Sir Hero, It’s Time to Train!

“Do you wish to use the family head’s private training ground?”

Liana Worden, who had been quietly enjoying her tea time, questioned Christian, who suddenly appeared to express his demand, unsure if she had heard him correctly.

“Yes, um, it’s not just for me. I plan to use it together with Aira.”

“I heard that mages from the Logia Magic Tower visited the mansion. Seeing as they headed straight to the training ground without greeting, it must surely be related to you.”

Liana showed no displeasure at the fact that the mages from the Magic Tower went directly to the training ground without even showing their faces to her, the mistress of the family.

Rather, true to her merchant family’s roots, she directed the conversation toward a more productive direction, allocating limited time away from unnecessary emotional labor.

In response to her words, Christian calmly explained his intentions.

“Yes. I’d like to install a mana concentration array in the training ground.”

“A mana concentration array?”

“If I’m going to be in the training ground all day, it’s a win-win to strengthen both body and mana sensitivity.”

“… While it’s admirable to want to save traveling time, there is already a mana concentration array in the mansion. It would be an unnecessary investment.”

“Oh, come on, what use do I have for that small thing? And I can’t even use it, didn’t even know it existed.”

“So, you’re saying you want to install it in the training ground? Well, I suppose it would be something enviable from your perspective.”

Through Liana’s subtly irking way of speaking, Christian clearly recognized whose daughter Aira was.

Having spent 13 years with the said daughter, Christian could only smile as he responded, even when getting pricked by Liana’s words.

“Oh, I wouldn’t envy something so small. I actually thought Aunt’s magnanimity was grander, but it turns out to be smaller than expected, which is surprising.”

“… Small magnanimity?”

It was something Liana had never heard before in her life, and it seemed she was quite taken aback, as her gaze turned sharper.

Christian seemed to enjoy seeing Liana shocked as he grinned and said, “If you invest anyway, you should have covered the entire training ground with a mana concentration array like I plan to. Next time, don’t hold back and use it generously.”

“….”

It was not a matter of magnanimity, but a matter of common sense.

Though she continued to watch Christian in that lack of common sense, Liana Worden pondered deeply.

Calculating quickly how much it would cost to install a mana concentration array in the training ground, Liana frowned at the impending headache.

“When you asked for ten thousand gold coins, I wondered what you were planning to do. This is why giving a large amount to someone insensitive to financial senses can be problematic.”

“Don’t worry, aunt. I’ll make sure you see tangible results for the money spent.”

“I’m not concerned, as it was money given to you anyway. In fact, thinking of the hell your mother and your maternal family would experience with a breach of contract makes me a bit excited.”

“That won’t happen, just wait and see. I’ll make it so that you’ll want to, or rather, have to invest multiple times what you did now.”

Christian exhibited strong confidence.

Liana, believing any more discussion would be a waste of time, let out a small sigh and said, “Do as you please. As for using the family head’s private training ground, shouldn’t you be asking your mother for permission, instead of me?”

“Yes. I already asked mother, and she approved.”

“… Then why did you come to ask me?”

Was it just to come and needle me? Was it to rile me up?

At this point, she seriously pondered if there was something wrong in this child’s head.

However, Christian maintained an overly bright smile and said, “Because you’re family.”

“Family…?”

Liana was taken aback by an answer she hadn’t anticipated at all. She tried to conceal her agitation, pretending to savor the now-cold tea to calm her emotions.

“Tsk. It’s a place that’s vacant anyway. What’s the problem if you use it immediately without seeking permission?”

“Thank you, aunt.”

Christian’s cheeky manner of bowing low with gratitude was a gesture that quite irked Liana.

“If you’ve said your piece, then leave.”

“Yes. Then, I will visit you again next time.”

Regardless of Liana’s response, Christian bid a friendly farewell and exited the room.

“What on earth is he…?”

Liana well understood that both the people in the mansion and even her own daughter found it difficult to approach her.

But why did that boy act so friendly towards her? This was the biggest mystery to Liana above anything else.

***

After leaving Liana’s room, Christian headed straight to the dining hall. Every time he visited, he noticed that the expensive table and utensils reflected someone’s taste quite distinctly, leaving a strong impression.

In the middle of the luxurious dining hall, he saw a young girl stuffing a large amount of food into her mouth and sighed softly.

“Are you planning to refill what you’ve just emptied?”

Aira, who was shoving food into her mouth, shot a fierce glare at Christian. Before she could say anything, he quickly took a seat across from her and picked up a small roll from her plate.

“I won’t take anything else, so don’t glare at me like that.”

Seeing her growl like a beast that had its prey stolen, Christian couldn’t help but sigh again.

He slowly took a bite of the bread, contrasting his leisurely demeanor with Aira’s hurried eating. Upon observing this, Aira swallowed the food in her mouth and asked,

“Did you secretly eat something?”

“No, I’m just not that hungry.”

“… Not hungry? Why?”

“I only need water.”

Hearing Christian’s answer, Aira’s face suddenly darkened.

