276: Encountering the Liquid Metal Slime

No matter how many times I tried to call out to Luna, she would vanish from my sight like a phantom.

She had a private room in the Girls' Dormitory, and from what I’d heard, she hardly ever set foot outside.

She’s probably forgotten all about me.

Even if the "Weiss" of this world had once shared some sort of history with Luna, it was a story from the distant past. There was absolutely no way she could still remember it.

Late that night, while enjoying the cool breeze, I was busy conducting my own night training combined with some "ego development" for Debi.

"Debibi!"

If I let him manifest during the day, he tended to stand out far too much.

In the middle of our session, Debi seemed to have spotted something. Just as I thought he was floating back to me, he pressed a tiny forefinger to his lips, signaling for me to be quiet.

"What is it...?" I whispered.

I took a stealthy peek, and a rather lovely, breathless voice reached my ears.

"Haa... haa...!"

My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I saw the source.

There was Luna, all by herself, clad in her training uniform and swinging a training sword.

She was even using her imagination to manifest magic—summoning a crow-like bird to attack her so she could practice evading its strikes.

That had to require an insane amount of mental focus. It was like trying to write different characters with your hands and feet at the same time, much like Carta’s Flight Magic.

I just assumed she was climbing the ranks because of some god-given natural talent for magic. But I was wrong. Dead wrong.

She was putting in the work.

I had no idea what had sparked this drive in her, but this was the reality of the situation. It probably wasn't a good idea for me to interfere with her efforts.

Just as I was thinking that—

"Why... have you been watching me this whole time?"

...Huh? Was that just my imagination?

"Could you please come over here?"

No, it definitely wasn't my imagination.

Wait, I was doing my absolute best to stay off her Mana Detection radar! Did she actually notice me? That should be impossible!

I briefly considered making a run for it, but then Debi decided to sell me out and flew right into the open.

"Debibi!"

Steeling my resolve, I finally revealed myself. Sure enough, Luna was staring right at me with a look of pure, unadulterated scorn.

"..."