I felt like I had been unfairly accused.
But if I protested this injustice, it was obvious the narrative about me being a doting parent would only grow stronger instead of disappearing.
Because Reisir, a character in this novel, cannot perceive the fact that Yor is a dragon.
"...I need to start training, so don't interfere and stay quiet."
"Un, got it!"
Reisir snickered, perhaps taking my changing the subject without refuting him as an admission that I am a doting parent.
Let's just ignore it. One way or another, I do cherish Yor very much.
Thinking that, I shifted my gaze to the lovely baby dragon.
"Prepare."
"Myaang~!"
Yor shook the Yeouiju, took out several discs, and piled them on the floor.
Then he gripped the Yeouiju he had been holding with his hind paw.
The purpose of this was to hold multiple discs in one hand and throw them one by one with the other.
"By any chance, if Yor throws the discs, are you going to swing the whip to hit them?"
How long had it been since he said he understood my order to stay quiet? Reisir started talking again.
"What if I am?"
"I want to throw them too!"
"...Do as you please."
"Eh?! Really?"
It must have been quite surprising that I gave permission immediately. His eyes widened in shock.
Soon enough, he would inevitably break into a bright smile.
He might misunderstand and think I had opened my heart to him because I felt grateful that he taught me the location of the upper dantian.
To prevent Reisir's thoughts from heading in that direction.
Before a smile could form on his face, I hurriedly added an explanation.
"I simply judged that giving you something to do would be less burdensome than having you stare at my training. As a bonus, I can also increase the difficulty of my training, so isn't it killing two birds with one stone?"
"No, you should say it's killing three birds with one stone, including the fun I'll get out of it!"
"......"
Watching Reisir look so openly bright and cheerful, I felt ridiculous for being wary and racking my brains over trivial matters.
Was that why? I unconsciously let out a hollow, self-deprecating laugh.
But fearing Reisir might see that and misunderstand again, I hurriedly stiffened my expression.
Keeping a straight face, I undid the snap button of the holder attached to my belt and gripped the whip.
Then, lightly rotating my wrist to loosen the joints, I imbued this physical body with the 【Encouragement】 skill.
The keyword was 'my possessed body'.
'I have to consume purple Ether anyway. Since the original protagonist stepped up to throw the discs, it would probably be impossible to hit every disc even if I stack every buff available.'
Feeling vitality circulate through my body and my movements become lighter, I struck the floor with the whip and activated the 【Exaltation】 skill as well.
Still, the skill level shouldn't be very high yet.
With both the stat increase buff and the multiplier increase buff applied, my physical condition felt distinctly different from usual.
"Start now."
"Nyang nyang!"
Unlike Yor, who threw a disc the moment my words fell, Reisir merely picked up the discs without throwing them.
It seemed he intended to watch how this training proceeded for now.
Thus, with my body lighter than usual thanks to the buffs, I was able to strike the discs Yor threw as smoothly as always.
If I hadn't wrapped Ether around the whip, I could have been injured by the fragments scattering from the shattered discs.
But the power of Ether completely pulverized the discs the moment they burst.
I could swing the whip without worrying about getting hit by broken fragments or injuring myself.
"Wow... Karvaldr, do you waste money like this every time you train...?"
To Reisir, the discs exploding one after another must have looked like money exploding away as well.
This was a misunderstanding.
No matter how wealthy this possessed body is, it hasn't lost enough financial sense to use expensive items for disposable things needed in large quantities.
I buy cheap clay targets in bulk and use those.
Converted into modern currency, each one only costs around 300 won.
Given the saying, 'dust piled up becomes a mountain,' some might still think even that is wasteful.
'I don't know for sure, but wouldn't the discs used at a modern clay pigeon shooting range cost about the same or even more?'
Besides, this training is for survival, not entertainment.
Then this much is actually quite cheap.
However, I didn't feel any need to justify the expense to Reisir by explaining the price of the discs, so I decided to stay silent.
No, even if I had felt the need, I wouldn't have been able to answer.
Because Reisir joined in throwing the discs and turned everything chaotic.
'Does throwing discs get protagonist correction too?!'
Unlike Yor, who flew around and threw discs in straight lines, Reisir's method was different.
Reisir stayed in place and threw discs in curved arcs.
Needless to say, the discs themselves flew much faster than the ones Yor threw, and since he threw them directly from where he stood, the delay was much shorter as well.
'Why did I allow Reisir to throw the discs...!'
Just in case anyone doesn't know, let me explain. Clay targets are quite heavy.
Naturally so, since they're made of clay. They're basically ceramic plates.
Trying to swing a whip while discs flew in at terrifying speeds from all directions and curved unpredictably was chilling beyond measure.
I gave up on chasing after the discs flying far away and trying to hit every single one like usual.
Reisir probably had no intention of hitting me with the discs, but once they had already left his hand, they wouldn't be able to react to my movements.
