"I can't take it anymore... I can't... Anya's already at her limit today. If this keeps up, sooner or later those big clubs are going to break me."
Anya lay sprawled across a bench in the hall.
"Sometimes, I really find it hard to imagine that you're a mage," Lexi said, rubbing her temples beside her. "And that I go to the same academy as you."
"It was just a joke," Anya said, sticking out her tongue. "Besides, getting smashed by an ogre really hurts."
Lidona reached out and rubbed her messy short hair, a flicker of apology passing through her eyes. "You've worked hard."
"It's fine," Anya said, sitting upright and clenching her fists. "Progress gives me motivation! [Phantom Power] really is useful against those big idiots, as long as I don't run into a two-headed big idiot..."
"That's right." Lexi agreed. "The question is whether we'll make it before this month's Alser's Steps ends."
"Nana, you should start looking for some teams that are short-handed. Of course, the kind that..."
"Don't have any crooked intentions!" Anya chimed in seamlessly.
As close friends, both she and Lexi knew that Lidona's identity was far from ordinary.
Though Lidona had never brought it up herself, neither had she deliberately concealed it.
Besides, neither of them was stupid. Whether it was the unusual staff in Lidona's hand or the excessive eagerness with which nobles occasionally approached her, everything pointed to her extraordinary background.
Hearing her friends' concern, Lidona felt a warmth stir in her heart. She nodded lightly. "Thank you for always practicing with me."
"What are you talking about? We have challenges of our own too!" Lexi raised her chin, pretending to be dissatisfied. "Don't underestimate us. We may not be as amazing as you, Nana, but we're only third-years too."