Chapter 16: Instructing Magic Cultivation

Although shocked by Elise’s answer, Ian only wanted to escape this awkward situation at the moment.

He turned toward Aetherinra and spoke.

“Elise has already said her piece. You shouldn’t have anything left to say now, right?”

Aetherinra’s brow furrowed at Ian’s words.

Even though Elise had expressed such strong feelings for Ian—feelings so intense they even moved her—she still did not believe Ian had truly changed for the better.

This all had to be a lie!

After pondering for a moment, Aetherinra spoke up.

“If I’m not mistaken, you were guiding this little maid’s cultivation this morning, weren’t you?”

Aetherinra had seen Ian instructing Elise at the training ground earlier that morning.

Though she didn’t know what Ian’s ultimate goal was, she decided to intervene.

“Let me be the one to guide her magic cultivation. After all, my insights into magic should be significantly higher than yours.”

Aetherinra wanted to take the initiative.

Since it was a facade, there were bound to be flaws.

Elise was still young and possessed a simple heart.

She would believe anyone who treated her well was a good person, unable to distinguish Ian’s hypocrisy.

However, if she also joined in to guide Elise’s training, she would surely discover the cracks in Ian’s disguise during the process.

When that time came, she could expose Ian’s true face and save this little maid.

Everything was going according to her plan.

“Having me guide Elise’s cultivation would be the better choice no matter how you look at it, wouldn’t it?”

Indeed, what Aetherinra said was true.

If she were to guide Elise, it would be much more effective than Ian doing it himself.

However, wasn’t his goal in training Elise specifically to keep her away from the female lead?

He instinctively wanted to refuse.

But before he could speak, Elise ran excitedly to Aetherinra and looked at her with expectant eyes.

“Really? Lady Aetherinra, are you really going to guide my cultivation?”

Elise was overjoyed upon hearing Aetherinra’s words.

If a powerful mage like her could guide her training, it would be a wonderful thing!

It meant she could become stronger in a shorter amount of time and be of more help to the Young Master.

As long as it helped the Young Master, Elise supported it unconditionally.

“Of course it’s true, provided that Ian agrees.”

After saying that, Aetherinra looked at Ian, waiting for his response.

“You did say you would support Elise’s own wishes, right? Right now, she seems quite willing to let me guide her.”

Aetherinra wore a smiling expression as she looked at Ian, appearing as if victory was already in her hands.

At the same time, Elise looked at Ian with eyes full of anticipation.

‘Dammit, I can’t refuse this at all!’

Looking at Elise’s watery, pleading eyes, Ian cried out in his mind.

Seeing Aetherinra’s cunning expression, Ian could only helplessly agree in the end.

“Fine, we’ll do as you say.”

“Yay! That’s great!”

After receiving Ian’s confirmation, Elise jumped for joy.

As Ian watched the ecstatic Elise, he grumbled internally.

‘I’m really suffering just to make you stronger.’

‘I hope you treat me well in the future!’

After that little farce, Ian, Elise, and Aetherinra sat back down to continue their meal.

Whether it was because she wanted to grow or had some other goal, Elise ate an especially large amount this time.

Once they finished eating and the afternoon arrived, the three of them headed to the training ground to begin their session.

However, to Ian’s surprise, they weren’t the only ones there.

Standing beside Ian was someone he absolutely did not want to interact with: the protagonist of the game—Veronica.

“What are you doing here?”

Ian asked Veronica.

“I don’t recall calling for you.”

Ian frowned.

Hearing Ian’s words, Veronica spoke with a look of disdain.

“If a certain useless noble could actually teach a maid properly, why would I need to make an appearance?”

Ian didn’t have the energy to deal with the arrogant Veronica.

‘Dammit, Aetherinra alone was enough of a headache, and now Veronica is here too. What am I supposed to do?’

The more he thought about it, the more annoyed he became, so he simply stopped thinking.

The current priority was to increase Elise’s strength so she could pass the entrance test for the Adelan Magic Academy.

‘Occasional contact with the protagonist and female lead shouldn’t cause any major issues, right?’

With that thought, Ian sat off to the side.

Even though the instruction was being handled by Aetherinra and Veronica, he didn’t feel comfortable letting Elise stay here alone.

Who knew if that lesbian Veronica would take an interest in her and try to turn her?

By then, it would be too late for him to regret it.

He would absolutely not allow that to happen.

While Ian was fighting an internal battle, Aetherinra walked up to Elise and asked her a question.

“Elise, what Divine Blessing did you awaken?”

Aetherinra asked Elise gently, like a kind older sister.

“Divine Blessing? I don’t know. The Young Master never told me.”

Hearing this, Aetherinra turned her head to look at Ian.

“Elise awakened the Protection of the Goddess of Light. As for the specific blessings, see for yourselves.”

