just happened?" Sona questioned and looked down at his hands.
"That's enough for now."