"Huh? What do you mean?"
The prince of Aurum froze at these words, not understanding why Teacher Mistoria was apologizing to him.
He saw Mistoria say with complete seriousness, "You weren't like this before. After these past days, you seem to be enjoying it.
I can heal any physical injuries, but if your mind is damaged, if you become obsessed with the feeling of being abused, I'll be powerless to help."
Faust's eyes went wide.
"Teacher Mistoria, why are you slandering my reputation!"
What the hell? Suddenly labeling him a pervert.
Though he did play pretty wild in private, it was all within healthy bounds of debauchery, the kind he could openly show his family!
I have nothing to hide!
Having his reputation so groundlessly attacked, Faust's burning fighting spirit was extinguished. He absolutely had to clear this up with Mistoria.
It took him half the day to finally understand the elven mentor's meaning.
So Mistoria thought she'd awakened some strange fetish in me?
Well... in a sense, that was accurate. Faust was indeed enjoying it, but certainly not from some twisted desire to be beaten.
"So it's not like that?"
After Faust's repeated explanations, Mistoria finally nodded.
"Then I misunderstood. However, the training should end here anyway. I was previously worried you'd resist training, but now it seems I need to limit your training duration instead."
Since the elven mentor said so, Faust could only stop. He didn't feel particularly shortchanged.
Because according to Mephisto, this method of "getting stronger by getting beaten" wouldn't work indefinitely.
Its prerequisite was a massive gap in power and rank between both parties, allowing [Sanctified Flesh's] information to continuously and profoundly influence the opponent.
The greater the disparity in rank, the more obvious the effect.
Probably because Mistoria had never sparred with trash at Faust's level, the improvement effect was so good it even surprised her.
However, shortcuts only worked at low levels. As Faust grew stronger at a visible rate, Mistoria's physical education would gradually weaken.
[But speed-training you to a level where you can train independently shouldn't be a problem.]
So Faust wasn't anxious. As long as Mistoria remained in the palace as his teacher, he'd eventually receive this gift in full.
After finishing training, the prince of Aurum had maids set up a dining table on the lawn to have breakfast with the elven mentor.
Just then, Viviana arrived and was naturally invited to join.
"Mm..."
Mistoria took a bite of the pastry covered in pork floss and cream, chewing seriously in small bites.
That handsome, delicate face rarely showed satisfaction, even the gold in her eyes seeming to melt.
At times like these, the aloof and serious legendary elf was just like an ordinary girl.
The Elven Martial Saint's eating habits were standard for the Kingdom of Darkfold.
Though she had no dietary restrictions, she demanded extremely high food quality. Nothing but the finest and most refined.
If the food quality didn't meet standards, the elf would rather fast than take a single bite.
In the elf's assessment, the royal chefs of the Kingdom of Aurum were making inedible slop that couldn't be touched.
The only exception was desserts. Elves were addicted to sweets. As long as it was dessert, even if the quality was a bit lower, it didn't matter, they'd still eat it.
Drizzling lethal amounts of frosting and honey, smearing on cream, pork floss, and chocolate sauce, taking a bite with fluffy soft pastries, washing it down with fermented juice drinks, the taste was something else.
Don't you doubt it. This is how all us Darkfold folks eat. Legend says this was a method taught by the Fae in ancient times. Very particular.
When Faust first heard of this eating method, he could only say he didn't understand, but was deeply shaken.
It was purely because elves' base stats far exceeded humans, otherwise they really couldn't handle eating like this.
No idea which unscrupulous Fae taught this. Many people genuinely ate this way to pursue "elven fashion" and actually ate themselves to death.
[That was me.]
The culprit confessed.
But Mephisto didn't think they'd done anything wrong, at most failing to adjust their thinking in time.
[Sigh, humans eat so well these days, with alcohol and meat, vegetables and grains, pounding down chicken, duck, fish, eggs, and dairy.
Material abundance everywhere. Back in the day, the children of the sea just scraped near hydrothermal vents and called it a day.]
What kind of ancient organism are you?! Your seniority is way too old!
After sampling all the palace desserts, Mistoria wiped her mouth and sat up properly.
"At your rate of progress, you should finish endurance training very soon.
Then I'll start the next phase of training... However, even calling it the next phase, I don't really know what to do."
The elf's elegant brows furrowed slightly. She honestly couldn't think of any good methods to teach Faust.
Previous "guidance" just involved fighting a few rounds with the other party, no need to overthink it.
But after that... she truly had no idea.
As Mistoria pondered, she tilted her head slightly, her flaxen hair falling onto the pristine white table.
"How about I take you into actual combat? Are there any bandits or monsters nearby?"
This suggestion was genuinely excellent, making Faust's heart race.
Clinging to a smooth, pale elven thigh, Faust could totally make achievements on the [Path of Conquest]. Even if he just slacked off on the sidelines, he could leech experience!
But unfortunately...
"Within the Kingdom of Aurum, there are no bandit gangs, no famine, no plague, no rebels, and certainly no demons. The people live in peace and prosperity, everything orderly."
Though he usually complained endlessly about how difficult governance was, if he couldn't even stabilize a kingdom the size of a single province, what confidence did Faust have to contend for the world?
"Is that so? Then how should I be a teacher?"
Mistoria pressed her lips together, her raised brows somehow looking aggrieved.
Actually quite cute.
"We don't necessarily have to train through actual combat, Teacher Mistoria."
Faust smiled, interlacing his fingers on the table.
"Imparting knowledge is equally important. Tell me about your travels. I've never left Aurum. Learning some tricks and obscure knowledge in advance can't hurt."
"I see. Alright."
As if rediscovering her significance as a "teacher," Mistoria's eyes lit up as she nodded firmly.
So Mistoria sipped tea while recounting her past training experiences to Faust.
To be fair, the Elven Martial Saint wasn't an excellent storyteller. No matter what she said, it was straightforward narration, her tone as detached as if speaking about strangers.
But she couldn't help having genuinely rich content. Faust listened with relish until afternoon, ending reluctantly.
"Let's stop here for today, Teacher Mistoria. Thank you, I've learned a great deal."
"Glug glug"
Mistoria took a sip of tea, her golden eyes observing the prince of Aurum.
She suddenly asked out of the blue, "Faust, what do you think true love is?"