Chapter 116 - conversation with elara
After finishing all one hundred push-ups, I finally stood up.
I looked around.
Most of the participants were still struggling.
Then I noticed Luna.
She was still doing her push-ups.
A grin slowly appeared on my face.
I walked over and crouched down in front of her.
"It’s okay if you’re a little slower."
"I believe in you."
"You can do it."
Luna looked up at me.
The moment she saw my grin, her grip against the ground tightened.
Her movements immediately became faster.
"Gray..."
"You just wait."
"You won’t be smug for long."
I blinked innocently.
"Oh?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I just came over to cheer you on."
I pointed toward her.
"See?"
"It’s working."
"Your speed has already increased by like two times."
Luna’s expression became absolutely annoyed.
She continued her push-ups even faster.
Eventually—
She finished the final repetition.
Luna immediately stood up and looked at me.
I quickly took out a bottle of orange juice from my Space Storage and handed it to her.
She loved orange juice, after all.
Even though she clearly wanted to hit me...
She accepted it anyway.
She inserted the straw and began drinking.
Sip.
Sip.
Her cheeks puffed slightly as she drank.
I stared at her for a moment.
Cute.
For a brief moment, I had the urge to pinch her cheeks.
But I immediately abandoned that thought.
If I did that...
She would definitely take revenge for every single prank I’d pulled on her.
I wasn’t ready for that.
Luna eventually finished the juice.
She lowered the bottle and noticed me staring at her.
She blinked.
"What are you looking at?"
I smiled.
"Oh, nothing."
"I was just thinking..."
"You look exactly like a hamster right now."
She raised an eyebrow.
"A hamster?"
"A hamster with puffed-out cheeks."
A grin spread across my face.
Luna stared at me.
Then her fist clenched.
Thump!
She punched me.
"You!"
"Did you really think I forgot everything you said earlier?"
She huffed.
"You called me slow."
"I didn’t forget that."
I casually placed a hand behind my head and looked toward the sky.
"Oh?"
"Did I say something like that?"
"Sorry."
"I can’t remember."
Luna stared at me in disbelief.
"You...!"
Before she could continue, the instructor stepped forward.
His eyes swept across the exhausted participants.
Most of them were barely standing.
Only a few still looked relatively composed.
Among them, Eithen was clearly one of the most exhausted.
The instructor walked toward the center of the training ground.
"Alright."
"Now take your weapons."
"You will fight me one-on-one."
Everyone immediately became serious.
The instructor looked around.
"Do I need to choose someone?"
"Or will someone volunteer?"
I immediately raised my hand.
"I can go."
The instructor looked at me.
A hint of approval appeared in his eyes.
"Alright."
"Come forward."
I stepped toward him.
Before beginning, I asked,
"Can I use mana and my elements?"
He nodded.
"Yeah."
"Use everything you’ve got."
My eyes immediately lit up.
I drew Eclipse and unsheathed it.
The instructor pulled out an ordinary sword.
I took a breath.
Then—
I activated Gravity Control.
My body became lighter.
At the same time, I pushed against the ground with gravity, launching myself forward.
I swung Eclipse.
Clang!
The instructor blocked it.
I immediately reinforced my body with mana.
My attacks became heavier and faster.
One strike.
Two.
Three.
He blocked every single one.
Whenever I created an opening, he immediately counterattacked.
I adjusted my stance and continued.
Then I began mixing in my elements.
A Darkness Bullet shot toward him.
At almost the same moment, an Ice Spear followed from another angle.
He blocked both.
I continued attacking with Eclipse while controlling the spells around me.
My Perception allowed me to keep track of everything simultaneously.
My sword.
My mana.
My spells.
His movements.
The battlefield around us.
Then I used Void Step.
My figure disappeared for an instant before I reappeared at a different angle.
I immediately attacked.
The instructor blocked again.
I didn’t use teleportation.
The mana cost would be too high if I kept using it repeatedly, especially after already spending so much mana on reinforcement, Gravity Control, and my other spells.
I continued fighting for several more moments.
Then—
"Enough."
The instructor stopped me.
I lowered Eclipse.
He looked at me thoughtfully.
"Not bad, kid."
"You have a lot of tricks."
"But make sure you don’t hesitate when the opportunity comes."
"You have many different abilities, but those same abilities can become your downfall if you lose track of them."
"Keep track of everything you use."
I nodded seriously.
"Understood."
He turned away.
"Next."
Luna stepped forward.
