Chapter 189

RMSBS – Episode 189 . Enlightenment (5)

Romantica shifted her gaze to the bus window and rested her chin on her hand softly . On the other side of the window was the scenery of the Hebrion Academy covered in the early morning fog .

Reflected in her pupils was the Starling Party’s dormitory .

As she stared out the window, she couldn’t help thinking about the conversation she had with Desir during the party training session .

* * *

“As long as Adjest is here, I guess I’m not really needed . ”

* * *

Romantica’s face blushed a deep crimson .

She quickly looked away from the dorm and fixed her eyes firmly at her feet, as if intent on hiding her reddened face .

‘What was I thinking to say such a thing?’

Romantica couldn’t comprehend why she had done that, no matter how much she agonized over it .

Romantica was prideful to a fault . She hated being comforted or pitied .

This was why she always put on a brave front and hid her flaws, never revealing her weaknesses to anyone .

‘Whatever the reason was, what I said was just the pits . ’

‘Why did I even mention Adjest? Depending on how they looked at it, someone might even think I dislike Adjest . ’

If possible, Romantica wanted to return to the past and stop herself .

But the frustration left as quickly as it came .

* * *

“You were frustrated after finding a wall that you couldn’t climb, no matter how hard you need to, in order to protect your colleagues . ”

* * *

Desir didn’t reproach her in her time of weakness; he comforted her . He saw through her and pinpointed what Romantica could not realize on her own .

-We are now stopping at the Training Grounds . Please gather all your belongings and make your way towards the exit .

Romantica was rudely awakened from her reverie by the announcement .

She was welcomed in front of the bus stop with the all too familiar ivory marble statue of a swordsman .

She slowly started to climb the stairs laid out before her .

The wind attribute training ground was on the top floor of this training facility . She strangely had a spring in her step as she made her way there .

‘Was it normally this easy to get up these stairs?’

Just a few days ago, she could recall being left tired climbing the endless stairs last time she took them . She was left drained both mentally and physically .

However, her steps were surprisingly light now .

* * *

“I believe in you . ”

* * *

She had always believed in herself, even if that faith had wavered slightly since the battle with the homunculus .

Desir’s simple expression had changed everything though .

‘Desir believes in my potential . ’

Even when Romantica had doubted her own capabilities, Desir believed in her all the way .

Knowing this truly made Romantica happy . The one simple string of words nearly washed away all of the anxieties that had been weighing down so heavily on her .

“Heh heh… ”

With the memory flashing before her eyes, Romantica smiled without realizing .

Walking while wrapped up in her thoughts, she arrived at the wind attribute training grounds in no time .

There was nobody at the training grounds at such an early hour . She was used to having no one there to bother her .

There were iron plates in the corner of the field which she had brought in advance .

With a flick of a finger, the iron plates started floating and were laid out in a circle in the middle of the field .

‘Desir told me there’s no need to hurry . ’

That’s what Desir had said, while also saying that he believed in her potential .

His advice was spot on . She was impatient in reaching the Fourth-Circle .

‘… It’s true that I can see my problems when I’m not rushing . ’

The reason why she couldn’t attain the Fourth-Circle was due to her lack of mana control .

In order to achieve the Fourth-Circle, very precise control over mana was essential . The amount of mana she possessed and could call on was more than enough, and the image she had developed was clear . Once she was able to precisely control her mana, forming an additional circle would come naturally .

‘It was so simple . ’

*Clang*

*Clang*

She heard the grinding of iron crumpling . She could only handle ten plates just a couple of days ago . If she had continued training with just ten plates, she would only polish and maintain her current level of skill .

The number of iron plates now present on the training field easily exceeded ten .

This was the result of putting her heart and soul into her training . She now had a new goal and the necessary impetus to achieve it .

She quietly sat with her legs crossed in the center of the iron plates that she arranged into a perfect circle around herself .

One thing came to mind amongst the peaceful silence .

‘How did Desir completely understand how I felt anyway?’

