"What's wrong? Are you unwilling?"
Melusine walked toward Tobiichi Origami with steady, unhurried steps, her voice distant as she asked, "Or do you still intend to use the skills I taught you… against Tohka and the others?"
"No."
Without the slightest pause or hesitation, Origami shook her head.
"I promised you, so I'll follow through on that—"
She paused, then turned to meet Melusine's eyes, her voice low and resolute. "As long as you don't forget the promise you made to me."
"Dragons are creatures that honor their word. Beings born strong have no need to lie to gain anything."
Melusine gave Origami a sidelong glance, then looked away and added in a quiet tone, "I've already spoken with Kurumi. I'll pay the time and Spirit power required to send you five years into the past. Once you're strong enough, you may go."
"…! Really?!"
Origami's eyes widened as she spoke, her breath growing uneven. The expression on her face was one so pure and unguarded it was hard to believe it belonged to Tobiichi Origami—almost like a child seeing magic for the first time.
"…But I should remind you of something."
After a brief daze, Melusine's expression turned stern as she addressed Origami. "Don't push yourself trying to power up too fast. I've already made your training schedule. If you go off and train on your own without my approval, and end up delaying the process because of that, don't say I didn't warn you."
"!!!"
Origami's gaze trembled under the pressure of Melusine's piercing stare, and after a moment, she reluctantly nodded.
"Understood…"
Seeing her like this, Melusine had to suppress the urge to sigh.
Seriously… every last one of them is a handful.
---
The fact that Yatogami Tohka and the other Spirits were going out to train under Melusine wasn't something Itsuka Shidou was unaware of.
After all, Melusine had originally asked him if he wanted to join them—but before he could answer, Kotori had burst onto the scene and firmly declined the offer, citing that "Shidou hasn't fully recovered yet."
Personally, Shidou felt more or less fine… but no one was going to believe his self-assessment over a doctor's report.
"I wonder how everyone's holding up with Lancelot… I hope they're not getting hurt..."
The sheer might of Melusine had long since become ingrained in everyone's mind—so much so that with her around, no threat ever felt insurmountable.
"I mean, she is super reliable… I'm sure she's controlling her strength properly and not going too hard on them… right?"
The urge to go check on them was growing stronger by the minute.
After all, ever since Melusine and the others left, the house had become… strangely quiet. Shidou just wasn't used to it.
It was the weekend. Normally, Tohka would be complaining about being hungry—even if it wasn't mealtime yet. Kaguya and Yuzuru would start one of their random competitions and drag him or Lancelot into it as the judge. Yoshino and Natsumi had grown more and more harmonious in their interactions. Miku would occasionally drop by. Even though Nia usually holed up in her room drawing or reading manga, the moment someone got too close to Lancelot, she'd transform into a raging big sister.
Maybe I should go too… train to use my Angel in battle?
The thought came to him suddenly.
He placed a hand over his chest. The helplessness he'd felt when Tohka went Inverse still haunted him like a nightmare.
I want the power to protect the people who matter to me. I want to be able to do something—anything… I don't want to stand by and watch, unable to act ever again.
Silence. Reflection. Hesitation.
Sitting alone on the sofa, Shidou's gaze drifted toward the kitchen.
"…Maybe I should cook something to bring over."
Just sitting here while everyone else was working hard to get stronger… made him restless. He wanted to do something for them too.
"After a workout, fish or soy-based protein would probably be best…"
Since he had no idea where Melusine and the others were training, Shidou went to Kotori and asked her to show him the way.
Once she realized he just wanted to bring food for the Spirits who were working hard, even the stern Kotori couldn't bring herself to refuse. With a sigh, she reluctantly agreed and led him to the specialized training base Ratatoskr had set up for Melusine's group.
Then, the moment Kotori laid eyes on the state of the training grounds… she exploded.
"You—! What—! Are—! You—! Doing?!"
Her furious voice echoed through the open field of the training facility.
"Kotori? You're here too."
Melusine stood calmly in the center of the field, tilting her head curiously. "What's the matter? Have you finally changed your mind and decided to join the training?"
"You still remember this is supposed to be training?!"
Kotori stormed over and jabbed her finger into Melusine's chest, fuming. "If you didn't say this was training, I'd have thought you were demolishing the place! What the hell are you, a bunch of huskies?!"
At that moment, Miku and Nia were carefully trying to pry Tohka's body out of a dent in the alloy wall. Kaguya and Yuzuru lay sprawled on the freezing cold floor like dead fish. Yoshino watched the chaos with wide, worried eyes.
Only Origami seemed in decent shape, sitting quietly in a chair and sipping water.
She'd already undergone several sessions with Melusine and had gradually adapted to the rhythm of combat. Melusine, in turn, had come to understand where Origami's limits lay.
"It's their first session. I need to understand their individual abilities and limits before I can tailor their training plans properly."
"But did you have to wreck my training grounds?!"
Kotori pointed to the crater near her feet, then at a gash in the wall, her expression dark as soot.
"This may not be our top-tier training site, but it's second only to that! Do you have any idea how much it'll cost to fix all this?!"
Her frustration wasn't unjustified. She'd only just sent the massive airborne battleship Fraxinus back to HQ for maintenance, and that alone had cost a fortune.
