“Ah.” Ellen saw the cute husky plushie dropping from the second floor. She activated her ability to teleport it from the air to her hands. When she finally had it, she teleported next to the girl. However, the girl didn’t even notice Ellen’s presence at all. Her eyes were still fixed on her big brother.

Akim blinked twice before giving what could be qualified as an answer. “...Er, I think you misunderstand, Ashia. They are just classmates from school. We are going to the training room. Also, where did you learn the word 'harem'?”

Akim’s little sister, Ashia, repeated his words with a frown. “The training room...Again?”

From where she was, Ellen could see some displeasure shrouding Ashia’s face. She closed her eyes before whispering. “I know that I worry for nothing, but my brother with girls alone…”

All of sudden, she opened her eyes and put her hands on her hips in an overbearing manner. “It can’t be helped! I will come with you.”

“Huh? You’re sure? Generally, you don’t like to see me training. You say that I reek of sweat.”

“I’m sure of it!”

Akim turned toward Talia with a troubled face. She understood that he was asking if it was ok with her to have Ashia come along. Talia’s calm eyes landed on the girl. Ashia got a small chill along her back by being watched. Being looked like this by an older person made her a bit nervous.

In the end, Talia just smiled and nodded. “That’s fine for me.”

Ashia heaved a sigh of relief. She then noticed that something was missing in her arms. “My plush?! Where is it?!”

She leaned forward to see over the railings. Seeing this, Ellen immediately caught her arm to prevent her from going farther. “It’s dangerous. Your plushie is here.”

“W-what are you doing here?”

“...You only notice me now?” Ashia had her eyes wide open due to Ellen’s presence. She had been too absorbed with the fact that her dense and training-freak brother had come back from school with a bunch of female classmates.

Nevertheless, she settled down and saw Ellen extending the husky plush toward herself. She took it and bloomed a smile. “Thanks, big sister!”

“...Big sister? Me? Big sister?...Wait, big sister?” Ellen’s cheeks reddened as confusion took over her. Ashia’s sudden mental attack hit deeply in her. She felt her heart going faster than usual. Through her eyes, Ashia seemed to be shining. She put her hand over her chest, trying to figure out what was happening inside her.

“Big sister?” Ashia cutely tilted her head as she took a step forward.

“! No, it’s nothing.” Ellen waved her hands while turning her scarlet face away, trying to hide it. She was still taking peeks with the corners of her eyes, though.

“Ashia, we are going.” Akim was moving toward the right corridor. Seeing him, the littlest girl frankly started running in the direction of the stairs.

“Wait a bit!”

Talia could see Ellen’s mesmerized expression from where she was. She clearly knew what type of expression it was. In fact, She had seen Sanya do the same several times in the past days. She whispered in a short breath. “...Seriously?”

--------------------------------------

“So, my brother asked this girl, Talia, to help him in his training?”

“Yes. But, I don’t know why she asked if it was possible for us to also come over.” Sanya, Ashia, Ellen, and Zesty were sitting around a table on benches. Sanya was next to Ashia, while Ellen was sitting beside Zesty. The latter little girl was on her phone typing something, but it was obvious that she was taking small peeks from time to time at Ashia. Also, one could be surprised that a child had already a phone, but it was not so rare these days. Even more, Ellen was making money with the fruits of her research, so she could buy what she wanted.

They were inside a slightly big workout room. The floor was made of a material that was neither too hard nor too soft. It was easy to walk on it, while still being soft to not hurt if someone would fall on it. There were diverse training devices on one side of the room. The other part was a zone slightly elevated covered with mats. It looked a lot like a combat ring.

Currently, Talia and Akim were on it, holding a wooden sword in their hand. She was still in her uniform while he was wearing a sport outfit. Despite this, he was quite nervous in front of Talia right now. The moment she had the sword in her hand, the air around drastically changed. He currently felt like he was facing a sleeping behemoth, a being that would not even need a second to beat him. He tensed his body.

Meanwhile, Talia played around with her sword. She put her finger on the point and made it spin around to see the details of the wood grains. She then spoke up. “So, you have tried a lot of things to become stronger, right?”

Akim nodded. “Yes, it has been a couple of years since I started my daily training. It consists of body reinforcement and other methods to increase muscle strength. However, there is a limit to how physically strong I can be. Nevertheless, I also searched for martial arts and fighting styles that could help me. The problem is that I would need to dedicate all my time to one of them if I want to reach a high level. I also have school, so it means less time.”

“So, the problem is time. You told me it will be your father who will acknowledge if you can inherit of the family company. When will it be?”

Akim’s face was clouded with a bitter expression. The grips around the handle of the sword tightened. “...He didn’t tell me. The only thing he did tell me was that I had to become strong enough to carry the family. That’s it.”

‘...’Strong enough to carry the family’. If I get the meaning right, I might be able to do something for him.’ Talia tapped the flat of the sword with an expressionless face. She then closed her eyes.

Akim took this time to take a closer look at Talia’s body. Of course, his intentions were absolutely not impure. It was just that a certain question haunted his mind. ‘Just how did she became so strong? Even Lionel’s reaction indicated that he would lose if a fight broke out. It means she is at least stronger than an A-ranked ability user?’

