Akim was lying there, his chest heaved up and down at fast pace. He had no strength in his body, leaving him unable to even sit up. However, his eyes were still on Talia. Seeing her not even slightly tired from what just happened, he felt his heart hurt a bit. ‘Just who is she?...No time to bother about that. I’m sure she would not answer anyway.’

The swords were already quite damaged now. Talia judged that they would not surely survive another two rounds of the same intensity. ‘Might as well use real swords...Just kidding. Well, I can at least find something a bit more solid for next time.’

She recovered Akim’s battered sword and made her way out of the training field. Akim, noticing her, spoke up a bit in a hurry. “Is there a problem?”

Talia only crossed her arms before replying. “Don’t be too eager. This is just the first day. Besides, you can barely move, so this would be a one-sided beating. You also have to think about your mental fortitude. This type of training is hard both physically and mentally.”

Akim struggled to rise. He only succeeded in sitting with his left hand supporting him. However, this made him able to look at her. He repeated her words. “My mental fortitude? How does it have an impact?”

Akim was aware that athlete or people that went through high-level training had to have a good mindset. He himself had to be mentally strong when he had undergone his intense training a few years ago. However, from the way Talia was talking about it, there seemed to be more.

Talia nodded. “The goal of the training is to break the limits of your muscles, making them denser and stronger. It will also improve your reflexes, agility, instincts and fighting skills. Basically, you can become a warrior who could go against high-level ability users.”

Akim gulped down. Her words were exactly what he was aiming for. However, her next words cooled his head. “...But, this is only if you can survive it. This is only the first day, so I went easy. If your goal is to be strong even among the ability users, then this pace will not be enough. The difficulty will go exponentially. At some point, you might just start to fear it. This would render you unable to make any progress.”

This left the young man with his eyes wide open. “What can I do about this?”

“Either I decrease the pressure, which would result in a slower pace of progress, or we bet on the fact that you will be fine with sheer will and guts….But, there exists a third way.”

She closed her eyelids. ‘I better not mess this up.’

When her calm eyes opened, they landed on the group of girl. No, she was looking at one in particular.

“...Huh?” Zesty felt her heart skip a beat. Unlike her previous self, the current Talia was no longer pressuring. But, it was like her gaze could see in the deepest part of Zesty.

Talia took an intake of air before speaking. “Zesty... Are you not frustrated?”

Her heart skipped a bit. “...Eh?”

The others were didn’t understand the meaning behind Talia’s sentence. But, Zesty did. She could not understand it so well. She felt her throat becoming dry as her eyes lowered, hidden behind her bangs.

However, Talia still continued. “I know you fear of what you are truly capable. You have capabilities beyond the norms, but you still cower because you’re afraid of losing control...But, if you remain like this you will spend your entire life with the feeling of regret. The regret of not seeing your own limits, of what you are really are.”

Zesty remained motionless in response, like a doll. However, the inside of her body was in turmoil. She felt cold sweats on her back, accompanied by heavy breathing. Her heart was pumping the warm blood in her veins at a higher rate. Her brain flashed images of the past, a time that she wanted to forget. No, a time that she had to forget.

“Some are fine with this. They just want to have a peaceful life with no great responsibilities or the weight of their powers on their shoulders. We might have only met a few days ago, but I think this is not your case.”

Sanya noticed Zesty’s change of complexion. She was going to stand up in order to stop Talia, but the abrupt change on Zesty face halted her. The blue haired girl failed to notice it from her spot though.

Talia extended her hand out. “If you want to maintain the situation like it is, then you can ignore me. I will not bother you with this again. However!”

Her eyes sharpened as she had been waiting for this moment. The fact that she had not been stopped could mean that Zesty was too scared. This, or-

“If you want to change yourself. If you want to control what you are doing, who you ar-”

“OF COURSE I’M FRUSTRATED!”

The sudden outburst shocked everyone. Her shout resonated inside the room. However, she could not have cared less at this moment. She straightened her back and looked directly at Talia. She held her arms on her chest, spilling what she had wanted to say since a long time now.

“When I see the others using their ability every day, talking about it with their friends! Of course I’m jealous! When I hear the teacher telling me to not use it, despite it being a part of myself, I barely keep myself together! Of course I’m nervous and scared when I use it on people even though I know I should not use it! And even when I know that I might have some potential, but I can’t use it because it could be dangerous!”

Zesty remembered the first time she had discovered her ability and the consequences. “I lost my first friends at primary school because of this ability. I know they were just scared of me reading their mind. But, still...It hurts to be rejected.”

“I didn’t want this to happen again, so I kept my distance from the others.”

Her body arched as she let the words out from her heart. “Of course I’m frustrated!! But, I don’t have the strength to move forward...”

The situation calmed down for the moment. The suddenness had caught them off guard. Nobody dared to say something. Even Talia was at lost for words. The situation had deviated too far from her plan. It seemed Zesty had already been at a breaking point for a while now. And now, she had to reply despite her basic social skills. Finding the correct words to follow up was a bit hard for this girl that had lived even longer than her own parents. ‘...She cut me in the middle and even shared her true feelings. I was not expecting so much.’

Talia was about to speak when she noticed something from the corner of her eyes. She decided to see what would happen.

