-1429- Different progress

While the E601 squad was training in Rozen's dedicated training grounds, evolving toward new possibilities under Rozen's guidance, a figure floated high in the sky at a distance from Mistgun, from where the training grounds could be directly observed.

"Ah...!"

The figure, holding a telescope and watching the training scene below, suddenly let out a voice full of turmoil after a moment.

The reason was simply that the figure's owner had seen something.

She had seen Rozen kneeling on one knee before Lecty and putting a ring on her finger.

Seeing Lecty blushing furiously, flustered and at a loss, while Misora and Rico stood speechless on the side, the figure's owner finally gritted her teeth in frustration.

"So, that's why senpai who was so focused on transferring to the Alchemist Division became the instructor for an E-rank squad? So, this is the reason?"

The figure's owner was none other than Yuri Flostre.

Ever since meeting Rozen in the Sky Wizards Division Head's office and learning that he was currently mentoring an E601 squad, Yuri had been unable to shake the unease, turning the matter over and over in her mind, even losing sleep over it.

"Mentoring…"

This wasn't the first time Rozen had taken on such a role.

In the S128 special team, everyone had received Rozen's guidance and had grown to their current level under his tutelage.

Including Yuri.

Thus, Yuri knew very well that Rozen had a surprising affinity for nurturing talent and was highly skilled at teaching others. Even for those like Kanata Age and herself, who specialized in frontline combat and excelled in close-quarters battle, Rozen could offer a certain level of guidance, allowing them to grow significantly.

Yuri herself had grown into one of Mistgun's most renowned ace Sky Wizards under Rozen's mentorship. She had never doubted Rozen's abilities.

Thus, even though Freon Flamel questioned whether Rozen could elevate the E601 squad to the level of the S128 special team, Yuri had no doubt whatsoever, fully believing in Rozen's ability to do so.

However, despite her faith in him, Yuri could not suppress her unease.

Why she felt so uneasy, Yuri didn't understand.

All she knew was that after learning about Rozen mentoring the E601 squad, a huge sense of resistance welled up within her.

This resistance was so strong that it rivaled the feelings she had when Rozen had announced his intention to transfer to the Alchemist Division and leave the S128 special squad.

This showed just how much Yuri was bothered by this matter.

In the end, Yuri couldn't resist the agitation in her heart and, during the time Rozen was mentoring the E601 squad, secretly snuck into the sky above to spy on them with a telescope, desperate to know what Rozen was doing with the E601 squad.

As a result, Yuri witnessed this scene.

This made Yuri feel as if something snapped in her mind, leaving her unable to stay calm.

Yuri's emotions were completely overtaken by anger, leading her to a heavily biased conclusion.

"What nurturing talent? Clearly, you just find those girls cute and can't help but want to be close to them...!"

Yuri's thoughts were completely consumed by this idea.

Perhaps, when Yuri calms down later, she'll realize how unreasonable her current thoughts are.

But at this moment, Yuri simply couldn't calm down.

"So much for being straightforward! You're certainly true to your desires!"

Yuri trembled with rage, staring at Rozen, who was sitting at the edge of the training ground reading a report, with a strong impulse to rush over and confront him face to face.

However, despite her impulse, Yuri didn't follow through.

"Senpai... You're the worst...!"

Leaving those words behind, Yuri turned and stormed off, landing on one of Mistgun's streets, her steps heavy as if venting her anger.

In her state, Yuri failed to notice that she had been followed. Someone had been secretly trailing her, also using a telescope to spy on her actions.

In other words, this person had witnessed Yuri's every move.

The observer also knew exactly who Yuri was angry at.

This caused the observer's expression to twist.

"Why... why can't you notice me...!?"

The person muttered in a low voice.

Yuri might not recognize this person, but Rozen might have some recollection.

It was the same person who, during a quarrel between Rozen and Yuri on the street, had nervously held a letter, summoning the courage to give it to Yuri, only to be completely ignored by her.

The person was a male student dressed in the standard uniform of a regular undergraduate, indicating that he was from the Machinas Division.

However, unlike most Sky Wizards, he didn't wear an emblem representing a squad on his chest.

All Sky Wizards wore squad emblems on their chests, with their squad numbers marked on them.

For example, Rozen, Yuri, Chloe Sevegny, and Kanata Age all had emblems bearing the "S128" insignia, while Misora Whitale, Lecty Eisenach, and Rico Flamel had emblems with the "E601" insignia.

But this undergraduate student didn't have an emblem, indicating that he wasn't part of the Sky Wizard Division.

Yet, his face twisted with resentment as he muttered.

"Rorelai Arneet..."

Uttering this name, his voice was filled with hatred.

But he knew all too well that with his abilities, he was no match for Rozen and would be nothing more than a joke in Rozen's eyes.

"Rorelai Arneet...!"

He could only hide in the shadows, growling in a low voice.

Apart from this, he had no other options.

...….

Time slowly passed.

Not long after, dusk arrived.

After finishing reading the reports and issuing the necessary instructions to the Alchemist Division through the communication crystal, Rozen stretched and looked toward the training grounds.

There, three girls appeared to have made different levels of progress after a whole afternoon of training.

"Haaah...!"

Misora was shouting meaninglessly, her collar glowing as it released her telekinesis like a shockwave, kicking up a cloud of dust around her.

Clearly, Misora still hadn't successfully controlled her telekinesis. Rather than applying it to herself, she was just wasting it on random outbursts, creating a scene that made one think she might as well abandon her magic sword and use telekinesis directly as her combat method.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Rico was still practicing long-range shooting, and her magic bullets were now hitting the clay targets in the sky with pinpoint accuracy, showing rapid progress and standing in stark contrast to Misora.

However, Rico was still exploring how to use the Virtual Aether, probably trying to find a quicker, more efficient way to activate it while conserving magic power and adjusting the spell's power.

As for Lecty, she was standing alone in a corner, fiddling with her ring, the engraving on it glowing and dimming intermittently. Her expression constantly changed—sometimes blank, sometimes full of anxiety, sometimes tense, and sometimes confused.

It seemed that Lecty was also practicing using the suggestion to achieve fine control, hoping to avoid making herself do something strange.

The three girls each made some progress, though none had reached perfection yet.

Rozen stood up.

"Alright, that's enough for today."

Rozen called out to everyone.

"You can all dismiss now."

After saying that, Rozen prepared to leave.

Seeing this, the girls hurriedly called out to stop him.