She drew her sword and took her stance.
The moment the instructor gave the signal, she moved.
Light surrounded her body.
She enhanced herself with Light and immediately attacked.
Her movements were steady.
Every strike had purpose.
There was no unnecessary movement.
No wasted energy.
And as the fight continued, her speed gradually increased.
Her swordsmanship had become elegant through her own effort.
I watched from the side with a small smile.
She really had improved.
While I was watching the spar, Elara approached me.
"You did really well."
"I can’t imagine defeating you if we ever fought."
I looked toward her and smiled.
"Thank you."
"So, how’s the training going for you?"
Elara sighed.
"Tiring."
"Nonetheless..."
She glanced toward the instructor and Luna.
"It is useful."
I nodded.
"Yeah."
"I actually like it."
Elara looked at me curiously.
Then she asked,
"So..."
"What exactly is the relationship between you and the princess?"
I raised an eyebrow.
"You don’t know?"
"We’re engaged."
Her eyes widened slightly.
"Oh..."
"I see."
She hesitated.
"Can I ask you something?"
I looked toward Luna’s ongoing spar before turning back toward Elara.
"Sure."
"If it’s something I can answer, I’ll answer it."
Elara took a small breath.
"My family is planning to arrange an engagement between me and someone from another family."
"I just wanted to know..."
"How did you accept yours?"
"Was it simply a family agreement?"
"Or..."
"Do you actually like Princess Luna?"
I looked at her with some interest.
"Oh."
"So that’s what you’re wondering about."
I thought for a moment before answering honestly.
"It was a promise between my mother and Luna’s mother."
"When I first found out, I was a little surprised."
"But..."
Elara leaned slightly closer.
"But?"
I smiled.
"My mother told me that if I didn’t like the arrangement, I could cancel it."
"And at that time, I didn’t have anyone I liked."
"So I decided to give it a chance."
"Now..."
I glanced toward Luna.
"She’s a good person."
"We spend time together."
"We train together."
"We joke around."
"We argue."
"And we’re friends."
I shrugged.
"So why rush?"
"We’re still young."
"We don’t have to make a decision about our entire lives after only a few months."
"We can continue spending time together and see how things develop."
"If we eventually decide we aren’t suited for each other..."
"We can cancel the engagement."
Elara remained silent for a moment.
"So..."
"You’re saying an arranged engagement doesn’t necessarily have to be forced?"
I nodded.
"Exactly."
"Sometimes you just have to give the other person a chance."
"Start normally."
"Get to know them."
"See whether you actually suit each other."
"And if you don’t..."
"Give a reason and end it."
Elara looked thoughtful.
Then she asked quietly,
"But what if your family forced you?"
My expression became slightly more serious.
"Then become stronger."
She looked at me.
I continued calmly.
"In this world, strength gives people freedom."
"If you’re strong enough..."
"And you tell your family that you don’t want the engagement..."
"They can’t easily force you."
"You need enough strength to make your own decisions."
Elara fell silent.
She seemed to be thinking deeply about my words.
I didn’t say anything else.
My attention returned to the training ground.
Luna’s spar had finally ended.
She walked toward me.
Her expression immediately softened when she saw me.
She stopped beside me and looked between Elara and me.
"What were you two talking about so energetically?"
I smiled.
"Nothing."
"She just asked me how I felt about our engagement."
Luna blinked.
Then her eyes slowly narrowed with curiosity.
"...What did you tell her?"
I simply smiled.
"Nothing bad."
Luna stared at me suspiciously.
I could already tell she wasn’t going to let this go that easily.
The instructor glanced around the training ground.
"Next!"
He looked toward the remaining participants.
"What do I have to do?"
"Give you an invitation?"
"Come on."
"We don’t have the whole day."
A few participants immediately straightened.
Then Eithen stepped forward.
I watched him enter the training area.
Before reaching the instructor, he glanced toward Luna.
Then toward me.
His gaze lingered for a brief moment before he finally turned his attention back to the instructor.
My eyes narrowed slightly.
So...
He’s interested in Luna.
I remained silent.
I didn’t care about what he was thinking for now.
But after everything that had happened...
I wasn’t going to ignore someone who clearly had his eyes on Luna while already being so close to Chloe.
I narrowed my eyes an look at him.
Let’s see.
What exactly can you do?
———-
A/N :-
Winter_Metor once again thank you so much for the Golden Tickets!
I really appreciate the support you guys give me by sending powerstone and golden tickets!