The fortress night is quiet. The spirited shouts from daytime training, the metallic sounds from the blacksmith's workshop, the bustle of the dining hall—all fade away once the sun sets. Beyond the thin wooden walls of the Transferee Residential Building, only the sound of wind flowing from the distant Demon Forest could be heard. Satou Kenji was staring at the ceiling. Lying on his back, more than two hours had already passed. A forty-year-old man with dark shadows under his eyes from sleep deprivation still couldn't fall asleep. (Who was that figure?) He couldn't get the image out of his head—the light that had been burning on the top floor of the Akatsuki Tower last night, and the silhouette of a person with long silver hair. He felt like their eyes had met for just a moment, and then the light went out. It might have been his imagination. But the weight of that gaze had felt too real to dismiss as mere fancy. That wasn't all. The lingering sensation of Yoken—the gift that had supposedly manifested within him—still seemed to linger faintly deep in his right hand. Gifts were special powers that rarely manifested in Transferees, with an occurrence rate of about thirty percent according to Theodore. The ability granted to him was to foresee two seconds into the future during combat. Two seconds. Short. By normal standards, it was an insignificant amount of time. But when the people at this fortress heard about it, they all said in unison, "That's significant." Kenji still didn't feel it. Besides, yesterday when he first felt like he could "use" it, his body had moved before his consciousness caught up. He couldn't really say he had controlled the ability himself. (Will I ever be able to master it?) As he was thinking such things vaguely, his consciousness gradually began to fade. Several hours remained until dawn. Just as he thought sleep was finally coming— **BOOOOOOOM!!!!!!** "...Huh?" An explosion. A golden flash. And Kenji's room door was blown away from its hinges. Wood fragments rained down into the room, and dust swirled up. Kenji remained frozen on his bed, half-risen, for several seconds. The smoke cleared. A figure stood there. A light blue short bob swayed gently in the morning haze. Golden eyes blinked, and both hands were placed softly together in front of her chest. Lina Valt, a seventeen-year-old girl, stood in the doorway of Kenji's room wearing a combat uniform with burn holes in it. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. For just a moment, Lina's expression looked apologetic. Just for a moment. Then her golden eyes brightened, and— "Good morning, Kenji-san! Starting today, we're beginning physical combat training!" She said this with a cheerful smile. Kenji's gaze returned to his room's entrance. The door was gone. The wooden door that had definitely been there just moments ago was completely gone from its hinges. The hinges themselves had been blown away. Wood fragments scattered across the floor, and a new scorch mark was etched on the wall's edge. There were scorch marks on the wall from before, but this one was at a different angle. "...The door..." That was all that came out of Kenji's mouth. "The door... the door..." "Ah, maybe I put a bit too much power into it. But it's fine, I made sure to get it out of the way," Lina said. By "get it out of the way," she presumably meant the door. Though doors don't have feelings. Kenji continued staring at the empty doorway for a while. Cool morning air flowed directly in from outside. So this was what it felt like to have no door—such openness. (Am I still dreaming?) "You're awake, Kenji-san. Come on, hurry and get dressed. The Iron Treading Plaza is best in the morning," Lina said. The Iron Treading Plaza was the fortress's training grounds. It was a circular training area with a magic-dampening formation carved into the sand, and Kenji had heard it was added as a countermeasure for Lina's rampages. He'd learned this yesterday, and the reason he knew about it was because Theodore had explained it while making a subtle expression. "...Understood," Kenji said. He picked up his clothes in a daze. There was nothing to do but move forward—the wisdom of a forty-year-old. --- Morning haze drifted across the fortress's stone pavement. Damp air flowed from the direction of the Demon Forest, and the ground felt slightly cool underfoot. The sky was still pale orange, the sun not yet fully risen. The only people training at this hour besides Kenji and Lina were a few guards. Stepping into the Iron Treading Plaza, Kenji could see faint glowing lines in the sand. The light of the magic-dampening formation. Thin lines traced geometric patterns across the ground, and stone pillars stood at equal intervals along the circle's edge. The whole thing glowed faintly golden, looking almost fantastical in the morning haze. "First, basic physical combat," Lina declared, standing in the center of the sand. Her golden eyes were serious, and her voice had a bit more tension than usual. "Basic physical combat... what kind of thing is that?" Kenji asked. "Like this," Lina said. She moved. With light steps, she advanced forward, swung her arms, spun around, and came to a stop while kicking up sand. Kenji watched. It was beautiful movement. Fast. But... he had no idea what the key points were or what he should imitate. "...Um," Kenji said. "Try it," Lina said. "From... where exactly...?" "From the beginning." Even if you say that. Kenji cautiously stepped forward. He tried to do a step, but the sand was deeper than expected and caught his foot. He swung his arms, but the timing was off and it was awkward. When he tried to spin, his center of gravity collapsed and he fell flat on the sand with a thud. Sand flew into his face. His mouth was gritty. "...Does it hurt?" Lina asked, peering down at him. Her golden eyes looked worried. "I'm fine," Kenji said. He slowly got to his