Resolve, it seemed, wasn't something you held only in the moment you decided. You had to keep holding it the next morning, and the morning after that, and on and on. Yuri realized this while practicing his sword forms. The central training grounds of Granveld Fortress at dawn. A thin morning mist clung to the stone pavement, and the northern sky was still gray. Cold air flowing from the winter Garg Wastes turned his breath white with each exhale. At an hour when most of the fortress soldiers were still half-asleep, Yuri stood alone, swinging his blade. Thinking of last night. Repeating Lilica's words over and over in his mind. ——Then you need to move in my place. He swung. Again. The sound of the sword cutting through air echoed alone in the mist. The back of his left hand tingled. The fire magic crest marking him as an apprentice magic swordsman glowed faintly. Even the first stage of *toumahou*—the basic technique of channeling magical power into a weapon—still wasn't stable. But today felt different somehow. It felt like last night's resolve had remained somewhere in his body. Then a voice came from the direction of the south gate. "[excited]Seriously?! No way?! I didn't hear anything about being assigned to some backwater border post!!" The voice was too loud. It was the kind of volume that made you think something had exploded beyond the mist. The handful of soldiers in the training grounds all looked up at once. Yuri turned around too. A single carriage had stopped in front of the south gate. A figure that had apparently jumped from the cargo bed was walking in circles, gazing up at the fortress's outer walls. Bright crimson bob-cut hair stood out clearly in the morning mist. Jade-green eyes moved about as if observing the entire fortress, and a small silver piercing on her right ear swayed. She was about 160 centimeters tall. She wore light traveling clothes, and a catalyst pouch—the kind magic users carried—hung from her waist. Yuri couldn't immediately tell who she was. But the tension that had been stretched taut throughout the fortress seemed to deflate with a soft *pshhh* at her single cry. The surrounding soldiers exchanged glances. The figure—the girl with crimson hair—finally turned her gaze toward the inside of the fortress. Her eyes stopped on Yuri. "...Huh?" The girl came trotting over. She left her luggage beside the carriage without hesitation. "[surprised]A boy? How cute!!" Before Yuri could say anything, both hands reached toward his cheeks. *Squish.* His cheeks were pinched. Yuri froze completely. Still holding his sword, pinched on the cheeks by a girl he'd just met in the misty training grounds, his thoughts came to a complete halt. A voice came from behind him. "[sarcastic]...You know, I've never seen a soldier get their cheeks pinched on a first meeting before." With his cheeks still pinched, Yuri glanced at Georg, who was standing with his arms crossed against the wall. When had he gotten there? Quiet footsteps approached the training grounds. "Let go of him." A low, quiet voice. When the girl with crimson hair turned around, a woman with long silver hair tied back stood there. Her left arm was suspended in a bandage. Sharp golden eyes looked at the girl without a shred of emotion. Lilica Virsen, the squad leader—even injured, her bearing carried a pressure that seemed to cut through the fortress's mist. "[surprised]Oh, sorry!" The girl obediently withdrew her hands from Yuri's cheeks. Then, looking up at Lilica: "[excited]Are you the squad leader? You're so cool! But kind of scary!" Lilica's eyebrows rose by just a millimeter. A low, heavy voice echoed from deeper in the fortress. "[serious]Everyone assemble!" It was Vice-Commander Vaik Mora's voice. When that voice came out, everyone moved reflexively. The soldiers in the training grounds scattered. Georg grabbed Yuri's arm and pulled. "Come on. Who is that kid?" "[serious]Don't ask me" The girl with crimson hair naturally followed along behind the two of them. "[excited]Oh, me too! I'm coming too! I'm Seria Hyugen, from the Central Magical Academy! Nice to meet you!" The Central Magical Academy—the kingdom's magical research and education institution with its headquarters in Cordina. It also oversaw the dispatch of magical soldiers. From that single statement, Yuri could roughly figure out why she was here. Yuri walked down the corridor toward the battalion commander's office, pressing his pinched cheeks with his hand. ── Battalion Commander Baldus Koenig's office was buried under maps and reports. A large man in his fifties with white whiskers stood in front of his desk with his arms crossed. Lilica stood beside him, protecting her left arm, while Vaik stood solidly against the wall. Seria stood in front of the map and unfolded a single document. "[serious]Classified intelligence from the Central Magical Academy. The Nerias army's advance this time—it's a feint." The air in the room changed. "[serious]The main force is still waiting on the border. They're only moving the vanguard to gauge the garrison's reaction. It's not a full-scale invasion. Their real objective is—" Seria tapped a single point on the map with her finger. "[serious]Securing Garesta Ridge. Nerias doesn't want to give up the iron ore and magical ore mining sites. So they're trying to understand the defensive posture around the ridge first without moving the main force." Baldus's gaze fell on the map, and he was silent for a while. "[serious]...In other words, we don't need to abandon the fortress immediately." "[serious]At least not until the Nerias main force moves." Something loosened in Yuri's chest. Fortress abandonment—the words Vaik had spoken in yesterday's meeting wouldn't leave his head. That possibility was receding. The worst-case scenario had moved a little further away. Lilica opened her mouth quietly. "[cold]If that's the case, we can concentrate on the north. With