A Training

When Rosalia opened her eyes, she could already feel the sunlight streaming into the cave, illuminating it with gentle clarity.

“Good morning. Looks like you slept well last night.”

She blinked a few times, fully regaining her awareness as El greeted her. She sat up slowly.

“Good morning, El. Did I sleep too long?”

Rosalia had no idea how much time had passed, whether it was still morning or if midday had already slipped by.

“Don’t worry. The sun hasn’t reached its peak yet. Why don’t you have breakfast first? We can talk about our next steps afterward.”

Rosalia nodded in agreement. She stretched her limbs, feeling the stiffness in her body.

After a few light movements, she crawled over to her bag, which wasn’t far from where she had slept.

She took out some canned food and a bottle of water, ready to finally eat. 

This was something she’d been looking forward to since yesterday.

For months, Rosalia had eaten little more than scraps, barely enough to survive. Given her condition, she was fortunate to still be healthy.

So even though today’s meal consisted of dry and canned rations, to her, it was a feast.

Laying out the food in front of her, she rubbed her hands together, preparing to dig in.

“Sorry, El. I’m eating all by myself like this.”

“Don’t worry about me. As I said yesterday, I don’t need food.”

She had heard that before, but it still felt awkward to eat alone while someone else watched.

Not wanting the awkwardness to linger, she focused on her meal.

With no utensils, she simply used her hands.

“So… do you have instructions for what we’re doing today?”

As she chewed, she asked the question she’d been wondering about, especially since El had postponed answering it until today.

“I think we should head to a town or village. If we’re planning to reach the Untouch Region in the far west of the continent, we’ll need transportation.”

Rosalia froze, her hand mid-motion, just as she was about to bring more food to her mouth.

“G-Go to a town or village?”

“Hm? Why? Is something wrong?”

El asked as he noticed Rosalia’s voice falter and her expression fill with hesitation.

Rosalia slowly lowered her hand and stared at the floating spirit before her with pleading eyes.
“C-Can we go through the forest instead? Like before? Even if it’s a longer path, we don’t have to rush, right?”

Her eyes darted around as if trying to come up with excuses.

“You don’t want to meet other people?”

El guessed the reason for her reluctance, and Rosalia nodded.

“You know that’ll only make things harder for you, right? From your story before, it sounds like your family hasn’t declared you a criminal, they’ve only sent assassins in secret.”

Rosalia had already told El about her escape and how she had been fleeing from assassins sent by her own family to kill her.

“I-I know that. B-But…”

Rosalia tried to come up with an excuse.

Just as El had said, she wasn’t an official fugitive.

Her family had never declared her as wanted through any formal means. Their ability to track her was limited, meaning, as long as she didn’t draw attention to herself, there was no real need to avoid towns and villages.

“To be honest, avoiding settlements only puts you at a disadvantage. You won’t be able to replenish your supplies.”

El continued listing the downsides of her avoidance strategy, making Rosalia feel increasingly frustrated.

He let out a long, tired sigh, as if exhausted by Rosalia’s paranoia.

Seeing that, Rosalia lowered her head, feeling guilty for troubling her contracted spirit.

“I’m sorry.”

“No. Don’t apologize. I understand why you’re hesitant. I just wish you’d trust me a little more. I guess I overestimated how much value you place on me.”

“Eh, no, I didn’t-”

Rosalia tried to deny El’s words, not wanting him to blame himself. But El just chuckled softly, amused by his own comment.

“In that case, let’s do something else instead.”

Oddly enough, El gave in easily.

Rosalia blinked, confused by his unexpected response.

“Something else? What are we going to do?”

“Let’s train and improve your combat skills. While we’re at it, I’ll show you what I can do. That way, you’ll be more confident that my instructions aren’t something to fear.”

Rosalia’s jaw dropped at the suggestion.

A spirit… training its contractor?

She’d heard of such things, but never imagined it happening to her.

She lifted her hand again and resumed eating, while El continued explaining the plan, though she only half-listened.

Her mind was more focused on the relief that she wouldn’t have to meet anyone.

And also, on what exactly would happen next, especially regarding the combat training El had just mentioned.

***

I didn’t expect there to be a river nearby.

They were now standing by the edge of a river with clear, sparkling water.

Rosalia looked out across it, noting how the river wasn’t too deep and was scattered with smooth rocks of all sizes.

Her eyes sparkled, the sight before her was beautiful and mesmerizing.

“You should’ve told me there was a river nearby.”

She pouted and puffed her cheeks at El in mock annoyance.

Water was one of her biggest concerns during travel, so she always prioritized finding water sources.

“I knew you’d react like that, which is exactly why I didn’t tell you. Just so you know, we’re not staying long. You understand that, don’t you?”

Rosalia stopped pouting, because she knew El was right.

Her pursuers might’ve been dead, but that didn’t mean more wouldn’t come. In fact, with the death of the previous group, the next wave might be more aggressive than before.

“S-So, what are we going to do?”

El had mentioned training and improving her combat ability, but she was still curious about what they could achieve in such a short time.

“Let’s start with basic magic. Rosalia, how many basic offensive spells can you cast on your own, without using any magic tools, in one minute? Any simple spell will do.”

Rosalia fell silent, frowning thoughtfully. She didn’t ask any clarifying questions, instead, she seriously considered his request.

Basic offensive spells...

Truthfully, she rarely used basic magic on her own. In battle, she typically relied on magic tools. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t use offensive magic, especially simple ones.

“I can cast small fireballs, more than ten in a minute. If I adjust the incantation to release multiple at once... maybe around twenty?”

Rosalia tilted her head slightly, unsure of her answer.

She was estimating based on past experience and her own sense of growth. She had never tested it properly, but she was fairly confident.

“That’s very little.”

Rosalia pouted, clearly offended by El’s dry tone.

It was a fact, so she couldn’t argue.

“Why are you asking this? Are you going to say I could cast more if I had your help?”

“Yes, something like that. But not to improve your small fireballs. There’s no point in just increasing the number of spells like that.”

“Hey, you’re the one who asked about basic spells!”

Rosalia huffed. She already knew there wasn’t much use in spamming weak magic, hence why she didn’t focus on it.

“So what are we actually going to do?”

Not wanting to waste time with pointless chatter, Rosalia brought the conversation back on track.

“We’re going to perform a synchronization.”

“Synchro- what?”

Rosalia repeated the word, clearly unfamiliar with it. This was beyond anything she had guessed.