Chapter 10 : Female knights always have to go through this calamity
The cold wind howled, and the night was deep and thick.
The sky was like a sea of stars, reflecting the flawless moonlight.
Inside the room, Nia lay tossing and turning on the bed.
She was suffering from insomnia.
If it were just insomnia, it wouldn’t have been enough to irritate Nia, but what truly troubled her was the damn scent on the bed.
She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but she could clearly smell a human scent coming from the mattress.
This caused her mind to involuntarily conjure up the scenes from last night as soon as she closed her eyes.
Under the influence of these distracting thoughts, Nia could distinctly feel her body growing weak and flushed, her entire being caught in an extreme state of excitement, with a desire that continuously stimulated her heartbeat swelling inside her.
Damn it.
Taking two deep breaths, Nia turned over and looked at Meira sleeping soundly beside her.
Fortunately, Meira was fast asleep and hadn’t noticed her abnormal behavior.
Nia exhaled in relief while also scolding herself inwardly.
Nia, Nia, if you can’t even control your own desires, then what’s the difference between you and those goblins?
The knight’s faith and the cacophony of desires waged a fierce battle within her heart.
Negative emotions were like cavalry waves; as soon as one receded, the next was about to strike.
This repeated accumulation finally tore open a gap in the fortress of her reason.
In the room, the two steady breaths suddenly shifted—one began to grow rapid, at some unknown point.
“Mm.”
An unconscious moan sounded in the room.
Only after the sound escaped did Nia realize what she had just done, startling herself.
Nia despised herself more now than ever before.
The prince was right beside her, how could she— If the prince found out, would he forgive her?
No, as long as the prince didn’t know… it would be fine.
Besides, this damned curse should be relieved somehow, right?
The line of reason cracked loudly, and the flood of desire poured in, completely taking over Nia.
A strong sense of guilt and bottomless shame, mixed with certain principles and fantasies…
Nia was utterly lost in the tide.
…
“Good morning, Mr. El.”
Meira’s voice was soaked in morning mist, carrying a slight chill yet a gentle dampness.
“G-go… good morning, Miss Meira.”
Mimicking her tone, El greeted Meira.
“What are you doing, Mr. El?”
Seeing El in an odd position lying prone on the ground, Meira asked curiously.
“This is called a push-up,” El explained. “It’s for training the body.”
“Oh.” Meira nodded thoughtfully. “I’ve never heard of such an exercise before. This must be a training method from Mr. El’s homeland, right?”
“That’s right. It’s a training method from a master in my hometown. He does a hundred push-ups, a hundred squats, a hundred sit-ups, and runs ten kilometers every day. After several years, he became unbeatable.”
“That’s truly impressive.”
Meira fell silent for a moment, then, as if inspired, she imitated El and lay down on the ground.
She turned her head so her eyes were level with El’s.
“Mr. El, can I try?”
“Of course. There’s no technical skill involved; the key is perseverance.”
With El’s consent, Meira watched his movements and managed to do two herself.
“Miss Meira, what do you think of this method for strengthening the body?”
“Hmm… I do feel it strengthening my upper limbs, but not much in other areas.”
Meira considered for a moment and gave her honest evaluation.
“I’m not a warrior, so I can’t provide much feedback. Maybe later Nia could give a better opinion.”
Clapping her hands, Meira got up and cast a simple water spell to clean the dirt and dust off her palms.
“Miss Meira can do magic too?”
Seeing this, El couldn’t help but get up and ask.
Meira nodded silently.
“Then just perfect. I want to ask, between you and Nia, who’s stronger in magic?”
“If we’re talking about magic alone, I should be above Nia.”
“Do you know how to learn magic?” El looked at Meira with eager eyes.
“Yes, I think I have a pretty good understanding.”
“Do you think I have hope to learn magic?”
Sensing hope, El’s tone grew excited.
He stood straight, gesturing toward himself, looking at Meira expectantly.
“Well… we’ll have to see.”
“How do we see?”
“You need some tools. Let me find them.”
Meira rummaged through her satchel and took out a green rhombus-shaped stone with a needle-like tube at its base marked with a scale.
Just by its shape, El could roughly guess its use.
As expected, Meira gestured for it.
“Mr. El, please give me your hand.”
Hesitating for a moment, El extended his hand.
“This might hurt a little, Mr. El, you’ll have to bear with it.”
Meira took the green stone and was about to insert it into El’s arm.
Watching a sharp object approach one’s body is terrifying, especially when the damage it might cause is unknown.
The needle pierced the skin, causing a slight pain but still within El’s tolerance.
The crystalline green liquid inside the stone began to rise slowly.
Is this the proof of magical power?
So, he really could use magic.
Hmph, according to novels, the testing device usually gets destroyed by the protagonist at this point.
His expectations weren’t high—just hoping it would fill up.
But before he could indulge in his fantasies, Meira withdrew the stone.
“So? So? Is my talent one in a million?”
“Not quite one in a million.” Meira observed and concluded, “Mr. El’s total magical power is about the same as an ordinary elf.”
Meira pointed to the green scale at number one; the liquid level had only risen to about 1.1. That meant his talent was only slightly better than an average elf’s.
“Really quite ordinary?” El muttered softly. “But being ordinary makes sense, after all, I can’t have all the advantages.”
“So how do I use magic?”
“To use magic, you first need to be able to sense elemental energy.”
Meira said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out another stone, but unlike the rhombus one, this was oval-shaped.
“Mr. El, please hold this.”