Chapter 112

After arriving at the lake through the teleportation magic circle, I found that Sharl, Chloe, and Michelle were already there.

It seems I was late because I was talking with Frank and Cedric.

“Sorry I’m late.”

“Your house is far away, so it can’t be helped. By the way, Chloe, what are we going to do?”

After Sharl nodded, she asked Chloe.

“Well, over here…”

Chloe said this and entered the woods, so we followed her.

Chloe stopped shortly after entering further in.

“This area should be good.”

“Hey, Chloe, what exactly are we doing?”

“It’s nothing complicated. We’re playing tag.”

I remember playing this when I was a kid.

“Tag? Why?”

“It’s simply evasion training. Pretend I’m Toko or Yuika. If caught, you’re out. Imagine either having your neck broken by Toko or getting killed by Yuika.”

“Eh… Are we really going to do this?”

“Of course. The range will be the same as the training ground, about a 50-meter radius.”

It seems the training ground was about the same.

“Isn’t it a bit too small?”

“The real training ground doesn’t have tree cover or hiding spots like here. Remember, only Tsukasa can help you. Moreover, the magic tournament is 2-on-2. If one of them stalls Tsukasa, the young lady would end up fighting against either Toko or Yuika alone. That’s why we’re doing this training.”

Will they be alright?

“Hmm, I understand, but still…”

“Let’s try it in practice. Come on, run, little bunny.”

“Who’s a bunny?!”

Even while protesting, Sharl started running.

“Don’t turn your back…”

I muttered under my breath when suddenly Chloe next to me disappeared.

Then, she reappeared above the fleeing Sharl, jumped on her, and pinned her to the ground.

“Oof! That’s not fair!”

Sharl raised her face from the ground, looking up at Chloe with a complaint.

“I said this would be a game of tag, but, it’s actually combat training. Would the young lady really turn her back to an enemy in battle? Please dodge any attacks using spells like flight magic or teleportation magic.”

“You should have said that first!”

“Wasn’t that obvious?”

It was obvious alright…

“One more time.”

“Alright, please go ahead.”

Sharl stood up and faced Chloe.

Then, she used teleportation magic to create some distance, about 10 meters away.

“That’s still within attack range.”

As Chloe said this, she moved toward Sharl at an incredible speed.

Sharl tried to escape in panic but was caught by the arm and promptly thrown.

“That’s too fast!”

“Hmm… That was bad. Tsukasa is quite lenient, it seems. You should train her more seriously.”

No, if it were too serious, she wouldn’t be able to keep up with it.

“Sharl, both Toko and Yuika can move that fast. Seriously, try to put more distance between yourself and them.”

“Yes, Toko can easily close that distance”.

While mumbling, Sharl stood back up.

“Then, I’m coming at you again.”

“Come on then!”

Sharl used the teleportation magic again to gain some distance, but Chloe charged straight at her.

This time, Sharl fled into the air.

“What do you think?”

Chloe asked.

“Toko and Yuika wouldn’t use flight magic.”

It’s true Yuika can’t use it.

“But Yuika can jump that far”.

Michelle said this and Chloe jumped, grabbing Sharl’s leg.

“Eh? That’s not fair!”

Chloe pulled Sharl down, causing her to fall to the ground and be captured.

“That’s unfair!”

“Apparently, Yuika can do something like this.”

“That’s absolutely unfair…?”

Even while saying this, Sharl stood back up, and they continued their intensive training.

“Michelle, do you know something about Yuika?”

She seems to know a lot about her.

Come to think of it, this person doesn’t use honorifics with Yuika.

“She’s technically also part of the covert operations department.”

“Seriously?”

Is that true!?!

“After hearing about her family, I convinced her to join immediately upon enrollment, and she agreed right away.”

“So can’t she just be assigned as the bodyguard then?”

Well, I’m not sure if she could carry out her duties properly.

“Well… You remember I said ‘technically’? She’s been told that for now she could prioritize her studies and put her covert work aside. So she’s officially registered but not actively participating.”

Ah…

“So after recruiting her, you realized she wasn’t ready for actual missions?”

“That’s right. During her training, she asked, “What’s a sealing technique?” which made me rethink her preparedness. After discussing it further within the covert ops, we decided she should focus on her classes for the moment.”

I see…

“Indeed, that situation calls for academic priority.”

“Yeah, makes sense. I’m the same way.”

“Exactly. Therefore, we understand Yuika’s abilities to a certain extent… Wait… Don’t you think it’s impossible?”

Michelle pointed at Sharl, who had been brought down again by Chloe.

“It’s better to practice than not practice at all. We need her to gain at least a second’s worth of time.”

“Sure… But it’s kind of sad. Charlene’s a long-range magic user, after all…”

“Under normal circumstances, I would be the one protecting her, but against Toko and Yuika, it’s tough.”

It’s a bit challenging.

I’m not even armed anyway.

“Is Tsukasa not doing any special training?”

“My training comes after this magic tournament. It’ll be like an exam.”

“Ahh, I see… In that case, Yuika would be in the same boat”.

Yes, that makes sense.

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