Emilia stared at Subaru's slightly unusual expression, sighed softly, and said, "No, actually, it's you, Subaru. You feel different from usual. There seems to be something extra on you."
She frowned slightly as she said this.
Subaru hurriedly lowered her head to sniff her collar. Other than the faint scent of jasmine, there was no other smell, so she retorted exaggeratedly, "No way! I definitely took a bath last night. Don't try to trick me, Lia."
Seeing that Subaru's reaction was no different from usual, Emilia, despite her doubts, smiled and said, "I suppose it was just my imagination. But are you not going to help out today, Subaru?"
"It's fine. Yesterday's work is basically finished. Ram and Rem should have an easier time this week."
Subaru smiled. "But I'm going to the kitchen to help at noon. Lia, you have to be my judge then."
Accustomed to her playful tone, Emilia smiled and nodded. "So, are we practicing that special magic again today?"
"That's right. Although Tsukasa says progress will be slow without real combat, I want to try again."
Hearing the word "real combat," Emilia looked slightly surprised. After all, for Subaru to be able to engage in combat training after only one day of learning magic, this talent was rare.
"I see."
Emilia smoothed her skirt and said, "My daily practice is already finished. There's still some time before the next practice scheduled by Puck. Can I watch you practice from the side?"
Before she finished speaking, a small cat emerged from between her silver hair and greeted with a unique voice, "Good morning, Subaru. You feel a bit different today."
"Do I? I feel the same as every day." Subaru stood on the lawn with her hands on her hips, wearing her usual warm smile.
Emilia and Puck exchanged a smile and sat down on the spot.
"Then let's start practicing, Subaru."
Although the effectiveness of practice lacking real combat was limited, the stability of the Mana Coverage was gradually improving.
Tsukasa thought to himself, 'Perhaps I can ask Puck to spar later.'
At this moment, Subaru had entered the zone, her fists gradually enveloped in blue light. The airflow around her stirred, forming a visible pressure circle.
"That's not right."
Tsukasa keenly noticed the abnormality in Subaru's control of mana.
"Yesterday's Mana Coverage was nowhere near this stable. This level could almost reach the standard for real combat."
This sudden progress did not make him feel relieved. Instead, it made him vigilant. Any abnormal change was worth being wary of.
Subaru felt a sense of control that was completely different from the past, and a wave of joy filled her heart.
Is this what complete Mana Coverage feels like? It's more than a notch stronger than before.
She was about to turn her head to ask when Tsukasa's face suddenly magnified before her eyes—the distance between the two was less than ten centimeters.
"Whoa!"
Startled, Subaru fell to the ground, and the mana in her hands instantly dissipated.
She was about to complain when she heard Tsukasa mutter in confusion, "Even the total amount of mana has increased but the flow rate is very normal. Why?"
While he was puzzled, Subaru asked softly, "So, can I learn new skills now?"
Seeing this, Tsukasa temporarily suppressed his doubts. In any case, as long as he was by her side, he wouldn't let anything happen to Subaru.
"There is a skill that suits your current situation, but it requires real combat. Since you performed well, let's rest first."
Subaru sat next to Emilia.
Emilia asked with concern, "Are you not practicing anymore?"
"Tsukasa said I've practiced enough, and he'll teach me new ones later."
Subaru paused, then changed the subject, "Speaking of which, ever since I came to the mansion, I feel like I rarely have a good chat with Lia."
Emilia looked at her gently. "That's true. But Subaru has been working very hard. Whether it's helping me or working at the mansion, I've seen it all."
These words made Subaru's heart tremble.
'So Lia has been watching me all along. Subaru, what were you overthinking before?'
To hide the fluctuation in her heart, she pretended to be playful and said, "I'm so moved that I could cry from being understood by Lia."
The exaggerated expression made Emilia chuckle. Subaru had given her all these past two days. If the maids were to evaluate her, she would definitely get a perfect score.
"Subaru is really excellent, being able to try all kinds of work without fear. Ram and Rem have also praised you in private."
Emilia gently held her hand. "But it must be tiring, right?"
Subaru said, "It's okay, at least I can handle it. As long as it's not cleaning the entire mansion."
"That's good. If you're tired, you must tell me."
The two chatted intimately on the lawn.
Puck didn't interrupt, but his gaze towards Subaru became increasingly frequent.
When the clock pointed to the next moment, Tsukasa's voice rang out. "Let's continue practicing."
The pleasant conversation came to an end.
Watching Tsukasa descend slowly from the air, Subaru couldn't help but widen her eyes in curiosity. She had originally thought she would learn more complex combat techniques, but she didn't expect to hear an unfamiliar term.
"Divergent Fist?" Subaru tilted her head and repeated the term, her face full of confusion.
Tsukasa curled his lips slightly and explained patiently, "Simply put, this is a technique that utilizes the characteristics of your mana. Your total mana is large, but the transmission speed is slow—this actually becomes an advantage."
"An advantage?" Subaru was even more confused.
"That's right."
Tsukasa held up two fingers. "The principle is that when you punch, you first deliver an attack with no mana or just a thin layer of mana, letting the opponent misjudge the power and lower their guard."
"Then, the delayed transmission of mana will concentrate and erupt, forming a second impact. This is equivalent to delivering two times the damage in one punch, which can both break through defenses and catch them off guard."
"I understand."
Subaru's eyes lit up, and she clenched her fist confidently. "It doesn't sound difficult, I should be able to do it."
However, Tsukasa suddenly showed a sly smile. "Then prove it to me. Now, you need to perform this technique while under siege by Emilia and Puck. Although it doesn't count as real combat, it will be enough to make you suffer."
—
Pfft..."
Emilia and Puck watched Subaru, who was sprawled on the lawn panting heavily, and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Just moments ago, at Tsukasa's instigation, Subaru had challenged the two of them. The result was obvious—Subaru lost.
The coordination between Emilia and Puck was seamless. Dense ice cones attacked from all directions. Although they only caused stinging pain when hitting her mana-covered fists, the overwhelming offensive was too much to handle.
What was even trickier was that the shattered ice cones would turn into tiny ice thorns, or melt into water droplets in the sun, making the water stains on her body new freezing points.
However, she did seize a fleeting opportunity and unleashed a Divergent Fist against the eighteen layers of ice shields set up by Puck. The effect was unexpectedly good, almost completely piercing through the layers of ice shields. Unfortunately, at the moment of breaking the shield, she was caught in the flaw of her momentary pause in the air, and ultimately lost.
Tsukasa commented while lying leisurely on the nearby lawn, "Still a long way to go. After realizing that the ice cones couldn't break through the defense, you should have decisively closed in. Blindly circling will only give the opponent more time to set up tactics."
Knowing her tactical mistake, Subaru didn't refute, just continuing to steady her breathing.
Emilia leaned over and said, "You've already performed very well. Let's rest for a bit."