Scolded

Nova woke up the next morning with no sense of accomplishment.

Mune looked over with an inquisitive look.

『...No luck?』[Mune]

『None at all.』[Nova]

Nova had tried to use the tattoo to help him grasp nature energy, but it was to no avail.

When he tried, all he felt was the energy flow through his body as per normal.

On top of that, when he consulted Reischneid, he had not much to tell Nova apart from a short "Figure it out yourself. You wanted to learn it instead of following my teaching regiment".

『...Reischneid is a salty old man...』[Nova]

Mune covered his mouth as he stifled a laugh.

『Pfft.』[Mune]

「Hey! I don't have to teach you, you know?!」[Reischneid]

「Haha… Just kidding...」[Nova]

Nova looked around the room, realizing he hadn't had a good look at it all yet.

Now that he had realized it, there was a phone in between his and Mune's bed, reminiscent of a hotel's style.

『...Do you know where the restroom is, Mune?』[Nova]

Mune nodded and promptly pointed at a door on the side of the room.

Nova got up and went to the restroom before stripping, examining himself in the mirror.

「...My body doesn't look like it went through a fight at all.」[Nova]

He was expecting cuts and maybe even some scars that he would have to have healed up, but there was none at all.

「I'm not sure what you expected. A normal fight that pushed you to the brink of death would have given you scars that I'm not even sure your flame would have been able to heal. The presence of Asmodasiah let you do something completely outside of your normal abilities.」[Reischneid]

「...Still, she let me use her power to do that. I was sure that she wouldn't have allowed me to.」[Nova]

「She isn't an evil entity, but she IS a neutral one.」[Reischneid]

「So she is not a person who is going to have me murder things, like I thought?」[Nova]

「...Well, the thing about "neutral" people is that you often don't know what their motives are. I have no clue what she wants with you, and why she offered you a power that was way out of your grasp.」[Reischneid]

「...But I wouldn't have been able to save Zousa without her power. That's for sure, right?」[Nova]

「Oh, yeah. Most definitely.」[Reischneid]

Nova ran some water and washed his face.

「...There is still too much in this world that makes no sense.」[Nova]

「You only learned a bit about the basics of magic and mana. You don't know squat, yet.」[Reischneid]

Nova felt Reischneid's words sober him up.

He was under the delusion that he was strong, just because he was a bit stronger than the people on his level.

He recalled the time Mune told him that he was decently strong.

「I guess Mune's words made me arrogant.」[Nova]

「Hmm? What did he tell you?」[Reischneid]

「Mune told me that I was about as strong as 10 percent of a fourth year, if I recall correctly..?」[Nova]

「...Damn. You know there are other factors other than strength, right?」[Reischneid]

Nova stayed quiet as Reischneid began to tell him off.

「Those fourth years have experiences that far outmatch your own. Even if you can do things that they can't, they have allies that can.」[Reischneid]

「...I know.」[Nova]

Reischneid suddenly spoke with a stern voice.

「Nova.」[Reischneid]

「...Yeah?」[Nova]

「You need to be able to count on your allies.」[Reischneid]

「...But, I don't want to implicate or endang-」[Nova]

Reischneid shouted in Nova's mind, causing him to jump.

「NO! Listen to me. You need to be able to count on your allies. Be honest...」[Reischneid]

Nova waited for him to speak, a sense of dread appearing as he waited for that question.

「...You sort of look down on your friends, don't you?」[Reischneid]

「...I...」[Nova]

「You do. You think most of them can't handle the fights you go through.」[Reischneid]

Nova bit his lip, as if it made it any easier for him to answer.

「...I do.」[Nova]

Reischneid's tone became colder, but a little empathetic.

「...In most cases, you're right. Most of them aren't ready yet.」[Reischneid]

Nova didn't expect Reischneid to say that, but stayed quiet for him to continue.

「That's why you only rely on Mune, right? Because he's the "number one" at the top of Genesis?」[Reischneid]

「...Right.」[Nova]

「Freyana is much stronger than you are. So is Kikhia. Alex, too. Sarena is obviously stronger, too.」[Reischneid]

「...But, doesn't Sarena only have around 2 and a half thousand units of mana?」[Nova]

「It was a rough estimate when I had little of my previous powers. I had no idea how much she had because she never used any of her abilities until now. She easily has over ten times that amount.」[Reischneid]

Nova had a guilty look on his face as he averted his eyes away from the mirror, not wanting to see his own face.

「Yet, you push Mune too much. He used Raiment several times in the past few days. Too much. In fact, in that last fight, he couldn't even use his Falling Sun swordplay due to the backlash from overusing his Raiment.」[Reischneid]

「...I'm sorry.」[Nova]

「Nova. It's not about being sorry. It's about fixing your mistakes in the future. I want you to be able to rely on the people you care for.」[Reischneid]

「....I'll try.」[Nova]

Reischneid stayed quiet for a bit before scoffing and trying to dispel the bad air.

「...Tch. When was the last time you got scolded?」[Reischneid]

「Uhm… In 2nd grade, I got bullied and the teacher and my dad told me off for not fighting back…?」[Nova]

「...Man, I thought my childhood was weird, but yours really takes the cake!」[Reischneid]

「Huh? What do you mean?! I had a very normal childhood.」[Nova]

「Haha, no. You still have much to learn, even when it comes to basic mannerisms.」[Reischneid]

「Yeah, yeah, whatever. Whatever I do, it's still not good enough, huh?」[Nova]

「Oh? So you know!」[Reischneid]

Nova opened the door, coming back into the room.

「Man, screw you, Reischneid.」[Nova]