## Chapter 227 – Training (1)
Ryu blushed naturally as he listened to Charlotte’s story.
“Oh, so that’s what happened.”
He didn’t feel particularly jealous that the two had spent enjoyable time together in his absence. He knew that both of them loved him the most, to begin with. Rather, he was blaming himself for neglecting them while he was having a good time with Clara.
As Charlotte had predicted, he was actually a little disappointed that he hadn’t witnessed their intimate scene firsthand. Would they do it for him if he asked next time? He briefly entertained such thoughts.
Aser, recalling the memory, blushed with embarrassment and opened her mouth.
“Let’s go back as soon as Hart recovers.”
She couldn’t just ignore the patient and return to her district. The friendly relations with the surrounding districts weren’t just about wearing a crown, sitting in the highest seat, and exchanging a few words.
“I knew you’d say that. Then, I’ll go check on Hart’s condition again.”
As Charlotte got up from her seat and put on her clothes, someone knocked on the door of their room. There was only a limited number of people who could move around in this situation. As the door opened slightly, Clara peeked her face in, as expected.
“Are you okay now?”
Aser glanced back. Charlotte and Ryu were already fully dressed. After confirming that, she replied briefly.
“Yeah, come in.”
Clara entered the room and wiped the sweat from her forehead with a sigh of relief. Aser handed her a glass of water and asked.
“Is Hart doing any better?”
“He just fell asleep. I’m glad the wound didn’t open up, thanks to you guys.”
“We’ll stay here and help until he’s fully recovered.”
Clara was startled by Aser’s words and waved her hands.
“No, you can just go. I’d feel too bad if I kept getting help here.”
“That’s what we’re here for, to help each other in times like this. If we have problems in our district later, you’ll be the first person I call.”
Clara’s eyes sparkled with tears, touched by Aser’s playful words. Clara wiped away her tears with her index finger and asked cautiously.
“Thank you. Hart’s got a lot of stamina, so he’ll probably be fully recovered in about two days. Have you thought about what you’re going to do until then?”
“Can’t we just do what we’re doing now?”
“Yeah, then I’ll tell the kids to make you as comfortable as possible. Make yourself at home, as if it’s your own district. I’m sure you’ll be welcome wherever you go.”
“Really? Then, shall we go sightseeing for a change?”
Aser looked at Charlotte.
“If the Demon Lord goes, I have to follow. I haven’t bought gifts for the people in the castle yet, have I? You didn’t forget, did you?”
“H-How could I?”
Judging by his trembling voice and the way he avoided Charlotte’s eyes, it was obvious that he hadn’t thought about it until Charlotte mentioned it. Clara smiled at the two of them and turned back around.
“Then, I’ll go first. I still have a few things to do.”
After Clara left, Ryu refused the two’s offer to look around the 5th District together. Aser, who would have looked disappointed in the past, didn’t seem to mind since they had just had sex, and gave her permission with a cool reply.
Ryu bowed her head and followed Clara out. Clara was squatting in the flower garden behind the mansion, wiping away sweat as she worked.
He didn’t even know there was such a space behind the mansion since he never had a reason to go there. Ryu briefly admired it and carefully approached her from behind, asking.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh, you’re here? That kid didn’t like farming, but he liked tending to this kind of thing.”
The flower garden, quite large for someone living alone to tend to, was a feast for the eyes with its colorful flowers. Lured by the fragrant scent of the flowers, Ryu went next to her and squatted down in the same posture.
Clara, who was watering the flowers, looked at Ryu and opened her mouth.
“Ryu, would you like to plant some flowers too, if you’re okay with it? I have flower seeds.”
“Is that alright?”
Wasn’t this place where Spade and Clara had made memories? Would it be okay for a seed from an outsider like himself to intrude?
“Yeah, it’s okay.”
After finishing her words, Clara took out a bunch of seeds from her pocket and placed them on Ryu’s palm. Clara blushed immediately afterward and turned her gaze away.
“A-And… if you start growing something in our district, you might come more often to check on the progress, right? You’re not that irresponsible, are you?”
“T-That’s true. You definitely have to take care of plants often if you’re growing them.”
Clara’s affection, which had begun to bloom, approached Ryu warmly. He didn’t dislike Clara having feelings for him either.
After watering the flowers, the two sat side by side in the shade to catch their breath. Clara handed Ryu a water bottle and then asked cautiously.
“So? You didn’t come all the way here because you had something to say to me, did you?”
As expected, she couldn’t be hidden from. Ryu nodded and readily admitted.
“That’s right.”
“What could Ryu have to say to me? I’ll listen to anything I can.”
“I want to become as strong as you, Clara.”
