Teaching Eris how to chant and cast Waterball had one unexpected result—
Sword training hadn't even begun, yet everyone was already soaked.
The story begins about half an hour earlier.
At the moment Eris successfully cast Waterball and the joyful mood on the courtyard lawn reached its peak, she was utterly ecstatic. The combination of playing with peers and the sense of accomplishment had her practically flying with excitement.
So, amidst the chorus of "You did it!" she completely lost herself.
Rudeus's attempts to continue the lesson were completely ignored. Eris kept firing off those short-lived waterballs faster and faster.
Seeing her quickly grow skilled, Rudeus tried to gently guide her toward learning how to control speed and size.
But Eris, caught up in the fun, splashed a waterball directly onto Rudeus's face.
Naturally, it wasn't a real attack—just play. After all, if Eris actually wanted to beat him up, she wouldn't use something as soft as a waterball. Rudeus still remembered the trauma from that time at the Greyrat manor—those fists were more like sword strikes than punches.
He wiped his face, thinking of how effective "positive reinforcement teaching" had been, and patiently tried again.
His original words:
"Yes! Just like that! But it didn't hurt at all—if you want to make it hurt, you'll need to increase its power, so you'll have to boost the output of your ma—"
Before he could finish, Eris, eyes gleaming mischievously, whipped another waterball into his face.
That was just the start of chaos.
Eris declared all-out war on the "defiant" Rudeus, who scrambled to escape. As the two dashed past Allen, he laughed heartily at the scene.
And at that very moment, Eris winked, her eyes gleaming playfully, and flung a waterball at Allen instead.
Naturally, it missed.
Allen, using Flow Techniques with expert precision, casually deflected it—redirecting it toward Rudeus's forehead, who was smirking behind Allen's back.
The hit triggered Rudeus's fighting spirit. He hurled a waterball at Allen at full speed.
But Sylphy intercepted it with her Wind Blow spell, softening the blow… only to have it drift and hit Eris square in the head.
Eris scowled. With a quick flick, she nailed Sylphy with her own waterball.
Caught off guard, Sylphy took it straight to the face. Water cascaded down her pale hair.
And her dress—she was wearing a white one today.
It was thin.
And now, completely soaked.
The sunlight was generous.
In that instant—
Sylphy froze. She quickly glanced at Allen, who stood nearby.
Then she did something unexpected—she covered her face.
Allen panicked. His mind short-circuited!
Before anyone else could react, he displayed terrifyingly fast Sword God Style reflexes, fumbling with his clothes and rushing to cover her up.
Eris seized the moment, nailing Allen with another waterball while he was distracted.
Still, he managed to wrap Sylphy up, redirect the waterball, and—unfortunately—accidentally splash it right on Ghislaine.
The beastwoman didn't resist. A waterball couldn't harm her. She simply stood there with water dripping down her face… smiling as she watched Eris have fun—something she hadn't seen in a long time.
Rudeus, still locked in battle with Eris, sneakily prepared a large waterball, tossing it in an arc toward her.
Ghislaine casually smacked it out of the air.
It was a sunny day.
But in the courtyard, it was raining.
Eventually, Eris collapsed, her legs buckling. She stared at her palms in confusion—
Her mana had run out.
And so, the brutal "Rain Battle" came to an end.
Everyone was soaked.
Footsteps approached—beastfolk maids arrived with towels.
The head maid, a cat-eared girl named Lyle, handed towels to Eris and Ghislaine.
Near Allen stood the shyest of the four beast maids—a bunny-eared girl. She wrapped Sylphy in a big towel, then noticed her trembling ears… and blushed.
Her own long ears drooped.
"A-Allen-sama, would you like to come with Sylphy-sama to change clothes?"
Allen paused, glancing at Sylphy, who suddenly lifted her head and looked straight at the bunny girl.
Allen's face turned pale.
"No need! Could you just help her get changed?"
"Huh? You're not coming?"
"I'm not!"
"…But it's fine if you do, y'know?"
"I really don't need to!"
As soon as he said that—
The surrounding beast maids all sighed in disappointment.
The bunny girl giggled, ears perking back up. She took Sylphy—who had been silently staring at her feet—and led her back into the mansion.
Meanwhile, Eris shouted,
"I don't need to change!"
She took a towel from Lyle and vigorously wiped her hair and upper body. Her outfit was finely made, well-stitched—water simply rolled off it. A quick towel-down and only a bit of dampness remained.
The fabric, even under sunlight, showed no transparency.
As for Rudeus, he used Heat Hand on himself. Within moments, his clothes were dry.
He shook his damp hair, stepped over to Allen, and gave him a sidelong look with a smirk.
Allen twitched.
"Keep smiling like that and I'll kick you."
"Why kick me, Allen-dono? Such a golden opportunity and you let it go! Even last night, I was right next door and—OW!"
"Be serious."
Rudeus rubbed his kicked backside and shrugged.
"Okay, okay~"
He hadn't seen Sylphy's drenched state—he'd been too focused on ambushing Eris. Only when Sylphy was led away did he realize what happened.