Zesty was still looking at the ground, tears in the corners of her eyes. The frustration inside her had been growing days after days. When she had seen her ‘friends’ going away from her in primary school. When she had heard the teachers in middle school telling that it might be for the best to not use her ability...When she had seen the courage of the silver-haired boy standing up against a foe far stronger than him today. She would never be able to do her best because it would cause problems. This was the mindset that had parasitized Zesty’s mind.

She was so into her memories that she failed to notice the tall figure in front of her. She only did when she felt rugged, yet gentle hands around hers. Her head raised in surprise, tears droplets glittering by the light of the ceiling.

Akim was standing here in spite of the great fatigue. His legs were wobbling a bit, but they still held strong. They had to because the owner of the body had to say something. “I don’t have an ability, so you can say I don’t have a word to say about this matter...However, I truly understand your current feeling.”

Zesty’s eyes were glued on him, unable to say anything. Even though, she was listening to every single word.

“I know that deep inside me, I’m jealous of ability users. They have powers that could put me on the ground without lifting a finger...Even after knowing this, I tried my best to get stronger. Because I have someone to give me the strength. Even today, I was on the verge of giving up, but the reason why I was fighting for was here. Without her, I feel I would have never tried training. Accepting the world as it is around me.” Ashia’s cheeks blushed lightly in the background.

“We might not have gone through the same things, but we have the same problem. Luckily for me, I have a support….It’s for this reason that I want to help you.” Zesty felt his hand tightened. He was struggling just to stay up, but his voice was calm in order to transmit the message that he had to say.

“I know I can sound crazy because I want to help someone I barely know. Heck, I don't even know what is your ability. However, if you accept, I will definitely do my best to help you, just like how I have been helped!”

Silence fell in the middle of room. It was only after a few seconds that Zesty finally opened her mouth. “...Why”

“Yes?”

“Why do you want to help me? Your training is important, so you should not spend time with me. You have nothing to gain.” This was the current big question inside her head. Why would he help her?

Akim blinked once with a warm smile. “I told you. Because I think of you as a comrade, a friend. Someone with the same goal. If I am able to help, I would hate myself if I don’t do so. Sorry for being selfish.”

After this, they once again stopped talking. All the people inside the room were waiting for her reply, especially Talia, who didn’t expect this chain of events.

Zesty lowered her head, cheeks scarlet. “...Thank you. Thank you very much...”

Akim nodded vigorously with a deep smile. “Don’t worry! I'm tough, so you can lean on me as much as you want! Anyways, what is your abili-”

“Hands…”

“? I could not hear you.” Akim squatted to make himself at Zesty’s line of sight. She looked away with an embarrassed face. Her earlier outburst was already hitting her so bad. Speaking so loud at someone’s else house was too much for this timid lady. However, there was currently something even more embarrassing. Akim was still holding her hands. The powerful, yet warm hands were shielding her ones.

“Y-Your hands.”

“Oh, sorry.” He separated from her and laughed it off.

“N-No, it’s fine.” Zesty could understand why people were saying Akim was dense, or at least unaware of his actions. If he acted this close to any acquaintances attracted to men without being aware of his actions, misunderstands should be more than frequent.

An awkward silence took over. However, Talia’s sudden apparition next to them changed it. Her expression was blank, but she still seemed relieved. She was internally grateful to Akim. He handed the situation a lot better than expected. She smiled to Zesty. “I know I pushed you to a corner, I apologize. However, I do mean my words. Let me also help you.”

Zesty felt that her head had never been so clear before. Knowing that they were people who really cared about her and would not reject her, this made her overwhelming happy. Of course, without using her ability she could not check if their intentions were genuine or not. But, she decided to not do it. They were able to see her true nature only after a few days. She wanted to put her trust in them.

Suddenly, Ellen appeared just beside her to grab her arm. “Let me help you too!”

Sanya also arrived next to Talia and nodded to Zesty with a warm smile.

“Everyone…” Zesty once again felt her heart moved. She timidly lowered her head, a thin smile on her lips.

Ashia was really confused, like extremely confused. ‘...What happened? Minutes ago, my brother was being beaten by this dangerous person. Then, he is touchy-feely with the girl that the dangerous person made cry. Now, they are smiling and laughing…’

Ashia shook her head to clear her thoughts. She was a bit too young to understand the conversation between Talia, Zesty, and Akim.

All of sudden, a familiar figure caught her attention. She turned, only to freeze. “Ah.”

Talia also sensed the two people at the entrance of the training room. “Hey, Akim. Who are they?”

“Mmh?...Ah, mother and Habel.”

Standing at the entrance were two women. One was quite old, in her sixties. She was wearing a high-quality maid uniform. Her eyes were brownish, while her hair was a mix of blond and white. She was looking at the group of teenagers with a motherly smile.

A step in front of her, a truly beautiful lady was also looking at the scene. This might be due to her light makeup, even if her natural beauty was the main reason. She was wearing a fine dark business suit, perfectly in accord with her obsidian hair and eyes. She was younger than the previous woman, around early-thirties. Nevertheless, her charm was breathtaking. Not even her shocked face and gaping mouth could ruin it. Neither her raised arms. Nothing.

“MY SON GOT A HAREM!” Well, her sudden yell might have.

The origin behind Ashia's education had been discovered.