At the Astraea Familia training grounds.
"Yaaah—!!!"
A world-shaking scream rang out from within. The red-haired girl ran ahead at top speed, while a blindfolded blonde girl chased fiercely behind her.
"Why the hell is this kind of thing considered training?!"
Hearing the red-haired girl's wail, Elise answered with absolute certainty, "Isn't that obvious?"
"You run in front. I chase from behind."
"As long as I catch you, I'll heh... I'll beat you up!"
"If you resist, even better."
"This way, not only can you train your dexterity and agility, you can also improve your endurance. You should be thanking me, newbie!"
Her words left Alise on the verge of tears. Just thinking about how her future would look like this filled her with sorrow.
"Is it still too late for me to quit the Familia?"
"Too late! Accept your fate, Alise!"
Though she didn't look back—or perhaps didn't dare to—Alise could clearly feel the figure behind her getting closer and closer.
"I refuse this kind of fate!"
She had only just escaped the dragon's den that was the Pleasure Quarter, and now she had fallen straight into the tiger's lair of the Astraea Familia...
"When can I finally enter the Dungeon?!"
Smack!
A hand landed on Alise's shoulder. Her entire body stiffened as she trembled and slowly turned her head.
What greeted her was a smile as radiant as golden sunlight. Under normal circumstances, Alise would gladly chat with a girl who smiled like that.
But right now...
Beside that smile was a glowing fist.
Who would dare chat under those conditions?
Wouldn't she just get beaten senseless?
As that fist drew closer and closer, Alise once again let out a wail no one her age should have to make.
"Misfortune—!"
Half an hour later.
Alise lay sprawled on the ground, utterly exhausted, gasping for breath.
"Ah... I can't anymore. I've got no strength left. Do whatever you want..."
After fighting for so long, she had truly burned herself out. And during that so-called "training," she had ended up filthy from head to toe.
"You've trained for quite a while. It's about time you rest."
Elise did not object. She had indeed been training right up against the limit of Alise's stamina. By now, she should have reached her breaking point. But...
"Huh?"
A glow of white light flared beside Alise, immediately drawing her attention.
"Rest properly. I'll handle the wounds and everything else."
So she actually had healing abilities. No wonder she dared to come up with this kind of training...
Even so, wasn't that a little too heavy-handed earlier?
Alise's entire body ached. If not for the healing, she would probably be bedridden for several days.
"After this period of time, have Lady Astraea check your status. There should be quite a noticeable improvement."
No kidding!
If I got beaten up like that and still didn't grow stronger, I'd feel like dying!
Since the person in question was standing right in front of her, Alise didn't dare say it aloud and could only complain inwardly.
But in the next moment, she realized there was a problem in Elise's words.
As if thinking of something, Alise's face filled with horror.
"Wait!"
"You said... this period... of time?"
Hearing her response, Elise revealed a perfectly natural expression.
"Of course."
"During this time, I'll be training you properly!"
"The monsters in the Dungeon are strange and varied. This training is specially designed to keep you from getting killed by them."
No, no, no!
At this rate, I'll be killed by you before any monster gets the chance!
"All right, the treatment is complete!" Elise smiled brightly. "Let's continue training!"
"Nooo—!"
That night, Lady Astraea updated Alise's status while she lay motionless in bed.
As expected, her endurance had improved tremendously. Even her dexterity and agility had risen by no small amount.
If this continued, in less than half a year, Alise would likely level up with multiple attributes reaching S.
How wonderful. Truly wonderful.
At the same time, this incident completely solidified Elise's conviction.
In this world, abilities only grow stronger the more they are used.
If Alise could endure her attacks for that long and achieve such improvement, why couldn't the other members do the same?
That way, when they encountered future crises, they would have greater means of self-preservation.
Yes, I'm talking about you, Juggernaut.
Since Alise had still joined the Astraea Familia, Elise wasn't sure whether so-called worldline convergence would occur again.
Whether the Astraea Familia's future tragedy still existed, Elise did not know. But she could prepare in advance.
For example, training the future members of the Familia.
"Sorry, everyone in the future. I should repent in advance..."
I really don't mean to beat you up, okay?
It's all so you can gain greater strength, so please don't blame me!
I'm thinking of you, you know!
Elise offered a brief prayer for them in her heart...
Five seconds.
It couldn't be helped. If the Familia members weren't strong enough, then to prevent accidents, she still had to hit them.
This was the captain's insignificant form of care. Just accept it!
In the days that followed, no one saw the red-haired girl on the streets of Orario.
As for Elise, she remained in the Familia training grounds, drilling Alise relentlessly. She even temporarily set aside her own Dungeon exploration.
Whenever Alise was on the verge of collapse, Elise would use purification and healing to dispel all negative effects from her body.
And so, a month passed.
The doors to the training grounds opened. Alise walked out with lifeless eyes and looked up at the sky.
"To think I can still see you alive, Sun..."
During that entire month, whether eating or sleeping, Alise had remained inside the training room. Even going to the restroom was no exception.
Her daily training consisted of sparring with Elise... or rather, being brutally beaten...
Thus, after one month of insane training, every one of Alise's abilities had reached at least D rank. Her stronger endurance had even approached C.
For someone in this world, achieving such progress in just a little over a month was already an extremely terrifying improvement.
"That's wonderful, Alise!"
A cheerful voice sounded from behind her. Now, merely hearing that voice made Alise's entire body tremble...
Was this... instinctive fear?
The blonde girl slowly stepped out from the darkness within the doorway, smiling like an angel.
"You have finally from here..."
But Alise had already come to a profound understanding.
The smiling "angel" before her was absolutely a devil in disguise.
"Graduated!"