Chapter 156 – Whoa, it's the Training Arc!

“Wеll, the yеаr-еnd аnd Nеw Year’s holidауs have рassed withоut inсidеnt, аnd sinсе Mastеr has beеn sрending intimаtе timе with Мs. Мashirо, I beliеve a sесоnd gеneratiоn will surelу be born within the уеar!”

Somehow, Flоtа has started acting аs thе host.

Around her werе thrеe Grimoirеs, Floрру, аnd Shino.

Todaу is a weеkdау after thе Nеw Yеar.

Mаshiro is at wоrk.

“But, certain issuеs hаve alsо bеcоme clеar. What cоuld theу bе?!”

“Blaaah!”

“Yes, Ignitе!”

“Hmm, Маstеr’s basiс abilities hаvеn’t imрroved muсh! Relуing оn thе соnveniеnt Firеbаll is fine, but еvеn this can be strengthened with dedicated use. The fact he hasn’t reached that point is a problem.”

“As far as I’m concerned, the essence of Mental Magic lies in its fundamentals, so his current style is perfectly fine, y’know?”

“Haaai.”

“Yes, Marinna! And Mentaris, don’t just blurt things out without raising your hand!”

“Um, well. In my opinion—I think we need to train and strengthen Master. Even if not to the extent of those Witches, I’d like him to at least be able to use Intermediate Magic freely. It’s a waste to just keep Streaming when he has such talent.”

“That’s it, that’s it!! Did you hear that, Master?! You’re lacking in ability! So we’re going to train you thoroughly throughout January! Ah, that’s during the day; you’re free to Stream or spend time with Ms. Mashiro at night.”

“Glad my private life is guaranteed.”

I found myself responding in a flat monotone.

Incidentally, Shino was cackling with laughter.

And so…

We came to the Otherworld!

“Grimoires who want to train Master in a Spartan style. I wonder about that!”

“What are you talking about?! If Master doesn’t Power-up, his Magic will never be fully unlocked, right?! Thanks to our services, he can use a bit of Higher-Tier Magic, but he’s supposed to catch up through his own ability! Come on, running to increase your Magic Power—let’s go!”

“Eeek!! What does training have to do with running?!”

While still in Spice’s form, I ended up pattering along as I ran in the Otherworld.

Then, I noticed President Coral running beside me.

“What’s this, what’s this, doing something interesting? I’ve been cooped up in my room too much lately, and my body’s gotten sluggish. Let me get a little exercise too.”

“Huff, puff, does running even count as exercise for you, President?”

“Hmm, with this body, the energy efficiency is too good… wait a moment.”

The President transformed while running.

Ah—she turned back into a dragon!!

“Indeed, my original body has worse energy efficiency! Good, good!!”

“Every time the President runs, the ground shakes thump-thump under Spice’s feet!!”

“It’s fine, Master! I feel like power is building up somehow!! Magic Power is connected to physical stamina! It’s very important for Master to build up basic stamina! Spice’s body is robust, but by adding training here, we can make it a body even more suited to using Magic!”

Flota was explaining at length.

So Magic is physical after all!

“That’s right, y’know. The previous generation was physically weak, so she was corroded by her own Mental Magic, and on top of that, she kept lazily using only powerful spells and gave herself Magic poisoning.”

“Eeek! So Witches truly can’t have a sound mind without a sound body?!”

Apparently, it seems many Witches dislike exercise.

All such unhealthy Witches end up becoming something like a Fallen Witch.

“Oh, by the way! My previous generation was physically elite! But her personality was rotten.”

“That’s a terrible way to put it!! Well, I agree though!”

Speaking of which, Freya the Witch of Flame, who I blasted into space—is she still floating out there?

Well, it’s a vacuum, so she’s probably dead.

“Oh, that’s right, Spice. The outside of this world is filled with Aether.”

“Eh!?”

“That world over there too, its space is gradually being replaced by Aether. It seems this world is encroaching upon it. Thanks to that, it’s becoming more habitable.”

“Eeek, so what would happen if you soaked a Witch in Aether?”

“The closer one is to being a Demon, the higher their affinity with Aether becomes. In other words… they’d enter a state of being preserved in a medicinal solution.”

“I-I see! So Freya is probably alive…! We never confirmed her death, after all.”

“Oh, so the previous generation’s revenge is coming!?”

“I have that feeling!!”

“Hmm, I don’t wanna go back to her place! Only being able to use Magic sneakily on the other side of the world would be a disgrace to the name of flashy Flame Magic.”

It seems Ignite is very satisfied that Magic can be used openly now.

“Won’t the Witch of Wind and Ice be coming soon too? So, Marinna predicts we’ll have to face two Witches!”

“Don’t make such unpleasant predictions! That’d be my first 2-on-1!! The Four Guys have been busy lately too, so we need to come up with some countermeasures.”

It’s just talk at the prediction level, but Spice and the others were making a lively fuss.

However, there’s a proper reason for this.

“Magic is all about premonitions and predictions, things like that. Things like a ‘gut feeling’ can be due to resonance of Magic Power! So, if Master suddenly had a premonition, I think it will really happen!”

“Eeek!!”

“Wahahaha! Spice, out of one trouble and into another! While training your body and Magic Power like this, mere preparation probably won’t be enough. As one lacking power, you’ll have no choice but to devise schemes.”

“Yeah, yeah, Spice is more on the powerless side, after all. Time to think of a scheme.”

“The usual, then!”

And so, the training arc begins!