"Randall, I—I can't keep going."
"Hang in there a little longer. I haven't even gotten serious, and you're already dropping."
"Randall, I can't keep going either."
"Urgh! Old A, talk like that again, and I'll make you three sizes fatter!"
"Lord Randall, I can still keep going! Please push me as hard as you like!"
"You two, look at Brick's dedication! Learn something from him!"
At those words, Christa and Aequus both turned toward Brick, their eyes gleaming with menace.
"All right, all right. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll let you off this once."
Randall waved a hand.
Christa and Aequus looked as though they had been granted a pardon.
Brick froze and wanted to say something else, but Christa and Aequus were quick to react.
The moment they saw Brick open his mouth, they stepped forward and clamped their hands over it.
"Looks like you two still have plenty of strength."
Randall raised an eyebrow, a faint, knowing smile on his face.
The two merely grinned foolishly without a word. Meanwhile, Brick, whose mouth and nose they had covered, was turning red and flailing his hands.
Randall shook his head with a smile, thinking what a pair of clowns they were.
Work? Not a chance. That belonged to Aequus. I couldn't steal it from him.
With nothing else to do, Randall returned to his bedroom, planning to refine his techniques further.
But the instant he stepped inside, his gaze sharpened.
Everything in the bedroom was exactly as it had been when he left.
Yet his keen senses told him something was wrong.
Randall frowned, then followed his instincts to the mirror on the wall.
"Come out. Stop hiding!"
Randall spoke calmly.
His words faded, but the room remained quiet. Nothing changed.
Randall wasn't embarrassed. He simply