Still, over the past two years, it had become obvious that Sylphy had special feelings for Allen.
So, naturally, he teased a bit.
He, the "romance veteran," took great pleasure in watching the usually composed Allen fluster when it came to girls.
It was charmingly age-appropriate.
Unlike himself, a galgame and eroge expert…
Hahaha! Ha… ha?
Suddenly, Rudeus froze.
Wait a second…
He was the romance expert here.
So how come he had no love life…?
Allen! Damn you!
Rudeus looked up at Allen.
Speaking of which—
Did Allen even realize Sylphy had feelings for him?
At that moment—
In Rudeus's brown eyes—
Allen stood, watching Sylphy being led away, sunlight glinting in his eyes, lost in thought.
—
After Sylphy left, Rudeus turned to see Eris sprawled on the ground—zero signs of ladylike behavior.
He cleared his throat and approached cautiously.
He was worried Eris might suddenly decide she didn't want to study magic anymore.
She'd only just regained interest—he couldn't let that spark fizzle.
"Your mana's exhausted… maybe now's a good time to study magic theory? Once your mana recovers, you'll learn Waterball even faster. What do you think?"
Eris, though just moments ago full of energy, now felt completely drained. The idea of studying something she disliked—like magic theory—felt unbearable.
She glanced at the sun's position and turned to Ghislaine.
"What time is it, Ghislaine?"
Rudeus panicked, shooting Ghislaine a pleading look.
But she wasn't the type to lie.
"It's afternoon."
"How long have I been learning magic?"
"About the time it takes to swing your sword seven hundred times—three hours."
"Okay, I'm tired! That's enough magic for today! Time to study sword theory!"
Rudeus blanched, but before he could protest, Eris glanced at Allen, then back at Rudeus.
"What are you looking at?! I will keep learning magic! It's not that I don't want to! It's just that today's time is up! I'll study more tomorrow!"
Rudeus blinked and relaxed.
"Alright, we'll do theory tomorrow."
Eris gave him a pointed look.
He flinched.
"Half and half, at least."
"…"
"You can't just skip theory forever."
Finally, Eris nodded.
Just then, Allen walked over. He glanced at Eris's messy posture and chuckled, then sat cross-legged nearby.
Rudeus and Ghislaine followed suit.
Allen looked at the sun.
"Eris, are you tired?"
Eris blinked, glanced at the sword at Allen's waist, and puffed up.
"Nope!"
"If you are, it's okay to say so. We can adjust the schedule. If we overwork you all day, you'll be too exhausted—don't you still have etiquette lessons tonight?"
"I'm tired…"
"Then let's sit and chat. Today's your first class. As your Water God Style teacher, I'd like to get a feel for where you're at—just like Rudeus."
He turned to Ghislaine.
"What kind of sword training has Eris done so far? Only Sword God Style? I saw you using a Quadruped Form the other day—it looked like North God Style. Could you tell me more about Eris's overall sword ability?"
Ghislaine nodded, then turned to Eris. Her expression turned serious.
Eris looked like she wanted to say something but held back, staring nervously at the grass between them.
Ghislaine began:
"Eris's natural talent aligns best with Sword God Style. I've tried teaching her some North God techniques, but she struggles to grasp them compared to Sword God methods."
"She acts before thinking—perfect for Sword God Style. She's made great progress there."
Eris's eyes lit up—but she didn't show it openly. She was well aware of her weaknesses.
Ghislaine was usually indulgent toward her, but during sword lessons, she was a strict instructor.
As expected, Ghislaine added:
"But…"
"She lacks skill in evasion, defense, counters, and tactical awareness during sparring."
Her tone grew heavy.
"With these traits, Water God Style may be particularly difficult for her to learn."
Rudeus stiffened, bracing for Eris to blow up.
But…
There was no shouting.
He looked up.
Eris was still staring at the grass.
But her flickering gaze—
It was clear she was waiting…
Waiting for Allen's reply.
Was that… nervousness on her face?
—
"This way, Sylphy-sama."
Inside the mansion, the bunny maid led Sylphy through the halls.
Her cheeks flushed red. Her mind was full of thoughts—the moment her dress got wet, Allen's quick reaction, and the bunny girl's strange suggestion afterward.
Her steps were stiff, and she let herself be pulled forward.
Her red-brown eyes stared at the floor. Her lashes trembled.
Her feet sank into the soft carpet with every step.
Maybe it was her tangled thoughts, or maybe it was that moment earlier—
But the walk back to the teacher's dorm felt endlessly long.
Pages of windows flew past in her peripheral vision.
The wind brushed against her flushed skin.
The stairs stretched on like there was no end—
Stairs?
Sylphy blinked and snapped out of it.
The teacher dorms were on the first floor.
Why were they climbing stairs?
She lifted her head to ask—
And froze.
Ahead, at the top of the stairs—
A crimson gown, trailing like fire, blazed in her vision.
It rose upward—
Ending in a slender, snow-white neck.
And atop it, hair the same fiery hue as the gown, tied up gracefully.
It was Hilda's silhouette.
(End of Chapter)
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