“You Seem to Be Expecting Something?”

—

Leah had heard it from Eir before. Will had a particularly strange “preference” in some respects.

—”Young Master believes that ‘quantitative change can lead to qualitative change,’ and at the same time, he firmly believes that ‘effort will surely lead to success.'”

—”Hmm… so, he particularly likes… likes to watch people do the same thing over and over again, day after day?”

—”It’s not really a big deal, though it sounds strange. Maybe it’s a very healthy preference!”

But she never thought that such a preference would manifest in this way.

“Will, what are you doing?”

Outside the temporary cave where Will was staying, Will pointed to a camphor tree that didn’t shed its leaves in winter. A faint fragrance could still be smelled nearby. The leaves on it were slightly yellowed, not fallen, but also not as vibrant as in early spring.

“Well, this…” Will smiled and kicked the tree.

Leaves fluttered down.

“Although this kind of tree doesn’t shed its leaves in winter. But in spring, due to the rising temperature, the leaves consume too much water through transpiration. So it will shed a large number of leaves in spring. They will gradually grow back when it rains in summer.”

“I see, so that’s why so many fall when you kick it.” Leah found that Will always liked to study the underlying causes of these strange things.

“So, Teacher Leah. For the training of Phase One, you need to use the lowest power Blazing Meteor to accurately shoot them down, one by one.”

“…Hmph, this little thing… a single full-power Blazing Meteor could blast them all down.” Leah raised her staff, only then realizing she hadn’t quite heard Will’s “requirement.”

“Wait, wh-wh-wh-what did you say?!”

Will spun his ring, then kicked the tree again.

“I’m really sorry, brother tree, but it’s time for you to shed your leaves anyway.” After speaking, he turned to Leah. “Teacher Leah~ you know very well. The biggest problem with the ice arrows is their randomness and quantity; they are actually the most fragile things in the Abyss of the End. A little heat will turn them into water.” He extended his hand, and a dark green leaf that had fallen from the air happened to land on it.

“Falling leaves fit the criteria of random, numerous, and fragile. The only slight difference might be their speed. But, as long as you get used to taking them down one by one, it doesn’t really matter whether they are leaves or ice arrows.”

“…Yes, I understand.” But as a witch who valued high firepower, she had always disdained such precise, mana-saving actions.

However… Leah had a premonition that Will would use this as a quest to “earn rewards.” Especially as he stood in the morning light, the smile on his face seemed to be anticipating something.

“…Alright, I’ll show you.”

…

Dusk on the first day. Will sat under the unfortunate tree where Leah was practicing, holding the old Text. He read while occasionally hitting it with his strengthened fist to make leaves fall.

Thump, thump, thump.

“Hah… hah…”

Leah, on the other hand, was responsible for shooting down these falling leaves, one by one. After a whole day of training, she was already panting with each attempt. For her, who was suffering from “magical circuit depression,” she really had to control her output power. If it were before, she would absolutely not be this tired after a day of training.

“Hey! Teacher Leah, what is ‘Magic Prototype No. 36’? I don’t have the witch’s prototype classification book now, you should remember, right?”

—What was worse was that Will, while reading, would loudly ask Leah about the parts he didn’t understand. His way of asking was always so stressful that Leah’s pressure would “soar” in an instant. Although she knew this was Will’s way of “saving time,” as their understanding of the book “XX Cinder Extinction” was not in sync, and they couldn’t just start discussing it. This was a common phenomenon in the scientific research community. That’s why many cutting-edge magic conferences have a week-long paper disclosure period, allowing everyone to understand each other’s research results.

But… he asked so casually, it was as if he was deliberately distracting her!

“Hah… it’s… it refers to the… underlying prototype magic of the ordinary evaporation heating magic of you humans, mentioned in the textbook before.”

“Oh, I see.”

Will hit the tree with a thump, and the few remaining leaves on the tree rustled down. Leah concentrated all her energy, staring intently at the approximately ten falling leaves. She slowly raised her staff, aiming at the center of the ten leaves, and softly began to chant, gradually concentrating her mana, then breaking down the total amount and distributing its direction. She was already used to the feeling of squeezing a little water from the small stream of her magic circuits when her body couldn’t smoothly mobilize mana. Like someone who had found a way to get water in the desert. This required sufficient concentration, and also enough separation of mind and magic…

“Teacher Leah, then do you know why ‘Unfulfilled Desire‘ here is translated as ‘the passion burning within the heart’? This word wasn’t mentioned before, is there a story behind it?”

