Not a barbarian warrior.

Even after Eugene was finally released and placed on a stretcher, Lorena continued to gather mana.

Seeing that she had no intention of withdrawing her magic, Sir Bernard spoke while sweating nervously:

“Our trainees were wrong. As their teacher, I apologize on their behalf. Won’t you please lower your staff now?”

“…Sir Bernard! You can’t!”

The trainees were shocked. How could the sir apologize on their behalf for their mistake? This was unthinkable.

Bernard turned his head to scold his disciples once more and quietly silenced them. Then he sincerely apologized to Lorena. She replied:

“You re-reduce an innocent person to such a state… And you think a mere verbal apology is enough…? Be-Besides, shouldn’t you be apologizing to Eugene…!”

“You’re right… But if I don’t apologize to you now, it seems this whole area might be blown away… Am I wrong?”

“…”

At Bernard’s words, Lorena realized she had gotten too excited.

She suddenly looked down at her staff. Its tip was glowing much brighter than she had thought.

Due to crudely forcing mana into a single point, the magic was on the verge of going out of control.

She instinctively calculated how long this magic could be maintained.

Roughly 10 seconds…?

No, time had passed even as she thought, so now 9 seconds… 8… 7… 6…

“…Uh, uwaah-!”

As soon as Lorena realized there was no time to withdraw the magic, she pointed her staff towards the sky.

And soon, with a tremendous roar, a shockwave exploded from the tip of the staff.

Paang–!!

A gust of wind accompanied by dust erupted from her center, pushing everything away.

The trainees standing in the training ground, Old Man Malika who had come with her, and the owner from the blacksmith street were no exceptions.

They all screamed as they were blown backward, unable to withstand the shock carried by the wind.

A moment later, the wind subsided and the surroundings became quiet.

The only ones still standing in the training ground were Lorena and Bernard, while the rest were sprawled in corners after being blown away.

Lorena looked around and turned pale when she saw something among the fallen group in the distance.

“Ah…!”

Ignoring Bernard with his disheveled hair, she quickly ran to the corner of the training ground.

Among the fallen people, Eugene was lying with his eyes closed.

“Op-Open your eyes…!”

When he didn’t regain consciousness, Lorena muttered that she wouldn’t forgive them.

“To reduce Eugene to this state… I-I will never forget this debt…!”

She tried to hurriedly leave the place while carrying the limp Eugene on her back.

“Hnngh…!”

However, moving an unconscious person was not an easy task.

Lorena was someone who had spent her life doing nothing but breathing exercises, let alone physical training, due to her magic research.

The distance she could carry Eugene was at most about five steps.

In the end, unable to bear the weight, she collapsed on the floor with a thud.

“Ugh… So-Someone help me…”

With everyone fallen due to the aftermath of the magic, the only person who could help her and Eugene was Sir Bernard.

He quietly approached and carefully lifted Eugene, who was slumped over her back.

Eugene regained consciousness and opened his eyes wide.

As he tried to raise his upper body while taking a deep breath, an intense pain overwhelmed him.

He immediately knew something was wrong with his ribs.

‘It doesn’t seem broken… Maybe cracked…’

After letting out a small, pain-filled groan, Eugene rolled his eyes and looked around.

Seeing the familiar furniture and ceiling, he realized this was Lorena’s bedroom.

He slowly opened his mouth and called her name.

“Lorena… Lorena…?”

Then an unexpected figure appeared.

“She’s outside now. She went to get herbs to use on you.”

“Sir Bernard? What on earth happened?”

“It seems you don’t remember. Do you recall her raising magic, demanding that you be released immediately?”

“…I remember up to that point.”

“She exploded the magic, whether unable to contain her anger or not. Fortunately, she shot it towards the sky, but the aftermath of the shock was tremendous. Everyone except her and me collapsed.”

“…”

“So I carried you here on my back. She seemed to struggle to lift you alone.”

“Ah… I’ll apologize on her behalf. The misunderstanding had already been cleared up…”

“No need. Look at your current state. If I were her, I would have turned the surroundings into a wasteland. We should rather be grateful for her mercy.”

“…”

As Eugene fell silent, not knowing what to say, Bernard bowed his head deeply and apologized.

“As the head of the guild, I sincerely apologize. It’s all my fault. This unfortunate incident happened because I taught my disciples poorly.”

Eugene waved his hands in embarrassment.

“No, not at all. How could this be your fault, sir? It’s my fault for not explaining properly. I shouldn’t have abruptly said I wanted to meet you.”

“No. Who beats up a visitor like this? Let me apologize once more.”

As Bernard bowed his head again to convey his sincerity, Eugene quickly accepted the apology and tried to change the subject.

“By the way, they were asking if I came from the ‘Cunning Steel’, what exactly is that? They were saying things like ‘Snake’s Shadow’ and ‘Silas’s henchman’, most of which I was hearing for the first time.”