It was a thought that distracted her from focusing on mana manipulation . However, she couldn’t let it go . She had to make sure . She recalled what Desir told her .

* * *

“Because I was the same . ”

* * *

Desir said he was left frustrated at his powerlessness in front of his dying colleagues .

She realized what he said wasn’t out of an attempt to comfort her . No, she had to realize it .

His words were sincere with a lot of feelings mixed in .

A talented merchant was supposed to be able to read someone’s feelings proficiently .

When it came to bargaining, reading a customer’s emotions was very important . Growing up and being trained strictly as the first daughter of the leader of a great merchant association, she was sensitive to other people’s feelings .

Hence, she knew it .

* * *

“I once blamed myself for the sacrifice of my colleagues too . ”

* * *

Romantica could read a lot of things from it .

An expression, devoid of all emotion .

A profound and deep sadness .

‘What kind of past did Desir experience to be affected like that?’

Come to think of it, yesterday was the second time .

Desir had shown Romantica the same kind of emotion one other time .

By the Eastakar Sea at the golden sunset before the Prillecha terrorist attack happened .

* * *

“I want you to survive . ”

* * *

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Profound gloom .

Eyes that clearly expressed a huge sense of loss .

Back then, Desir had the same eyes as he had yesterday .

‘I have a pile of things I want to ask him . ’

She couldn’t help thinking that what she knew about Desir must only be the tip of the iceberg .

‘I won’t, though . ’

Romantica shook her head .

As Desir believed in her, she decided to believe in Desir .

He wasn’t the type of person who would deceive others to serve his own greed . When the time was right, he would tell her .

‘And while I wait for that time to come, I need to get stronger . ’

The time will come where Desir opened his heart to Romantica and relied on her . And at that time, she decided she would wholeheartedly support him .

‘To be of help to him, I must get much stronger . ’

Romantica started circulating her mana gradually .

A breeze picked up in the room .

‘They reason why I must get stronger is simple . ’

She stuck her hand out . Floating around her were numerous iron plates the size of her palm .

The number of plates floating kept increasing, and before too long all of the plates were floating . In mere moments, they numbered a hundred .

‘The first reason is to protect my colleagues . ’

The iron plates started rotating around her .

Her forehead was beaded with sweat . It wasn’t easy, even for Romantica, to control the airstream that moved all of the iron plates .

‘The second reason is to support Desir . ’

She clenched her hand into a fist .

*Clang*

*Clang*

The training ground was filled with the sound of iron plates crumpling .

* * *

Desir’s room was a mess . Numerous books were strewn across the floor . They were mainly about mana circles and resonant frequency .

Right in the center of the mess, Desir sat with his legs crossed .

*Pant*

As he breathed heavily, blue particles fluttered around him, in sync with his breathing .

‘I will get the homunculus’s mana circle implanted . ’

Desir made up his mind . While talking with Romantica, he realized why he needed to be strong .

He wanted to protect his colleagues that stood next to him . For that purpose, he had to be far stronger .

Desir did not take this decision lightly . In preparation for it, he had done two things .

The first was what he was doing now .

He had reinforced his mana circle, ensuring it was as solid as possible .

This had nothing to do with improving his skills . Generally speaking, reinforcing mana circles had no benefit and made it more difficult to develop additional circles in the future .

He continued to do what other people would find incomprehensible . This was all so that he could endure a little longer if the mana flooded his body .

“So that’s it for today . ”

Desir relaxed his posture and took out a mana stone from his set of drawers . He had purchased a large number of them using a significant chunk of his savings in the process .

He closed his eyes, holding the mana stone in his hand .

“… ”

After about three minutes, some disparate noise resounded from the mana stone . The distinct frequency inside the mana stone slowly started resonating with the frequency of Desir’s mana circle .

It was a form of practice to adjust another distinct frequency to match the frequency of his mana circle .

There were five days left until he saw Zod again .

By continuing in this manner, he readied himself to the full extent of his ability for the circle implant .

—-

Chapter brought to you by The Patrons .

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ED: Purplemen101

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QC: Nhan & Dr Lock