-1461- How about going on a date?

Rozen had no idea what was happening with Freon at that moment.

By this time, Rozen had finished the research at the Alchemist Division and headed to his personal training ground.

Though it was called his personal training ground, lately, it had practically become the exclusive training ground for the E601 Squad.

Only those who received Rozen's permission could enter this training ground, and Rozen had only granted access to the S128 Special Squad and the E601 Squad. Since the S128 Special Squad was usually busy with missions and rarely came here, the E601 Squad ended up using this training ground all the time.

Thus, when Rozen arrived at the training ground, Misora, Lecty, and Rico were already in the middle of their training.

"Rico! Hurry and support me!"

"Mi... Misora! I can't hold on much longer over here!"

"Huff, really, you guys are just hopeless. I'm going through all this trouble, sweating like crazy, to help you with this training, so you should at least do better!"

The three girls, Misora, Lecty, and Rico, continued shouting at each other or bickering, but their hands never stopped moving.

Rozen watched the performance of the three girls and nodded in approval.

At that moment, Misora, Lecty, and Rico were fighting in midair, forming their squad formation against a large number of Arachnell-class enemies.

Of course, these were not real Armored Beetles but clay dolls created by Rozen using his magic. However, in terms of combat ability, these clay dolls were undoubtedly stronger than actual Armored Beetles.

To train the E601 Squad's teamwork, quick judgment, and other skills, Rozen didn't just create a group of Armored Beetle dolls to attack them. He also programmed the dolls with specific action spells, allowing them to form particular formations or execute specific attacks to constantly hone the E601 Squad's abilities.

To deal with these Armored Beetle dolls, the E601 Squad had to continually assess the dolls' formations and attack patterns and then swiftly adjust their formation and tactics. Otherwise, with their current abilities, they would undoubtedly end up covered in dirt and return to the dormitory in a sorry state.

Previously, Misora, Lecty, and Rico had always returned covered in dirt, and even until yesterday, it had been the same.

However, as time went on, the dirt on these three girls was decreasing, proving that they were indeed making progress.

For example, now, even though the training had been going on for about two hours, the three of them were almost completely free of dirt.

If they continued at this pace, today should be cleaner than yesterday.

"Although still a bit immature, they should be able to handle real combat now."

Rozen thought to himself, somewhat thoughtfully.

At that moment, two streaks of light flew rapidly from the sky.

"Hmm?"

Rozen noticed this and looked up.

"Th-that's... Whoa!"

"Huh? Isn't that...Ahh!"

"Wait! Why are you two getting distracted?! The dolls are coming at me! No... Stay away...! Do you know who I am? I'm a goddess... Ugh..."

Misora, Lecty, and Rico, who had been training, let their guard down for just a moment and were immediately surrounded by a group of dolls, getting hit directly and letting out consecutive cries of distress.

Poor Rozen had just evaluated that the three of them would be cleaner today than yesterday, but now it seemed they would be as dirty as before when they returned.

"Honestly..."

Rozen couldn't help but laugh.

At that moment, the two streaks of light in the sky flew toward them one after the other.

"Yo, Rozen, as expected, you're here."

The person who appeared with this casual greeting was, of course, Kanata.

"Kanata... Senpai!"

Yuri also appeared, panting heavily, clearly having been run around by Kanata for quite some time, expending a lot of energy.

"Why are you guys here?"

Rozen asked curiously, noticing their condition.

"Ugh... We're dirty again..."

"The clothes... They're hard to wash... Ugh..."

"...You two, don't think I'll let you off easily after making this goddess look like this."

Misora, Lecty, and Rico landed one after the other, looking dejected, with their bodies completely covered in dirt, appearing utterly disheveled.

Upon seeing this, Kanata and Yuri reacted very differently.

"What... What are you guys doing?"

Yuri was stunned, standing there in confusion.

"It looks like you're doing some interesting training."

Kanata, on the other hand, glanced at the dolls of Armored Beetles hovering in the sky, seemingly understanding the situation, and smiled with interest.

Upon hearing this, the three members of the E601 Squad, though still somewhat dejected, perked up a bit after greeting Kanata, thanks to his words.

"Hasn't Senpai undergone this kind of training?"

Misora asked curiously.

"I heard you were also trained by this instructor, right?"

Rico spoke nonchalantly as she tidied her hair.

Kanata shrugged and said, "That's true, but we didn't undergo this kind of training."

Which was only natural.

"Kanata, Chloe, and I grew up together as childhood friends." Rozen explained, "So we've always had a good understanding of each other. As long as we confirmed the tactics, we could basically cooperate and display a certain level of teamwork. Besides, both Kanata and Chloe are quick-witted, with excellent judgment, observational skills, and analytical abilities. The three of us didn't need much training in this area, as long as I gave the instructions."

Therefore, the S128 Special Squad didn't really need to undergo training to hone their formation and teamwork skills, just a little rehearsal would suffice.

"Because of that, when Yuri first joined us, it took her quite a bit of effort to successfully integrate. At first, when she wasn't succeeding, she almost cried out of frustration."

Kanata carelessly revealed a secret that no one else knew.

"I... I didn't! At least, I didn't cry!"

Yuri immediately refuted, blushing furiously.

"Is that so?" Kanata pretended to be surprised and said, "Back then, you often had that 'about to cry' look, always muttering things like 'I must not be qualified to join this team; I'm just an uninvited flea; please don't mind me' in a self-deprecating manner, leaving Chloe helpless. But as soon as Rozen comforted you, you'd immediately regain your spirits, right?"

"Ka... Kanata-senpai!" Yuri's face turned red as she lunged at Kanata.

"Too naive!" Kanata instantly dodged her attack, spinning in a way that made one suspect it was a special move, evading Yuri's pounce.

Yuri relentlessly chased after him, but Kanata dodged every attempt.

However, neither of them realized that their aerial maneuvers, serious and interchanging as they were, created a scene of a gorgeous aerial dance that left Misora, Lecty, and Rico utterly dumbfounded.

"Th-this is the Special Squad?"

"A... Amazing..."

"They're showing off such high-level flying skills even when playing around—are they doing this on purpose to provoke us?"

The three members of the E601 Squad were left speechless.

Rozen also felt it was a bit ridiculous and spoke up.

"By the way, what are you two doing here? Do you need something?"

Hearing this, the two figures in the sky suddenly faltered.

Or more accurately, Yuri's movements faltered.

Yuri became flustered, wanting to catch Kanata and make him stop talking.

Unfortunately...

"Oh, right, Rozen."

Kanata looked at Rozen.

"How about going on a date?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire place fell silent.