Boom—

The power concentrated in Leah’s staff exploded at its tip, blowing her bangs back, making them stand on end. It made Leah look quite comical. Fortunately, she had split the power into several “bullets.” The power of one shot was only one-twentieth, otherwise Leah would probably have half her body blackened.

“Oh~ so witch magic can also misfire. That’s rare.”

“Wi—ll—”

Without even time to fix her hair, Leah shouted, walking up to Will, who was reading, and stared at him, almost grabbing him by the collar.

“You did it on purpose, didn’t you! You had to ask me such a trivial question at this moment?!”

“This is not a trivial question.” Will, on the other hand, looked as if he knew Leah couldn’t do anything, as the switch for the inhibiting insect was in his hand. “Teacher Leah, you told me. The most important thing to interpret in ancient magic is often not the principle of its formation, but the state of mind when casting—that is, the parts that sound like poems and essays.”

“I… alright. I did say that.” Leah honestly put her foot down. She fixed her blown-up hair.

“That word, it’s… from the earliest… earliest of Arya’s ancient magic manuals, it’s… hmm… un… unfulfilled desire… is the meaning…”

The reason Leah was a bit angry was also… this word was really hard to say out loud!

“I see, so this is the passion burning within the heart—you witches are quite artistic, translating it this way?”

“Shut up, hit it again for me. If I can’t master this today, tomorrow I… I’ll dress up as a cat girl!”

“You said it yourself.”

Will closed the book, clenched his fist, and hit the tree again.

…

Morning of the second day. Leah, wearing cat ear headbands bought from the “entertainment shop” at the Adventurer’s Guild, faced the now-bald tree and unleashed another shot. She found that this set of practices Will advocated was surprisingly rewarding. Especially… when looking at the thick layer of leaves on the ground with holes burned through them, and the last time, not a single dark green leaf fell down.

“Well… well, I guess it’s done. Will, where’s my reward?”

She turned around very “honestly,” even resting her staff against her chest for a moment, and made her hands into cat paws, reluctantly shaking them slightly.

“Meow.”

After she meowed, she saw Will seemingly biting his lip, trying hard to hold something back.

“Meow…?”

She tried to change her tone—at least to a tone she thought was cute.

“Pfft.”

“Don’t laugh! D-Don’t you dare laugh at an honest teacher who keeps her promises!”

Leah even felt the “magic cat ear headband” on her head “bristle” with her emotions.

“Meow—!!!”

This meow didn’t come from Leah, but from the headband she had bought. This thing was actually developed with a function that would shake and make sounds according to the wearer’s emotions.

“I swear, I’m not laughing… hahahahaha…”

“You’re clearly laughing, you haven’t stopped!”

Leah, of course… of course didn’t like dressing up as a little girl’s cat girl at over a hundred years old, but… but since she had promised, she had to keep her word!

“However, since that’s the case, we can enter Phase Two. I think Phase Two is actually Teacher Leah’s strong suit. Based on the Adventurer’s Guild data you gave me last night…”

Will stopped halfway, noticing that Leah seemed to have her head down, her bangs covering her eyes. Her usually high twin-tails now seemed to droop dejectedly, just like her.

“Meow…”

Even the headband she was wearing seemed to sense her emotions. Not only did it droop, but it also made a pitiful sound.

“Leah, Leah… wh-what’s wrong with you?”

Will was so scared he didn’t even dare to continue teasing her with the words “Teacher Leah.”

“Re-reward…” she looked up, her expression indeed a bit wronged, but not to the point of crying. “I… I think I’ve done enough to… to deserve a little reward, right?”

“Oh… you do seem to be expecting something.”

Will leaned closer to Leah. Watching him slowly approach, Leah, for a rare moment, felt her heartbeat start to rise—but she didn’t feel her magic circuits surge at the same time. For a witch, this was rare; her body’s reaction and the fluctuation of her magic circuits were not even related to the flow of her blood.

Was it because of expectation?
Or… because…

Then, Will bent down slightly. He lifted Leah’s bangs with his hand.

Thump, thump, thump.

Leah listened to the sound of her heartbeat, but she avoided Will’s expression.

Then—he kissed Leah’s forehead.

He didn’t take out the blood-red liquid, so naturally there was nothing to reignite her magic circuits. Her blood and everything else flowed as usual.

“Mm. It’s done. Good job. Here’s a little reward for you.”

“Th-This is the reward?! You—you clearly know this isn’t what I wanted!”