Yesterday's events had seeped into his lower back. The failure of control practice, the interruption of his retirement notice, expulsion from the hot spring——three strikes of a completely unlucky day, and the memory of it all was etched into the 38-year-old body of Galen Straiver in the form of muscle soreness. He sat down at a corner table on the first floor of the Rusty Gear Tavern, moving his quill across parchment. Three pain-relief patches on his lower back. An empty iron pot of stew at the edge of the desk. It was a quiet morning. He had just begun writing the 43rd entry in his retirement notice——"Red Rust Gorge, Glacier Serpent subjugation assistance, reward: twelve silver coins, solo completion"——when Galen stopped his quill. At this rate, by the time he finished writing out all his retirement notices, he'd be a genuine old man. 339 entries. He still had 339 more to write. That was when the door opened. The hem of a pure white holy vestment crossed the threshold. Lilia Argenes stumbled at the doorway, pitching forward. In that instant, Galen's body moved reflexively——twenty years of active duty had hammered instantaneous reflexes into his frame, and his arm extended faster than his brain could process. He caught Lilia's arm. Just in time. The distance between them closed. Her silver-white wavy hair swayed softly, and a sweet fragrance——the scent of holy-attribute mana, flower-like, or perhaps light-like, difficult to put into words——brushed past Galen's nostrils. Something pulsed deep in his chest. *Crack.* His lower back made a sound. "...Are you alright, Galen?" Lilia Argenes asked, her voice coming first. Still caught in Galen's grip, her pale aquamarine eyes looked at him with concern. "I'm fine. My back just lodged a small protest," Galen replied. "...Which one of us was supposed to be helping whom?" Lilia Argenes asked. It was a fair point. Galen said nothing. Lilia took a small step back, casually straightening the folds of her holy vestment. The silver ear cuff on her left ear reflected the morning light——a delicate piece of craftsmanship shaped like the holy maiden's crest, proof of certification from the Seat of Dawn, the state religion of the Prevarn Kingdom. She must have come straight from morning duties at the temple. Galen returned to his chair, and Lilia sat across from him. They were about to discuss today's request——when it happened. *BOOOOOM!!!* The window vibrated. Orange light stained the southern sky, and then another pillar of flame rose, and another. Each was over fifteen meters tall. The direction of the training grounds. "Is it Flame Leo again!?" a regular adventurer shouted. "Wait, but this time something else is burning with it!?" another called out. The dining hall erupted. Galen stood up——*crack*, his lower back lodged a second protest——but he still fastened the old sword "Iron Fang" to his waist and began walking. The steel longsword, worn smooth over twenty years of use, gave his body a different kind of stability, separate from the pain in his back. Lilia stood up, gripping a request ticket, her slender fingers trembling slightly. Galen saw it. He saw it, and said nothing. "Let's go," Galen said. The 43rd entry of his retirement notice remained unfinished on the desk. ◆ When they arrived at the training grounds——a roughly thirty-meter square stone-paved area at the southern edge of the city——Galen assessed the situation in three seconds. Flame Leo. Three meters long. A lion-type magical beast with a mane of flame, danger rank B-class. A troublesome opponent with a surface temperature of 800 degrees. By the Wandering Guild's standards, even a seasoned B-class adventurer would need to be cautious about solo subjugation. Charging at this flaming lion was a girl with short crimson hair, swinging a greatsword with all her might, hurling flames directly at it. Flame met flame. Flame Leo consumed it like a meal. It grew larger. "Yeah! Come on! There's more!" Fiona Kaiash shouted. The girl didn't flinch. Rather, she was burning up——and not metaphorically; the blade of the greatsword in her right hand was literally aflame. The flame-attribute sword technique "Blast Flame"——wrapping attribute mana around the blade, a fundamental and powerful technique for flame-attribute warriors. But in this situation, it was completely counterproductive. Flame Leo grew twice as large again. "Why is it getting stronger!?" Fiona Kaiash cried out. *You're only noticing now!?* Galen thought to himself. Around them, wooden fences were catching fire one after another. The canvas awnings of stalls lined up at the edge of the grounds caught fire in a chain reaction, and a vegetable merchant shouted "It's hot!" as he fled with his cart. Vegetables scattered through the air. Lilia pulled out a water bottle. A small vial containing holy water, capacity 200 milliliters. Facing the flames that licked across the entire grounds, she held it toward Flame Leo with utmost seriousness. "Here... here... just a bit more..." Lilia Argenes murmured. "Lilia. That's 200 milliliters," Galen said. "I have 200 milliliters!" Lilia Argenes replied. *Whoosh.