Novel Full Chapter 551 - Taming the Fourth Year: Connections - Good Guidance - 4
Chapter 551: Chapter 551 – Taming the Fourth Year: Connections – Good Guidance – 4
Ren took a deep breath and followed Selphira’s advice exactly.
“Luna, I’m sorry for yelling at you and saying those things when you were trying to help me during the confrontation with Leopold. I was handling stress and my frustration very badly, and I took it out on you unfairly when all you were doing was worrying about me.”
The girls remained still, clearly not expecting such a specific and direct apology.
“Liora, I also shouldn’t have ignored your advice. I was being arrogant and cruel,” Ren continued, “and that’s not right no matter what’s happening in my life. I’m going to work on handling my emotions better so I don’t treat you like that again, because you don’t deserve it.”
“Will you forgive me?” he asked, finally opening his eyes but keeping his gaze on their faces instead of… other areas.
He activated his wolverine enough to access its dimensional space and took out the bags with the gifts.
Both girls blushed when they saw the gifts, especially when Ren honestly explained why he had chosen each specific color and rune.
“They’re beautiful,” Luna murmured, examining her gift with genuine admiration.
“And useful,” Liora added, clearly appreciating the practicality.
The craftsmanship was evident in every detail. The runes were so seamlessly integrated that they appeared to be decorative elements rather than functional magic, and the color choices showed careful attention to each girl’s personal preferences.
“It’s because I cherish (our friendship) and don’t want to lose you (as friends),” Ren said without thinking, the words coming out with more “clarity” and “good feelings” than he had intended. “And I like you. A lot (as friends).”
The silence that followed was charged and uncomfortable.
Liora, being the more adventurous and brave of the two, was the one who broke the tension.
“Which of the two… or three, do you cheri… Ahem, like more?” she asked directly, obviously referring to Luna, herself, and probably Larissa too.
“All of you equally,” Ren responded honestly, without fully realizing the implications of what Liora was asking.
Liora narrowed her eyes dangerously.
“Do you think you’re as ’big’ as a King to be able to justify embracing so much?” she asked, her voice carrying an edge that Ren didn’t completely understand.
’A king? Maybe she asks if I’d sacrifice as much as him for them? A true friend who is a ’gentleman’ like Dad would…’
Ren didn’t grasp the true meaning of the question, but he didn’t want to sound evasive. He remembered Selphira’s advice about being honest and clear in his words, so he tried to double down in his resolve (of keeping the friendship).
“I’m being honest and I won’t back down from what I said,” he declared firmly. “That’s how I feel.”
Liora studied him for a long moment, then seemed to reach some kind of decision.
“Then I want to verify something,” she said finally. “I want you to accompany me to do something in a few days. Do you accept?”
“What kind of something?” Ren asked cautiously.
“You’ll see,” Liora smiled in a way that made him feel slightly nervous. “Yes or no?”
“Yes,” he responded, because he thought he really didn’t have another option if he wanted to repair his relationship with her. (But asking sincerely for more apologies as he believed wasn’t what this was about.)
Liora turned toward Luna, who had been observing this entire exchange in silence.
“Sorry, Luna, but I’m going to get ahead if you’re going to stay quiet.”
Luna blushed intensely and hugged her gift against her chest. She opened her mouth as if she were going to say something, but in the end no sound came out. She simply turned around, clearly flustered.
Ren realized that Luna had wanted to say something but hadn’t been able to. Remembering Selphira’s advice about being “considerate with how he treated both girls” (not with the meaning he thought), he decided to offer her the same opportunity.
“Luna,” he said gently, “if you want, we could do something together another day too. Whatever you want.”
The effect was dramatic. Luna turned even redder, and it practically looked like steam was coming from her head. But, with her back turned, she nodded almost imperceptibly.
Liora sighed, clearly realizing that Ren didn’t completely understand the implications of what he had just proposed, but she seemed determined to move forward with her plan.
“Well,” she murmured, “if I’m going to be first anyway, then I have time to clarify some things that day…”
Ren stood there, feeling as if he had participated in a conversation where everyone else understood rules he was completely unaware of. But the girls had accepted his apologies and gifts, and that was what mattered, right?
“So… We will…?” he began, trying to understand what exactly he had agreed to.
“I’ll tell you when and where later,” Liora interrupted. “And Ren…”
“Yes?”
“Next time you have problems, talk to me before they become problems for everyone else.”
“I promise to do that,” he said, scratching his head.
As he walked back toward the dormitories, Ren felt relieved that the apologies had gone well, but also vaguely nervous about what he had agreed to without fully understanding.
♢♢♢♢
Ren had spent the last few days training intensively with his wolverine, trying to integrate elemental control into his close combat.
Lin’s panther lizard had begun developing elevated fire element control, and the master used it to propel herself with short explosions, combined with wind from her crane to create movements that seemed to defy the laws of physics even more.
Ren was developing an approach to that short-distance physical style that Lin had begun to develop, but he had created instead a sort of anti-magic combat that required extreme concentration and speed of thought.
He wanted not only to counter Lin’s technique with opposing elements, but to develop something similar to increase his speed but which was much more complex, taking advantage of his access to multiple elements.
He could already jump between shadows and move with light thanks to his experience jumping with Larissa years ago. He could also use the same wind and fire mobility that Lin employed, and he could control earth to create instant support points.
All of this helped his mobility enormously.
The more ambitious ideas included using ice to create temporary sliding surfaces and flexible wood forms that could act as natural spring floors, but he still didn’t master those techniques enough to integrate them into real combat.
The problem was that trying to use multiple elements simultaneously while moving around the battlefield was incredibly complex. For now, he was practicing something more fundamental: moving quickly while maintaining an elevated mana accumulation in his chest, ready to be fired instantly when needed.
His exercise consisted of maintaining that state for increasingly longer periods. It was exhausting, required constant concentration, and often ended with headaches, but he was determined to improve it.
What pushed him to keep trying to perfect that aspect of control was that maintaining mana flowing so actively was similar to the network his frozen friend had maintained.
Maybe it was still a very small similarity, but he hoped that by improving over time he could eventually better understand how to help his encysted fungus.