Clara’s face showed a look of bewilderment at Ryu’s unexpected words.
There were many other Demon Lords, but there was a reason why he specifically brought this up to Clara.
It was because he had personally felt the difference in dealing with the same Outer Gods. He had struggled against Ishana, who even Lowen said wasn’t a particularly strong Outer God, and had fought a desperate battle, while Clara had killed Rodelia as if she were catching a bug.
He wanted to become like her in the upcoming battles with the Outer Gods.
Clara asked in a low, subdued voice.
“Do you really want to become strong?”
“Yes, strong enough to protect the Demon Lord and everyone else.”
Clara slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes, which resembled rubies but looked somewhat sad, were staring intently at Ryu’s face. She stroked Ryu’s hair with a short sigh.
“Yeah, the most desirable reason for wanting to become strong is to protect someone…”
Clara raised her head and looked at the still blue sky.
“Two days left, that should be enough.”
Ryu swallowed involuntarily at the noticeably different atmosphere. The kind atmosphere that she had when she was just talking to him had completely disappeared, and a cold atmosphere similar to when she killed Rodelia was flowing.
“Let’s move the location.”
Brushing the dust off her clothes, Clara turned her back to the sunlight and headed towards the dark part of the forest. Ryu desperately ignored the feeling that the forest was swallowing him and followed closely behind Clara.
The place they eventually arrived at was a wide clearing where sunlight shone brightly. Broken trees stood in various places, and there were traces of the ground being dug up everywhere. Clara casually threw the coat she was wearing on the ground and slowly opened her mouth.
“This is where I used to train Spade. I never thought the day would come when I’d use it again.”
Clara gestured to Ryu from a distance.
“Come at me with everything you’ve got.”
In that instant, it felt as if his bones would all break from the pressure weighing down on his body. It was difficult to even breathe in the presence before him. Ryu took short breaths and looked at Clara. She was serious.
He never thought he would have such thoughts against Clara.
‘Kill or be killed.’
There was nothing around that could be used as a weapon. Ryu hesitated for a moment before charging at her with his bare body. Of course, it didn’t work.
Thud –
With a simple movement of slightly dodging to the side and hooking her leg, Clara sent Ryu tumbling to the ground.
“Too many distractions.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than Clara’s fist headed towards where Ryu was.
Bang! With a loud noise, the place where Ryu had just fallen was distorted as if there had been an earthquake.
“Keep thinking with your head. Think of the enemy in front of you. You don’t need multiple opponents. Just think of one enemy. The clearer that image is, the faster you’ll be able to react to the opponent’s movements.”
Enemy? The only enemies he could think of right now were the Outer Gods, but that was too broad of a category. Even Ishana and Rodelia alone were completely different, from their appearances to their fighting styles.
Suddenly, a name came to mind.
Orca.
Just hearing the name made his hair stand on end, and he felt as if the blood flowing through his body was reversing.
Just recalling the image of Aser collapsing in a pool of blood that day made his blood boil and his head feel like it was splitting. If he had the power, he would want to tear Orca apart right away.
At the same time, he realized how much he hated her.
Clara, seeing Ryu’s changed expression, muttered to herself.
“Looks like you’ve made up your mind.”
Ryu didn’t express his seething emotions, but used them as his driving force and looked at Clara again.
She’s similar to Orca, who fights using her body rather than special abilities, but fundamentally different.
Unlike Orca, who freely manipulates fire with strong firepower that is the same as her disposition and freely uses various martial arts that she researched on the streets only for the purpose of killing, Clara didn’t show any of those traits.
Just overwhelming power. The power to split space and create cracks in the earth just by swinging her fist.
Clara spoke first in the face of the confrontation.
“Ryu, you and I are fundamentally the same. You just don’t know how to handle the immense power you possess.”
“You’re saying I’m the same as you, Clara?”
“Yeah, I almost died from being swallowed by this power many times at first. This power, which crushes the lungs with muscle, breaks bones, and harms the people around me just by moving slightly, is no different from a curse. I thought that as long as I was alive and breathing, I would never be loved by the people around me.”
He had heard briefly about Clara’s past.
“You’re similar, right? It’s just that it’s divided into physical strength and magical talent. I’ll help you learn how to handle that power skillfully.”
“Thank you…”
Before he could finish speaking, a sharp pain came to his abdomen.
Thwack! Ryu’s body floated into the air with a sound.
Clara had tried to control herself so that Ryu wouldn’t die, but this kind of pain was unprecedented.
Saliva mixed with blood came out of his open mouth. Clara’s words could be heard in his fading consciousness.
“Let’s take a break and do it again.”
Ryu, who was forced to take a break against his will, thought that this would be another difficult time and lost consciousness.
