Curious as they were, the three of them showed restraint. Nobody rushed outside to gawk.
Small mercies that they were elves. Back where Leon came from, a crowd would've gathered before the smoke cleared.
The front door stood open, and from the couch, the courtyard was visible through the rain.
They didn't have to wait long. Minutes after the blast, Leon's silhouette appeared through the downpour, grinning from ear to ear.
Every pair of eyes locked onto him at once. His smile stretched wider. If not for years of practiced self-control, he'd have burst out laughing on the spot.
"So how'd you all know I learned a new spell?" he asked, radiating smugness.
Jeanne: "..."
Laurier: "..."
Aura: "..."
This man... has he no shame? Did he not realize half the neighborhood had heard that explosion?
Jeanne looked exasperated. Aura's face was blank. Laurier actually pursed her lips in disdain.
The smugness faltered. Leon coughed.
"Come on, you get it, right? That excitement when you get a new toy? And this isn't just any toy. It's magic!"
Jeanne pressed a hand to her forehead and shook her head. "Leon, are you a child?"
Far from chastened, he puffed out his chest. "Haven't you heard the saying? Men stay boys forever. Especially when childhood fantasies become reality." He dissolved into a self-satisfied chuckle.
Aura turned to Jeanne, her small face perfectly serious. "Jeanne, has Leon always been like this? Is he... all right? Mentally?"
"..."
Jeanne found herself at a loss. Calling him normal felt like a stretch given the current display.
The man in question, riding the high of his new toy, was completely oblivious to the mingled confusion and concern radiating from all three of them. He'd already drifted into fantasies of raining fire on his enemies and was thoroughly unreachable.
"Leon!"
"Huh?"
Five minutes later, Jeanne's patience snapped. He came back to earth and found himself staring at the Holy Maiden's twitching temple vein.
"Let me explain..."
Too late. Jeanne cut him off, her tone heavy with the gravity of a life lesson.
"Leon. Act your age. Laurier and Aura are still young."
Leon: "..."
Laurier and Aura: "..."
...
...
Dinnertime. Around the table.
Aura and Laurier kept their heads down, fighting to suppress their grins, mouths clamped shut against the laughter threatening to escape.
Watching Leon get shut down by Jeanne in person was... incredible entertainment.
The two elves had discovered a new hobby: spectating. The dynamic between those two was comedy gold.
Tonight's spread was black truffle cream mushroom pasta, alongside roasted garlic parmesan zucchini with a mixed salad and borscht. Simple and warm.
Since Aura and Laurier were too young to drink, Leon had squeezed fresh orange juice for them. Not one to waste, he'd mixed the leftover oranges into a light, chilled orange wheat ale for himself and Jeanne.
"To celebrate our newest members, Laurier and Aura, joining the Familia. Cheers!" He raised his wooden cup with a smile and clinked it against theirs.
"Cheers!" came back in unison.
...
"This is amazing! And this too! Oh wow... you can do this with vegetables and fruit? The old fogeys back in the village need to open their eyes and come learn how to cook in the city!" Laurier shoveled food at an alarming pace, commentary muffled between bites.
Aura elegantly twirled pasta around her fork and rolled her eyes. "If they actually showed up, would you say that to their faces?"
"..." Laurier choked, grabbed her orange juice, and thumped her chest. "Wh-who says I wouldn't?!"
"Mm-hm."
Watching the little elves bicker had its own charm.
Leon decided he didn't mind the noise. A lively table was a nice change of pace once in a while.
"Eat up, both of you. You're still growing, so don't worry about weight. Besides, starting tomorrow you'll be training on top of studying. You'll need the fuel."
"Wait, training? Like real combat?" Laurier's drowsiness vanished. "That's way better than studying!"
For her, books were a circle of hell. She'd rather collapse from exhaustion than crack open another page.
Jeanne's expression hardened. "Laurier, that attitude won't fly. 'Knowledge is power' isn't a joke. Training and study go hand in hand."
"Once you've systematically learned the fundamentals of being an Adventurer and passed my evaluation," she stressed, "then and only then will we take you into the Dungeon for real combat. Right now? You're not even close."
The development plan for Laurier and Aura had been settled between Leon and Jeanne well in advance.
Both were young. Their combat instincts, their knowledge of the Dungeon and the Adventurer profession, their understanding of how Orario operated... all severely lacking. Unlike Jeanne, they couldn't be thrown into the field as immediate assets. They needed a structured, gradual process.
That might take a few days, or it might take months. It depended entirely on how fast they absorbed the material.
After dinner, cleanup went quickly with Aura and Laurier pitching in.
The four of them gathered around the coffee table on the couches, reading and sharing snacks: puff balls, a treat resembling takoyaki but with a sweet filling inside. The dessert earned unanimous approval from all three girls.
Leon watched their contented faces and smiled. Some things never change. Sweets and women... an eternal combination.
...
Once focus took hold, time blurred. Before anyone noticed, it was the following morning.
The air after the rain smelled fresh and clean.
Leon's carefully tended potted plants and greenery, washed by yesterday's downpour, looked more alive than ever, leaves glistening with vibrant color. Flowers in full bloom perfumed the courtyard.
The sun hadn't fully risen, but everyone was already awake. A full day of rest had brought Aura and Laurier back to fighting shape.
After quick morning routines, all four changed into light training clothes and assembled in the courtyard.
Leon and Jeanne exchanged a glance and a nod. Jeanne stepped forward, her expression sharp.
"From now on, daily training is part of your lives. No exceptions."
"Starting today: morning physical conditioning, late morning studying Adventurer fundamentals, afternoons for strength training and combat practice. Only after you pass my evaluation will you be cleared for Dungeon runs."
"Enough talk. Warm up. Now."
She began coaching Laurier and Aura through their routines. Leon watched for a while, then moved off on his own.
Strength was everything. He wasn't about to slack.
After a brief stretch, he settled at the stone table, opened the Grimoire to his bookmarked page, and continued studying Fireball.
His learning speed was formidable. With Scholar's Heart active, he'd already grasped the basics of the spell.
But "learned" didn't mean "combat-ready."
It was like drilling a crossover in practice until it looked flawless, then stepping onto the court in a real game and fumbling it completely. Embarrassing, but that was the gap between knowing and doing.
Bridging that gap, going from "understood" to "second nature," demanded hours of practice, deliberate thought, and live application. No shortcuts.
And that was before factoring in how Fireball needed to integrate with Scorch into a coherent combat system. That wasn't simple addition.
Meanwhile, Laurier kept sneaking glances at Leon during training. Sometimes she'd catch him hunched over the book with a furrowed brow. Other times he'd extend a hand, gather Magic at his fingertips to conjure a small flame, then sigh and shake his head.
"Aura, look..." she whispered. "Leon's studying magic?"
"I noticed."
"But... doesn't magic come from the Falna? Unless he's using one of those old, clunky methods, the kind they keep archived back in the clan libraries?"
Aura glanced over at Leon and shook her head. "I don't know either. Don't you think our captain is full of mysteries? Like that impossible spell of his... the one that can grant a Falna."
Laurier blinked, the realization hitting her all at once.
"Oh, right!"
Aura: "..."
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