Sure, Ratatoskr was one of only two organizations in the world capable of producing Realizer Units, and yes, they had money. But that didn't mean Melusine and her crew could just destroy everything in sight.
Melusine blinked her golden eyes, visibly confused.
"Aren't you all in the process of taking over DEM? Once you claim their full assets, you'll be the world's largest conglomerate. Why worry about money?"
"It's exactly because of that…"
Kotori gave Melusine a look that was equal parts exasperation and disbelief, sighing before she replied.
"DEM was just as big as we are. They have ties to multiple world governments. Even with Westcott out of the picture, folding DEM entirely into Ratatoskr isn't easy. Almost all of our manpower and resources are tied up in that operation right now. That's why we're short on funds…"
She glanced away at the end, muttering under her breath, "If we had money, Fraxinus would've been fixed by now…"
While Kotori was confronting Melusine, Shidou had walked over to the battered Spirits, concern etched across his face.
"Tohka, Kaguya, Yuzuru—are you okay? Do you need healing?"
"Shidou… I'm fine…"
Tohka's voice was faint as she leaned against Miku's support, her frailty worrying him even more.
"Defeated… Miss Lancelot is just too strong… I couldn't even see a path to victory…"
"Uwah… that really hurt… Why was I the one getting pounded the most?! I'm the Wind Dancer, an assassin-type! I'm not even supposed to be on the front lines!"
Still sprawled like a limp fish, Yuzuru and Kaguya voiced their complaints in turn.
Nia, having overheard Kaguya, wandered over with her usual mischievous grin.
"Isn't it common knowledge to take out the backline and assassins first in a group fight? You and Yuzuru—assassin and sniper combo—who else would Lan-chan target?"
"But what about tanks?! Aren't tanks supposed to draw aggro in team battles?!"
Kaguya shot back indignantly.
"Tanks? You mean Tohka? She got yeeted by Lan-chan the moment the fight started. In game terms, that's your tank dying pre-level 2 and feeding the enemy. No wonder your team fight was a disaster."
"Grrr…"
Nia could tell Kaguya was this close to reporting Tohka for intentional feeding.
Shidou glanced toward Yoshino and Miku—who, despite showing some signs of fatigue, looked far less roughed-up than the others.
"Yoshino, Miku—you two seem mostly fine?"
The first to respond was Yoshinon, the energetic bunny puppet.
"Of course! Our Yoshino is just too cute. There isn't a soul in this world cruel enough to hit someone this adorable."
"Y-Yoshinon…"
Yoshino blushed and gently tried to shush the puppet.
"And if cuteness spared Yoshino, then obviously love protected me~!"
Miku clasped her hands over her chest, face flushed pink. "Even though Lan-chan always acts cold toward me… I know she cares. She couldn't bear to hurt me…"
"I think it's more likely that you were standing so far in the back, and your standing in Lan-chan's heart is so low, that she just… forgot you were there."
Yoshinon simply couldn't hold back her inner snarker.
"T-That's impossible…"
"That stiff smile on your face says otherwise, Miss Miku. I bet you think it's a real possibility, too?"
"Y-Yoshinon… please stop…"
Meanwhile, Natsumi had been quietly standing beside Yoshino, trying not to be noticed.
Her gaze never left Yoshino, but her pale face twisted in hesitation—like she wanted to speak but didn't have the courage to interrupt.
I just wanted to ask if Yoshino was okay… but I hesitated too long, and now everyone's here. If I ask now, will it feel forced? Will I look stupid? And… she's smiling so brightly with that busty woman and Shidou. So dazzling…
Someone like me… all gloomy and gross… if I suddenly walked up and started talking, she'd probably hate it, right? Maybe I should just crawl into a trash bin somewhere and hide…
Dark thoughts kept swirling through Natsumi's mind…
"Hmm? Shidou brought fish soup?"
When Melusine heard this from Kotori, her eyes lit up with mild surprise.
"Yes, he did," Kotori nodded. "So… can Tohka and the others take a break now?"
"I have no objections. According to the schedule, it's about time for a rest period anyway… You've got healing facilities here, right?"
"Of course. This is a training base. It's normal for combat personnel to get injured during training."
Even after seeing it firsthand many times, Melusine still couldn't help but marvel at the healing process.
The Personal Territory—a magus's fundamental tool in this world.
A universal space where imagination becomes reality. Whether offense, defense, or healing, it could do it all—limited only by the user's imagination.
The dimension where Spirits were born, the Neighboring World, was essentially Mio's Personal Territory. Every law of physics in that space was decided by her.
When Melusine first learned of it, one term immediately came to mind: [Reality Marble].
The concept of turning pure imagination into physical reality—the magic closest to the Root, with the [Reality Marble] being a degraded version of that miracle.
When spatial quakes struck and devastated cities, magi could use Personal Territories to repair everything. Even a whole school could be restored in under half a day—something even the most infrastructure-obsessed nations couldn't dream of.
And when someone was injured? A Personal Territory could heal them—even severed limbs, so long as they were still alive, could be restored fully.
In Melusine's eyes, the Personal Territory was an absolute marvel. A gift to civilization.
If only it hadn't been born from the Great Catastrophe thirty years ago… it would've been perfect.