Curiosity was one thing, but everyone stayed calm. No one ran to Ronan's side to stare at him right away.
Luckily, they were young elves. If they had been people from Ronan's hometown, they probably would have gathered around to gossip by now.
The door to the house was not closed. From the sofa, the group had a clear view of the small yard through the rain.
They didn't have to wait long. A few minutes after the noise stopped, Ronan appeared with a smile on his face.
When he saw everyone looking at him at the same time, his smile grew wider. If he had not held himself back, he might have laughed out loud right then.
"How did you know I learned new Magic?" he asked proudly.
Jeanne: "..."
Lorie: "..."
Aura: "..."
He really had no shame! Did he not realize how much noise he had just made?
He looked at their faces. Jeanne looked helpless, Aura was expressionless, and Lorie even pouted.
Ronan suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.
"Ahem," he tried to explain. "You understand that feeling, right? The excitement of getting a new toy, especially when that toy is Magic!"
Jeanne put her hand to her forehead and shook her head, speechless. "Ronan, are you a child?"
Ronan was not ashamed. Instead, he puffed out his chest and spoke with total confidence.
"Haven't you heard the saying? A man stays a boy until he dies, especially when something you only dreamed about becomes real. Hehehe."
As he spoke, Ronan couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Aura turned to Jeanne, looking very serious.
"Jeanne, was Ronan always like this? Is... is he okay?"
"..."
Jeanne was speechless for a moment. She didn't know how to answer.
She wanted to say he was normal, but Ronan's current behavior was not normal at all.
At this moment, Ronan did not notice the confused and worried looks from the three of them. He was completely lost in his own fantasy of being a powerful mage clearing a battlefield.
"Ronan!"
"Huh?"
Five minutes later, Jeanne had reached her limit and snapped him out of it. He met the gaze of the Saint, who had a vein throbbing on her forehead.
"Let me explain..."
Unfortunately, before Ronan could start defending himself, Jeanne spoke to him in a serious tone.
"Ronan, act a little more mature. Lorie and Aura are still young."
Ronan: "..."
Lorie and Aura: "..."
At dinner time, at the dining table.
Lorie and Aura kept their heads down. They tried their best to press their lips together, wanting to laugh but not daring to.
Seeing Ronan get scolded by Jeanne was just too funny.
Clearly, the two young elves had also found some fun in watching Jeanne and Ronan interact.
Tonight's main course was creamy mushroom pasta with a simple salad and soup. It was simple and cozy.
Considering that Aura and Lorie could not drink alcohol, Ronan squeezed fresh orange juice for them. He used the remaining oranges to make a cold orange drink for himself and Jeanne.
"To celebrate our new members, Lorie and Aura, joining the Familia. Cheers!" Ronan smiled and raised his wooden cup to clink with the other three.
"Cheers!" the three replied.
"This is delicious! This is also delicious! Wow... I didn't know vegetables and fruit could taste like this! The people in the village really need to learn how to cook better!" Lorie said while eating quickly, her voice muffled by food.
Aura calmly used her fork to roll the pasta. Hearing this, she rolled her eyes. "If they actually came here, would you dare to say that?"
"..." Lorie choked for a second. She quickly gulped down some orange juice and patted her chest to breathe. "Who... who says I wouldn't!"
Aura: "Sure."
Watching the two young elves bicker was quite fun.
Ronan felt that having the house be this lively once in a while was nice.
"Eat more. You are still growing, so don't worry about getting fat. Also, starting tomorrow, you will join the daily exercises in addition to your studies. You can't do that on an empty stomach."
"Eh? Exercise and combat? That's much more interesting than studying."
When this was mentioned, Lorie became excited. For her, reading books was torture. She would rather be so tired that she collapsed on the ground than touch a book.
Seeing her attitude, Jeanne became serious.
"Lorie, you can't think like that. Knowledge is important. That means exercise and study both matter."
"Once you understand the basics of being an adventurer and pass my assessment," she emphasized, "we will take you into the Dungeon for real training. For now, you are still far from ready."
Regarding the training plan for Lorie and Aura, Ronan and Jeanne had already reached an agreement.
They were still young. Their combat skills, their knowledge of the Dungeon and adventurers, and their understanding of the city's rules were all severely lacking. They could not fight right away like Jeanne. They needed gradual training.
This process might only take a few days, or it could take several months. It all depended on how fast they could learn.
After dinner ended, the housework was quickly finished with the help of Aura and Lorie.
The group sat on the sofas around the coffee table. They read books while sharing a snack of sweet pancake balls. The three of them liked them a lot.
Ronan looked at their satisfied faces and smiled to himself. As expected, sweets were hard to refuse.
Once they focused, time passed quickly. Soon, it was the next morning.
The air after the rain was very fresh.
The potted plants and greenery that Ronan carefully maintained looked even better after being washed by the rain. The flowers blooming among them gave off a light fragrance that made people feel refreshed.
The sun had not fully risen yet, but everyone had already woken up. After a day of rest, Aura and Lorie had basically recovered.
After washing up, Ronan, Jeanne, Aura, and Lorie changed into light training clothes and gathered in the small yard.
Ronan and Jeanne looked at each other and nodded. Jeanne took a step forward and announced to the two young elves with a stern expression:
"From now on, you will participate in daily exercises."
"Starting today, you will do physical training in the early morning. In the morning, you will study basic adventurer knowledge. The afternoon will be for training your body and learning combat. Only those who pass my assessment will be qualified to enter the Dungeon for real training."
"Now, enough talk. Let's start the warm-up!"
Jeanne seriously guided Lorie and Aura. Ronan watched for a while and then walked to the side on his own.
He knew that strength was important, so he would not be lazy.
After some simple stretching, he walked to the stone table and sat down. He spread the Grimoire open to the bookmarked page and continued studying Fireball.
With Sharp Mind helping him, he had already learned the basics of Fireball.
However, "learning it" did not mean he could "use it" in real combat.
It was like practicing a move alone and then failing to use it properly in a real fight. That kind of failure would only make people laugh.
This was the difference between learning something and actually using it well.
The process from learning it to using it well required a lot of practice, thinking, and real combat. It could not be done overnight.
In particular, he had to coordinate it with Cinder to complete a combat style. This was not simple.
On the other side, Lorie, who was training, frequently looked over at Ronan. Occasionally, she would see him frowning and lowering his head to read. From time to time, he would reach out his hand to gather magic at his fingertips and create a small flame, then shake his head and sigh strangely.
"Aura, look... it looks like Ronan is learning Magic?" she whispered.
"I know."
"Uh, but... isn't Magic unlocked through the Falna? Could it be that he is studying those... complicated old texts from the village?"
Aura also glanced at Ronan and shook her head gently.
"I'm not sure either. Don't you think our leader has a lot of secrets? For example, that incredible ability tied to the Familia that lets him guide a Falna ceremony..."
Lorie blinked, suddenly realizing it.
"Oh, right!"
Aura: "..."