"No training allowed."
"Huh?"
After careful consideration, the conclusion I reached made Liliz, who had been sitting with her knees drawn up, pout her lips in displeasure.
When I thought about it, my childhood friends had always given their all. From the time we trained back in our hometown before becoming Hunters, all the way to now — having come to the Imperial Capital, overcome countless hardships, and earned their reputation as Hunters — I had never once seen them half-heart anything.
Perhaps knowing just how hard you can push yourself without giving up was yet another quality required of a Hunter.
Up until now, I had always just watched them from the sidelines. But this time, I had to speak up.
Tinno, who had barely been brought back to life with Citry's potion, was breathing heavily, his body covered in wounds. Just a little while ago he'd been charred black with smoke rising from his body, but now the scars had nearly vanished. His clothes were somewhat singed, but still retained their shape.
Citry's potions had been a cornerstone of our hunts until Anthem's recovery magic grew sufficiently powerful. They weren't on the same level as the *Divine Creation Potion* from the *Treasure Hall*, but their effectiveness was well-established.
Of course, they couldn't revive the dead, so Tinno being able to come back was partly his own strength — but regardless, I couldn't let anyone do anything more that would ruin our vacation.
It wasn't just about me. This was for Tinno's sake, and for Liliz and Citry's sake too. Even if my words might lack conviction, learning to take a break and rest both body and mind every once in a while was important.
A carriage rolled quietly through the grasslands as the rain lightened.
There were no other travelers in sight. Despite it being daytime, the sky remained dim, and thunder rumbled in the distance, but both the rain and wind were considerably better than yesterday.
Whether another storm would come was uncertain, but since this was supposed to be a vacation, I wanted to avoid camping outdoors as much as possible.
Yes, this was a vacation! This time, it was just a trip! Not a training journey!
I had said this multiple times, but Liliz and the others still didn't seem to understand.
Liliz, showing no signs of reflection, looked up at me with puppy-dog eyes. (Incidentally, Liliz had apparently been struck by lightning too, but was luckily unharmed… Can that even happen?)
"But Klye-chan, it was the perfect opportunity! If you don't train, you'll die when the time comes, you know?"
"It's fine… probably."
Being hit by a waterfall, sure, maybe. But training where you get struck by lightning? I'd never heard of such a thing.
And apparently it wasn't just once. The way Liliz cheerfully described her training was halfway between a joke and reality.
Citry, who had been sitting in seiza with her hands on her knees listening, suddenly widened her eyes as if struck by an idea.
"…Could it be that you're restricting us to only training?"
Another word I had never heard before…
"You're deliberately suppressing training and keeping our abilities low so we can experience more life-or-death battles. That's what you mean, right?"
…That's not what I meant.
This thinking was completely off the rails. My childhood friends had become Hunters down to their very core.
Liliz looked delighted. Tinno stared at me with a shell-shocked expression.
"And if we happen to die halfway through — we don't need such incompetent people. That's what you're saying, right, Klye-san? I think it makes perfect sense!"
"As expected of Klye-chan — harsh!"
That's not what I meant. Why do you two look so happy about this?
Tinno dragged himself over toward me, inching by inch. Struck by lightning, dressed in tattered rags, with tears threatening to spill — Tinno looked nothing like his usual calm, collected, solo-operator self. I wanted to hug him.
"M-Mastaa, I, um… want to do… training…"
"Huh? Tinno, if Klye-chan says it's white, then it's white! How many times do I have to tell you?"
Liliz shoved Tinno aside and scolded him in a high-pitched voice. She was playing the villain perfectly.
Somehow, even though I hadn't said it was white, it felt like things were turning white… We hadn't really adventured together for over a year, but I never expected things had gotten this extreme. While I'd been eating ice cream in the Clan Master's room, polishing Treasure Weapons, and playing with Eva, Liliz and the others had apparently become addicted to hunting.
They'd already had that tendency before, but I never imagined they'd forget how to take a vacation…
This was bad. The already-low social skills I had were going to disappear entirely at this rate. If things continued like this, Tinno would be influenced too.
"…Looks like some corrective measures are needed."
Another goal had been added to my vacation agenda.
Teaching them how to rest. If there was one thing I excelled at beyond all others, it was slacking off — this was the perfect job for me.
Liliz watched me as I flashed a hardboiled grin, her eyes sparkling. Nope. No matter what look you give me — I'm stopping this. I absolutely will.
…Hey, isn't it weird that hearing my own lines just made me grin?
Tinno's shoulders, after being shoved away and tossed aside, were trembling. Maybe Liliz had been right after all — but regardless, I really shouldn't have brought him along.
"Let me lay it out from the start. First: during this vacation, training is prohibited."
Liliz immediately raised her hand and asked for clarification.
"Hey, Klye-chan. Where's the line for what counts as training? What about strength training?"
"…Strength training is also out."
"Running?"
"…Running is also out."
"Then, then, what about wearing heavy clothes, like… no?"
"…No."
I'd appreciate it if you'd stop looking for loopholes in my words.
"Hmm, what about light sparring practice? Does that count as training?"
"Does administering potions count as training?"
Even Citry had started in on the mischief. I said it was a vacation… Of course it counts. Everything counts as training. Enjoy your vacation more, would you?
"Every action you take to make yourselves stronger falls under the ban."