Seria's magical support, we may be able to respond to approaches including upper-tier magical beasts." Even with her left arm suspended, she moved only her right hand across the map, indicating routes. There was no hesitation in that movement. Even injured, Lilica's judgment speed hadn't changed. When the meeting ended and they stepped into the corridor, Seria naturally fell into step beside Yuri. "[excited]Hey, hey, you're an apprentice magic swordsman, right? Show me your *toumahou*!" "Uh, well—" "[excited]I'm good at analyzing magical flows! I did that the whole time at the Central Magical Academy!" Seria pulled at Yuri's arm insistently. As Yuri floundered, Lilica, who had been walking diagonally behind them, caught sight of the scene from the corner of her eye. Her eyebrows drew together, just slightly. That was all. But Georg didn't miss that expression. He slipped close to Yuri's ear and whispered: "[whispers]Hey, hey, you got a rival now." "[serious]A rival in what?" "[whispers]Love." Georg said just that and walked on as if nothing had happened. Yuri froze in place. Seria was still pulling his arm, and he found himself being dragged toward the training grounds. His mind couldn't process anything. ── When the two of them came out to the training grounds, Seria stood in front of Yuri and put her hand to her chin. It was an observing kind of look. Her jade-green eyes swept across Yuri's entire form. "[serious]Okay, try it. Like you're channeling magical power into the sword." Yuri drew his sword. He took a deep breath. He focused on his magical power. From the hilt toward the blade— His shoulders tensed up. It wasn't fear. But something deep in his body pulled, cutting off the flow of magical power. Only a tingling sensation remained on the back of his left hand, and nothing reached the sword. "[sarcastic]Hmm..." Seria thought for a moment, then: "[serious]Ah, I get it. You freeze up from tension at a certain moment, and your magical flow stops completely." "...That might be it." "[serious]But like, the opposite way to think about it—what if you used that freezing as your starting point? Concentrate explosively all at once." Something clicked into place in Yuri's mind. Vaik's words—a warrior is someone who can move even when afraid. Lilica's words—next time, move. Those two and Seria's words connected in a single line. Fear makes your body tense. That moment is when all your magical power condenses into a single point. If you don't miss that—channel it all at once into the sword. "...A momentary, all-out *toumahou*." Seria's eyes lit up. "[excited]Exactly! Don't kill the habit—make the habit into a weapon! Nice, you really are smart!" Then Seria gently placed her hand over Yuri's sword hand. She was trying to directly confirm the flow of magical power, her slender fingers resting on top of his hand. It was warm. Something entirely different raced through Yuri's chest. At that moment, Lilica, who had been standing at the edge of the training grounds, turned her back. Silently, swiftly. She walked toward the corridor. "Oh, that's bad." Georg, who had appeared from somewhere, muttered under his breath. "[serious]What's bad?" "[sarcastic]The atmosphere." That was all he answered, and Georg also crossed his arms and looked away. Yuri still didn't quite understand what was bad. ── The dining hall that evening was filled with the usual smell of lamb stew. The sound of Cook Moana stirring a large pot leaked from the kitchen, and soldiers lined up with trays. When Yuri took his seat, Seria naturally sat down beside him. "[excited]Is it okay if I sit here? Actually, I already sat down!" "Oh, but that seat—" Georg, coming from the opposite direction, started to speak. "[serious]That's my seat." "[sarcastic]First come, first served, right?" Seria answered with a smile. Georg looked at Yuri. A pleading look. Yuri, holding his spoon of stew, couldn't do anything caught between the two of them. Georg reluctantly sat down across from Yuri and, while taking a spoonful of stew, casually glanced at another table. "[whispers]...Hey, is the squad leader eating her stew a little faster than usual today?" When Yuri looked, Lilica was sitting at a distance, reading a report while eating. The usual sight. Alone, quietly. But the movement of her spoon was definitely moving at a mechanical pace. Her face was completely expressionless. Her eyes didn't leave the report. There was no way to confirm anything. "[excited]Hey, Yuri, I want to talk more about that *toumahou* feeling from earlier—do you have time later?" "[serious]Count me in." Georg immediately cut in. "[sarcastic]You can't even use *toumahou*, Georg." "[serious]I don't care, count me in anyway." A low voice dropped from the next table. "[serious]Shut up. Don't talk while eating." Everyone reflexively fell silent. Yuri, Seria, Georg—all of them. The entire dining hall seemed to go quiet for a moment. After a few seconds of silence, Seria looked toward Vaik. "[serious]The vice-commander is pretty scary, huh?" "I hate loud things." "[sarcastic]But you don't hate me, right?" Vaik paused for a second. "...Loud." "[sarcastic]That's basically a yes." Georg muttered his retort, and the atmosphere in the dining hall loosened in an odd way. Yuri finally managed to swallow a spoonful of stew and almost smiled. The situation had been one where smiling wasn't possible, but somehow this dining hall always became like this. As the meal was ending, Yuri glanced at Lilica's table. The report was still there. But her tray was already empty. He couldn't tell when she'd finished eating. ── After dinner, Yuri stood alone in the corridor of the east barracks. He was organizing Seria's words in his mind. Fear makes your body tense—at that moment, channel all your magical power at once into the sword. The logic made sense. But whether he could actually do it in a real situation was a completely different