What does 'making a move' mean?
Hearing Tiona's words, Tione was startled and quickly pushed her aside to look towards the courtyard.
After seeing the situation clearly, she realized Tiona wasn't lying.
In the spacious courtyard, Lynn, who had just been maintaining a certain distance, had somehow appeared right in front of Aiz.
The two were holding hands, looking focused, and murmuring something under their breath.
"Ti... Tione-sama!"
Witnessing this scene, Lefiya, who had been secretly observing, instantly became agitated.
"They're holding hands! They're holding hands! We have to go out and stop them!"
"Uh, calm down first."
Tione quickly held Lefiya back: "It's just holding hands, it's not a big problem for now."
"Tione-sama?!"
Lefiya whipped her head around: "You can't judge by your Amazon standards! This hand-holding is clearly crossing a line!"
"Huh? That's going too far."
Tiona, who had just been pushed to the back, leaned in again: "I think you're being too sensitive, Lefiya. Only you Elves care about something small like holding hands."
"What does that have to do with being an Elf! When have you ever seen Aiz-sama hold hands with a man!"
"And even putting that aside, didn't Aiz-sama come here to learn the Breathing Technique! What kind of Breathing Technique requires holding hands to teach! There's clearly something wrong here!"
Lefiya fought against the two of them, her morale unshaken, presenting a series of logical and well-founded reasons.
After hearing her out, Tiona, who had been refuting her, scratched her head: "That... does seem to make some sense."
"Right! There's definitely something wrong!"
Lefiya clenched her fist: "We should waste no time and go interrupt them right now!"
"No! Don't run off!"
Tione felt her head was about to explode and quickly restrained the agitated Elf Maiden.
"Lefiya, haven't you considered what problems would arise if you exposed yourself here?"
"..."
Lefiya suddenly fell silent.
Only after Tione's reminder did she realize she wasn't outside.
This was the Hestia Familia's residence. They were trespassing.
By all logic, they were in the wrong. Charging out recklessly would only put them at a disadvantage.
But...
Looking at the two people still holding hands not far away, Lefiya felt like she was about to grind her back teeth to dust.
"Tione-sama, isn't there any good solution?"
"No. Just stay put."
Tione held Lefiya back with her left hand and Tiona with her right.
Making sure the two wouldn't suddenly dash out, she looked back towards the courtyard.
Then, her gaze met Lynn's.
Lynn: →_→
Tione: ←_←
Tione: "..."
We're screwed!
...
"How does it feel?"
Lynn withdrew his gaze from a corner not far away and looked at the Blonde Girl in front of him.
Their fingers were intertwined, and Ripple gently flowed from his palm to hers.
Carefully sensing this power, Aiz was silent for a moment before saying, "It feels very warm."
"Because Ripple is the energy of life. I'm using this power to relieve the fatigue in your body."
Lynn gently let go of her hand: "Since you now have a concept of Ripple, let's officially begin cultivation by adjusting your breathing frequency."
"Mm, I'm ready."
Aiz breathed a sigh of relief.
Although she had shaken hands with men before, intertwining fingers like this seemed to be a first.
Suppressing her nervousness and shyness, Aiz focused her attention on Lynn's voice.
Ripple is essentially a Breathing Technique that improves physical fitness and achieves a leap in life.
As a First Class Adventurer, Aiz's physical body had long surpassed that of ordinary people.
Under Lynn's guidance, she quickly found the knack and adjusted her breathing.
Maintaining this frequency, a surging Ripple rose from her body.
"Does this count as success?"
"It's the first step. Maintaining stability is the most important thing next."
Lynn took out two wooden swords: "Let's try it out a bit, maintain Ripple during combat."
"Okay." Aiz took the wooden sword, thought for a moment, and said, "I'll suppress my strength and speed to LV4, you can use your full power."
"No problem."
Lynn gripped the wooden sword with both hands, his figure blurred, and he directly launched a Take-Mikazuchi attack.
Right side!
Aiz reacted, immediately swinging her sword to the right, cutting through the air.
Bang—!
A dull sound rang out. Lynn's always effective slash was blocked head-on for the first time.
"As expected of a First-Class Adventurer."
Lynn sighed with emotion and retreated a few steps.
"Current Propulsion."
"State of Selflessness."
Golden lightning rose around his body, and Lynn's aura suddenly intensified.
"Chantless Magic?"
Aiz's face showed a hint of surprise.
Although she lacked common sense in daily life, she was very sensitive to combat-related matters.
In just an instant, she confirmed that Lynn had activated two different chantless spells.
Her focused attention was affected, and the Ripple in Aiz's body suddenly dissipated.
At the same time, Lynn disappeared from his spot again, creating a whooshing sound.
"So fast!"
Catching Lynn's movement trajectory, Aiz immediately turned and swung backward.
But before that, a wooden sword landed first, stopping at her face.
"Don't get distracted."
Lynn patiently instructed: "Unless you are subjected to irresistible factors, you must maintain your breathing frequency at all times."
"Only when you can still maintain your breathing and activate Ripple even in the face of death, will you truly be considered to have mastered it."
"Yes!"
Aiz calmed herself down.
The shock of seeing two chantless spells was suppressed, and she readjusted her breathing.
A few seconds later, the power of Ripple rose within her, and her physical abilities were enhanced.
"I'm ready."
"Then continue."
Lynn disappeared from his spot again.
Facing a First-Class Adventurer, he didn't need to hold back and activated his magic throughout.
With Current Propulsion and State of Selflessness activated, his physical abilities reached the LV4 realm.
Constantly unleashing Take-Mikazuchi based on this, even Aiz found it a bit overwhelming.
In just a few breaths, she exposed a weakness again, and her breathing frequency fluctuated.
Bang—!
This time, the wooden sword hit the girl's back without mercy, making her body stiffen.
"Adjust your breathing! Continue!"
"Yes!"
Aiz's expression became increasingly serious.
Despite suppressing her strength and speed, she was still LV5, after all.
Being suppressed by an LV2 in a direct combat made her mindset subtly change.
And the moment her mindset fluctuated; the golden lightning struck again.
Bang—!
"Don't overthink! A stable mindset is essential for maintaining your breathing frequency!"
"Yes!"
...