Akim blinked once. “Eh?”

He suddenly saw that there was a problem. Talia was no longer in front of him. There had been around five meters between them, but she suddenly vanished.

A calm voice came from behind him. “Your situation is tricky indeed. You have to be stronger. But, you don’t know how much nor until when.”

A chill went up Akim’s spin. He frankly turned around only to have the point of Talia’s wooden sword a few millimeters away from his nose. The others were also watching the action from where they were sitting. They had of course not seen Talia’s instant movement. Ellen had not sensed any spatial disturbances, so it had nothing to do with this. It was just a pure body displacement.

Akim was looking at the tip of the sword, a drop of sweat running along his temple. Still, he focused his gaze on Talia’s eyes. This time, Talia’s expression was serious, showing that she was taking it seriously. She continued. “Teaching you a fighting art the normal way could be a waste of time. Learning the basics of something is always good, but you might not be able to reach higher levels. However, I happen to have a method suited to the current situation.”

The silver-haired boy gulped down, nervousness spreading inside his body. He understood that there would be no easy method to solve his problem. Nevertheless, he had been to ask Talia. He had to do it to ensure that his sister’s future would not be set in stone because of his powerlessness. He asked with a quiet voice. “Which is?”

Suddenly the air around Talia’s totally changed. Intense pressure weighted on his shoulders, almost making him stumbled down. His breathing became ragged, his intake of air becoming more frequent. The instincts sleeping inside his body were telling him to run, but he still stood strong, doing his utter best. Talia lowered her sword before taking a stance.

“Eh?” Sanya, on the side, gasped the moment she had seen the stance. It looked a lot similar to what Lord had shown her. The footage where Talia was fighting some old man.

Then, Talia answered the pending question. “Hammering combat skills with actual fights. Ones where at each second, you will feel your life in danger.”

The second after having said this, her body disappearing, leaving five people dumbstruck. All of sudden, Akim heard the sound of moving wind on his left. He raised his own sword by reflex! “Ugh!”

It was like being hit by a sledgehammer. The force behind the hit was so great that he had to take a few steps backward. His face distorted in pain. Talia’s eyes were locked on him, like a cold blade. “The most efficient way to improve yourself is to forge your body through combat with an overwhelming strong person. If you can go through this, you will surely pass your father’s test...However, if you give up halfway you might never be able to surpass yourself.”

The temperature inside the room seemed to have dropped. In contrast, Akim’s body temperature was getting higher and higher. Frankly, he was very afraid of the current Talia. Despite being a young heir, he had never been confronted with people that could easily end his life.

“Are you still willing to do it?”

Talia’s merciless words entered his ears. His head dropped, eyes staring at the floor. A small voice started to appear in his heart. ‘...Is it worth i-’

“STOP BULLYING MY BROTHER!” Ashia stood up from her seat while roaring. From her complexion, it was easy to tell that she was afraid. Her fists were shaking but still tightened. Nevertheless, she yelled in Talia’s direction. It was almost invisible, but it seemed that the air was vibrating around her, followed by a shrieking sound.

Akim was momentarily shocked by her reaction. However, he tensed his muscles the next second. He took a step forward. It was a simple step for a normal person, but it was definitely not the case for him. ‘How can I even hesitate!’

He swung his weapon, trying to hit Talia. The blunt sound of two objects colliding spread inside the room.

“This is your answer, right.”

“Yes!” Akim gritted his teeth with a truly bitter smile. The blow he had just put all his resolve inside was stopped with ease by the frail-looking girl. Talia nodded once with a thin smile.

“So, be it.”

She started to launch blows after blows, already overwhelming Akim. However, he didn’t voice a complaint. He tried his best to protect his body. Sometimes he succeeded, sometimes he failed. Despite receiving strong strikes, he still knew that Talia was holding a lot back. He was no expert, but he felt like they could be ranked D, strength-wise.

The others inside the room were just watching dumbstruck, especially Ashia. She might be a bit too young to understand everything that was happening around her for the moment. But, she did know her brother was training for her sake. It was also for her that he was currently doing his best, struggling against this abnormal individual.

...Meanwhile, Zesty had her head lowered. All of the current people were looking at the mock battle, so none of them noticed it. Well, all beside Talia. While sending attacks at Akim, she glanced in Zesty’s way from time to time.

A thought crossed her mind. ‘...I hope this will go as planned.’

Sweats covered Akim from head to toes. If this beating could be considered as a training then it was the most intense he ever had. His bulging muscles were screaming in pain and his eyes were trying to follow Talia’s movement.

All of sudden, a low kick hit his left leg, making him stumble forward. “Argh!”

He tried to raise himself, but a sword tip stopped him midway. “Don’t imagine that all the attacks will come from your line of sight. You must be able to intercept from every angle.”

She moved her sword away and gestured him to stand up. “I told you. It will be hell.”

Despite Akim’s ragged breathing, his eyes were still unwavering. He stood up with difficulty, under the watchful eyes of two specific girls. He gripped the handle of the already damaged sword and rushed toward Talia.

They only stopped 30 minutes or so later.