* The holy water evaporated. Instantly. Without a trace. "...It's gone," Lilia Argenes said, staring at the vial. Galen looked at the vial too. The two of them stared at the vial together. The flames continued to burn. That was when Fiona noticed them. Her golden eyes lit up. "Reinforcements!? Alright, let's burn it together!!" Fiona Kaiash shouted. "Don't burn it together!!" Galen yelled back. "Huh? Why!? If we burn it, it's solved, right!?" Fiona Kaiash asked. "When you hit a flame-type magical beast with flame, it gets stronger! Same-attribute absorption——that's the basic principle of attribute magic!!" Galen explained. Fiona stopped. She looked at Flame Leo. She looked at Flame Leo. She looked at her own flaming greatsword. "...Oh," Fiona Kaiash said. That was the opening. Flame Leo lowered itself, red light kindling in its eyes, and circled behind Fiona. "Whoa!" Fiona Kaiash yelped. She turned just as Flame Leo's claws cut through the air. She barely dodged——and then ran at full speed. Toward Galen. "Help me!!!!" Fiona Kaiash screamed. The moment Galen's consciousness turned toward Flame Leo, his right palm grew hot. No——not hot, but reactive. The flame-attribute mana that Flame Leo emitted was intensely stimulating the "counter-attribute adaptation" within Galen's body. That power he couldn't summon even unconsciously during yesterday's control practice was now, in this very moment——with an B-class flame-attribute magical beast eight meters away——trying to overflow of its own accord. He couldn't stop it. Or rather, his body refused to stop it. White mist erupted from his right palm. The mist expanded rapidly. Frost. An uncontrolled ice-attribute air current spread across a ten-meter radius, rapidly cooling the air of the grounds. A thin layer of frost formed on the stone pavement. The half-burned canvas of the stalls rapidly lost temperature, and the flames extinguished. Flame Leo's body surface turned white. Its 800-degree surface temperature plummeted rapidly, and its movements froze. The massive body staggered on the stone pavement. "Now!!!!" Fiona Kaiash shouted. She extinguished the flame on her greatsword——and charged in with her bare body. Building momentum, putting her full weight behind it, a purely physical sword strike slammed into Flame Leo's flank. *CRASH!!!* Flame Leo collapsed onto the stone pavement. Its mana scattered, the flames died out. The massive body slowly lost its radiance, leaving only flame-fur as material——each strand worth five gold coins, premium goods, but no one cared about that now. The grounds fell silent. "...Alright, we did it!" Fiona Kaiash raised both arms. The next moment, everyone realized it simultaneously. The frost mist was still falling. Thin water droplets continued to descend gently across the entire grounds. Fiona's crimson short hair was soaked, clinging damply to her forehead. Her combat outfit was thin fabric——designed for mobility, clinging close to the skin. That fabric now clung to her entire body. The contours of her nineteen-year-old, well-trained body became distinctly visible. The line of her chest, the curve of her waist, the shape of her thighs from hip to knee——all of it was outlined clearly through the thin fabric. Galen's gaze was drawn in that direction for just a moment. Just one moment. Truly just one moment. The next instant, he was looking with all his might in a different direction——at the charred remains of the fence. *(I didn't see anything. I saw nothing. A 38-year-old is composed.)* "Now I'm all soaked!?" Fiona Kaiash pulled at her combat outfit. The fabric clung to her skin and wouldn't come free properly. Seeing this, Galen looked even more intently at the fence remains. That was when something soft touched Galen's right sleeve. It was Lilia. Standing beside him, Lilia gently used the edge of her holy vestment to wipe the wet sleeve of Galen's coat. Her small hand touched the fabric softly. Her body heat transmitted through. The softness of her fingers was felt even through the coat. Galen continued staring at the fence remains while internally experiencing very quiet confusion. Lilia's body heat on his right side. On his left, Fiona wrestling with her wet combat outfit. He couldn't process it all. His 38-year-old brain was approaching its limit. "Galen, are you injured?" Lilia Argenes asked softly. Her voice was gentle. Concerned, yet somehow surface-level——conveying the distance that still remained between Galen and her, the gap not yet fully closed——a calm voice. "...I'm fine," Galen replied. "How did you do that ice!?!?" Fiona Kaiash flew at him. She clung to his arm with both hands. Her wet combat outfit clung to his arm. Through the damp fabric, her body heat transmitted directly. The hot body temperature unique to a flame-attribute user. The soft sensation. Galen's heart screamed "wait, hold on." His lower back made a sound. Lilia gripped his other arm. Not as strongly as Fiona, but with definite pressure. "Are you alright, Galen?" Lilia Argenes asked. Both of them were looking at him at once. Galen's arms were completely secured. His right arm held by Lilia, his left by Fiona. *(My back. My back is truly at its limit, and the timing is perfect.)* *Crack crack.* His lower back issued its final warning. When he tried to use it as an escape route, it actually started hurting. Karma worked fast. A 38-year-old's body was honest. ◆ "——And the prior record: Royal training grounds, bleachers burned, spectator seating burned, examiner's rest tent burned," Hydra Morse said, slapping Fiona's file flat on the table across the counter. Hydra Morse was a former B-class adventurer, now 45 years old and serving as branch director of the Tornica branch of the Wandering Guild. Hearty and good-natured, an old acquaintance of Galen's. Now she was looking at him with the face of that old acquaintance, without mercy. "Sent to Tornica for indefinite practical training, and that's this girl," Hydra Morse continued. Fiona, now in dry clothes, sat across from her with her arms crossed. She sat shallow in her chair, her golden eyes looking straight at Hydra. "I just didn't have enough flame," Fiona Kaiash said. Galen sighed. Hydra flicked Fiona's head. The sound was like a wooden block. "The result of not having enough was total burnout!" Hydra Morse snapped. "If I'd burned more, the magical beast would've been gone too," Fiona Kaiash countered. "The bleachers burned first!" Hydra Morse shot back. Galen sipped his stew. Fiona lightly held her head where Hydra had flicked it, but kept her gaze steady. She seemed completely unbothered by failing the formal Petit Chevalier ordination exam——the "Petit Chevalier" being a squire rank before becoming a full knight, for a