feet. He brushed sand off his knees. No matter how much he brushed, the sand wouldn't come off. "Let me try again," Kenji said. Second attempt. He fell flat again with a thud. "...Kenji-san, your footwork is..." Lina said. She demonstrated once more, this time a bit slower. Kenji watched intently. The movement seemed slightly different from before. Had she started with her right foot or left foot? Wasn't the direction of the spin reversed? (She's not going to explain it in words, is she...) He noticed this, but said nothing. It was clear Lina meant no harm, and Kenji didn't have the audacity to demand explanations from a child. He just nodded and tried again. Thud. Thud. Thud. Around the fifth time, Lina crouched down in the sand and started staring at where Kenji had fallen. She tilted her head, watching intently with her golden eyes. "...Kenji-san, you get up right away, don't you," Lina said. "Huh?" Kenji asked. "No matter how many times you fall, you get right back up. Most other Transferees give up here and say 'that's enough,'" Lina said. Kenji thought while brushing off sand. (Well, I've got the stamina from standing in a convenience store for twenty years.) He didn't say that. Instead, he answered: "My knees hurt, but standing up is free." Lina laughed softly. It was a strange kind of laugh, as if she were looking at something unusual. In that brief moment, the distance between them seemed to shrink just a little. Kenji couldn't quite put it into words, but he felt it. "Next we'll use wooden dummies!" Lina's voice brightened again. She easily dragged over a wooden dummy made from a log that had been leaning against the fortress's corner. It was about 1.5 meters tall, with arms extending horizontally. "I'll move it with magic, and you try to avoid it," Lina said. "...You're going to move it?" Kenji asked. "It's fine, it's for training," Lina said. Kenji wasn't sure that was entirely reassuring, but he nodded anyway. Lina stepped back from the wooden dummy and held out both hands. Kenji took a stance. Not that a forty-year-old with barely any grasp of basic combat could really take a proper stance, but he spread his feet and lowered his center of gravity anyway. Light gathered at Lina's fingertips. The next moment— **CRAAAAAAAAAAAACK!!!!!!!!!!!!** Golden lightning tore through the air. The wooden dummy... vanished. Completely. Literally without a trace. Not even charred fragments remained. The magic-dampening formation blazed brilliantly, absorbing most of the impact. Still, wood splinters scattered in a fan pattern, flying up into the air. Kenji stared blankly at where the wooden dummy had been. A circular scorch mark remained in the sand. "...That might have been a bit much," Lina said, tilting her head with a light tone. "..." Kenji said nothing. "When emotions get heightened, the output of lightning magic gets bigger," Lina said. "I see," Kenji said. "Sorry about that. But the dampening formation is here, so it's safe," Lina said. "Right," Kenji said. Kenji wondered where the wooden dummy had gone, but didn't say so. There was no point in asking, and Lina's expression made it clear she meant no harm. Her golden eyes looked half apologetic and half like she was enjoying something. --- It happened the next instant. Kenji's consciousness suddenly became crystal clear. A burning sensation deep in his brain, before any thought could form. An image from 0.5 seconds in the future burned into his retinas. A wooden splinter flying in a straight line toward Lina's back of the head. Yoken activated. His body moved. Before his mind could think, his feet kicked off the sand. He closed the distance between them in two steps, and his right hand reached Lina's back of the head, pulling her strongly toward him. Both their weights collapsed onto the sand. Thud. Multiple wood splinters cut through the air past his ear. —Crack. Crack. Crack. The sound of wood splinters embedding themselves in the stone wall behind them echoed continuously. Silence returned. Kenji remained pressed against the sand for several seconds, unable to move. Lina's face was pressed against Kenji's chest. Through the thin combat uniform, something was transmitted. Heat. That was his first sensation. Was a seventeen-year-old's body temperature always this high? The thought crossed his mind absurdly. Her light blue short bob tickled Kenji's neck, and there was a soft sensation. And in Kenji's palm, he felt a small heartbeat. Fast. A very fast heartbeat. From inside a body so small it was hard to imagine from Kenji's physique, it was beating rapidly. It transmitted directly to his hand and chest, and Kenji suddenly realized he had stopped breathing. (Was she scared?) Was Lina scared, or was he scared? He couldn't tell. No, it felt like more than that. This closeness of body heat was awakening some other sensation. Sand grains rubbed between them, and it felt strangely real. Kenji's heartbeat was getting a little faster. It was probably fear. His body was reacting late to the near-death experience from moments ago. That's how he interpreted it, and he exhaled. "...Are you okay?" Kenji asked, his voice hoarse. Lina's body went rigid for a moment. Then she slowly got up. Kenji hurriedly moved away as well. Both were covered in sand, their clothes caked with it. Lina looked at Kenji. Her cheeks grew red before his eyes. Her light blue hair crackled faintly with static electricity. Small sparks of electricity scattered from her fingertips. Apparently she became charged when embarrassed. He was learning something new. Lina stared at Kenji for a while. She looked away, looked at the sand, then looked back at Kenji. She seemed about to say something, then stopped, and closed her mouth again. Then, placing her hands on her hips with a somewhat defiant expression, she said: "...You're better than I thought." It was a remark that was somehow both a compliment and exasperation.