-1427- Hold out your hand

Within the training grounds, the forceful winds kept raging, stirring up clouds of dust that obscured the view.

Rozen and Lecty were both sent flying backward out of the swirling dust, putting some distance between them as they stood facing each other.

The two of them stared each other down from afar.

Then...

"Boom!"

Lecty, still expressionless, raised her dual magic swords. The rune engravings on the blades began to glow with intense heat until they burst into flames, enveloping the swords in a fiery blaze.

Seeing this...

"This is bad!"

Rozen was inwardly alarmed.

Having once faced an Eisenach-style dual magic swordsman, Rozen knew all too well what Lecty's next move would be.

This was not something that could be casually used in a place like this.

Of course, it wasn't that Rozen couldn't handle it, but that the sheer power of the move would likely require a major repair of the training grounds afterward.

Rozen had no desire to let that happen.

Therefore...

"This ends now."

Rozen made his decision.

"Snap!"

In the next moment, Rozen snapped his fingers.

Instantly...

"Huh?"

The light in Lecty's eyes began to return, and the expression on her face also came back to life.

"I… What was I… Ahhh...!"

No longer attacking in a blank state, Lecty was momentarily bewildered. Then, seeing the astonishing amount of magic power gathered on her magic swords, she let out a shriek and quickly threw them away.

Thanks to this, the magic swords lost their power, the engravings on the blades dimmed, and the flames vanished.

"This… What…"

Lecty was both shocked and confused.

Clearly, she remembered what had just happened, but couldn't believe she had done it.

Not just Lecty—Misora and Rico were equally incredulous.

"You… you were amazing just now, Lecty!"

Misora rushed over to Lecty, flailing her arms in excitement.

"Is that the Eisenach-style? No wonder it's called the strongest dual magic sword technique. Not bad at all."

Rico also approached, looking smug, but her gaze was on the magic swords lying on the ground, with a thoughtful glint in her eyes.

"I… I don't know what happened either…"

Lecty stared at the magic swords on the ground, hurriedly picking them up as she remained both puzzled and exhilarated.

The confusion stemmed from not understanding her earlier state.

The excitement came from finally successfully using a battle skill.

Until now, despite having learned the Eisenach-style dual magic sword techniques, Lecty had never been able to successfully use them due to her personality.

Today, she had finally managed to execute her school's battle skill, and she couldn't help but be excited.

However, if she were to try again, she might still fail to use the technique successfully.

"If I hadn't interfered with your mind and spirit, you wouldn't have been able to display the level of skill you just did, would you?"

Rozen slowly walked over.

The three girls suddenly realized.

"Did you do something?"

Misora asked in surprise.

"Lecty's state just now was probably due to some kind of magic, wasn't it?"

Rico concluded.

Rozen smiled slightly.

"Very effective, wasn't it?"

With this simple remark, the girls were left speechless.

This was what Rozen could offer these three girls.

In Rozen's view, each member of the E601 Squad had their own issues.

Misora was unable to grasp the essentials, working hard in a field that yielded no results, resulting in her low skill level.

Rico was extraordinarily talented and gifted but had a terrible attitude. Though she had skill, she lacked passion and was extremely nonchalant.

Lecty, on the other hand, had a solid foundation and was the most skilled among the three, but due to her personality, she couldn't fully display her abilities.

With this in mind, Rozen offered each of them something different to compensate.

For Misora, he gave her the essentials so that she could fully utilize her outstanding mana and make up for her weaknesses, making it possible for her to fight using a magic cannon sword.

For Rico, he further drew out her talent, enhancing the abilities she already had, allowing her to become even stronger.

As for Lecty, he needed to correct her personality flaws so that she could showcase her true strength.

In Lecty's case, the typical approach would be to gradually guide her psychologically, making her stronger and braver.

However, that would take too much time and effort.

It's not easy for a timid person to become brave.

Perhaps in the long run, the best way for Lecty to overcome her psychological weaknesses would be through her own efforts, but Rozen is a magus and a man. Watching Lecty struggle to overcome her fears and anxieties just to fight was something he didn't want to do.

Therefore, Rozen simply used magic to help Lecty overcome her mental blocks directly.

"What I used on you just now was a type of suggestion magic, one of the simplest kinds of magic. It's typically used for hypnotizing ordinary people, but in your case, I thought it would be just the thing to help you overcome your fears."

Rozen explained to Lecty.

"With suggestion magic, your inner fears and anxieties will disappear. You don't have to go as far as I did just now, where I hypnotized you to the point of erasing all your emotions. Instead, you just need to remove your anxiety and fear, and then you'll be able to display the strength you're meant to have. Depending on how much you use it, you can even eliminate hesitation and doubt. But if you do it to that extent, you'll end up like you were just now, turning into a machine that only knows how to fight, so you'll need to practice controlling it."

This way, Lecty could directly overcome her weakness through this magic.

Moreover, after having fought properly once, Lecty would gradually be able to overcome her psychological barriers and eventually no longer need the magic.

People are often afraid of the unknown, but once they've tried something, their courage grows bit by bit.

Lecty was no different. With the help of the suggestion magic, she could temporarily overcome her fears and hesitations, and with continued combat experience, she would gradually adapt and eventually overcome this issue.

This was a task that required meticulous effort.

However, before it could be completed, Rozen first gave Lecty the key to directly achieve the desired result.

"Come, hold out your hand."

Rozen took out a ring engraved with a series of runic characters.

This was a magic artifact used to perform suggestion magic.

Rozen extended his hand and gently took hold of Lecty's before she could react.

Then, to put the ring on Lecty, who was a lot shorter then him, Rozen knelt down on one knee.

Rozen was completely unaware of how astonishing his actions were.

"W-wait…!"

"Hey…!"

Misora called out in shock, and even Rico voiced her surprise.

Upon closer inspection, Rozen's current posture had him kneeling on one knee before Lecty, holding her hand while taking out a ring.

No matter how one looked at it, this scene was enough to startle anyone.

But Rozen remained oblivious, and amidst Misora and Rico's stunned reactions, he placed the ring on Lecty's finger.

It happened to be on Lecty's ring finger.

"~~~~~~~!"

Lecty finally realized what was happening.

Her face turned bright red.