In the end, just to avoid getting hit by the discs, I had no choice but to stand in place and swing the whip from there.
—Whish, ssaek, chwaak, shiik!
The air filled with cutting sounds from every direction to the point that I couldn't distinguish the sound /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ of incoming discs from the sound of the whip.
However, the sound of "Pang!" rang out intermittently as discs burst apart.
Since Reisir threw the discs so quickly, there were far more missed swings than successful hits, making that sound rare.
Though I couldn't be certain, most of what I managed to hit were probably the discs Yor threw.
"Wouldn't it be better to use a buff that strengthens your physical abilities?"
"Already... used it... before... starting...!"
Since I answered while swinging the whip with all my strength, my words came out in fragments.
In the world inside the novel, weren't people able to speak effortlessly even during urgent combat?
Is it because this is training rather than real combat that I can't speak comfortably? Or are my stats simply too low?
"Ah, this is with it already active...? Well, it hasn't been long since you started training seriously this semester."
Reisir spoke awkwardly and reduced both the strength of his throws and the speed of the discs.
Even so, the incoming discs remained threatening, so I didn't move a single step from my spot.
Still, I had clearly gained some room to spare, enough to try something else.
—Paang-!!
"Eh?! Didn't the whip move strangely just now??"
He noticed correctly.
Just now, I manipulated the Ether imbued in the whip and altered its direction.
As a result, I succeeded in hitting a disc that I wouldn't even have grazed if the whip had continued along its original trajectory.
This technique was possible precisely because the whip was a flexible weapon.
"You're planning to participate in the Martial Arts Tournament next year, right? Is it okay to show me a secret technique like that?"
Reisir stopped throwing discs before asking that question.
My arm already hurt from swinging the whip anyway, so I had wanted to suggest taking a break.
Thinking the timing was perfect, I signaled to Yor that he could stop throwing discs.
"Didn't you say you intend to win the First-Year Tournament this time? Then you must be planning to participate in the All-Grade Tournament next year. Even if I end up participating in a tournament next year, I plan to enter the Second-Year Tournament. So there's no chance of us meeting in a tournament."
I said that, but in truth, I already knew Reisir would be unable to participate in either the All-Grade Tournament or the Second-Year Tournament next year.
He would quit the academy at the end of this year.
'And if, by any chance, a situation arises where I have to fight Reisir with my life on the line... whether I hide a secret technique or not, my death is already predetermined.'
Moreover, moving Ether to alter the whip's trajectory was merely a petty trick.
If I treated it as some secret technique and kept it hidden, not only would I be unable to verify its usefulness.
But I would also block the path toward compensating for its weaknesses and developing it further.
And most importantly, there was a high possibility I wouldn't be able to use it during a truly critical moment.
Because when people panic, they tend to reflexively act according to habits ingrained into their bodies.
As these thoughts drifted through one corner of my mind, I massaged my overworked right arm.
"Then, wanna spar now?"
Reisir suddenly said that.
I genuinely could not understand how he arrived at that conclusion.
"...Do you perhaps want to hit me?"
"Why would you come to that conclusion?!"
The exact thought I had just entertained came out of Reisir's mouth as well.
I unintentionally paid him back exactly for what I had suffered.
"Because the outcome is obvious, yet you're still asking for a spar."
"Come to think of it, I've never fought someone using a weapon with a longer reach than mine before. So I guess I want to experience it at least once before the tournament...? That's why I'm asking, not because I want to hit you. If I really intended that, I would've hit you during the first martial arts lecture."
True. Since Reisir used a spear, he must have always had the advantage in reach during sparring.
It was understandable that he would want to fight someone wielding an even longer weapon at least once.
"Sparring with me will definitely help you too! Hitting flying projectiles is different from fighting a person. Even though we spar during martial arts lectures, swinging a whip and swinging limbs are fundamentally different, aren't they?"
That also made sense.
However, I hesitated and couldn't readily accept Reisir's proposal.
Swords and spears could stop before touching the opponent if necessary, but a whip could not be stopped once swung.
Similar to how I changed its trajectory earlier, it might be possible to stop the whip by wrapping Ether around it.
But I didn't have the confidence to stop it with perfect timing.
Needless to say, if I struck a person with a whip wrapped in Ether, something would definitely break.
Depending on where they were hit, they could even die.
'Besides, school rules require at least two combat-line professors to be present when sparring while imbuing weapons with Ether...'
After pondering while stroking the whip's handle, I concluded that it would be unwise.
Thus, I opened my mouth to refuse Reisir...
"Ah! Are you worried I might get hit by the whip and get hurt? If that's the reason, it's okay! I'm confident I won't get hit."
"...What do you mean by that?"
"Considering the speed at which you swing the whip, I believe I can dodge it easily enough?"
If Reisir's goal was to annoy me enough to make me want to hit him.
Then that goal had been achieved.