“You, you… No matter how poor your maternal side might be, you’re still a young master of a Count’s household… Have you always lived hungry?”

Feeling sorry for Christian, who might have filled his stomach with small bread pieces and water, Aira slid her plate towards him.

His surprise rendered him speechless for a moment, but he calmly cleared up her misunderstanding.

“I eat for the sake of fullness or mental stability, but there’s no need to rely on food for nutrition. Storing mana in the body also means storing extra nutrients. It’s not too difficult to go without food for a few days, and it’s convenient since I don’t need to eat regularly.”

Water was essential for life sustenance, but the body’s nutritional needs could be substituted with mana. People with advanced skills could endure several days without food without feeling excruciating hunger or resorting to eating tree bark in desperation.

However, since the capacity of stored mana was limited, relying solely on mana was an inefficient and cumbersome method. Still, getting used to it in advance was wise for unforeseen circumstances.

‘No matter how well you understand in theory, without prior experience, it’d be tough.’

Going without proper sleep and food for days is nothing short of hell, so practicing and preparing in advance is crucial to persevering through any situation.

“Do you think it’s that easy? Using stored mana as nutrients is meaningless without a mana reservoir.”

Aira, somewhat sulky, jabbed at the meat on her plate with a fork. Watching her, Christian couldn’t help but smile softly.

“Ahem, there is an easy way to make it, though.”

“What? Are you teasing me now?!”

“No. If you don’t believe me, why don’t you try creating a mana reservoir right now?”

Aira spat out the bread she had been shoveling into her mouth and asked,

“Do what now?”

“Create a mana reservoir.”

“So, you’re saying to stop eating and start making a mana reservoir?”

“I said there was an easy way.”

“No, you meant you can make it, so we should make it right now.”

“Yeah.”

“…”

Aira gazed blankly at Christian, as if she had lost her words for a moment.

A mana reservoir—a device that could hold mana.

The process of creating a mana reservoir involved forming a new space, a “hall,” which allowed one to manipulate mana at will, refining it to suit their own body, and implanting it.

Creating a mana reservoir was a completely different level than simply sensing mana.

There were quite a few who could feel the mana in the atmosphere, but very few who could actually utilize it.

Recognizing the existence of mana through mere breathing and accumulating it in the body were completely separate matters.

“So, are you going to make it or not?”

“Is it really possible right now? Sir Garcia said it would take another year or two…”

Aira’s underlying anxiety stemmed from the fact that, unlike Christian, who had started his training on the same day, she had not yet succeeded in creating her own mana reservoir, no matter how hard she tried.

The hope instilled by Sir Garcia, who was as reassuring as her master, had given her strength, but to endure for another year or two was unbearable.

Being years behind Christian, who had already created his own mana reservoir and advanced ahead, felt like her mother’s expectations were slipping away.

But now…

“It’s possible, that’s why I’m asking you. If you’re willing, we can start creating it today.”

They insisted it was possible right now.

Aira couldn’t fathom where Christian’s confidence came from or the source of such knowledge. However…

“… Really?”

It was inevitable that her repeated question came laden with expectation.

“Of course, what I can do is limited to providing the design, foundation, and framework of the mana reservoir. It’s possible because you can somewhat process mana.”

“What do you mean? Design? Foundation? Framework?”

“No, I’ll do the groundwork for you, but you’ll have to build the walls and put up the roof of the mana reservoir yourself.”

“Are you saying someone else can shape the framework of a mana reservoir?”

“Yes. It’s possible.”

Christian’s confidence came from honesty, and Aira seemed to lose her words, her mouth gaping slightly at his assured demeanor.

Whether it was possible for anyone in the current era was unknown, but at least in his lifetime, there was no one else capable of it…

‘It was only me. This was something even Master couldn’t do, something solely within my power.’

In reality, this wasn’t something created for my sake, but for other ‘lacking people’.

The number of those able to wield mana was continually diminishing, and teaching from the beginning resulted in painfully slow growth.

‘Fortunately, they managed to hold the front line, otherwise humanity would have been wiped out long ago.’

In such circumstances, what Christian devised was the temporary establishment of the mana reservoir.

Although termed a temporary establishment, this method forcibly laid the groundwork for creating one’s own mana reservoir.

Those already capable of processing mana with excellent mana sensitivity quickly used it as a basis to develop their own mana reservoir.

After forcibly providing the blueprint and completing the groundwork perfectly, the rest was up to them to accomplish on their own.

The effects were clear. The otherwise scarce forces were replenished unimaginably quickly, enabling skilled individuals to undertake the hunt for Magnus while maintaining the front line.

‘Those on the front line back then… they’re probably all dead by now.’

To avoid repeating such history, Aira’s training needed urgent acceleration. The forced establishment of the mana reservoir was a part of that resolution.

“You, you, when you made that promise to Mother and smiled back then, was that because of this…”

As Christian gave a sly grin, Aira realized for the first time that ‘Mother could be deceived by someone else.’

Although her mother never expected her half-sibling would be the one to catch her off guard.