Royal Capital of Symphonia Kingdom, the residence of the Albert Duchy. At the training facility behind the mansion, the Head of the family, Lilia Albert and her close friends Sieglinde and Lunamaria were training.

  They had several mock battles with different combinations, and after a certain amount of repetitions, the three of them took a break to reflect on their training.

  [……Even so, you sure are getting stronger and stronger, Sieg. Your training has really been paying off, hasn’t it?]

  [Yes, thanks to Kuromu-sama and Funf-sama, I can feel myself growing. I feel like I’m making steady progress, little by little.]

  Sieglinde’s recent regular training with Kuromueina and Funf had improved her ability by leaps and bounds.

  She used to be just below Peerage-holders, but she has improved considerably since then, and is now at a level where she would be as strong as Peerage-holders.

  [On the other hand, Luna seems to be in a bad shape. How should I say this…… You seem to be moving more stiffly than usual…… Are you sick?]

  [Ahh, no, it’s just, I’ve been struggling a bit with my assignment.]

  Contrary to Sieglinde, who was in a good shape, Lunamaria’s movements were lackluster, and to Lilia and Sieglinde, who knew Lunamaria well, she seemed to be in much worse shape than usual.

  Hearing Lunamaria’s answer to Sieglinde’s question with a wry smile on her face, Lilia asked with a curious expression on her face.

  [Assignment?]

  [Yes, well, I’ve been receiving some guidance like Sieg, but I’m finding the assignment given to me quite difficult.]

  [Fumu, what kind of assignment is it?]

  [……To put it simply…… “It was to keep on thinking”.]

  [ [ Unnn? ] ]

  Lilia and Sieglinde tilted their heads at Lunamaria’s words, but it doesn’t seem like Lunamaria had no intention of talking further, as she continued chatting with them while dodging their questions.

  Lunamaria doesn’t live in Lilia’s mansion, but is commuting from her home and would go home after work hours.

  Normally, she would have headed straight home, but recently, once a month…… On the day they had designated, she was to go where the being that became her teacher is.

  A card, delivered to her through some special method, had the location written on it, and Lunamaria heads for the designated place through the back roads.

  When she arrived at the designated place, she found it to be strangely quiet and eerie, with a dimly-lit atmosphere.

  Swallowing her saliva upon such an atmosphere, a card flew towards Lunamaria. It wasn’t very fast, so Lunamaria caught the card, and immediately afterward, she heard a voice.

  [……How many different patterns did you imagine now?]

  [15……]

  [Not quite yet there then. You should be able to think of at least 10,000 different things that are written on the card before you catch it.]

  Appearing from the shadows at the end of the alley, Alice continued.

  [That aside, how did you do with your assignment…… Well, you’re most probably ending up stopping as usual, aren’t you?]

  [Yes. To be honest, I couldn’t move at all as I wanted to. It’s quite difficult, keeping on thinking……]

  [Well, I’m the same case in the beginning. I mean, I think you’ll stay like that for several years. But even so, you need to keep on thinking. Your opponent’s next attack, your possible options, the situation around you…… Just keep on thinking. You won’t be able to move well in the beginning…… but if you keep doing it all the time, before you know it, your thoughts will eventually connect like flashes of light. Your thoughts will overtake your actions.]

  Speaking in a light tone, Alice recovered the card Lunamaria caught before continuing.

  [That being the case, you must now expand the variety of your thoughts. Consider all possibilities in everything you do, including the possibilities that people would normally dismiss as improbable, even if they are less than several decimals below zero percent. In this way, your thinking ability will someday get stronger to the realm of what can be called as Precognition. By that time, you will have gone from a weakling to someone who’s relatively strong.]

  [Yes. It feels annoying being left behind by Lili and Sieg all the time.]

  [Good. Well then, let’s see you move around a bit…… I’ve already taught you several times, and I’m sure you’re well aware of this, but I’m not as gentle as Kuro-san, so you need to stay focused…… else you can get hurt.]

  With a snap of Alice’s finger, the back alley hidden behind a Spatial Isolation Ward they were in before changed to a vast empty space, in which Lunamaria quietly assumed her battle stance…… when she seemingly thought of something.

  [Speaking of which, I don’t think I’ve asked…… but why did Phantasmal King-sama decide to train me?]

  [Well, Lilia-san is getting stronger and stronger even when self-taught, while Sieg-san was getting instructions at Kuro-san’s place, so I thought it was a pity that you were falling behind…… but well, most of all, I think that you’re the one…… who resembles me the more, so I just wanted to take care of you a little.]

  Saying this, Alice slightly smiled. As she felt like Lunamaria, who was struggling with the assignment she gave her, was like how she was back when she was weak, Alice somehow found herself smiling……


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