And her question silenced the room again.
“………Huh?”
Again, it was Aiz’s murmur. Or at least it felt like it.
A deep quiet filled the mess hall.
As if turning back time, every gaze was focused on Lefiya again.
Some froze, those who could not believe their ears, and those sitting there slack-jawed.
Every familia member had their own reaction, but this time, Finn, Riveria, Gareth, and even Loki were stunned.
The next moment.
“Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh?!”
Tiona shattered the silence.
With a loud voice that shook the mess hall, she finished the breakfast she had been casually working at and rushed around the tables to Lefiya.
“Why?! Why?!!! What happened?! Why are you asking this stupid wolf?! You want to learn to fight, so that means you want a teacher or a master, right?! That wasn’t my ears playing tricks on me, right?!”
Tiona rushed over in wild confusion, but she was also voicing the question that pretty much every other familia member had in the back of their mind.
Lefiya’s expression betrayed a bit of confusion when she saw how fiercely Tiona demanded an explanation.
“I’m not looking for a master or anything…and I have Lady Riveria already. It is just that I just wanted to learn how to fight at close range from Mr. Bete…”
“Then why Bete of all people?! You have me or Tione or Aiz, don’t you?!”
“I ain’t teaching shit. Sounds like a pain in the ass.”
“Hey, don’t you dare reject Lefiya, jerk! I mean, I want you to reject it, but don’t be so smug about it!”
Suddenly, Bete found himself on the other end of Tiona’s scrambled and confused reactions instead of Lefiya.
Most of the familia nodded in agreement with Tiona. All the male members of the familia’s second-string adventurers regarded Lefiya with shivering, wide-eyed stares, wondering if she had lost her mind to choose Bete of all people. Raul and Cruz, sitting next to Bete, were shaking their heads in earnest as well, pleading with her to rethink this.
“Lefiya! It may not be for Tiona to say something there, but we can definitely teach you martial arts. And we can spar with you as much as you want to. You don’t need to rely on that selfish, violent, pain-in-the-ass wolf!”
Tione had left her seat and rushed to join the fray, too.
Her mindset was that of an older sister not wanting to have her precious little sister taken away from her. Though there was probably also a personal distaste, as Bete was involved. The twins were not mincing any words:
“Get a grip, you asshole Amazons…”
A vein swelled in Bete’s forehead.
Both Amazon sisters clearly disapproved of Lefiya’s plan and were desperately trying to convince her to change her mind. But….
“I gave it a lot of thought, and I believe it would be best if Mr. Bete taught me. Not because you would be bad. It’s just that it feels like this is what I need right now,” Lefiya stated calmly.
Her deep blue eyes did not waver as she responded to the sisters’ pleas.
“And…I thought that Mr. Bete would be the one who would hold back the least.”
“Ugh.”
Tiona and Tione both were at a loss for words.
Lefiya was right. Even if it was training, there was a point where they both would stop out of concern for Lefiya. But Bete would never do that. It was a safe bet. It would not matter that it was just training. He would pummel her mercilessly with punches and kicks, even to her stomach, even to her face. That was precisely the Bete Loga that they were talking about.
Put another way, that was exactly why they didn’t want Lefiya to train with Bete.
Turning to face the two of them, Lefiya bowed her head.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Tiona. Ms. Tione. It feels like if I don’t change now…I never will.”
She couldn’t afford to indulge in their kindness.
After she laid her heart bare, there was nothing more the sisters could say. Alicia and the other elves watched with eyes wide.
Looking up, she faced Bete again.
“Please, Mr. Bete.”
“You heard me. Go cry to Aiz like the dumbass said.”
Bete’s answer was unchanged.
He sought strength for himself. As a lone wolf with no time for small fry—and deciding that she had nothing to teach him since he did not use magic—he brusquely rejected Lefiya’s request. He didn’t even bother looking her in the eye as he bit into some of the bread he had left.
The old Lefiya would probably have just turned tail dejectedly. But the current Lefiya stood firm.
“You hate weaklings, right? But with a little bit of hassle, you could have one less weakling to deal with.”
Elfie and the others listening in gulped.
It was an uncharacteristically defiant response—surprisingly aggressive coming from Lefiya.
And hearing that, the werewolf turned his eyes to Lefiya for the first time.
“You have magic, too, don’t you? Even if it’s not Concurrent Casting or high-speed casting, I can teach you how to manage casting while in the vanguard.”
“I don’t use magic.”
“Is that so? Then what about training under heavy bombardment? You need to test the limits of your reworked Frosvirt, don’t you? I’m apparently second only to Lady Riveria in terms of absurd magic power.”
“…”
“I can make it worth your while.”
She sold herself eloquently, highlighting her value with a calm face. By this point, everyone else was at a loss for words as Lefiya continued.
“I can become useful.”
There was a brief silence.
Hearing those determined words, the werewolf…broke into a grin as he stood up.
“Interesting. Sounds like you can talk the talk, so let’s see if you can walk the walk.”
“Please do.”
“I’m not gonna play around, though. Don’t regret it.”
“Why would I?”
She met his grin with a steadfast expression.
The familia members who had watched from start to finish in silence struggled to keep up, but they at least understood that Lefiya was serious enough to convince Bete.
✦ ✦ ✦
✦ ✦ ✦
“What a surprise. Didn’t think she would ask Bete……uh, Aiz? Hey, Aiz?! You’re not looking so hot!”
“………………………………………”
Anakity, who had been staring long and hard at the unfolding drama, finally noticed something was strange with Aiz and frantically raised her voice.
The blond-haired, golden-eyed girl was frozen in time, a mere ghost of herself.
Lefiya, who had trained with her before, had suddenly been taken away.
Her heart burned white as that thought filled her head.
Though it was a massive shock to everyone in the familia, Lefiya and Bete agreed to train together.
✦ ✦ ✦
Time is priceless.
That was the first thing Lefiya instilled in herself when she decided to change.
Study, training, the Dungeon, chores, personal affairs. She realized there would never be enough time to devote her full attention to everything. She finally understood that.
Time was finite. And even for a long-lived elf, time was still precious.
If there were trials awaiting her in the future, if she was destined to sacrifice things unless she changed, then she had no choice but to put in the hard work now. If sheer effort could change something, she wouldn’t hesitate to pour herself into it. She was certain that the only way to achieve that immutable goal was to strip away everything extraneous.
If she still had regrets even after all that, she would give up and accept her fate. But regrets stemming from sloth were unacceptable. That would be unforgivable.
Regrets tended to correlate with time spent. If Lefiya found herself dealing with another hard-to-swallow result only to look back and realize she had been lazy, she would undoubtedly curse herself.
Sacrifice, sorrow, grief, tears.
Those were luxuries she could no longer have, could no longer accept. If she was going to change, it had to be now.
Just like she told Tiona and Tione, if she let this moment pass, she would remain as Lefiya Viridis. That was why she chose to rush ahead, insisting on not wasting any more time.
By declaring that this was her only chance to change, she restructured her life.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Too slow!”
“Gwahhh?!”