Lefiya continued forward, undaunted.
She trained with Bete without fail, other than days when he had plans or his own training to do. Once, after constantly bowing and pleading, she even joined him in his exploration of the Dungeon, but the Amazon Lena had appeared out of nowhere
“A new rival appeared from the most unexpected angle?! An ambush here of all places?! Wait, new clothes and a new hairstyle, too?! You’re serious about bagging Bete Loga! I’m not gonna let you have my man!!!”
And she rambled on and on, taking Lefiya aback.
Lena was kicked away after that. She sounded almost happy as she groaned.
When Lefiya, after reflecting on the rashness of her own actions, apologized earnestly for interrupting their time together, Bete punched her pretty seriously, which hurt.
When she was not training with Bete, she immersed herself single-mindedly in her magic training.
She greedily requested lessons from her true master. Still, Riveria closed her eyes as if restraining a sigh every time, telling her, “You should rest now,” “You are overusing your Mind,” or “You can force some things with a Level Four status, but you must not overestimate your limits,” insisting she be more disciplined in her self-training.
She still taught what needed to be taught, of course, and the teachings born of her experience were assuredly wise. But given how strict she had been before, Lefiya could not help being flustered by Riveria’s decidedly unaggressive course. Lefiya desperately tried to explain that she was not forcing herself, even providing a journal to demonstrate that she was resting every day when she should be resting. That might well have been the first time she had ever shown any opposition to Riveria.
But Riveria responded with a warning:
“Lefiya. You are only yourself. Just as no one else can be you, you cannot be anyone else.”
Lefiya failed to grasp what Riveria meant.
She could not ignore the instructions of the woman who was both a high elf and her respected teacher. She gave in and increased her breaks, even as she increased the intensity of training. Riveria could only sigh.
The days passed.
Life was so busy that the events in Knossos started to feel distant as the season of the Labyrinth City’s two great festivals came.
Lefiya arranged a small expedition and hid away in the Dungeon, dodging Elegia. She had already said her farewells to the irreplaceable, beautiful, and monstrous girl who had been her friend. Though that was not the real reason, Lefiya could not bring herself to a somber, grieving mood. Or perhaps it was just subconsciously avoiding lingering in grief in order to keep from standing still.
She had planned to go alone, but Elfie, Alicia, and some of the other women of the familia joined her. She felt terrible about it, stealing from them the one time a year set aside for sorrow.
When she tried to apologize, though, Elfie had just smiled and said, “You can buy me a grape cream Jyaga Maru Kun when we get back!”
Alicia also told her, “If there is ever anything you cannot speak with Lady Riveria about, you can talk with me as much as you need.” Her offer to lend an ear as a supportive, older elf only made Lefiya feel even guiltier.
“Lefiya.”
“…Yes?”
“It does not matter how many mistakes you make.”
“…?”
“If you ever turn down a truly wrong path, we will correct you. That is what familia means.”
Alicia even told her that. Lefiya’s eyes widened, and Alicia sat beside her, quietly lending her a shoulder. Lefiya could not understand why she did that. The elf woman she looked up to, like an older sister, touched her shortened hair gently.
It was similar to the Goddess Festival.
She had at least taken one day off, but after that, she was back on an expedition into the Dungeon in the name of practical training.
By the time she noticed, Hestia Familia had gotten itself into another war game, with Freya Familia, of all people. To top it off, Bell Cranell and his gathered allies somehow managed to win, though Lefiya did not have any particular thoughts about it.
“Huh.”
Was the extent of her reaction.
No, that’s a lie.
“Hah?
“What do you mean?
“No, of course, I won’t lose, either.
“I’m not falling behind, but I should start going into the Dungeon a bit more…
“Level Five………………………”
It lit a competitive fire in her heart, and she increased both the quantity and the intensity of her training (and when Aiz and the others celebrated his victory, too, in that moment at least, she was jealous of him).
The red blaze of rivalry had turned into a quieter, hotter blue inferno—something like that.
Just as she promised herself, though, she never allowed herself to idle.
Day by day, she could feel herself approaching the goal that she had set. She could feel herself edging closer to her ideal version of herself through her training with Bete. And as she caught up to that ideal, she immediately set a new goal. Previously, she had focused only on defense and evasion during her Concurrent Casting, but now she has added offense and counterattacking. She could swing her sword with confidence, though Bete always countered it with ease and usually tacked on a sneering comment about getting ahead of herself.
But even so, she needed to experience casting while attacking, defending, moving, and evading as much as possible. She was shifting from a more magic-oriented magic swordswoman to a sword-oriented magic swordswoman. There was a vast gulf between her magic firepower and her skill in melee combat. Her body was that of a natural magic caster, so her foundational magic power would grow independently as long as she did not slack on her daily training. She kept telling herself that this was enough, that this was good. To become able to protect herself and save anyone.
Her weight fell a bit, so she became careful of what she ate. But it continued to fall. She began to consume meat more proactively, even though she, like most elves, did not particularly like it. Consequently, her chest became bigger. She didn’t understand why.
What she did understand was that Aiz and the others were worried about her. Compared to before, she was interacting with them less often. It was not out of cruelty, and she still took meals with them. Even so, she stopped relying on them quite so much. Or perhaps it would be better to say she had depended on them in the past.
Either way, Lefiya perceived this as the moment for her to leave the nest.
But they did not seem to feel that way.
“Lefiya…recently, you’ve been pushing yourself too hard…don’t you think…?”
Aiz made up her mind to say something, but…
“I do not think you are one to speak when it comes to that, Ms. Aiz.”
Lefiya had some choice words for her.
Aiz’s face froze as if feeling a heavy shock.
Are you not getting up early every morning and swinging your sword?
When Tione and Tiona nodded in agreement, Aiz got even more depressed.
Even though she thought that might have been a little too harsh, it was all so Lefiya could continue pushing herself.
And so two months passed since she had lost her friend.
The cool tendrils of winter began to be felt.
That was when Loki called her in.