Anticipating this situation, Ian had brought the Magic Mark from when Elise awakened her blessings.

Seeing the blessings listed on it, even the well-traveled Aetherinra widened her mouth, unable to maintain her composure.

She had actually awakened a total of three divine blessings, and every single one of them was heaven-defying.

Seeing Aetherinra’s shocked expression, Ian felt a secret surge of satisfaction.

‘Go ahead and bully me. Once my little maid grows up, I’ll have her make you kneel and sing for mercy.’

Ian enjoyed a beautiful fantasy of the future in his mind.

Meanwhile, Aetherinra snapped back to reality and looked at Ian solemnly.

“Elise’s talent is immense. We shouldn’t let it go to waste.”

“We should have her study at the Adelan Magic Academy.”

“Only there will her magic talent be put to its best use.”

She had made up her mind.

Even if Ian didn’t agree, she would make sure Elise went to the academy.

If it came down to it, she would simply explain the matter to the Duke.

If Elise only had ordinary magic talent, Aetherinra wouldn’t have such thoughts, but Elise’s talent was the strongest she had ever seen in her life!

If another powerhouse could be added to the future Human-Demon War, the Human Race would have a much better chance of winning.

Although there hadn’t been a large-scale battle between the humans and demons for a long time, Aetherinra knew that a war between the two races was inevitable. It was only a matter of when.

“You don’t need to tell me. I already have that plan,” Ian responded flatly.

His original reason for training Elise was so she could attend the Adelan Magic Academy.

“That’s right, Lady Aetherinra. The Young Master also said he wanted me to take the entrance test for the Adelan Magic Academy with him.”

“Is that so?”

Hearing Ian and Elise’s words, Aetherinra finally understood the reason behind Ian’s string of actions, from having the maid awaken her magic early to training her.

Did Ian want Elise to carry him through the entrance test for the Adelan Magic Academy?

If that was the reason, Aetherinra suddenly felt that Ian’s kindness this time might not be a facade.

However, one could never be too careful.

It was possible Ian wasn’t just doing this for that reason; he might have other motives.

Yet, as she observed Ian’s actions just now, she couldn’t find a single flaw in his behavior.

‘Is the disguise so perfect that even I can’t find a crack?’

Since there was no evidence to prove Ian had other intentions for Elise, she could only accept this explanation for now.

Setting her thoughts aside, Aetherinra turned back to Elise.

“Elise, reach out your hand.”

Hearing Aetherinra’s instruction, Elise obediently extended one hand.

Aetherinra grasped Elise’s arm with one hand and activated a spell.

Immediately, a green light enveloped Elise.

Ian knew this was Aetherinra’s Detection Magic, used to check a Mage’s talent.

With the Protection of the Goddess of Life, Aetherinra’s Detection Magic could often uncover information that even a Magic Orb could not provide.

“How is it?”

Veronica stepped forward to ask.

She had also seen Elise’s terrifying talent.

For a top-tier genius like this, training her was naturally for the best.

“As expected, Light Attribute Magic suits her best.”

“Furthermore, her Sword Magic Power compatibility is extremely high. If she trains her Sword Magic Power, she will reach the level of a Great Archmage at the very least in the future. Even becoming a Demigod isn’t out of the question!”

“A Demigod?”

Hearing Aetherinra’s assessment, even Veronica couldn’t help but gasp.

One must realize that a Tier 9 Powerhouse was already an existence standing at the peak of the continent, and their numbers were incredibly few.

Currently, the only Tier 9 Powerhouse she had seen with her own eyes was Duke Deere.

As for a Demigod, they were living legends across the entire Faloran Continent.

While Veronica knew of dozens of Tier 9 Great Archmages who were prominent figures on the continent, there were only two people she was certain had reached the Demigod realm: the Demon God of the Demon Race and the Headmaster of the Adelan Magic Academy.

This was precisely why the Adelan Magic Academy held such a transcendent status on the Faloran Continent.

Seeing Veronica’s shocked gaze, Aetherinra wasn’t surprised; she had worn the same expression when she first tested the talent.

Then, she looked at Ian with a complex gaze.

A top-tier genius like this actually had the future goal of just becoming Ian’s sword!

Elise’s future was definitely not something that could be limited by Ian.

If the Human Race could produce another Demigod, the balance between humans and demons would be shattered, and the Human Race would easily defeat the Demon Race.

Perhaps, once Elise truly understood the value of her own talent, she would discard that silly idea of becoming Ian’s sword.

At that moment, Ian felt a vague sense of being pitied, as if someone were saying he was going to be abandoned.

Ian didn’t know what Aetherinra was thinking, but even if he did, he wouldn’t have cared.

He had never intended for Elise to be his sword.

From beginning to end, his only goal was to return home after defeating the Demon God.