-1433- The closing gap

This was something Lecty had never mentioned to anyone before.

After all, with Lecty's personality, she would never take the initiative to talk about such matters.

But today, under Misora's lead, Lecty finally mustered the courage.

"When I was in Oichis, I had two very close friends..."

Lecty lowered her head and, in a voice as soft as a mosquito's, began to speak about her past.

"They were from the main family of the Eisenach-style. Unlike me, who was from the branch family, they were both brave and talented from a young age, always ahead of me. Whether it was in Magic Dual Swordsmanship or Battle Skills, they mastered everything before I did. I was always trailing behind..."

The Eisenach-style was known for its emphasis on strength and adhered to a philosophy of might makes right. Even for children, the standards were extremely strict. If someone was found to lack talent or failed to achieve recognized results, they would be immediately expelled or even exiled from Oichis.

To avoid being abandoned and left behind, Lecty, though naturally timid, worked very hard to learn Magic Dual Swordsmanship.

"Thanks to the help of those two sisters, I successfully learned the Eisenach-style Magic Dual Swordsmanship and gradually mastered the Battle Skills. Although I barely met the minimum standards, I was at least not expelled..."

Unfortunately, mastering the techniques and being able to use them effectively are two different things.

Because of her personality, Lecty was never able to consistently bring out the full power of Eisenach-style Magic Dual Swordsmanship.

This problem eventually led to a tragic incident.

It happened when Lecty went out with one of the sisters to do some shopping in town.

"At that time, we were harassed by some thug-like Sky Wizards..."

Lecty's delicate body trembled slightly, as if recalling that moment.

No doubt, this must have been a significant psychological trauma for Lecty.

But she still struggled to recount the experience.

"Because they heard that we were from the Eisenach-style Magic Dual Swordsmanship, those Sky Wizards attacked us. But in that situation, I got scared and couldn't use my Battle Skills. To protect me, Aria got seriously injured in her shoulder..."

Afterward, not only did the people of the Eisenach-style fail to stand up for Lecty and the others, but they also felt that as inheritors of the strongest Magic Dual Swordsmanship, it was disgraceful that Lecty and the others couldn't even handle some thug Sky Wizards and ended up with one of them seriously injured. They deemed Lecty unworthy of being part of their lineage.

As a result, after that incident, Lecty was expelled from the Eisenach-style, forced to leave the floating city of Oichis, and later enrolled in Mistgun.

Since then, Lecty vowed to become an excellent Sky Wizard, to become stronger, and to protect more people.

She did this simply to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again.

Seeing Lecty bow her head like this, Misora and Rico fell silent.

Was this also a bond between the two girls?

Because of this, Misora tried to change the subject.

"Then... what about you, Rico? What about your story?"

Misora turned to Rico.

This also made Lecty momentarily suppress her sadness and look up in Rico's direction.

Seeing this, Rico hesitated for a moment.

Then she snorted softly.

"I just want to surpass a certain woman."

Such a simple sentence made Misora and Lecty both tense up.

No wonder.

After Rozen's explanation earlier, Misora and Lecty had realized that Rico's identity was anything but ordinary.

Rico possessed the rare gift of Clairvoyance and came from the Flamel family, which had inherited this gift for generations. It was a prestigious lineage, without a doubt.

And according to Rozen, Rico had an older sister.

"That woman is inferior to me. She still hasn't awaken her eyes, yet she always acts so arrogant. She doesn't even realize how embarrassing that is."

Rico's arrogant tone made Misora and Lecty secretly murmur to themselves.

(The arrogant one is obviously you, isn't it?)

It was just too relatable.

But at this moment, Rico suddenly changed her tone.

"Even though she hasn't awaken her eyes, that woman is still a genius. She has been highly regarded by those around her from a young age. At my age, she was already in a C-rank squad, and not only did she have the family's expectations, but she also had the expectations of everyone around her. For someone like me, who was still young at the time, she was a bit too dazzling."

Moreover, her sister was virtuous, well-rounded in both academics and martial skills, and could easily accomplish everything. Such a flawless and excellent person was Rico's older sister.

In contrast, Rico bore the mark of an underachiever.

It's not that Rico had poor grades; quite the opposite, her grades were always above average.

However, her sister was an honor student among honor students. During elementary school, her grades were all A's, and she served as the student council secretary in the fourth grade, vice president in the fifth grade, and president in the sixth grade. Even after coming here, she climbed to the top, eventually holding the highest position in the Sky Wizard Division and sitting on the highest authority within Mistgun's ten-member council. She could be described as flawless, only fitting the description of perfect.

With such a sister, Rico's situation was inevitable.

Despite her extraordinary talent, she disregarded rules.

Her personality was unpredictable, frequently violating school rules, and was even considered a troublesome individual.

As a result, Rico was labeled an underachiever, and people began to lose hope in her, which made her unable to trust others. She also felt inferior to her sister, who enjoyed overwhelming trust from everyone.

Even so, Rico still wanted to become a perfect person like her sister.

She would often call herself a goddess, simply because a goddess is synonymous with perfection.

Of course, Rico knew that if she claimed to be a goddess, she would inevitably be ridiculed by others.

However, for Rico, who could no longer trust others, this was just what she wanted.

Striving for perfection, Rico believed she didn't need anyone else to rely on; she could overcome all obstacles by herself and gain her sister's approval.

The reason she had previously been so dismissive of training, aside from her laziness, was simply that she couldn't see any possibility of achieving her goal. She felt that no matter how hard she trained while stuck in an E-rank squad, it would be pointless.

But now, things were different.

Now, someone had brought the possibility of improvement to Rico.

This made Rico unable to sit idly by, thus breaking her usual behavior patterns.

"Let me make it clear: I still don't trust you two, nor do I recognize you as my teammates. Especially you, Misora. You're supposed to be the squad leader, but you always impulsively charge ahead by yourself. How can I possibly acknowledge someone like you who holds a position higher than mine?"

Rico spoke her mind candidly.

But...

"That guy's arrival made me realize that if I continue like this, I'll never surpass that woman. So, although it's unpleasant, if some compromises are necessary, I don't mind making them."

With that, Rico concluded her explanation.

"Rico..."

Lecty looked at Rico with some emotion.

Misora, too, did not get angry at Rico's words; instead, she smiled.

Because...

"This is enough for now."

Misora declared to Rico.

"One day, I'll make you acknowledge me."

Upon hearing this, Rico shrugged her shoulders, as if she was both looking forward to it and indifferent.

The three of them continued their conversation.

The distance between them had somewhat shortened.

This scene was witnessed by someone with intent.

"It seems my prediction might not come true after all."

Leaning against the wall of the training ground corridor, arms crossed, Rozen smiled wryly as he listened to the girls' laughter.

Then, Rozen turned around and left the area.