Barely ten seconds had passed before Hoshimi Miyabi was utterly defeated.
Beads of sweat already dotted her face, and her shirt had been dampened, clinging closely to her skin.
The usually cold, stern girl now carried a faint trace of delicate allure.
A different atmosphere—but the same beauty.
"I lost."
Miyabi leaned weakly against Sol, unable to muster strength in even a single finger. Her voice was low with disappointment.
She paid no mind to how ambiguous their posture was—instead, she asked with genuine discouragement, "Sol… am I useless? I couldn't even last such a short time."
"You're not. Lasting ten seconds is already impressive. The body is the foundation of the mind; until your spirit fully transcends the mortal plane, you can't escape the body's influence."
Sol wrapped his right arm around her, letting her rest securely against him. "From my understanding of spirit, body, and energy, if you did endure it, that would make me look weak."
Most of the rewards he had drawn were knowledge-based rather than combat-based. With multiple layers of expertise stacked, he didn't dare call himself the smartest man alive—but placing second wasn't unreasonable.
"Is that so?"
Some tension eased from Miyabi's expression, though she still refused to yield. "If possible… please continue helping me with discipline training in the future. I want to overcome this."
She wanted to conquer the sensation—something that was both pleasurable and almost terrifying to her.
"I can. As long as I'm free, I'm more than happy to spend time with you."
While admiring this softer, unfamiliar side of her, Sol asked curiously, "But there are many ways to grow stronger. Why does Miyabi insist on fighting against herself?"
"…"
Hoshimi Miyabi fell silent for a moment before finally speaking.
"Since I was little, Mother taught me swordsmanship. I progressed very quickly—so quickly that I soon broke the wooden practice swords."
"When I was around four or five, while passing the portraits of the ancestors of the Hoshimi Clan, I began to long to become a hero like them—one who eradicated all evil. I wanted to wield the heirloom cursed blade, [Tailless], just like they did."
"But Mother taught me to fight for protection, not for killing. She even forbade me from touching swords anymore. She taught me far more than martial skills—music, calligraphy, etiquette, riding, archery… even training like memorizing every classmate's name, sleeping eight hours a day, and smashing open melons without using a knife."
A soft reminiscence filled her face. A small, unconscious smile appeared—those had been her happiest days.
If things had continued, she might never have become a Void Hunter. She might simply have become an office worker.
"..."
Sol listened quietly, imagining what a gentle mother that must have been.
"But after the Old Capital fell… Mother and everyone else were gone. When the city burned, Mother handed me the cursed blade [Tailless]—the one she'd never let me touch. She guided my hand… and made me use the cursed blade to kill her."
Her tone was calm, but her expression sank.
She vowed to capture all the criminals responsible for the fall of the Old Capital precisely because she had lost her dearest family to that disaster.
"Sorry… I shouldn't have told you something so sad." Though Miyabi's strength had returned, her mood only fell lower, and she didn't want to leave Sol's embrace.
"No need to apologize. Being trusted by a friend is a good thing."
Sol helped smooth her slightly disheveled blue hair. His voice was serious.
"Thank you…" Miyabi felt genuinely relieved. "When my whole body relaxes, it feels like I'm back in those happy days. But… those days are long gone."
"I insist on asking you to help me train because I want to overcome that false sense of comfort. It's beautiful, but it isn't real."
"Maybe… it's because I harbor such weakness that I can't control [Tailless]."
She longed for and feared this training.
The overwhelming relaxation loosened not only her muscles, but also her mental tension—making her feel like a carefree child again.
With Mother beside her. Always watching. Always caring.
So beautiful, so unreal.
This was a weakness of the will—one she wanted to conquer, yet also couldn't bear to lose.
It was also why she, normally so devoted to training, avoided this appointment for so long, even though she was the one who requested it.
Even if it was an illusion… she craved that warmth.
"I see."
Sol finally understood. He gently rubbed one of her fox ears and said with sincerity, "The past can't be brought back, but the future can be changed."
"You want to use hatred to drive yourself forward, but that's not what your mother wanted. Let me say it again—physical pleasure doesn't mean your will is weak. It simply means your body is telling you to rest a little."
A bow kept drawn too long would snap. Humans were the same.
Even though Miyabi hadn't reached the point of breaking—her will was far stronger than most—continuing like this wasn't healthy.
"..."
Miyabi was quiet. She felt he had a point.
Sol cupped her face gently and looked into her eyes. "And even if you do overcome this sensation… would you forget the happiness you once had?"
"No."
Not even a beat of hesitation.
If she forgot the good, hatred would lose all meaning.
Her mother taught her to draw her blade to protect. If she lost the beauty she wanted to protect… then drawing her blade would become meaningless.
"So don't fight with yourself. Remember the joy you feel. Engrave it deeply."
"Hold on to those good memories. They're the power that drives you forward. Too much hatred only leads to destruction—whether of yourself or others."
Sol spoke with the weight of experience. He hadn't expected the fox-eared, slightly eccentric girl to have such deep psychological scars.
If he didn't help her straighten things out, he'd feel guilty even giving her a hand massage.
Besides… she truly evoked sympathy—at least before he had experienced much more of the world.
"…Mm."
Miyabi looked at Sol, and in that moment, he seemed especially radiant.
So gentle. So reasonable. So reliable.
Without thinking, she softly murmured—
"Mommy~"
"…Huh?"
Sol fell into a silence so heavy it roared.
As an orphan, he'd somehow ended up giving psychological counseling… only to become a surrogate mother before ever becoming a father.
Was this normal?
"S-Sorry."
Miyabi snapped back to herself, quickly sitting upright out of his arms. She too fell silent.
Her expression looked completely calm, as if nothing had happened.
But inside—inside her heart, countless ants were running frantically in all directions.