Seraphina looked out through the window. She felt a bad feeling. Her heart was not calm. It was as if something terrible was going to happen in the future.
"Is that boy really dead?"
She did not check it directly. At first she was sure that Takuya had already been killed because Takuya had no combat skill. He only had a useless gacha skill.
But after two days... Seraphina felt uneasy. Her heartbeat did not feel stable.
"It seems I must check it one more time. I cannot let that trash stay alive."
In Seraphina's eyes, Takuya was just a useless boy, but a summoned hero was still a chosen human. She could not be careless.
Another reason why Seraphina disliked and wanted to kill Takuya was because Takuya looked alert and hard to manipulate.
A person like that would be dangerous if he stayed alive.
Seraphina glanced behind her. More precisely, toward the bed. A man was sleeping there. She smiled faintly, then walked toward the bed.
She moved her face closer and gently touched the man's cheek.
Feeling someone touching him, the man opened his eyes. When he saw Seraphina's face, he smiled back.
"Lady Seraphina, is there something strange on my face?"
Seraphina kissed his cheek. The man's face turned red from embarrassment. He quickly sat up and held Seraphina's hand, but Seraphina pulled her hand away.
"Hero sir, we already did it last night. Are you still not satisfied?"
"Is that wrong?" the man asked.
Seraphina shook her head. "No, but this is not the right time. You must return to training soon. There is a big mission that you must do."
The man's face looked a little sad. He looked disappointed with Seraphina's answer. He tried to reach for her hand again, but Seraphina quickly shook her head slowly.
"No. You must go to the training place right now. The other heroes are already waiting for you," Seraphina said firmly.
"Can I not become a normal person? I am not suited to be a hero," the man complained.
Seraphina shook her head. "That is already your fate, Hero sir."
She walked to another place, then bent down and picked up the clothes that were scattered on the floor. Seraphina walked back to the hero and placed the clothes on the bed, or more precisely beside him.
"Put on your clothes and go," Seraphina said.
The man opened his mouth, wanting to say something. Of course he wanted to protest, but Seraphina stopped him by touching his lips with her soft index finger.
"The world needs your power. If you succeed in defeating the Demon King, we can live peacefully together."
The man stayed silent for a few seconds before finally nodding. He got down from the bed, took his clothes, and walked toward the door. He walked with high spirit.
When he held the door handle, he stopped for a moment and looked back at Seraphina.
"Wait for me. I will save this world and you."
Seraphina nodded. "I will wait for you."
The man left the room. When the door closed, Seraphina's expression changed. Her eyes became cold. She walked back to the window and looked down at the garden below.
"How foolish."
**
Takuya scratched his head once again. He was confused by Lyssia's enthusiasm in training the demi human girls they had rescued. Takuya felt a bit sorry for those demi human girls. They were not given any time to rest.
"Is this not too much?" Takuya asked.
"No. They are a special unit that will be directly under my command. They must become a force that can be relied on," Lyssia answered.
"But you do not have to do it like this," Takuya complained.
The training given by Lyssia was truly brutal.
Each demi human girl was carrying a large stone on her shoulders. That stone was not an ordinary stone. Lyssia had covered it with suppression magic. It made the weight many times heavier than it looked.
Sweat flowed down their bodies. The knees of some of them were shaking badly, but no one dared to stop.
Mirea was in the front line.
On top of her shoulders, right above the large stone she was carrying, Takuya was sitting in an awkward position. His legs were hanging on the left and right side of Mirea's neck, while he tried to keep his balance so he would not fall.
"Um... Mirea, are you sure you are okay?" Takuya asked with a guilty tone.
"It is okay, Lord Takuya," Mirea replied while breathing heavily. "If it is only a stone and one person... I can still handle it... Lady Lyssia said this is normal training that we must pass so we can be useful to you."
Even though her lips said that, Mirea's face was already pale. Her breathing was rough, and every step felt like torture.
Takuya could feel Mirea's body trembling beneath him.
Lyssia watched them from the side with her arms crossed.
"The burden on your shoulders is not only stone," she said loudly. "It is the life you will protect. If you cannot stand now, you do not deserve to stand on the battlefield later."
Some of the girls almost fell, but they clenched their teeth and forced themselves to keep moving.
This training was not only about physical strength.
It was mental training that forced them to keep going even when their bodies were begging to stop.
Mirea almost stumbled. Her steps became unstable, making her body sway.
"Eh!"
Takuya quickly held Mirea's head so she would not fall.
"I am sorry. Please forgive me, Lord. I..." Mirea panicked.
"No, it is not your fault," Takuya said quickly. He turned to Lyssia. "Hey. This is too much. If this continues, they can die."
Lyssia did not answer right away. She only looked at them with sharp eyes.
"If they faint now," she said calmly, "that means they will die later. I would rather they collapse here than die while protecting you."
Takuya shook his head in disbelief. He did not understand Lyssia's way of thinking.
"I am fine, Lord. You do not need to worry," Mirea said.
But Takuya understood even less the way of thinking of those demi human girls who were willing to be tortured by Lyssia. If he were in their position, he would run away.
"What did Lyssia do to them that made them so obedient? It feels like their minds have been washed by her," Takuya thought.
Even though all of this happened because of him, even if only indirectly.