“Ah… The trainees misunderstood you. Let me correct this first. It’s not ‘Cunning Steel’ but ‘Shadow of Steel’. It’s a swordsmanship guild like ours. Sir Silas is the master there.”

“Ah…”

“We’re on hostile terms. Count Leopold regularly holds tournaments, and we’ve come to be like this after fighting there.”

“Then is the Snake’s Shadow perhaps…?”

“It’s one of the techniques taught at the Cunning Steel… no, Shadow of Steel. You learned it by stealing with your eyes, right? It’s quite a difficult technique, you must have remarkable talent.”

“You flatter me…”

As Eugene spoke bashfully, Bernard said he should compensate for injuring such a talented warrior.

“It seems there’s a problem with your ribs. You’ll need to rest completely for at least a couple of months. First, take this. I’ll send a disciple tomorrow with what’s lacking.”

Bernard took out a pouch from his bosom and held it out to Eugene.

“…I’ll accept it without hesitation.”

Although he didn’t immediately check the contents, Eugene felt quite good as he sensed its weight.

“Come see me when you’re fully healed. I’ll personally teach you swordsmanship until you’re satisfied. I won’t charge you.”

He was already grateful just for receiving sufficient money.

But on top of that, hearing that Sir Bernard would personally teach him swordsmanship for free, Eugene’s eyes widened with joy.

This was a profitable deal even after accounting for the beating he took. He was almost grateful to the trainees who had beaten him.

“To be so considerate… Thank you. I’ll visit you again when I’m fully healed.”

Just then, the sound of the door opening was heard from outside, and Lorena entered with footsteps.

She was panting, having rushed back so urgently, and ran to Eugene.

“Ah…! You’re awake? It must hurt a lot… Ju-Just wait a bit. I’ll apply medicine right away…”

She looked at Eugene worriedly, then glared at Bernard with narrowed eyes and said:

“I-I don’t need your help anymore, so g-get out…!”

He had already said everything he needed to say anyway. Bernard apologized to Eugene once more and stood up.

“Then I’ll see you again later. I’m sorry.”

“I’ll visit you when I’m fully healed.”

“Hu-Hurry and leave…!”

Lorena pushed Bernard’s large back, hurriedly chasing him out.

And a little while later, she brought thoroughly ground herbs and tried to undress Eugene.

Eugene tried to protest, saying he could do it himself, but he felt intense pain even with the slightest movement.

Inevitably, Eugene decided to accept her help.

“Now then… I-I’ll start by taking off the top…”

As she slowly removed Eugene’s upper garment, a body marked with scars and bruises was revealed. Lorena naturally felt pity for Eugene.

At the same time, the clearly sculpted muscular body slightly stirred something in her heart.

“Now… Ju-Just bear with it a little… I’m go-going to apply the herbs, so do-don’t move…”

Lorena, unaware that her own face had turned red, slowly applied the herbs to Eugene’s body with trembling hands.

When he flinched at even the slightest touch, she unconsciously exhaled through her nose and sweated.

‘Th-This is… like that scene from … Of course, the roles are reversed, but…’

Lorena now felt she could understand Count Giorgio’s sexual sadism, which she had never been able to comprehend before.

As a result, her hands applying the medicine gradually became stronger.

“Ugh… Lorena, could you be a little gentler…?”

“Ah, ah… So-Sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

After that, Eugene occasionally let out pained groans, and each time, Lorena’s face grew even redder.

The next day, someone knocked on the door of Lorena’s mansion from early in the morning.

“Wh-Who is it…”

When she opened the door, a not unfamiliar face appeared.

It was Clea, who had been Eugene’s last duel opponent yesterday.

Unlike yesterday when she was soaked in sweat from training, she appeared neatly groomed and was standing with a basket full of something.

“I’ve come to apologize for the regrettable incident at the training ground yesterday… May I come in?”

She spoke while bowing her head very politely.

The events of yesterday were still vivid in her mind.

It had been shocking that she couldn’t withstand the aftermath and was blown away, even though the staff had been swung towards the sky.

‘She was a magician with remarkable skills. I must not provoke her… Just apologize as politely and courteously as possible and leave…’

As Clea raised her head after stating her business, Lorena was standing with her arms crossed, staring up at her.

Lorena, who was a head shorter than Clea, raised her head high and got angry.

“Is an a-apology all you have…? Not knowing what state our housekeeper… no, Eugene is in…! Come inside and see for yourself..!”

Clea followed Lorena towards the bedroom where Eugene was lying.

When Lorena opened the door, the sight of Eugene lying in bed came into view.

“…?”

Not only was his entire body tightly wrapped in bandages, but his hands and feet were tied to the corners of the bed. As if he had been firmly restrained to prevent any escape.

“What on earth…”

To Clea, who was at a loss for words at the incomprehensible sight, Lorena said it couldn’t be helped.

“He mi-might aggravate his injuries if he moves… So we ha-had no choice but to do this…”

Clea turned her head to look at Lorena’s face.

The corners of her mouth were very slightly turned up.

“…”