"!? What!? What about breathing techniques? Footwork? Things we do unconsciously too!?"
"!? Does thinking of ways to compensate for weaknesses count as training? What about hiring people or compounding potions?"
I was slightly taken aback by how seriously Citry and Liliz pressed me on this.
Training had invaded every aspect of their daily lives.
"Yep. Everything is training. All banned."
"!!"
"!!?"
Seeing Liliz and Citry making such devastated expressions, I gave a small cough.
If I made them look like this during a vacation meant for enjoyment, it would defeat the entire purpose.
"…W-Well, if you really can't hold back, I suppose you're allowed to do it…"
"!! Klye-chan, you're so kind!"
"…Right. Leaving me and my sister aside, it might be a little harsh for Tinno…"
"Thank you, Mastaa…"
For some reason, he thanked me. Looking at Liliz with her beaming smile, Tinno with tears gathering in the corners of his eyes, and Citry with her serious expression, I started to feel like none of it mattered anymore. It was a bad habit of mine.
But if I backed down now, nothing would change from before.
I closed my eyes for a moment, steeled myself, and spoke.
"Next — violence is also prohibited."
"!? Klye-chan, what about lightly — really, really lightly — kicking someone? What about punishing people who start something? What about smacking Tinno when he's training?"
"Does self-defense count as violence? For example, what about annihilating hostile forces through the exercise of authority? What about administering potions?"
"Mastaa's trials are… um… worse than just simple violence…"
Everything was off-limits. Allowing exceptions halfway would defeat the purpose, and physical strength was unlikely to be of any use during this vacation anyway.
And Tinno's words had quietly pierced deep into my heart. I had to restore Mastaa's authority no matter what.
"Finally, and most importantly — the point of this vacation is to enjoy yourselves."
Even though we'd originally fled in a rush, we'd made it out of the Imperial Capital. It would be a waste not to have fun.
If we picked up Luke and the others along the way, we wouldn't need to worry about guards. It had been a while since all the members of the *Mourning Specter* had been out together. There would surely be tough times, but I was certain it would be an enjoyable journey.
At my words, Liliz and Citry broke into flower-like smiles, while Tinno still wore an uneasy expression.
§ Perhaps the timing was just that bad, but the rain showed no sign of stopping no matter how long we waited.
In any case, after a few hours' delay, we arrived at the first town: Elan. Compared to the Imperial Capital, it was far smaller in both population and scale, serving mainly as a relay point.
Normally it would have bustled with merchants and Hunters, but because of the endless rain, there was hardly a soul on the streets.
I stepped down from the carriage, stretched out my limbs to work the stiffness out of my body, and relished the feel of solid ground beneath my feet for the first time in hours.
Despite it still being daytime, the sky was dark with thick clouds hiding the sun.
"This weather is really something…"
Rain this persistent even outside the rainy season… I didn't want to call it ominous, but the three people Citry had hired to drive the carriage had clearly had enough of riding in the rain outside for hours.
Citry, who had been unloading luggage, spoke up.
"Klye-san, did you notice? The wind has been at our backs the whole time."
I had no idea what she was getting at. A tailwind the entire time was pretty implausible to begin with, but who cared about wind direction.
"Hm? Oh, yeah, that's good, right?"
At any rate, the horses were cold and exhausted. We might as well stop for the night and rest. This wasn't a trip with a deadline, after all.
While I was leisurely thinking about that, Liliz clapped her hands together and said, looking very amused: "Ah, I knew it, I knew it! I kept thinking, 'why won't the rain stop?'… This storm is definitely chasing us, isn't it!"
!? ……Had I done something wrong?
Looking at Liliz laughing about how the wind had died down, I decided to focus on thinking about tonight's dinner instead.
§ § § "Tch, this is just our luck… Even in Zebuldia you get weather like this, huh."
The weather was terrible. The sudden storm and lightning reminded them of the climate of the fog country — Nebulnes — which saw rain year-round and had once served as Arnold and the others' base of operations.
At Ei's words, the other members riding in the same carriage nodded in agreement.
The pitch-black clouds, reminiscent of a curtain of darkness, were an ill omen. The adult *Thunder Dragon* that had once ravaged the fog country had also come accompanied by a storm. Prior investigation had revealed that Thunder Dragons rarely appeared in Zebuldia, but if this storm was caused by a monster, that creature had to be something on the level of a Thunder Dragon.
"It's not like it's going to rain for months on end like in Nebulnes. Maybe we should turn back."
Arnold and his group numbered eight — split between two carriages.
When you factored in weapons and items, fitting everyone into a single carriage was extremely tight. A large party meant greater combat power, but also reduced mobility.
Arnold, riding in the leading carriage, folded his arms and considered Ei's words before giving his answer.
"You think *Thousand Transformations* would back down over a mere storm? They haven't returned to the Imperial Capital either. Press on."
Storms should be avoided when possible, but that was all it was — a storm. Having repeated countless marches through rain, fought through storms and fog, and experienced more bad-weather battles than they could count, this was nothing worth retreating over.
"…True… If anything, the wind might be working in our favor. Even if those guys have high levels, they're Imperial Capital Hunters — they can't be used to fighting in fog."
The other members agreed. Confidence was visible in their expressions.
The two carriages surged down the empty road, spraying enormous plumes of water on either side.